Chapter 1. Kill the Empress
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Anna packed up her things right away that day.
Having received Roselyn’s letter, she couldn’t sit idly by.
The letter was short and to the point.
“It’s important that you find Henrik Alpatio.” That was it.
But in that brief sentence, Anna could read all the words Roselyn wanted to convey.
‘Rosie will come back.’
But in order for her to come back, she needed Henrik Alpatio.
From the moment Roselyn became Empress, Anna had stood by her.
There was a reason for all of Roselyn’s actions.
Because of her cautious nature, she never stepped forward to create something, but once she did, Roselyn always brought out the desired result.
‘………I have to help Rosie.’
Anna gritted her teeth.
While Roselyn was locked up in the dungeon, Anna watched the Sunset family’s tragic end.
The Puglish locked her (Anna) up, fearing that she might cause trouble, but Anna couldn’t help but get out.
The corpses of the dead Duke and his wife, and Cain, who held them and cried.
……. Cain.
His head fell without closing his eyes properly.
It was only a few moments before the blade of a bright blue sword slit his throat, and she felt her eyes meet his.
She couldn’t be sure because she couldn’t watch the scene and closed her eyes tightly… …………
The scene of the day has been lying on her chest with a grave dug into her.
At any time, Cain, whose neck was cut off, seemed to come back to life and grab her.
“Where are you going, My Lady?”
“I’m going to my father.”
“To Viscount Rotrega? Where do you think he is now………….”
“I know where he is most of the time. He always goes to Uncle George’s at this time of year.”
“Oh yes! He always goes to Uncle George’s because he says the salmon caught there is delicious.”
“That’s right. It’s not too far from here.”
From Noem, on the southeastern edge of the country, it would take six days by carriage to the tail of the Kralturian Mountains.
The shallow mountain range was easy to cross, and there was a region with a spectacular view of a large river connected to the sea, where Count George was.
The Count, who had a friendship of almost fifty years with Viscount Rotrega, was also closely related to Henrik Alpatio.
This was because Henrik’s third sister was Countess Marktopp.
‘I should go there first.’
Anna got on the carriage without delay.
****
Sigh.
Ronasso left the royal palace and sighed for a long time.
“Why am I Ronasso Bashel!”
Like the protagonist in a tragic play, he huddled his forehead against the wall and mumbled melancholy. His head was a jumble.
The king summoned him and commanded with a nasty look.
“Bring me the secret of Tamon Krasis.”
“Um, what’s that….”
“Ronasso Bashel, you must remember who it is that you have sworn allegiance to.”
Theo’s smile, as she said this, looked crueler than ever.
If he didn’t tell the secret of his best friend within 10 days, Ronasso and his Knights would be forced to leave for labor in the northeastern Gargarsia Mountains, where gaps were concentrated.
Of course, it was going to be quite a burden for the king to send the First Order to such an outlying and distant place.
And yet, the fact that Theo ordered him with threats was because she knew very well how much Ronasso cared for his Knights.
“My God, why do you put me through this ordeal!”
Ronasso swallowed tears as he trudged through the noisy streets in preparation for the festival.
Friendship or loyalty, that was the question.
‘And Tamon Krasis has more than one or two secrets.’
The first was that he had awakened a ‘different power’ that could shake the continent; the second was that he had sheltered the Empress of Tanatos, whom the king thought of as an enemy; and the third was that Tamon and the Empress of that very enemy country….
“No! No, no, no! Don’t think that far.”
Ronasso hastily shook his head and shouted angrily.
At a glance, he acted like a handsome madman.
Some of the people who passed by him whispered in hushed tones, but his knightly armor prevented them from raising their voices in an imposing manner.
Ronasso suddenly looked around at the crowded area.
He wondered why there were so many people there, and then he saw the colorful lanterns decorating the sky.
‘Ah, yes. It’s the flower offering festival.’
The other day, when he brought Amelia a wedding gift, they had a conversation about the flower festival was just around the corner.
Amelia smiled shyly, saying she set a date to avoid the festival period so that the wedding would not be distracted.
She was a lovely girl.
Even when the Ronasso family was in turmoil, Amelia casually approached him and held out her hand.
‘She was very young to know such things.’
Ronasso was fifteen and Amelia was nine.
