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Chapter 29
“It’s been a while.”
Now that Cassian had resumed his activities, there was no real reason for Sebastian and Chloe to come, yet they still visited Edel’s palace to bid her one final farewell.
Even with delicious refreshments laid out before them, the two of them looked utterly dejected.
Edel leisurely sipped her herbal tea as she looked at them.
“Go ahead and eat.”
“I’m so sad!”
Sebastian finally let out a lament and began sniffling back tears.
“To think I’ll no longer be able to see Your Highness!”
“That isn’t true. Duke Dwelsen might come to see me, and I might visit the Duke’s residence as well.”
“But we won’t be able to see you as often as before, will we? Coming to Your Highness every day was… well, it was a way for me to escape from work, even if only for a little while. No, no—it was something I genuinely looked forward to.”
“I’m disappointed as well.”
Chloe, who rarely showed her emotions, also sighed as she spoke.
Edel stared at the two of them for a moment, lost in thought.
Sebastian did not even notice Edel watching him as he soaked his pastries with tears. Somewhere along the way, he had begun to value his relationship with Edel more than the benefits he gained from her.
Naturally, Edel welcomed this.
After all, that was why she had drawn the two of them into her circle in the first place.
Chloe, however, was still somewhat lacking in that regard. She seemed more disappointed that she would no longer be able to enjoy the crumbs that fell from the table.
“……You two.”
Even so, Edel had no intention of cutting them off.
“Would you continue to bring me news about Duke Dwelsen from now on?”
“What?”
At the unexpected request, Sebastian and Chloe’s eyes widened.
Edel smiled gently and continued.
“It was only for a short while, but being able to hear about Duke Dwelsen every day brought me great joy. I’ll speak to the Duke about it, so would you continue to keep me informed about him?”
“If that is what Your Highness wishes, of course! Come to think of it, I did an excellent job as the intermediary between you two.”
Sebastian ran a hand through his hair as though intoxicated by his own narcissism, readily agreeing to Edel’s request. Chloe quietly nodded as well.
With a satisfied smile, Edel had Kia bring her a pen and paper. She wrote a letter to Cassian and enclosed it before handing it to Sebastian.
“Then I’ll leave it to you.”
“Leave it to me!”
After saluting, Sebastian quickly returned to the Duke’s residence with Chloe.
Feeling as though a great storm had finally passed, Edel sank back into her chair. She had just finished her swordsmanship training as well, and sleepiness was beginning to overwhelm her.
“Would you like to sleep?”
“No.”
Kia, who had noticed, asked her, but Edel had no choice but to refuse.
There was something she needed to do.
When Edel stood, Kia hurried forward to stop her, but Edel remained determined.
“I should go to the Archives.”
The Imperial Palace possessed the greatest archives in the Empire, where its history and countless books were kept.
Edel intended to search there for information about magic and Wervel.
For some reason, Kia expressed concern, but she eventually let Edel go because of her determination.
Several scholars were conducting research and investigations inside the Archives.
After finding a history book that recorded the history of Wervel, Edel quietly settled into an inconspicuous spot.
The book she chose contained records all the way up to the final Wervelian royal family.
The problem was that it contained nothing beyond the basic information Edel already knew.
Still, as she examined every detail carefully, Edel suddenly stopped at one page.
There was a drawing of the last King and Queen of Wervel.
“……”
They were people she could never forget.
“Why are you like that?”
Kia whispered softly to Edel, who had frozen in place.
For a moment, Edel felt as though her mind had gone blank. She quickly recovered, but she realized that her breathing had become ragged without her noticing.
“Are you all right?”
“……Yes.”
How could she ever forget them?
They were the very people Edel had dragged out from the depths of her memories, all the way from the grave.
There was nothing she could do about it.
She had not wanted to, but it was something she had been forced to do.
The past—or rather, a time that had not yet arrived.
When Edel was twenty-two, the Wervelian rebellion had grown so large that, in order to crush their momentum, the final members of the Wervelian royal family—their pride—had to be subjected to posthumous punishment.
Even then, Edel had been used as a scapegoat.
Who would willingly carry out such a thing?
The Emperor, Sisan, and Rowen had all refused.
In the end, the only remaining member of the Imperial Family who possessed no power, Edel, had been forced to personally cut off their heads.
The memory was just as vivid as the one involving Cassian in her previous life, though perhaps not quite as intense.
The Imperial Army and the rebels were locked in a standoff.
It might have been the final battle, and Wervel had prepared to fight with even its very soul on the line.
If they were pushed back here, there would be nowhere left for them to retreat.
[The Empire demands that you clear the way!]
“Surrender immediately!”
The chaos of the battlefield fell silent when a woman who looked far too delicate for such a place appeared.
