Chapter 15
Chapter 15: You Have Nothing
Due to the increased number of people, they decided to cast the teleportation magic in the basement of the main palace rather than the Empress’s palace.
The man who greeted Vinea and the nobles upon their arrival at the main palace was dressed in a crisp suit.
“It’s an honor to meet you, Your Majesty the Empress. I am Deron Morkan, the second son of the Morkan Marquis family. I was newly appointed as His Majesty’s aide a week ago.”
Deron Morkan.
Though pushed out of succession by the eldest son, he was a man of outstanding ability, suitable to be kept and used as a subordinate. Moreover, his high loyalty was always directed towards the imperial family, as long as it didn’t involve treasonous acts like selling out the empire.
Vinea nodded slightly and shifted her gaze away from him. She had thought Tatar might have come along, but it seemed that wasn’t the case. What was he thinking this time?
As Vinea sighed briefly, lost in thought, Eurene stepped forward. Her beautiful face, which had been wearing a faint smile all along, now showed a light expectation.
“Is His Majesty perhaps joining us for the schedule?”
“No, he is not.”
Unable to hide her slight disappointment at his answer, she stepped back.
“May I have a moment, Your Majesty the Empress?”
With Vinea’s permission, Deron approached and whispered in a low voice.
“His Majesty sent me as Your Majesty’s supervisor. He instructed me to inform you in advance.”
Even as he spoke, Deron’s face was full of confusion, as if unsure whether the order he had received was correct.
It wasn’t unexpected. As it wasn’t something to be greatly concerned about, Vinea turned and ordered the waiting magicians.
“Let’s depart.”
As the magicians activated the magic circle drawn on the floor, a bright light enveloped the space. When they opened their eyes a moment later, a completely different landscape unfolded before them.
A vast prairie, gray stone walls blocking the view behind it, buildings of the knights’ order made of the same stone, and knights in silver armor.
“Ugh… ugh…”
“I feel dizzy…”
Vinea frowned slightly at the groaning sounds from behind.
Thanks to the magicians, reaching the border wasn’t too difficult, but some unfamiliar noble ladies and young ladies were complaining of dizziness.
At that moment, a man with a bear-like build, wearing a training uniform with leather patches, stepped forward.
“It’s an honor to be in the presence of Tessibania’s glory! I am Marje Talio, the vice-commander of the Dawn Knights Order.”
“—Papa!”
The daughter of Lady Talio rushed forward. Surprised by her sudden appearance, the vice-commander embraced his daughter with a startled expression.
Then, belatedly noticing the noble ladies and young ladies who appeared to be at least in their twenties, his expression darkened. The faces of the knights standing behind him were not much different from Marquis Talio’s.
They all wore the expressions of people facing a troublesome situation.
“Oh my…”
With a troubled face, the vice-commander sighed deeply and returned his daughter, who had been in his arms, to Lady Talio.
“Normally, the commander himself should greet you, but in fact, due to an epidemic spreading in the village adjacent to the knights’ order, it has become difficult.”
At the ominous word, murmurs spread among the nobles, and the young ladies staggered with pale faces.
Amidst all this, only Vinea maintained a calm expression.
“We sent urgent news to the palace, but it seems there was a misunderstanding.”
Since they had deliberately visited to take advantage of this situation, even if they had arrived, the report might have already ended at Tatar’s level.
Vinea spoke up.
“Any casualties?”
“None yet. However, despite trying every method, there’s no improvement, and the prognosis is not good.”
Vinea began to walk without hesitation. The nobles, gathered with anxious faces, didn’t seem to dare follow her.
That was understandable, given the talk of an epidemic. Even if they could form a connection with the Empress and potentially become the Empress Consort, what use would it be if they died from the disease or lived with aftereffects?
Only Eurene hastily followed Vinea, struggling to compose her shocked expression. The knights tried to stop her, but as the Empress herself paid no attention and continued walking, they had no choice but to step back.
The vice-commander’s face filled with bewilderment at Vinea’s unhesitating steps, unusual for someone visiting for the first time.
“Your Majesty the Empress, this direction is…!”
Before Marquis Talio could stop her, Vinea arrived at a temporary wooden barrack and flung open the door.
“Ugh… ugh!”
“Urgh…!”
Groans of pain echoed from all around.
The knights’ order guarding the border was composed of talents as strong as the imperial palace knights.
They were all of impressive build, so much so that there was a famous description that when seen from afar, they looked like a group of bears wielding swords. Just looking at the vice-commander, his shadow could easily cover two noble young ladies with room to spare, so it wasn’t entirely an exaggeration.
However, those lying on the beds now were so diminished they couldn’t properly grip even a wooden sword.
Rapidly wasting muscles accompanied by high fever, skin turning a sickly blue-green. They all looked not much different from the previous regression. Vinea scrutinized them one by one.
Viscount Talio hurriedly blocked her way.
“Your Majesty the Empress, this place is dangerous as it’s where we’ve gathered the infected knights separately. You must return to the palace immediately.”
As she had only come to confirm, Vinea turned back without hesitation, having finished her assessment.
However, for Eurene standing behind her, it seemed to have been quite a shocking scene, as she staggered with a pale face, holding her forehead.
