Chapter 100

The second day of the hunting festival.

Latri walked through the hunting grounds with hollow eyes, continuing her meaningless hunt. Even if she threw small daggers to hunt beasts, as she did in her youth, the gloomy and uneasy feeling wouldn’t go away.

It clung to her chest like a heavy, sticky shackle. She wanted to break free but couldn’t. Like Raul, she didn’t know the name of this emotion.

The number of weapons she knew far exceeded the emotions she could name.

“…Arthur. Please tell me. What is this feeling?”

Arthur Berze was a wise man. A genius among geniuses who could answer any difficult question, astonishing everyone. Surely, such a husband would have taught her the answer to this emotion.

If he were wise, kind, and ideal, he would have answered.

But no answer came. He was no longer in this world.

“You promised to stay with me forever. You said you’d teach me all the things I didn’t know. You said you’d protect me… forever.”

It was a meaningless resentment. Like spitting on her own face. After all, Latri’s influence wasn’t entirely absent in the deterioration of his health.

Even knowing this, Latri piled on self-reproach. She thought that by whipping herself, she might forget the sticky unknown.

But no matter how much she whipped herself, nothing changed.

Nothing could change.

“…Of course. Even if you came back to life, you’d despise me. I’m the selfish woman who couldn’t even fulfill your last wish.”

Latri looked at the wedding ring she had cherished, smiling bitterly and sadly.

The happiness she felt on her wedding day. She felt just as miserable now.

Latri took off the wedding ring and threw it far into the bushes. She was no longer a woman worthy of his love.

Now truly alone, she began to cross the forest aimlessly. No destination, no thread of a reason to live, no ember of love to warm her cold body.

After wandering for a long time, having lost everything, Latri squeezed out a hollow voice,

“So this too must be inevitable.”

As Latri glanced sideways, assassins with sharp daggers revealed themselves.

“Once a renowned knight, it seems the rumors weren’t false.”

“Young ones. I’ve been wielding a sword and sweeping battlefields since before you even held a blade.”

“…I see. A senior, then. In this line of work, respect for a senior is shown with a clean death.”

“Simple and clean. I like that.”

Latri deliberately held her sword loosely.

If she were to be torn apart miserably by them, perhaps it would be some form of atonement.

If she died miserably, maybe Raul, who despised her, would feel a little better.

And above all, there was no reason to continue this life.

“Come on. I was just getting bored of hunting beasts.”

Latri deliberately fought the assassins with a loose grip. They didn’t seem like ordinary assassins, but that didn’t matter.

Who could hold a grudge against her? Maybe Aron Berze, or someone who envied Aron Berze, or someone who sought profit from her death. But none of that mattered now.

Fighting half-heartedly, losing her sword, and being torn apart tragically. That seemed like the punishment she deserved. The punishment for the wicked woman who couldn’t even keep her husband’s last wish.

The loosely held sword was finally knocked away, and the assassins’ sharp daggers flew to tear her flesh.

“…Yes. This must be right.”

Latri closed her eyes.

In this chaotic world, she had met the person she loved, so she had no regrets. And having betrayed that person, she had no right to live.

“Running away again?”

A wise and kind voice was heard, and red droplets of blood splattered on Latri’s face.

“I happened to pass by and saw a familiar ring, so I followed… What a mess. Do these count for points?”

“…You.”

“But the stench is too strong for a high score. I might as well just hunt rabbits.”

Empress Penelope smiled wryly and glared at the assassins who had attacked Latri.

Her mouth smiled, but her eyes did not.

“A hero is just someone who can’t even walk on their own. Just an extra head to add to the count.”

“Hahaha… I’ve been trying to hold back on swearing lately. But this is just too much.”

Even as the assassins attacked, the Empress didn’t panic at all.

Today, she sheathed her sword and adjusted her stance.

“Drawing your weapon in the middle of a fight… You must really want to die…!”

The moment the Empress drew her sword again, one of the assassins who had clearly taken the initiative was split in half.

“What the…!”

“Just chopped up like a fish. Surprised? There, there.”

She blocked other attacks with her scabbard, then turned her wheelchair and struck an enemy’s jaw with it.