The Wervelians did not let down their guard. They immediately drew their swords and reinforced the gates.
Just because she looked like that did not mean they could know what kind of weapon she might be carrying.
But that lasted only for a moment.
Suddenly, blood-covered figures that looked like corpses were brought inside.
The Wervelians were soon horrified.
Someone they knew all too well fell miserably from the cart.
Their rulers.
The King and Queen of Wervel.
As expected, thunderous cries erupted.
Yet no one dared to move recklessly.
If they fired arrows carelessly, they might damage the bodies.
Meanwhile, the corpses bound to short wooden posts swayed helplessly in the wind.
Beside them, the executioners stood with their swords drawn, waiting only for Edel to give the command.
[Stop this at once!]
“……”
[Please, stop!]
The moment the pleas erupted, Edel extended her hand and gave the order.
Shing.
The heads of the King and Queen fell simultaneously.
It was not a pleasant sight.
Unable to withstand the emotions surging painfully within her, Edel squeezed her eyes shut.
But the Emperor’s order had to be carried out to the very end, no matter what.
Edel suppressed her urge to vomit and ordered the commander to raise the severed heads on display.
It was the moment when time seemed to stop for everyone.
Posthumous punishment of this kind had to be carried out personally by a member of the royal family.
Otherwise, its intended meaning would be diminished.
Yet no one volunteered.
Even merely carrying out the execution would bring an enormous stain upon one’s name.
It was an inhuman and brutally cruel act.
That was why, in the end, Edel—the designated scapegoat—had no choice but to step forward.
She could not possibly have wanted to do it.
No matter how little she cared for Wervel, this had gone far beyond what was acceptable.
“Was it from then……?”
Perhaps that was when Edel became a villainess.
A villainess who had abandoned one part of her humanity.
The reason was simple.
If she were ordered to do the same thing now, Edel could do it immediately.
In the end, she even thought that cutting down the rulers of Wervel—the people Cassian cherished so deeply—right before his eyes would not be such a bad thing.
Either way, she could endure it.
As long as she could bring him down.
Afterward, Edel searched through numerous records concerning Wervel, but there was nothing important enough to provide a clue to her memories.
The matter of magic was more important.
Especially the earrings.
She needed to find out exactly what power the earring hanging from her right ear possessed.
The fact that the corpse had flown away during Count In’s attack could never have been a coincidence.
Edel tried to go to the section where the books on magic were kept, but the imposing Archivist blocked her path.
“Move aside.”
“Even if you are Her Highness the Princess, this area cannot be entered without His Majesty the Emperor’s permission.”
They certainly had kept this place under tight control.
Of course, if Edel pushed hard enough, entering would not have been impossible.
But word would reach the Emperor’s ears.
That would not be good.
For now, Edel had no intention of needlessly falling out of the Emperor’s favor.
Reluctantly, Edel gave up and turned around.
It seemed she would have to meet the Emperor separately later and obtain permission to access the Archives.
Now that she had returned to her palace, there was one more person Edel needed to see.
“Kia, I’m going to Rowen’s palace.”
“Yes, yes!”
Lately, Kia had been startling whenever Edel so much as said something to her.
“Why are you acting like this lately?”
“Ah……”
Apparently, Kia herself knew that she was behaving strangely.
Her expression quickly fell, and she carefully reached out to touch Edel’s hair before speaking.
“I’m worried that something might happen to Your Highness.”
“To me? What could happen?”
“……I’m afraid Your Highness might hurt yourself.”
Edel could not help laughing at those words, even though she felt sorry for Kia.
“Why would I hurt myself? You’re worrying far too much.”
“You could do it without realizing it.”
“That won’t happen. Don’t worry so much and try to relax.”
Edel gave herself a gentle smile through the mirror.
Kia still looked anxious, but only then did she let out a deep sigh and return her attention to her duties.
“……”
Although she had said that, Edel carefully kept Kia’s words in mind.
There were still many truths she did not know, so she could not understand the entire situation.
But this was something she absolutely had to be careful about.
The mere possibility of self-harm was enough to warrant caution.
After making a modest preparation, Edel headed toward Rowen’s palace with Kia.
However, at the entrance stood knights who did not belong to Rowen.
There were so many of them that it looked as though they had occupied the palace.
“Ah, His Highness the Prince has come.”
Edel immediately understood the situation and asked the knight guarding the entrance.
“How long has His Highness been inside?”
“He should be coming out shortly.”
“I see.”
Rather than unnecessarily interrupting the conversation between Sisan and Rowen, Edel decided to wait.
Just as the knight had said, Sisan emerged before long.
There was something strangely sharp about his demeanor, as though he were in a foul mood.
When Sisan spotted Edel waiting for him, he immediately approached her.
“What brings you here, Princess Edel?”
