I immediately drew my sword.
The only thought that filled my mind was that I had to kill the man who killed Ilia.
“…Aren.”
The one who stood in my way was my older brother.
“…Step aside.”
I glared at him with fierce eyes.
At that moment, I hated my brother more than ever before.
“…I’m sorry.”
I immediately drew my sword.
The only thought that filled my mind was that I had to kill the man who killed Ilia.
“…Aren.”
The one who stood in my way was my older brother.
“…Step aside.”
I glared at him with fierce eyes.
At that moment, I hated my brother more than ever before.
“…I’m sorry.”
My brother drew his sword and took a stance.
He was determined to protect the Emperor, even if it meant risking his life.
“It’s alright, Sir. Consider this a form of entertainment.”
However, the one who made my brother step aside was the Emperor himself.
“Now, come at me. Depending on your efforts, I might even spare an arm.”
I charged at the Emperor before he could even properly prepare.
“Have you thrown chivalry to the dogs? Ah, your master is dead. I suppose that makes sense.”
The Emperor taunted me while effortlessly dodging my strikes.
No, this wasn’t a fight.
It was nothing more than a play, unfolding exactly as the Emperor intended.
“Huff… Huff…”
“Already tired? How disappointing.”
The Emperor slowly approached me.
Step by step.
Before I knew it, he was within my striking range.
But I could no longer swing my sword.
The prosthetic arm, too weak to handle my aura, had shattered into pieces.
For a right-handed swordsman like me, it was a fatal blow.
No, this wasn’t a fight.
It was nothing more than a play, unfolding exactly as the Emperor intended.
“Huff… Huff…”
“Already tired? How disappointing.”
The Emperor slowly approached me.
Step by step.
Before I knew it, he was within my striking range.
But I could no longer swing my sword.
The prosthetic arm, too weak to handle my aura, had shattered into pieces.
For a right-handed swordsman like me, it was a fatal blow.
My skin was cut, but that was all.
The Emperor didn’t even flinch as he absorbed my attack.
“…Aren.”
I tried to throw another punch, but my brother had already grabbed my arm.
“Brother!!!”
I shouted in frustration, but my brother only looked at me with sad eyes.
Seeing this, the Emperor smiled with a mix of joy and malice and spoke.
“Since you’ve amused me, I’ll tell you one thing. Sir Blake’s daughter made an oath to me. That’s why he had no choice but to stand in your way.”
An oath that forced my brother to stand against me.
There was only one thing that could mean.
A knight’s oath.
I could only understand that Melanie, my brother’s daughter, had made the same oath to the Emperor that I had made to Ilia.
Ilia had never actively used the knight’s oath, but once such an oath was made, the knight had no choice but to obey their master’s demands.
It was more like slavery than knighthood.
The Emperor had extracted that oath from Melanie, an oath that could only be used once in a lifetime.
“Why do you look at me like that? Even I need some form of security, don’t I?”
The more the Emperor spoke, the more my anger boiled.
Not only had he killed Ilia, but he had also used Melanie to hold my brother hostage.
I could never forgive him.
…But I couldn’t harm my brother any further.
I slowly let the tension drain from my body.
Only then did my brother release my hand.
“…I’m sorry, brother.”
“…It’s alright.”
“What a touching display of brotherly love. But alas, it’s a pity. Sir, what is the punishment for attempting to assassinate the Emperor?”
At the Emperor’s words, my brother clenched his teeth and spoke.
“Immediate… execution.”
“Indeed, Sir.”
The Emperor looked at my brother with cold eyes.
The intent to have me killed immediately was all too clear.
My brother slowly turned toward me, still gripping his sword.
But the sword was not swung.
Though he clenched the hilt so tightly that the veins in his hand bulged, he took no further action.
He simply stared at his own sword.
The Emperor clapped and spoke.
“Truly, it’s been so long since I’ve seen such familial love. How entertaining.”
He smiled coldly.
“Immediate execution seems too harsh, so let’s make it a public execution instead. One week from now, in the square.”
My brother’s lips, now bleeding from being bitten so hard, moved again.
“I will… carry out your command.”
Trembling, my brother began to bind my hands.
“…I’m sorry.”
He muttered an apology, one of many he had already offered.
I offered no resistance and was soon imprisoned.
…
Time in the cell passed slower, more tedious, and more painful than I had imagined.
There was no torture, but my heart ached unbearably.
All I could do was lie on the floor, lost in thought, inevitably thinking of Ilia.
‘Why… why…’
I wanted to ask Ilia.
Why had she gone to the Emperor?
Why had she confessed her crimes and allowed herself to be killed?
Countless questions swirled in my mind, but I reached no conclusions.
After three days of skipping meals and drowning in regret and despair, Layla came to see me.
“…What happened to you?”
I struggled to sit up and looked at her.
