Chapter 1. Kill the Empress
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Roselyn stared at Gertium’s glass with a thin gaze.
She will not wait and see if that huge family will stand on the side of the Gillotti.
All things change. Those that can’t adapt to the changes will be eliminated.
Isn’t it time for their unconditional ‘outdated allegiance’ to change as well?
“That’s for Gertium, well then, what are you going to do about Helio?”
Roselyn replied with a leisurely smile.
“You have to conciliate.”
“Comforting?”
She meant to attract him to her side.
“It’s a family with strong power, and it’s excellent in ability. The emperor knows that, so he keeps it in check.”
“How do you plan to win them over?”
“The bait has already been thrown in his (Helio) direction.”
Roselyn has sent letters to Helio countless times.
In them, she wrote about the many evil deeds that Gillotti had committed to keep Marquis Helio in check.
And some temporary measures to counter Gillotti’s power.
“Things may not work out as easily as I think. But if you don’t commit to it, you can’t surpass it. Just as Gillotti did.”
The conversation between Theo and Roselyn deepened.
So far all Tamon had done was pour tea for Roselyn or played with Roselyn’s hair.
Sometimes he chimed in, sometimes he chided, but his opinion was not among them.
There was only fierce support.
Roselyn and Theo felt it, too.
“…That traitor.”
It was a moment when it was hard to tell who was the King.
Theo quickly brushed Tamon’s shin under the table, as if to say, come on.
Of course, Tamon just laughed and didn’t even flinch.
“Persuasion and conciliation. Why would you want to persuade and seduce those two? I’m sure you have some idea of their weaknesses, don’t you?”
“It’s necessary.”
“Necessary? If you’re trying to destroy Tanatos, wouldn’t it be better to remove them than to persuade and appease them?”
It was an extremely hostile idea.
Roselyn shook her head with a faint laugh.
“What I want is the downfall of the Imperial family of Tanatos, not the disappearance of Tanatos itself.”
Theo’s brows twitched as she heard Roselyn’s words.
Tamon, who had been silently watching their conversation, quietly leaned forward and pushed himself between the two of them.
“I think you’re saying something different from the beginning.”
“No. Not at all.”
Roselyn said, smiling and speaking clearly in a steady voice.
“I’m going to kill Gillotti.”
These were the words she had shouted earlier that day, her sore fingertips clenched in a fist, sadly.
Looking back, Roselyn said in the same voice and tone.
“That’s what I said that day. Can’t you remember?”
Of course, she looked more comfortable than she did then.
Theo rubbed her chin at Roselyn’s words, remembering that morning.
Yes, it was certain that that woman didn’t say she would bring Tanatos down.
She only said she was going to kill Gillotti.
Only then did Theo think it was a mistake.
‘Oh.’
‘I’ve fallen into the language trap that woman dug up for me.’
Theo belatedly clicked her tongue.
As fragile and brittle as this alliance has been, she didn’t want to do anything so dirty now.
The only thing was, it seemed she had to rethink things clearly.
“I want the complete downfall of Tanatos, and you only want the death of Gillotti Tanatos?”
Roselyn shook her head slowly.
“The downfall of Tanatos will proceed in a natural order. It would be arrogant to say that the country is the same as it was before when the mainstay families, not to mention the imperial family, disappear or change.”
“Which means that in the end, I want Tanatos to perish………..”
“But if a country so huge and delicious was destroyed, the surrounding countries would not let the prey go free.”
Tanatos was a country that had endured for hundreds of years, nearly a thousand years, as the strongest country among the surrounding countries.
A golden land with vast enough assets to overcome the barren environment.
Who would not want to sink their teeth into this huge prey once?
“If that happens, it will not be the fallen imperial family that will suffer in the end, but the people of Tanatos.”
Roselyn didn’t want as much as that.
The glorious and great imperial family did not rule the people with such tolerance.
But did the commoners of Tanatos rake in the resources of the country?
No, they did not. They simply lived their lives in the harsh environment.
Roselyn didn’t want those innocent people to suffer the pain of their superiors’ political struggles.
“I will change that, but I will keep the sacrifices to a minimum.”
Roselyn gave a small smile towards Theo.
“I trust that you will understand my heart.”
Theoransha Lantifu.
She was the king who loved this country more than anyone else.
Then she must understand Roselyn’s heart now.
Theo stiffened, but sighed with a hand on her forehead.
“I understand. Then what is the method?”
“Rebellion.”
“…”
“Rebel?”
Roselyn’s gaze landed on the two glasses on the table.
“…The leader of the rebellion will be one of these two.”
“Easy for you to say.”
“It has to be that way.”
Smirking, Roselyn looked back at Tamon, who had been playing with her hair.
“If you help me.”
Tamon’s red eyes peered deep into Roselyn’s.
