Kael especially loved this blood-red hibiscus tea. Neither its tangy flavor nor the raw, grassy scent it left in her mouth appealed to Archel, but the only reason she had ever claimed to like it was Kael. She wanted to share his tastes.
Perhaps it was because she had just come from such an uncomfortable gathering, or perhaps she had simply been too exhausted lately. Either way, the tea tasted especially sharp today. Maybe he noticed the frown that had unconsciously drawn her brows together, because Kael lifted his teacup to his lips and said,
“Seems like it was brewed especially strong today. Actually, I made it while waiting for Chel’s council meeting to end. I must have lost track of time worrying about you.”
Seeing Kael’s awkward, apologetic expression, Archel faltered. Blaming herself for failing to control her expression, she shook her head.
“No. I’m just a little tired. The tea is excellent.”
“...Chel, you’re always so kind.”
Kael’s gaze clung intently to Archel’s fingertips as she set down her teacup. In the next instant, the cup slipped with a sharp clang and fell onto its saucer.
Archel’s fingertips trembled as though all their strength had drained away. The trembling began at the ends of her body—her fingers and toes—and started to spread. She tried to rise from her seat at the unpleasant sensation, but her body creaked stiffly and refused to obey.
“...Ah...?”
Archel had been born the noble only daughter and crown princess of the Orse imperial family, where every hand was precious, and ascended to the throne at a young age after her imperial father passed away. She had worked tirelessly to ensure that no one could find even the smallest flaw in her after she became emperor so young, and the thing she had mastered most ruthlessly was etiquette. In other words, even if she woke from sleep and drank tea, she would never drop her teacup.
Archel felt a cold sensation climb up her arm as her body slowly began to stiffen.
“...Kae...l...?”
Archel looked at Kael with wavering eyes. Holding his teacup, Kael stared at her and smiled.
As if to show her, he lifted the cup and slowly—leisurely—tilted it toward the floor. Red tea spilled across the ground. The porcelain clattered and rolled away.
“You went to the trouble of drinking tea you don’t even like, for my sake, Your Majesty.”
His voice was calm, and his face wore the same gentle smile as always, yet it was cold enough to make her ache.
“...Wh...what...?”
Kael chuckled as he watched Archel’s shocked expression, looking genuinely delighted. The faint sounds of commotion drifted in from outside.
“They’ve made it this far. Ha... What an exhausting wait.”
Kael glanced toward the door at the disturbance outside, then looked back at her with a smile. His beautiful smile bloomed, the very same one that had always made Archel’s heart flutter.
Kuh—hack! Archel suddenly vomited blood. Red veins stood out in her eyes.
“...Ngh... Kae...l...”
“Do you have any idea how painful it was for me, having to spend all those days with you at my side and still being unable to strangle you?”
Kael rose from his seat and approached until he stood before Archel. His pale blue eyes looked down at her coldly. Archel moved her stiff neck and looked up at him.
“...I like seeing you beneath me.”
A vile smile bloomed at the corners of his mouth. Archel coughed up another mouthful of blood as hot tears spilled down her cheeks.
“...Why...?”
As though he liked the betrayal written across Archel’s face, Kael gripped her chin and forced her to meet his gaze.
“You said you loved me. But the thing is, I’ve never loved you—not for a single moment.”
Kael spat out the words as if grinding them between his teeth. His eyes were filled with vicious resentment and hatred. Archel couldn’t understand the meaning behind that gaze, but she couldn’t back down now.
There was a taboo within the imperial family, as inviolable as an unwritten law: the emperor must never directly use the Mark of Dominion on those under her rule. Archel’s sense of self as emperor was too strong for her to have ever used her power, not even once—even by accident as a child. With Kael, she had never even imagined doing such a thing.
But this was also Kael’s only chance, with her acting as though she were completely in the palm of his hand. Archel’s crimson eyes flared an intense blue—
—Stop.
In an instant, Kael’s body locked rigid with a jolt.
“...R...Ren... Ren Cassius...!”
Summoning every last bit of her strength, she screamed. It felt as though her throat were tearing apart, but—
Bang!!!!
Her knight, Ren Cassius, entered the room with the crash. Archel smiled faintly at the sight of him. He hadn’t even had time to put on his armor and was carrying a sword dripping with blood. Behind him, Imperial Knights blocked the doorway as if protecting him, cutting down the enemies who tried to break through.
“Your Majesty...!”
Ren rushed to her in an instant and assessed her condition.
“Your Majesty. Are you all right?”
