Chapter 1. Kill the Empress
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***
Anna doubted if she could do it at the moment.
She was scared, too.
She was scared to go in there and see what she would see, and she was scared that I wouldn’t be able to do it. What if something would go wrong with the mother or baby…………?
The moment she went in there, she had to think about the disadvantages or risks she would face if something went wrong.
However…
‘This is an opportunity…I can’t miss it.’
A sharp, keen mind ended with the sharp decision.
Just the thought of entering the birthing room made her break out in a cold sweat, but nothing could change if she just shrank back in fear.
On the other hand, she felt that there was nothing she couldn’t do if she could be of any use in creating and saving life.
It was worth a thousand times more to try to keep them alive than to watch them die.
“Yes.”
Anna nodded towards Henrik. The slight smile was meant to reassure him.
“If I can be of any help, I’d be willing.”
Having made up her mind, Anna removed the heavy robe she was wearing.
***
Chirp. Chirp.
When Roselyn arrived at the Amor Royal Palace, she looked up at the sky at the sound of a familiar bird crying.
She saw a small beak with a red crown that she hadn’t seen in a long time.
A little surprised, a little happy. Roselyn smiled.
It was a bird Anna used to have………
She called it “Pippi”.
Anna had it when it was very young and raised it until it died.
It was a cute, intelligent bird with lots of affection.
Once the owner was made, it would not fly far if the cage was opened and it would sleep by its owner’s side at night.
It was a bird that Roselyn loved very much because of its unusual and adorable nature.
She even stayed with Anna when she made a small grave for the dead bird.
Hugging Anna, who was shedding tears, Roselyn also rubbed her eyes slightly.
When was that?
Come to think of it, it was already six or seven years ago.
‘Is Anna okay?’
Roselyn was worried about Anna after all this time.
Was she safe? Did she receive the letter well? Was she overwhelmed right now?
Roselyn was worried about everything.
Anna was her best friend who was gentle and soft hearted.
Yes, they were around the same age, but Roselyn always felt a strange sense of obligation to take better care of Anna herself.
However, she was a good friend who was able to get things done quickly and well before Roselyn could help her…
“What are you thinking about?”
“Birds. Because the birds are so beautiful.”
“The birds?”
Tamon, who was escorting Roselyn, looked after her.
Amor’s royal palace, which boasted lush gardens, had all kinds of small birds roaming about.
There were six birds that immediately caught his attention, but he didn’t know what bird Roselyn was talking about.
“They’ve already flown away. I’ll wait.”
She first averted her gaze and looked ahead.
Now was not the time to be frightened and worried about Anna.
She had to talk to Theo about how to get back to Tanatos.
‘I’ll be there soon, Anna.’
Roselyn straightened her back as she walked through Amor Imperial Palace.
Tamon took Anna’s place and walked with her, guarding her side.
****
Theoransha Lantifu’s office was overflowing with papers of every kind.
Lucy Liliana, a close aide, cleaned up every day, but the office was messy several times a day due to Theo’s personality, who was not very organized.
What was interesting was that Theo was good at finding the documents she wanted among the chaotic piles.
So there were times when she couldn’t tell more about the need for organization.
Documents about local taxes, noble taxes, new bills, security in the capital, and barbarians targeting the frontier came up every day without boredom.
She wondered why she had to go through so much trouble herself when the role of the king of another country was so easy.
“It’s because Your Majesty puts off your work every day and handles it all at once.”
Lucy stood calmly beside Theo and mumbled with red eyes.
“I’m not putting it off.”
“Well, I’ve never served a king other than Your Majesty, so there’s no comparison.”
“Don’t be so bitter. Why don’t you help me, Lucy?”
“How can I so recklessly take the King’s seal of state? Unfortunately, this is all a matter for Your Majesty has to deal with directly. Anything I can do is already done and over with by me.”
Theo glared at Lucy hatefully, but there was no way she could win.
There were two opponents that Theo had a hard time winning against, the first was Tamon Krasis, and the second was right here, Lucy Liliana.
“Is it bad luck for everyone to be clever?”
“Thank you for calling me clever. I take that as a compliment.”
“It’s not a compliment.”
“…… Yes, think as you please.”
Theo lifted her head brightly, remembering her afternoon appointment after being tormented by papers all morning.
“She would be here today, right?”
“You mean the woman from General Krasis’s residence?”
“Yes, Aranrosia.”
Aranrosia.
Lucy, who had studied the ancient Amor language, thought it was a very romantic name.
