It was when Eriel was almost reaching complete darkness.

“Mom!”

Lucy?

“Lucy!”

Eriel turned her head in surprise. But Lucy’s voice no longer rang out.

“Lucy! Lucy!!”

Calling her child’s name desperately, Eriel began to move away from the darkness.

Her eyes moved busily as she ran out. Eriel kept moving her feet where the darkness slowly began to thin.

She continued to run in that place that seemed endless, calling her child’s name at the top of her lungs.

“Lucy!”

There was no answer, but Eriel did not give up.

My daughter called for me.

That alone made Eriel feel like she could gain all her strength. If only Lucy was healthy, if only Lucy was alive.

If only my daughter was safe, even if you call just once, this mother will go anywhere you are.

“If there is a God, please save my daughter.”

Eriel squinted as light poured in with the voice. A desperate voice engulfed Eriel.

“Please have mercy on this small life that has not yet bloomed the flower of life.”

The voice gradually faded, and strength disappeared at its end.

Eriel knew it was her own voice. When she closed her eyes and opened them, the space before Eriel was no longer pitch black, nor was light pouring in.

It was a familiar reception room.

Eriel was puzzled by the slightly different furniture in the duke’s reception room, but she was more surprised by her own condition.

She was losing consciousness while bleeding profusely.

As she came to her senses a little more, she found herself in Lucy’s arms.

Our Lucy… you’ve grown a bit.

How old might she be now?

However, Eriel in Lucy’s arms did not have the strength to lift even an eyelid.

While her physical self lay in Lucy’s arms with eyes closed, Eriel, projected like a soul, was watching the entire situation.

However, she had no strength and could only observe the situation.

Eriel wanted to reach out and wipe away the tears of the crying child, but she couldn’t. That’s when it happened.

“The sword has been discarded, and the remaining scabbard must also be buried.”

A stranger’s voice rang out.

When Eriel turned her gaze back, a hooded man raised his sword high. The tip of that sword was pointed towards none other than Lucy.

Eriel was startled and tried to block the sword, but she passed through, invisible to them.

She had to watch as Lucy’s body was cut right in front of her.

Ah… ah… No!

Eriel screamed and approached the child’s side, and Lucy fell to the floor, bleeding.

“We’ll burn the gloves together.”

The man, after confirming Lucy’s fading life force, casually tossed the gloves. Eriel, wailing beside Lucy, glared at the hood who had swung the sword at her child.

After briefly looking at Lucy, whom she could not reach even if she stretched out her hand, Eriel slowly rose from her place. And she began to follow the man who had cut down her daughter.

The hood and Bruno.

Eriel was filled with questions when she saw Bruno.

Why is Bruno here? Why is he wearing Damian’s clothes? As she turned her gaze, Eriel realized upon seeing Jessica wearing her clothes.

That Bruno had become the duke.

That was only possible when Damian died…

Eriel’s eyes widened.

Damian died, I died, and finally Lucy, who saw it all, died…?

Where is this place?

Come to think of it, why did Lucy and I die by that hood’s sword, and in this duke’s reception room no less?

The hood said something and then left the duke’s mansion.

Eriel looked at Bruno with disbelieving eyes, but she quickly began to follow the hood who had killed her and Lucy.

“Gloves.”

The hood put on new gloves, and Eriel noticed three dots on his hand before he put them on.

Are the gloves used to cover these dots?

As Eriel wondered, the space suddenly changed.

Eriel, who had been riding in a carriage with the hood, was now following the hood moving to the Therios Church.

Eriel couldn’t help but be surprised as she moved to the church’s basement.

Why is there such a place in the church?

After passing through a long corridor and entering another room, familiar faces were sitting around a round table.

Among them, the face of Count Scala caught Eriel’s eye first. But Eriel continued to be surprised.

The nobles sitting around Count Scala, the standing aides, they were all from the Emperor’s faction.

They weren’t many, but it wasn’t a small number either.

“I’ve finally taken care of everything.”

The man who had cut down Eriel and Lucy knelt down.

