“What’s going to happen today…”
Uni complained without cleaning the room. It was because of the girl outside.
Today is the third day since they came to the Imperial Palace. Rena’s record so far has been spectacular. Poison on the first day, champagne on the second day, then how will she come back today, the third day?
Uni sighed heavily, and just then, Rena returned to her room.
“My lady? Why did you come so early?”
“There’s not much time left.”
“What do you mean? Did you not have a schedule until the evening? What’s going on?”
The quick-witted Uni was nervous as soon as she saw Rena. Rena sat on the sofa, smiling. She said then as she unbuttoned her tight uniform,
“I met my father.”
“You met…!? Ah, ah, ah, what did you say to him?!”
“I said what was necessary.”
Rena was taking off her gloves while Uni shouted in surprise. She then sighed deeply as she leaned her back on the sofa.
Rena looked tired. Uni stared at her softly, swallowed her curiosity and asked a trivial question,
“… Have you eaten?”
“No, not yet.”
“Stay here, I’ll bring you something to eat.”
Uni let Rena settle down and ran to the shelf. Then she brought out a bunch of fruit and cookies. Rena blinked her eyes at the unexpected refreshment.
“Where did all this come from?”
“They’re gifts. I have a follower in the Imperial Palace.”
Rena burst into laughter at Uni, who answered so naturally.
Smart and talkative, Uni was easy going anywhere. Many people were kind to little Uni, but Uni hated being treated as a child, so she regarded their favor by calling them her followers.
Since both are similar in terms of serving the target, her logic is that they are not very different.
“I’m sorry for leaving you alone.”
“It’s okay, I have my followers.”
Rena’s smile brightened at Uni’s bold reply. Rena continued her words, reassured by the ingenuity of this child.
“I’ll say this first while we’re still here.”
“What about?”
“Someone will approach Uni soon.”
Uni is a child brought by a strange lady named Rena Ruber. It is only natural that the child would be in the spotlight in the middle of the Imperial Palace, where conspiracies take place.
“It’s highly likely that they’ll be from Father’s side. There’s only a slim chance of anyone else.”
“The lady’s father?”
“Yes.”
“Then what?”
Uni widened her eyes and asked again.
Rena was worried about Uni, who had to spend time alone in this spacious palace. So she was more serious than ever.
“If you think it’s dangerous, avoid it. As soon as possible.”
“… What if it’s not too dangerous?”
Uni asked cautiously.
Rena sighed in relief at her child’s curiosity. And she answered.
***
In the deepest part of Grandis Gracia’s Imperial Palace, there is a palace called the ‘Doom Palace”.
The place that can only be reached after passing through thirty gardens from the main palace. A palace only in name, in reality, it is the ruins of the old Imperial Palace left unattended.
There is a broken arch pillar, a trace of a fresco, a throne set in rubble, and a huge, half-broken stone tablet in front. All of this look tragic, and even the sunlight pouring from the open ceiling could not take away the gloom of this place.
“Still waiting for the East?”
Amidst the gray ruins, Clavis said with a white smile.
“Perhaps he’s too obsessed with playing the hero?”
When Clavis complained, the dukes and knights of the South and the North had already gathered there.
The afternoon schedule of the Founding Day continued at the Doom Palace, because of the emperor’s command to conquer the Tomb.
As in the case of the audience with the emperor, Rena was next to the Southern Duke, and Marquis Ruber and Rubid were on either side of the Northern Duke.
The distance between Rena and the marquis was only a few steps. But the father and daughter didn’t even look at each other as if they didn’t know each other.
“He must be nervous because he couldn’t fit in…”
When the Eastern Duke did not appear after a while, the Southern Duke muttered angrily. And the Northern Duke immediately protested to the cardinal.
“We’re being delayed.”
“But the Eastern Duke isn’t here yet.”
“I’ve endured for too long. And yet you still want me to put up with this crudity?” Eura said coldly.
The Northern Duke, Eura Plenus, was a high-ranking figure, as rumored. Rena was impressed with his attitude.
“The brothers are alike.”
‘Both are jerks.’ When Rena talked about Eura and Rubid, the Southern Duke also muttered in a low voice.
“Alright, let’s start. To the altar.”
At the cardinal’s permission, Marquis Ruber stepped forward.
The marquis ordered the knights to come out with a palanquin. It was decorated with gold and velvet, fancy enough for a king to ascend. But, oddly enough, heaps of stones were piled up on top of it instead of a king.
