1
Chapter 1
And so, the Nathaniel Empire fell.
-The End-
"?"
For a moment, I was so stunned that my thoughts came to a halt.
"What is this?"
I had been reading a web novel.
The title was 'I Tried to Seduce the Protagonist but Ended Up Seducing the Crown Prince'.
To be honest, it was a bit of an embarrassing title for a guy to be reading.
But a friend of mine had raved about it so much that I started it, and before I knew it, I had caught up to the latest update.
It was actually better than I expected.
It was fun seeing the Female Lead use her knowledge of the original story to toy with the noble ladies, and while I thought the Crown Prince would be your typical greasy guy, he actually felt surprisingly human.
Between the social circle intrigues, the Northern Duchy, the Saintess, and the Magic Tower, there were plenty of plot seeds planted, making it more than just a way to kill time. So today, without thinking much, I clicked on the latest chapter.
But suddenly, the Demon King's Army invaded, the borders were breached, the Northern Wall collapsed, the Imperial Capital burned, and the main couple was swept up and killed.
And that was it.
It was really over.
There was no author's note. No teaser for side stories. No preview for the next chapter.
Just total destruction.
The main couple, dead.
Completed.
I stared at my phone screen for a long time.
My finger hovered over the spot where the 'next chapter' button should have been, and my mind went blank.
"... Really?"
I scrolled back up.
It wasn't a typo. It wasn't a prank.
It really was the end.
I felt so hollow that I couldn't even swear. I didn't even have the energy to leave a five-thousand-character rage comment. It was just too absurd.
I mean, fuck. If it ends like this, what was the point of everything that had been set up?
The author threw out so many plot seeds but didn't resolve a single one.
While the Female Lead cried at the ball and the Crown Prince comforted her—while they misunderstood each other, reconciled, held hands, and kissed—doom had been marching toward the empire from the outside.
I let out a slow breath.
Then I skimmed through the recent chapters again. The more I read, the more ridiculous it felt.
The first emergency report from the North. The Female Lead was in the middle of a cold war with the Crown Prince back then.
The mention of food abnormally disappearing from the Western Granary. That got buried under social circle gossip.
The scene where an Imperial Palace attendant acted suspiciously. The very next chapter jumped straight to a jealousy event.
It was all there.
I don't know if the author planted them on purpose or just couldn't wrap things up and threw them in, but they were there.
The omens of ruin. The signs that the empire was on the brink of collapse. They had been visible throughout the entire story.
But nobody noticed.
Or more accurately, nobody wanted to notice.
"Ha..."
A laugh escaped me.
It was a hollow laugh, born from sheer absurdity.
I read the final scene again—the one where the main couple died holding hands.
"Bullshit."
The thought escaped my lips before I could stop it.
Did he really think dying while holding hands would be touching? If they'd spent that time sending just one more reinforcement to the North, things might have been different.
While they were playing house in the Imperial Palace, they should have crushed the Magic Tower, checked the Western supply lines, and audited the nobles leading the Border Army.
Falling in love while your country is collapsing isn't romance. They're just idiots.
I ran a hand through my hair in frustration.
My reflection stared back at me from the dimming phone screen. I looked pathetic.
Here I was, reading a romance fantasy on a friend's recommendation and cursing alone because of a bad ending.
Anyone watching would think my life was a disaster.
Which wasn't exactly wrong.
That was when it happened.
The screen suddenly flashed with a brilliant light.
"...What is this?"
In the center of the black screen, a sentence appeared that hadn't been there a second ago.
[The Destruction Ending has been confirmed.]
I reached out, thinking it was a pop-up ad, but another sentence appeared before my finger could touch it.
[Synchronizing character.]
[Target Entity: Sword of the Empire, Arsen Beharrt]
I was speechless for a moment.
Arsen Beharrt.
I remembered the name.
He wasn't a main character, but he had appeared a few times.
The hero of the Great Northern War. The youngest Marshal in the Empire's history. The man who was personally granted a sword by the Emperor.
The commoners called him a hero, while the nobles whispered that he was a Mad Dog. And toward the end, there was a single line about him.
'The Sword of the Empire was no longer in the Capital.'
That was it.
There was no explanation for where he was, what he was doing, or why he wasn't there when the Demon King's Army invaded.
I glared at the screen.
"What the hell is this?"
[Initiating connection.]
"Hey, wait—"
The moment I read the last sentence, my vision flipped upside down.
#
I couldn't breathe.
A heavy, sticky sensation wrapped around my entire body, as if I had been plunged into blood instead of water.
Dozens of sounds exploded in my ears all at once before vanishing.
The thundering of hooves.
