Episode 0 (Prologue)

prologue

The Grand Duchess fled. This happened while the Archduke was on an expedition.

"Your Majesty, the maid said that only a few clothes were lost from His Majesty's place."

"No valuables or jewelry."

"It appears to have been left untouched."

Hearing the aide's words, the Archduke with a soft brow wrinkled twisted one corner of his mouth.

He took only a few clothes with him to the yard where he ran away.

The wife left everything he had given her away. I knew intuitively what this meant.

She was trying to erase her time as his wife here. She dared, hoping that she would be forever forgotten from him.

The Archduke opened his mouth in a cold, subdued voice.

"Did you have any other contact from the Knights Templar?"

"A message has come saying that they are continuing to pursue His Majesty's chariot. It looks like the siege will be successful soon."

"If you resist, tell them to bring them by force."

The archduke's sullen gaze touched the wedding ring on his ring finger.

She ran away for five days, completely evading the castle's users, but the Archduke managed to locate her within half a day of returning to the castle.

She will be back soon. She had no reason to fret anymore.

However, the impatience rising from the danjeon continued to scratch his nerves.

She should never have run away like this. Since she became his wife, even if she was sick, she had to stay by his side. Although she was tormented, she had to suffer in his eyes.

Julia Caesar, even if he died, had to die in his realm.

The archduke, who slowly opened and closed his bloodshot eyes, struggled to suppress the conflicting emotions.

"I, my lord!"

At that moment, a knight smashed into the office. The knight, who had been panting for a while, continued his gibberish.

"Rain, His Majesty Rain… You are gone!"

"What do you mean?"

The Archduke asked in a sharp tone.

"that is… I checked over and over that you were definitely inside the wagon, but after siege to the wagon, I checked again, and there was no His Majesty. We can't even figure out what kind of English this is... Ugh!"

The Archduke approached in an instant and drew his sword from his waist. As if it would cut off his neck at any moment, his ferocious gaze fell down with the sword.

"Don't be bullshit, just tell me. Where have you disappeared?"

"We are continuing to search the area together with the police and the garrison, but there are no witnesses and the whereabouts are unclear… ."

"Damn bastards."

The archduke threw his sword at random and ruffled his hair wildly.

"I will go by myself. Prepare to speak."

"Yes!"

The Grand Duke reluctantly grinded it. He didn't leave the job to those incompetent bastards.

Even if he didn't move himself, he didn't think that he would get Julia back soon.

"Your Highness, My Highness, may not your Highness have an assistant? It doesn't make sense to say that I was alone with so many knights."

The aide who followed the archduke carefully opened his mouth. And at that moment, a scene suddenly flashed across the Grand Duke's mind.

A few months ago, Illion's priest came to bless the Grand Siege. His wife seemed quite close to the priest.

"Lloyd, you go to the Temple of Million and find the priest who consecrated the castle. There is a possibility that they may be hiding, so search thoroughly."

"Yes!"

If that priest had cooperated with Julia's escape, he would most likely have used his holy power.

If you use your holy power, it won't be difficult to hide your presence or just avert your gaze for a while.

Blue veins sprang up on the back of the Archduke's hand holding the reins. The mere assumption that Julia might be with her other man raised her indescribable rage.

But underneath it was a hatred for herself, which she had been indifferent to the whole time.

Know. When Julia left, she eventually knew that she had done it herself.

* * *

"Don't miss a single one, search all of them."

The Archduke thoroughly searched all the buildings on the streets of the city.

Even so, he was not relieved, so he placed some knights to search even a small private house.

The Archduke left the wall with the rest of the knights. As we entered the vicinity of the carriage station, people headed to other areas flocked to the area.

When the road was blocked, the procession of the Archduke stopped.

"Your Majesty, going back to another place… ."

"for a moment."

His gaze rested near the crowded ticket office. Exactly, to a woman who was mixed in it.

It was only for a moment, but Julia's face was visible. Obviously, she was right.

"Majesty?"

The Archduke got off his horse and hurriedly jumped into the crowd. He hastened her steps, staring at the back of the woman in the robe as if to eat.

"Yulia!"

Perhaps not hearing his cry, the woman continued walking without looking back. Her archduke, who caught up with her at once, grabbed her by the shoulder and turned her around.

When the hood was pulled back, the woman opened her eyes and showed a confused face. She wasn't Julia.

"Shit… ."

With his face crumpled and swearing, the woman who had been hesitating stepped back slowly.

The moment the woman was about to turn around, a pendant hanging from her neck suddenly caught her eye.

Without time to think of anything, his body moved first. The Archduke grabbed the woman's arm and cut the pendant string from her neck at once.

". … !"

The metallic pendant strings were shattered and scattered. The woman waved the archduke's hand with a startled look. At the same time, a light filled with holy energy permeated her surroundings.

Soon, the unfamiliar face gradually changed to that of a woman he knew well.

A pale white face. Light brown hair with low saturation. Frightened blue eyes.

This woman, who was looking at him with a hard face, was his wife, Julia.

"under… ."

He smirked with a complicated expression on his face. Seeing the bewildered face of his wife, instead of anger, he felt miserable.

How should I face my wife, who even performed camouflage to escape from me?

"Uh, how did you know?"

Yulia muttered with a disappointed expression. She didn't seem to have expected that she, too, would be captured so vainly.

He clenched the pendant egg in his hand, as if to break it, as if chewing it.

"This pendant has a faint stamina."

"ah… ."

