Chapter 28

On the day of the incident.

Raul, burdened with heavier responsibilities than anyone else, faced the Imperial Palace guards with a heavy heart.

Within the military, those who supported the current Emperor, the private soldiers of the nobles who backed the Emperor, and all other forces connected to the royal family were being held back by his friends and mentors.

One of the Imperial Palace guards, trembling, shouted at Raul.

“Co, Count Raul Berze, drop your weapon and surrender immediately!!!”

“A strong voice, I see. But you must know. This flow can no longer be stopped.”

With each step Raul took forward, they swallowed their saliva but did not retreat.

“Even if I surrender, this flow cannot be changed. And I also have reasons why I cannot surrender. So, you should surrender.”

Raul, without holding any weapon, calmly persuaded them as if he were out for a stroll.

“I don’t want to kill you.”

The Imperial Palace guards knew well. Their opponent was none other than Raul Berze.

The monster who, after cutting off the wings and arms of the Dragon King, slaughtered the dragon race, beheaded a demon beast as large as a city, and, together with others, inflicted irreparable wounds on the Demon King.

Although the Second Prince, who was countering the First Prince’s faction, spread rumors that these tales were exaggerated, those who had been on the battlefield did not believe them.

“We can’t do that…!”

“I don’t understand. That’s throwing away your lives.”

“We know that better than anyone…!”

Raul couldn’t understand the soldiers willing to throw away their lives. Unlike him, they had lives worth living, yet they were ready to discard them.

At this absurd sight, Raul was momentarily at a loss for words.

“We know why His Highness the First Prince and you, Count, are doing this! But we are tasked with defending this Imperial Palace! No matter the reason, we cannot let rebels pass…!!!”

“…There are exceptional situations. No one would blame you.”

“The country is already in chaos after the war…! If even the Imperial Palace guards fail in their duty…! Who will fulfill their duty for this country…!!!”

Hearing this, Raul raised his head and met their gaze.

An unusual action for Raul, who usually looked at the ground.

“You all…”

“Maintaining the dignity of the Imperial Palace guards is also our duty! You, Count, never retreated against the demons, did you?!”

Hearing this, Raul was tormented.

The fact that he had to kill them, the reality that drove them to this, and the shame of advising them to surrender pained him.

“Indeed.”

Raul stabbed his abdomen with his right hand blade, causing a large amount of blood to soak his clothes.

“It seems I was the foolish one. I ignored your pure pride, so let this be my apology.”

“Count…”

“Now, I too will fight with all my heart.”

Raul picked up his cane and steadied his stance.

“Raul Berze, head of the Berze family. With the utmost respect, I will sincerely strike you down.”

Raul fought them with all his heart and sincerely ended their lives.

But unlike those honorable men, what he faced next were beasts closer to vermin.

“Indeed, the Imperial Palace guards have been annihilated. I hoped they would buy time until I finished this drink.”

“They fulfilled their duty and died honorably.”

“Is that so. Unfathomable people. What use is honor or pride when you’re dead?”

The Emperor, who had just been enjoying intimacy with a woman, gulped down his wine and sneered at Raul.

“You came for my head, didn’t you? Come on, strike.”

“…Why did you mock the Demon King’s rain?”

“Hmm. Right after arriving in the Empire, I found out she was pregnant, and seeing that woman made me suddenly annoyed. I’m so unhappy, yet a mere insect dares to be happy? It disgusted me.”

Raul gave no response.

Unlike the Imperial Palace guards, this was so repulsive and absurd that no words came to him.

“If I’m going to die, I wanted to die at the hands of a beauty who hates me… but looking at your face, Count… Oh ho. This might not be so bad after all.”

“…Any last words?”

“Whatever I say will just be mocked by future generations, won’t it? Only those with regrets in life leave such words. I’ve enjoyed everything I wanted greedily.”

Raul, not even listening, thrust his cane into the Emperor’s heart.

Even with his heart pierced, the Emperor’s expression didn’t falter as he continued to sneer at Raul.

“But unlike me, you’re quite the fool, Count. Unable to say what you want, unable to enjoy what you want.”

“…You’re despicable.”

“Yes, despicable! But listen, Count. Being unable to say a few words makes you quite repulsive too!”

“……”

“Instead of last words… I’ll leave a prophecy. Your foolishness will leave an indelible scar on those around you…! You’ll die as history’s greatest fool…!”

The Emperor continued to mock Raul until his last breath.

Even as he died, the sneer didn’t stop, but Raul calmly shook the blood off his cane and went to find the Second Prince.