“I came to see my sister. I assume you came for the same reason?”
“I did.”
“……”
“……”
An awkward silence descended.
Whenever the two of them mentioned Rowen, they both became displeased, leaving them at a loss for words out of sheer irritation.
“What did Sister say?”
Edel spoke first.
Sisan slightly narrowed his eyes before answering.
“Nothing but formal pleasantries.”
“For something so formal, you don’t look very happy.”
At Edel’s pointed observation, Sisan glared at her before eventually sighing and rubbing his face roughly.
“Sometimes, something is perfectly fine when you know it yourself, but becomes unpleasant when someone else points it out.”
Edel did not bother asking what he meant.
Sisan apparently had no intention of explaining either. He gave Edel one last sideways glance before preparing to leave.
“Still, Brother, sometimes something that’s fine when you know it yourself can feel even better when someone else points it out.”
Sisan turned toward Edel with a frown, as if asking what nonsense she was talking about.
Edel smiled sweetly and gave him the answer.
“I’m sure Sister Rowen was pretty annoyed about the crown too.”
Sisan stared intently at Edel.
Then, at last, a short laugh escaped his lips.
Without replying until the very end, he left Rowen’s palace completely, his knights accompanying him.
Only after Sisan had gone could Edel finally enter Rowen’s palace.
Gone was Rowen’s usual leisurely composure.
Rarely at a loss for what to do, she was instead pacing restlessly.
“Sister.”
At Edel’s call, Rowen finally raised her head and put on a fake smile.
“What brings you here? You came immediately after His Highness the Prince left.”
“Indeed. What a strange coincidence. But it’s a good thing, isn’t it? The bond between the three siblings is so strong.”
“Indeed it is.”
Despite the absurdity of the statement, Rowen replied as naturally as flowing water.
“Unfortunately, though, I don’t think I can offer you tea today.”
“That’s a shame. But if that’s the case, there’s nothing I can do.”
Rowen seemed displeased and had clearly intended for Edel to leave after a brief conversation.
But Edel did not care.
Despite being told there would be no tea, she calmly sat down at the completely empty tea table.
Rowen’s brows drew together slightly.
Edel smiled brightly.
“You must have felt awkward meeting Brother after such a long time.”
“I suppose so. We haven’t seen each other for more than three months.”
“But you didn’t bully Brother, did you? Acting that way because you’re happy to see someone is something children do.”
“Edel, why would I bully Brother?”
At Edel’s question, the corners of Rowen’s lips twisted upward.
The relaxed atmosphere instantly transformed into something as precarious as walking a tightrope.
“You’re the one bullying me.”
“I don’t think so. Brother didn’t look very happy when he left your palace.”
“Who knows? I merely reminded Brother of something he absolutely needed to remember.”
“What did you say to make him leave so angry?”
Sisan had not actually been angry.
He was a man who always maintained the greatest possible composure.
Nevertheless, Edel deliberately exaggerated his mood so that she could hear Rowen’s answer.
Of course, Rowen saw through her intentions.
But there was no particular reason to hide it, so she answered willingly.
“I offered Brother some sincere advice—that his power base didn’t seem very secure. Normally, when one goes on an inspection of the Empire, one would bring at least one trusted aide along. Yet all three of Brother’s closest aides remained in the capital, didn’t they?”
She seemed to be referring to Duke Kartner, Marquis Bess, and Count Chekhov.
“Because something could happen while Brother was away.”
“Ah. For example, a rebellion?”
“……Edel, watch what you say.”
In this respect, Rowen resembled Sisan.
Perhaps she felt some sense of duty as an elder sibling to raise her younger sister properly.
But this time, Edel knew that she had made an especially sensitive remark, so she quickly nodded and corrected herself.
“Anyway, Sister, weren’t you being a little too blunt?”
“Brother needs to face reality as well.”
“Don’t push him too hard. You never know what kind of arrows might come flying back at you if you unnecessarily provoke Brother.”
For a moment, Edel caught a flash of inferiority crossing Rowen’s face.
Even so, Rowen answered casually and scolded her.
“Even if we are members of the Imperial Family, is that any way for siblings to treat each other? I’ve felt this for a long time, but your imagination runs wild, Edel. Unlike you, I was born from the same womb as Brother. I am Her Majesty the Empress’s daughter.”
“……That’s true.”
That had been an unmistakable provocation.
An attack aimed at both Edel, who disliked the Empress, and Sisan, who had an extremely poor relationship with the Empress.
Even so, Edel maintained her composure with nothing more than a light breath.
“Still, sometimes delusions become reality.”
It might have sounded suggestive, but this time, Edel spoke with complete sincerity and truth.
Because every one of her delusions had actually become reality.
Cassian’s affair.
And her regression into the past.
