Lizzy Poliana Claudia (12)

"..."

Ferzen stood there in a daze, watching as the Imperial Family's Warlock concluded their feedback process and delivered the information to the officials.

No matter how certain someone was about something, they could not push it unless they had physical evidence to prove it.

After the officials organized the contents, they reported it to the Emperor...

"Lizzy Poliana Claudia."

Her name echoed softly through the quiet execution site.

Squeeze-!!

When Lizzy heard her name being called, she felt like it was a message that would let her know that it would soon be her turn to die.

She held Cesar's headless body in her hands and looked at the guillotine with her blurred vision.

"We have uncovered your attempt to inform us about your family's rebellion in advance. Thus, right here, right now, I will announce that you are free of any charge."

"Ah..."

"However, your title will still be taken from you. But don't worry, you will be able to restore your honor through your exploits in the upcoming wars."

Murmur-!!

The atmosphere inside the quiet execution site began to stir.

The people were surprised about the fact that Lizzy had managed to avoid the death penalty. However, the center of their attention was not that, but the fact that the Emperor had directly mentioned the words 'war'.

Of course, Lizzy was also shocked like the audience. She couldn't even open her mouth properly.

She didn't even know that her brothers had planned a rebellion. Even if she knew, she was sure that she would not inform the Imperial Family of the fact in advance.

From her point of view, the fact that Roer and Cesar died leaving her alone was still unbelievable.

Is this a terrible nightmare?

Slam-!!

Thud-!!

However, as the guards approached her and removed all the shackles on her hands and feet, Lizzy felt her sense of reality return.

"Eu, ah..."

It was a nonsensical truth.

Rather than making her live this miserable life, it would have been better if they took her with them.

Or is this just one of Ferzen's ploys to make her suffer even more for the crime of baring her teeth?

Step-!!

At that moment, as if he was able to read her thoughts, Ferzen came closer to her.

With a confused look on her face, Lizzy looked up at his cold expression.

However, he did not show the slightest hint of ridicule to mock her situation on his face. He only muttered in a low voice to the guards standing behind him.

"Call maids to give her a bath and send a doctor to tend to her wounds."

"I understand."

The guards, who had been moving toward Lizzy, did as they were ordered to and extended their hand towards her. As they did so, Lizzy's body began to tremble all over.

She had been subjected to their merciless violence in the dungeon, so she couldn't help but flinch instinctively.

However, because that was all the resistance she could offer, Lizzy soon rose to her feet, thanks to being held by the guards' hands. At that moment, she looked towards Ferzen.

She squeezed all of the remaining strength from within her tattered and battered body to resist the guards from taking her away.

Then, with her trembling hands, she managed to grab the hem of Ferzen's clothes.

"How much..."

Her chapped, dry lips could hardly part. Even so, she felt like she wouldn't be able to hold on if she didn't voice these feelings…

"Just… How… Much…"

Lizzy desperately opened her mouth and let out a voice filled with despair.

"Just… How… Much… Do you want me to..."

Do you think that making people miserable will help them resolve their true nature?

Ferzen could hear the words that continued to ring in his ears, like an auditory hallucination.

They said that a beautiful woman would still be beautiful even when she cried, but is that really true?

Looking at Lizzy, whose tears had distorted her once beautiful face, Ferzen couldn't help but think that the only word that could describe her now was "ugly"…

Ferzen shook off Lizzy's fragile hands, which clung to the hem of his clothes, as he contemplated how ugly she had become. Then, he turned his back to watch Lizzy's figure gradually move away as she was dragged by the guards.

Did she think that he had done this with the intention of making her even more miserable? Or did she believe that he had done this out of sympathy? If so, it was a truly absurd delusion.

"Lizzy."

Lizzy Poliana Claudia.

'I...'

Today, more than anyone else in this world, I wish for your death.

Why did your brothers leave you behind and make me witness the consequences of my sins?

Step-!!

"..."

The reason his wish could not be fulfilled was simply because it wasn't possible.

Ferzen stood silently amidst the execution site and closed his eyes after watching Cesar's body being carried away.

The experience of defeat was truly bitter.

* * * * *

Although no official announcement had been made, the Emperor had unofficially mentioned that there would be a 'war.'

