Chapter 279

A few more years passed.

With Nerys’s help, the Elandria Family expanded its power tremendously. In this timeline, the Wells Family—once unstoppable—became the leading merchant group among the Empire’s top three, granting the Dukedom of Elandria matching influence and wealth.

The Imperial Family also gained considerable substance. At court, the Crown Princess Consort—once mocked for having all her wealth seized by the state—became a hot topic for her competence in diplomacy. The stern Grand Duchess, Madam Moriah, transferred a vast fortune to the Imperial Family for her niece-in-law, and Princess Camille devoured everything around her like a hyena.

Nerys’s classmates, except for Diane MacKinnon—who had been reported dead—all made successful debuts into society and secured their own positions. All thanks to Megara Lykeandros, the woman most beloved by the Crown Prince. In particular, Angharad Nine, Rhiannon Berta, Alecto Isalani, and Aidalia Kendall—who had pleased Megara during their school days—lived lives that drew everyone’s envy.

Meanwhile, Cledwyn gained more power in Maindulante. The people of the Grand Duchy bowed their heads sincerely to their lord, who handled everything with eerie precision, as if he knew the future.

Ren Fayel, believed outside to have died of Pejalcho addiction, was able to fully display his abilities within the Grand Duchy. And the merchant geniuses of the MacKinnon family—also presumed dead to the outside world—exerted their power to the fullest.

And then the Elandria Family declared independence.

Their justification was the Three Heroes. It was unfair, they argued, that the descendants of Bistor were Emperors while the descendants of Elandria remained mere nobles, despite being descendants of the same heroes. To those who knew the truth, it was a ridiculous quibble, but people took their grievance more seriously than expected. The Elandria Family already possessed substantial power—strength that had grown beyond that of most independent kingdoms.

Perhaps the Imperial Family wanted to reveal that the current Elandria Family were not descendants of the true heroes, but descendants of swindlers the Empire had raised. However, with Nellusion Elandria marrying Bridget, the Pope’s daughter, and already receiving support from many other countries, it was better not to drag up the distant past—a truth that could cut both ways.

Tedious and vague, yet filled with genuine animosity, a war of words surged beneath the surface. Deciding it was now impossible to reabsorb the Dukedom of Elandria, the Imperial Family acknowledged the birth of a new kingdom. Then they announced a new marriage alliance, claiming they would set aside their previous hard feelings.

The marriage of Crown Prince Abelus of the Bistor Empire and Princess Valentin of the Kingdom of Elandria.

It was absurd. Abelus already had a Crown Princess Consort. And yet it seemed everyone had forgotten her—the real Crown Princess Consort, framed as a spy and imprisoned at the very moment the Kingdom of Elandria declared independence.

“Aren’t they all just sons of bitches?”

Ren, who had settled in White Swan Castle, spat the words like a curse. Cledwyn, preparing for the expedition, shot back at once.

“That’s an insult to dogs.”

“Right! They strutted around acting noble and great, and this is what they do—sacrifice a girl as a scapegoat?”

The people of White Swan Castle had a rough idea of Nerys’s situation, and Ren—treated as Cledwyn’s confidant—knew even more. Cledwyn often went down to see Nerys, and when he was unavoidably separated from her, he received reports on her every movement. Ren clicked his tongue at Cledwyn’s face.

(T/N: Wait whuuuttt? Lol. Ren is like his Talfrin now? Hahaha)

“You’re going to save her, right?”

“I want to save her.”

“Why are you saying it like that? You, of all people. You’re always so confident when it comes to everything else.”

“I’m confident this time too.”

Confident only that he would have to witness her death. Ren frowned, unable to make sense of him.

“Really? …Well, if you’re confident, fine. Anyway, catch her this time. You’ve liked her since you were at the Noble Academy.”

To think he would hear those words from Ren one day. Cledwyn let out a harsh laugh.

“I have to catch her. …Now, let’s go.”

Maindulante had many capable people now. Those who should have died in the original timeline—so long as it didn’t interfere with Nerys’s memories—had lived and gathered here. Or those who died in Nerys’s memory had changed their names, or spread rumors of their deaths, and come here.

All that remained was to crash the wedding feast already in full swing.

Cledwyn’s black cloak fluttered in the wind. People with determined faces followed behind him as he strode forward, as if there wasn’t a moment to spare.

❖ ❖ ❖

The heavily guarded atmosphere must not have reached the former Crown Princess Consort imprisoned in the prison tower.

Cledwyn was certain of it as he swiftly occupied the Tipion Marquisate, beheaded the Marquis, and advanced south. Up until Nerys’s imprisonment, situations that made it impossible to raise an army had continued unnaturally, one after another. But now, no one could stop the Maindulante army, no matter how wildly they rampaged.

It was easier because he had done this once before. Cledwyn crushed the Imperial Army as easily as twisting a child’s arm and continued his southward march like lightning. Then, before Pellena—the Imperial Capital—he even shattered the allied forces of the Kingdom of Elandria and the Bistor Empire.

The Imperial Capital, which had been drenched in celebration, turned into a slaughterhouse overnight. People fled in fear, scattering like ants, but Cledwyn didn’t spare them a glance. His only interest was the Imperial Palace.

“Cledwyn Maindulante!”

Abelus, who had sealed the palace gates and begun a siege in his own way, shouted from atop the walls.

“You traitorous bastard! So you’re finally showing your true colors! Do you think you’ll be safe after doing this to the bloodline of humanity’s savior? This entire continent stands with House Bistor!”

Cledwyn didn’t answer. He fired a crossbow bolt.

Abelus went pale as the bolt skimmed past his head, and he vanished behind the battlements.