The clash of metal.
Someone's scream.
And the all-too-familiar metallic scent of blood filling my throat.
I snapped my eyes open reflexively.
There was no white ceiling or fluorescent lights. Instead, I saw a chandelier adorned with deep blue silk.
The moment I tried to sit up, my muscles reacted first.
It was strange.
It felt like my body, yet it didn't belong to me.
It was light. So incredibly light. This wasn't the kind of response an untrained body could produce.
I instinctively looked down at my hands.
They were callused.
The knuckles were thick, and faint, old scars lingered on the backs of my hands.
"General."
A low, cautious voice reached my ears.
I raised my head.
A black-haired woman in uniform was kneeling on one knee.
Her military uniform was ornately decorated. She couldn't bring herself to look me in the eye.
"Are you feeling unwell?"
I couldn't find the words to answer.
When I remained silent, the woman bowed her head even deeper.
"The banquet has drawn on, but the Crown Prince is still in attendance. If you wish, right now—"
Banquet, Crown Prince.
Those words flashed coldly through my mind.
I slowly scanned my surroundings.
It was a spacious room.
The decor was elegant but understated. The Imperial crest hung on one wall, while a sword and military banner were crossed on the other.
Without a word, I stood up and walked toward the mirror in front of me.
A stranger's face looked back.
Black hair, black eyes.
He didn't look so much as handsome as he did intimidating.
His mouth was set in a hard line, and a difficult-to-describe bloodlust simmered deep within his eyes.
But what caught my eye first was the uniform. Specifically, the emblem on the shoulder.
A black star positioned above two crossed swords.
The insignia permitted only to the Commander-in-Chief of the Imperial Army.
My heart sank.
'No way.'
A realization struck me.
The Sword of the Empire, Arsen Beharrt.
The war hero from the novel I had read.
"... Ha."
A laugh escaped me.
This was an insane situation. Yet, strangely, I felt no fear. It was as if Arsen Beharrt's own memories were suppressing it.
"General?"
The voice called out to me again from behind.
Without taking my eyes off the mirror, I asked.
"What day is today?"
There was a brief silence.
She was likely puzzled. However, being a soldier, she answered my question directly.
"It is Victory Day."
Victory Day.
That meant the Empire was still alive. And the original couple was alive, too.
I slowly turned around.
"Is the Crown Prince in the banquet hall?"
"Yes. Everyone is in the Grand Ballroom. His Highness the Crown Prince mentioned he really wanted to see you, General..."
Judging by the way she trailed off, it didn't seem like the Crown Prince was looking for me out of pure happiness.
Then again.
Recalling the original story, Arsen Beharrt was a figure even the Imperial Household treated with caution.
He was too competent, too strong, and far too respected by his soldiers.
A hero is a necessity for the next Emperor, but a burden at the same time.
"... Right."
I replied briefly.
My head was still spinning, but one thing was certain.
This was no dream. It was far too vivid to be one.
I put on my uniform jacket.
My hands moved without hesitation as I fastened the buttons.
It was a motion the body remembered.
The adjutant opened the door the moment I was ready.
Outside the door lay a long corridor.
The Imperial crest hung on every wall, and the distant sounds of music and laughter drifted toward me.
The moment I heard them, I felt a strange sense of discomfort.
It was the sound of peace. While everyone else felt secure, to me, it sounded ominous.
The Grand Ballroom was dazzlingly opulent.
Uniforms and dresses mingled as wine glasses clinked.
Some praised the Empire's victory, while others spoke of its golden age of peace.
And there, in the center, were the Crown Prince and the Female Lead.
People I had seen countless times in the original story. Perhaps because the tragedy hadn't begun yet, they both looked young and unscathed.
The Crown Prince looked neat and distinguished, with the Female Lead standing beside him in a beautiful dress.
The two of them were talking quietly.
They were close.
It was obvious they were completely absorbed in each other.
A hollow laugh escaped me.
They can smile like that because the country is still standing.
In the final chapter, those two died holding hands amidst the flames. That scene suddenly overlapped with the present.
In an instant, I felt a wave of disgust.
I slowly shifted my gaze. The seat of honor was empty.
It was where the Emperor should have been sitting. He was likely confined to his sickbed.
I looked back at the Crown Prince. Right in front of the empty Imperial Throne, that man was still rambling on about love.
I walked toward them. As I approached, the Crown Prince looked up, and the Female Lead followed his gaze.
I stopped in front of them and spoke in a low voice.
"Your Highness."
"Oh, Sir Arsen. You've ar—"
Cutting him off, I spoke first.
"The country is falling apart, and you're still playing around with romance?"
I couldn't hold it back.