As countless ice vines suddenly enveloped the mansion, Lizzy, seated on her bed, flinched and her lips trembled.
The fact that she couldn't decipher the magic formula activating indicated that a wizard with a higher rank than her was responsible for it.
Boom-!!
"Hieee…!"
Without time to process the questions swirling in her mind about the current situation, Lizzy flinched once more as a few knights burst into her room.
From beyond the open door, the smell of blood, fishy and metallic, wafted in.
Moreover, when she saw the symbol engraved on the knights' armor, Lizzy instinctively recoiled, her body trembling violently.
"W-why… Ahh!"
She was a pitiful woman, unable even to move her limbs to distance herself properly from the knights.
Unfortunately for her, the scales of Brutein were a symbol that balanced those who resisted the Empire.
The knights who approached Lizzy roughly seized her by her delicate arms and yanked her off the bed.
One of them grabbed the back of her neck, which appeared fragile, and pushed her to the floor. Before long, they forcibly removed the altar that made her a warlock.
"Ah! Ah… Ahh!"
Each one of those knights was a capable Auror Knight.
Though they restrained their strength to a minimum, their grip remained strong.
Bruises appeared on Lizzy's slender arms and legs. Meanwhile, pitiful tears flowed from her violet eyes.
"Keheuk…!"
Yet, the knights seemed deaf to her cries. After fully apprehending her, they quickly forced Lizzy to stand.
With her left leg injured making it impossible to walk properly, they tugged her with force and coerced her to move… She could only stagger unsteadily, like a newborn calf.
"A-ah..."
As soon as Lizzy left the confines of her room, she could see her family as well as the maids who worked at their mansion.
However, their state was not like when she last saw them. They were bleeding to their deaths with little to no traces of resistance.
After witnessing such a scene of murder, which could only be said as cruel since they were all so neatly cut into pieces, Lizzy collapsed on the floor before gagging several times.
The warm blood of the maids, which had not cooled down, seeped into the hem of her skirt at that moment.
Soon after, liquid which was thicker than water but more watery than blood, mixed with the maids' blood and began to give off a light earthy smell.
"..."
A pang of pity hit the knights for a moment when they saw that scene. However, it wasn't long before their indifferent hand reached out to grasp Lizziy's forearm and make her walk down the red-stained hallway.
The sinner kept crying. However, her tears, could never prove her innocence.
* * * * *
Cesar, the second son of the previous head of the Claudia family and the current head of the Claudia family, sat quietly in the mansion's office and smiled as he looked at Ferzen before him.
"How are you feeling?"
"…"
"Do you find pleasure in breaking things? Just like that day?"
"I don't make a habit of plucking flowers for no reason."
However, Ferzen's reasons were far from sufficient to convince the Claudia family.
"Haha… You've already plucked our family with your own hands a long time ago."
"Are you blaming me for your own downfall as well?"
"Ferzen von Schweig Brutein…"
Calling his name in a low, resigned voice, Cesar picked up a vase from his desk.
Inside, there was a single rose, but it was limp, lifeless, and shedding its withered and dead crimson petals.
"When you put a flower you've plucked into a vase… It's impossible for it to live out its natural lifespan."
"..."
"That's right. You're the one who plucked it and put it in the vase. How dare you call it self-destruction when all the flower did was leave the vase?"
Ferzen said nothing in response; he simply listened to Cesar's tirade.
"Usually, when people pick flowers, they do so with a desire, a longing for beauty in their hearts."
"..."
"But you didn't even have that basic motivation."
"..."
"You just plucked us and stuffed us into a vase because we were there."
"..."
"Even the villains in novels have their reasons."
"..."
"You're just a good-for-nothing who isn't even worthy of being a villain in a novel. Calling you a villain would be a waste."
If there was one thing that set him apart from Ferzen, it was his family, his lineage, and his talent. That's why Cesar despised a world that favored people like Ferzen.
He hated a reality where there was no hero to defeat such a vile evil.
"I… truly despise you."
With those final words, Cesar closed his eyes as if he had completely resigned himself to his fate.
Ferzen continued to gaze at him in silence.
'...Villains with reasons, huh.'
Ferzen von Schweig Brutein.
Without a doubt, the body he inhabited had a story. But Ferzen made no attempt to explain it.
Indeed, it was difficult to perceive it as a legitimate motive. So much time had elapsed that it was challenging to label it as a reason anymore.
Besides, why would a villain feel compelled to explain their story? The only reason a villain would reveal their tale was to elicit sympathy from the protagonist and the hero.
But even that usually occurred much later in the story, if at all. However, the reason for this explanation likely existed because it was the sole viable option.
Yes, a villain could only have their own story... When they could no longer choose the life they would lead. That kind of life was undoubtedly one of the choices.
The Claudia family, however, had no intention of submitting to it.
Yet, Ferzen von Schweig Brutein was standing firmly on his own two feet, leading them toward their inevitable conclusion.
Creak-!!
At that moment, the office door swung open forcefully.
From beyond, Lizzy, who had been apprehended by the knights, was dragged into the room.
Cesar, who had already anticipated this outcome, fell to his knees in front of Ferzen, overwhelmed with misery.
Ferzen, with his crimson eyes fixed on them, opened a letter bearing the Imperial seal and extended it before him.
"As of this moment, the title and surname bestowed upon the Claudia family will be revoked."
"Ah, uh… Eu, ah…"
"To my servants, Lizzy Poliana Claudia and Cesar Poliana Claudia… I charge both of you with treason for attempting to assassinate the Royal Lineage."
While Cesar had anticipated this fate, Lizzy's complexion turned pallid as soon as she heard the word 'treason.'
She began to wheeze as if she might run out of breath at any moment. Amidst her distress, she sensed a hint of unease in Ferzen's voice.
