Chapter 14
When Family Collapses, Society Collapses, the Empire Collapses (12)
She had also left open the possibility of this happening. Still, it wouldn’t be bad for her.
At the very least, five skilled individuals of Class 5 or higher wouldn’t be able to use teleport shuttles for a while. That meant tracking would be difficult for some time.
“I, by myself, am enough to handle a wicked Archmage like you.”
“No, you’re wrong. Did you sleep through the Magic Theory 101 class at the Academy? Didn’t you learn that a fully prepared Archmage can take on even two Masters at once?”
Archmage versus Master.
At close range, the Master would always win. Naturally. Before the Archmage could even cast a spell, the Master would have already cut them down.
That’s why she had quickly teleported away the moment the Emperor-Sword Master appeared.
But if the Archmage was in a fully prepared field, things were different.
Of course, this field was hastily set up in just a week, so it wasn’t extremely powerful. But it was more than enough to handle a Sword Master for a few minutes. Selena drew out her silver staff and traced a circle.
Cheng, chaang, chaang!
With a clear, resonant sound, four layers of shields were completed in an instant.
Cursed Shield, Poison Shield, Ice Shield, Lightning Shield. She didn’t know what the young duke disliked, so she prepared them all.
“Heheh. Go ahead, try to cut me. Every time one breaks, I’ll just make another, okay? You’ll cast attack spells too, right? And when you get close, I’ll just teleport away, okay?”
“You… shamelessly reckless…”
“What are you saying? You’re a kidnapper, aren’t you? Were you hoping for elegance and refinement in the process?”
“Kim, Count!”
The young duke gritted his teeth and called Selena.
Selena laughed quietly at his anger, thinking, Careful with your teeth. Here, there’s no implants, so take care of them. Save them for later.
“Wow, sister… really…”
“Huh? Why, Gayun?”
“You’re amazing.”
“I guess I am.”
Gayun must have been impressed by the Archmage’s skill. Selena wiped her nose proudly.
However, before long, the young duke noticed a few words Gayun had said, likely caught by his superhuman hearing, and his focus shifted to her.
“Your Majesty, what are you doing! Get away from Count Kim immediately!”
In real time, Gayun’s expression darkened.
It was understandable. She had been blinded by rage, and even though the young duke had attacked with his sword magic while she was standing close to Selena, he only now reacted. Normally, he should have first asked, “Your Majesty, are you safe?”
Gayun, who had more than enough reason to be cold toward him, replied curtly.
“You already knew I was here, didn’t you, Young Duke Rodelfel? I thought perhaps you had forgotten.”
“Nothing I do could ever harm Your Majesty.”
He must have carefully adjusted the range of his attacks. Safe if you stand just outside the edge! A blade dances an inch away, but it’s fine if you stay still! Still, from the victim’s perspective, that’s meaningless.
“Your Majesty, come to your senses! Are you abandoning your duties as Empress to cooperate with this author?”
“…Duties as Empress?”
“Yes!”
“Interesting. When I was trapped in Emerald Palace for the past year and couldn’t manage the inner court, no one ever said such a thing.”
For a moment, Young Duke Rodelfel hesitated, unable to reply.
But true to form, he quickly laid down a feeble excuse.
“That’s a different matter.”
No, it wasn’t even an excuse.
“Distinguish between public and private matters, Your Majesty.”
Gayun’s face went pale, and she clenched her fists. Selena’s jaw dropped. How could someone be so shameless?
The Emperor had crushed the Empress’s authority out of personal feelings, thrown her outside the palace, and now this man had the audacity to lecture her on public versus private matters? Unbelievable.
The young duke truly lived up to his top-ranking position in the empire’s power hierarchy.
Selena briefly regretted not having spread the revolutionary spike earlier.
Gayun’s blue eyes turned as cold as ice.
“Public versus private? How laughable. Are you saying that the forced oppression of the Empress was not a public matter?”
“I know it was hard for you in the past. But that was only because the Emperor loved you deeply. He only did it out of love. If he loved you that much, he couldn’t help it,”
“That… is… words!”
Finally, Gayun exploded.
“Love? You dare call that love? Even if you’re treated like that, you’d call it love, you bastard? So, if the young Countess Yanderc wanted to lock you in a villa, you’d just accept it as love too, right?!”
Gayun’s fierce words left the young duke wide-eyed, his face contorted.
“Aria! Where did you learn such crude language…! I thought that wild streak of yours was gone, but I see you’re hopeless! Aren’t you ashamed before your mother?”
Ha! He’s flustered now. Watch him lose his rank when cornered.
The Empress could speak casually if needed, but the young duke? He had the audacity to talk back, despite his title being little more than knight at best.
Selena ignored him and watched the family feud continue.
“You should be the one ashamed! How many years have we been adults? How long will you keep talking about Mom? You focus on your mother’s story while ignoring the point of my words? Would you really consider being locked up as love, you jerk?!”
Gayun, full of pent-up anger, fired back fiercely.
Unfortunately, the young duke was a tough opponent. The moment he felt disadvantaged, he shifted the blame to Selena.
“She’s changed so much… Did Count Kim brainwash Aria into this?”
Creepy. How can they speak the same language and yet not understand each other?
Selena watched as Gayun gave up in exhaustion. No matter how many times you explain, someone unwilling to listen is like talking to a wall. Yet she seemed accustomed to it, her face showing only fatigue.
Selena’s mouth tasted bitter.
She could faintly imagine how powerless and humiliated Gayun must have felt over the past three years in the palace.
And the worst part?
The young duke must have known all along.
He was fully aware of Gayun’s suffering, yet he spent all his energy justifying it and shifting blame.
Truly pitiful that someone like him was part of Gayun’s family.
Well, breaking ties with him now would fix it.
“You’re the one brainwashing yourself, Young Duke.”
“What…?”
“Don’t deny reality.”
“What…!”
“Both Aria and I say it—we didn’t kidnap her. We rescued her. She was oppressed, and I, her fated partner, saved her.”
From the stage above, the young duke looked small. Without his sword skill and his family power, he would be nothing more than that.
“When Rodelfel family sacrificed their younger sibling to maintain power while kowtowing to the Emperor, I alone became her strength.”
Summing up all the truths he had avoided into a single sentence left his expression twisted.
Selena smiled.
“Enough reason to fall in love, don’t you think?”
After that, any further conversation was pointless.
No matter how much you spoke to someone unwilling to understand, it was like talking to a wall. Staying here would only make Gayun angrier, so it was better to leave.
They had hoped to involve the Emperor in a mud-slinging public opinion war to let Gayun relieve some stress, but the young duke had spoiled it.
“Gayun, let’s go. He’s not worth it.”
“…Yes, sister. I don’t want to see that bastard anymore either.”
“Wait! Count Kim! Aria! Hold on!”
Was he trying to buy time? Or force a conversation despite knowing they wouldn’t listen? Either way, Selena didn’t care.
“We can’t let you leave like this!”
And what could she do?
Selena snorted. The young duke was a Sword Master. He had no power to stop her teleporting. His childish shouting was pathetic.
Sigh. It had been fun until he showed up.
Just as Selena and Gayun had enjoyed mocking the Emperor, he came and ruined everything.
Irritated, Selena twirled her silver staff in her hand.
“Fine. On second thought, I can’t leave without using the magic I prepared.”
The civilians in the square had already evacuated, so Gayun wouldn’t object.
Selena swung the staff with satisfaction.
“You ruined my fun, so you’ll pay.”
“What?”
“Scatter.”
Cherry Blossom Blade.
A thousand pink blades rained down toward the young duke.
