11
11
Outside the imperial banquet hall, a long hallway.
"Your Highness, you ought to take back these glasses you gave me."
Philos flashed a playful smile at Sion, shaking the wine glasses held in both of his hands.
"⋯⋯You know full well I gave them to you because I no longer needed them."
"Is that so? You handed me two glasses, so I brought them along thinking you wanted to share a drink with me. I don't really drink alcohol, but if it's with Your Highness, I could manage a glass or two."
"⋯⋯Duke. Why does it feel like you're resembling that fellow more and more with each passing day?"
"Oh, dear⋯ It seems you have no intention of calling me properly by name anymore."
"⋯⋯⋯."
Hwik-!
Without a word to Philos, who kept acting slyly, Sion turned around and walked away.
From behind her.
"Mmm⋯ It seems puberty has hit her a bit late⋯⋯."
Her maternal uncle's muttering was heard and irritated her slightly, but.
"⋯⋯⋯."
She ignored him and quickened her pace.
Because right now, she felt like returning to her room to have a drink alone.
'⋯⋯I don't like it.'
What?
Today, for the first time.
'His Majesty smiled at me⋯⋯.'
Wasn't it a genuine smile filled with sincerity, the likes of which she had never seen before?
Was that all?
'His Majesty was truly enjoying himself today⋯⋯.'
It felt like the first time she had ever seen him laugh so loudly and repeatedly.
Even though he looked quite fatigued at the end because of her foolish imperial brother.
Still, it would be fine.
Because starting from today, as a result.
'His Majesty will continue to press forward to achieve what he desires.'
All thanks to obtaining that guy.
So there shouldn't be any problem, yet⋯⋯.
'⋯⋯I don't like it.'
Kkwang-!
Sion nervously slammed her room door shut.
Then she immediately uncorked the first wine bottle she laid eyes on.
She looked ready to pour it down her throat directly from the bottle.
However.
Tuk-
"Haa⋯⋯."
She limply set the liquor bottle down on the table.
"I don't want to drink⋯⋯."
Not by myself.
"⋯⋯Roy."
The face of that man wearing that irritating smile floated into her mind.
"On a day like today, it's okay not to smile⋯⋯."
He was always smiling.
Forcing it just to maintain his sanity.
So for today at least.
She had wanted him to show a little bit of his honest self.
Yet Roy kept smiling right to the very end.
Seeing Empel's smile today—the very thing she had longed for—made her realize once more that Roy's smile was a lie.
"Ha⋯ I suppose it's natural since I don't do that myself⋯⋯."
That he had worked so hard all this time.
She wanted to tell him that it was okay to cry now.
"But I couldn't⋯⋯."
Because his face was saying it.
That he didn't need any comfort.
That it wasn't over yet.
That it had only just begun.
"Haa⋯⋯."
Without even changing her clothes, she lay straight down on the bed.
"⋯⋯Still, congratulations."
Since he had killed the enemy he had wanted to kill so desperately.
At least for that moment.
"I think he was genuinely happy⋯⋯."
Even she, who wasn't the person involved, felt a sense of relief.
At that moment, a certain phrase came to her mind.
"Revenge breeds nothing, huh⋯⋯."
Pisik-
She let out a scoffing laugh in sheer absurdity.
"⋯⋯Crazy bitch."
Letting go of anger and forgiving makes one's heart feel at peace.
"When she can't even protect herself."
The face of the pink-haired woman came to mind—the woman who proudly said those words out loud yet refused to practice forgiveness herself.
"I didn't like her right from the start⋯⋯."
— Princess-nim, hello! I am Bathory Sirius!
— I don't have a mother either, so I know. It must be hard for you, Princess-nim, right? So with me⋯⋯
She utterly hated how Bathory always approached her with friendly intimacy, acting as if she knew and understood everything.
— Young lady, didn't you come to see His Highness the Prince? And do not speak carelessly about Her Imperial Highness the Empress.
— I have no desire to see the young lady's face in the future.
Even though Sion had clearly expressed her refusal.
"She kept bothering me."
So Sion openly ignored her.
Nevertheless.
— Princess-nim! You must open the door to your heart!
— I'll help you!
She constantly annoyed people like this.
And before anyone knew it.
"I was the only one turned into a bad bitch⋯⋯."
Starting from her imperial brother, the prince, to all the male bastards around, they all chipped in with their own remarks.
She had long since been branded a villainess in high society.
"Puh-huh⋯ Puhaha!"
Laughter suddenly burst out of her.
At that moment.
— Kyaaak!!!
Because the sight of that pitiful thing screaming in agony flashed in her mind.
"⋯⋯Roy."
Naturally, the face of the man who brought about that situation came to mind next.
But as emptiness washed over her at the same time.