“Well, my legs are definitely in this state, so I’ve weakened… But you haven’t gotten any stronger, have you?”

Then, the Empress sheathed her sword again, drew it, and swept away the remaining assassins in one strike.

“…Your Majesty.”

“Oh? Just call me ‘cripple’ like you usually do behind my back.”

“…….”

Latri had once envied the Empress. She admired the Empress for overcoming adversity, unlike herself, and felt insignificant in comparison.

“Thank you for saving me. I’ll take my leave now…”

“No need for thanks. You were planning to go off and die anyway, weren’t you? What’s the point of saving a life like that? I just killed them because I was in a bad mood.”

“……Whether I live or die is none of Your Majesty’s concern. No. In fact, you’d be happy if I died.”

Latri quietly looked into the Empress’s calm eyes, her hands trembling.

How could she remain unshaken? Why could she be so confident? How could she remain so composed after suffering the same pain?

“…I had friends.”

And the Empress, seeing through Latri’s thoughts, smiled and answered.

“I had friends who saw me for who I was. That’s how I endured. I’m not that strong. It’s all thanks to them. Raul was one of them.”

“….”

“Many people are in tougher situations than you. Not all of them ended up like you. Many endure greater pain and live on. You broke because you’re weak.”

Latri tried to accept those words without denial.

“…I wouldn’t say such bullshit even if I were dying.”

“Excuse me…?”

“Just as your suffering doesn’t absolve your sins, your sins don’t make your suffering any less.”

The Empress quietly approached and put the wedding ring back on Latri’s finger.

“Your love is the same. Sin is sin. Pain is pain. Love is love. Don’t throw it away. It’s a beautiful ring and a wonderful love, isn’t it?”

“Your Majesty… I… no, I…!”

“Latri Berze. I forgive you for everything you’ve said about me.”

Hot liquid began to flow from Latri’s eyes.

“I won’t ask you to take back your hatred. I won’t ask you to forget your wounds. Those can’t be forgotten or erased. I understand you, Latri Berze.”

The Empress smiled, not with her usual wise and dignified smile, but with the bright smile of a young girl.

“Please. See Raul not as the son of your enemy, but as Raul Berze. As the Raul Berze who devoted himself to you, free from all grudges. Like my friends did for me.”

“It’s already too late… That child…”

“It might get even later. It’s better to do something before then. And the Raul I know… He wouldn’t reject the hand of someone who truly repents.”

Latri knelt down, tears streaming.

And the Empress warmly embraced and comforted her. It was something she wouldn’t have done if Latri hadn’t shown even a hint of remorse.

But the Empress was a kind person. She believed everyone deserved a chance.

That’s why she wanted to make Latri aware of her sorrow.

Latri’s psychological pain would surely deepen, but the Empress hoped her tears would wash away her sins. She believed only sorrow and tears could cleanse sin.

“Regarding your son, you are clearly a sinner. But for everything else…”

The Empress gently patted the crying Latri’s back.

“You did nothing wrong. How could it be your fault that your purity was trampled? You deserve comfort, but this country is trash. So… don’t pass on the hatred you received.”

“…I… I will.”

“Don’t die as a bad mother. One miserable title is enough.”

The Empress began to make a sad expression.

And in a voice too soft for the crying Latri to hear, she said,

“Being a bad mother is enough for me alone.”

The Empress recalled the chessboard she had left alone earlier.

After much deliberation, an old bishop had toppled a knight.

But the enemy still had a king and a rook.

From a value perspective, it was a foolish move, but life wasn’t a game.

What had to be given up wasn’t just a piece.

So, the Empress decided to sacrifice the old, broken queen.

“…The strategic value of a piece is just part of the game.”

The Empress carefully stroked her belly.

“If I have to give up one… it’s fitting that it’s me with my broken legs. And I’m sorry for being such a mother. I’ll atone for that sin even in hell.”

Real war couldn’t be expressed in chess.

But one thing was similar: nothing could be gained without sacrifice.

“I’m doing something I can’t do for Raul again… but it’s also atonement for causing Layla’s death.”