The Adelina Empire, the Empress’s Palace.

“Duke Crussian is cultivating a friendship with Lord Carlo Siren?”

Empress Scarlet, reclining languidly on the sofa with her long, luxuriant red hair cascading around her, was captivating yet sharp.

“Yes. They have been growing closer since the duke asked Carlo’s escort knight to participate in the war. Moreover, I hear the duke’s daughter, Lady Roselina, is infatuated with Lord Carlo.”

Scarlet continued to smile as she closed her eyes. Although she appeared serene, her escort knight could tell that she was displeased.

They had to tread carefully at times like this. The knight signalled to the man who was slowly massaging Scarlet’s legs with provocative strokes. Understanding immediately, he quietly left the room.

“I will have the attendant return later.”

Although they called him an attendant, the man massaging her legs was no different from a slave—a slave Scarlet could take whenever she desired. The noble empress of the Adelina Empire was wanton and depraved.

“Is the duke thinking of betraying me? If so… I believe I will be very displeased.”

Her voice was soft and gentle, yet honed to a razor’s edge.

“But could Lord Carlo truly pose a threat? He has already been cast out of the succession and is living a life of debauchery in Circlezia.”

Another of Scarlet’s close aides spoke up. Carlo was a notorious womanizer who was constantly embroiled in scandals with various noblewomen. The aide meant that, as he possessed no influence whatsoever, Carlo was incapable of doing anything.

“There are also rumors that he is completely enamored with Lady Roselina.”

“Hmm….”

Scarlet’s gaze turned ominous upon hearing her aide’s words. Just then, an attendant’s voice came from beyond the door.

“Your Majesty, the Duchess of Siren requests an audience.”

“Sophia?”

Sophia was the woman who had stolen the place that rightfully belonged to Carlo’s mother.

“Let her in.”

Scarlet clicked her tongue and curled her lips, displaying an attitude wholly unbecoming toward a duchess of the empire. To her, Sophia was still merely Duke Crussian’s mistress and a pawn that had outlived its usefulness.

“Greetings, Your Majesty.”

Empress Scarlet regarded Sophia’s proper bow with disinterest and merely nodded.

“What is it?”

Sophia could not have failed to notice Scarlet’s cold demeanour, given that she questioned her without even inviting her to sit down.

Scarlet did not seem willing to offer her so much as a cup of tea. Although her pride was hurt, Sophia took a seat and forced a smile.

“Your Majesty, I assume you have heard the reports concerning Duke Crussian and Lord Carlo?”

Scarlet was already displeased by the report she had just received, and Sophia’s words only made matters worse. The faint smile she had been trying to maintain disappeared instantly, turning the atmosphere in the room frigid.

“And?”

“…Pardon?”

“I said, and?”

Sophia flinched at Scarlet’s murderous expression. The look in her eyes, as though she would tolerate no more, was exceedingly fierce. Scarlet had indeed been wondering how much longer she should put up with Sophia.

‘She should know her place and quietly enjoy a life of luxury now that she has become a duchess. Tsk.’

This was not the first time that Scarlet had been irritated by Sophia’s attempts to gain honor and prestige for herself.

Sophia’s reputation in high society was terrible. Not only was she of exceedingly humble birth, but she was also widely regarded as the wicked mistress who had driven out the deeply respected former duchess.

The nobles only refrained from openly voicing their contempt for Sophia because she had Scarlet’s backing. As she was known to be the Empress’s favorite, they forced themselves to smile in her presence.

‘Has she come to ask me to punish someone else again?’

Sophia constantly sought out Scarlet to complain and beg for her help, demanding that she punish whichever noblewoman had dared to look down on her.

Scarlet had once used Sophia to draw the Duke of Crussian to her side, but she had now become nothing more than an annoyance.

“Y-Your Majesty. If Lord Carlo happens to be harboring ulterior motives….”

“Ulterior motives?”

“What if he intends to return and claim the dukedom again…!!”

“Enough!!”

Not a trace of a smile remained on Scarlet’s face. She was furious, and Sophia’s body trembled.

“Do not come to see me again without permission. Get out at once!”

“Y-Your Majesty!!”

Sophia desperately clung to her, but at Scarlet’s signal to remove her, the knight seized Sophia by the arm and dragged her out of the room.

“Let go!! I said, let go of me! Do you have any idea who I am?!”

Sophia screamed like a prisoner being dragged to a dungeon, and the moment the knight released her arm, she swung her hand at him.

Slap!!

“How dare you!!! How dare you lay your hands on a duchess!!”

