Freeze! That Day
After the incident at the party, Arios Graviuss had been holed up inside her house. It was only natural—she'd lunged at the emperor, after all. Viol herself had reluctantly forgiven it because of me, but the fact that it happened couldn't be erased.
Her mother, the current Duchess Graviuss and head of the family, had been furious upon hearing the news. She'd scolded her daughter, asking if she'd lost her mind, told her to cool her hot head, and forbidden her from going out. But if her head would've cooled that easily, she never would've attacked in the first place.
"What happened with Seres?"
Arios urgently asked the woman who had secretly come to her room. She was the informant Arios had planted in the imperial palace. Even while confined, Arios had been getting updates on me through her, but today's news was unbelievable.
"Seres collapsed? Why?!"
When the worst news came, Arios grilled her informant. "Tell me the details!"
"I didn't hear the exact cause, but the emperor suddenly gathered all the palace healers when he collapsed."
"And? Did they treat him?"
"No." Arios's face paled at the informant's heavy words. The people working in the palace were all talented, yet even they couldn't heal him! Her instincts told her this was different from the previous times he'd fallen ill.
Viol, that crazy bitch!
Unable to pinpoint the cause, Arios assumed it was Viol's doing. She'd been leaving Seres alone quietly for a while, which was suspicious, but she finally crossed the line!
In Arios's mind, an image flashed of Viol beating me until I collapsed. Daring to lay a hand on my Seres! I absolutely won't forgive her.
Unable to contain her rage, she demanded their whereabouts from the informant. "If they couldn't treat him, what happened to Seres? And where the hell is Emperor Viol?!"
"She called the grand mage Sibylius and took Seres to her residence."
"You're not thinking of entrusting him to that dangerous woman, are you?!"
Arios had heard all sorts of wild rumors about Sibylius. She didn't fully believe them, but she'd been wary just in case. Of all people, taking Seres to her...
"What if she's pretending to treat him just to kill him?"
"N-no, it doesn't seem like that. If she wanted him dead, she wouldn't have even tried healing him. And after Seres collapsed, the emperor went almost berserk..."
"Seres!!"
Too agitated to hear her out, Arios ignored her mother's order to stay put, grabbed whatever she could, and stormed out of the estate. Then, arriving at Sibylius's residence with "I'm here to kill you," she spotted Viol right on time and spat the murderous words.
"You're gonna make me lose my mind."
Viol's expression hardened as Arios pointed her sword at her. "Does your mom know you're doing this? She personally begged me to forgive you just this once, saying she'd talk to you."
"If I kill you, there'll be no need for that."
"...Seres is already driving me crazy, and now you're giving me a real headache."
She started off sounding troubled, but soon a feral smile crept onto her lips. "Fine, I'll humor you. Truth is, I've never liked you since way back!"
She shouted loudly, then turned to Hames. "You stay out of it!"
"I won't interfere. Handle it yourselves."
Hames didn't care if the emperor and hero fought or not. She kept watching the house where I'd gone, her eyes filled with worry.
"You've never liked me? The feeling's mutual!"
Arios bellowed back in fury, matching Viol's savagery. This was a situation that never happened in the original story. The male versions of Viol and Arios both had a baseline of common sense until they completely snapped. A knight like Arios wouldn't casually threaten to kill her liege, and Viol saw Arios as her most useful subordinate.
But the female versions were different. I thought this world had completely swapped genders, but it wasn't perfect. Physical differences between men and women meant they couldn't be identical, and subtle personality shifts from the original stemmed from that. Because of it, unlike the distant relationship between the male versions, the females outright hated each other.
"Don't act all high and mighty just because you're the emperor when you're inferior to me! Don't take my Seres away!"
"Who says he's yours? You've always been fake-polite and goody-two-shoes, but it's laughable. You're rotten inside!"
-------------------------------------------
Can I really trust this? I glared at Sibylius, who insisted she'd never love me.
"You have to keep that promise... forever."
"Of course."
"Ahh, my lovely Seres... Don't say cringey lines like that..."
"Even if I begged you to love me, I wouldn't!"
She spoke wearily, her face like she was looking at a madman.
"I've lived a long time, but you're the first man I've seen so deep in delusion."
Sibylius grumbled but placed all sorts of magical tools by my side. Soon, countless magic circles floated around me. It was a scene that would terrify anyone else. But this time, I stayed still without causing a fuss. I'd decided to trust her words, at least for now.
Thinking about it, Sibylius had no reason to do anything to me at this point. If I didn't get chummy like the original Seres, she wouldn't fall for me. Especially after I'd scolded and warned her so firmly.
