“What impudence to come without any notice.”
The news of the imperial investigator’s visit reached the duke’s ears first.
When he arrived at the scene, he found the investigators and the imperial knights already there, bringing with them a mobile prison cell while blocking the entrance.
It was a situation that clearly spelled trouble.
“I can’t recall being informed about this.”
His tone remained polite, but the chill in his eyes was unmistakable.
The lead investigator inadvertently swallowed dryly under that gaze.
However, he was a professional who had faced various situations.
Under imperial law, everyone, even the highest nobles, were equal.
The investigator quickly composed himself and responded.
“It is a special command from His Majesty the Emperor. We ask for your cooperation.”
“A special command?”
The duke’s eyes narrowed dangerously.
The people of the ducal household had gradually gathered around, including Alicia and Damian.
Alicia clung tightly to Damian’s arm, her face pale with fear.
She looked as frightened as a terrified rabbit.
Tsk.
Noticing this, the Duke clicked his tongue softly and then turned his attention back to the investigator.
Barging into the ducal house like this under the guise of imperial law and frightening such a frail child, these people.
“I am not sure what this special command is, but had you informed us beforehand, we would have happily cooperated.”
The investigator’s expression turned complicated upon hearing this.
He hesitated for a moment before shaking his head and saying,
“Unfortunately, that is not possible. Legally, we cannot seek cooperation from the family of a criminal.”
“What? The family of a criminal?”
The duke asked, almost to himself.
He thought he must have heard wrong or misunderstood.
The family of a criminal.
That sounded as if one of his children was a criminal.
“To be precise, not a criminal but, um…”
“Speak clearly.”
The investigator hesitated, not so much irked by the duke’s imposing voice but rather at a loss for a more fitting term.
“There was a report from the Freesia Duchy. Ducal Lord Daniel, holder of the Freesia Duchy’s sacred relic, has received a divine revelation.”
“A revelation. And how does that relate to the current situation?”
A rustling sound accompanied the investigator as he unfolded a paper he was holding.
“This is the content of the revelation communicated by the Freesia Duchy and the subsequent imperial decree.”
With a rigid explanation, the Duke took the paper.
Black letters densely filled the white page, unmistakably the emperor’s handwriting.
〈 The last star of Valentine shall bring the downfall of the Empire. 〉
The first sentence was strikingly profound.
So much so, it was disconcerting.
“What is this…”
The duke muttered shortly, hastily reading through the rest of the document.
“The content of the divine revelation is deemed a threat to the empire, and we cannot ignore the sanctity of the vision of the sacred relic’s holder. Therefore, it is ordered that the person in the revelation, ‘the last star of Valentine’, Alicia Valentine, is to be arrested immediately.”
“Impossible.”
The idea that Alicia would bring down the empire was ludicrous.
She was a child who was so wrought with tears and worries, one who smiled sweetly just as easily.
Her hobby was playing in the garden with the servants’ children. How could such a child possibly bring about the empire’s downfall?
It would have been somewhat believable if it were Damian or me, but Alicia…
“This is really absurd.”
The atmosphere, undeniably tense, caused Damian to stride briskly towards the duke.
Holding the trembling hand of Alicia, who was trying to suppress her fear.
As they got closer to the investigator, Alicia shut her eyes tightly.
‘Is it the revelation Daniel told me about?’
That seemed likely.
Recently, as per her sister’s advice, Alicia had been trying to reduce her contact with Daniel.
But Daniel still occasionally reached out to her.
The latest letter contained an apology for no longer being able to hide the revelation and advised her to prepare herself mentally.
Since then, she had always anticipated that a situation like this might arise.
She had tried to prepare herself, just as Daniel had suggested.
Yes, she definitely tried, but…
‘I’m scared.’
Confronted with the actual situation, her legs froze with fear. She was so terrified that she wanted to hide.
But she knew she couldn’t.
‘This is all for my sister.’
Hadn’t Alicia only ever received help until now?
Her whole life was almost like she had stolen all her sister’s belongings, including her name.
Her sister said it wasn’t her fault, but the heavy guilt in her heart remained unresolved.
So.
She must endure and persevere.
Alicia suppressed the tears threatening to spill and opened her eyes.
Through the broad backs of her father and brother, she caught a glimpse of the contents written on the paper.
It was exactly as she had anticipated.
“This is nonsense. How could such a thing happen!”
Damian, following the duke, shook his head in disbelief and shouted.
“I understand it’s hard to believe. But this is the reality we face.”
The investigator’s cold voice was matched by his sharp gaze, which landed on Alicia.
As she flinched, Damian quickly shielded her behind his back.
The duke, glancing briefly at his children, furrowed his brow and clenched the paper in his hand.
It was crumpled beyond recognition.
“It’s outrageous to take a child away over a mere revelation.”
