CHAPTER 34
Once the decision to depart was made, there was no reason to hesitate.
Asilia and Kretess immediately began preparations to leave for Revilla.
Since there was no need to mobilize a large group, only Kretess, Asilia, and Hweimos would be going together.
“Are you saying… I can come too?”
Adrian approached during preparations and made his request—to accompany them to Revilla. But Asilia didn’t immediately give her approval.
“You stand out too much.”
Adrian’s red hair was a symbol of the Moria army.
There were more than a few instances where Revilla soldiers vanished like fallen leaves the moment Adrian appeared.
Asilia didn’t often confront Revilla’s troops, so she wasn’t personally known by many. But knights who frequented the battlefield were different.
The moment they saw Adrian, they’d bare their teeth and charge.
To Revilla, Adrian wasn’t just an enemy—he was a disaster.
“You might be able to get into Revilla somehow, but someone will definitely recognize you. It’s too dangerous to go together.”
At Asilia’s firm rejection, Adrian looked visibly disappointed. Slumping as if dejected, he suddenly clapped his hands as an idea struck him.
“What if I go as a prisoner?”
“A prisoner?”
“Didn’t Your Majesty say it wouldn’t be easy for even you to enter Revilla?”
Asilia nodded.
Adrian suggested they use the story of Asilia having been captured by Moria.
“The Revillans… or rather, the people of Revilla will surely be suspicious of how Your Majesty managed to return.”
Especially since land routes between Moria and Revilla had recently been sealed off.
And someone likely already knew that Asilia had become the Empress of Moria.
So the best plan was to bring Adrian along as a captured enemy.
“It’s not a bad idea.”
No, it was actually a very good idea.
The people of Revilla hated Adrian. If Asilia brought him as a prisoner, it would certainly reduce their suspicion of her.
“If she brings Sir Monnik in chains, they’ll forgive her failure.”
This way, Asilia could naturally slip back into Revilla society, just like before she came to Moria. And that would give her more time to investigate the brainwashing.
“But are you sure about this? You could be executed.”
“You’ll save me before that happens, won’t you?”
“I can’t promise that.”
Adrian’s eyes widened at Asilia’s serious tone.
“Revilla’s prison is like a labyrinth. Once you’re taken there, I won’t be able to find you.”
In Moria, Asilia was Empress, but in Revilla, she’d be nothing more than a knight.
Even if she received orders directly from the Emperor, a knight was still a knight. Access to the prison was strictly limited.
“Your Majesty…”
Adrian looked to Kretess with pleading eyes.
Leaning against the wall, Kretess gave Adrian a look of disapproval before shrugging.
“Learning a few torture techniques from Revilla wouldn’t be such a bad thing, don’t you think?”
“A-Are you serious?!”
When Kretess didn’t answer, Adrian wore an even more pitiful expression.
“Well, I suppose seeing their prisons while sightseeing in Revilla could be interesting.”
Adrian’s eyes sparkled.
“Can’t you escape the prison on your own?”
Kretess asked, as if genuinely curious.
Adrian kept his mouth shut, knowing better than to joke with the Emperor, while Asilia frowned.
“Normal people can’t escape alone. That’s why they torture and station guards outside.”
“So it depends on the person.”
“Has someone escaped before?”
At Asilia’s question, Kretess nodded. It was from quite some time ago, he said, and began talking about the magic empire of Whypollios.
“They do some rather outrageous things there.”
As Kretess muttered to himself, Adrian leaned in curiously.
“So then… does that mean I can go with you?”
Asilia narrowed her eyes, watching him.
Had Adrian ever shown this much interest in Moria before?
Thinking about it… no, he hadn’t. If he had, he would’ve started asking about Revilla from the moment Asilia came to Moria.
Still, the suggestion itself wasn’t bad.
“I’m serious. I can’t guarantee your life. Do you still want to go?”
Adrian nodded without hesitation. Though doubts still circled her mind, Asilia eventually shook them off.
Adrian had always been a loyal knight of Moria. He’d swept through the battlefield, cutting down Revilla’s soldiers. There was no reason to think he would betray them now.