At the sound of his low voice, the fury boiling inside her began to settle. Seeing Archel squeeze her eyes shut in grief, unable to say a word, Ren knocked away Kael’s hand from her face and carefully helped her upright.
He wrapped his unarmed arm around Archel, lifted her against his chest, and left the room.
“Protect Her Majesty!”
Ren shouted as he carried her outside, and the Imperial Knights escorted them as they moved swiftly down the corridor. The deep hum and sharp clash of weapons came from every direction. Shouts and screams rang through the air. The imperial palace had already become a battlefield.
Another gush of blood spilled from Archel’s mouth. Ren ground his teeth as he examined her pale face.
“We’re out of time. We’re breaking through.”
“Yes!”
With the other Imperial Knights covering him, Ren continued to swing his sword. He was both the possessor of a rare power that appeared only once every half century and a remarkably skilled swordsman. Hailed as the Empire’s greatest swordsman and said to be destined to reach the rank of Swordmaster in only a few years, he nevertheless faced far too many enemies standing in his way.
“...Ren...”
“...Ngh, yes, Your Majesty. Please save your strength. The poison will spread further.”
A blade Ren failed to block grazed his shoulder, spraying blood. The blood that spattered Archel’s face was hot. She could feel his breathing grow ragged.
“Ngh—”
Ren twisted his body to evade the attack, but the slash that cut across his waist was a grave wound. Clenching his teeth, he swung his sword and severed the enemy’s neck. The arm holding Archel was as solid as iron, but both Archel and Ren could feel his strength gradually ebbing away.
Ren suddenly stopped. House Edelhardt’s private soldiers were blocking the corridor ahead.
“Commander, we’ll hold them off. Go.”
“...Understood. Survive.”
As the Imperial Knights surged forward to stop them, Ren changed direction and ran.
“...Where...?”
“There’s a secret passage in the room at the end of this corridor.”
Blood flowed ceaselessly from Ren’s body, soaking Archel. By now, she could no longer move her limbs. She could barely move from the neck up, and when she lifted her head to look at Ren’s face—
Whoosh—thunk! Thunk!
Ren’s body jerked several times with each impact. Archel sucked in a breath. Arrows were buried in his back.
“...Ren...!”
“I’m fine.”
Ren forced a smile at Archel and kept running as though nothing were wrong. There was no way he could be fine with blood pouring from him like this.
At the end of the corridor, he saw a door.
“We’re... here, Your Majesty.”
Ren kicked the door open and entered. And in that instant,
“Kuh—hack,”
Thud! A sword drove through Ren’s abdomen. As his body reeled violently, Archel fell from his arms and rolled across the floor.
“...R...Ren...!”
Her vision spun. Unable to comprehend what had happened so suddenly, Archel rolled across the floor before laboriously turning her head to search for her knight.
“Kuh... hack... K...Kael... E...Edel...hard...t...”
What she saw was her knight kneeling with a sword plunged through him.
“Ah, Ren Cassius. I’m finally going to kill you.”
Ren had seized the sword piercing his abdomen with one hand. Following the blade upward with her gaze, Archel saw Kael smiling viciously.
“...Re...n...!”
With her body already completely rigid, Archel could do nothing but release a scream-like breath.
“Your damn erasure... Do you have any idea how troublesome it was?”
The sword piercing Ren was yanked free in an instant, then swung straight across his neck. Before Archel’s eyes, her knight—unable even to close his eyes—crumpled to the ground with his head severed.
Not even a scream escaped her lips. Perhaps even her vocal cords had finally stiffened, because Archel trembled in that same position.
“Ahahaha, hahahah! Ah, Archel. My Archel.”
Laughing heartily, Kael approached her with his sword hanging at his side, blood dripping from its blade, then crouched before her.
“Who would’ve thought you’d use dominion on me? Ha! I let my guard down too much.”
Still laughing, Kael tapped her head with his hand. Tap. Tap. He glared at her with a look of contempt.
By now, even Archel’s head had stiffened. She couldn’t move her eyes.
“The day has finally come. The day I kill you... with my own hands!”
She could barely see his face, but his voice, steeped in ecstasy, was utterly nauseating. Archel felt as though the betrayal were rotting her insides away.
“Chel, there’s one thing I should tell you. I’ve never loved you—not for a single moment.”
Kael’s cold face held no trace of a smile as he raised the sword drenched in Ren’s blood.
“When you get to the afterlife, apologize to Sofia—the woman you killed. This is all your karma.”
Then he drove his sword down into her chest.