Ilarid collapsed, grasping the iron bars. Rust from the damp air stained her white hands.

“Brother…”

Limless’s name quietly slipped from her lips. Limless, who had been motionless inside, moved ever so slightly.

And unbelievably, a very faint laugh was heard.

“…My apologies, Your Majesty the Empress.”

Even in this situation, he still used formal titles, just like her brother. Ever since she became the Crown Princess, he had diligently observed proper etiquette. There were no exceptions, even for his close younger sister.

The guard silently bowed and stepped away for a moment, allowing the siblings what might be their final greeting.

“Why have you become so thin…”

Even though his own arms were fractured. While enduring tremendous pain, the first thing he noticed was his sister’s complexion. Ilarid held back the tears that threatened to burst forth. If she cried here, it would truly be uncontrollable.

“Brother, your body…”

“As you can see. I should observe proper etiquette, but in this state…”

“Don’t move. I’ll try to gather the nobles somehow. The council will convene soon, and there…”

“Ilarid.”

Though his body was nearly dead, his voice calling Ilarid’s name was clear. Limless tried to move his body with great effort to get even a little closer to Ilarid.

“Don’t do that.”

“Are you telling me to stay still? How could I possibly do that? I will save everyone’s lives at least. I will secure even an exile order.”

“When someone is determined to snuff out a person’s life… they will do anything.”

Ilarid knew this too. From the beginning, they intended to frame the entire Melpiram family as traitors.

How long had Cledius been planning this? Unlike the Empress Dowager who had openly kept Melpiram in check, she thought he was a bit more moderate, but it was a complete misunderstanding.

Limless leaned his head against the iron bars and muttered quietly, as if to himself.

“…I shouldn’t have sent you.”

“What?”

“When you were designated as the Crown Princess, I should have stopped you until the end.”

Does entering the palace mean one’s future will be paved with silk? Rather, even small matters are blown out of proportion and mercilessly torn apart in royal life.

Words like a sigh flowed from between his cracked and split lips.

“Above all, Ilarid… I’m most afraid of you being left alone.”

Ilarid silently reached out her hand towards Limless beyond the iron bars. Her cold hand touched his cheek, stained with blood and wounds.

She knew what Limless was most concerned about. With Melpiram framed as traitors and purged, there would be no forces left to support her. Who would back an Empress with the blood of traitors?

Until now, she had the fairly strong support of her natal family, Melpiram, but now she must survive alone.

Limless barely raised his head to look at Ilarid. Though his body was a mess from torture, the light in his eyes had not gone out.

Perhaps these would be his last words to his younger sister.

“Your Majesty the Empress, survive until the end. At times it will be so painfully difficult that you may think it’s better to die… but the one who survives to the very end is the winner.”

“…”

“Promise me, Ilarid.”

It was his last request and promise. Ilarid looked straight at Limless and nodded. She would certainly survive. She would never be broken by them, and would burn with life until the final moment.

From the other side, the guard who had brought Ilarid down approached with an awkward expression.

“The guards changing shifts will be here soon. It’s dangerous if you stay any longer.”

“…Escort Her Majesty safely back to the Empress’s palace.”

“Yes.”

Limless’s words fell, but Ilarid could not leave the iron bars for a long time. Words she wanted to say lingered on the tip of her tongue.

Why couldn’t she say anything? If she had waited just a little longer, could she have said farewell, which might be their last, once her tumultuous feelings settled? The regrets of reality continued into her dreams.

But there was no time to delay, so Limless gave a firm look to the guard. The sound of her younger sister’s footsteps as she finally walked away seemed to be mixed with the sound of crying.

“I told her not to cry so many times…”

When she was young, she cried and laughed so much. How many times had he scolded his sister, saying she shouldn’t laugh too freely or cry too much? Only now did regret wash over him.

Limless slowly closed his heavy eyelids. The final moment was approaching.

“Your Majesty the Empress. Let us meet… much later, if possible.”

The next day, Limless Rowen Melpiram was sentenced to death in court. And on the very day of sentencing, the execution was carried out immediately. His appearance as he was dragged out to the scaffold in front of the square was miserable.