“It’s not just any revelation. The revelations of House Freesia have never been wrong.”
“But the holder of the sacred relic could lie, couldn’t they? Only they can read the revelation reflected in the mirror.”
“The holder of the sacred relic is chosen by His Almighty will. Be careful with your words.”
The unyielding exchanges continued.
The atmosphere was so tense that it felt like one couldn’t even breathe easily.
The Duke was the first to speak again.
“Still, this is excessive. I refuse to hand over my child.”
Alicia’s eyes shifted to her father’s profile.
His face was as stern as always, but strangely it felt tender.
Her heart swelled.
Her father, standing to protect her, seemed so strong.
The warmth of her brother’s hand, firmly holding hers, felt comforting.
Unlike the moved Alicia, the investigator’s face grew even colder.
“Are you saying you will defy His Majesty’s command?”
The question was a veiled threat.
A wrong answer could easily brand them as traitors.
The duke clenched his jaw tightly.
‘Damn it.’
He couldn’t fathom why this calamity had struck out of the blue.
If he didn’t hand over Alicia, they would be labeled traitors.
If he did hand her over…
‘The outcome is obvious.’
His eyes, tinged with fatigue, tension, and anger, drifted to the portable jail loaded onto the carriage.
That iron cage, he surmised, was specially made to transport Alicia.
Normally, when arresting those with extraordinary abilities, the imperial family used cages made from their household’s sacred relic to suppress their powers.
Alicia might not have extraordinary abilities, but as a descendant of the Valentine lineage and the central figure of a dangerous revelation, it seemed they had prepared it just in case.
The thought of his daughter being caged like an animal and taken away pained his heart.
And that wasn’t the end of it.
Even after being taken away, Alicia would have to continue living confined somewhere.
She would spend her life under the watchful eye of the imperial household, her abilities suppressed by their sacred relic.
It might even be in a room without a single window.
The likelihood of being denied visitors was high.
After all, she was the person in the revelation accused of trying to destroy the empire. Who knows what unsavory characters might join her side to contribute to the empire’s downfall.
It meant that Alicia would have to spend her life locked away somewhere, alone and lonely.
Griiit.
The mere thought made his teeth grind.
A metallic taste filled his mouth as if he had bitten her cheek.
The duke slowly turned his head to look at Alicia.
Their eyes met.
Her large eyes looked terrified to anyone who saw them. Her constantly quivering eyelashes were proof of that.
But.
Alicia forced a faint smile and nodded.
“I’m… fine, Father. It’s the Emperor’s command, so there’s nothing… nothing we can do.”
Her voice, determined, trembled like a goat’s.
“Alicia.”
Damian also turned around to look at her.
His face was full of undeniable agony.
“Brother.”
“We cannot let you go.”
“…I have to go. You know that, Brother.”
“Please, Alicia…”
His pleading voice was full of desperation.
A single tear rolled down his reddened eyes.
Seeing her brother’s tears, Alicia had to bite her lip.
She didn’t want to show herself crying now, when she was about to leave.
“It’s time to leave now.”
Behind the touching family scene, the investigator spoke in a cold voice.
The attitude of the imperial knights accompanying him was disgustingly nonchalant.
The duke, watching his tearful children, glared at the investigator with a face full of anger.
“And if we refuse to let her go?”
“Father!”
Alicia called out to the duke in alarm at his words, which carried dangerous implications.
She didn’t want the family to be in danger because of her.
The investigator glanced at Alicia, then locked eyes with the duke.
“Then, House Valentine shall immediately be branded as traitors.”
“N-No! Don’t do that! I will go—I’ll go right now!”
Startled by the mention of her family being branded as traitors, Alicia cried out in alarm.
She seemed ready to move any moment, but she couldn’t.
Damian, holding her arm, did not let go.
“Let me go, Brother.”
“……”
“Brother!”
No matter how desperately she called, there was no response.
No matter how much she struggled, she couldn’t move an inch.
Instead, she was held even tighter by Damian, who had turned his back to the knights so he could draw her into his embrace.
In the meantime.
The duke’s hand slowly moved towards his sword sheath.
In the quiet stillness, the tension was so palpable that every eye focused on his hand.
If that hand were to so much as grasp the hilt of that sword, and if the sword were to even slightly leave that sheath…
It would be an open act of treason.
The duke would be drawing his sword on the Imperial investigator who was here to enact the imperial law.
The imperial knights also slowly reached towards their sword sheaths.
‘Perhaps we’ll have to face a swordmaster.’
Even while swallowing dryly, no one backed down or ran away.
How long had passed?
Shiing.
At the moment a sound came from an unidentified sword sheath.
“Stop.”
Amidst that suffocating silence.
Someone’s voice had cut through the air.
A voice compelling enough to capture everyone’s attention.
