Heading Toward Ruin - Remerus and Servilia
While the Emperor of the Chang Kingdom, Sunlung, clung desperately to his daughter and confessed his sins, something very different was happening in Tebere. The moment the sun rose, the First Princess charged through the palace like a wild boar, slamming open the door to the royal office with a thunderous crash.
“Father!”
“All this noise first thing in the morning. How many times must I tell you to behave like a proper lady?”
“Lady or not, how can that possibly matter right now?! I’ve been watching Cornelius for days, yet there’s been no movement, no action whatsoever! He promised he would bring the Grand Spirit and rescue our Senia, but he hasn’t done a single thing!”
“...And?”
“And?! What do you mean, ‘and’!”
Even as his daughter shouted, old King Remerus continued reviewing documents, his voice heavy with irritation. Unlike his usual self, he seemed strangely at peace, like a man who had already accepted the inevitable.
“Father!”
“─From the very beginning, you despised Roman more than anyone. Yet you let his words sway you? Did you honestly believe that cunning snake would actually go looking for Senia? You’re my own daughter, but I must call you a fool. After seeing his true nature and suffering for it, you should have been suspicious. Instead you grew foolishly attached… You refuse to act when told to act, then stir up trouble the moment you’re told not to. Like a contrary frog, you’re burning up inside with frustration.”
“F-Father?”
His unusually sharp tone made Servilia shrink. She quietly dropped to one knee.
“I know I forced the engagement on you. At the time, you should have seized control of Roman. Instead you did pointless, foolish things. And now you’ve gone and developed feelings for him, waiting for that man to save Senia? Is there truly nothing in that head of yours except your own sense of justice?”
“Ugh… B-but… Does that mean you knew everything and simply allowed it to happen, Father?!”
“I told you then. It was already too late. Chasing after them now would only get you killed. I knew that if she were still alive, you would meet her on the battlefield, so I watched you fall for his deception. Thanks to that, you stayed quiet until the expedition preparations were complete. For that alone, I almost feel like thanking those Cornelius bastards.”
“Ah… Uh…?!”
This was nothing like his usual demeanor. His words struck like hammer blows, and Servilia’s face crumpled.
“But… I was deeply conflicted… He’s changed so much from before. Every time we spoke, my anger simply faded. I know how many people suffered from the evil he committed in the past, yet somehow we grew close enough to speak casually. Even though he still runs wild, indulging in women’s bodies, for some strange reason I can’t seem to hold any malice toward him…”
“That’s because you’re a woman.”
“─That has nothing to do with it!”
“No, I’ve seen it countless times. No matter how rotten a man is inside, if his appearance is pleasing, foolish women throw themselves at him again and again… Servilia. In the end, you were simply an ordinary woman.”
“B-but I…! I never once felt any affection for him…!!”
“Yet you clearly hold some fondness. You may claim to value ability and character over looks, but that isn’t the truth. Good looks make a person stand out, and there are countless cases where they lead to recognition and important positions. You’ve been quietly led by his silver tongue this entire time—do you still not realize your own foolishness?”
“Ughhh…!!”
“I believe your hatred is genuine. However, somewhere in your heart, there must be a part of you that remembers what happened back then and thinks, ‘What a waste.’”
“That… Yes… It’s true…”
“You are not being vile. It is simply a woman’s instinct to judge a man’s worth. For a princess of this nation, it is actually a good thing. ─Even if you are now an old maid.”
“Don’t say that!”
“Hehehe.”
He let out a short, cheerful laugh that seemed completely unlike him.
“...Father?”
“Your anger is justified. Any father who simply sits and watches after his daughter is kidnapped would look like a fool. It wouldn’t be strange if you lost all affection for me.”
“I… I also got too heated… I’m sorry.”
“Good. Now, to speak plainly, you are not the only one who has been observing Cornelius’s movements. This foolish father of yours planted eyes and ears and has been watching as well.”
“......!! Is that true?!”
“I planned to tell you today, as the expedition draws near, but since you’ve stormed in yourself…”
Calling it perfect timing, he revealed everything he had been preparing. He told her how they had worked with the Queen of Britannia to plant women inside the Cornelius family, and how they had been receiving information from them. He kept hidden that Nigilia was the true target, but Servilia was too furious at having been deceived and made a fool of by Roman to notice.
“──And so, I have been searching for a way to extract the Grand Spirit.”
“While I was throwing tantrums, you were doing all this…”
Servilia swallowed her anger and bowed her head once more.
“I’m sorry… I only resented you for doing nothing even though Senia had been taken…”
“I say again, your anger is justified, so lift your head. I believe this incident has taught you well. There is not a single trustworthy soul in the Cornelius family. Even Roman used the Grand Spirit as bait to deceive you. Of course he may have been concerned for your safety, but it is also true that he schemed to use your rage to ensure this expedition would not fail. If that were simply a subject fulfilling his duty, it would be one thing, but he has clearly deceived you.”
“I won’t thank him. As you said, Father, I now understand I was being played.”
“That’s how it should be. No matter that he is the master of the Grand Spirit, his attitude toward you has crossed the line from insolence into something far worse. He is a cancerous tumor that will surely threaten our Tebere. We must cut out the bud before it grows.”
At King Remerus’s words, Servilia nodded. Though he spoke sternly, the way his brown mustache twitched with a smile made it clear he had obtained excellent information.
“What should I do?”
