Chapter 15

“Now then! We will begin the match. Everyone, please take your seats!”

Once most of the bustling crowd had settled into their seats, the Head Attendant gave a signal to the knight holding the Sands family’s chains.

Clank.

Heavy shackles fell to the ground, kicking up dust from the sand below.

“We hereby begin the first Feeding Competition!”

“WAAAAAAAH—!”

Amid the crowd’s cheers, the contestants burst into a full sprint toward the pillar.

The two men wearing numbers 1 and 3 quickly took the lead.

“Numbers 1 and 3 are locked in a fierce race! Will physical superiority once again secure victory for the men?”

The men who had once been known as Baron Sands and the young baron had been reduced to mere pieces in a game.

“Run faster, Number 3!”

“Number 1! What are you doing?! You’re the head of the family!”

Wilcock’s commentary continuously fueled the audience’s excitement.

“Ah—! A sudden attack from Number 4! Number 1 has been knocked away, and the rankings have changed!”

“WOOOAH!”

The family’s only daughter—now known only as Number 4—grabbed hold of her father’s trouser leg and dragged him down.

“My, my. The young Number 5 can’t even climb the pillar properly! That’s probably why he received the smallest amount of bets! And as I say that, Number 3 has reached the top! Number 2 is right behind him! Ah! Mother and son have met in the middle of the bridge!”

The arena erupted with excitement.

“Number 3! Push her off!”

“Don’t lose, Number 2! You’re his mother!”

The spectators no longer cared about anything else.

In their eyes, the ruined members of House Sands were no longer fellow human beings.

They were merely game pieces for the competition.

“Ahhh—! Oh dear, the prepared food has fallen to the ground!”

As Numbers 2 and 3—a mother and her son—became entangled in a struggle, the transparent box containing the food fell from the top of the pillar.

Everyone, including Numbers 1 and 4 who had been clinging to the pillar, threw themselves toward the ground at the same time.

Then something unexpected happened.

The four pairs of eyes, burning with greed, widened.

Their gazes remained fixed on the food.

Yet none of them approached the box.

Their bodies stiffened completely, like statues frozen in place.

And at that very moment, the winner of the Feeding Competition was decided.

Crunch.

The young Number 5 frantically tore open the box.

From the ruined pile of food, he grabbed an apple and took a bite.

For a brief instant, silence fell.

Then Wilcock raised his voice.

“Number 5! The winner of this Feeding Competition is Number 5! Congratulations!”

Various reactions erupted throughout the arena.

Some shouted in triumph.

Others let out disappointed groans.

Still others were already eager for the next match.

“Please await an official announcement from the Imperial Household regarding the next event.”

The Head Attendant swept his gaze across the crowd and smiled brightly.

“Those who correctly predicted the winning number should show their betting slips to an attendant before leaving. Once again, endless glory to Her Imperial Majesty, who has bestowed such great generosity upon us!”

“WAAAAAH!”

“Long live Her Majesty the Emperor!”

Praise for Mary echoed endlessly throughout the arena.

***

“Y-Your Highness! I’ll go bring some refreshments!”

The moment they returned to the residence, Mol fled the room as though escaping.

Judging by her pale expression, there was no need to ask what conclusion she had reached.

As she staggered out, Lilia lowered her voice.

“I still don’t understand. A thousand gold… How many people did they think would correctly guess the winner?”

“There’s no way the Emperor wouldn’t know the same information Robert did. She probably assumed very few people would get it right.”

“Even so! If only three people guessed correctly, that’s already three thousand gold… Does this Emperor have absolutely no sense of money?”

Lilia spoke without restraint.

“…Even if this event causes some losses, she probably sees it as a worthwhile investment when considering the future.”

Naturally, it had likely been Robert Edenbarker’s proposal.

Evelyn swallowed the rest of that thought.

“An investment?”

“Yes. News that a handful of people won an extraordinary prize will spread through the capital in no time. What do you think happens next?”

“Ah…”

Lilia’s eyes widened.

“There’ll be even more spectators next time. And the betting stakes will get larger.”

“Exactly. And the Imperial Palace will take the difference for itself.”

Evelyn’s voice was calm.

“In the end, gambling is a structure where the organizer profits the most.”

“Turning gambling into a business aimed at the Empire’s own citizens…”

Lilia shook her head.

“That’s insane.”

“Yes.”

This was only the beginning.

The exploitation that followed would gradually transform the capital into a city of indulgence and decadence.

“And when that happens, the Empire…will collapse.”

“…”

“That’s why we need to stop this madness as soon as possible.”

“How…?”

“First, we need to take down the hunting dog.”

Her heavy gaze drifted beyond the window, toward the sunset-stained horizon.

The hunting dog.

Wilcock Hopnagen.

“How regrettable those past days were.”

If only she had sensed the danger without needing to repeat her life over and over.

If only she had struggled to survive.

Then perhaps she could have saved at least a few more people.

The bitterness lingering in her mouth made her frown.

