Elfleda rose from her place, her legs trembling.

And she looked around. The defeated soldiers and nobles were looking at her while clutching their flowing blood.

“The Pergos Empire will never surrender!”

Elfleda pulled out the hairpin securing her veil and lunged at Rudbeckia.

— Kyaa!

People closed their eyes tightly with a scream. When they opened them again in the silence, Rudbeckia had caught Elfleda’s wrist, and she dropped the hairpin to the ground, her hand trembling.

“Ha, being a former knight, your spirit is commendable. Since we’ve shared some time together, I’ll ask once more.”

“Your Highness the Crown Prince’s consort! Your Highness! Surrender.”

“Your Highness! Your Highness! Preserve your life and protect Pergos.”

“Your Highness!”

“Your Highness the Crown Prince’s consort!”

Pleas to surrender came from all around.

“The Pergos Empire… declares surrender. We will return the territories of the Glimm Kingdom, the Sanders grand duchy, and the Fabio Kingdom, and guarantee the safety of their people. In the name of the Perron imperial family of Pergos. I, Elfleda Perron, acknowledge defeat to you all.”

As Elfleda’s knees touched the ground, voices mixed with relief at survival and sadness at defeat echoed throughout the Central Palace, where not even the sound of clashing blades could be heard anymore.

* * *

[ January 11. Emperor Adam Perron, Crown Prince Baningo Perron — Deceased ]

[ The allied forces of Glimm, Sanders, and Fabio neutralize the Central Palace ]

[ Bodies of the Emperor, Empress, and Crown Prince not found amid the chaos ]

[ Crown Prince’s consort, Elfleda Argen, saves Pergos from crisis ]

[ Crown Prince’s consort, a former knight who fought fiercely against the enemy until the end ]

[ What’s next for the imperial family? ]

[ Europa continent. Regressing to 20 years ago ]

[ Pergos. Which direction for diplomacy? ]

The Central Palace, made of the finest white marble without a scratch or stain, was abandoned in an unsightly state due to bloodstains that wouldn’t wash away despite cleaning. For over a week, servants scrubbed until their arms wore out, but the white marble, already stained red, couldn’t regain its original color.

No matter how much they cleaned, severed body parts kept appearing from somewhere, and many fled, saying they would rather quit their jobs than clean the Central Palace.

So Elfleda Perron, who became Empress, ordered the closure of the Central Palace.

“Dame Elda, I really thought at that time that you were trying to kill me.”

“Who taught you that? You had to do at least that much.”

“Elda, did you really act that well?”

“It wasn’t acting, I’m telling you. The lines were exactly as we agreed beforehand, but her gaze and movements were so swift.”

Three women sat on the lobby stairs of the closed Central Palace, chatting.

The floor was still covered with red stains, and the surroundings were messy, but the three burst into laughter, unconcerned.

“So that’s why the newspaper headline came out like that. ‘Fought fiercely against the enemy until the end!'”

“Argh. Daniella, please stop reading that. It’s so embarrassing I could die.”

“Miss Daniella went through a lot too.”

“Still, since Elfleda came right away, um… though some unpleasant memories remain, it wasn’t too difficult.”

“Right away? What do you mean? It was three days later… I’m sorry.”

“That’s true. I thought you’d come the very next day!”

“Next day? I was going to enter immediately after receiving the letter!”

When Daniella made a disappointed face, Elfleda jumped in surprise and began making excuses.

“Hehehe. I know, I know. With our friendship, I was a bit disappointed the first day, but by the next day, I immediately thought, ‘Ah, she must be coming with some plan.’ Oh my, our Elfleda, what kind of person is she? A former knight who fought fiercely……”

“Hey! I told you to stop that.”

Elfleda tickled Daniella, who kept teasing her. Multiple rounds of laughter passed through the desolate Central Palace. They laughed softly at first, then held their bellies in uproarious laughter.

The three forgot all about appearances as they read, tore up the newspapers piled beside them, spoke whatever came to mind, and played pranks as their hands moved.

“Whew. Elda. By the way, the real work starts now, right?”

“That’s right. The real hardship begins now.”

“Dame Rud, when did you say you’re leaving?”

“I haven’t decided for sure with Cal yet, but we’ll probably move within this week.”

Daniella’s question was answered in turn by Elfleda and Rudbeckia.

“Make sure to invite me to the wedding!”

“Right. So where will the wedding be? Sanders? Glimm?”

“Ah, about that issue……”

When Rudbeckia finally ended Baningo’s life, she deliberately created a huge orb of aura before throwing a dagger, as if to prove to people that she was the Princess of the Glimm Kingdom, the Daughter of the Sun with the power of light.

Though no one from the Glimm Kingdom was there, her actions spread throughout the continent through newspapers. And in the Glimm Kingdom, people unanimously called for bringing the princess back to fill the empty ducal castle… that is, Glimm Castle.

