Side Story 1. The Erased Ending

At this time, the empire was steadily walking the path of decline.

Despite its long history, the Macfeyden Empire was consistently and rapidly heading towards its fall.

The throne had been vacant for ten years.

Even by then, the prince had not proven his succession.

The imperial line of succession seemed unstable.

The regency of the Empress, who was politically inexperienced,

And rising prices and an unstable public sentiment.

The biggest problem was the sudden surge in demonic beasts. The empire was suffering from the rampant demonic beasts, but the imperial court was powerless.

The Emperor was on his sickbed, and rumors spread that the prince had set up a harem in the prince’s palace.

Lords would request help from the nearest ducal house whenever demonic beasts appeared in their territories.

Initially, the ducal houses tried to accommodate these requests as much as possible, but as the frequency and number of demonic beast appearances increased, they could no longer handle the burden. They eventually had to prioritize the safety of their own duchies, and external extermination requests were only selectively accepted when the knight orders had spare capacity.

The lords sought to survive by trying to curry favor with the ducal houses and improve their selection priority.

As military power became synonymous with authority, the status of the four ducal houses steadily rose.

However, none of the four dukes made an effort to seize more power. They remained in their territories as if they had conspired, each holding their position.

There were only four ducal houses.

But the empire was vast, and ultimately, each lord had to find their own way to survive.

Lords began to maintain more soldiers than the state had set, and they became bloodthirsty in their efforts to hire mercenary groups.

Yet, the weakened central authority could not control them, and it was only natural that disputes, exploitation, and the exodus of subjects in local territories gradually worsened.

People who fled due to excessive taxes continued to increase, and those who had nowhere to go formed bands of thieves.

The internal situation was dire, and external affairs were also becoming increasingly unstable.

At least the four ducal houses, all located near the borders, were somewhat suppressing the outbreak of war, but the frequency of small border skirmishes was gradually increasing.

People mourned, saying that the protective force had left the empire.

During this period,

Saena passed away in a modest room at the Hollander estate, her appearance reflecting the simplicity of her surroundings.

Upon hearing the news, Count Debov collapsed.

His health had been steadily declining since his daughter’s marriage and estrangement, exacerbated by the pressure of finding a way to survive in the unstable internal situation. Hearing the news of his daughter’s death pushed him over the edge.

Sage, the eldest son of the Debov family, had to take over from his father without time to grieve.

The Debov family’s vast wealth was more of an advantage during the peaceful times, but the current situation was turning into a chaotic era where their lack of military backing made it a critical weakness.

To those who had a certain level of military power and those who desired greater military power, the Debov family began to look like a tempting target.

One might think that they could hire mercenaries with their wealth, but Count Debov had missed the initial opportunity to secure mercenary groups. Delvon, being close to the capital, was relatively safe.

By the time he realized the severity of the situation, it was too late. Even if he hired mercenaries, there was no guarantee that spies wouldn’t infiltrate during that time.

In this precarious balance, the count had been overwhelmed by the heavy workload and stress of finding a way for the family to survive, and he had collapsed. Now, this burden fell on Sage.

It was then that an unexpected visitor arrived at the Debov estate.

“…What? Who is it?”

Yuri Debov, startled, asked again after hearing the visitor’s identity from the butler.

“His Grace, Duke Kramer, has arrived.”

“……”

Even hearing it again was hard to believe.

Despite knowing only each other’s names and having no connection, the head of the most powerful family in the current empire had come to the Debov estate at this time.

‘Could the duke be coveting our family?’

For a moment, such a suspicion arose. The purpose was completely unpredictable.

“I, I will greet him… No, I must greet him myself.”

With the news of Saena’s death and his father’s illness,

A somber atmosphere had settled over the entire household, but this was not someone who could be treated rudely, regardless of the reason.

The current head was lying down, and the acting head, Sage, was away from the estate.

Yuri Debov had to personally go to meet the distinguished guest to maintain proper etiquette.

“I greet Your Grace. Although it is presumptuous, the head of the house is currently away, so I have had to receive you.”

Given the situation, the count’s illness was kept secret from the outside.

“Who are you?”

“Yuri Debov. The second son of the Debov family.”

“…So, you are one of the twins?”

The mention of twins brought Saena to mind, and Yuri’s throat tightened, but he swallowed his emotions and replied.

“……Yes.”

But he couldn’t suppress his emotions for long.

Another shocking revelation followed.

“I know that an apology cannot make up for the situation, but I felt I should come to apologize.”

“I don’t understand what you mean.”

“Your sister.”

“Yes? …My sister?”

“You have a sister, don’t you?”

To be precise, she was not so much there as she had been.

“Saena… Are you referring to her?”

“Yes. That was her name, wasn’t it? Saena… Hollander, wasn’t it?”