Julia bit her lower lip with a disappointed face. The Archduke pulled her hand rough.

"Now go back. That's enough trouble for me."

The knights who were approaching all of a sudden surrounded the two of them. There was no more escape.

With her eyes closed, Julia was meekly drawn to him. There was nothing more she could do in her yard, even her pendant was taken away.

He moved to the place where he had tied up the horse and held her on the saddle at once. Riding her naturally behind her, he pulled her into her arms.

"Yulia."

"… … ."

The Archduke looked at her for a moment without answering, and then pulled the reins.

Light brown hair fluttered and tickled his neck. They ran for a long time without saying a word.

Julia was now in his arms. He had no more reason to be anxious. However, the anxiety that had built up in the danjeon did not go away even with the passage of time.

It looked like she was going to disappear like smoke at any moment.

They escaped safely from the city center and entered the forest road. A procession of knights marched forward, protecting the Grand Duke and his wife.

The Archduke looked down at Julia's little back. She wanted to know what kind of expression she would have. Whatever you say, she wanted to confirm my presence with her voice.

"majesty."

At that moment, she called to him in a quiet voice. The end of the soft voice was slightly split.

The Grand Duke slowed his hastily running momentum and listened to her. Julia turned her head to look at him.

"… it's hard. Get some rest."

There was a look of exhaustion on her face. After thinking for a moment, he stopped his speech completely. The knights running in the distance also stopped.

We had to drive a few more hours to get to the castle. With her stamina, it would definitely be a challenge.

The Archduke said something to the knight who approached him. The knight who did the silence soon disappeared to the other side.

"I told you to bring the wagon. It won't take long."

"yes."

After getting off the horse and passing him indifferently, Julia sat casually on the grass in the distance.

The Archduke went to her side, biting the knights who were trying to follow him.

Julia squatted down and touched the hem of her worn-out robe meaninglessly. He murmured as he looked at the back of his tender hands, whose bones were raised.

"I think I'm leaner now."

"… … ."

"In the meantime, where have you been?"

Julia lowered her head deeper without answering. The Archduke did not give in and continued to ask questions.

"Did you go with the priest of Million?"

"… … ."

"… He must have given you the pendant too."

Julia trembled at the words that were muttering as if chewing. The Archduke, who did not miss the sight, continued speaking in a tone that became cold for an instant.

"If you don't want to answer, do it. You can catch him and question him."

"… Don't hurt innocent people. He has nothing to do with me."

When Yulia, who had been silent, suddenly answered, the Archduke wrinkled his eyebrows. She raised her gaze to the floor and looked straight at my husband.

"Why did you look for me?"

She looked like she couldn't understand the situation. She looked a little angry. The Archduke felt his stomach twisted, and shrugged in a cold tone.

"My wife is gone, but is there anyone who is still?"

"… To His Majesty, was I your wife?"

Julia raised her lips without energy. The Prince opened his lips with a complicated expression and then closed it tightly. His heart throbbed as if something had stabbed him.

Julia, who was looking at him quietly, got up. And he walked along the path.

I knew what it meant to be alone. But it couldn't be that way. The Archduke followed her from a distance.

Julia, who had been walking for a long time without a word, stopped. The Archduke stopped at once and frowned at the panoramic view.

Beneath the sheer cliff, a strong river was flowing. Was there such a place in this forest?

"Yulia, come this way."

The moment I called her with a certain ominous feeling, she turned and pulled something out of her arms.

"you… ."

The Archduke looked at her with a slightly bewildered look. Julia was pointing her sword at him.

Her hands gripped the hilt of the hilt and trembled. The Archduke paused for a moment as if shocked by her, but quickly killed her expression and approached her. She staggered back to her and hit her back.

"Don't come near. If you come any closer, I'll really stab you... ."

"Do whatever you feel like."

She will never stab him. A good-natured Julia Caesar would never do anything to hurt her.

That was his wife, whom the Grand Duke had seen.

After the Archduke took a few big steps, Yulia staggered and stepped back.

If I get stabbed by that sword here, she'll come back to me even if she's sorry. If so, you could be hit with a knife or a gun many times over.

"Wait, Julia."

It was the moment when the direction of the blade was reversed that cracked his calm face.

The sword that was aimed at him was now aimed at herself.

"Damn, put that knife down!"

With the momentum of the Archduke who seemed to rush at any moment, she pushed her sword closer to the nape of her neck.

Red blood dripped from his white neck. With that, she slowly stepped back from her.

The Archduke flinched and stopped. Because if I got any closer than this, she would really stab me in the neck.

"Shit… Don't move any further! me, i was wrong So… ."

The more she retreated, the more the Archduke prayed with a face like he was about to die.

While he was trembling, unable to approach hastily, her steps gradually approached the edge of the cliff.

"… majesty."

"Please, please don't do this. I'm all wrong you will do what you want Julia, so... ."

The Archduke was trembling, unable to hide his widened eyes. Unbelievable that he was such a cold and heartless husband.

Julia smiled sadly. His eyes, every word... There was a time when it was my everything.

Days that were shattered in just one glance, even if we were ignored dozens of times.

A time when I loved him even though I was struggling with loneliness.

Standing at the edge of the cliff, Julia carefully engraved the face of her husband, who was once my world, into her eyes.

"… It's too late."

If not now, you will never be able to escape from him. He will love him again.

"Unfortunately, what I've been through is enough."

Now I want to be happy too.

"Yulia!"

Looking at her desperately rushing husband, Julia threw herself down the cliff.