The Price of Betrayal Is Not Even Death Itself
The Habsburg Empire, the strongest nation on the continent.
At present, the Emperor of the Habsburg Empire is Ferdinand von Habsburg, who held the position of Crown Prince during the war against the Dark Legion a decade ago.
He had been enthroned as Crown Prince in his childhood and had grown up without any notion of discomfort.
He felt that he had to possess everything he desired, and with his naturally arbitrary temperament, he had grown into a man who would stop at nothing.
However, the war erupted in the year he turned eighteen.
It was none other than the Demon King Raylana who had descended into the Intermediate World, leading the Dark Legion and igniting the conflict.
When half the continent fell to the Dark Legion led by the Demon King, the Habsburg Empire suffered immense damage, losing a significant portion of its territory.
Yet even so, the Habsburg Empire had no confidence in repelling the Dark Legion.
For the year until the arrival of the Hero and the birth of hope, despair had reigned supreme.
The Crown Prince at the time lived with the constant fear that he might die without ever becoming Emperor.
And the one responsible for training the summoned Hero from another world was the girl Irene, who possessed the most exceptional talent.
Although she was merely the daughter of a merchant, not from a noble family, Irene was one of the most prominent figures in the merchant circles of the Habsburg Empire.
She had never appeared in the noble social scene, so her beauty remained unknown to many.
However, rumors of her extraordinary talent circulated endlessly.
At eleven, she had reached the Sword Master realm and wielded the Aura Blade.
At twelve, she had already attained the sixth circle of magic.
Everyone dismissed these stories as absurd.
Yet the newly summoned Hero, Kim Jae-hyun, was little more than a high school student living peacefully in another world.
He possessed no power at all.
But the ancient stone slab that had summoned the Hero declared that he would grow stronger at an incredible pace.
That was the reason people had pinned their hopes on him.
The task of training the Hero fell to a neutral faction.
The Lextin Trading Group, with its neutrality policy, took responsibility for his training.
As the Hero grew stronger through rigorous training, the front lines continued to deteriorate.
The various races and dragons were barely holding the line by joining the defense.
The Crown Prince naturally had to observe the progress of the Hero's training.
That was when he first laid eyes on her.
Irene.
It was the first time he saw a girl whose beauty could be compared to that of a goddess, with long golden hair cascading to her waist and piercing blue eyes.
Three years younger than him, she was sixteen.
Yet at that age, her beauty already shone with blinding radiance.
Compared to her peers, her figure developed with astonishing speed.
Her curves were perfectly proportioned, her body proportions flawless.
It was impossible not to think that this was the body of a true goddess.
The moment Ferdinand saw Irene, all thoughts vanished from his mind, replaced by a burning desire to possess her.
He had always been a man who acquired what he wanted.
He had never been denied anything until the world was destroyed.
In fact, the position of Emperor of the Empire would eventually become his.
But Ferdinand had seen the Hero.
The Hero was sparring with Irene, their swords clashing.
The spar naturally ended in Irene's victory.
No matter how quickly the Hero learned, it was impossible for him to defeat a true genius who had trained since childhood.
**Aura Blade!**
Yet surprisingly, the Hero had learned the Aura Blade, the symbol of the Sword Master, within just a month!
*Is this really the Hero?*
The growth rate recorded on the ancient stone slab had been impressive, but seeing it in person far surpassed any imagination.
"Haa... damn it. Still not enough yet."
The Hero, sitting slumped on the ground, muttered to himself.
Irene smiled playfully and reached out her hand toward him.
"You've improved a lot, brother. With your training speed, in about six months you'll surpass me in swordsmanship. And you're studying magic too, right?"
"Thanks to such an excellent teacher."
The Hero took her hand and stood up.
In that moment, Ferdinand understood.
There was a strange energy circulating between the Hero and Irene.
Irene harbored no jealousy, even though the Hero was growing faster than her.
She simply helped him stand and said with a gentle smile:
"Brother, aren't you hungry yet? Today's lunch is steak. How about it?"
"Excellent."
Compared to Earth, where meat was expensive and steak could only be enjoyed rarely, this world offered abundant high-grade meat and meals.
For Jae-hyun, it was only natural to feel good about it.
At the very least, sharing a meal with Lextin Trading Group Chairman Lextin and his daughter Irene, who personally prepared everything, felt truly luxurious.
