Chapter 130
‘Indeed. As Asha said, if we hadn’t taken precautions, this war would have become quite messy.’
Their numbers were impressive. The audacity to plot an invasion of the Empire was, in a way, remarkable.
Duke Balkyrino, who had let a foreign army into imperial territory, was now undeniably a traitor…
“A nation-seller.”
A crime that no one could dispute. A grave offense deserving more than the execution of three generations and the capture of everyone connected to the Balkyrino family across the land.
“Anyway, I’m in a hurry. I need to finish this quickly and return to Asha…”
The man paused mid-sentence, seeming to realize something, and looked around.
“Evan, I don’t see that fellow anywhere.”
The man’s voice, which had sounded casual, instantly turned cold.
His anxious gaze turned toward the palace where Ashaella would be.
Clang!
Along with the intense sound of metal, a beautiful voice rang out from nearby.
“Evan has already gone ahead. I shall be your opponent, Emperor of the Empire.”
Hadel, who had easily deflected the thrust of the spear, glared at the woman before him, making no effort to hide his displeasure.
The woman with her red hair tied up high spoke in an indifferent voice.
“Your tales of prowess that have spread to the edge of the Eastern lands moved me to action. Let us duel.”
She thrust down a massive spear so large that its weight was impossible to gauge at a glance.
Hadel raised his eyebrows and said:
“Just for such a reason…”
“‘Just,’ you say? It has been my lifelong wish.”
“You have a grandiose way of saying you wish to die quickly.”
Despite his words, Hadel was anxious. Ashaella had assured him that she had prepared for everything and would be fine, but his unease persisted, making him want to resolve this situation as quickly as possible.
This was an unavoidable fight.
At this point, his only option was to handle it as swiftly as possible and return to the palace.
Hadel’s expression grew serious.
[Hadel, if it really is the Eastern king who has come personally, try to capture rather than kill if possible.]
[…Why?]
[This could escalate. If the king has come in person, it means they intend to wage a large-scale war.]
[You plan to use the king as a hostage?]
[That’s right. That way they won’t retreat so easily, will they?]
Capturing rather than killing would take considerable time.
“What are you thinking about?”
In an instant, the great spear came at Hadel’s forehead.
Adjusting his grip on his sword, Hadel made his decision. The fastest way to return to Ashaella.
[Asha, what if I end up killing the king?]
[Then… we have no choice. We’ll just have to devour the entire Eastern Empire.]
It might be a bit troublesome, but decorating Ashaella’s name as “the Empress most beloved by the Emperor who unified the continent” didn’t sound too bad.
Hadel swung his sword toward the spear aimed fiercely at him.
The air between them crackled as if a massive typhoon had formed. Hadel quietly pulled up the corner of his mouth.
* * *
“Be careful, Silver Lily.”
The chilling sound of something being sliced through came with Rahu’s voice.
Startled by the sound so close to me, I quickly drew the dagger I kept in my garments.
Of course, Rahu and the knights would do their utmost to protect me, but I needed to hold a weapon in case of any unforeseen situations.
“It’s dangerous. You must not move at all.”
Rahu’s face hardened as he spoke sternly, thinking I meant to fight.
“Of course I won’t. I’m just holding it in case—don’t worry.”
Nodding at my words, Rahu finally focused on the enemies before us.
As the thick dust settled, I could see the execution platform, devastated beyond repair.
But as we had prepared in advance, numerous knights had intercepted Nella, keeping her restrained.
Count Tremain was also under the knights’ protection, watching the situation unfold in bewilderment.
“Silver Lily, there aren’t as many as we expected. We should be able to handle this soon.”
Rahu spoke in a calm tone while cutting down the Duke’s men who kept coming.
Was it my imagination, or had his skills improved since returning from the southern island?
“I suppose so. But that’s what makes me… uneasy.”
Was it because we’d prepared too well?
Their attempt to rescue Nella by causing an explosion had been successful to a point, but they must have known we would be on guard.
Considering that, they should have hidden more men in reserve.
“Ugh… why are they so… persistent!”
When Rahu let his guard down for a moment, a sword caught him across the back, making a deep cut.
Surprisingly, the one who had struck Rahu was barely recognizable as alive—his body was in tatters.
“The attackers’ condition is abnormal! Be cautious!”
Teiman raised his voice from near the execution platform.
Looking closer, they were indeed strange. Every one of them wielded their swords with expressions that seemed inhuman.
“They’re not emotionless puppets either. How is this possible?”
Rahu exclaimed after dispatching soldiers who kept charging no matter how many times he cut them down.
