'With this face and body, it would be easy to seduce any man.'
However, after hiding for so long, taking care of her appearance had been completely put on the back burner. Viviana looked at her overgrown nails and struggled to get up from her seat.
'Right… crying won't accomplish anything.'
She felt dizzy from not eating, but she gritted her teeth and held on tightly to the corner of the bed.
'Wait, baby. I will… definitely avenge you.'
Viviana wobbled out of bed and sat down in front of the mirror.
It was time to sharpen her weapons for revenge.
***
"Phew. We're home!"
Someone shouted as they entered Pervaz. There were occasional laughs among the soldiers.
"We came back earlier than I thought. I thought we might be gone for over a year if we were unlucky."
Decker muttered as he looked around the soldiers, but his attention was focused on Asha next to him.
"Yeah."
Asha, who would have added something else at another time, gave a short answer and closed her mouth again. She had been like this the whole way here.
'What's going on and you won't even tell me...…. You're just keeping your mouth shut and sulking....'
On the night of the victory banquet, Asha suddenly declared, "We're going back to Pervaz."
No one in the Pervaz army dared to question it. They simply followed the orders of their lord.
But they have eyes too.
[Just now, that guy Luka went out to do some work and saw the Lord near Sir Raphelt's barracks. Did that old man stir up the Lord again?]
[Is that human being doing that for a day or two? Judging by the fact that only we are returning, it seems that there must have been something between His Highness Carlyle and the Lord....]
Everyone snickered without Asha knowing. Decker's thoughts were also closer to the idea that there was something wrong with Carlyle rather than Giles.
As they came up from the south without rest, Decker waited for Asha to talk first, but Asha just stared at the sky and didn't say a word.
Decker, who couldn't take it anymore, went to find Asha as soon as he entered Pervaz Castle and finished the rough cleaning.
"Asha. Let's talk."
Asha didn't seem surprised, as if she had expected Decker to come looking for her.
"Close the door and come in and sit down."
It was a voice that seemed to have lost its strength. Decker felt like his insides were being twisted.
"Do you know what I want to talk about?"
"You're curious why we're suddenly returning, right?"
"You know that and you didn't say a word the whole way up?"
"Sorry. I need some time to sort things out."
A low sigh escaped from Asha.
"If it's enough to call it 'sorting things out', then what really happened with His Highness Carlyle?"
"...."
"Is there something we don't know? Right?"
Asha said, fingering the calluses on her palms.
"The war that broke out in the south… It was a war that His Highness Carlyle deliberately started."
"What…? That's nonsense! Is that even possible?"
"It seemed possible. And I couldn't just accept it…"
Decker didn't say anything and just kept a sullen expression.
"I just don't understand how someone could drive the people they're supposed to rule and protect to death in order to gain power."
Asha said with a dry face.
Perhaps her inability to understand the Southern War was because of the overlap with the Imperial family that had 'abandoned' Pervaz.
How could they just turn a blind eye to a region of the same country being attacked?
And how could someone who wanted to inherit the throne use the lives of their own people as tools?
Then it suddenly hit her.
'That's right. I was just a tool to that person too….'
Thinking about it that way, it seemed ridiculous to Carlyle that she would want to go back to Pervaz.
'After all, what's the difference if a used tool leaves or not? No, maybe they were even relieved that I said I would leave on my own?'
Asha was lost in such self-deprecating thoughts when Decker suddenly grabbed her by both shoulders.
"You did the right thing, Asha."
"What…?"
"I think your choice was the right one. I'm sure Count Amir would agree too."
Asha found herself disarmed by Decker's encouragement, even though she had only thought of herself as a fool.
"Did I really… do the right thing?"
"Of course! I don't know what the people of Zyro think, but we should live by our own beliefs, right?"
Asha clenched her teeth to hold back the tears that were threatening to well up.
"Decker… I really… did the right thing, right?"
"Yes, I said so! If you keep following a value system that you can't accept, you're bound to break down somewhere."