The same was true for Caleb.

The Sanders citizens in Finis and those who remained in Sanders territory sought out Caleb upon hearing the news of Pergos’s defeat. Pergos officially acknowledged defeat in formal correspondence, returned lands to Glimm, Sanders, and Fabio, and promised non-aggression.

If they moved as people wished, Caleb would have to go as Grand Duke of the Sanders grand duchy and Rudbeckia as Queen of the Glimm Kingdom.

But the two didn’t want to be separated like that. Their native countries were important, but so was their love for each other, and above all, they didn’t want to spend even a moment apart.

“So we decided to unify the Sanders grand duchy and the Glimm Kingdom. Since Finis is geographically located in the center, we decided to make it the new capital.”

“Oh my, really?”

“First, we need to return to our respective countries and seek consent from our people, but according to the journalists we asked to gauge public opinion in advance, the atmosphere in both countries is favorable.”

The Sanders grand duchy had the continent’s largest granary region but small territory, while the Glimm Kingdom had vast territory but was mostly surrounded by mountain ranges, making food not abundant.

If unified, the weaknesses of both countries would be complemented, so there was no opposition.

Above all, now that the threat of Pergos had disappeared, people would be safe and happy regardless, and since it was certain that life would improve no matter how things went, the prevailing opinion was that it didn’t matter either way.

And the wedding. It was a sacred meaning symbolizing something as new as spring, and although Elfleda’s wedding was stained with blood as if heading toward catastrophe, ordinary weddings were symbols of love and peace, so no one would oppose that.

“When you have children, make sure to send them to the academy in Pergos.”

“Academy?”

“Yes. I’m going to build a new academy. I’ll change the name too. From what I saw this time, mages played a much bigger role than expected. Grandfather Anesio and Daniella too. If magic is taught systematically in the right direction, it can make the continent an even better place to live.”

“Certainly… Miss Daniella’s wind is like, how should I say it. Like a spring breeze. Scattering flower seeds to spread them in every corner……”

In contrast, the mage who killed Zeno only used that wind for murder. If nurtured with morality from childhood and guided in the right direction, magic had the power to turn poor harvests into abundant ones.

“Exactly. When you have children, make sure to send them to Pergos!”

“But Caleb and I aren’t mages, so we won’t be able to use magic.”

“Oh, of course there will be general departments too. I’ll train knights and sages. I need to completely overhaul the knight order system. It was just a hotbed of corruption.”

Elfleda burned with enthusiasm to personally oversee everything about the knight orders, if nothing else.

“I don’t understand why you’re playing here like this when there are numerous gardens and greenhouses inside the palace.”

“Speak of the devil, hello Caleb.”

“Hello Your Majesty, Empress Elfleda.”

“Oh yes, hello, Your Highness Grand Duke Sanders.”

Caleb looked around, staring at the three women crouching on the cold marble stairs in this desolate place as if he couldn’t understand them.

“No one comes here. We can talk freely.”

“Elda, don’t you find it creepy though?”

“Huh? What? All the bodies have been cleared away.”

“I ate well even in the middle of war, so this is quite clean by comparison.”

“Indeed. Our Rud always says the right things.”

Elfleda pulled Rudbeckia’s shoulder and laughed heartily. Caleb then thought he should protect Rudbeckia from these women, so he lifted her up in his arms.

“Cal!”

“You shouldn’t stay here any longer. Those women are strange.”

“Caleb. When it comes to strangeness, Rud is the strangest of all, you know? It was all Rud’s idea to make this palace like this.”

“I don’t care, I don’t care. None of that matters. I’ve lent Rud to you for half a day, so now I’m taking her back.”

“My, what are you going to do with her?”

Daniella asked with sparkling eyes, even resting her chin on her hands.

“Well… we won’t be sleeping.”

“Kyaa—”

Elfleda and Daniella screamed like teenage girls.

* * *

“Mmm……”

“Haah.”

Every night, m*ans could be heard from the Empress’s palace that had no owner.

Since the one who had forced Pergos to surrender was forcibly occupying it until the official documents were completed, there was no one to guard the castle or to serve them.

Only the protagonists of that day, referred to as a coup, rebellion, or revolution. Just the two of them were using that vast palace.

“How is there no improvement here?”

“Hm?”

“I mean, whether it’s swordsmanship or military tactics. You learn anything and immediately memorize it and improve, but only here there’s no improvement.”

Caleb said while tightly inserting one finger into Rudbeckia’s entrance.

“Perhaps it’s because the teacher hasn’t taught properly?”

Rudbeckia said with a sensual breath. Her waist lifted each time Caleb’s lips traced the sticky membrane along with his finger.

“Where would you find a better teacher than me.”