He didn’t expect that she would say these words to him, and he even looked somewhat surprised.
He licked his lips and carefully kissed the tips of Roselyn’s long hair.
“Is that your third wish?”
In a voice that had no will to resist, he gently complied.
“If so, I’m willing to listen to it.”
Roselyn’s lips rose smoothly, as if she knew it.
***
Theo, who was left alone, stood in a daze in front of the huge window.
Through the bright, open window overlooking the city, she could see her beloved Ginesh. (The capital of Amor)
The red sunset spread like a mist over the colorful city.
The red evening glow hung over the spiky Prochade Cathedral, over the shady greenery planted all over the city, and over the very small looking squares.
She caught a glimpse of white flowers blooming on the daisies they had planted around the small rivers that make the city shine for the festive season.
It was not too grand, not too ordinary.
It was the kind of scenery that wasn’t too overwhelming but it would raise the eyes and people wouldn’t get tired of looking at it for a while.
It was a precious panoramic view that she would not have been able to see if she had not laid down her peace.
“Keep the sacrifices to a minimum.”
“I trust that you will understand my heart.”
Roselyn stated that she wished for the downfall of the Imperial family, but not for the downfall of the entire country.
And she knew exactly how Theo felt about that.
“She’s a clever woman.”
Theo murmured with a chuckle.
The way Roselyn did things was a little different, but her fox-like face was just like Tamon’s.
‘Hm, isn’t it? Tamon is a bit more of the flirtatious type, and this woman seems to be the overt type.’
Theo rubbed her chin and shook her head after worrying about useless things.
What does it matter that one of them is a snake and one of them is a fox?
What matters now is that she has a hand in the downfall of Tanatos, or rather the Tanatos royal family.
“Your Majesty.”
Lucy caught Theo’s gaze as she handed her the icy rum.
“Do you really intend to visit with the Princess of Lumosha?”
“I promised, so I’ll go and come back.”
Theo replied disinterestedly, killing her lips with a piquant swallow.
The scent of rum that came in this year was amazing.
She drank a little more slowly, savoring the aroma.
Hesitating, Lucy said again.
“You’re going to get rid of your powers. Is that — is that possible?”
Theo was silent for a moment at Lucy’s words.
Roselyn’s voice echoed in her ears.
“If what they believe in is power, then it will be destroyed.”
“You mean to get rid of… the ability?”
These were words that sent shivers down Theo’s spine as she, too, had a different ability.
But on the other hand, she had a feeling that everything would be much easier if the mad man with power that ruled Tanatos was gone.
Of course, even without the power, the country’s assets were enough to give it the appearance of a powerful country. So, in other words, the country would not be completely destroyed just because it did not have a single ability.
And the woman seemed to be well aware of that.
“They say that when holy relics are gathered together, they produce a special resonance. On the temple side, they call it the voice of God. They said that in the distant past, someone had collected them and made a wish, and it had come true. I’m going to bet on that.”
In a way, it was a vain story. It could have been dismissed as a fairy tale-like argument that made no sense.
But …………………
Theo looked down at her palm for a moment.
This itself is an incredible power to begin with.
It is a destructive power that ordinary people cannot even dream of.
It was a special ability given to only five people, or maybe now only four.
“But it’s also true that it’s getting weaker and weaker.”
Theo rubbed her chin gently.
She had a feeling that something was changing. She couldn’t quite put her finger on what it was, but slowly, surely, a change was coming.
She clenched her fists several times and then released it.
The last “gap” phenomenon was unusual.
The gaps occurred mainly in the outskirts of the city, and even when they did occur within the city, almost only a few monsters poured out.
There had been about 17.5 reports of gaps being found within Amor in the past year.
This was a decrease of 2.1 times based on last year, and a decrease of about 3 times the year before last.
Theo looked at data from other countries to be sure, and got similar results for Lumosha and Nyrux.
The gap phenomenon was decreasing, and the power was getting weaker.
Besides…………………
“Prophet Hartz passed on the secret. With his help, we’ll be able to locate other holy relics.”
“ Do you know what that means?”
“He wants us to collect the holy relics.”
A prophet who was helping her, who was gathering holy relics to get rid of the mad man’s power.
“Ha, that’s amazing.”
“Huh?”
“It’s quite astonishing……..!”
Ha!
Theo drank down the glass she was holding in one gulp.
Then, with a light clink, she set the glass on the table.
“The prophet of the Future has placed a bet on Aranrosia. What do you think that means, Lucy?”
“What does that mean…..”
“It means that he has placed a bet on the future she will create!”
Now the fog in her mind finally lifted.
“Times will be different. Hartz must have foreseen that in advance!”
Roselyn, or Aranrosia, will undoubtedly eliminate Gillotti’s ability. And a new era will be opened!