“….”

But the knight merely bowed his head slightly before turning and walking away. He had disregarded Sophia to the very end.

“How dare you… How dare you…!!!”

Sophia was furious to be dragged out of the Empress’s Palace like a criminal, but she was even more enraged that an escort knight had dared to treat her with such contempt. However, the humiliation she had suffered at Scarlet’s hands wounded her pride more deeply than anything else.

‘Does she no longer need me? After everything I’ve done, how can she suddenly treat me as a nuisance?”

Born to an obscure baron, Sophia had always feared fading into obscurity without ever shining in noble society.

This was precisely why she had immediately accepted Scarlet’s secret proposition to seduce Duke Siren, a man ten years her senior. It had not been an easy decision, but she could not let the opportunity to become a duchess slip through her fingers.

“She gained immense power because I seduced the duke…”

The duke was utterly infatuated with Sophia and granted her every wish, even when it meant taking Scarlet’s side. However, after placing such tremendous power in Scarlet’s hands, the empress now treated Sophia as though she were worthless.

“You should not treat me this way. After everything I have done for Your Majesty.”

Sophia murmured as she glared at the Empress’s Palace.

With her fists clenched and her body trembling in fury, Sophia looked dangerously unstable.

***

The war in the Northern Territory of Circlezia had continued for more than a week.

As the clashes continued, the number of wounded and dead soldiers rose, and there was not a single day when the blood on their swords had time to dry. But of all those blades, Laila’s bore the most blood.

“Haah.”

Laila was tending to her sword with lifeless hands. She had used it so extensively that the blade was chipped and gradually losing its function.

One week. It had only been one week. Yet far too many people had died in that time, and Laila had changed.

‘I want to stop.’

She felt as though she were gradually becoming a demon of war. Now, whenever she saw a knight holding a sword, whether friend or foe, she felt an overwhelming compulsion to cut them down. Unable to escape the vivid corpses she saw even when she closed her eyes, Laila finally curled in on herself.

“Ugh….”

‘Carlo. I miss you. This is too hard for me….’

The more blood from other people stained her hands, the more Carlo’s face began to fade from her memory. She had loved him for seven years, yet she could no longer remember his face, his voice or the warmth of his embrace.

Laila was terrified that she might shatter completely at this rate.

If only she could see Carlo. If only he would appear before her now…

Just then, someone approached with a rustling sound.

“Dame Laila!”

It was Nathan Riot—the man who, at some point, had begun constantly hovering around her.

“Are you all right? Why are you…!”

His face had turned strangely pale, seemingly alarmed to find Laila curled up on the ground.

“I’m all right.”

She did not know why he had to appear at a moment like this, but Laila concealed her distress and rose to her feet. She did not want anyone else to see her falter.

But Nathan was not deceived by her clumsy lie.

“Your face is deathly pale. I cannot believe you when you say you are all right.”

“….”

“Please sit down first. Your hands are trembling.”

Laila was suddenly overcome by a strange feeling. Although she had first met this man on the battlefield, he was now suffering over her anxiety and anguish as though they were his own. For this reason, she could not bring herself to insist once more that she was fine.

“May I hold your hand?”

“…Pardon?”

When Laila sat down again, Nathan asked cautiously, adding an explanation as though to assure her that he had no ulterior motive.

“I have seen many soldiers tormented by the lingering images of war. And I came to realize that what they need most when they are suffering is another person’s warmth.”

“….”

As Laila silently gazed at Nathan’s large hands, he extended both palms toward her.

“I merely wish to share my warmth with you.”

The warmth of another person.

Perhaps he was right.

With every swing of her sword, she took two or three lives. The more her heart grew cold, the more lifeless bodies there were. To ease the guilt and cold that she could not escape, she needed the warmth of another human being.

Laila slowly reached out and curled her fingers around Nathan’s. The warmth that carried through that small touch was more powerful than she could have imagined.

As his gentle, comforting warmth spread throughout her body from their joined fingertips, tears slipped from her eyes before she realized she was crying.

“Hngh… Hic.”

“Shh. It’s all right. You may cry.”

Holding Laila’s trembling hands tightly, Nathan closed his eyes and spoke.

“I’ll keep my eyes closed like this, so cry as much as you need.”

“Hngh… Ugh.”

Looking utterly disheveled, Nathan held out both his hands to her and kept his eyes firmly shut.

A week of war had left visible wounds on his body and his hair and clothes were covered in dust because he had not been able to bathe properly.

And yet, he shone brightly.

He was the only person shedding light on the depths of hell.