“What impudence to come without any notice.”
The news of the imperial investigator’s visit reached the duke’s ears first.
When he arrived at the scene, he found the investigators and the imperial knights already there, bringing with them a mobile prison cell while blocking the entrance.
It was a situation that clearly spelled trouble.
“I can’t recall being informed about this.”
His tone remained polite, but the chill in his eyes was unmistakable.
The lead investigator inadvertently swallowed dryly under that gaze.
However, he was a professional who had faced various situations.
Under imperial law, everyone, even the highest nobles, were equal.
The investigator quickly composed himself and responded.
“It is a special command from His Majesty the Emperor. We ask for your cooperation.”
“A special command?”
The duke’s eyes narrowed dangerously.
The people of the ducal household had gradually gathered around, including Alicia and Damian.
Alicia clung tightly to Damian’s arm, her face pale with fear.
She looked as frightened as a terrified rabbit.
Tsk.
Noticing this, the Duke clicked his tongue softly and then turned his attention back to the investigator.
Barging into the ducal house like this under the guise of imperial law and frightening such a frail child, these people.
“I am not sure what this special command is, but had you informed us beforehand, we would have happily cooperated.”
The investigator’s expression turned complicated upon hearing this.
He hesitated for a moment before shaking his head and saying,
“Unfortunately, that is not possible. Legally, we cannot seek cooperation from the family of a criminal.”
“What? The family of a criminal?”
The duke asked, almost to himself.
He thought he must have heard wrong or misunderstood.
The family of a criminal.
That sounded as if one of his children was a criminal.
“To be precise, not a criminal but, um…”
“Speak clearly.”
The investigator hesitated, not so much irked by the duke’s imposing voice but rather at a loss for a more fitting term.
“There was a report from the Freesia Duchy. Ducal Lord Daniel, holder of the Freesia Duchy’s sacred relic, has received a divine revelation.”
“A revelation. And how does that relate to the current situation?”
A rustling sound accompanied the investigator as he unfolded a paper he was holding.
“This is the content of the revelation communicated by the Freesia Duchy and the subsequent imperial decree.”
With a rigid explanation, the Duke took the paper.
Black letters densely filled the white page, unmistakably the emperor’s handwriting.
〈 The last star of Valentine shall bring the downfall of the Empire. 〉
The first sentence was strikingly profound.
So much so, it was disconcerting.
“What is this…”
The duke muttered shortly, hastily reading through the rest of the document.
“The content of the divine revelation is deemed a threat to the empire, and we cannot ignore the sanctity of the vision of the sacred relic’s holder. Therefore, it is ordered that the person in the revelation, ‘the last star of Valentine’, Alicia Valentine, is to be arrested immediately.”
“Impossible.”
The idea that Alicia would bring down the empire was ludicrous.
She was a child who was so wrought with tears and worries, one who smiled sweetly just as easily.
Her hobby was playing in the garden with the servants’ children. How could such a child possibly bring about the empire’s downfall?
It would have been somewhat believable if it were Damian or me, but Alicia…
“This is really absurd.”
The atmosphere, undeniably tense, caused Damian to stride briskly towards the duke.
Holding the trembling hand of Alicia, who was trying to suppress her fear.
As they got closer to the investigator, Alicia shut her eyes tightly.
‘Is it the revelation Daniel told me about?’
That seemed likely.
Recently, as per her sister’s advice, Alicia had been trying to reduce her contact with Daniel.
But Daniel still occasionally reached out to her.
The latest letter contained an apology for no longer being able to hide the revelation and advised her to prepare herself mentally.
Since then, she had always anticipated that a situation like this might arise.
She had tried to prepare herself, just as Daniel had suggested.
Yes, she definitely tried, but…
‘I’m scared.’
Confronted with the actual situation, her legs froze with fear. She was so terrified that she wanted to hide.
But she knew she couldn’t.
‘This is all for my sister.’
Hadn’t Alicia only ever received help until now?
Her whole life was almost like she had stolen all her sister’s belongings, including her name.
Her sister said it wasn’t her fault, but the heavy guilt in her heart remained unresolved.
So.
She must endure and persevere.
Alicia suppressed the tears threatening to spill and opened her eyes.
Through the broad backs of her father and brother, she caught a glimpse of the contents written on the paper.
It was exactly as she had anticipated.
“This is nonsense. How could such a thing happen!”
Damian, following the duke, shook his head in disbelief and shouted.
“I understand it’s hard to believe. But this is the reality we face.”
The investigator’s cold voice was matched by his sharp gaze, which landed on Alicia.
As she flinched, Damian quickly shielded her behind his back.
The duke, glancing briefly at his children, furrowed his brow and clenched the paper in his hand.
It was crumpled beyond recognition.
“It’s outrageous to take a child away over a mere revelation.”
