As his two sons left, Duke Dupret sighed once more and asked softly.
"Cecile. Do you really believe that His Highness Carlyle will win?"
"Yes. There is no doubt about it."
Cecilia answered immediately, her golden eyes shining like the sun.
"Even if we hold the hands of the Dowager Empress now, we will only be used or abandoned. The Dowager Empress's entourage has already been decided."
"But we can't wait forever, can we? The situation is changing every minute. In a way that is unfavorable to His Highness Carlyle."
"Father. The important thing is that His Highness Carlyle is still alive. And the Dowager Empress has no justification to harm His Highness Carlyle."
Cecilia continued to advocate for Carlyle's support without wavering.
"There will be a counterattack soon. That's when the real emperor will be decided, so don't make any rash decisions now."
However, when Duke Dupret continued to ponder deeply, Cecilia spoke as if she had decided on something.
"Then let's do this. Let the older brothers go to the Dowager Empress's social gathering, but don't let the father express the official position of the family."
"What are you going to do?"
"I'm going to Pervaz. Please give me Dovetail. Dovetail will not be tracked, so even if His Highness Matthias's ascension to the throne is confirmed, I will only be able to cut off one."
At that time, he could claim that she had tried to turn to Beatrice and Matthias by sending her brothers ahead. Of course, such a thing should not happen.
After calming her worried father, Cecilia immediately returned to her room and started packing.
The maid Angie, who had unpacked the bag not long ago, looked at Cecilia's expression and asked cautiously.
"Are you okay, miss?"
Her young lady, who was always confident and assertive, looked unusually tired today.
Cecilia, who had been looking out the window without saying anything for a while, opened her mouth.
"Now that I think about it...."
"Yes?"
"I'm going to see Countess Pervaz again."
Angie tilted her head when the name 'Countess Pervaz came out of nowhere.
"Why Countess Pervaz?"
"That person is the same age as me."
"Oh, really? But you look much younger! Really!"
Cecilia smiled softly at Angie, who hurriedly added that she was worried that Cecilia was concerned about her age.
"Of course. While I was grooming myself to look younger, that person was guarding the territory while wielding a sword on the battlefield."
Asha would be the one to ask why looking younger than her age was a good thing. To her, her age and every day she lived were medals that proved herself.
"I thought I had done a lot for my age, but compared to Countess Pervaz, it seems like nothing."
"Oh, no! How busy you have been, Miss. I can testify to that!"
"Thank you. But I was just busy decorating, being polite, and following the rules of society."
She had wasted too much time on things that Asha would not have felt the need for.
"While I was satisfied with the illusion of being the flower of society, drinking tea gracefully and playing with my fan, Asha Pervaz fought with a sword and proved herself."
"Well, even for a woman...."
"So what? Asha Pervaz became the lord of Pervaz, whom no one can oppose."
Cecilia clenched her fist.
"And... she won the heart of His Highness Carlyle. She just dedicated everything to her work."
"No, Miss! You will be the Empress. Come on, right?"
Angie sat down next to Cecilia, almost crying, and patted her hand.
However, Cecilia was not depressed by the thought that Carlyle's heart was with Asha and that she would not become Empress.
"It doesn't matter. I don't want to be Empress anymore."
"Yes? Huh, Miss...!"
Angie asked back in thought. However, Cecilia did not retract her words.
She looked down at the front yard of the mansion, where the dust raised by her brothers' carriages still hadn't settled, and made a silent vow.
'Instead... I will take the place of the head of the Dupret family.'
To do that, I had to prove myself, just like Asha Pervaz. Surely enough, for Carlyle to take my hand.
"Anyway, I'm not sad or depressed at all, Angie. So don't worry and let's pack. We need to get to Pervaz as soon as possible."
Cecilia Dupret, who had reorganized her life, stood up from her seat.
* * *
From the next day, Carlyle became the temporary lord of Pervaz Castle.
Guided by the survivors, he examined the magic circle from which the barbarians and monsters emerged. Even to an untrained eye, it was dripping with ominous energy.