It’s an example. That’s what the people gathered in the square thought. It showed the entire empire what happens when one dares to harbor treasonous thoughts against the Emperor.

Even though there was a high possibility that the fact of treason itself was fabricated. The people were not as foolish as Cledius thought.

Limless, battered and broken, stood before the people. It was said that he shouted with all his might one last time.

‘Cledius, you’re next!’

And just before the execution was carried out, it was said that he smiled faintly. Whether it was because he saw someone, or because he imagined the future that would befall Cledius, no one could know.

Ilarid only heard about Limless’s execution scene secondhand. But why did it appear so vividly in her dreams?

The sight of Limless, covered in blood, appeared before her eyes. The red blood flowing down the scaffold reached the tips of Ilarid’s feet.

What followed was even more horrific. The Count and Countess were also sentenced to hanging, and the sentence was carried out immediately. Usually, women were exiled or had their titles and property confiscated, but this was an exceptional case.

The Countess, who had always been dignified and maintained her composure in all matters, faced death without faltering until the last moment of her life.

She squeezed her eyes shut again. There was a thud as the floor dropped. The tips of her mother and father’s feet appeared before her eyes. No! She shuddered.

This is a dream. In dreams, darkness doesn’t disappear even when you close your eyes. Please stop, I’m sorry. I deserve punishment. Even though I was in the position of Empress, I couldn’t even protect my family. How could I sleep peacefully?

There was a squelching sound from her retreating feet. Blood was flowing from somewhere. Ilarid covered her face with her hands, her eyes still closed.

But beyond her closed eyelids, through the gaps between her covering hands, she could see the corpses of servants and family members. The bodies became mounds, making graves for each other.

She woke up screaming from her sleep, but all that remained were tears. Her whole body was already covered in cold sweat.

She had awakened from the nightmare and returned to reality, but this place was the true nightmare.

**

It wasn’t that the bed was uncomfortable. She was grateful to have a blanket to cover herself and a space to lean her back against. Camping had become as natural as breathing, a part of daily life, but strangely, sleep wouldn’t come.

Lebel stood up from where he had been sitting. If you went up a little from the campsite, you would reach the mountain peak. His feet, which had been walking silently, reached the edge of the cliff.

In a precarious posture that seemed like he might fall if he took a few more steps forward, Lebel looked down at the city where the war would take place.

Below, the vague shape of the port city could be seen.

The dark and quiet sea. Was that faint sound, growing distant and near, the sound of waves? The lights of fishing boats returning after finishing their work were drawn like stars on the black sea.

White smoke rose from the chimneys of homes, and warm light spilled out from inside, creating a peaceful scene. Lebel took in the sight, imprinting it in his eyes.

Rosen. A city-state that proclaimed neutrality and barely escaped the rule of the Empire. This was closer to an invasion than a war. Destroying and trampling the daily lives of those people. Even as he carried out his mission, a sense of guilt always welled up in a corner of his heart.

Lailo, who had followed behind without him noticing, caught his breath and gave Lebel a light chiding.

“Captain. You should rest a bit.”

“How are the members?”

“They’re tired from moving, but there’s no big problem. The imperial army will probably… join us around dawn today.”

The Emperor had left the task of vanguard to the mercenary group. Enter Rosen first and capture the leadership. Lailo couldn’t hide his uneasiness. They would probably move around dawn tomorrow, but he still hadn’t said anything about the operation.

“Captain. What are you going to do? By leadership… you mean capture the Grand Duke of Rosen, right?”

“The Emperor ordered the ‘neutralization’ of the leadership.”

Cledius’s words likely had several meanings. Either capture them and bring them before the Emperor, or kill them and throw the severed head of the Grand Duke of Rosen before the people of Rosen.

“I guess he means to infiltrate first and deal with the Grand Duke. He’ll want to proclaim to all of Rosen that death follows rejection of the Empire’s offer.”

“…I decline if it’s that kind of method.”

Lailo shuddered and looked at Lebel beside him. Since the previous captain, Turgel, the atmosphere of the mercenary group had changed a lot. Even if they participated in wars, looting was forbidden, and unnecessary arson or killing was also prohibited.

