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104th Chapter

“That’s a relief.”

I chuckled at Pepper, who was eyeing me suspiciously. As I let out a sigh, he narrowed his brow in displeasure.

“…Are you joking with me?”

“Do I look like I’m joking right now?”

I wiped the smile from my face and met his serious gaze. His pupils wavered slightly as he focused intently on me.

“I’m really glad to have someone like you serving my lord.”

Without Pepper, Diego would have been assassinated long ago. It was truly fortunate to have such a loyal and upright person protecting him.

The mention of “my lord” made Pepper’s pupils tremble even more. He seemed to be struggling to maintain composure, trying hard to look sharp.

“You won’t deceive me just because you say that. It seems my lord has already given his heart to the princess, but I will never believe it until the end.”

“I have already pledged my loyalty to my lord.”

At the mention of a loyalty pledge, Pepper’s eyes shook again. It seemed he couldn’t decide whether to trust me or not.

“H-how am I supposed to believe that?!”

“Can’t you just ask my lord directly?”

Pepper’s mouth snapped shut.

In the Solarit Empire, where the distinction between lord and vassal is clear, a loyalty pledge is never taken lightly. There was no need to be suspicious; simply asking the person who had received the pledge would resolve the matter.

“…Still, I will never trust the princess.”

Pepper bit his lip and stared at me with determined eyes.

His light brown eyes, bubbling with a firm will and loyalty. He might have misjudged the target of his suspicion, but it was a good attitude for a bodyguard.

“You have a good gaze.”

With a faint smile, I sheathed my sword, leaving Pepper wearing a dubious expression behind me.

“Let’s do our best as those who serve the same lord.”

“Don’t brush it off like that! I will…!”

“Don’t trust me.”

Cutting him off decisively made Pepper freeze momentarily.

I had no intention of forcing him to trust me. It was a good habit for a bodyguard not to trust just anyone.

I met his gaze with calm eyes.

“Don’t trust, keep doubting. Make sure to keep watching me as someone who could become a hindrance to my lord. I’ll keep my eye on you.”

“…Me?”

“Having someone watch over you makes you work harder, doesn’t it? I’ll observe and see if you’re truly competent.”

While maintaining a confident smile, I extended my hand to Pepper.

“I won’t deny that I’m a suspicious person. So go ahead and doubt me. Keep doubting, and when you judge that I’m trustworthy, then trust me. Until then, I’ll rely on your watchfulness. Let’s do our best for those who serve the same lord.”

I wasn’t fond of long speeches. I preferred actions over lengthy conversations to demonstrate my intentions, so I was willing to accept his suspicions until he completely trusted me.

Pepper stared intently at my outstretched hand. I felt a bit awkward until he finally looked up and met my eyes.

“I see why… you hold the princess dear.”

Pepper, who had seemed ready to bite off my head, unexpectedly offered a compliment, making me feel slightly embarrassed.

As I scratched the back of my head and glanced away, Pepper took my hand firmly. His rough, thick, and distinctly knightly hand grasped mine.

“…I won’t easily believe you. I didn’t cancel my advice to keep my distance from my lord either. But… I’ll keep an eye on you.”

Still, the way he spoke felt too arrogant for a knight from a Count’s family. Yet that somehow amused me, and I chuckled, shaking our joined hands.

“Will you handle the assassins?”

“Yes. I can’t leave such matters to the princess.”

Even his blunt tone had an oddly endearing quality to it.

I bit my cheek to stifle a laugh and glanced at the assassins.

The surroundings were drenched in red blood. Between them lay the unconscious assassins, and I felt all the joy I had briefly felt plummet once more.

“What will you do with the assassins?”

“They must be killed.”

“…Now?”

Pepper unsheathed his sword without hesitation.

“You know, attempting to assassinate royalty warrants immediate execution.”

I know. I was aware. The assassins deserved to die. Their life force had to be cut off.

But still.

“Wait. If it’s alright, I’ll leave and then you can end their lives.”

At this moment, I wasn’t ready to see the bodies. Just the thought of it made me feel nauseous.

Pepper, who had been approaching the assassins as if to take swift action, paused and gave me a puzzled look. He had swung his sword without hesitation when subduing them, yet now he seemed to hesitate at the thought of killing them.

I choked back the urge to vomit and forced a smile.

“Please. Just a little later.”

The war hadn’t started yet, after all.