"What the hell is this?"
"It's a magic circle. I don't know if it's a summoning circle or a connecting passage."
The exact nature of the magic circle was unknown, but it was clear that it was filled with malice.
"When the hell did this thing happen? And without anyone knowing?"
"They say it wasn't there before, but everyone's story is different. It's drawn in such a remote corner that it's hard to tell when it was made."
However, Carlyle was convinced that it was not made long ago.
"I think this was drawn by the Empress's spy. The timing of this attack is too perfect if it wasn't. And if it was the work of the barbarians, why did they cross the border now? They could have just come here."
"I think so too."
Lionel nodded and cautiously speculated.
"The last time the Igram attacked was in May of last year. So it must have been created within the last 15 months."
A lot had happened in those 15 months.
They had repelled the Igram, Carlyle and Asha had gone to Zyro for two months, the Gabriel sent by the Empress and messengers sent by the Emperor had come and gone, and eventually Carlyle, Asha, and most of the troops on both sides had left Pervaz.
There were too many suspicious moments.
"We'll find a clue if we keep digging into the Empress' side. But right now, the restoration of Pervaz is the priority."
Carlyle regretted not being able to get revenge right away, but he didn't want to be caught off guard again.
"Have you contacted Zyro?"
"Yes. I asked them to send as many physicians and medical supplies as possible, but I'm worried that the Imperial Court will interfere."
"They will try to interfere, but they won't have a pretext. And they'll have to consider the nobles' opinions as well."
The noble society was already in an uproar. It was no wonder. The Emperor had died suddenly, and no one was allowed to enter or leave the palace that day. Inside, the coronation of Matthias was held with only the nobles chosen by the Empress in attendance.
Even the suspicious cause of the Emperor's death was simply concluded as "sudden death of unknown cause."
It was clear that Beatrice was in control of the palace and information, but they were holding out by holding on to the temple and the Imperial Knights.
"However, there will be signs of movement among the nobles who want to side with His Highness Matthias."
"Of course."
They needed to gather their forces and confront Matthias before that happened, but Carlyle chose to go to Pervaz. Some of the nobles might be disappointed by his decision.
'But if I hadn't come here, I would have regretted it for the rest of my life.'
Would regret be all? It was clear that he would have realized too late that he loved Asha and would have ruined himself with emptiness and guilt.
"Rushing things will only lead to mistakes. We can't afford to lose Pervaz either."
"Well… that's true."
After knowing that Carlyle was in love with Asha, Lionel became more understanding of whatever Carlyle said.
'To think that this degenerate has fallen in love with a woman, I need to be understanding. Right.'
Lionel also felt a sense of indebtedness to Asha. When he heard the news that Pervaz was under attack, he didn't expect it to be this bad, and he didn't expect Asha herself to be unconscious and dying.
Once he arrived in Pervaz and grasped the situation, he felt guilty for dissuading Asha from going to Pervaz.
"The castle, which should have been the last bastion, was burned to the ground, and the territory itself is intact… This is the first time I've seen this in history."
"I heard that Asha desperately tried to stop the savages from going outside. If the enemy had gone outside the castle, they would have never won."
Lionel nodded.
But the damage to the city was great because of that.
It was said that women, old people, and children were hidden in shelters, and anyone who could bear arms took up arms and fought against the savages and demons.
Thanks to the long war, everyone basically knew how to wield a weapon, but the savages and demons, whose eyes were turned upside down as if possessed by demons, attacked without regard for their own lives.
Many people were killed and injured. So many people…
"The people of the territory are voluntarily coming to help, so handling the dead, the care of the wounded, and the cleaning up of the territory will be solved quickly."
Carlyle nodded.
After becoming the lord of Pervaz Castle himself and looking around inside and out, he could see how capable and good a lord Asha was, and how much of a burden she was carrying.
'She pretended it was nothing, pretended it was natural, but how heavy must her shoulders have been?'
She seemed even more great now.