"⋯⋯Tsk."
Sion could only click her tongue.
"What am I really doing? It's already too late to regret."
Because Roy has left my hands now.
Handing him over to Empel was an agreement reached long ago.
If she intended to compete for the imperial throne, she would have kept him by her side even by force.
If she had earnestly begged him⋯⋯
Given his personality, he probably wouldn't have been able to refuse.
Even if his revenge had been delayed because he couldn't run amok as the Emperor's sword right away.
But hadn't she told him directly in the past?
"⋯⋯I have no interest in such a imperial throne."
She simply wanted to be a source of strength for her struggling father, and wanted to be loved as a reward for it.
Jumping into the competition for the imperial throne.
Was just her desperate struggle to receive that love.
"Being named as the successor⋯ Being recognized by His Majesty⋯⋯."
Because she thought that was what being loved meant.
But it wasn't.
— Your Highness, in my opinion⋯⋯
"Why didn't I realize something so obvious⋯⋯."
— It just seems like you're being used.
"⋯⋯No, I actually knew."
In truth, she knew and pretended not to.
That he was trying to somehow normalize the empire ruined by the previous Emperor.
Because of the nobles, including the Empress's faction and the Sirius Grand Duchy.
It couldn't be helped.
She turned a blind eye while coming up with such plausible excuses.
To the fact that Empel was using her appropriately for his own purposes.
When she first acknowledged and realized this, she didn't know what to do.
She had devoted herself to the point of embarking on a reckless expedition to subjugate the Lich King.
To think she was merely being used.
Not only a sense of betrayal but also emptiness washed over her.
But back then.
— Your Highness, do you hate His Majesty?
Roy asked.
To this, Sion answered.
— ⋯⋯No.
That she didn't.
Even if she was being used.
Sion continued to crave her father's love.
To such a woman like her.
— Your Highness, then relinquish the imperial throne.
Roy said plainly.
— And show him properly. That Your Highness truly only cares for His Majesty.
Not trying to look good to gain the imperial throne.
But striving purely to lighten his burden and be of help.
He advised her to show Empel.
Truly slyly enough.
Even though she hadn't confessed everything to him.
— Then Your Highness will be able to obtain what you desire.
Roy spoke as if he knew everything.
"⋯⋯Though it was a bit annoying when he added 'or not' at the end⋯⋯."
As advised, she obtained what she so desperately wanted to gain.
But at the same time.
"⋯⋯I lost it."
Yes, she lost it.
"Roy⋯⋯."
Even if he left her hands and became part of the imperial household.
Since the fact that he was working for the Emperor remained unchanged anyway, she intended to be with him.
So she tried to lend a hand and help.
However.
— From now on, I will manage well on my own, so do not worry.
To think he would draw the line immediately.
"Tsk⋯⋯"
Sion clicked her tongue again.
Because the face of the young lady who gave him a glass of liquor and ran away blushing suddenly came to mind.
"I'm pretty sure he said they didn't know each other⋯⋯."
To think he would happily drink it right away.
"When he said he didn't like alcohol⋯⋯."
How truly outrageous.
Does he like any woman as long as she's a girl?
"⋯⋯Bad bastard."
Muttering thus, she pushed herself up from the bed again.
It seemed that tonight.
If she didn't drink, she wouldn't be able to fall asleep at all.
###
Meanwhile.
Dalgeurak- dalgeurak-
Inside the carriage making the rhythmic sound of wheels.
"Huuuk⋯ Huuuuk⋯⋯!"
Bathory Sirius was shedding tears endlessly.
Franz, Praha.
Her two oppas had tried to ride together with her to comfort her, but she refused, saying she wanted to be alone.
"Freddie-oraboni⋯⋯."
He had moments of acting somewhat violently without weighing the consequences, but she believed he was a righteous and affectionate person.
"⋯⋯My feelings about that haven't changed even now. It's just⋯⋯."
To think he beat the children of the slums to death ten years ago.
What on earth did that mean?
She wanted to believe it was a misunderstanding.
No, it must certainly be a misunderstanding.
However.
Having come all this way, she could not continue to insist on that.
— Look here, young lady, why are you looking at me like that?
Because at that moment, the smiling face of a certain man flashed into her mind.
"⋯⋯Count-nim."
What kind of face was I making back then?
I was probably crying.
— Didn't you clearly say so?
— That letting go of anger and forgiving would make one's heart feel at peace.
"That I⋯ was angry⋯⋯? There's no way that's true⋯⋯."
She had been grieving.
So in the first place, there was no need for forgiveness.
"Count-nim, you should be the one to⋯ stop⋯⋯."
— Did you really think my revenge would end with just a single person?
"It's already more than enough⋯⋯."
Isn't this enough?
