Chapter 57: Chapter 57

Chapter 57

With his words, the men disappeared after taking care of the fainting wizard.

“Are you okay?”

“You told them to kill me?”

“That’s because you’ll be in more danger if I panic.”

“Thank you for your help anyway.”

Meryl said as she brushed off her clothes that had been soiled because of the men.

“Are you… a court lady?”

“So?”

Seeing her wary face, Dahan hurriedly tried to open his mouth. He was in a hurry.

“You won’t be able to do anything through me.”

“Ah… I’m sorry.”

As Meryl nodded her head to his awkward words and stepped away, Dahan let out a sigh as he watched her go, leaving the cold wind behind.

“It’s not like that.”

Isilis was sitting in her office, looking at the papers.

Not too long ago, there was the execution of Marquis Cyrka. Since it was the first execution since she came to power, she had to come forward herself. In addition, not only Marquis Cyrka but also other nobles who followed him were punished.

In the meantime, the nobles who were being hunted out one by one were the problem.

There were so many young nobles in collusion with the Marquis Cyrka that it was difficult to punish them one by one. Their parents went out and worried about the succession, and it caused some trouble.

However, Duke Verus stepped forward and said.

“We must not show mercy to those who tried to shake the foundations of the country.”

While there were some nobles who objected to his words, most nobles agreed with him. What the criminals were trying to do was to shake the foundations of Larchen.

The power that the nobles had was taken away by Isilis because of this incident. It wasn’t all, but some of it became a waste. The other nobles’ opinion was that the people who caused this should not be left alone, and they all agreed.

The execution took place because of that.

The execution was brutal, and Marquis Cyrka shouted, but his voice couldn’t come out. He had already lost his tongue by the wizards.

Isilis remained expressionless in front of Pillaire, who had lost his tongue, as she had a look that showed he couldn’t accept this. She smiled quietly as she watched him struggle. At the same time, the nobles who saw her face were stunned and hurriedly lowered their heads.

“Begin the execution.”

It was a dismemberment. His limbs were tied to animals and torn to shreds.

Because it was a primitive method, it was a punishment that had been buried in Larchen though it was revived due to this incident. The nobles shuddered as she watched the execution without batting an eye.

A cruel sight unfolded before their eyes, and everyone who saw it frowned.

Isilis opened her mouth to them.

“He is the one who shook the foundations of the empire, and the one who put the empire in danger. Look straight ahead.”

At the same time as her words, overwhelming energy flowed. Those who knelt before the Empress who ruled the empire awaited her next words.

Looking around at the quiet surroundings, she slowly opened her mouth again.

“From now on, Larchen will not forgive those who shake the foundations of the empire and will punish them once and for all. Anyone who has witnessed a similar situation is welcome to report it to the patrolling wizards. You will be rewarded.”

Magical power extended her voice and shook all over the empire.

The imperial people’s eyes twinkled at the Empress’ stern words that they would be rewarded if they accused treacherous people. It was a trick that Isilis devised to prevent this from happening again.

Loyalty rose in the eyes of the people who watched her get up and return to the Palace.

The Margrave was stripped of his title on the spot and was demoted to work as a common enlisted man. While many aristocrats objected, he could not be killed because of his son’s sin while guarding the border before he forfeited his title and was left to defend the country as a soldier.

The previous Empress’ influence also played a part.

Upon learning of the opposing nobles, the previous Empress appeared and suppressed them.

“The Marquis has been a loyalist since my days. His son made a mistake, but since his son has already been punished and is not in this world, it would be difficult to ask for his sins anymore?”

There was no one who could stop the previous Empress who was speaking while generating magic in one hand. Isilis didn’t want to stop, either. It was because she also felt bad when she saw the aged vassal prostate.

Death hung thickly over the face of the man who confessed his son’s guilt.

If she hadn’t ordered his demotion, it seemed that he would end his life by disappearing somewhere.

Recalling Margrave’s face, she paused her pen for a moment. He was a good father, as she was told. When she and Pillaire studied together at the academy, what she always heard from him was his pride for his father.

Pillaire was a respected person, but how did he fall for such a thing? She still found it hard to understand.

It was hard to know why he became interested in black magic. It seemed that there was someone else who planned all of this behind Marquis Cyrka.

“There’s no way it can be solved this easily.”

The aide turned at her whispered words, but Isilis said nothing.

‘Is it my misunderstanding?’

She felt uneasy about something.

It had been almost ten months since the child’s loss. It’d be a year soon, which meant that the year she had promised Berthas was approaching. After that time, she had to prepare for the imperial wedding again.

It was difficult to stand the pressure from the previous Empress, who had not gone despite the passing of time, and Usman Khalifa, who waited for her while staying in the empire for almost a year.

And that wasn’t all.

With the child gone, there was no heir to this empire. As time passed, the issue of succession came to the surface again. Nonetheless, since the previous Empress was present, no one expressed it outwardly.

As if it knew her anxious heart, the office door opened wide.

“Isilis!”

“Is it you again?”