The Second Prince hurriedly tried to flee with his treasures but couldn’t escape Raul. He had never received proper training.

“Co, Count…! Spare my life…! I’ll devote myself to your sister Rizel…!!!”

“Devotion isn’t a word to be spoken lightly.”

“Spare my life, and I’ll do anything…! Please…!!!”

“I’m afraid not. Your Highness must die today.”

The Second Prince stepped back, but his strides were shorter than Raul’s, and he was quickly caught.

“Granting you a painless death is my final mercy.”

“If Her Majesty the Empress finds out, you…!”

“That too is impossible. All of the late Emperor’s concubines and their children are also destined to die.”

Dealing with over 100 of the Emperor’s concubines and their offspring was the future Empress Penelope’s task.

“Now, only Your Highness needs to face death.”

“If you kill me, your sister will hate you!”

“……At least she’ll live.”

“Ha! What use is keeping a sister who hates you alive! Count, you’re like family to me, so you should spare me!”

“I am not your family.”

Raul’s hand blade began to vibrate with a buzzing sound.

“This is your death.”

“Damn it, choosing that fool as your fiancée was a mistake…!”

He couldn’t finish his sentence as Raul’s hand blade severed his head.

Raul looked at the blood on his hands with an unreadable expression.

He killed those he didn’t want to kill.

He killed those who acted as if they didn’t care about dying.

He killed those he felt like killing.

All of this was to save someone he wished wouldn’t die.

“Rizel…”

Even if the end was the worst tragedy.

If only his sister could live, he was willing to bear the heaviest infamy.

As the black wind subsided, Rizel breathed heavily as if gasping for air.

“How is it?”

“No… this is a lie… right… this is a lie, isn’t it? Right? My fiancé couldn’t have…!”

“Whether you deny it or not doesn’t matter. At least investigate if this illusion is true or not.”

Even if denied, the seed had already been planted.

The seed of anxiety planted in her heart grew vigorously, nourished by her past words and actions towards Raul.

“Let me ask you something. Did the Second Prince ever engage in skin-ship with you?”

“No… that was just because he valued premarital chastity…”

“After Raul met the Second Prince, did he ever refuse to meet you?”

“Th, that was just because he was sick…”

They were all excuses.

The illusion fit Rizel’s memories like a puzzle, so she knew better than anyone that it was the truth.

Only the person who knew the truth could show such detailed circumstances.

“What, what are you…! A demon? Why are you showing me this…! If you had shown me earlier… told me earlier… I wouldn’t have said those things!”

All the words she had said to Raul flashed through her mind.

No, it was more like they clawed through her mind.

The sharper the words, the deeper and more painful the wounds.

‘Traitor… demon obsessed with slaughter…’

‘A devil who even killed his own friend with his hands…’

‘I don’t need your protection. So don’t interfere in my life anymore. I don’t care if you live or die.’

All those sharp words were painfully vivid, thanks to her excellent memory.

“Brother never said anything… if he had, I wouldn’t have been like this…!”

“You were the one who said you didn’t want to hear anything. So that fool did as you asked, didn’t he?”

“That… that… I just… no matter what, not saying anything at all…”

“Still shifting the blame. Sure, that fool not speaking was also a fault… but you’re the last person who should blame him. You’re alive because of him.”

The crow harshly criticized Rizel.

“Th, no, the Minister of War was right. Devote yourself and you’ll be discarded like a rag. Just like that drunken trash said. The recipient doesn’t know. Anyone with common sense would understand.”

Rizel still wanted to believe the illusion was a lie, but she couldn’t.

Her memories fit too perfectly, proving it was all true.

At the very least, she couldn’t just let it go. She had to meet someone and ask for the truth.

“And you, you tried to secretly watch your brother leave the mansion, didn’t you?”

“……”

“Your brother was also looking at your window until the very moment he left. Hoping you’d show your face.”

“What…?”

Rizel looked as if she had been struck hard by something.

“That fool never hated you until the end.”

The crow left those words behind and flapped its wings, preparing to leave the mansion.

“W, wait…!”

Unable to let the crow leave, Rizel called out to it.

“Why are you telling me all this…? I need to know to believe you…!”

“I am.”

The crow wore a sad expression.

“Trying to cut down that damn big tree.”

“What…?”

“That tree grew because of my mistake. I’ll cut it down and let that fool cry as the world falls apart.”

Rizel couldn’t understand the answer.

Yet, the crow’s voice was so sorrowful that she couldn’t say anything.

“All of this is my fault.”

The crow flew away with a heart heavier than ever before.

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