But now, even regret was a luxury.

Even if she remained crouched low, she had to keep struggling desperately beneath the surface.

And when she was finally prepared, she would drag down those monsters who had abandoned their humanity, one by one.

“Lilia.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“Record the names and backgrounds of every participant in the future Feeding Competitions.”

Because those fragile sheets of paper, tied to the lifelines of the victims, would eventually become the whip used to catch the hunting dog.

Her gloomy voice scattered into the sky as darkness gradually swallowed the fading light.

***

Five months later.

Dozens of knights rode behind Aiden as he galloped across the vast grasslands.

Clouds of dust swirled through the air around the horses’ pounding hooves.

“Your Grace, we’ll reach the Imperial Capital soon.”

Though days of camping had left Aiden’s appearance somewhat disheveled, his handsome looks remained unchanged.

The dust settling over his hair had turned it a muted gray, creating a strangely captivating color, while his amber eyes shone like those of a tiger, gleaming even in the dead of night.

Even the shadows of fatigue beneath his eyes carried a certain sensual charm.

However, there was no denying that his attire looked rather shabby.

“We’ll stop and tidy ourselves up first.”

He could not enter the capital looking like this.

So Aiden instructed his adjutant, Scott, to find a nearby body of water in advance.

After passing through a forest thick with trees, they came upon a fairly large river.

Dismounting from his horse, Aiden gave an order.

“Wash up properly and make yourselves presentable. Let us show the Imperial Capital the dignity of the Gloucester Knights.”

“Yes, sir!”

With thunderous responses, the knights began stripping off their clothes one by one before running toward the river.

Following them, Aiden also started removing his upper garments.

As he peeled away the leather clothing he had worn instead of armor for faster travel, his sweat-soaked, sharply defined physique was revealed.

Scott approached from the side.

“We returned perfectly fine after being sent into what was practically a death trap. The Emperor must be quite displeased.”

“Scott.”

The relaxed expression that had softened beneath the fresh scent of grass instantly hardened.

Aiden’s deep voice fell heavily between them, and Scott hurriedly lowered his head.

“My apologies.”

“As I always tell you, your mouth is the problem. Be especially careful once we’re back in the capital. This is where the real struggle begins.”

“But, Your Grace… Didn’t our house fight an entire war alone? And we even won! Her Majesty won’t be able to push us aside anymore.”

“…It was luck.”

The early stages of the war had overwhelmingly favored Brang.

To begin with, there had been a tremendous difference in troop numbers.

The collapse of the front lines had only been a matter of time.

“I should send a request to the Imperial Palace for reinforcements.”

Just as he had been about to give up and request support from the palace, fortune intervened.

An unprecedented deluge struck Brang.

Their granaries were flooded, and their supply lines naturally fell into disarray.

With so many troops stationed at the front, they could not overcome the resulting food shortages.

In the end, Brang had no choice but to surrender.

“If we’re talking about luck against the Holy Kingdom of Brang, couldn’t that itself be considered the will of the Divine Lord? I still don’t understand how Princess Evelyn predicted all of this.”

Aiden recalled the conversation he had shared with Evelyn several months earlier.

“Half a year. In exactly half a year, the war will be over.”

“And during that time, every house that once supported my mother will disappear from the capital.”

Everything had happened exactly as she said.

She predicted all of it.

How could she have known?

Setting aside the fact that Mary would eliminate all opposing factions, how had she even foreseen a weather disaster that could only be called the will of the gods?

For the past several months, Aiden had been unable to stop thinking about Evelyn.

“…When we enter the capital, you’ll be going straight to the palace, won’t you?”

“Yes. I need to report the outcome of the campaign.”

“Will you only be seeking an audience with Her Majesty?”

Watching his lord lost in thought, Scott asked cautiously.

It wasn’t that he held any particular grudge against Evelyn.

But it was obvious that she was not someone to become involved with under the current circumstances.

The Emperor was already purging everyone who had once been close to Blair, the Second Empress.

Evelyn, Blair’s daughter, was practically a ticking time bomb.

Scott did not know why Mary had spared her life and kept her close.

But if someone became entangled with her, they could easily be swept up and accused of treason together.

That was why Aiden’s growing interest in the princess unsettled him.

“Who knows.”

“…Your Grace.”

“If possible, I would like to meet Princess Evelyn.”

The directness of his answer caught Scott off guard.

His eyes widened.

Aiden, however, remained lost in thought and failed to notice the change in expression.

“There are things I’d like to ask her.”

The sunset-colored eyes sank heavily.

Had Evelyn even intended to provoke this reaction from him?

After spending months imagining her, he genuinely wanted to see her now.

In one way or another.

“First, let’s clean up.”

Leaving behind a speechless Scott with his mouth hanging open, Aiden headed toward the riverbank.

The cold water climbed from his ankles to his thighs, instantly clearing his mind.

A moment later, he bent forward and splashed water across his face several times before lowering himself completely into the river.