Vinea snorted softly. How on earth did she manage to calm this calamity in other regressions with that attitude?
The Blessed Lily.
Originally, it was an epithet she had gained by discovering and resolving the epidemic in a village she had visited during her travels.
Despite deliberately scheduling the visit two days earlier than when Eurene was supposed to have originally discovered the epidemic, she had come here again.
‘It seems it wasn’t simply a trip to a travel destination.’
Vinea’s eyes narrowed as her thoughts reached this point. She couldn’t judge yet. Even when repeating the same time, the future often changed depending on choices made.
“Did the epidemic start within the knights’ order?”
“No. It began spreading from a nearby village, and the knights who visited for investigation are believed to have been infected.”
“How many villages are there in total?”
“Two, Haksya and Orkan.”
“What’s their size?”
“Each village has less than 200 residents. They say it was originally one village that split due to the war.”
It seemed they had divided into two to reduce the number of people conscripted for war, as larger villages had more people drafted.
The vice-commander seemed to be watching for her reaction, but Vinea showed no concern. In a life worn and tedious from repetition, how could she bother about a war that had already ended?
“Is that all there is around here, just the villages and the knights’ order?”
“There are two temples at a distance. One was abandoned due to flood damage, and the other—”
“—is where Sefitiana is buried.”
At that moment, Eurene’s green eyes wavered. Catching this fleeting emotion, Vinea’s lips curved into a smile.
Sefitiana. So that’s what she had come looking for. Though it was unclear how she knew that Sefitiana was secretly kept in the temple, that stone had long since been shattered and disappeared.
Moreover, even in regressions where Eurene hadn’t discovered Sefitiana, there had never been news of her finding it. Even if she knew of Sefitiana’s existence, it was assumed she couldn’t figure out the way to the underground chamber where it was hidden.
Poor Eurene Castallo. How frustrated she must be feeling now, having lost what she thought was hers.
Vinea, self-deprecating her own twisted nature no less than Tatar’s, averted her gaze from Eurene.
“I’ll go to the village myself.”
“It’s dangerous for you to go in person, Your Majesty.”
“Then shall I send them instead?”
Following Vinea’s gaze, the vice-commander swallowed hard.
Noble ladies shouting to return to the palace immediately, frightened young ladies, and amidst all this, those pestering Deron, Tatar’s aide, trying to impress him. It was utter chaos.
“You stay here and command the knights’ order.”
“That’s not possible.”
“Judging by the absence of the commander, he must be in the village, so your absence shouldn’t be a big problem. The war is over.”
“But…”
“You’d move so readily, leaving your wife and daughter you’ve just reunited with here?”
Glancing at his wife and young daughter watching him anxiously from afar, he had no choice but to reluctantly back down.
Eventually, he brought a sturdy knight.
“The commander is isolating the residents in Haksya village, which is presumed to be the starting point.”
“I’ll depart immediately. Lend me a horse that fits my build.”
“Understood.”
While the knights briefly left to prepare, Eurene, standing beside Vinea, took a step closer to her.
“I’d like to accompany you, Your Majesty the Empress.”
At Eurene’s sudden request, Vinea stared at her intently. Eurene flinched and lowered her head under the blue eyes that were difficult to read thoughts from.
“Why?”
“Even if I’m afraid, I can’t ignore my duty. I am a noble, after all.”
How admirably upright she was, unlike the other nobles clamoring to the innocent knights to send them back to the palace.
However, even Eurene herself wouldn’t know how sharp the cross-section becomes when that upright nature bends. Only those who have been stabbed by her would know.
Vinea approached Eurene and raised her hand to brush aside her disheveled side hair. It was a quite familiar gesture, as if done to an old friend.
“I’m sorry, but the duty you bear isn’t heavy enough to warrant handling this matter. If anything, it’s a problem that I, as the Empress, should bear.”
Vinea’s hands grasped Eurene’s shoulders. The distance suddenly closed, to where only Eurene could hear Vinea’s voice.
“I know a lot about you. Eurene Castallo. The one who shared his childhood, was it?”
“Did you hear about me from my brother?”
Brother. What an intimate term to use for the Emperor of the empire, especially in front of his wife. Was it innocence, or cunning disguised as innocence?
Seeing the hope reflected in those slightly widened green eyes was both pitiful and amusing, making Vinea smile even more deeply.
“Did you think I would come to step on the land of a former enemy country without researching the one who strived most to claim this land?”
Eurene’s expression hardened as she recognized the blade hidden in the whispered words.
“He didn’t say a word about you. Whether there was no need to, or he had completely forgotten, I’m not sure.”
It was commendable how she kept her mouth shut despite her neck turning red with anger.
This too was a sight only seen in the early stages of regression.
As time passed, this current brazen appearance would disappear, leaving only a woman consumed by evil and greed. It happened every time, in every regression.
“Still, I’m relieved to see you like this. Seeing you in person, you are…”
Vinea knew well that she wasn’t particularly kind. That’s why she had no generosity to spare for those coveting what was hers.
With her eyes slightly curved, Vinea drove a knife into Eurene’s pride.
“…quite far from my husband’s taste in faces.”
