CHAPTER 47……..
The wound on my palm disappeared, strangely enough, in just a single day.
But that wasn’t the important thing.
From that day on, the atmosphere in the royal palace worsened even more.
“How could you send another child without even consulting me first!”
“Then what? Are you telling me to send Asilia instead? I can’t. I won’t! If you’re going to send Asilia, you’ll have to kill me first!”
“And what will you do if Revilla realizes she isn’t Asilia? Didn’t you think about what a bigger disaster that would cause?!”
“That’s a problem for later! Whether we refuse to send her and hold out, or send her and get caught afterward—we still gain a few more days, don’t we?”
The harmonious Duke and Duchess of Clomeus were no more.
All that remained were the trembling subjects under Revilla’s threats, and people desperately fighting to keep from losing anything dear to them.
But that didn’t last long.
Not long after sending another child in place of Asilia, Revilla’s threats quieted down.
Blocked trade routes reopened, and the ruffians harassing merchants vanished.
In fact, Revilla even began supplying goods to the Duchy of Clomeus.
The reason was simple: they claimed the Duke’s eldest daughter had rendered great service in Revilla.
A year later, another official letter arrived from Revilla.
“They’re saying… ‘The Duchy of Clomeus should send the Duke’s second daughter’…?”
Valen felt his heart sink.
There was no such thing as a second daughter in Clomeus. And there was no way Revilla didn’t know that.
Which meant…
“They already knew.”
Revilla had known the truth and turned a blind eye. They had even helped the duchy by sending supplies.
“W-why…?”
Rowena’s hands trembled.
She couldn’t understand why they had accepted the child, knowing the truth—nor why they were now demanding another.
“They must be asking for someone blessed by the God of Life.”
It was as good as saying, “We’ll overlook not sending Asilia—just sell us another blessed child instead.”
“W-what should we do?”
Valen clenched his fist.
Having already sent a child other than Asilia, they could no longer refuse Revilla’s demands.
“Let’s… send another child.”
In the end, Valen had no choice but to follow Rowena’s words.
He decided it was best to comply while Revilla was still willing to overlook their past deception.
Thus, the children sent to Revilla were always orphans or from poor families. The only requirement: they had to be blessed by the God of Life.
Once, they sent a child without the blessing, only to receive the message: “Don’t send just anyone—send a proper tribute girl.”
It meant Revilla would not accept anyone without the blessing.
On a whim, Valen tried sending children who had the blessing but had not received proper noble education.
Revilla didn’t seem to care—in fact, they replied, “It’s fortunate the Duke and Duchess have such a loving marriage that many children can study abroad in Revilla.”
They truly took any boy or girl as long as they bore the blessing of the God of Life.
No one knew why.
No one knew what they intended to do with those children.
They only sent them to survive.
The duchy had no other choice.
“Three children this time?”
Valen let out a bitter laugh.
Revilla’s demands grew more wicked with each passing year.
The first year, they wanted one child. The next, two. The year after that, three.
And there was never any news from the children who went to Revilla.
“All that’s left now are children with parents and families.”
“…”
“What if we tell the parents it’s for study abroad… like an education in Revilla, in the Empire? Some might send them thinking it’s a good opportunity.”
“What?”
“Like I said—study abroad in the Empire. Some will think it’s a chance for their child’s future.”
“Don’t be ridiculous!”
Asilia squeezed her eyes shut at the rising voices.
At this time of year, the two always fought. Even if Asilia volunteered to go, they vehemently opposed it.
“This time, we’re not sending anyone.”
“Your Grace!”
“Enough! Just as Asilia is precious to us, each child is precious to their own parents! We haven’t even heard a word about what happened to the ones we sent—how can we send more in good conscience?!”
In his fury, Valen refused to send any more children.
As time passed, Revilla pressed harder for them to send more.
But Valen stood firm against the pressure.
“Why did you send them before, but now you won’t?”
Asilia lifted her head and asked Valen.
She was too young to fully understand, but she knew enough to realize someone had been going to Revilla in her place.
Valen swallowed before answering.
“Before, I thought Revilla might be a better place for them than the Duchy of Clomeus.”
“…”
“The duchy isn’t wealthy enough to take care of all its orphans.”
“Then… does that mean Revilla has been taking good care of them?”
Valen said nothing. He couldn’t lie about something he didn’t know.
Instead, he simply held Asilia in his arms.
“So… now no one else has to go, right?”
“Yes… they say there’s no child in Clomeus left who needs help anymore.”
Asilia believed him.
But the truth was different.
Revilla didn’t stay quiet—they soon pointed their swords at Clomeus.
“How dare you think you could deceive His Majesty the Emperor and still sleep peacefully at night?!”
The Revilla army had come.
The land was in flames on all sides.
Wherever she looked, there were bodies of those who hadn’t managed to escape.
Those who had begged desperately for their lives ended up dying with screams on their lips.
The very people who had once praised the Duke and Duchess of Clomeus as wise now cursed them as they died.
The lush, green lands of Clomeus were gone.
All that remained was ash and burning buildings.
Asilia stared blankly at the duchy, burning to the ground.
“There are surely more with the blessing of the God of Life! Kill everyone else—leave only them alive!”
The voices of Revilla’s soldiers rang in her ears.
The God of Life.
What was that worth, to justify taking so many lives?
“My lady, you must run. If you stay here, they’ll capture you!”
Her nurse grabbed her shoulders, but her cry was cut short—
A man appeared and struck the nurse down without hesitation.
“Nanny…!”
“Nanny?”
The man grabbed the back of Asilia’s neck. After turning her face this way and that, he dragged her to the audience hall.
Thrown onto the floor, Asilia lifted her head despite the pain.
“F-father?”
What she saw was Valen, eyes open, blood spilling from his mouth.
He clutched a sword in one hand, but he already looked lifeless.
The strongest knight in the Duchy of Clomeus had been struck down in an instant.
“F-father…”
Asilia crawled toward him, unable to even think of standing.
No matter how she shook him or screamed until her throat burned, Valen did not move.
“Lord Tassion, there’s trouble!”
“Trouble? What kind of trouble could there be in this backwater?”
The man called Tassion scowled, as though nothing here could possibly be important.
“It seems… the Duchess of Clomeus also bore the blessing of the God of Life…”
“Get to the point.”
“She’s running wild with the relic of the God of Death!”
Tassion’s eyes widened, then a wicked grin spread across his face.
“Catch her. Kill her. And secure the relic!”
Greed twisted his features into something demonic. When Asilia instinctively stepped back, he crouched in front of her and said:
“Nice to meet you, Asilia. My name is Maemon Tassion.”
“…”
“Don’t you think it’s time you stopped running? Hmm?”
