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Chapter : 28
A suffocatingly tense atmosphere lingered.
Marquis Lotes continued to voice his grievances, while the Marquise sat on the floor, sobbing uncontrollably, saying it was all over.
The unseemly behavior of the noble couple caused everyone in the banquet hall to furrow their brows.
“Is going to the battlefield really such a despairing matter?”
Wasn’t that a question with an obvious answer? If anyone else had asked, one might have wanted to shout, If it’s so easy for you, why don’t you go yourself? But the Marquis kept his mouth tightly shut.
Even without saying it, the Empress had already decided to participate in the battle herself.
“Think of it positively, Marquis. You might return alive. And if you achieve merit, it would be an even greater honor for your family.”
“…….”
“Look at me. Even though I’ve been to countless battlefields, I’m still perfectly fine.”
If it had been someone else, they would have already rushed forward, furious, ready to argue.
But the person before them was Cassielope Clemens, who had fought in every battlefield imaginable. There was no way they, who had only studied battles from history books, could compare.
“AAAAAH!”
Finally, unable to hold back, Marquis Lotes clutched his head and screamed. The gazes of the nobles toward the Lotes family grew increasingly cold.
Having someone to compare to only highlighted how insignificant the Lotes family seemed.
Cassielope rose from her seat and descended the stairs with graceful steps. Even having participated in the same wars, she was perfectly composed, unlike anyone else.
Receiving a sword from her attendants, she held it and walked toward the Lotes family.
She handed a sword into each of their hands and paused briefly beside Marquis Lotes.
“Just once… mercy… Your Majesty, please…”
A voice sounded, as if clinging to one last straw.
Cassielope whispered in a very soft tone, just loud enough for the Marquis to hear.
“The Emperor who would lead all of you no longer exists. Didn’t you drag him down with your own hands?”
“E-Your Majesty….”
Habitually and instinctively, Marquis Lotes addressed Cassielope as Emperor, looking at her with desperation.
“No, Marquis. I am now the Empress.”
“…….”
“So there is no need to show mercy anymore. I have tried to lead this empire alongside you, yet you have driven a knife into my back.”
Cassielope’s voice was eerily cold. The Marquis trembled—not in anger, but in fear.
She tapped lightly on his shoulder and tilted her head, her sharp gaze unwavering.
“Did you really think I would leave you be? Why? Because if I weren’t the Emperor, I wouldn’t have the power to touch you?”
Her hand pressed down on his shoulder.
Crack—
With a breaking sound, the Marquis screamed and sank to the floor, his hand trembling.
Cassielope lowered herself beside him and smiled gently.
“Not at all. Everything I have achieved, aside from being born royal, is by my own strength. Did you think everything would end if I were removed from the throne?”
“Huff…….”
“Let me give you one piece of advice: dying in battle is the most honorable way to go. After that, I have no intention of letting you die willingly.”
The Marquis’s gaze drifted through the air. He no longer struggled in despair or begged in fear.
Unconsciously, he turned his head toward Duke Icart. The Duke’s expression was utterly impassive.
The sound of everything he had built collapsing was swallowed by the silence.
He quietly lowered his head.
The banquet ended in a profound stillness. Silence replaced laughter, and fear spread where music should have been.
In the corridor of the banquet hall, Cassielope sensed someone following her and turned.
“What is it, Duke?”
“Are you intent on cutting off my hands and feet?”
“Hands and feet… It seems the Marquis was a loyal vassal to the Duke. Loyal—a word that does not suit the Lotes family at all.”
“In the end, you will oppose me.”
“How frightening.”
Cassielope replied with a mocking tone.
“But the one who should be afraid is not me, but you, Duke.”
A cold wind blew. The red silk of her dress gently billowed.
The fabric, dark as blood, spread in the air, as if someone’s blood had burst and flowed.
Under the moonlight, it was exquisitely beautiful, making it feel all the more cruel.
“You have never defeated me by your own power, Duke.”
“……So you are wary of me.”
As if amused by the turn of events, she smirked slightly.
“You think yourself threatening enough to warrant caution. Well, a bit of arrogance is sometimes necessary.”
“You think I will stand idly by after losing my vassals? I am not a powerless scarecrow.”
“In that case, it seems the empire does have one powerless scarecrow. But Duke, sometimes scarecrows need to be burned.”
The Duke clenched one hand tightly.
“Are you making enemies of the Icart family too?”
“I never made you my enemy. You chose to become one yourself. And for that, you deserved to shed a drop of blood.”
The red fabric swirled through the air like blood.
“Remember this, Duke.”
“…….”
“The blood on my dress does not stain me.”
The Duke said no more. Words seemed to rot in his mouth like blood pooling on his tongue.
For a time, the social circles were abuzz with the story of the Lotes family.
Three days after the banquet, the participants departed for the battlefield. The Lotes family looked like criminals being dragged to the execution ground.
Creak—
The castle gates opened. A black cavalry stood in perfect formation, and at the head, atop a massive black horse, was Cassielope.
Her red hair, tied high, fluttered in the wind, scattering like blood in the sunlight.
The people of the empire held their breath at the sight.
“She’s going… It will be over quickly this time too.”
Everyone knew who she drew her sword for—only to protect the empire. None could deny it.
Cassielope Clemens would bring victory. Once again.
“She will surely win.”
Having returned from countless wars, Cassielope’s name was always spoken before the victory was even declared.
The sound of hooves echoed beyond the castle gates. Small in stature, yet imposing as ever.
As dawn mist rose, Cassielope stood atop a hill, cutting through the dense fog.
“Her Majesty has arrived……”
The knights on the battlefield collectively exhaled in relief. Her mere presence lifted the morale of the Clemens Empire army.
Cassielope had never once been defeated in battle. She alone was a harbinger of victory.
Dismounting, she immediately headed for the command tent.
Inside, the knights gathered around a massive map.
“At this rate, we will be surrounded within two days. The formation is poor.”
The knight’s hands trembled with tension.
Cassielope studied the map silently for a moment, then pointed to a spot.
“This path?”
“A swamp. Horses cannot cross.”
“What if we cross the swamp to secure the eastern terrain?”
“We could cut off Belmoria’s supply lines. But crossing the swamp……”
“I will go alone.”
“Al-one…?”
A knight tried to argue, but upon seeing the resolute look in her eyes, he stopped.
“As always, trust me.”
“Your Majesty……”
No one could oppose her declaration. Silence fell for a moment.
When the commander bowed, the other knights followed suit.
“We will obey your orders.”
“We take the command of Her Majesty.”