Why was the duke mentioning Saena, who was already dead? What did he mean by an apology?

Saena had died after ten years of marriage, still bearing the name Hollander. And even now, her name still made Yuri feel uncomfortable.

“Are you apologizing for Saena?”

Suddenly, all sorts of wild thoughts raced through Yuri’s mind.

Could he have done something terrible to Saena? Could he have contributed to her death?

“Elizabeth Kramer.”

But the duke suddenly mentioned a different name.

“I found evidence of her influence on Saena Hollander’s death.”

“……What, what are you saying?”

“Saena Hollander’s death is highly unlikely to have been natural.”

Yuri felt his mind go blank.

“What I just heard… So, Elizabeth Kramer. Your wife, the Duchess, you mean?”

“Yes.”

“And the Elizabeth who was once Saena’s friend?”

“Were they friends?”

Duke Kramer’s expression was one of complete indifference, as if he didn’t care whether they were friends or not. He took out a cigar from his coat, put it in his mouth, and lit it.

“What do you mean by not being a natural death? Are you saying that the Duchess killed our Saena?”

“Most likely. Actually, it’s almost certain. That’s why I’m here.”

“……”

Yuri lost his sense of reality at the duke’s indifferent expression, which contrasted sharply with the gravity of his words.

‘Is he really saying that Saena was murdered?’

That’s how it felt.

“Why? Why would she do that?”

They were once friends. After Saena’s marriage, their interactions seemed to have diminished due to the difference in status, but why would Elizabeth kill Saena?

“I don’t know the reason.”

The casual way he spoke, puffing on his cigar and exhaling smoke, was extremely dismissive.

“……You!”

Yuri abruptly stood up and grabbed Duke Kramer by the collar.

The cigar in the duke’s mouth fell to his thigh and then to the floor.

“Master! Master!”

“This is unacceptable!”

The butler and servant, who had just entered with tea, were startled and tried to stop Yuri, but his eyes were already wild.

“You’re saying your wife killed my sister, and you have such an attitude! You think the reason doesn’t matter?!”

“……”

“Where is she! Where is that woman! Bring her here now! I’ll kill her!”

In an era where the status of ducal houses surpassed that of the imperial family, such rudeness to a duke and insults toward his wife could easily lead to a charge of insult, and the duke could draw his sword at any moment.

The butler and servant of the Debov family turned pale.

The only one whose expression didn’t change was Duke Kramer, whose collar was being grabbed. He didn’t seem to feel any threat at all.

Perhaps it was only natural.

Without even needing to lift a hand, Morev, who appeared behind the duke, used an invisible force to bind Yuri.

“Right away— Uh!”

The invisible force easily pulled Yuri away from the duke.

“That would be difficult.”

The duke straightened the wrinkles in his collar with a gloved hand and brushed them off, speaking in a tone devoid of any inflection.

Yuri, despite being restrained and unable to move, shouted in anger at the duke’s overly calm attitude.

“Why is it difficult? Bring her out right now—!”

“She is pregnant.”

The duke glanced down at his thigh. The small hole in his trousers where the cigar had fallen seemed somewhat bothersome.

“……What, what are you saying?”

He bent down to pick up the cigar and handed it to Morev. The cigar disappeared.

“I understand your emotional state, but that doesn’t mean I should tolerate excessive rudeness.”

“…You, you know the value of my bloodline….”

Yuri, as agitated as the duke had said, felt his body tremble with anger. His eyes, red from holding back tears, glared at the duke as he shouted.

“Why! Why can’t you understand my feelings?! Saena didn’t even live to thirty! She died at such a young age! And now you’re saying it was murder!”

The duke looked at Yuri with a slightly unfamiliar expression, as if he couldn’t understand the concept of familial affection.

“This is for the head of the house. Since she bore the name of Kramer, I have some responsibility. I cannot bring the dead back to life, but this is a gesture of apology.”

The unfamiliarity quickly disappeared, and the duke, with the same calm demeanor, placed a stack of documents on the table.

“…Are you saying our family needs more money? Such things are unnecessary! What I need is revenge—”

“You may not need money, but you will need military power, especially in a time when demonic beasts and bandits are rampant.”

“……”

The Covenant of Protection had clearly weakened.

The current chaos was evidence of this.

“The Kramer Third Knight Order will be stationed in the Debov territory. Additionally, this is a certificate guaranteeing that any further extermination requests will be processed with the highest priority.”

Priority in extermination requests.

This was a significant benefit in such a chaotic time.

The duke had accurately assessed the current problems of the Debov family.

With the protection of the Kramer ducal house, other families would not dare to covet the Debov family.

It was essentially a safety certificate.

“I’ve also included a contract for the supply of raw gemstones, as you deal in gemstone distribution. I will provide the ratio the head of the house desires.”