The knights solemnly laid down a heap of stone in front of the cardinal, making it like a small tomb. Clavis looked at it and smiled broadly.
“To find so many, the Northern region is competent.”
“It’s all thanks to the insight of Duke Plenus.”
As Clavis admired, the marquis replied as if he had been waiting for the compliment. The Southern Duke laughed at that, and an unexpected voice spread out,
“Am I late?”
At the same time, knights in black uniforms stormed into the Doom Palace.
“No, Duke is too hasty.”
The owner of the disrespectful voice was none other than the Eastern Duke.
He appeared very leisurely even though he was late.
Then, he motioned with his chin to the knights who followed him without a break.
The knights of the East stood in front with heavy sacks on their backs. Then they poured it out before the cardinal.
Everything that came out of the sacks were stones. They were the stone altars carved with a strange pattern on the surface.
It was more than the North had gathered at first glance. When the achievements of the East took precedence over the North, Marquis Ruber’s face hardened. Whether he realized it or not, Clavis burst out laughing.
“The Eastern Duke has made the Northern Duke upset because of your tardiness. However, I hope the Eastern Duke will not take it to heart as he has brought us a lot of stuff.”
“Is that so? Then as an apology…”
Lynn countered Clavis’ criticism. He then swept away the pile of altars of the Northern region with his feet.
“Help me by not comparing myself to the East,” said Lynn while stepping on the altars and palanquin.
Rena glanced at the Northern people at that show of wrath. Sure enough, everyone was staring at Lynn with a burning gaze.
“… I guess that’s what he was aiming for since the beginning, right?”
“… I hate him too.”
The Southern Duke responded with a tired voice to Rena’s whisper. Rena fully understood his feelings.
‘Mr. Lynn… is a guy like this outside.’
She was confused when he said he is going to act like a son of a bitch, and wondered how much of a son of a bitch he could be. But after seeing it in person, she thought he truly is a big son of a bitch. She thought he is a bit pitiful, but at the same time also thought he deserved to be criticized.
After making such a novel move, Lynn moved to his seat. Clavis cut in as the atmosphere had turned bloody with the Eastern appearance.
“Well, it’s alright. As I said before, everything will be reported to Her Majesty. Everyone knows this, right?”
At the cardinal’s words, the East became more arrogant, and the North became more uncomfortable.
After all, the emperor is not interested in the character of the dukes. The important thing is to obey her orders. And now, the first order of the emperor was to collect those stones called altars that were piled up in large numbers.
“Let’s start for real this time.”
At Clavis’ signal, the priests began to list the altars on the floor one by one.
“Behold, I will send a messenger who will prepare the way. The kingdom of heaven is suffering from plunderers, but those plunderers shall be eliminated.”
Clavis said in front of the priests moving the altars.
“100 years ago, right here, the door first opened.”
Emperor Nihil described that day in her biography:
—Something I had never seen before came pouring out from the crack like lightning.
—They took various forms and stood on the ground. None of them resembled God’s creation perfectly.
—There were those with several pairs of wings spread out, those carrying many horns, those with insect joints. There were all kinds of bizarre shapes.
—But the most bizarre part was the human face they had.
“In the most peaceful times, the kingdom of Garcia was destroyed by enemies it had never seen before. Garcia’s last bloodline, Nihil Garcia, swore revenge and rebuilding, and raised her sword.”
Clavis continued speaking about the old days. This was also the content of Nihil’s biography.
—The monstrous beings only wished for our death.
—We were constantly killed and eaten.
—Born as a princess, I’ve never wielded anything heavier than a fan, but there was no other way.
—Since no one raises a sword or builds a shield for me anymore, I lifted all of them myself.
“Nihil Garcia fought countless battles without knowing what they were. Until the end when they met.”
Until then, people referred to them as monsters, monsters, or demons. However, their identity that was confirmed by Nihil was far beyond previous predictions.
—I smashed my enemies to make a way, and threw myself through the cracks in the shape of a thunderbolt.
—Hundreds of battles were fought in a world where the sky was red. When I penetrated the core of the Black Lands, there was someone who welcomed me.
—He said, ‘Come, granddaughter.’
—He was the previous king of Garcia, three generations ahead of my father.
“It was then that Nihil Garcia realized. The reason they have human faces and constantly crave the earth…”
This is a fact that every citizen of the Empire knows. But the cardinal ended his speech as calmly as if he were teaching a young child a new truth.