Training under Irene was admittedly tough.
But seeing her pure, bright smile as she watched him grow stronger made the complaints vanish.
Regardless of his will, he had been forcibly pulled into another world and had suffered.
Yet with the hope of returning to his homeland one day and the presence of Irene, he could endure the current situation and train with all his heart.
*Click.*
The two paid no attention to the existence of the Crown Prince.
That was only natural.
While they trained, nobles and their children had come with escort knights to watch.
There had been many.
At first, Jae-hyun had felt uncomfortable, like a zoo monkey being gawked at.
Now he simply ignored them.
Originally, Ferdinand should have left here, introduced himself as the Crown Prince, and built relations with the Hero.
But his thoughts had changed.
He had no intention of befriending that brat.
He wished he was dead.
Ferdinand ground his teeth, his eyes filled with hatred and jealousy toward Jae-hyun, unable to look away from Irene's back.
But he knew the time was not yet right.
He needed the Hero's power to survive for now.
Time passed.
Nearly a year went by.
Finally, the Hero summoned from another world held the Holy Sword in his hand.
The Holy Sword immediately accepted him as its master.
Jae-hyun officially became the Hero of the Holy Sword.
The Hero of the Holy Sword stood above even the Pope and Saintess, a position no one could easily challenge.
And the Hero of the Holy Sword appeared on the battlefield in earnest.
His mere presence caused the undead summoned by dark mages to collapse.
Countless dark mages were stunned by the terror of his power.
Irene also made her official appearance.
She wielded both sword and magic at once, her overwhelming performance earning her the title **Flash Magic Swordswoman**.
Her swordsmanship and magic were so rapid they were compared to lightning.
Her beauty, too, quickly spread across the continent.
As the daughter of a merchant, not a noble, she had never appeared in noble society.
She had never flaunted her beauty.
Thus her beauty remained veiled, known only through rumors.
When the Hero came to train, many nobles had visited.
Through them, her goddess-like beauty was described.
Yet most descriptions were exaggerated.
In reality, her beauty far surpassed any words.
It was the first time the continent had seen such a beauty, and she became renowned not only for her looks but also for her romance with the Hero.
She earned the nickname **Flash Magic Swordswoman** because her swordsmanship was so fast, like lightning.
And the more Ferdinand watched Irene, the stronger his desire to possess her grew.
In the final battle, he gathered all forces except Jae-hyun and Irene.
What he cared about most were the strongest among the human side.
The Archmage of Flame, Jason Light.
The Great Sage, Griffith Ricardo.
The Gale Sword Emperor, William Rodriguez.
The Force Sword Emperor, Karl Tenant.
And the Saintess, Lucrezia.
Although Lucrezia had once been rejected by the Hero when she proposed marriage, she harbored deep resentment.
Ferdinand did not know the depth of her hatred.
But she was necessary, so he decided to bring her along.
The gathering of forces had gone smoother than expected.
Jason, Griffith, William, and Karl all wanted to gain something for themselves and harbored jealousy toward the Hero.
The Hero summoned from another world had grown far too quickly and gained fame in an instant.
The Hero had sworn that once the war ended, he would take them to some remote island.
But that was not enough.
They had no intention of respecting the Hero.
The Hero was an unknown being summoned from another world.
Once his usefulness ended, they would simply eliminate him.
Lucrezia had no intention of killing the Hero.
But the sight of him with Irene and the rejection of her proposal had fueled her hatred to the breaking point.
She had decided to destroy him rather than let him have her.
Thus the ugly conspiracy of betrayal had been formed.
Ferdinand's greatest goal was to take Irene.
---
'That choice was correct. Hehe.'
Ten years had passed.
Ferdinand von Habsburg, now Emperor of the Habsburg Empire, smiled with satisfaction as he recalled the past.
With his red hair and dignified appearance, his expression could turn sinister at will.
He, the Emperor of the continent's strongest empire, enjoyed unparalleled imperial power.
All of this was thanks to his wife, the Empress Irene.
Irene, the most beautiful Empress in history and one step above the Saintess Lucrezia, was also the strongest in martial might.
Ten years ago, excluding the Hero, she had been one of the strongest on the human side.
And now, ten years later, she was even more powerful than before.
Ferdinand even thought that perhaps Irene's strength surpassed that of the Demon King Raylana.