"You're right. Even if I had put up with it this time, I would have broken up with him in a worse way someday."
I don't know how sweet power is, but if these people are willing to take people's lives lightly to get it, what about other things?
It was cleaner and safer to break up now, while they were still excited about the victory.
Yes, she had convinced herself that it was the right thing to do.
But her heart didn't feel that way.
"And besides, it was perfect timing to break up with His Highness."
Judging by the way her heart ached at Decker's words about breaking up with Carlyle, that was true.
Decker, who had no way of knowing her feelings, patted Asha on the back and laughed.
"I'm sure it feels icky to have helped the Southern War, but think of it as paying off your debt. Now it's time to find your happiness, Asha."
"My happiness…"
A faint smile appeared on Asha's lips. A smile that seemed to say, 'Is that even possible?'
***
"Carlyle is entering the capital soon, they say. With a grand coronation ceremony."
Beatrice said this while fiddling with her large ring.
Gabriel, who was having an audience with her along with the executives of the Golden Bough Brotherhood, asked without much expectation,
"Has His Majesty not changed his mind about reinstating Prince Carlyle?"
"Far from changing his mind, he seems eager to do it right away. Because he's a foolish man, you know?"
Beatrice's tone, laced with jest, made everyone sitting there chuckle lightly.
Everyone knows how foolish, cowardly, and arrogant Emperor Kendrick Evaristo is. They know him all too well.
Therefore, the Emperor has become a more insignificant and pathetic figure than his own son.
"However, the decisions of this foolish man will soon become the future of the Empire. His Majesty is truly demonstrating the need for a divine advisor in the imperial family."
At Gabriel's words, the executives of the Golden Bough Brotherhood clenched their fists.
"For the sake of establishing the Holy Empire, I would even go to hell!"
"I am willing to offer this life for God!"
They were already enthralled by Gabriel's words, accepting the black magic and being manipulated by him, yet they still believed without a doubt that they were pure and noble.
Their achievements so far had been considerable.
They wholeheartedly accepted and firmly believed in the ideas instilled by Gabriel, and they had met many more believers and collected a lot more donations than before.
The money they extorted by deceiving people with curses and spells as prophecies or blessings was called "donations" by Gabriel.
'It's all going to be used to build the nation of God, so it's a donation.'
In any case, they were preparing for the "day of judgment" after Carlyle entered the capital.
"Your Majesty, as you can see, we have dedicated everything to His Highness Matthias for the sake of the era of the Holy Empire."
"I am always grateful, High Priest. I will say it again, but I will keep my promise. With Matthias and I, we will surely establish the Holy Empire."
The priests seemed to be encouraged by Beatrice's declaration, but Gabriel only scoffed inwardly.
'It's not you who will establish the Holy Empire, it's me, you fool.'
Beatrice and Matthias have no choice but to follow Gabriel's words. He was the biggest force they could rely on.
However, he had no intention of letting them know they were just his tools.
Gabriel maintained his usual beautiful smile, creating a harmonious atmosphere.
"To stop His Majesty and Prince Carlyle, the most important thing is to ensure the safety of His Highness Matthias."
"T, that's right! The first person that bastard Carlyle will target is me!"
Matthias, who had been sitting next to his mother and just observing, spoke for the first time.
He was so scared that even the deatoxin he had been taking was no use these days.
After returning to Zyro, he confirmed that the public opinion of the social circle was far worse than he had imagined. The emperor openly criticized him and seemed eager to reinstate Carlyle as soon as possible.
[If that bastard Carlyle is reinstated, he'll kill me first. That's for sure!]
Because of that thought, he begged his mother to double the number of guards, but he knew that even that could be scattered with a single order from the emperor.
So he needed another way, and that was why he was meeting Gabriel and the Golden Bough Brotherhood today.
"Don't worry too much, Your Highness. No one will be able to lay a finger on you."
It was a welcome word, but he couldn't help but wonder how.
Perhaps his thoughts were written all over his face, because Gabriel laughed softly and explained.