Roy's circumstances were indeed truly tragic.
When he confessed his past.
Because it was so sad.
Because her heart ached so much.
She had shed tears.
Although she didn't have siblings like he did, she was also an orphan who couldn't even remember her parents' faces.
So how could she not understand that pain?
She wanted to go and hug him right that instant.
She wanted to comfort him sincerely.
"Yet how could you do such a thing⋯⋯!"
Bathory felt a sense of betrayal.
Because she had lost her beloved oppa at his hands.
"Why would someone who knows the sorrow of losing family better than anyone else⋯⋯!"
It wasn't that she didn't understand his anger.
But wasn't there no need to repay it with death in kind?
"And so horribly and brutally at that⋯⋯."
He was wrong.
She knew well that letting go of anger and forgiving was no easy task.
That was why she had begged him repeatedly, hadn't she?
But he did not listen to her at all.
"Why⋯⋯?"
Did my sincerity not reach him properly?
"No, that can't be it⋯⋯."
Father, her three oppas.
Leon, Michael, Lancelot, Loki, and even Yudia.
At first, they all had the doors to their hearts firmly closed, but didn't every single one of them eventually open up?
Didn't they listen to what she had to say?
As a result, even though things got a bit tumultuous⋯⋯.
"⋯⋯In the end, everyone became happy."
Therefore.
"I was going to make Count-nim happy too⋯⋯."
Yet he ultimately chose unhappiness.
"Why⋯⋯?"
The question arose once more.
Even though I asked him.
Even though I conveyed my sincerity.
Why didn't he accept it?
Why wasn't it conveyed to the very end?
It was full of doubts.
"There must surely be a cause⋯⋯."
The culprit who prevented him from making the right choice.
"Ah⋯⋯."
Only then did Bathory remember.
"⋯⋯The Princess."
The face of Sion, who had been by Roy's side.
When she first entered the banquet hall.
Even while trying to stop her three oppas who were arguing with one another, the one who first caught Bathory's eye was Roy.
Despite not yet knowing that he was the hero who subjugated the Lich King.
For some unknown reason, she couldn't take her eyes off him.
Because she experienced a feeling she had never felt before in her life.
On top of that, since even Sion, who treated her coldly every single time, was by his side, her eyes were naturally drawn to him even more.
At that moment, another emotion⋯⋯
An unpleasant feeling arose, unlike the heart-fluttering sensation Roy gave her.
"Ah⋯⋯."
At that moment, Bathory realized.
The one who caused him to walk down the wrong path was⋯⋯
"Princess⋯ it was you⋯⋯."
Yes.
It was because of Princess Sion.
She had thought the rumor of her being a villainess was merely a rumor.
"But the rumors were right⋯⋯."
Otherwise.
"There's no way a person like Count-nim⋯ wouldn't listen to me, right⋯⋯?"
She remembered.
How Roy had briefly turned his gaze to Sion when they had their argument in the banquet hall.
"Clearly, he must have been trying to stop back then."
Didn't I ask him to please endure it for my sake?
"Yes, Count-nim was trying to endure it out of consideration for me⋯⋯."
But at that moment.
"The Princess interfered⋯⋯."
Had he been caught in some weakness?
Even though he possesses such immense power.
To think he couldn't resist the Princess.
"Could he have fallen victim to something like black magic?"
She felt like she had read it in a book before.
That there was evil sorcery capable of controlling people at will.
Was that all?
"The Princess isn't the only problem⋯⋯."
Because the Emperor also seemed to be in cahoots with her.
Despite many people opposing it, didn't he take the Princess's side to the very end?
Stopping Roy from going down the wrong path.
Instead of stopping him, didn't he encourage him?
That such masterminds were behind all this⋯⋯
"I didn't even know that⋯ Ah, ah⋯ Count-nim⋯⋯."
I just kept repeating like a parrot for him to stop.
"I'm sorry⋯⋯."
Bathory realized only then.
At that time.
The person she had to save wasn't just Freddie.
But included Roy as well.
"Huhuuk⋯⋯."
Tears of regret ran down her cheeks.
How hard must it have been for him?
How much must his heart have ached?
"Ah⋯ Count-nim⋯⋯."
She made a resolution.
"I will save you."
To save that pitiful man.
Having made that decision.
"Ah⋯⋯."
Her heart beat rapidly.
Although her heart still ached and burned from losing her oppa⋯⋯.
On the other hand, she felt something warm and touching.
"Ah⋯⋯."
Bathory's face turned bright red.
Because she had finally realized beyond a shadow of a doubt what this emotion was.
"Ah⋯⋯"
"Count-nim⋯⋯ no⋯⋯"
"Roy⋯⋯ don't worry⋯⋯⋯."
On this day, for the first time.
Bathory fell in love.