Peiron, upon realizing that the visitor to the Iolls mansion was Rose, silently led her to his room.

“What’s going on?”

Peiron couldn’t look at Rose.

It was because of the voice that came to mind as soon as he saw Rose at the entrance of the mansion.

‘Did you try to kill me too?’

Erina’s chilling voice, which he couldn’t refute, kept echoing in his ears.

Whether it was because traces of the chivalry he thought he had abandoned for Rose remained, he felt self-loathing at the fact that he had tried to kill someone to gain love.

Peiron faced Rose while pressing his throbbing head.

Rose, standing before him, felt strange seeing him try not to look at her, unlike before.

He was once a man who always wanted her gaze, who wanted her love.

Both in this mansion where she first met Erina, and in that villa where they met in secret, away from people’s eyes.

“Ron.”

At Rose’s voice, sweet and wet, Peiron closed his eyes and sighed.

Peiron always crumbled at that voice.

It was a cruel and sticky voice that made him agree even to the request to kill Erina.

“Please don’t call me that.”

Peiron felt like he was going mad from Erina’s whispers that kept gnawing at his mind.

Rose was upset by his reaction, so different from before.

“How can you be like this!”

Rose had thought that at least Peiron would always welcome her, but his completely different reaction angered her.

When had he ever begged for even a glance, and now he tells her not to call him?

“Ron, look at me.”

Peiron knew he would melt if he looked into Rose’s eyes, so he dared not look at her.

Angry at his bowed head, Rose rushed to him in one breath and grabbed his collar.

“I said look at me!”

Peiron had no choice but to look at Rose.

At her hurt gaze, Peiron struggled to hold his crumbling heart.

But he could do nothing at Rose’s next words.

“I’m carrying your child, I am.”

“What…?”

Pleased that Peiron was finally looking into her eyes, Rose smiled, stretching her lips.

“But I want to die, Ron.”

“Rose!”

Rose, smiling brightly while casually saying she wanted to die, was gripped by terrible madness.

“I wish the child would disappear. But I must protect this child who will be the last of the Risky family.”

Peiron was dumbfounded, like Rose who had fainted and woken up to find out she was pregnant.

“All my thoughts are contradictory, so…”

Rose whispered in Peiron’s ear.

“Won’t you kill me?”

At that moment, Peiron faintly heard Erina’s whisper again.

‘Did you try to kill me too?’

“S-stop.”

As the voice that had tormented him for days replayed, Peiron felt like he was going mad.

“Now that everything’s over, won’t you kill me? Please!”

Peiron’s dazed mind cleared at Rose’s cry to kill her while smiling right in front of him.

Taking advantage of his momentary blank state, Rose grabbed his hand and made it wrap around her neck.

Then she placed her hand over Peiron’s and started to apply pressure.

“Rose, stop!”

At this shocking action, Peiron used force to remove his hand from her neck.

But Rose again guided his hand to grip her neck.

“Rose!”

Peiron urgently pulled his hand away and grabbed hers.

He embraced Rose, struggling with all his might to prevent her from harming herself again.

“Please stop.”

When Peiron tightly embraced her, she stopped her violent movements and quietly settled into his arms.

Rose, sadly, found great comfort in that embrace.

Whether it was because she thought he was the father of the child she was carrying, or because she felt he was the only one who embraced her, she wasn’t sure.

“I want to die, Ron.”

“Rose.”

“I wish the child would disappear.”

Strangely, as soon as Rose uttered those words, tears fell.

Though it was probably something she said without thinking, she suddenly started crying, feeling pathetic and sorry to the innocent child.

“Help me, Ron. Please…”

Peiron felt like his heart was being torn apart by her desperate, tear-filled words whispered in his arms.

Trying hard to ignore Erina’s faint voice in his ears again, he said,

“What… would you like me to do?”

His low, gravelly voice was filled with deep resignation.

Finally succumbing to the fate he couldn’t overcome and the curse he couldn’t erase, he decided to give up everything.

“What on earth do I need to do for you to stop thinking like this and want to live with the child, hm?”

“Ron, please.”

As soon as Peiron finished speaking, Rose, filled with joy, smiled brightly and whispered to him.

“Kill Erina.”

Rose, who whispered in a happy voice, said with the brightest face in the world while shedding tears.

“Please kill that woman, please!”

At these terrible words dripping with hatred, Peiron found it impossibly difficult to breathe.