The resistance didn’t last long. Surrounded by the units led by Aidan, Hilbrin, and Cledwyn, the Imperial Palace collapsed helplessly as the gates were breached one after another. From horseback, Cledwyn looked down at Abelus—betrayed by his subordinate Ralph and dragged in—and asked coldly.

“Where is she?”

“What are you talking about?”

The owner of the Azure Jeweled Eye couldn’t be restrained with ordinary rope and was bound tight in magical restraints. Cledwyn spoke with maddening politeness to Abelus, whose face was twisted with wounded pride.

“My wife, I mean.”

“How would I know where your wife is!”

“In this timeline, you were handed the chance to be a husband to someone like her, and you kicked away the most beautiful, intelligent, and kind woman in the world. Nerys Truydd—the successor of Elandria Gonestruyd.”

Abelus seemed to grasp only half of it, but he burst into laughter as if he understood everything. Then he glared at Cledwyn with spiteful eyes.

“You madman—so that’s what this is? I heard rumors you followed that woman around back at the Noble Academy, but I didn’t believe them. I never thought you—so great in your own right—would have even the slightest interest in that stupid, cunning woman. But it was true? That woman was in league not only with her own family, but with you too… Kugh!”

Cledwyn dismounted and kicked Abelus in the face himself. Even the sturdy body of the Imperial Family crumpled beneath the blow. Looking down at Abelus’s bleeding face, Cledwyn spoke in a voice like ice.

“You couldn’t recognize a good woman and foolishly let her go. And my wife is nothing like you. She never betrayed you once while she was your wife. You’re a dog that barks at anything, but you’re being especially noisy today. I’ll ask again. Where is my wife?”

Abelus tried to keep resisting, but the moment Cledwyn rested a hand on his sword, he clenched his teeth and spat it out.

“My sister! My sister took her! She said corpses are useful, or something!”

“I see. Then I won’t hit you even once for telling me.”

‘Won’t’ hit him even once? How many times had he planned to hit him otherwise?

While Abelus stared in shock, Cledwyn stepped into the Imperial Palace.

The corridors were in ruins—trampled by those who had stolen valuables and fled, and scarred by the fighting. Cledwyn’s pace quickened.

‘Corpse.’

In this timeline, Nerys was dead.

His stomach lurched. He wanted to wither up and die. He never wanted her to suffer even a fingernail’s worth of harm. But for so long he had been forced to watch her be hurt, fall ill, and endure.

And now he was about to face her body.

[Daddy, is Mommy dead?]

The lump of light asked through sobs. Cledwyn ground his teeth.

“She’ll wake up.”

[Right? That’s true, right?]

“Definitely.”

Those words weren’t for the lump of light. He ran, crazed, toward the building used by the Imperial Investigation Unit.

If Camille had taken her away while talking about usefulness, then he knew exactly where Nerys’s body would be.

❖ ❖ ❖

The moment he opened the secret passage, Cledwyn knew he had been right.

Explosive light poured from the room where the Eye of Pheros was sealed. At the same time, a terrifying killing intent and pressure flooded the entire passage.

A magical storm raged so violently it was hard to take even one step. Before shielding his eyes from the blinding light, Cledwyn checked the lump of light clinging to his chest.

“Are you okay?”

The lump of light flared, then shrank again and again—like a candle battered by a strong wind. Cledwyn couldn’t tell whether it was emotion, or whether the violent magic surges were affecting her directly.

A tearful voice answered.

[I… I’m okay, Daddy. What about Mommy…?]

Just as Nerys in this timeline was dead, Nerys in their timeline was alive. They both knew that. But Cledwyn understood the trembling voice, the desolate fear beneath it.

They cherished the same person—so much that even a memory of her suffering was unbearable.

“You wait outside. I’ll go in and check.”

[I’m scared…]

“You see that door with the light leaking out? I’m going in there and coming right back. Nothing will happen, so stay here. Don’t go anywhere else. Got it?”

[Okay…]

The lump of light slipped from Cledwyn’s arms and hovered at the entrance of the secret passage. Cledwyn felt a moment of relief.

Rampaging magic sliced at his face and wrists like blades. His legs felt heavy, as if invisible hands were grabbing and dragging him back. But he didn’t hesitate. He forced himself forward, step by steady step. Small drops of blood fell like scattered dots.

And when he finally entered the room where the Eye of Pheros was sealed, a gruesome ritual filled his vision.

Complex magic circles were densely engraved across the ceiling, walls, and even the floor, flashing gold as they poured out mana. Hanging decorations whipped in the storm and tumbled across the ground, and both altars were filled.

Camille lay collapsed between the two altars, a blood-smeared dagger in her hand. Cledwyn didn’t spare her even a glance, though blood ran from her nose and mouth. He rushed to Nerys’s body, discarded like trash beside the altar that had been empty in his own timeline.

“Nerys.”

Her body was cold and stiff as wood. Cledwyn gasped, unable to breathe as he stared at her broken, pained face. His legs gave out, and he collapsed to the floor, his knees striking hard.

‘She’ll wake up.’

Even as he said it to himself, it felt like he was the one dying. He wanted to die.

‘This isn’t the end.’

Did this world have any meaning? Wouldn’t it be better to kill them all?

‘Now I can go back.’

Then what about her here? Even after Nerys died, the humans left in this timeline were still alive. How were they supposed to pay the price?

This was how she had died in her previous life.

He was furious. So furious his mind went blank. He couldn’t believe a heart could hurt like this.

Even if he drove a sword into his own chest and tore his heart out with bare hands, it wouldn’t be as miserable as this.

‘My child… my child…’

The Eye of Pheros spoke to him. Cledwyn turned toward it with a face full of spite.

“Why did you just stand by and watch until she became like this?”