CHAPTER 41
Chapter 41
Asilia couldn’t hide the tension she felt facing the man before her.
“You always tense up like that whenever you stand before me.”
Envy Tashion was half reclined in his chair, gazing at her. He was smiling, but Asilia only lowered her head.
“…I apologize.”
She spoke briefly, still unable to meet his eyes.
Asilia always felt on edge around Envy.
He was the most difficult person for her to deal with and nearly impossible to read. But most of all, it was because he was the one who disciplined her every time she returned from a failed mission.
He was also the one who had her captured and dragged back when she once tried to run away from Revilah.
“If His Majesty the Emperor didn’t favor you, you’d be dead by now.”
He had ground his teeth and said that once. His face had been that of someone who genuinely wanted her dead.
Since that day, Asilia feared him—because she never knew what he might say next.
What’s more, he had executed every single person who had helped her try to escape.
The man who usually kept his eyes half-lidded had glared with crimson eyes so fierce, it had been terrifying.
She could never forget that memory.
“Adrian de Monique is willingly becoming a man of Revilah. You played a major role in that.”
Adrian had expressed his desire to serve Revilah since the moment he arrived.
Yet for him to so suddenly switch his stance like flipping a coin—it didn’t make sense.
“That wasn’t my doing. Adrian de Monique has been consistent in his attitude from the start.”
“You really don’t understand, do you?”
“…?”
“When someone’s at the brink of mental collapse, too exhausted to lie—that’s when their true feelings come out.”
Asilia merely nodded in response.
“Ah, and I heard from His Majesty. You want to take some time off?”
“Yes, the journey to Moria was quite grueling. Rather than taking on additional missions, I’d like to focus on paperwork and rest for a while.”
Envy nodded at her words.
“Well, you’ve been working non-stop for a long time. That’s fair.”
Asilia widened her eyes at the unexpected permission.
She had informed Jande of her intention, but ultimately, the final decision lay with Envy.
She’d expected him to demand a detailed plan or justify why she wanted to rest. But his approval had come faster than anticipated.
“But first, carry out one last mission. Complete it successfully, and then you’ll be able to rest with no worries.”
“……”
“Sir Restantis… how long do you think this imperial rule will last?”
Asilia fell silent at the question.
“The Revilah Empire must be eternal. But His Majesty is aging, and so am I. And yet… we have done nothing to prepare for the next generation.”
Envy shook his head with a sigh.
Revilah was an empire ruled by imperial authority—so it needed an heir to the throne.
But the crown prince had died on the battlefield over ten years ago.
Another prince had died from illness. The imperial princesses had been married off to the Hypolios Empire for political alliances.
In other words, there was no one left to inherit the throne.
“I’ve thought about it. Who could possibly take on Revilah’s future?”
“……”
“And yet, no one came to mind.”
He exhaled a long sigh. His face was genuinely full of concern for the nation’s future.
“So I sent them on missions, one after another. Since we are a nation of knights, I hoped one of them could rule this land.”
“……”
“But betrayal after betrayal. Pathetic, every last one. So I’ve come to a conclusion.”
Envy smiled with narrowed eyes, but did not elaborate. It wasn’t time yet, his expression seemed to say.
“This is your last mission, Sir Asilia Restantis. If you complete it successfully, you’ll live a life that can’t even be compared to now. Personally, I truly hope you succeed.”
Asilia swallowed dryly. Every time Envy said something like this, a difficult task always followed. And those missions always tested her.
“Come to the Audience Hall at this time one week from now. The mission will begin there.”
“…Understood.”
Asilia bowed with formal respect. Jande waved her off with a smile, saying they’d see each other again.
Watching Asilia’s receding figure, Envy crossed his arms and threw her a crooked, assessing look.
“A final mission?”
Asilia nodded.
Oswald, sitting before her, scratched his chin with his rough hands.
“Final mission… huh.”
It was rare to see Oswald sigh. His face looked troubled.
“Is something wrong?”
“Wrong? Of course there is. Have you ever seen anyone who went on a ‘final mission’ return properly?”
Asilia fell silent at that.
To begin with, she didn’t even know what a “final mission” really meant.
“So it’s come to this.”
“I’m not sure what you mean…”
At her honest response, Oswald sighed again. Normally, he would’ve teased her for losing her luck, but now wasn’t the time.
“You’re a special kind of knight.”
“……”
“So special that your treatment has been different.”
Asilia parted her lips.
Special treatment.
That had referred to the punishment she received for disobeying an order.
Back when she had just become a knight, she was once ordered to kill civilians.
She refused—and even dared to question the ideology of Revilah.
“Why should we kill innocent people? Why should I obey orders blindly? If that’s what it means to be a Revilah knight, then I want no part of it!”
She had been beaten bloody in the rain, but that didn’t erase the memory.
Had anyone else said those words, they would’ve been locked away under the pretense of “reeducation,” likely never to be seen again.
It wasn’t just that.
There had been people in the past who tried to pull her out of the palace once they realized the corruption inside.
She’d once visited a retired knight’s home for surveillance. The old man had told her he knew the truth about the knights and offered to help her escape from Revilah.
But they were found out.
And Asilia had no choice but to watch as his entire family was slaughtered before her eyes.
If any other knight had been in her position, they would’ve lost not only their title but their life.
“There have been a few knights like you before.”
“Knights… like me?”
“Knights favored by Tashion.”
Favored?
Asilia was uncertain but waited for Oswald to continue.
“Tashion only gives missions to the knights he personally selects. Outrageous tasks. Like your mission to assassinate the Emperor of Moria. Success or failure doesn’t matter. What matters is whether they return—and whether they’re still loyal to Revilah.”
And for those who passed all those trials, a “final mission” would be given.
No one knew why. And only Envy knew what those missions were.
But there was one thing they did know.
“Not a single one has ever come back alive.”
Oswald handed her a few documents.
They showed others who had followed a similar path as her.
“Remember Sir Hielina?”
“Yes, I do. Come to think of it, I haven’t seen her since returning from Moria.”
“She submitted an honorable resignation while you were away.”
“Honorable resignation…?”
For Revilah knights, that was code for dying during a mission.
Hielina had also been someone considered a top priority to protect on any mission—partly because she was favored by the Empress.
Yet now… a resignation.
“It’s a shame. Tashion told her it was her final mission. Not just her. Every knight who got excited about their ‘final mission’ and rushed to report back—they’re all gone.”
Oswald let out a pained sigh.
“Not one of them made it back alive.”