In response, Lizzy turned her gaze toward Ferzen, but she couldn't articulate her question due to her inability to speak properly.
Ferzen, on the other hand, effortlessly discerned Lizzy's inner thoughts from her eyes and expressions…
Rustle-!!
After folding the letter and tucking it into his inner pocket, Ferzen turned his back mercilessly and spoke a few more words.
"Dead."
Flinch-!!
"We will confirm his memories after reaching the Capital."
Lizzy didn't immediately grasp Ferzen's words.
Her body betrayed her first, expressing her grief before her heart could fully process it. How could her crestfallen expression be so heart-wrenching?
Step-!!
However, Ferzen paid it no heed and simply walked away, issuing instructions to the knights.
"Capture the criminals and arrange for their transportation."
"Understood!"
Ferzen left Cesar's office, Isabel trailing behind him. They trod on the scattered bloodstains in the corridor.
Outside the window, the trees displayed autumn's vibrant hues, a feast for the eyes.
Once all the leaves fell, leaving only bare branches behind… Nature would enter a long hibernation, awaiting the arrival of spring.
However, the Claudia family was adorned in crimson, rather than the colors of autumn.
And they would never welcome the coming spring.
* * * * *
Rattle-!!
Two carriages came to a clattering halt.
The traitors were imprisoned in iron cages and placed within the carriage's large luggage compartment.
Ferzen, who hadn't even had time to visit his other estates, had set up a camp and was walking away from it at a leisurely pace.
"…Eat. This is your only meal for today."
The luggage compartment was pitch-dark, with no moonlight filtering in.
Ferzen placed a glass of water and a piece of bread on the floor, looking at Lizzy, who was locked in there like a caged animal.
The shackles on her ankles, even though she couldn't walk on her own, and the chains on her hands, which couldn't even muster the strength to lift a sword...
All of it made her current status painfully clear.
Moreover, with autumn slowly taking the place of summer, the air was growing chilly, especially during the nighttime hours when the sun was absent, making the inside of the luggage compartment even colder.
"If you don't eat it within 5 minutes, I'll clean it up."
Like a lifeless corpse, Lizzy's purple eyes remained locked on him, showing no other reaction.
Ferzen sat down on a chair next to the cage and casually checked his watch.
Tick.
…When the designated five minutes had passed.
Rustle-!!
Ferzen stood up, ready to retrieve the plate with the bread and glass of water.
Click.
But as Ferzen was about to leave, Lizzy, who had been lying there like a corpse, crawled towards him and clung to the iron bars of the cage with both hands.
Her once-lustrous red hair had lost its sheen.
Her fair face had been dirtied and stained with traces of tears.
On top of that, a faint fishy odor reached Ferzen's nose.
Gone was the elegant appearance of a noble she had always maintained. It had been replaced by a disheveled and pitiful look befitting a sinner.
"Ah, uh…"
Like an animal unable to articulate properly, Lizzy stammered several times, her words accompanied by fresh tears that fell over dried tracks.
Although she wanted to say something to Ferzen,
She was at a loss for words.
With her hoarse voice, Lizzy struggled to complete each sentence as she babbled several times.
"P-ple… se s-s-spare… u-us…"
"..."
The Brutein family was known for its ability to sweep even the gravest crime of treason under the rug.
However, Lizzy knew very well that there was no way Ferzen would grant her request.
Thus, clinging to the bars and managing to raise herself up with her right foot, though barely, she spoke to Ferzen as her body trembled.
"I… c-c-can… still walk…"
"..."
"M-my two hands… a-a-are still fine…"
There were still things he could play with and break.
So, please don't let such entertaining toys disappear.
...And so, Lizzy made a pitiful plea to Ferzen.
Of course, it did not end there.
Lizzy pulled down her blouse to reveal her breasts, giving off a slightly mature look.
After that, she pulled the hem of her skirt, showing off her plump, smooth womanhood hidden beneath her underwear.
"You... Have something that you can't reveal to anyone. Aren't you hiding an ugly side of yourself that takes pleasure in destroying others?"
Lizzy was certain that there was no better receptacle for that ugly side of his than herself.
She displayed a broken, twisted, tearful smile that seemed out of place.
"What a boring performance."
However, Ferzen merely cast a cold glance at Lizzy's depraved behavior and then turned his head away.
In truth, even if he was truly concealing such desires,
He had no inclination to direct them at something as repugnant as her. Something that couldn't even be called a flower.
"Lizzy Poliana Claudia."
"…?"
"Immunity is not something to be granted to traitors."
For those who committed treason,
The fitting penalty was death.
To be executed by beheading.
"Didn't I tell you before, if you intended to bite me, you should prepare the graves of your family along with my grave in advance?"
If, she had genuinely prepared for that eventuality, "You wouldn't be engaging in such futile acts."
Now, if she died, she would have no place to be buried in this world. Her body would be left out for the crows to feast upon. For that was the fate reserved for traitors who met their end.
There were no exceptions unless those traitors possessed overwhelming value, like Isabel Ron-Pierre Genova.
"Ah, huh…"
Lizzy collapsed as if her strength had left her completely and released a helpless cry.
Meanwhile, Ferzen, leaving Lizzy behind, calmly stepped out of the carriage.
Before he knew it, he found himself seated in front of a bonfire arranged by his knights, gazing at the flickering flames and muttered to himself.
Roer Poliana Claudia.
Cesar Poliana Claudia.
Lizzy Poliana Claudia.
…None of them would rest in the graves they had readied for themselves.
If only they had prepared their graves as well as his.
When he could no longer avoid death,
"I would gladly allow you to rest in peace by being interred in the grave you readied for me."
Thud-!!
The firewood Ferzen tossed onto the bonfire crackled, and he closed his eyes as the flames burned even more fiercely.