"Alright, now let's slowly begin the examination..."
Just as I relaxed and Sibylius leaned in to diagnose me—
Boom!
A massive explosion rocked the place from outside, like a bomb had gone off. What the hell? I'd heard Viol's angry yells and crashing earlier, probably her smashing something in a fit. But this was on another level. It sounded like someone was deliberately wrecking everything to catch another.
"What now?!"
Startled, Sibylius waved her hand, and an image appeared in the air. The magic revealed the absurd scene outside.
Arios and Viol were fighting. Why was Arios here? I was shocked that the girl who'd been grounded suddenly showed up, but even more shocking was that she was holding her own against Viol.
Arios menaced with her aura-clad sword. Even Viol couldn't take it lightly and leaped back, hurling a dagger from her bosom. Aimed at the deadly eyes—Viol raised her guard to block. Seizing the opening, Arios closed in and thrust at the exposed defense!
"You damn bitch!"
Viol had no choice but to grab the aura sword barehanded, accepting the damage. Blood dripped from her hand, but she'd stopped the weapon. Just as she started to rejoice—
Arios headbutted her mouth.
"Kuh!"
"Ugh!"
Blood flowed from Arios's forehead. The striker seemed hurt worse than the struck, but Viol staggered—a chance. Abandoning her sword, Arios kicked her away. Viol was stronger, but her weight was human-level. Without bracing, she flew back like an arrow, smashing into the house wall and cratering it.
"My house!"
Sibylius shrieked.
"Why are they fighting in front of someone else's home like that?!"
"How should I know...? But was Arios always that strong...?"
"She's a Sword Master, of course she's strong."
No, that wasn't it. I knew Arios was a sword prodigy who reached Sword Master. I'd trained in martial arts myself, so I could tell. I'd always admired her clean, flawless moves. But what she was showing now was the dirty, desperate brawling you'd see in back alleys.
I could say it with certainty: if original male Arios fought this female version, he'd lose for sure! The male was a knight through and through, good or bad. He wouldn't fight like that. Even if evenly matched, he'd be undone by her tricks and lose ridiculously.
When did she learn to fight like that, and why was she radiating such killing intent? I had no idea.
"Aaargh, you bastard!"
Meanwhile, female Viol was weaker than her original counterpart. Pushed into a corner by the even or losing fight, she rampaged like a beast.
"Tch, what a waste of talent."
"Yeah."
Sibylius and I clicked our tongues. Even while getting sliced by aura, no fatal wounds—proof of Viol's genius. And how much had she squandered it to get one-sidedly dominated like this?
"I don't like royals, but I can't let that pure bloodline end while I'm alive."
Sibylius sighed and dispersed the magic circles around me. "If she'd at least had a child, I'd let her die. Seres, wait here. I'll be right back."
"Wait."
"What now?"
"Take me with you..."
"Are you insane? Do you not know your body's condition?"
"But they won't listen if you tell them to stop."
I had to step in. Only then could I resolve it surely and stably. I forced my body to move, enduring the burning pain with every motion from getting off the bed to stepping down.
"This is not sane! Moving like this will make the pain you suppressed with medicine come roaring back!"
"Then help me!"
I yelled back, and Sibylius scowled.
"Damn it."
Resigned, she supported me, and we headed outside. As soon as I passed through the door, I shouted at full volume.
"Everyone, freeze!"
"Why are you out here?!"
Hames spotted me first. What was she doing not stopping them? She'd been watching the door and rushed over.
"You! What about your treatment?"
"Seres!"
Viol and Arios, locked in combat, noticed a beat later and approached.
"What the hell are you two thinking?!"
I yelled as they neared. "Do you even realize your positions? The emperor of the empire and the ducal heir, the empire's greatest knight."
"She said she'd kill me first."
"That damn woman took you away and made you collapse!"
Does that mean it's my fault too? If one of you died, civil war would erupt instantly, and the country would go to hell. My family Ares, and all those whose lives I'd saved with healing—they'd all get dragged in and die.
I'm already in agony just lying here—don't make me worry about this too!
"Never fight again. If I look away and you two clash, and one disappears, I won't forgive the survivor. You'll never see me again!"
I used myself as collateral for the strongest warning. "If you don't want to see me snap, never do this again. Got it?"
"...Fine."
"Got it."
Viol and Arios reluctantly agreed. I reached out to both, using Divine Power to heal them.
And then, "I'll pass out for a bit, so behave."
Having squeezed out every last bit of strength, I lost consciousness and collapsed.