‘He doesn’t look like it, but he’s more romantic than I thought.’
Tamon was the only man in this country who could defeat demons.
Thinking about the formidable war record and appearance of the General and the diplomatic chief, Lucy still couldn’t believe Tamon came up with that name.
‘Well, it’s a name that suits that woman well………….’
Lucy recalled the former Empress of Tanatos, who had become Aranrosia.
It was a first class secret, but Theo had no secrets from Lucy.
That was how absolute Lucy’s loyalty was.
She didn’t show it so much on the outside, though.
“Have you made up your mind to join her?”
“She had brought evidence of trust, and I must show my trust in the evidence.”
Theo sat leisurely leaning against the chair and looked up at the sky.
It was another beautiful day, clear and sunny enough to be called Amor’s blessing.
She didn’t want to work, and the weather was perfect.
It was an afternoon of waiting to see what the woman had planned to bring to her.
Soon, she received the news that the guest she had been waiting for had arrived.
Without hesitation, Theo slipped out of his office.
“Ha.”
Seeing the scattered desks, Lucy intuited that she would be working the night shift again today, then followed the King, who led the way into the distance.
***
“There are only two families left within Tanatos that can threaten Gillotti.”
Theo nodded knowingly at Roselyn’s words.
“You mean Marquis Helio and the Duke of Gertium?”
“Yes.”
Roselyn moved two glasses that had been placed on the table.
She pointed to the blue teacup on the right and said, “Helio,” and the other one, “Gertium.”
“Now that the Sunset family has collapsed, Helio is probably the family the Emperor of Tanatos now fears the most. I’m sure they are also well prepared for the defeat of Gillotti, who was crazy and destroyed the Sunset in an instant.”
Marquis Helio must also be aware of the fact that he was like an enemy in the eyes of the Emperor.
He also didn’t know when the emperor’s ability would attack him, which even led to an uneasy situation.
Fortunately, however, Gillotti’s power of death could not overcome geographical limitations.
It was a matter unknown to the outside world, but Gillotti’s ability was subject to many restrictions.
It could not be extended beyond tens of thousands of kilometers.
The previous emperor had killed all the generals of the enemy army with his ability alone, but that was impossible for Gillotti. His ability was too indirect.
He had to be close to his opponent, and he had to make precise eye contact with that opponent.
For this reason, the previous emperor always treated Gillotti as insufficient.
It was an obscenely crude ability to call it a different ability.
The previous emperor was always ashamed of Gillotti because of his son’s insufficient ability.
It was certain that Gillotti’s ability was less than those of his predecessors, but the outside world was not informed of the extent to which his ability was lacking.
But Roselyn knew.
‘It’s a couple of kilometers radius at most. He has to look directly at the face.’
It was impossible to kill even that at once, so he limited himself to planting diseases and bad luck.
For this reason, Roselyn also did not think at first that it was Gillotti’s gain that caused my people to die. Charlotte began to have a mild cough, and one day she began to feel much worse.
Thomson, who was enjoying an excellent ride, suddenly fainted on his horse….
It was an all too common and routine death.
There was only one strange thing about such things happening, especially around Roselyn.
‘Come to think of it, my father was sick a lot, too.’
…… Yes, Gillotti must have already been messing with her family at that time.
It was probably for this very reason that her father died by Gillotti’s sword at once.
No matter how old he was, her father was still a knight with some skill.
The fact that Gillotti was able to defeat her father in one blow with his absurd ability was something that would never have happened.
There was a murderous spark in Roselyn’s eyes.
‘How could I have been so foolish as to serve a man who was willing to kill my entire family?’
‘That I had to embrace him, no matter how hateful and ugly he was!’
Roselyn was overcome by her own stupidity, and once more she clenched her fists.
“The Gertinums are essentially called the imperial watchdogs, but the truth is, that was a long time ago. Of course, they have shown a different level of loyalty than the other nobles, but this Duke Gertium is worth trying to convince him.”
“How do you say?”
“Gillotti sent the previous Duke of Gertium and his brother to their deaths on the grounds that it was an imperial order.”
“Since then, the current Duke of Gertium has been going around the frontier on the pretext of border protection.”
“Nevertheless, if the emperor is faced with a crisis, won’t he come running?”
“He would run. But isn’t that what he can do if he doesn’t protect the emperor?”
“Are you saying that you will convince him to do so?”
Roselyn’s eyes sank calmly.
“I will try. And if it doesn’t work…………”
‘I’ll have to remove it.’