I reassured myself like that.

“…Alright.”

After watching my expression for a moment, Pepper finally replied. He sheathed his sword without another word.

“Shall I escort you to where the carriage is?”

“No need.”

“Understood.”

It was customary to offer three times, yet he withdrew his offer too quickly. I thought this bluntness had become one of Pepper’s charms.

“Then let’s go inside.”

“Yes. You too, take care.”

His demeanor was more respectful than before, possibly due to my earlier comment. I nodded and began to walk away.

▽

As I took several steps, there was a sound of flesh being pierced. A heavy scent of blood wafted in the air.

As a Sword Master, I could vividly sense the situation happening far behind me.

‘It’s alright. They probably didn’t notice.’

I was glad that my trembling hands and unfocused eyes didn’t show much.

♦

After the Kashmir Crisis.

The Empress’s audience chamber was silent. In the midst of the suffocating silence, Tina Cypros exhaled a deep breath, holding a teacup.

“I forge my own honor.”

Her quiet whisper carried the stains of resentment left by Kashmir.

Tina lifted the teacup to take a sip, but her appetite vanished, and she set it down. Distress marked her face.

The sound of a communication magic tool rang through the serene audience chamber. Tina Cypros retrieved the communication tool from her pocket and stared at it for a while before taking a deep breath and answering.

– How is the assimilation of the Kashmir Crisis going?

A low, rough voice that dared to speak without greeting the Empress. Tina sighed inwardly at the sound of that annoying voice.

It belonged to Harvest Cypros, her father, Count Cypros.

Her lips remained tightly sealed. She was all too aware of what would come after an honest answer. Recognizing the silence, Harvest clicked his tongue in annoyance.

“Such a disgrace.”

– You failed with the Arya Crisis, and now you fail again? How hard is it to recruit foolish little girls? Just throw in some pretty and expensive things, and that’s all it takes, right?

‘If it looks so easy, why don’t you try it, you bastard?’

Tina Cypros swallowed the curse that almost escaped her lips.

She was wise enough to know that voicing such a sentiment would lead to irreversible consequences.

She did not possess the power to surpass her father.

The only reason Tina could become the Empress was that she was part of the Cypros family, not because she fell in love with Emperor Helios.

Her ability to wear these clothes and enjoy this luxury stemmed entirely from being a Cypros.

Everything about Tina Cypros originated from Cypros. Therefore, she had to repay the favor to the Cypros family using what she had received.

This was an unchanging principle that she had been drilled on by her father since childhood.

None of Tina’s possessions truly belonged to her.

While biting her lips until they bled, Tina took a deep breath to calm her emotions.

Even though it was wretched to have to bow to a Count, she could not show any sign of it.

“I’m sorry.”

– Tsk. This is why you shouldn’t assign tasks to girls. They never do anything properly.

‘Then you do it, then.’

“…I will try harder.” – Just working hard won’t amount to anything! Eventually, that Diego fellow became the Crown Prince, and you failed to assimilate the Crisis! What a useless person.

Tina Cypros accepted his pouring insults with composure.

There was a daily routine of her father’s messages and the relentless criticisms he directed at her. It was far too familiar to her.

‘Maybe I should just throw it all away.’

But just being accustomed to it didn’t make it acceptable.

Feeling her head throb, Tina wished she could throw the magical tool away.

– Next time you fail, you should start thinking about stepping down from being Empress.

Thud.

Tina’s heart shattered.

It was just her father’s habitual threat. No matter how much Harvest Cypros boasted, he could not simply remove the Empress from power. Even knowing that, it was always chilling.

‘The position of Empress is the only power I possess.’

The title of ‘Empress’ was the only power Tina Cypros could claim as her own. Even if she cannot wield that with authority, the name of Empress belonged solely to her.

“…I’m sorry, Father. I’ll do better.”

Harvest smiled satisfied at Tina’s obedient voice as she bit her lip.

– That’s more like it. Oh, and tonight, I’ll send assassins to the Crown Prince’s side. About four of them.

“Tonight as well? But didn’t you send some yesterday? Sending them consecutively is…”

– I said I would send them, why so many questions? The simplest way to make Serenon an Emperor is to kill Diego, so what’s there to hesitate about?

– Once Serenon becomes Emperor, everything will be covered up. There’s no need for fancy methods.

Tina bit her lip again. She lacked the power to refute those words.

