Chapter 197

The collapse of the Imperial Palace, which had shocked and unsettled the citizens of the capital.

Leopold was unaware, but on that day, Isabella and Ernst led their supporters out of the capital.

With their original forces, a handful of Empire Knights who had survived the nightmare of that day, and even Marquis Valenstein in tow.

Their justification was more than enough.

Leopold had exposed his “evil schemes” to the world, and Marquis Valenstein was also injured.

No one could refute Ernst’s argument that staying in the capital was far too dangerous.

Their destination was the Vennes territory in the southwestern part of the Empire.

It was the stronghold of the witch, Isabella.

And they didn’t leave quietly.

Marching with their troops toward the Vennes territory, Ernst officially declared Leopold’s atrocities to the entire Empire.

The assassination of Matthias, disguised as the work of monsters, carried out by his knight Hector.

The attack on the Imperial Palace, where Leopold, in league with the witch Ophelia, attempted to kill all the royals except himself using her monsters.

Even the ambush that left Marquis Valenstein severely injured.

Ernst presented Hector’s corpse and the bodies of the insect knights as evidence.

The captured attackers also confessed under interrogation that it was all done under Leopold’s orders.

It was all fabricated evidence, but it was enough to fool the masses.

When news of Ka`har’s advance from the east and the horrors committed by Ha-shal-leur spread, Leopold’s reputation plummeted even further.

Knights who had joined Ernst’s faction eagerly denounced Ha-shal-leur’s atrocities.

Marquis Valenstein also publicly confirmed the knights’ accounts.

His credibility, as the Empire’s greatest swordsman who had fought in countless battles over decades, was enough to turn even skeptics into believers.

Not everyone believed his words and supported Ernst.

But it was more than enough justification to raise an army.

The depraved prince Leopold. The carnivorous beast Ha-shal-leur. The witch Ophelia.

With a declaration to bring peace and order by defeating the three criminals who had seized the capital, Ernst declared war on Leopold.

The cautious remained neutral, while the ambitious began weighing the benefits Ernst and Leopold could bring them.

And those waiting eagerly outside the Empire cheered.

Thus began the prelude to a civil war that would sweep across the entire Empire.

—

“A civil war? Ernst has finally gone mad! Not content with slandering and trying to kill me, now he plans to overthrow the Empire by force!”

At the hastily convened court meeting, Leopold slammed his armrest and roared upon hearing the news of Ernst.

His words were clearly aimed at the nobles in attendance.

Leopold knew full well that Ernst was already a puppet of Isabella.

He had guessed that a civil war would break out the moment he heard that Isabella and Ernst had fled the capital.

Still, he couldn’t understand why they would choose a war with no chance of victory.

“With Marquis Valenstein siding with them, they must think they have a shot. That old man, what is he even doing at his age…?”

Duke Bien sighed.

He had sent his knights to capture Ernst upon hearing of his escape while on his way to the capital.

It wasn’t a bad plan.

Capturing Ernst there would have ended the civil war before it even began, and Duke Bien would have been the greatest contributor.

Though Duke Bien hadn’t brought his full force, the knights he had brought were his elite.

Six masters and fifty knights—more than enough to break through Ernst’s escort.

Marquis Valenstein was a concern, but news that the Ghost Sword had been injured by a young master made Duke Bien underestimate him.

“At his age, even the great Valenstein must be weakening.”

The Empire’s greatest swordsman was now just a relic of the past.

An old man like him could easily be defeated by six masters.

Even if they couldn’t win, they could buy enough time to capture Ernst.

He was wrong.

Two days.

Thanks to the priest’s healing and the endless supply of top-tier recovery potions, Marquis Valenstein’s injuries were nearly healed.

The Ghost Sword revealed its fangs.

In an instant, Duke Bien lost one master and twenty knights, forcing him to retreat in haste.

Fortunately, Valenstein chose to focus on escorting Ernst rather than pursuing them.

Since then, Duke Bien had been gathering his forces in the capital.

“It seems that as death approaches, greed takes hold. Whether for power or lust.”

Leopold openly criticized Valenstein.

To boost his own side’s morale, he had to tear down the enemy’s reputation as much as possible.