It was Usman Khalifa who came to visit from time to time. Because of that, it wasn’t once or twice that she stopped trying. She didn’t know how he became close with her ladies-in-waiting, but they were especially weak to him.

Even when she asked, they were evasive and said that he was handsome. Isilis didn’t understand.

“It’s a nice day, so let’s go for a walk.”

She didn’t hate the way he talked, with his eyes curved.

After losing her child, she spent a lot of time with Usman, and she felt somehow familiar with him. When she was young, even when she was with him, he wasn’t so friendly, so why now. She didn’t know.

“I have to look at all these papers.”

“I know you can take a look at that soon. Let’s go out.”

“Where…”

“The Capital!”

His words made her eyes twinkle. Come to think of it, since she lost her child, it had been a long time since she had been to the capital. While she used to go out often, Isilis hadn’t been out lately.

“Shouldn’t we see how the people of the Empire are doing?”

“….”

She couldn’t refuse when he said that.

…No, maybe she didn’t want to say no. She desperately wanted to go outside rather than stay inside the stuffy palace. If she went out, maybe she could meet Berthas.

‘What am I thinking?!’

For ten months, she could not reach him. She didn’t know what the hell he was doing. Not only that, but she had no news from her messenger, nor did Berthas’ messengers come to her…

No news.

‘Did he change his mind?’

It could have been.

He was someone who kept thinking of his country, so maybe Berthas needed to stay in the Hillenton Empire.

Was that why there was no contact? Now, he was going to cut off his relationship with her slowly. The fact that the child was missing was not known to the outside world, but it was a fact that could be known if one wanted to know.

She got word from her spies, whom she also sent to other countries, so he must have, too. Perhaps, rumors were circulating secretly.

‘He has no contact even after that.’

She didn’t know. Even though she thought she knew him well, maybe she didn’t.

It was Usman who pulled her out of her lingering thoughts.

“Isilis. Shall we go?”

Usman came right up to her desk where she was doing her work and pushed his face. Yellow eye and blue eye were looking straight into her eyes when she thought that the golden and sea-embracing eyes were shining brightly.

Something soft touched her cheek.

“You dare…!”

“What’s with you with just this much? I will do more in the future.”

As he whispered while replying casually, the ladies-in-waiting in the office turned their heads as the escort knight also turned.

Finally, the newly chosen aide bowed his head into the papers.

“Look, no one is watching.”

“….”

Isilis couldn’t hide her burning face.

…Why does he feel so close? It was not even Berthas.

Why.

“Let’s go.”

She couldn’t resist his whispers.

Looking at Isilis’ red ears, Usman smiled brightly. He was glad that she was slowly changing. He was confident that if he gave his heart in any way, he wouldn’t miss her. At the same time, he felt that the sleepless nights he had spent so far had been rewarded.

Seeing her not abhorring him even when he touched her and seeing her not thinking of someone else after seeing his face made him feel like he had all of the world.

The fact that the previous Empress was in the Imperial Palace also played a role. He didn’t know why though the previous Empress and Isilis weren’t close. He could tell by watching her not looking for the previous Empress despite going through hard times.

‘I knew she wasn’t a nice person, but…’

He didn’t expect it to be like this.

The previous Empress literally only stayed at her palace but never approached. She didn’t say anything friendly or comforting, just watching from afar.

Usman, who was curious about the backstory between the two, once asked the previous Empress, but she smiled lightly and shook her head. Then, the previous Empress said something.

[ That child would be better off with you by her side than me. ]

She said it with a bitter smile, but he was grasping a lot from it.

It was as if he had seen through Isilis’ true nature, who was hungry for affection, so Usman tried harder. He soothed her at night, put her to sleep, and increased his time with her during the day.

Showing that his efforts had reached the sky, Isilis was changing little by little. The more time he spent with her, the more greedy he became. He wanted to be with her. Forever. It was good to be together in Larchen, or they could go back to his empire, Khalifa.

If only she were by his side, if she would be his woman, no, if she would give birth to his child…

He desperately wanted it.

‘My heart…’

She wouldn’t know. His heart was so earnest and desperate as the love that had been going on since childhood was finally about to bear fruit.

“It won’t be long.”

“What did you say?”

Isilis, hearing his murmur, asked. Usman whispered with a smile.

“You’re pretty today.”

“You are talking nonsense.”

“No. You have never been not pretty.”

“Again…”

“You are always pretty to me.”

Usman laughed cheerfully as Isilis closed her mouth.

It was then.

There was someone who caught his gaze wearing a hood. He was not a citizen of the Larchen Empire. He was from Hillenton. Seeing that he had a sword, it was clear that he was a knight.

‘…Is he the one sent by Berthas Hillenton?’

Judging from his careful examination of the two people wearing wizard robes, it was clear that Berthas had sent this man. Usman’s senses were superior to those of others, and the reason he survived so far was because he trusted his senses.

He couldn’t leave someone who gave him such unpleasant feelings.

‘I’ll have to catch him first.’

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