Erdene’s uneasy feeling didn’t subside until they passed through the city gates of the Hirschstein Empire’s capital.
No, it only intensified.
Not only that, but now the knights, their subordinate officers, and even the soldiers began to murmur in strange voices.
“Your Highness The Princess, what on earth is going on?”
“How should I know, Thelma?”
Surely, until they passed through the city gates, the lively and boisterous sounds had made the hearts of the soldiers who had returned home after a long time flutter.
The smell of freshly roasted meat bought from a street vendor and grilled on the spot, the aroma of fruit wine that spread fragrantly from the middle of the day, even in a country with a lot of alcohol, made everyone’s hearts race.
The soldiers who had returned with the victory report were ready to be buried in the freshly roasted meat chunks and glasses of wine that were being handed out to them.
However, the moment they passed through the city gates, they all realized that something was wrong.
Aiman said.
“Did something get miscommunicated? It seems like Paval made a mistake in saying that we returned defeated. Stupid bastard, if I see him again, I’ll show him a hot taste that will make his mind light up.”
However, Princess Erdene remained silent… Her expression was even more serious than before.
Aiman’s words were just wishful thinking.
It wasn’t even a mistake to say that the pheasant roast prepared for lunch was a thrush roast, or to turn the victory won at the end of the bitter war into a defeat? It was something that couldn’t be done even with twelve heads.
But if so, what on earth is this atmosphere?
Instead of welcoming the soldiers with meat and alcohol as usual, the people on the street tried not to even make eye contact with them.
Some people scurried away as they wandered the streets, while others lowered their eyes as if they had committed a crime and quietly hid behind the shadows.
Merton whispered.
“Your Highness The Princess, what on earth is this atmosphere?”
Erdene replied irritably.
“I don’t know, I told you.”
But something was definitely wrong. Erdene spoke a little faster, her expression serious.
* * *
Her ominous premonition had indeed come true, so there was no cheering or celebration for the soldiers, even though they had entered the city.
The regiment commander and the military officers were in a state of confusion, wondering whether to send the soldiers back to their barracks or to usher them into the spacious hall where food and drinks were always prepared.
“Merton, Thelma.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Erdene easily handed over the large warhorse, which was much taller than her, to the stableman, treating it like a gentle lamb.
“Take the soldiers and give them food and drinks. If the cook dares to make excuses about not having anything prepared, tie him up until I arrive.”
“Understood.”
“Are you not coming with us, Your Highness?”
Erdene, whose gauntlets were still stained with enemy blood, tightened her grip and looked up at the magnificent pillars of the Golden Palace with hostility.
“I will see His Majesty first.”
Without taking off her armor or disarming herself, she entered the emperor’s quarters.
Despite her repeated resolutions not to get angry, her stomach churned as if she were going to vomit at the sight of her twin brother occupying the place where the emperor stood proudly.
“I have returned with the victory report, Your Majesty. We have conquered some of the oily plains, logging areas, and mines containing gold and coal from Vinotin. There are also some wetlands, so it would be best to discuss with the officials later how to use them. If the salinity is low, we may be able to farm the land by draining the water.”
Erdene, who had finished her brief report with her head bowed, waited for the emperor’s reply to stand up. However, her brother, Emperor Tenek, remained silent for a long time and then said in a heavy tone.
“Well, you’ve done well. Why don’t you go and wash up?”
Erdene’ eyes flashed as she raised her head.
Her brother Tenek, wearing an ill-fitting emperor’s robe and a golden crown, looked like a clown sitting on a throne.
The empress sitting next to him was a woman named Roellica, who was from a good family but had lost all emotion due to Tenek’s irresponsibility since she was a princess.
Erdene moved her gaze around the interior of the changed palace. There were more gaudy and cheaply made luxuries, and even the huge tapestries of the conquest era that the previous emperors had hung were gone.
She held her tongue and said.
“The imperial Golden Palace has become even more luxurious, Your Majesty.”
A group of women in flashy and revealing dresses gathered near the entrance to the corridor and disappeared as if running away as soon as they met Erdene’ gaze.
They were probably Tenek’s concubines.
“……And there are more beautiful women too.”
Tenek replied with a drunken giggle.
“Don’t your eyes sparkle when you come here after seeing only dirty things on the battlefield?”
Erdene did not answer him and looked at Tenek with contempt.
He giggled like a child who had found an amusing prank, and then spoke listlessly, as if he had lost interest in everything in the world again.
