Chapter 7

Aneta had been busy until the day of Erez’s welcoming ceremony. She is committed to work without realizing how time has passed, dealing with the Ministry of Health and Welfare when she arrives at work and immersing herself in household paperwork.

She became less and less efficient by the day. She was only human, after all.

Nevertheless, she managed to keep up with her work, and eventually, Isabel stepped in.

“I’m afraid you might collapse at this rate.”

Aneta, who had planned to stay glued to her office until the welcoming ceremony, hesitated. There was an undeniable force in Isabel’s unusual tone.

“It’s okay. I can still hold on.”

“You must be forcing yourself. Even if you can deceive others, you can’t deceive me, Your Grace.”

Even when Aneta tried to dismiss her, Isabel remained firm.

Aneta’s stamina was not particularly good. Isabel, who had been looking after her closely, knew this fact better than anyone.

“You’ve been pushing yourself so hard since your return to the capital that I’ve never stopped worrying about you. I think you should get some rest before the ceremony.”

The welcoming ceremony was scheduled for the evening. Isabel’s request meant not to look at any documents for the day, and Aneta had no choice but to comply.

“Okay.”

“Then I’ll trust you.”

Despite saying she would trust her, Isabel called the servant to move the documents out of the office.

“You said you trusted me; why are you moving the papers somewhere else then?”

“To keep that trust.”

Once again, Isabel had known Aneta since the moment she was born. Knowing that Aneta would pretend to rest and then return to handle the documents once she left, Isabel took steps to prevent this from happening.

“I lost. I’m not going to do anything.”

Aneta had no choice but to give in to Isabel’s thoroughness. It seemed better to catch up on sleep than to think of another plan.

Eventually, after a long morning, Aneta left the mansion just as the world began to turn red.

The redness that had been floating gently grew more eerie in the evening. Before entering the palace, Aneta stopped and looked up at the sky.

As the sun sank low, the boundary between day and night blurred. Above her, the colorful glow flowed without boundaries, deepening the lingering impression in her mind.

An unfinished painting existing in her memories contained a distorted beauty similar to what was right in front of her.

As a child, she had been mesmerized by its beauty and waited anxiously for it to be completed.

But as the painting was bathed in colorful light and grew more realistic, her mother Elena’s face faded to a pale hue.

It was as if the twilight in the painting was stealing the color and breath from her mother.

In the end, her mother fell ill and soon faced death. The fate that befell the unfinished painting was not much different.

What remained of it, a ghostly relic, bore the same color as her departed mother’s flesh.

The end of that which burned red-hot was an irreversible hue of emptiness, leaving nothing behind.

Twilight. A fleeting moment when the order of the world warps. At that moment, Aneta wandered.

The crimson surrounding her mother’s son-in-law now seemed to be seeping into her as well.

That was then.

“Aneta?”

Carlos found her standing there like a lost child and called her name. The reflection in his eyes made her seem as if she would disappear at any moment.

Aneta looked at him, immersed in darkness. She couldn’t tell what expression he had on his face as he turned towards the light.

Along with him, she also felt uncertain about what kind of presence a man named Carlos Baltimor would have for her.

Right now, they stood there in the late hours of the night.

***

The Steren Palace, where the welcoming ceremony would be held, was originally a place where the Emperor’s direct descendants held tea parties.

It had also been largely abandoned since Russell came into power, and none of the other nobles had ever set foot in it except for Carlos.

The doors to such places were opened to welcome certain people. If someone unfamiliar saw it, they might consider it special treatment.

“That’s probably what they aimed for.”

Aneta glanced around briefly. It had been 20 minutes past the scheduled time, and only one person had yet to appear.

That one person should be the Emperor, but unfortunately, Russell was sitting on the throne, looking at his watch.

“Erez Bauter is late.”

It was ridiculous that the main character hadn’t even appeared yet. When Russell showed such a sign, many nodded in agreement.

Except for Erez Bauter, the House of Glory had already gone through a generational change five years ago, with the Marquis of Adenauer as the last.

Since they would be seeing each other for a long time, it was best to build trust and maintain a favorable relationship, but Erez didn’t seem to realize that.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t fail to keep the most fundamental promise of all: to be punctual.
The importance of being punctual for those present at that moment was greater than imagined. Furthermore, knowing that even the Emperor was waiting for him, there was no positive way to view the situation.

Mimicking the novel’s canon that the protagonist always appeared last, it was only minutes later that Erez appeared.

“So, you’re finally here.”

“I’m sorry, Your Majesty. Many documents needed to be processed, so I…”

Erez lied to give the impression that he was working hard. He didn’t realize that his words implied that he had prioritized other things over the Emperor’s orders.

“……I’ll let it slide this time.”

Russell waved away the incredulous glance as if he didn’t think it was worth commenting on anymore.

“Thank you, Your Majesty.”

Erez, thinking everything would go well, smiled broadly and chose a seat next to Carlos among the many available.

It was expected, but no one was deceived by the obvious lie.