“They were our ancestors who were already dead and buried. That’s why we call them the ‘dead’.”
***
At the same time, Uni was in the basement laundry room of the palace by the lake to get new towels and bedding.
“You’re still young, but you’re very skilled.”
Uni was in the middle of packing the laundry, and suddenly an unfamiliar voice was heard.
Looking up, an old man was smiling kindly. This was her first time seeing this face. He didn’t look like a handyman by the way he was wearing a suit.
“Who are you?”
“A person who serves a master. Just like you.”
“What?”
Uni frowned at the old man’s vague answer.
But after a moment, Uni’s eyes widened again. Because the old man took a candy bottle from his inner pocket.
“Do you like candy?”
“There is no child in the world who doesn’t like candy.”
“That’s great.”
“But I don’t eat anything from strangers,” Uni said, staring at the candy bottle with wary eyes.
She remembered what Rena had told me just a few hours ago.
—Sooner or later, someone will approach you.
“But what does it taste like?”
“Would you like to take a look? It’s all mixed up so I don’t know.”
“You want me to just look at the candy?”
“Because you don’t eat anything given by strangers.”
In response to the old man’s answer, Uni pouted her mouth.
The child thought of something with a discontented face, and immediately said generously,
“Then I’d like you to offer it to me one more time. I have a sense of shame, so I won’t reject it three times.”
At the child’s cute request, the old man burst into laughter. Then he willingly held out the candy bottle.
When Uni took the candy bottle coldly, the old man, the butler of the Ruber family, hid a light sigh in his laughter.
‘I can’t do this either.’
The butler swallowed bitterly as he watched the little girl falling over the candy.
The chief butler of the Ruber family is dealing with a young maid. Disillusioned with his situation, the butler looked at Rena’s maid under a loving mask, as his master commanded.
And Uni recalled the conversation she had with Rena.
—If you think it’s dangerous, avoid it. As soon as possible.
—What if it’s not too dangerous?
When Uni asked carefully, Rena sighed and smiled. And she answered.
—Then make friends with them.
—How close?
—Just enough.
‘How close is close enough?’
Uni put the candy in her mouth, thinking about it alone.
Then she pretended to be innocent and smiled at the old man who was pretending to be nice.
“What’s going to happen today…”
Uni complained without cleaning the room. It was because of the girl outside.
Today is the third day since they came to the Imperial Palace. Rena’s record so far has been spectacular. Poison on the first day, champagne on the second day, then how will she come back today, the third day?
Uni sighed heavily, and just then, Rena returned to her room.
“My lady? Why did you come so early?”
“There’s not much time left.”
“What do you mean? Did you not have a schedule until the evening? What’s going on?”
The quick-witted Uni was nervous as soon as she saw Rena. Rena sat on the sofa, smiling. She said then as she unbuttoned her tight uniform,
“I met my father.”
“You met…!? Ah, ah, ah, what did you say to him?!”
“I said what was necessary.”
Rena was taking off her gloves while Uni shouted in surprise. She then sighed deeply as she leaned her back on the sofa.
Rena looked tired. Uni stared at her softly, swallowed her curiosity and asked a trivial question,
“… Have you eaten?”
“No, not yet.”
“Stay here, I’ll bring you something to eat.”
Uni let Rena settle down and ran to the shelf. Then she brought out a bunch of fruit and cookies. Rena blinked her eyes at the unexpected refreshment.
“Where did all this come from?”
“They’re gifts. I have a follower in the Imperial Palace.”
Rena burst into laughter at Uni, who answered so naturally.
Smart and talkative, Uni was easy going anywhere. Many people were kind to little Uni, but Uni hated being treated as a child, so she regarded their favor by calling them her followers.
Since both are similar in terms of serving the target, her logic is that they are not very different.
“I’m sorry for leaving you alone.”
“It’s okay, I have my followers.”
Rena’s smile brightened at Uni’s bold reply. Rena continued her words, reassured by the ingenuity of this child.
“I’ll say this first while we’re still here.”
“What about?”
“Someone will approach Uni soon.”
Uni is a child brought by a strange lady named Rena Ruber. It is only natural that the child would be in the spotlight in the middle of the Imperial Palace, where conspiracies take place.
“It’s highly likely that they’ll be from Father’s side. There’s only a slim chance of anyone else.”
“The lady’s father?”
“Yes.”
“Then what?”
Uni widened her eyes and asked again.