Valenstein, the noble knight who had protected the Empire for decades, had to be reduced to a greedy old man revealing his true colors in his twilight years.

From Leopold’s perspective, it wasn’t entirely wrong.

—

Ernst’s rebellion, begun with the goal of destroying the “axis of evil.”

Leopold countered that Ernst had no chance of winning the electoral vote, so he resorted to slandering him.

He argued that Isabella was the true witch, and her crimes were being pinned on him.

They said it was fabricated.

They revealed the fact of Ha-shal-leur’s exile and even the classified information that she was a descendant of the Twelve Knights… but unfortunately, the lack of any evidence held them back.

The evidence that the Empress was a witch, and the documents about Ha-shal-leur, were all buried under a pile of marble.

At least mentioning the anti-demon resistance had some effect.

The fact that Ha-shal-leur was an anti-demon had already been proven.

The defense that someone blessed with anti-demon powers couldn’t possibly be a man-eating demon.

They couldn’t completely dismiss Valenstein and the knights’ testimonies, but they could at least sow some doubt.

Both sides had their reasons, and neither side was perfect.

In the end, the only way to decide the truth was through the sword.

For the next five days, Leopold was constantly on the move.

He requested Duke Bien to mobilize his troops and persuaded Duke Pailoon to cooperate in suppressing Ernst’s rebellion.

He vowed to make Adelaide his Empress after ascending the throne and promised large-scale support to the north… but this was enough to secure sufficient military strength.

Those who had supported Leopold from the beginning also began gathering their private soldiers to prepare to face Ernst’s forces.

They didn’t particularly believe Ernst’s claims, and having supported Leopold from the start, they had no other choice.

Unfortunately, they failed to bring in the Empire’s main standing army and the Imperial Knight Order.

They declared that since both sides had valid claims, they would consider this a civil war and remain neutral according to tradition.

They said the Empire’s sword was meant to protect its people from external threats, not to kill fellow citizens.

Leopold had to be satisfied with that.

At least they weren’t joining Ernst.

Even if a civil war broke out, the monsters wouldn’t calm down, so leaving the Imperial Knight Order to deal with them was enough.

And so, the “Leopold Army” was formed.

The private soldiers of Leopold’s faction, the armies of Pailoon and Bien.

Including the Eastern Army of Landenburg, it was a large enough force to defeat Ernst’s army.

Up until then, the situation wasn’t too bad.

…Up until then.

—

Ha-shal-leur woke up a week after the incident.

By then, the situation had already spiraled out of control.

======[Ha-shal-leur Ai-shan Gi-or. The Possessed]======

“Ughhhh!”

The first thing I did upon waking was vomit out everything in my stomach.

I dirtied the hospital floor with my vomit, but anyone who knew my situation would understand.

I had seen everything.

So vividly that I could still smell and taste it. The sensation still lingered in my mouth.

The nauseating stench of the vitreous humor as the squishy chunks of flesh burst and flowed out.

“Ughhhh!”

I vomited again.

The madness of Hersela.

After being suppressed for so long, her true form, finally unleashed, didn’t even feel human.

It was a rabid beast wielding tentacles of life force, devouring people.

I knew it.

No, I should say I suspected it.

That the original owner of this body, Hersela’s consciousness, might still be within me.

Whenever I was injured and weakened, or exhausted and dizzy, I heard it.

Her voice calling me from within.

And it wasn’t just her voice.

When did the noise, which was just a jumble of sounds at first, start to sound like human language?

It was around the time I realized the power of life force and started using Ice Blade, when I could somewhat handle life force.

The more I got used to the power, the closer the voice became.

As if Hersela’s power was pulling its true owner closer.

…I wanted a cigarette.

To wash away the sticky smell of blood and entrails with the refreshing scent of mint.

I felt nauseous again.

“Princess Ai-shan Gi-or! Are you okay?!”

Hearing my retching, Leopold burst into the room in a panic.

He looked like he hadn’t slept properly in a week.

“Ughhh…”

“…You don’t look okay.”

Leopold glanced at the floor and stepped aside.

The sour smell filled the room.