However, the lords didn’t scold him, as the Emperor had already disregarded the issue. Since the lord had dismissed it, the servants couldn’t pursue it any longer.

Aneta glanced over at Erez, who was wearing an expression of contentment, mistakenly thinking that he had the Emperor’s full favor.

He was dressed as if he had put more effort into the grooming than the paperwork.

“Speaking of which, Your Majesty, I’ve heard that you’ve purchased some alcohol from the province of Brendel for today. Is that true?”

It was Teresa who livened up the atmosphere.

“That’s right. The Duke of Lopelac always appears to be well-informed about such matters.”

“Thank you for the compliment.”

“No, it’s not a compliment. I should have instructed the Marquis to attend with his spouse. I made a mistake.”

“Haha. Please, let’s just leave it at that…”

Teresa, who was shamelessly responding, awkwardly avoided looking into her eyes and forced a smile when the Duke of Lopelac was brought up. It brought back memories of her husband’s stern voice cautioning her not to enter their room whenever she was intoxicated.

Aneta was well aware of their life together. She couldn’t suppress a smile from her face as she remembered Teresa’s vehemently insisting that she stay in the same room.

Some people reacted to this subtle change. Carlos, who had been watching her, turned his gaze away in relief, while Teresa winked mischievously.

Aneta’s smile deepened at their playfulness, and the other one, who had been secretly watching her, chewed his lip carefully.

Erez didn’t like seeing Aneta receive the attention he thought should be directed at him.

Captivated by the thought of drawing their attention, he opened his mouth to execute a clever idea that had crossed his mind.

“Well, before we start drinking, would you care to tell me more about your glorious abilities?”

Of course, Erez was well aware of their abilities. Still, he asked to give Aneta a sense of unease and to garner the attention of the nobles.

Aneta noticed his shallow ploy but chose not to react.

There was no reason to stop him from digging his own grave once again.

“Marquis Bauter, do you happen to be unaware of the mercy’s glory owned by Your Majesty?”

Duke Hetchen asked, feeling that no matter how ignorant he was, he would understand, but he didn’t get the answer he wanted.

“Yes. It’s been not long since I came up from my rural estate.”

Even if someone claimed to be from a rural estate, it wouldn’t justify ignorance about glory. Even children in villages known for poor educational environments would understand what the glorious abilities were.

It seemed as though he couldn’t distinguish between ignorance and innocence, which was an absurd notion.

The people present were not the kind to tolerate such ignorance.

“…… Then, of course, I’ll let you know.”

Duke Hetchen, who wasn’t alone in this, tried to hide his embarrassment. Everyone, except Erez, felt the same way.

“Your Majesty, would you allow me to explain to Marquis Bauter the glories of mercy?”

“Very well.”

Russell nodded reluctantly as he looked at Duke Hetchen, who had taken up the responsibility. With the Emperor’s approval, Duke Hetchen cleared his throat and began his explanation.

“The Kutana, also known as the Glory of Mercy, is the national sword of the empire and a symbol of the emperor. Although it is a ceremonial sword with a blunt end and no blade, it can wield strong power when it is recognized as a sword.”

There are only a few people who can handle the Glory of Mercy properly. For this reason, most emperors used this sword only for ceremonial purposes.

But not like the emperors who gathered here. Russell wielded the Glory of Mercy more perfectly than any emperor who had ever lived.

“The Glory of Mercy I hold protects its owner’s body from external impacts; however, the protection is limited to the owner himself.”

After explaining the Glory of Mercy, Duke Hetchen went on to explain the Glory of Protection.

When he pointed to the shield-shaped brooch on his chest, the other nobles, except for Duke Clorin, who had already demonstrated his power of foresight, continued the explanations.

The Glory of the Firmament, which can transform into an eagle and manipulate airwaves; the Glory of Penetration, where one arrow becomes hundreds when drawn, raining down like a storm; the Glory of Doppelganger, which can create a counterpart of the owner.

As the Bracelet of Baltimor, the Bow of Lopelac, and the Ring of Raphaeli were introduced, only Aneta remained.

Just as he had ended the greetings at the banquet hall, he was now tasked with closing the ceremony.

“Is the Glory of the Otherworld what’s left?”

When Aneta met Erez, he smiled as if urging her to speak quickly. It was a knowing smile that indicated she had nothing to offer in response.

“I do not know about the Glory of the Otherworld. I cannot even describe its form, let alone its abilities.”

The name “Otherworld” was not given without reason.

In the original epilogue, the author swiftly established the Marquis of Adenauer as hailing from a prestigious family to match Carlos and his status.

Given her role as the ex-wife of the main male character, it was important to maintain that impression. Therefore, it was vaguely mentioned that there was no need to explore it further.

That’s why Aneta hadn’t made any effort to find the Glory of the Otherworld until now.

It would be futile to look for something that didn’t exist.

“Oh? You don’t know anything?”

“That’s right. Adenauer showed that the Glory of Observation comes from her family, allowing her to uphold her honor.”

Erez widened his eyes.

“So it’s half glory, then?”

His eyes, though gentle in appearance, hid undeniable hostility.