Rena was worried about Uni, who had to spend time alone in this spacious palace. So she was more serious than ever.
“If you think it’s dangerous, avoid it. As soon as possible.”
“… What if it’s not too dangerous?”
Uni asked cautiously.
Rena sighed in relief at her child’s curiosity. And she answered.
***
In the deepest part of Grandis Gracia’s Imperial Palace, there is a palace called the ‘Doom Palace”.
The place that can only be reached after passing through thirty gardens from the main palace. A palace only in name, in reality, it is the ruins of the old Imperial Palace left unattended.
There is a broken arch pillar, a trace of a fresco, a throne set in rubble, and a huge, half-broken stone tablet in front. All of this look tragic, and even the sunlight pouring from the open ceiling could not take away the gloom of this place.
“Still waiting for the East?”
Amidst the gray ruins, Clavis said with a white smile.
“Perhaps he’s too obsessed with playing the hero?”
When Clavis complained, the dukes and knights of the South and the North had already gathered there.
The afternoon schedule of the Founding Day continued at the Doom Palace, because of the emperor’s command to conquer the Tomb.
As in the case of the audience with the emperor, Rena was next to the Southern Duke, and Marquis Ruber and Rubid were on either side of the Northern Duke.
The distance between Rena and the marquis was only a few steps. But the father and daughter didn’t even look at each other as if they didn’t know each other.
“He must be nervous because he couldn’t fit in…”
When the Eastern Duke did not appear after a while, the Southern Duke muttered angrily. And the Northern Duke immediately protested to the cardinal.
“We’re being delayed.”
“But the Eastern Duke isn’t here yet.”
“I’ve endured for too long. And yet you still want me to put up with this crudity?” Eura said coldly.
The Northern Duke, Eura Plenus, was a high-ranking figure, as rumored. Rena was impressed with his attitude.
“The brothers are alike.”
‘Both are jerks.’ When Rena talked about Eura and Rubid, the Southern Duke also muttered in a low voice.
“Alright, let’s start. To the altar.”
At the cardinal’s permission, Marquis Ruber stepped forward.
The marquis ordered the knights to come out with a palanquin. It was decorated with gold and velvet, fancy enough for a king to ascend. But, oddly enough, heaps of stones were piled up on top of it instead of a king.
The knights solemnly laid down a heap of stone in front of the cardinal, making it like a small tomb. Clavis looked at it and smiled broadly.
“To find so many, the Northern region is competent.”
“It’s all thanks to the insight of Duke Plenus.”
As Clavis admired, the marquis replied as if he had been waiting for the compliment. The Southern Duke laughed at that, and an unexpected voice spread out,
“Am I late?”
At the same time, knights in black uniforms stormed into the Doom Palace.
“No, Duke is too hasty.”
The owner of the disrespectful voice was none other than the Eastern Duke.
He appeared very leisurely even though he was late.
Then, he motioned with his chin to the knights who followed him without a break.
The knights of the East stood in front with heavy sacks on their backs. Then they poured it out before the cardinal.
Everything that came out of the sacks were stones. They were the stone altars carved with a strange pattern on the surface.
It was more than the North had gathered at first glance. When the achievements of the East took precedence over the North, Marquis Ruber’s face hardened. Whether he realized it or not, Clavis burst out laughing.
“The Eastern Duke has made the Northern Duke upset because of your tardiness. However, I hope the Eastern Duke will not take it to heart as he has brought us a lot of stuff.”
“Is that so? Then as an apology…”
Lynn countered Clavis’ criticism. He then swept away the pile of altars of the Northern region with his feet.
“Help me by not comparing myself to the East,” said Lynn while stepping on the altars and palanquin.
Rena glanced at the Northern people at that show of wrath. Sure enough, everyone was staring at Lynn with a burning gaze.
“… I guess that’s what he was aiming for since the beginning, right?”
“… I hate him too.”
The Southern Duke responded with a tired voice to Rena’s whisper. Rena fully understood his feelings.
‘Mr. Lynn… is a guy like this outside.’
She was confused when he said he is going to act like a son of a bitch, and wondered how much of a son of a bitch he could be. But after seeing it in person, she thought he truly is a big son of a bitch. She thought he is a bit pitiful, but at the same time also thought he deserved to be criticized.
After making such a novel move, Lynn moved to his seat. Clavis cut in as the atmosphere had turned bloody with the Eastern appearance.
“Well, it’s alright. As I said before, everything will be reported to Her Majesty. Everyone knows this, right?”