“Those slave girls you sent in this time… I hear the Ain slaves have earned Roman’s trust.”
“Really?”
“They are currently handling official duties alongside his retainers. It seems they’ve even inserted themselves into the recent projects he’s been pushing forward. He isn’t simply keeping them as side pieces.”
She nodded again.
“According to them, his success in contracting the Grand Spirit came from a special curse. If that curse can be severed, he will lose his connection to the Grand Spirit.”
“It is now common knowledge that Roman is a curse user. Yet no one has even guessed how he managed to contract the Grand Spirit…”
“Which is precisely why it is special.”
“What is this special curse?”
“The thing dangling between his legs. You saw it once before, didn’t you?”
“Ah…!”
At the banquet, and again in Shetka, he had proudly displayed that cock of his! It was grotesquely large and hideous. Even the virgin Servilia had thought it abnormal, and now she blinked as realization dawned.
“If we cut that, the connection to the Grand Spirit will break? B-but… is this information reliable?”
“None other than Roman himself said it.”
“How?!”
“They got him thoroughly drunk and flattered him until he spilled his secrets. He proudly waved his lower half around, boasting, ‘With this, anything is possible.’ In the end, he’s just a man. No matter how many beautiful queens have become his slaves, with five of them attending to him, there was no way he could hold back.”
“Am I the only one who thinks this is going too smoothly?”
“What do you mean?”
“Roman is the one who toys with women. I can’t imagine him being played instead. Even when Queen El Sadat tried to seduce him, he coldly ignored her… So isn’t it possible the women have betrayed us?”
“They haven’t. Thanks to Queen Gabriel’s blessing, their true hearts cannot be exposed. Their families and tribesmen are held hostage, so they must obey even if they grit their teeth. They will not make any mistakes.”
Then King Remerus drew the holy-looking sword he carried at his side and held it out to Servilia.
“...What is this?”
“An artifact sent from Britannia. It was tempered in the Spirit Spring, so they call it the Spirit Sword. It has the power to sever curses. If you can cut his crotch with this, the Grand Spirit will be safely liberated. The Cornelius family’s sanctuary will vanish, and in some cases, we may even be able to claim it for ourselves.”
“But… if we fail, it won’t stop at causing a huge problem. Both you and I could lose our lives…!”
“Even if we do nothing, he will bare his fangs eventually. You don’t think he’s forgotten the humiliation he suffered at the academy, do you?”
“That… No, he wouldn’t have…”
The Shetka expedition. She had felt the sting of being looked down on then. She had witnessed the miracle the Grand Spirit performed with her own eyes and felt on her skin just how much Roman must despise her.
“Lately, more and more nobles have begun disregarding the Tebere royal family. You know where that influence is coming from.”
“Because I made an enemy of Cornelius, correct?”
“There are even those calling you a criminal. How impudent.”
“............”
“Even if we remain still, there are those everywhere ready to push us from behind and create justification. Before that happens, go cut down the buds you have raised. If he loses his curse, the Grand Spirit, and the sanctuary, Britannia has promised to join us in branding him a heretic. If you succeed, you too could be called a saint.”
“Me…?”
“You rescued two Grand Spirits and subjugated evil. After that, who would dare look down on our daughter, Servilia? The Spirit Society has already been consulted. All that remains is for you to succeed.”
He handed her the sword. The moment her fingers closed around the hilt, a refreshing sensation washed over her entire body, as if it were cleansing her soul, and she let out a soft breath.
“What exactly must I do?”
“This is a great undertaking involving all five major nations. If anything goes wrong or disrupts the plan, even Britannia will not be able to protect us. Therefore, deal with him after the expedition is over.”
After handing over the sword, he took a small vial from his drawer.
“This is a special drug prepared for this task. Its potency is strong enough to knock out even a dragon in a single dose. It can be used as incense or mixed into a drink.”
“...Won’t it kill him?”
“If it kills him, so be it. There isn’t a single reason to keep him alive.”
He pressed the vial into his daughter’s bosom and whispered with grave resolve.
“On the way back from the expedition, make him take the drug, cut it off, and return. Once the curse disappears and the Grand Spirit is freed, your father and the Spirit Society will handle the rest.”
“Will it truly… be all right?”
“Britannia will cooperate. Shetka will remain silent and not interfere.”
“What about the Chang Kingdom?”
“The Chang Kingdom is too busy dealing with chaos at home to meddle here. Besides, you haven’t been able to contact Princess Sunho either, have you?”
“Th-that’s true… I heard the eunuchs are running wild… After that, all contact was cut off…”
“Exactly. Chapel isn’t the type to involve itself in matters unrelated to money. With this, the Cornelius family will disappear, the forces criticizing you will collapse, and peace will return to Tebere. Therefore, cast aside all doubt. Steel your heart not only for your father, but for all of Tebere.”
“...Yes.”
Servilia still looked bewildered, but she soon gripped both the sword and the vial tightly.
There was no other choice. Roman was clearly an enemy. Getting along with the Cornelius family would have been ideal, but two mistakes had carried them across a river that could never be recrossed. In truth, they had deceived her with a letter and prevented Senia’s rescue, making their intentions perfectly clear.
I have no choice. I must take responsibility…
She spoke of justice, yet what she had accepted was assassination. The destruction of an honorable family. Nevertheless, she bowed her head to Remerus, accepted this great undertaking, and threw herself onto the path leading straight to ruin.