Harvest let out a chilling laugh.

– And I had a good conversation with that fellow. I spoke to him properly not long ago.

Tina’s eyes widened. She rose from her seat without realizing it.

“Y-you don’t mean… in the North…?”

– Yes. It’s that ‘Hyde’ fellow.

Harvest confirmed, staring at her. Tina’s pupils dilated, and her body trembled lightly.

‘I knew he was power-hungry, but I didn’t expect this level…’

Harvest had mentioned it once before, but she never imagined he would attempt to collude with him. This was madness.

“But teaming up with him is too dangerous! How could you…?”

– Quiet! All that matters is success!

‘But if we fail, it’s all over!’

Tina grit her teeth as she listened to Harvest’s maniacal laughter.

This is a matter of high treason that leaves no room for error. If caught, the entire Cypros family might be exterminated.

– Tsk. I heard your brother was on board immediately, but why do you act like a scared little rat?

Harvest clicked his tongue. Tina barely managed to hold back her rising anger.

– Once a rebellion succeeds, it’s no longer a rebellion. It’s a revolution. History is written by the victors. When the northern winds blow, those who survive in this Empire will be us Cypros.

Tina Cypros tightly closed her eyes.

Never before had she wished so much not to be a Cypros. She did not want to be associated with such madmen.

– Tomorrow, expect news of Diego’s death.

With that brief statement, Harvest cut off the communication. Silence returned to the audience chamber.

Crash!

“Damn it…”

The teacup shattered against the wall. Tina Cypros covered her eyes with one hand.

Many had called her a ruthless Empress mad with power. But that title was only half true.

She was indeed mad for power, but she couldn’t bring herself to be ruthless.

“Profi.”

Whistle!

At Tina’s hushed call, the paper bird that had been quietly resting on her desk came to her, making a sound almost identical to a real bird.

“‘Regarding the plan to send four assassins tonight.’ To Diego Solarit and Pepper Ellervaine in the Crown Prince’s palace.”

Whistle! Chirp!

The paper bird chirped cheerfully before disintegrating into the air.

A magical tool for communication that leaves no trace of the sender while providing information only to the specified individuals.

Every time the Cypros family plotted Diego’s assassination, Tina Cypros managed to relay information to the Crown Prince’s palace without disclosing her identity.

‘I want power, but I don’t want to kill Diego. I also don’t want to kill Helios…’

Even if he were not her biological son, Diego Solarit was still her child. She wanted to make Serenon Emperor, but she had no desire to kill Diego.

The same went for Helios Solarit. Although their marriage was loveless, he was her husband and, before that, a human being.

Tina Cypros did not wish to commit murder.

‘I have to inform someone.’

She couldn’t let this madness continue. While there would be consequences if she failed, success also posed a problem.

‘Many will die.’

She was not a monster willing to commit a massacre for power. She had to stop this grand conspiracy.

‘Who can I ask for help?’

However, she had no one to turn to.

Helios surely had the power to help her. But he was a merciless ruler. There was no guarantee he would save her, an informer, and the central figure in a rebellion.

Diego could also help her. However, he likely saw Tina Cypros as the main culprit behind his assassination request. There was no certainty that he would trust her.

‘Am I to ask for help from both my husband and son?’

A surge of self-loathing boiled up within her.

Amidst the myriad of concerns, a certain name suddenly came to mind.

That person held a remarkably upright gaze. So upright and aloof, they seemed closer to a transcendent than a human.

With an impossibly deep pink hue in their transparent eyes, Tina felt breathless every time their gaze touched her.

Endlessly righteous, a person capable of helping Tina Cypros.

‘…Kashmir Crisis.’

Tina Cypros began to devise a way to collude with the Kashmir Crisis.

‘I have no power to stop it. All I can do is leak information.’

That was why she wanted to make Serenon an Emperor.

Unlike transient love, power endures. If she had power, Serenon would not be treated like this.

Tina Cypros hoped that Serenon Solarit would not follow in her footsteps.

She buried her face in her hands.

She did not shed tears. Having lived in this barren imperial palace, her tear ducts had dried up long ago.

All that remained was a painful heart.

Gripping something tightly in both hands, she realized that none of it truly belonged to her.

“I too, want to forge my own honor through my power.”

She quietly murmured a response she could not voice.

No one knew the true circumstances of the villain.

 

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