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Chapter 72
The Most Terrible Thing
The cawing of a crow.
To Senelia, it signified Clifft.
And in an instant, she was pulled back to reality, dragged along with it.
Rucalina being in danger was exactly Clifft’s way of testing Senelia.
More precisely, it was to see how effectively Senelia was functioning as a leash for Benerucia.
Click, click.
If Senelia were a magical machine, that’s the sound she would have made.
Her head turned ever so slowly toward Benerucia.
“It seems… he has sustained a rather severe injury. However, the terrain where Lady Rucalina is located is so rough that the priests cannot reach him immediately.”
“Are you serious?!”
Benerucia snapped at the messenger, his agitation evident.
Rucalina was in the middle of a battlefield.
No priest could possibly go there. Someone must be manipulating the situation.
“I must go immediately. They wouldn’t deny a priest to the royal family, would they?!”
Benerucia seemed to have completely forgotten that Senelia was sitting there with him, having a meal.
He looked ready to rush to Rucalina at that very moment.
“No, Your Highness…! If you go to the battlefield now, all your patience until this point will be wasted!”
His adjutant, Arante, tried to restrain Benerucia, but it was hardly effective.
Benerucia was a Swordmaster. Who could stop him?
Caw, caw.
The crow cried as if urging Senelia on.
In this situation, what could she possibly achieve by intervening?
Senelia had no confidence.
Yet—she could not refuse Clifft’s orders.
Tap.
“Ah.”
Senelia carefully grabbed Benerucia’s arm.
But his excited reaction immediately flung her hand away.
“…Seli?”
She clasped her stinging hand with the other, holding it close.
Only then did Benerucia realize she had approached him.
At that moment, her words caught in her throat.
Rucalina was Benerucia’s Achilles’ heel.
And she was currently in danger.
Senelia could not think of any way to stop Benerucia in such a situation.
“…Your Highness, just this once… could you not go?”
Thus, the words that escaped Senelia’s mouth were weak and feeble.
It was the first time she had acted this way, but Benerucia had no time to wonder about it.
“I’ll be back soon. Just…”
“Please, Your Highness.”
Senelia gripped the hem of Benerucia’s coat with both hands, trying to stop him from leaving.
Outside, the crow still lingered by the window.
If Benerucia left, Clifft would surely come looking for Senelia.
Just thinking about it made her feel like she could barely breathe.
“Why are you being so stubborn all of a sudden?”
When sharp words came from Benerucia, Senelia forced back her rising panic.
He was on edge from Clifft’s manipulations, and his mind was only on Rucalina.
Benerucia’s expression as he looked at Senelia was hard and unyielding.
“You wouldn’t understand living a normal, peaceful life… Seli. Even while you’re hesitating, Rucalina could be in danger. Because of the brief moment you held me back.”
At Benerucia’s words, the strength left Senelia’s hands in an instant.
Her hands hung limply in the air.
Her breath caught painfully.
The thought that she might be keeping someone alive in danger out of her selfishness made Senelia suddenly feel utterly horrified.
What was even worse, however, was that she could not let him go.
That much fear of Clifft consumed her.
“I’m sorry.”
She spoke silently toward Rucalina.
From the moment she decided to take Benerucia away from Rucalina, Senelia had never once begged her.
Even while praying, Senelia had no choice but to obey Clifft.
Not only she, but her family, her lands, her subjects—friends and acquaintances too, if necessary—were all held hostage by the Emperor.
So, as a last resort, Senelia muttered with her head bowed.
“Your Highness… what if I… get hurt?”
Even whispered, her voice reached the ears of the Swordmaster Benerucia.
“…Haa.”
Benerucia exhaled heavily at that moment.
Senelia froze.
His sigh sounded to her like how he would respond to bothersome ex-girlfriends.
Yes, Senelia had no right to annoy him at all.
All she could do better than his exes was not to irritate him.
Benerucia had no reason to notice that normally cold Senelia’s hands felt unusually warm.
Realizing this, she quickly stepped back.
Do not bother Benerucia. If I become troublesome… he will abandon me.
Benerucia had already warned her enough.
A warning not to complicate the situation.
So Senelia obediently replied.
“…I said something unnecessary. Please go, Your Highness.”
“Talk to me when I return.”
As soon as Senelia let go of his hand, Benerucia immediately turned and left the Afaron Mansion.
He couldn’t rush straight to the battlefield where Rucalina was, but he would surely find some way to help her.
That was what Rucalina meant to Benerucia.
A person who could make a usually rational and cold man charge forward recklessly.
Senelia knew this better than anyone.
She had seen it the entire time she spent with him.
That day was just another ordinary day.
Only—Clifft merely tested the results Senelia had achieved, and she had failed miserably.
“…Ah.”
“Milady!”
In the dining room emptied of Benerucia, Senelia staggered and was hastily supported by her personal maid.
Her breathing had been heavy, and now her body felt too weak to even stand properly.
“I’ll… call the doctor.”
The maid, startled by the sudden situation, said.
Caw.
“…No, it’s fine.”
But Senelia shook her head.
The crow was still cawing.
That meant Clifft was waiting for her.
As someone who had pledged to live as the Emperor’s dog, she could not refuse the call.
Wheeeeee—
Ringing filled her ears as she struggled to breathe.
Still, refusing the maid’s support, Senelia staggered toward her room.
That night, when Benerucia had left the Duke’s residence,
Clifft’s visit to Senelia was inevitable.
“Disappointing, Seli.”
As always, Senelia knelt before Clifft, bowing her head.
“I’m sorry, Your Majesty. I should have done more…”
Five years had passed, and she had grown accustomed to submitting this way.
Or so she thought.
“Even Alberto held on well to his prey… yet my other dog is so incompetent.”
Clifft lifted Senelia’s chin, comparing her to his hunting dogs.
She realized how arrogant her resignation had been.
Shame instantly consumed her entire body.
She thought that being threatened with a sword had been preferable.
“Tell me, Seli. Did I give you too much freedom?”
As Clifft withdrew his hand, Senelia’s head fell to the floor.
He pressed her into humiliation, leaving her powerless.
“If you can’t even hold onto my beloved brother when you’re in pain, how do you expect to steal Benerucia from Rucalina?”
The Emperor’s voice grew heavy.
“Today, Benerucia had Marquis Petrichio lodge a direct complaint at the Central Temple.”
Marquis Petrichio was one of Benerucia’s military allies who admired the war hero excessively.
Normally, Benerucia avoided him to prevent Clifft from being annoyed.
“I tried to give you a chance to prove your usefulness—but foolishly, you only made it obvious to everyone that you think using Rucalina can move my brother.”
Clifft blamed Senelia for everything, though she had acted independently.
Yet she could not argue.
If she did, her life would be forfeit.
“I… am sorry, Your Majesty.”
All Senelia could do was bow once more before the man who treated her like a dog.
All the while, Benerucia lingered in her mind.
If he hadn’t left today, she wouldn’t be facing Clifft like this.
If she had been a more meaningful presence to him, she wouldn’t be in such a pathetic state.
These thoughts hollowed out everything inside her.
“Tch, useless…”
And, as always, Clifft drove the final dagger into her.
Senelia squeezed her eyes shut.
She did not move for the rest of the night.
And throughout that night, Benerucia did not return to the mansion.
