Chapter 66

“Quietly. Stand up very quietly.”

Edelis clasped her hands in front of her to hide the dagger. Then she slowly rose to her feet. Whether she ran or attacked, her previous posture had not been ideal.

“Don’t do anything foolish.”

It’s giving up on life that’s foolish, she thought. His body moved closer, perhaps intending to forcibly take her with him. She could tell by the way the blade that had been aimed at her neck shifted to the side of her face. Edelis knew that if she was caught here, it was over. There would never be another chance. This time, it truly had to be a gamble with her life on the line.

Gripping her dagger tightly with both hands, Edelis used all her strength to knock his sword away. Then, before he could catch her, she lunged forward. Startled, Berman swung his sword instinctively.He had been ordered to keep Edelis alive, but it was troublesome for her to be alive. That’s because if she survived, the plan would fall apart.

The sword grazed Edelis’s back, leaving a long vertical wound that quickly began to bleed. Thankfully, the cut was shallow, but the intense pain—something she had never felt before—brought tears to her eyes.

“Sir Frache!”

She quickly called out for him, though in her tension, even she thought her voice sounded pitiful. Edelis then hurled her lifeline—the dagger—in the direction of Frache’s voice.

“…Your Majesty?”

“Captain, over there!”

Thankfully, they must have spotted the dagger, because they charged toward where Edelis was. Sir Frache immediately lit an emergency flare, sending up a plume of red smoke. Berman clicked his tongue—he knew red smoke meant “emergency” and was a signal for the other knights to gather.

“Pointless.”

He dashed toward Edelis, who was still within his sight, and swung his sword to finish her off. In just a few strikes, strands of her hair were cut away, and shallow wounds appeared on her back.

“That’s far enough, Berman Pasis.”

“…Captain.”

Johannes pulled Edelis into his arms and blocked Berman’s blade.

“You are under arrest for attempted regicide. You’re caught in the act—no excuse will save you.”

“…”

“Why did you do it?”

Berman didn’t answer, instead continuing to swing at Edelis, determined to kill her.

“Your Majesty! Back!”

Even as captain, Johannes’s advantage over Berman was in rank, not skill—they were evenly matched in combat. And with Edelis right beside him, protecting her made defeating Berman nearly impossible. Johannes shoved Edelis toward the knights behind him while holding Berman at bay, glancing toward the flare and waiting for reinforcements.

‘The report about the flare will reach Keirhan first.’

And knowing Keirhan, he would ignore the request to stay and guard the palace, coming here instead to save the empress.

They were evenly matched, both already worn out from searching for Edelis, so the fight was not ending quickly.

‘Good. The longer this drags out, the better for me.’

But instead of the Imperial Knights, trackers arrived first—they had also seen the flare.

“Here!”

“Surround them!”

Clad in dark gray, the trackers followed orders with military precision, giving the impression they were trained soldiers. The knights guarding Edelis swallowed hard. They were badly outnumbered, and Johannes had no energy to spare while fighting Berman.

“While I hold off Berman Pasis, secure a way out.”

“Yes, Captain.”

They all knew Johannes would die facing Berman, and if they failed to secure an escape route, they would die too. But they had no other choice.

‘So this is the end. I guess I was never meant to die by Lehan’s sword after all.’

She might die sooner than she had read in the book, but she felt no regret. In the book, the empress had endured an unhappy marriage; at least she had not. At first, she had mistrusted Lehan because of what the book said, but not anymore. The only regret was not trusting him sooner.

“…Lehan, I miss you.”

Would he grieve if she died? Probably. She had been prepared for death for years, though lately that resolve had weakened. She only hoped Lehan wouldn’t blame himself for failing to protect her.

“Your Majesty, we’ll secure a way out. Please don’t give up.”

“…Thank you, for my sake.”

“It’s an honor to risk our lives for you.”

“We joined the Imperial Knights knowing we might face moments like this. Trust us.”

Edelis knew these were just brave words. Even now, more trackers were arriving.

“Do you have a spare sword?”

“A sword?”

“I can handle one a little.”