“Besides, it’s not like he’s Nine…”
In the end, Asilia nodded.
“But protect your life on your own. I won’t take responsibility.”
“A knight’s life is their own to guard. Of course, I have the mighty Emperor of Moria and the Empress who knows Revilla inside and out, so I’m not worried at all!”
Adrian thumped his chest with confidence.
Asilia shook her head at his unusually cheerful demeanor.
Kretess, noting Adrian’s unusually upbeat mood, approached and spoke quietly:
“Keep your distance, Sir Monnik.”
“…Excuse me?”
“You’re standing a bit too close when you talk to Asilia.”
With that, Kretess turned and walked away.
Adrian scratched his head as he watched the Emperor’s retreating figure.
To leave Moria, they decided to travel by ship.
If they used the land route, Revilla might catch on to their movements too quickly.
“Come to think of it, I heard there are sea monsters in the waters near Moria. What if they appear?”
“They’ve all been driven back already.”
With that one sentence, Asilia realized her concerns had been unnecessary.
And at the same time, she realized that no matter how she tried to escape back then, she would’ve been caught anyway.
Even before the monster extermination campaign, the routes could still be manipulated—even without directly killing the monsters.
The moment they realized she had tried to escape, all ship movement would’ve been stopped.
“Still… I have a dilemma.”
“What is it?”
“We’re bringing Sir Monnik in as a prisoner, but I hadn’t thought about how we’re going to explain Your Majesty and Hweimos.”
The original plan was to sneak in and hide. But if they were entering Revilla boldly, then Kretess also needed a role.
As Asilia thought quietly, Kretess casually shrugged.
“Hweimos won’t go far inside Revilla. He’s only coming to help locate the relic. As for me…”
He paused, then spoke again, as if a good idea had struck him.
“You have your subordinate, don’t you?”
“You mean Isaiah?”
“I’ll take his appearance.”
At that, Asilia widened her eyes.
“You can do that?”
“There are some limitations, but I can mimic his appearance and voice. However, since I don’t know him very well… if someone asks something personal, I’ll get caught.”
“What if we say you hit your head while escaping Moria?”
Asilia’s serious tone earned a nod from Kretess.
She was right—if he couldn’t imitate Isaiah well, it was better to pretend not to remember anything.
“Still, it won’t be perfect.”
“What do you mean?”
“If the one who brainwashed Sir Hisklear gives a new command, I’ll be discovered immediately.”
Brainwashing, after all, was about the caster stealing someone’s will and thoughts through magic.
Because it digs deep into the mind, orders could be delivered without even speaking.
“Can gods not read others’ minds?”
“If it were that easy, approaching you would’ve been easy too. I would’ve brought you back faster. But then I wouldn’t have been able to show you how I truly felt. I’m okay with that trade-off.”
Asilia gave a low, awkward cough at those words.
He was expressing his feelings for her so openly.
Having never received such treatment in her life, Asilia found it both unfamiliar and… ticklish.
“Ahem… A-Anyway. Your Majesty…”
“Kretess.”
“…Yes?”
“You called me by name quite a lot in bed. Why have we gone back to ‘Your Majesty’? Hmm?”
Kretess narrowed his eyes playfully, clearly waiting for her to call his name again.
“This isn’t important right now.”
“It is. Are you planning to call me ‘Your Majesty’ even after we enter Revilla?”
Kretess may be the Emperor of Moria, but he wasn’t the Emperor of Revilla.
He insisted that if the titles weren’t sorted out clearly, it could lead to confusion. So he kept urging her to call him by name.
“I never felt like we were that close.”
“Strange. I don’t usually sleep with people I’m not close to.”
Kretess smiled and gently stroked Asilia’s cheek.
Suddenly, Asilia felt her breath catch in her throat.
His smile was too beautiful.
So dazzlingly beautiful it felt almost divine.
Without realizing it, she spoke in a barely audible voice:
“…K-Kretess.”
The moment she said his name, memories of that night flooded her mind.
Her face turned red before she could stop it, and Kretess smiled with satisfaction.
It was the satisfied, predatory grin of a man who had just claimed what he wanted.