My face, now gaunt, was a stark contrast to how I had looked three days ago.
I realized that Layla had been with Ilia.
‘Did Ilia ask Layla for something…?’
I had reached the worst possible conclusion.
Ilia had convinced Layla to return to the capital to save me…
‘Did she go to the Emperor…?’
The questions that had plagued me for three days were answered all too easily.
Overwhelmed by a sense of futility, I slumped back down.
The effort of sitting up had been pointless; I was in a pitiful state.
“…Why have you come?”
At my strained words, Layla’s gaze grew more intense.
Her eyes were filled with pity, regret, and guilt.
“…Ilia asked me to give you something.”
Layla handed me what she had brought through the bars.
A paper envelope and a silver necklace.
Though it was a simple offering, I began to examine it carefully.
I immediately recognized the necklace.
It was Ilia’s mother’s keepsake, the necklace Ilia had worn every day.
Even on the battlefield, Ilia had always worn that necklace.
A simple necklace, devoid of any brilliance or extravagance.
Ilia had once told me that it was enchanted with a luck spell.
“…Ilia.”
I didn’t know why she had left this necklace for me.
It was an extension of the question of why she had died in my place.
And my intuition screamed at me.
The answer lay in the other item she had left me—the letter in the envelope.
With trembling hands, I picked up the envelope.
It wasn’t even properly sealed, lacking wax. I opened it and unfolded the contents.
‘…Ah.’
It was indeed a letter.
Written in a hurried scrawl, unlike Ilia’s usual neat handwriting, it reflected the urgency of the situation.
There was no mention of the necklace.
But the contents were so warm that I couldn’t help but cry.
To my beloved husband,
First, I must say this.
I’m sorry.
By the time you read this, I will no longer be among the living.
You’re such a fool that I know you’ll blame yourself.
Please don’t.
If I hadn’t accepted the First Prince’s proposal, you wouldn’t have thought of dying.
You’ve sacrificed so much for me over the past four years.
During that time, you’ve faced countless life-threatening dangers.
Yet you always smiled and said it was nothing.
That’s why I fell in love with you.
It’s such a cliché, isn’t it?
But it’s true that I’ve come to love you.
And because I’ve always been protected by you, this time I wanted to protect you.
Now, I’ve come to love you so much that I’d rather die than see you die.
I think… you feel the same way.
Looking back, I realize how selfish I’ve been.
I knew you’d be hurt, yet I chose to die…
Ah, I suppose I’m already dead by now.
I tried to mimic your jokes, but… they’re not as funny as yours.
Still, I hope you don’t blame yourself too much.
This was my choice.
Thinking about it, I made you wait for four years, only to leave you like this.
I really am selfish.
To you, who loved such a selfish woman, I’ll make one last selfish request.
Please don’t take another woman into your arms.
I’m such a jealous woman that even the thought of you looking at another woman makes me envious.
I’m not forcing you…
Because your happiness is more important than my selfishness.
You deserve to be repaid for all you’ve done.
But if you were to fall in love with another woman, kiss her… or go even further, I might get angry.
Hmm…
It’s been a while since I’ve written a letter, so it might be a bit awkward.
You know I’m not very good at writing.
Still, thank you for reading this far.
Selfish as I am, I’ll say this one last time.
I love you.
From Ilia, who wanted to be Aren ‘Rigmond’s only wife.
“…Are you okay?”
At Layla’s question, I shook my head.
My heart felt like it was being torn apart.
No, perhaps it already had been.
How could I go on living when Ilia was no longer in this world?
‘Ilia, you said it wasn’t my fault…’
But to me, it was a sin.
The sin of failing to protect her until the end, and instead living in her place.
And the sin of squandering the precious life she had given me by letting my anger get the better of me.
But fortunately, there seemed to be a way to atone for my sins.
Slowly, I wrapped my hand in aura.
“…Layla, thank you for everything.”
“…Aren. Don’t.”
“…Please tell my brother I’m sorry.”
“…Tell him yourself. Blake is preparing a rebellion.”
“I have no intention of living at the cost of my niece’s life. Ilia’s life alone is… already too heavy a burden.”
I only feel sorry for Ilia.
She gave her life to save me, and yet I’m throwing that chance away by choosing to die.
If she saw me like this, she would resent me, wouldn’t she?
But
I could no longer endure.
I no longer wanted to live.
A life without Ilia had no meaning.
‘I’ll be there soon.’
With that thought, I plunged my left hand into my heart.
“…Close my eyes. It’s… gruesome.”
But Layla didn’t close her eyes.
“…This is something Blake and I must bear as well.”
“Cough… Is that so?”
“….Yes.”
Layla continued to watch me until my vision faded, my body stiffened, and I finally lost consciousness, uttering my last words.
It was a death unworthy of remembrance, met within the confines of a prison cell.