Time passed and the affection of that time remained, and after the death of her uncle and his wife, Ronasso became Amelia’s guardian and took care of her.
This was possible because of the change in royal power and the brilliant achievements of Tamon and Ronasso.
Thanks to Tamon, Ronasso washed away the stigma of the past.………
“Tamon……………… What about him?”
Ronasso , who was staring up at the wind lamp blankly, turned his head.
He hurried his steps and ran to Tamon.
***
“What?”
Hearing only two words, Ronasso realized that Tamon wasn’t in very good condition right now.
“What’s wrong?”
He wasn’t even tired, but the red eyes looked much deeper as his under eye bags disappeared. The dim look in his eyes was grim. If he touched him a little, it was for sure Tamon would bite him off.
‘Did I come at the wrong time?’
Tamon usually wore loose clothing when he was at his private residence, but today his clothes were perfectly arranged.
The fact that Tamon was dressed like that meant that he was ready for battle at any time.
“On such a good day, why do you look like you’re going to beat someone up?”
And he had a feeling that it would be him who would be beaten in the end.
However, having come this far, he couldn’t just back out.
“It’s noisy when it’s a festival outside, but it’s quiet here.”
“I have something to say.”
Ronasso said in a tense voice with bated breath.
“Her Majesty has summoned me.” (Ronasso)
“Because you are the Commander of the Royal Guards.” (Tamon)
Tamon replied indifferently, “What’s the big deal?”
Ronasso replied a little frustrated.
“It wouldn’t be a big deal if she called me about the Royal affairs, but isn’t it a big deal because I was called because of you?”
“It depends on the reason.” (Tamon)
“She wants me to share your secrets!” (Ronasso)
Unable to stand it, Ronasso hit his chest and shouted loudly.
Then Tamon glanced up and chuckled.
“She’s desperate. She ordered a friend to tell you a friend’s secret.”
“She threatened to send the First Order to the Gargarsia Mountains if I didn’t bring her your secrets.”
Tamon shook his head at Ronasso’s words.
Leaning back on the sofa and staring into the void, Tamon rubbed his chin for a moment and said.
“I’m actually allergic to peaches.” (Tamon)
“….. what?”
“Go there and tell her.” (Tamon)
Ronasso’s expression crumpled as he wondered what Tamon meant.
“You want me to get beaten, don’t you?” (Ronasso)
“Hmm…………….. What else is there? Oh, that’s right. Also tell her that I deliberately lost the end-of-semester evaluation in my third year at the Academy.”
“…”
“And here’s a real secret…” (Tamon)
“….”
“I have a mole on my little toe.” (Tamon)
“Oh, come on!” (Ronasso)
Eventually Ronasso exploded and woke up screaming.
He breathed heavily and paced around the parlor for a while. Then he sat down on the sofa again.
“You’re not even worried? It doesn’t matter if you’re Tamon Krasis, the secret you have now can get you killed. At least she’ll have a good reason to order your exile.” (Ronasso)
“Even if she doesn’t, I’m diverting my wealth just in case. Ah! This is also a secret. Please don’t tell Her Majesty about this, Ronasso. It really is a secret.”
Tamon covered his lips with his fingers and made a shush sound.
It seemed that he was trying to relieve the stress of the day by toying with Ronasso.
Ronasso sighed deeply, trying to suppress the rising anger in his chest.
The eyes of the storm were quiet, and yet he felt more distressed watching it.
He shouldn’t but he couldn’t wait to see Tamon smile when he had to stand at the cliff himself.
“Hahhh.”
Then he sighed loudly. Tamon heard it but was just looking at the void without a care in the world.
As if he remembered now, Tamon searched for the cigar box he had placed under the table.
He put it in his mouth, and lit it with a match and exhaled a puff of white smoke.
The room was quickly filled with white smoke.
The distinctive aroma of the cigar hit Ronasso’s nose.
It was a scent that he had never liked much to begin with, but he had gotten used to it when he was around Tamon. Tamon had found this cigar at the onset of his blood disease.
It served to reduce the pain and simplify his complicated mind.
Ronasso sometimes wondered how painful the sickness was for a strong man like Tamon to need this cigar.
Then suddenly a strange feeling of discomfort made Ronasso tilt his head.
“But you… you’re not in pain anymore, are you?”