It was because the faint voice started to be heard again.

‘Did you try to kill me too?’

“S-stop!”

“Ron…”

Rose looked at Peiron, who suddenly shouted and distanced himself, with a hurt expression.

Peiron, covering one of his ears, said to Rose in a turbid voice.

“Erina said that even if she dies, you, Rose, can’t have the mine.”

“That’s a lie! Don’t tell me you came back after meeting that woman and fell for her plausible words?”

Peiron, who had been quietly watching Rose shouting angrily, asked her.

“If only Erina dies…”

At those words, Rose’s distorted face began to fill with joy again, like before.

“If only Erina is gone, you won’t have any more bad thoughts?”

‘Rose is trying to kill everyone.’

Peiron recalled what Erina had told him after his own words.

“Then, peacefully with the child…”

‘The Small Kingdom Alliance is working hard to help Rose destroy everything.’

The image of Erina smiling brightly, just like Rose standing before him with cruel shining eyes, seemed to faintly appear behind Rose.

“Can you forget about other things and live?”

‘That’s why they’re trying to kill me, who has received God’s choice.’

Peiron felt nauseated by his own words, even though he was the one who uttered them.

“Can you promise that you, the child, and I will live happily together, just the three of us?”

“Of course!”

Rose, unaware of the gradually fading crimson light, was simply overjoyed and embraced him again.

Peiron forcibly moved his body to embrace her, feeling a dull pain throughout his body.

“If only Erina is gone, I can live happily with you and this child. Happily, without any worries.”

Rose’s lovingly whispered words overflowed with cruel poison steeped in hatred.

Even though Peiron knew that what she was giving him was a poison from which he could never return, he had no choice but to drink it willingly.

Exhaling a turbid breath, he whispered to Rose.

“Rose, attack the border by stirring up the Tula Kingdom and the Trumto Kingdom.”

It was because this was his inevitable fate, and he wished not to break free from the curse himself.

“I’ll do it for you in the meantime.”

“Ron!”

“Give me the deadly poison you mentioned before.”

“Ah, Ron.”

“You… from now on, think only of the child and yourself.”

Peiron held Rose in his arms and buried his face in her shoulder.

“I’ll take care of everything.”

As soon as he uttered these words, which were like a promise to himself, Erina’s faint voice that had been tormenting him suddenly disappeared.

“I love you, Ron.”

Both Rose, who had resembled fresh greenery, and Peiron, who had shone like the sun, were gradually dyed pitch black with terrible selfishness.

[This is the timeline separator]

The Tula Kingdom and the Trumto Kingdom, which had been engaged in a precarious battle of nerves but had thought to surrender to the empire, suddenly began to move.

This was because they had accepted Rose’s order to forcibly provoke the empire, thinking it might be their last chance.

The troops of the Tula Kingdom and the Trumto Kingdom, moving in secret, attacked the quiet border facing the Asilium Empire without reason.

Usually, attacks carried out at the national level had reasons.

Then, using that reason as a pretext, war would begin after declaration to each country and neighboring countries.

However, the troops of the two kingdoms, without leaving any reason, attacked the innocent quiet villages of the Asilium Empire, turning them into wastelands.

Starting with a small village of about 50 people, the two kingdoms gradually attacked the surroundings as if slowly devouring them.

Only after three villages had disappeared in an instant and hundreds of citizens had died did the empire become aware of this fact.

Because they had chosen to attack only villages in remote corners with little human traffic, it took quite some time for the news to reach the imperial palace.

“What on earth!”

Enzo was furious at the incomprehensible actions of the two kingdoms that had started attacking without any declaration between nations.

“Duke Emkil, report.”

“Your Majesty, currently 500 soldiers from the Tula Kingdom and 100 soldiers from the Trumto Kingdom are jointly attacking only small villages on the border.”

“No, what is this.”

Enzo was dumbfounded by Duke Emkil’s report.

Normally, if troops were moved desiring war between nations, they would move in units of at least thousands.

But attacking villages with just 600 troops from the two kingdoms was unmistakable even without looking for a reason.

“It’s to deliberately provoke us.”

Sandes, who had been quietly listening beside him, said.

It seemed they wanted to simply provoke the empire rather than gain something.

As if it were an action to attract attention.

Enzo thought for a moment and then asked Sandes.

“The Asila family?”

“They’re quiet. Rather, Count Asila is urging Lady Asila to apologize to Count Medelia.”