Though they were said to be a cruel mercenary group that only cared about money, they should not abandon their humanity. Her words were quite powerful. Lebel had also followed those words and spent several years with the Rikas Mercenary Group.

Though he hadn’t been captain for long, he had seen years pass. Lebel would never harm people carelessly.

But this was nothing less than the Emperor’s order. Not only could they not know where the sparks would fly if they disobeyed recklessly, but wasn’t the Emperor known as a tyrant? If they accidentally offended him, the lives of the entire mercenary group would be in danger.

What choice would our young captain make? Lailo tried to calm his tension as he looked down at the peaceful port scenery below.

“Lailo.”

“Yes, Captain.”

“Don’t we have our own way of ‘neutralization’?”

Lailo snapped to attention and turned to look at Lebel. A slight smile had already appeared on the captain’s lips. He immediately understood what Lebel’s words meant.

They would disarm them without killing. There wouldn’t even be much of a battle. Lailo’s heavy shoulders lightened a bit.

“I understand. That’s just like you, Captain.”

“It’s the least we can do.”

Lebel muttered indifferently. We’ll pretend not to notice and leave alive those we were ordered to kill. Perhaps we can get one over on the Emperor rumored to be cruel. Lailo secretly hoped.

‘Well, we did act according to orders, so it would be awkward to find fault with it.’

If he had complaints, he should have given clear orders from the start. He grumbled inwardly as he sat down on a nearby tree stump.

Until now, Rosen had received military protection from the Empire in exchange for maintaining a certain level of taxation and neutrality.

But recently, voices calling for independence had been growing louder within Rosen. Perfect independence beyond legislative and administrative autonomy.

The current Grand Duke of Rosen also took a positive stance on this. The sight of Rosen citizens’ opinions coming together as one could not help but grate on Cledius’s eyes.

A few months ago, Cledius had initially proposed absorption to Rosen. However, the Grand Duke, the leader of Rosen, rejected the Emperor’s demand.

‘Grand Duke. I hope you make a wise decision.’

Those words from Cledius were no different from a declaration of war. Soon, the imperial army began to withdraw one by one, and recently the last unit left.

Perhaps the citizens of Rosen had predicted what was to come from the moment the army withdrew. That the Empire would soon invade.

Bitterness clouded the faces of the two men as they looked out at the calm night scene of the port city. It wouldn’t take long to neutralize them.

“Most of them probably haven’t even received proper military training. They’ll be no different from a militia.”

“What about the mercenary groups contracted with Rosen?”

“Surprisingly, there are none.”

“That’s unexpected. The Grand Duke of Rosen shouldn’t be so financially strapped that he can’t contract mercenaries…”

Lebel, who had been thinking while trailing off, seemed to realize something and closed his mouth with an “Ah.” All the mercenary groups would be watching the Empire’s mood. They would have already used methods like bribes on some of the large mercenary groups.

There would probably be no mercenary groups contracting with Rosen.

“It’s not my place to say, but they’re just money-grubbers anyway.”

“Everyone has their own circumstances. Let’s focus on the task at hand. First, before dawn breaks, we’ll neutralize the area around the Grand Duke’s mansion.”

“Yes. Don’t worry. It’s not like we haven’t done this before.”

“Still, we must not let our guard down.”

The two men began to move down, their legs now heavy. In this continent, could war ever truly end? Lailo, who had remained silent the whole way down, muttered as if complaining.

“Captain. I don’t think I’ll ever meet Grit.”

“Why?”

“Because I’m sure I’ll go to hell when I die.”

“Same here.”

That’s why I wanted to see her for a long time in this reality. As close as possible, even if only existing as a shadow from behind. If I couldn’t hold her in my arms, I could only keep her in my eyes.

Lebel recalled Ilarid leaning in his arms. Her small, delicate body. The rhythmic sound of her breathing. How anxious he had been then, wondering if she could hear his heart beating furiously.

Would that moment ever come again? That dreamlike moment when they were closest, most intimately connected.

Lebel, who had been staring at the faint flames of the campfire in the camp, finally closed his eyes. In the encroaching darkness, he thought he caught a glimpse of her figure.