Watching Alfredo’s retreating figure, Aaron added.
“Put an iron mask on his face. It’s unpleasant to think of the princess’s face when looking at his face.”
“Yes.”
Aaron stared at Alfredo’s disappearing figure until the end.
“If it weren’t for that guy, things wouldn’t have gotten so tangled like this.”
“Colin, what about the unit we stationed in the capital?”
“It seems to have been annihilated in the joint attack by Ferber’s army and Ioventi.”
Ioventi must have felt threatened by the fact that the king and queen were killed by the imperial forces.
During that gap, Ferber invaded.
And Ioventi’s royal capital would have been filled with chaos and blood.
“Our troops’ bodies were discarded in a large pit below the western tower.”
“Dyke, damn it…”
Aaron couldn’t continue his words and fell silent.
He roughly wiped his face with his hand.
His subordinates, isolated in a distant foreign country, faced attacks from both sides.
And thinking about her, left alone in the confusing situation, made his heart heavy.
A heavy breath escaped through the gaps between his fingers.
“Trusted them, and they handled things like this.”
While Aaron was harshly reprimanding Dyke, there was a moistness in his voice that he couldn’t hide.
Silence for meditation settled in the grand hall.
“Colin.”
“Yes, Commander.”
“Repay them in kind.”
The yet-to-be-erased red stains were smeared on the spear.
The flickering light, pouring down unevenly, caught Aaron’s eyes.
It wasn’t supposed to go to Estrella.
A momentary misjudgment resulted in fatal consequences.
“Whoever from Ferber is still left on this land, make sure they can’t leave alive.”
“Yes, Commander.”
“Show them what happens when you provoke the empire.”
The calm, and therefore more eerie, order of the commander resonated.
“With all our might. As fast as possible. Kill them all.”
The sound of the imperial army’s boots moving to execute the commander’s order shook the grand hall.
The vengeful swords of the blinded imperial soldiers were pointed towards Ferber.
Ferber’s corpses formed a mountain, and the spilled blood stained Ioventi.
Thanks to the mobilization of all forces, the recapture of Ioventi happened swiftly.
However, the traces left by Ferber deeply marked Ioventi.
“Commander.”
Aaron, standing on a hill, scanning the surroundings, was approached by Colin.
“We found it.”
Aaron turned his head, and Colin reported.
“I found it.”
Aaron’s silver hair fluttered in the bloody wind as he turned his head.
Found it.
But why?
Colin, who reported that he found something, stood alone.
“Here it is.”
Aaron reached out, and Colin handed him the object.
The touch on his hand was cold and hard.
This shouldn’t have come back like this.
He didn’t give it to be handed over like this.
Aaron looked at the button placed on his palm.
A golden button engraved with the emblem of the Sturleitz Empire.
The button he gave to Marend, who wanted to become his subordinate, came back to Aaron’s hand.
The innocent eyes of Marend, who wanted to be his subordinate, vividly flashed in his mind.
Aaron tightly clenched the button that returned to him alone and looked up at the sky.
“I was holding this button tightly in my hand.”
Listening to Colin’s report, a red tint formed in Aaron’s eyes as he stared into the empty space.
The once blue sky was now filled with gray smoke, making it difficult to find its original color.
Miserable flames rose from various parts of the city.
After Ferber’s army withdrew and the smell of burning corpses infected the city due to the epidemic, symbols of each city crumbled into ruins. Those capable of rebuilding were taken away as slaves.
The land that once spread with greenery was now unearthed, exposing dark red flesh.
“The southern cities that were occupied by Ferber are in a similar situation to what you see now.”
Where Ferber had passed, it was as devastated as if a swarm of locusts had swept through.
Ioventi, beloved by the princess, was thoroughly ravaged.
Could Delia bear witness to this? No, is she even alive?
“Especially the areas of the Rieste harbor and Belloni are the most severe. Since those places were Ferber’s military bases, civilian casualties are severe, and our army stationed there has been completely annihilated.”
If only it had been Ferber pushing in from the sea, it wouldn’t have been this bad. However, Ioventi’s army, angered by the assassination of the king and queen, joined the attack from behind.
Thinking about the desperation of those left behind, Aaron closed his eyes with a gloomy feeling.
“Investigate the damage thoroughly and report it. Provide support for recovery where manpower is lacking.”
“Yes, Commander.”
Every moment spent with Delia in the past was now tainted with regret.
He promised to protect her, but he couldn’t keep that promise.
If only he had followed, taken her away.
It shouldn’t have been left alone.
No, he shouldn’t have left Ioventi.
Countless regrets weighed heavily on him, but he couldn’t stay still.
There was too much to do.
“Colin.”
“Yes, Commander.”
“Is what I ordered ready?”
“But, Commander.”
“But?”
“There are currently no ships available for immediate departure.”
Aaron squinted his eyes fiercely.
He had to go to Ferber to find the missing Delia and seek revenge for his subordinates.
But there were no ships.
Most of the warships engaged in the war that started with Ferber’s attack were destroyed.
The few intact ships had long been looted for the journey to Ferber before the imperial army arrived.
“So, I told you to request support from the homeland.”
“Yes, Commander.”
“But who dares?”
“The Emperor.”
Unbridled curses spilled out with suppressed rage.
“That bastard.”
The Male lead Always Seduces Her with His Beauty (Matriarchy)
Xin Jiao Zhou is the leader of the world’s premier sect. She has just experienced betrayal from all sides, was poisoned in an assassination attempt, and faced death squad attacks while the poison was taking effect. After finally clearing out the scum from her sect, she was drugged again while trying to detoxify.
After waking up from a night of unconsciousness, she gained a “beautiful and kind-hearted” husband.
Xin Jiao Zhou: “???”
He fell ill.
She came to see him, bringing breakfast.
As she put down the breakfast and was about to leave, his hand slipped while holding the spoon. “Clank!”
She turned around upon hearing the noise.
He looked up at her, his eyebrows drooping: “My hand… has no strength.”
“Shall I… feed you?” she asked tentatively.
He opened his mouth cheerfully: “Ah—”
Thinking she was drowning, he jumped in without hesitation to save her, but nearly drowned himself. In the end, it was she who swam over to rescue him, giving him air underwater.
After emerging from the water, his ear tips turned red. He lightly brushed his cheek, tucking his sideburns behind his ear, revealing delicate, pink-tinged ear tips. He lowered his gaze, too embarrassed to look at her.
Xin Jiao Zhou: He’s truly beautiful, kind-hearted, and adorable.
A certain someone when disciplining subordinates behind the scenes: “If they don’t obey, just kill them.”
What’s that? She might already have someone she cares about in her heart? A certain someone: Find out who it is, kill them, and then there won’t be anyone.
What? She met a man by the riverside? What? That man even hurt her? A certain someone: Whichever hand hurt her, chop off his entire arm.
Love at first sight without realizing it, gradually falling in love, slowly getting closer…
Family and national grudges, schemes and desires, good and evil, crime and punishment, she and he face the future together, seeking justice with passion!
A naturally dark female lead who could accidentally destroy the world but is actually an honest person VS a weak, pitiful, and helpless but skilled fighter, beautiful white-cut black male lead
My heart is not of stone, how steadfast is your love? — Tao Yuanming “Imitating the Ancients (No. 3)”
— Reading Guide —
Cold female lead & dramatic black lotus with hidden yandere traits male lead