“It’s not just any revelation. The revelations of House Freesia have never been wrong.”
“But the holder of the sacred relic could lie, couldn’t they? Only they can read the revelation reflected in the mirror.”
“The holder of the sacred relic is chosen by His Almighty will. Be careful with your words.”
The unyielding exchanges continued.
The atmosphere was so tense that it felt like one couldn’t even breathe easily.
The Duke was the first to speak again.
“Still, this is excessive. I refuse to hand over my child.”
Alicia’s eyes shifted to her father’s profile.
His face was as stern as always, but strangely it felt tender.
Her heart swelled.
Her father, standing to protect her, seemed so strong.
The warmth of her brother’s hand, firmly holding hers, felt comforting.
Unlike the moved Alicia, the investigator’s face grew even colder.
“Are you saying you will defy His Majesty’s command?”
The question was a veiled threat.
A wrong answer could easily brand them as traitors.
The duke clenched his jaw tightly.
‘Damn it.’
He couldn’t fathom why this calamity had struck out of the blue.
If he didn’t hand over Alicia, they would be labeled traitors.
If he did hand her over…
‘The outcome is obvious.’
His eyes, tinged with fatigue, tension, and anger, drifted to the portable jail loaded onto the carriage.
That iron cage, he surmised, was specially made to transport Alicia.
Normally, when arresting those with extraordinary abilities, the imperial family used cages made from their household’s sacred relic to suppress their powers.
Alicia might not have extraordinary abilities, but as a descendant of the Valentine lineage and the central figure of a dangerous revelation, it seemed they had prepared it just in case.
The thought of his daughter being caged like an animal and taken away pained his heart.
And that wasn’t the end of it.
Even after being taken away, Alicia would have to continue living confined somewhere.
She would spend her life under the watchful eye of the imperial household, her abilities suppressed by their sacred relic.
It might even be in a room without a single window.
The likelihood of being denied visitors was high.
After all, she was the person in the revelation accused of trying to destroy the empire. Who knows what unsavory characters might join her side to contribute to the empire’s downfall.
It meant that Alicia would have to spend her life locked away somewhere, alone and lonely.
Griiit.
The mere thought made his teeth grind.
A metallic taste filled his mouth as if he had bitten her cheek.
The duke slowly turned his head to look at Alicia.
Their eyes met.
Her large eyes looked terrified to anyone who saw them. Her constantly quivering eyelashes were proof of that.
But.
Alicia forced a faint smile and nodded.
“I’m… fine, Father. It’s the Emperor’s command, so there’s nothing… nothing we can do.”
Her voice, determined, trembled like a goat’s.
“Alicia.”
Damian also turned around to look at her.
His face was full of undeniable agony.
“Brother.”
“We cannot let you go.”
“…I have to go. You know that, Brother.”
“Please, Alicia…”
His pleading voice was full of desperation.
A single tear rolled down his reddened eyes.
Seeing her brother’s tears, Alicia had to bite her lip.
She didn’t want to show herself crying now, when she was about to leave.
“It’s time to leave now.”
Behind the touching family scene, the investigator spoke in a cold voice.
The attitude of the imperial knights accompanying him was disgustingly nonchalant.
The duke, watching his tearful children, glared at the investigator with a face full of anger.
“And if we refuse to let her go?”
“Father!”
Alicia called out to the duke in alarm at his words, which carried dangerous implications.
She didn’t want the family to be in danger because of her.
The investigator glanced at Alicia, then locked eyes with the duke.
“Then, House Valentine shall immediately be branded as traitors.”
“N-No! Don’t do that! I will go—I’ll go right now!”
Startled by the mention of her family being branded as traitors, Alicia cried out in alarm.
She seemed ready to move any moment, but she couldn’t.
Damian, holding her arm, did not let go.
“Let me go, Brother.”
“……”
“Brother!”
No matter how desperately she called, there was no response.
No matter how much she struggled, she couldn’t move an inch.
Instead, she was held even tighter by Damian, who had turned his back to the knights so he could draw her into his embrace.
In the meantime.
The duke’s hand slowly moved towards his sword sheath.
In the quiet stillness, the tension was so palpable that every eye focused on his hand.
If that hand were to so much as grasp the hilt of that sword, and if the sword were to even slightly leave that sheath…
It would be an open act of treason.
The duke would be drawing his sword on the Imperial investigator who was here to enact the imperial law.
The imperial knights also slowly reached towards their sword sheaths.
‘Perhaps we’ll have to face a swordmaster.’
Even while swallowing dryly, no one backed down or ran away.
How long had passed?
Shiing.
At the moment a sound came from an unidentified sword sheath.
“Stop.”
Amidst that suffocating silence.
Someone’s voice had cut through the air.
A voice compelling enough to capture everyone’s attention.