The moment you turn your back, thinking they’re dead, you get stabbed. If you’re careless enough to think their bones are broken, they attack with violent movements as if they feel no pain—or as if they’ve never been struck at all.
‘This is the result of the Duke’s experiments. If possible, I’d like to save them all and restore them…’
There seemed to have been a scientist who oversaw the experiments under the Duke, but he’d disappeared without a trace.
The Duke must have taken him when he vanished.
‘Whatever the case, I don’t want them to die peacefully.’
Experimenting on humans was unthinkable. The Duke of Balkyrino’s unconscionable actions made my blood boil.
“Silver Lily, someone is approaching rapidly.”
Tension coated Rahu’s voice. That alone was enough for me to sense it.
“Evan.”
Hadel had said he would handle the enemies outside the capital and then return.
He’d gone to ensure that neither the Eastern king nor Evan could set foot here.
“Not everything goes according to plan, I see.”
If it were Hadel, he would have noticed Evan’s location and rushed back immediately.
If we could hold out until then, we would be fine.
“Rahu, can you hold on?”
“…I am strong too, Silver Lily.”
“That’s not a definite answer. How long can you last?”
“Until His Majesty arrives, I will hold even if it kills me.”
Rahu’s yellow eyes hardened like solid rock.
In an instant, a figure lunged at Rahu, coming so close I could almost touch it—with jet-black hair just like Hadel’s.
Their weapons clashed with a thunderous sound.
No, to be precise, it was a sword against a spear.
“Ugh…!”
Blood trickled down Rahu’s mouth as he was pushed back.
Evan twirled his spear once, his face expressionless.
“I thought there would be guards… but I didn’t expect a Lu tribesman.”
Shrugging his shoulders, he kept his eyes on me even as he faced Rahu.
Those blood-red eyes. Similar to Hadel’s but with a distinctly different gaze, I realized my suspicions were correct.
“Evan, your surname isn’t Tiret…”
Red eyes that supposedly appeared only in those who inherited imperial blood.
“Evanhart de Sieria. That’s your real name, isn’t it?”
Not every member of the imperial family is born with red eyes.
Hadel himself didn’t have red eyes. They sometimes appeared red, but normally they were just an ordinary pink.
That’s why red eyes carried greater significance.
For instance, an imperial family member born with red eyes—
Was considered destined to become emperor.
“How do you know my real name?”
Evan tilted his head sideways.
I tried to maintain my composure as I answered.
“I saw it in the imperial genealogy.”
It was good that our conversation had taken this turn. If I could stall for more time, Hadel would arrive.
I continued speaking.
“I suspected you might be of imperial blood. So I looked into it.”
Indeed. My words seemed to have piqued his curiosity, as Evan asked again.
“I’m surprised my name was in the genealogy. But why did you suspect I was imperial?”
“Who knows? I’ve always been good at guessing such things.”
I smiled slightly, trying not to reveal my tension.
At the swordsmanship tournament, Evan had lost to Hadel. But he’d said he wasn’t using his main weapon then.
The fact that he was holding a spear now meant that was his primary weapon.
Which meant he was much stronger now than during the tournament.
How much longer could I stall with conversation?
Evan would know better than anyone that time was against him.
I asked a question he couldn’t ignore.
“But Evan, I don’t understand why you’re trying to harm the Emperor now. Why?”
For a moment, his eyes seemed to grow redder.
After a brief silence, he finally spoke.
“You seem to be misunderstanding something.”
Evan’s brow furrowed. Meeting my eyes steadily, he continued.
“I’m not trying to eliminate the corrupt Sieria imperial family out of personal grudge.”
His red eyes were utterly calm and serene. As if without a trace of hesitation or doubt.
I stared back at him and said:
“Aren’t you yourself an imperial with the Sieria name? Then shouldn’t you eliminate yourself too?”
“I discarded that name long ago.”
“Interesting logic. If we could discard our origins simply by wishing to, then the current Emperor… Lahadert would never have ascended the throne in the first place.”
Hadel had been taken almost by force. The imperial knights had urged him along despite his refusals.
Back then, I’d added my voice, telling Hadel to go to the palace. I often regret that.
But given that there were no other imperial family members left, the outcome of Hadel ascending the throne wouldn’t have changed.
Still, if I hadn’t broken down Hadel’s stubbornness then, things might not have reached such a dire situation.
A situation where Hadel and I had to part ways.
“When I say ‘discarded,’ I meant I gave up my right to succession, not that I denied my very existence.”
“That makes it even stranger. Having no interest in the throne yet staging a rebellion like this.”
“Rebellion?”
Evan’s expression twisted strangely as he cut off my words. It seems I’d said something that deeply offended him.
“Hahaha! How amusing!”