“Well, you’re a woman, so you’re useless.”
“His Majesty…”
TL/N: His Majesty=The Late Emperor
In that instant, Erdene felt a hot lump rising in her chest.
Coupled with the sight of Tenek perched on the grand throne with his small, ridiculous rear end, her pent-up anger boiled over.
That seat was supposed to be hers.
Erdene clenched her fist tightly, still clad in her gauntlets.
The more she thought about how Tenek, who had no proper support base, had somehow managed to usurp her place while she was away at war, the more infuriated she became.
‘I’d like to make him spit out all his tricks from this very seat. If I knock out one of his molars every time he talks nonsense, he’ll open his mouth quickly enough.’
As the clinking sounds of metal echoed, there was a slight hint of tension in Empress Roellica’s expressionless face.
Then Tenek spoke.
“Well, His Majesty has passed away peacefully, so don’t grieve too much.”
“He was a man of great integrity and uprightness, even when he went off to war.”
At that moment, Tenek’s eyes, which had seemed distracted all along, flashed with ferocity.
“What do you mean by that?”
Erdene bit the inside of her lip and clenched her fist even tighter.
Roellica, who was seated like a ghost by Tenek’s side, looked at her with wide eyes and shook her head very slightly.
It was as if she were saying:
Don’t do that… Don’t do it. Don’t, don’t do it…
Erdene let out a long sigh and lowered her gaze slightly.
“I misspoke, Brother. I apologize.”
However, her apology only fueled Tenek’s anger further.
He sprang up from his seat and, almost stumbling under the weight of the heavy emperor’s attire for his size, descended the tiered steps.
She wished he had stumbled and cracked his head, but unfortunately, the accidental mishap Erdene had hoped for did not occur.
“Do you think the world is really at your feet just because Father favored you? Do you really think that you, a woman, could ever take the emperor’s crown, even over your own brother? Even delusions have their limits, Erdene!”
In that moment, something in Erdene’s mind snapped.
Staring at Tenek, whose face was flushed red from his sudden surge of anger, Erdene burst into laughter.
“Delusions? That’s the funniest thing I’ve heard in my life. Delusions are only for those who dream of things that cannot be achieved. Are there people who even delude themselves into thinking that breathing and eating are delusions?”
Physically frail as he was, Tenek wasn’t a fool.
He clearly understood Erdene’s intentions. Her words meant this:
Sitting on the throne was as natural as breathing and eating for her.
Tenek foamed with indignation.
“Erdene! You’ve gone too far with your loose tongue. Even if you are my kin, you will not escape execution!”
“I spoke well, Brother. After fighting like a dog in the middle of a fierce battlefield for a year and coming back to find this… this nonsense, I’d rather have my head chopped off! You say I can’t take the crown because I’m not a man? That seat was mine. It was my seat that Father promised me!”
Clang. The sound echoed through the air. It was a light and quick sound, but it was loud enough to make everyone in the room jump. Erdene, who was always carrying a large sword with her, had just slammed it down onto the hard golden floor of the Imperial Palace, right in front of Tenek’s feet.
Roellica let out a pitiful cry, like a bird with a broken leg. Tenek’s face was drained of color.
Erdene’s voice was cold and hard as she spoke.
“Do you think I’m just letting you live because I’m too weak to slit your throat right now? I don’t want to be the first to stain the foundation that His Majesty and our ancestors built with their sweat and blood, with dirty blood. So stop any misconceptions or delusions, and quit messing with me.”
She lightly pulled out the sword that had been stuck like soft mud, sheathed it smoothly, and then turned her body sharply.
Tenek, who had been staring at Erdene’s back with bloodshot eyes, even feeling the chill, shouted.
“Stop right there, Erdene!”
Should I just kill him?
Erdene, who had stopped walking and closed her eyes tightly, turned her head slightly. She looked like she was ready to charge at him and break his ribs if he uttered another word.
No, I should have done that. As she looked at Tenek’s sinister face, which suddenly started to break into a sly smile, Erdene regretted not moving faster and punching him in the face.
Tenek said,
“Calm down. The war is over. No man man will look at you, a woman with such a fiery temper.”
A laugh escaped Erdene’s lips.
“Enough with the nonsense. If you keep babbling, I might just have to smack you like I did when we were kids on rainy days. Back then, there was our mother to comfort you, but not anymore, right? Or are you thinking of crying your eyes out in the Empress’s lap?”
TL/N: OUCH.
* * * *
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