He staggered, and lurching, he rushed into the wreckage of the wagon. He dug in with his bare hands while it was still hot. As he was excavating through the burning ruin, he saw what he thought was someone’s shinbone shattering and cracking with a soft, crisp sound at his touch.
He hurriedly removed his hand with a start but saw it through the rubble.
After learning Frisia liked magic tools, he gave her a wedding gift. It was a magic tool that could shield and defend the wearer. It had crumbled, and a faction of it was left.
Frisia is dead.
‘No.’
Denying the thought, Aslei blinked. He couldn’t bear to reach for that piece left. He was afraid it would disintegrate like that bone fragment.
Whose bones were those? Could it be Frisia’s?
‘No! It can’t be!’
A beastly, animal-like scream erupted from Aslei’s mouth as he stumbled back. No one standing there dared to calm him down.
❁ ❁ ❁
None of the knights sent to kill the Duchess of Tintalion ever returned. The fact made Julien uneasy.
‘They didn’t do a sloppy job, did they? Don’t tell me that they betrayed me… … .’
Because the emperor authorized him with full authority, Julien personally selected 30 imperial knights to form an assassination squad.
The knights had been taken aback by orders to drive the duchess into a trap and to murder her. Some openly defied his orders and had to be thrown into prison.
‘I have to kill the ones I put in prison.’
He couldn’t kill them right away because of their reputation. They disobeyed Julien’s orders, who was entrusted with the emperor’s authority, by talking about the honor of a knight.
He wanted to kill them and their families on the spot by accusing them of all sorts of crimes but was afraid of the eyes of the nobles.
‘Everyone will be trying to find evidence that I was involved in the assassination of the Duchess.’
But they would have guessed the emperor to be behind it, so in the end they would keep their mouths shut. The empire’s aristocrats were well-versed in knowing but pretending not to know and looking away.
The Duke of Atreille would be furious, but he believed he would eventually succumb to the situation. He would be more irate at the fact that his position as duke lost some authority than he would be at the murder of his daughter.
He was a calculating man. And soon, he would approach the irreversible situation pragmatically, so he was not too worried. Who he watched was Aslei.
‘He, too, will have to accept it eventually. I’m the only heir to the empire! What can he do?’
He was the last prince, and he was soon to become emperor. Even if that bastard belonged to the imperial family, they had different fates.
Aslei Tintalion would eventually bow his head at his feet.
Julien felt a little uneasy, but he believed it. Hadn’t everything worked out so far and moved according to his wishes? So again… … .
“Y-Your Highness!”
Fear was exuding out of the recklessly running attendant. Julien, lost in thought, grew annoyed. It was law that mere servants should not interrupt the prince’s thoughts.
“Run away! Now the duke—Coughk!”
A swordsman slashed the attendant’s body in half. His body was cut into two clear pieces, fell apart, and blood poured out like a blood sac had burst.
For a moment, Julien’s eyes widened in disbelief, not realizing what he had just witnessed.
“Aaaagh!”
It was the first time I had seen such a cruel sight. He had been sent to battlefields but had always been in safe places, surrounded by servants and knights.
Jumping and screaming, Julien suddenly shut his mouth. It was because someone had walked into his room.
He staggered, and lurching, he rushed into the wreckage of the wagon. He dug in with his bare hands while it was still hot. As he was excavating through the burning ruin, he saw what he thought was someone’s shinbone shattering and cracking with a soft, crisp sound at his touch.
He hurriedly removed his hand with a start but saw it through the rubble.
After learning Frisia liked magic tools, he gave her a wedding gift. It was a magic tool that could shield and defend the wearer. It had crumbled, and a faction of it was left.
Frisia is dead.
‘No.’
Denying the thought, Aslei blinked. He couldn’t bear to reach for that piece left. He was afraid it would disintegrate like that bone fragment.
Whose bones were those? Could it be Frisia’s?
‘No! It can’t be!’
A beastly, animal-like scream erupted from Aslei’s mouth as he stumbled back. No one standing there dared to calm him down.
❁ ❁ ❁
None of the knights sent to kill the Duchess of Tintalion ever returned. The fact made Julien uneasy.
‘They didn’t do a sloppy job, did they? Don’t tell me that they betrayed me… … .’
Because the emperor authorized him with full authority, Julien personally selected 30 imperial knights to form an assassination squad.
The knights had been taken aback by orders to drive the duchess into a trap and to murder her. Some openly defied his orders and had to be thrown into prison.
‘I have to kill the ones I put in prison.’
He couldn’t kill them right away because of their reputation. They disobeyed Julien’s orders, who was entrusted with the emperor’s authority, by talking about the honor of a knight.
He wanted to kill them and their families on the spot by accusing them of all sorts of crimes but was afraid of the eyes of the nobles.
‘Everyone will be trying to find evidence that I was involved in the assassination of the Duchess.’
But they would have guessed the emperor to be behind it, so in the end they would keep their mouths shut. The empire’s aristocrats were well-versed in knowing but pretending not to know and looking away.
The Duke of Atreille would be furious, but he believed he would eventually succumb to the situation. He would be more irate at the fact that his position as duke lost some authority than he would be at the murder of his daughter.
He was a calculating man. And soon, he would approach the irreversible situation pragmatically, so he was not too worried. Who he watched was Aslei.
‘He, too, will have to accept it eventually. I’m the only heir to the empire! What can he do?’
He was the last prince, and he was soon to become emperor. Even if that bastard belonged to the imperial family, they had different fates.
Aslei Tintalion would eventually bow his head at his feet.
Julien felt a little uneasy, but he believed it. Hadn’t everything worked out so far and moved according to his wishes? So again… … .
“Y-Your Highness!”
Fear was exuding out of the recklessly running attendant. Julien, lost in thought, grew annoyed. It was law that mere servants should not interrupt the prince’s thoughts.
“Run away! Now the duke—Coughk!”
A swordsman slashed the attendant’s body in half. His body was cut into two clear pieces, fell apart, and blood poured out like a blood sac had burst.
For a moment, Julien’s eyes widened in disbelief, not realizing what he had just witnessed.
“Aaaagh!”
It was the first time I had seen such a cruel sight. He had been sent to battlefields but had always been in safe places, surrounded by servants and knights.
Jumping and screaming, Julien suddenly shut his mouth. It was because someone had walked into his room.
