At the End of Ruin, There You Are (56 Chapters Left to Complete) - Chapter 99

The Sacred Grove—or rather, the Garden of Monsters—was lush with greenery according to the season, unlike when Duke Ostein had nearly been assassinated. Yet the green here was neither vibrant nor beautiful.

Instead, it held a deep blackish hue, bizarrely dark even amidst the bright summer. The foliage was so dense that the entrance was already pitch-black. As the sun began to set, long, thick shadows stretched out, making one utterly reluctant to enter.

Why here of all places? Caella simply wanted to lie down somewhere with her exhausted body and close her eyes for a long, long time. She wasn’t mentally prepared to return to the very place where her father had either died—or nearly died.

But due to a special order from the Emperor, she had no choice but to come here. With a reluctant expression, she looked down at what the attendant standing at the entrance was holding out to her.

“Just take it.”

That was the Emperor’s command. Come, accept what the attendant offers, and enter the Garden of Monsters. Caella stared at the small vial placed on the tray the attendant extended toward her.

It resembled the vial of poison she had secretly kept when she got married, though this one was a much smaller crystal bottle. And inside it was a suspiciously dark liquid—obviously dubious to anyone who saw it.

“What is this?”

Caella knew she should always obey without question, yet she couldn’t help but ask. Count Horchen, the elderly attendant serving the Emperor, gazed steadily at Caella.

“It is a gift for His Imperial Majesty from Your Highness.”

Caella had never seen this vial before. She didn’t even know what it contained. But it meant that this unknown substance had been decided upon as her gift to the Emperor. The Emperor, sovereign ruler of the Empire, had decreed it—so she must simply accept and obey.

Caella took the tray extended by Count Horchen. This felt eerily familiar to a story she already knew. Two people were waiting inside the garden.

“Enter alone. His Majesty permits no one else but Your Highness to visit.”

Without guards or maids, Caella stepped alone into the dark Garden of Monsters. A chilling sound reached her ears—gurgling, grating noises repeating over and over.

Caella looked down. Her trembling hand caused the vial to rattle against the tray.

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