Madelyn’s mood as she waited for news of Oliver’s death soured as more time went by. No reports came in, although it had been hours since Marquis Brown left for the mission. Cassana shifted uncomfortably, then spoke to the Empress.
“Your Majesty. I’ve sent someone to check on the situation, and they will bring news soon.”
“…”
Madelyn did not respond. As it was now, a delay likely meant that their assassination attempt had not gone as planned. She couldn’t figure out why yet. Brown Marquis had amassed a considerable force, and Madelyn had sent additional troops as well. The chances of such a failure were slim, and even in that event, a report wouldn’t come in so late.
‘What the hell happened there?’
There had been a thorough investigation of Oliver’s sword fighting skills and number of guards he had taken with him. After sending assassins after him for years, she naturally amassed large amounts of data on his ability. Unless the ambush was leaked beforehand, it would be impossible for Oliver to survive.
‘…Unless someone else got involved that I did not expect.’
Oliver was as persistent as a cockroach, but even she didn’t know how even he could return from the battle…
The atmosphere around Madelyn turned foul, and her eyes gleamed like a snake.
Beolkeog!
The door was suddenly flung open, and Cesare—Madelyn’s younger brother and head of the Anita family—stormed inside, looking like an angry red lion.
“Sister.”
At Cesare’s call, Madelyn looked at him and demanded answers.
“Tell me. It must be bad seeing as you’re here instead of a messenger. What happened?”
“They’re…”
Cesare uncharacteristically seemed unable to find his words. Then he shouted angrily.
“They’re all dead!”
“…What?”
“I just came back after seeing it with my own eyes. They were all wiped out.”
“Every man there?”
“Yes, my sister.”
Madelyn was in stunned disbelief. Failure was possible, yes, but a complete massacre? That wasn’t possible. No matter how quickly Oliver’s reinforcements arrived, it didn’t make sense. However, contrary to Madelyn’s thoughts, Cesare’s answer remained unchanged.
“I didn’t believe the messenger, so I went there and saw the bodies piled up like mountains.”
Kwaang!
Normally a figure of calm, Madelyn hit the arm of her chair impatiently.
“How is that possible?!”
“Given that the bodies appear to be torn apart with the claws of a beast, perhaps the blood lust…”
Cesare trailed off, and glanced at Cassana standing next to Empress Madelyn. It was not something he could speak of to even the closest of aides. Cassana sensed her intrusion and quickly spoke.
“I’ll leave you to speak freely. I’ll be waiting outside.”
At those words, Cassana took all the other maidservants outside the room, and soon it became quiet again. Cesare gave a cautious glance around, but no one else was in the vicinity. With the two of them alone, Madelyn first spoke with a stiffened expression.
“Even the blood lust would not give him that much strength.”
“That’s what I’m curious about. Damn it. The dragon’s blood is strong. It keeps him persisting.”
“He does not have the ability to control it at will…so why did that power reveal itself now?”
Madelyn looked on in displeasure. As empress, she knew that dragon’s blood flowed through Oliver’s veins. Because of that extraordinary power, Oliver became the crown prince and was able to cheat death several times.
Madelyn was not a fool and continued to consider it into her calculations when she deployed her assassins; and while Oliver was a monster, it didn’t mean he was immortal. However, it was not easy to accept failure once again.
“…Something strange.”
There was something different from the previous times and tonight. Something more that Madelyn didn’t know.
“Are there no survivors?”
“None, my sister.”
“I don’t care how, but find a witness one way or another. If you can’t find out, buy off one of Oliver’s people. There must be something. Something I don’t know…”
“Very well. Leave it to me.”
Madelyn gradually calmed her nerves and rolled her head. After this catastrophic failure, it was likely she would be traced next. Now, it was time to throw out the Brown family as a meat shield.
“First, get rid of evidence of any connection with the Brown family. Don’t let anyone know we were involved in this.”
“Yes, sister.”
At Cesare’s reply, Madelyn pressed her fingers against her temple.
“We need more information about Oliver again.”
Amanda pushed herself hard, and she rapidly ascended up the knighthood ranks. That was a massive achievement in and of itself, but she still wasn’t satisfied.
— Leader, did you stay up all night?
Amanda always stayed at the training center, to the point where she forgot where her sleeping quarters were. Almost every night she lay awake. To fall into a deep sleep meant less time training with a sword, and even when she overworked her body, she refused to collapse.
Whenever she closed her eyes, she always went back to that final night at Windsor Castle. Red torches flickered in its hallways, and shouts of alarm echoed through its halls. In her imagination, Amelia would scream to her for help.
—Sister! Amanda! Help! Help me!
Amanda could not save Amelia even in her dreams. No matter how hard she tried, her brother Aaron led her out the city, and she was forced to abandon her precious sister. Aaron’s last words were always the same.
— Go. Go and survive, sister.
So she had to escape.
Escape and endure the bitter curse that was life. She had abandoned Amelia, and Aaron sacrificed himself. Revenge, resentment, and regret cycled through her over and over again. It was such a memory that, however long had passed, it had never faded.
Oliver, who never lacked in anything, looked like he would collapse on her death. If she was gone, she worried that he would spend the rest of his life in sorrow.
She didn’t want that.
‘…I don’t want to die.’
She wanted to stay with Oliver a little longer if she could. She wanted to make him happy, and to be happy by his side. Parting from him now would only make things worse.
As Amanda grew more desperate for life, she started to feel a burning pain on her back. It was so severe that a thin moan came out of her mouth.
“…Uuun.”
She opened her eyes, but her vision was too blurry to distinguish anything. Suddenly, several voices sounded urgently in her ear, but there was only one that she latched on to.
“Damn it! She’s hurting! Is this the right way to do it?”
It was Oliver. She could clearly hear the terror in his voice.
“Y-Your Highness, this is the only way.”
“If she can’t get up after this, I’ll kill everyone. Whatever you do, save her!”
Jobbers’s voice of reassurance spoke up behind Oliver’s shouting.
“Calm down, Your Highness. The doctors are trying their best.”
“Best? If anyone talks about just trying, I’ll cut their throats first. I don’t care about the process, just bring results!”
The present situation was so tense that it didn’t seem unusual if he even stabbed someone. But the ice-cold atmosphere shattered when Amanda gave a tiny groan.
“…Ah.”
Someone grabbed Amanda’s hand. Her vision wasn’t quite clear, but the hot touch alone proved that it was Oliver.
“…Amanda, if you leave me, I won’t forgive you.”
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Oliver’s tone was forceful, but strangely desperate.
“Hold on.”
She wanted to open her eyes and look at his face, but a sharp pain shot through her like lightning and she screamed.
“Aaaagh!”
As her agonized screams became louder, she could hear Oliver in front of her. Although it was she who was in pain, it was like Oliver was hurting more.
Amanda lost consciousness again.