As Eriel slowly moved her gaze to where he knelt, she opened her lips upon seeing the one sitting alone among the many people.

The Emperor…!

*

While Charles was blocking the knight commander and his knights, Damian leaped over the castle gate and entered.

Knights who had drawn their swords quickly approached him, but Damian, who had come on horseback, simply passed them quickly.

When he finally reached the corridor of the imperial palace, a knight stood in his way with a spear.

However, the two gatekeepers guarding the Emperor’s door were not particularly difficult opponents for Damian.

“It’s alright.”

Eden, who walked out from behind, said to the knight.

“He is not an opponent you can win against even if you all rush him. Go inside and stand by the Emperor’s side.”

“Your, Your Highness. How did you come here?”

“It is by the Emperor’s permission. Go inside.”

The knight bowed deeply. As he withdrew his spear and entered, only Eden and Damian remained in the corridor.

Damian said nothing as he looked at the young crown prince, who was as young as Lucy. Eden was the same.

A brief silence followed.

As Damian was about to pass by Eden, Eden’s voice rang out.

“…Please.”

Damian turned his head at Eden’s voice, but Eden moved his steps.

The will to never look back was contained in his small back.

Damian’s eyes wavered for a moment.

But Damian also turned his head and walked down the corridor of the imperial palace.

“…So. I hear you massacred all the believers of the Therios Church.”

The Emperor laughed as he looked at Damian, holding a wine glass from early morning.

He sat in the seat of honor, crossing his legs and resting his chin on his hand. The red wine swirled in the glass.

“I received evidence from the imperial investigator that there were seeds of rebellion in the Therios Church. Accordingly, I purged all members of the Therios Church on my way back. As the content of the imperial order seemed incorrect, I took steps ahead of the knights Your Majesty sent.”

“I was on my way to see what you had done. The floor was drenched in blood. Tsk tsk.”

After saying that, the Emperor took a sip of wine. Red wine stained the Emperor’s lips.

The Emperor smacked his lips and licked away the wine on his mouth with his tongue.

The Emperor’s curiously raised corners of his mouth seemed to be enjoying this situation.

Damian looked at the Emperor’s golden eyes, which had now lost their luster even in front of him.

“The crime of brutally murdering nobles cannot be overlooked by law, even if you are a duke.”

“I see.”

“That’s right.”

Damian pulled out a paper from his breast pocket.

“But Your Majesty, I received from the imperial investigator…”

As he seemed about to pull out evidence received from the imperial investigator, the Emperor smirked.

“Damian. Do you really think that evidence will work here?”

He didn’t call him duke.

Damian looked up at the Emperor, pausing in the middle of taking out the paper.

“It’s the rule not to keep a dog that bites its master. How can one continue to use a sword so sharp that even its blunt edge might cut the master if swung incorrectly?”

“It’s strange. I have neither bitten nor cut the master. It seems the master’s delusion is excessive.”

At Damian’s words, the Emperor’s brow furrowed. However, he quickly regained his composure and burst into hearty laughter as he drank his wine.

“Alright, alright. I’ll dismiss it as a delusion. Is that all you have to say? Since you’re armed, I should consider this rebellion.”

“Rebellion…”

“The duke, upon learning that Count Scala was behind the arrow aimed at his wife, lost his mind and became a madman, brutally killing the believers of the Therios Church that Count Scala frequented, without realizing his crime! Following that, he mistook the painting in the church for the imperial family’s emblem and dared to point his blade at the imperial court, which must be seen as a grave crime.”

As the Emperor’s declaration continued, Damian swiftly unfolded the paper in his possession.

“Ah, my. It seems I’ve truly lost my mind.”

Damian held out the unfolded paper. And he let out a chuckle.

“The Eastern Continent Empire has declared war, and I forgot to deliver it.”

“…What?”

The Emperor was surprised and nodded to his attendant. The attendant, trembling, approached Damian and received the paper.

“It, it is indeed a de, declaration of war from the Eastern Continent Empire.”