The knight, still locked in combat, jerked his chin toward the dagger at his belt.

“Forgive me, but I can’t hand it to you directly—I need to keep my grip.”

“I understand.”

Edelis pulled the dagger from his belt. If she survived this, she resolved to learn swordsmanship, no matter what Lehan said.

“Take Her Majesty and go!”

At Sir Frache’s shout, the knights hesitated to leave him behind, but quickly steeled themselves—better to make his sacrifice count than to all die here.

“Captain, we’ll return for you at once!”

“Go, now!”

As Edelis and the knights moved to escape, four trackers rushed straight at her, with more coming from a distance.

“This way!” she ordered, directing them toward a path without enemies. One knight led in front, one behind, but even so, they couldn’t block all attacks. One tracker broke through and swung at Edelis.

She barely managed to block with her dagger, but against a trained man, her strength was insufficient—her arms trembled as the blade pressed down. Suddenly, the weight on the tracker’s sword lessened—an arrow had pierced his arm.

“Raise shields!”

At the low command, the knights cut down their opponents and lifted their shields overhead.

“Your Majesty, this way!”

Two knights flanked her, shielding her above as a rain of arrows poured down. The arrows struck not only trackers on the walls but also those charging forward. The hidden trackers hesitated to leave cover, knowing they’d be shot.

Edelis stared in shock—the trackers near her lay on the ground, riddled with arrows. At some point, Sir Frache had joined her.

“Are you hurt?”

“What… just happened?”

For a moment, she thought reinforcements had come from the castle. But Sir Frache just smiled faintly without answering. She soon understood why.

“Take them all alive. If they resist, kill them.”

Lehan’s cold gaze fixed on Berman. Berman instantly knew the plan had failed. Even though more trackers were arriving, the knights vastly outnumbered them, and the encirclement would close soon. Berman decided to retreat before it was too late. Losing Edelis was unfortunate, but at least he still had the book.

‘I never wanted to spare the empress in the first place.’

He’d only kept her alive because someone insisted they had questions for her. Now he had to meet that client and collect payment for delivering the book.

But an arrow whistled past his face, barely missing his left eye. He turned to see the emperor aiming a crossbow at him.

“Where do you think you’re going, Berman Pasis?”

“I have business.”

“And you think you’ll walk away alive?”

“The empress will have questions for me.”

Lehan’s gaze shifted to Edelis, and she didn’t deny it. The missing book, the possibility that the saintess was behind this—Berman Pasis was the only one who could confirm it.

“…Answering Edelis’s questions doesn’t require you to remain in one piece.”

Lehan shot another arrow, this time at Berman’s leg. Berman narrowly avoided a direct hit, but the graze left blood streaming down his leg. Lehan restrained himself from putting an arrow through his head, instead shooting at his arms and legs. Feeling his life was truly in danger, Berman fled into the forest.

“Escort the empress back to the palace and have a physician treat her. Stay by her side until I return, Johannes Frache.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

With so many knights around, she was safe enough.

“And gag them so they can’t kill themselves.”

“They seem to be the same group as before.”

“Yes.”

Lehan walked toward Edelis. His cold glance sent the knights looking at her hastily turning away. Removing his cloak, he draped it around her shoulders.

“I want to gouge out the eyes of everyone who’s seen you like this.”

“Lehan… you sound different from usual…”

No matter how ruthless he was in suppressing rebellions, Lehan always spoke gently to her. But now, he spoke coldly, cruel words slipping out without hesitation.

“Because you’re not as you usually are.”

“…Sorry.”

“I’ll go clear my head for a moment. Please, Edelis, wait for me in our chambers.”

“…All right.”

With two knights, Lehan rode into the forest. It wasn’t dense, so travel on horseback would be fast.

“Let’s return to the palace, Your Majesty.”

“Yes, Sir Frache.”

Relieved to be alive, Edelis clutched the cloak tightly and fell asleep in the carriage.

***

Finally found it.

‘Why is it so damn hard to get this book?’

A pale hand opened it. Just like when Edelis had opened it, a pure white light spilled out. Moments later, the owner of the hand ground their teeth audibly.