At the cardinal’s words, the East became more arrogant, and the North became more uncomfortable.
After all, the emperor is not interested in the character of the dukes. The important thing is to obey her orders. And now, the first order of the emperor was to collect those stones called altars that were piled up in large numbers.
“Let’s start for real this time.”
At Clavis’ signal, the priests began to list the altars on the floor one by one.
“Behold, I will send a messenger who will prepare the way. The kingdom of heaven is suffering from plunderers, but those plunderers shall be eliminated.”
Clavis said in front of the priests moving the altars.
“100 years ago, right here, the door first opened.”
Emperor Nihil described that day in her biography:
—Something I had never seen before came pouring out from the crack like lightning.
—They took various forms and stood on the ground. None of them resembled God’s creation perfectly.
—There were those with several pairs of wings spread out, those carrying many horns, those with insect joints. There were all kinds of bizarre shapes.
—But the most bizarre part was the human face they had.
“In the most peaceful times, the kingdom of Garcia was destroyed by enemies it had never seen before. Garcia’s last bloodline, Nihil Garcia, swore revenge and rebuilding, and raised her sword.”
Clavis continued speaking about the old days. This was also the content of Nihil’s biography.
—The monstrous beings only wished for our death.
—We were constantly killed and eaten.
—Born as a princess, I’ve never wielded anything heavier than a fan, but there was no other way.
—Since no one raises a sword or builds a shield for me anymore, I lifted all of them myself.
“Nihil Garcia fought countless battles without knowing what they were. Until the end when they met.”
Until then, people referred to them as monsters, monsters, or demons. However, their identity that was confirmed by Nihil was far beyond previous predictions.
—I smashed my enemies to make a way, and threw myself through the cracks in the shape of a thunderbolt.
—Hundreds of battles were fought in a world where the sky was red. When I penetrated the core of the Black Lands, there was someone who welcomed me.
—He said, ‘Come, granddaughter.’
—He was the previous king of Garcia, three generations ahead of my father.
“It was then that Nihil Garcia realized. The reason they have human faces and constantly crave the earth…”
This is a fact that every citizen of the Empire knows. But the cardinal ended his speech as calmly as if he were teaching a young child a new truth.
“They were our ancestors who were already dead and buried. That’s why we call them the ‘dead’.”
***
At the same time, Uni was in the basement laundry room of the palace by the lake to get new towels and bedding.
“You’re still young, but you’re very skilled.”
Uni was in the middle of packing the laundry, and suddenly an unfamiliar voice was heard.
Looking up, an old man was smiling kindly. This was her first time seeing this face. He didn’t look like a handyman by the way he was wearing a suit.
“Who are you?”
“A person who serves a master. Just like you.”
“What?”
Uni frowned at the old man’s vague answer.
But after a moment, Uni’s eyes widened again. Because the old man took a candy bottle from his inner pocket.
“Do you like candy?”
“There is no child in the world who doesn’t like candy.”
“That’s great.”
“But I don’t eat anything from strangers,” Uni said, staring at the candy bottle with wary eyes.
She remembered what Rena had told me just a few hours ago.
—Sooner or later, someone will approach you.
“But what does it taste like?”
“Would you like to take a look? It’s all mixed up so I don’t know.”
“You want me to just look at the candy?”
“Because you don’t eat anything given by strangers.”
In response to the old man’s answer, Uni pouted her mouth.
The child thought of something with a discontented face, and immediately said generously,
“Then I’d like you to offer it to me one more time. I have a sense of shame, so I won’t reject it three times.”
At the child’s cute request, the old man burst into laughter. Then he willingly held out the candy bottle.
When Uni took the candy bottle coldly, the old man, the butler of the Ruber family, hid a light sigh in his laughter.
‘I can’t do this either.’
The butler swallowed bitterly as he watched the little girl falling over the candy.
The chief butler of the Ruber family is dealing with a young maid. Disillusioned with his situation, the butler looked at Rena’s maid under a loving mask, as his master commanded.
And Uni recalled the conversation she had with Rena.
—If you think it’s dangerous, avoid it. As soon as possible.
—What if it’s not too dangerous?
When Uni asked carefully, Rena sighed and smiled. And she answered.
—Then make friends with them.
—How close?
—Just enough.
‘How close is close enough?’
Uni put the candy in her mouth, thinking about it alone.
Then she pretended to be innocent and smiled at the old man who was pretending to be nice.