As a result, the entire market in the Ernes Empire, including the capital, faced a cataclysm.

Even though it was already fall and the last harvest had been decent, grain prices began to skyrocket.

In the meantime, families with only one son tried to adopt another to send to the battlefield in place of their true son.

While the world was in turmoil, Lizzy was the only one lying peacefully in bed.

Rustle-!

She opened her eyes at 2 in the morning, which was quite late.

Flinch-!

The moment she came to her senses, the first thing that greeted her was her aching body and the pain that instantly drove away her drowsiness.

Since she was no longer in a position to be high-strung, her brain naturally began to recognize the pain in the areas where she had been hit.

An IV fluid mixed with pain-relieving medication had been injected into her blood vessels through her delicate arms.

However, the pain near her ribs that ached every time she made even the slightest of movement made it difficult for her to breathe.

"You need to sleep a little longer."

"..."

The owner of the voice she heard as her mind gradually became clearer was an elderly doctor dressed in a white gown who was sitting next to her bed.

"Please take this. I heard it belongs to you."

"..."

As she watched the doctor hand her the altar which had been confiscated, back to her, Lizzy quickly snatched it and clutched it to her chest.

"I will ask the maid to prepare a simple meal for you, so please eat it and take some medicine afterward. Once you are done, you should go back to sleep."

"..."

Even though Lizzy didn't reply, the doctor didn't say anything more.

Lizzy, who was sitting in a daze, as if she was a living corpse, gently stroked her altar a moment later and opened her subspace.

"May I bring a corpse?"

"...You may."

She controlled the corpse that normally served her with her magical power and made it bring a wheelchair to her.

When Lizzy, who could barely move, sat in it and tried to leave the room, the doctor grabbed the IV stand and prepared to move with her.

From the doctor's point of view, she was simply trying to be considerate, thinking that since the corpse would be the one pushing the wheelchair, Lizzy would not be able to manage the IV stand with the attached IV fluids.

However, Lizzy thought that the doctor was there to act as her watchdog, so she forced the rising pain back and opened her mouth.

"I just want to go to the… restroom."

"Ah… I will call the maid, then."

"I can do it myself if I control one more corpse."

At that moment, one more body rose from the coffin that came out from her dimensional storage and grabbed the IV stand. Looking at that, the doctor just quietly retreated because he could not follow her into the bathroom.

"The air is cold. Since your body is still hurting, I implore you to not get some air and just return once you are done."

"..."

Without giving the doctor any answer, Lizzy left the hospital room.

Creak-!!

Creak-!!

The only sounds that echoed through the dark hallway were the creaking of the moving wheelchair and the shuffling of the corpses following her.

It was in this eerie silence that Lizzy began to feel the absence of Roer and Cesar, her only living relatives.

During her time at the academy, she had grown somewhat independent from her older brothers.

Back then, they were people she could have met but chose not to.

However, now, even if she wanted to meet them, she couldn't.

As she walked through the thick darkness, almost resembling the netherworld, she couldn't help but wonder if Roer and Cesar were waiting for her at the end.

Creak-!!

But at the end of the darkness, the only thing that greeted Lizzy was the soft moonlight seeping through a closed window.

"..."

That's right.

If Roer and Cesar were in a place too distant for her to reach, perhaps she should go to that place to make it easier to meet them?

Lizzy opened the closed window as if driven by some unseen force.

The chilly autumn wind brushed against her, intensifying the pain of her bruises.

However, at that moment, Lizzy couldn't feel the pain.

Creak-!!

"..."

The wind that blew through the window must have caused a faint beam of light to penetrate the slightly opened door behind her.

Lizzy turned her head toward it, drawn by an inexplicable attraction beyond that wide-open door.

In an uncanny sense of déjà vu, memories of her as a child playing hide and seek with her family flooded her mind.

She was much smaller and delicate back then, yet her legs were stronger than they were now.

She envisioned her younger self-opening that door and entering, excitedly announcing that she had found her brother, a bright smile on her face.

Creak-!!

Lizzy couldn't think or even control the corpses at that moment.

She took matters into her own hands, manually pushing the wheels of her wheelchair.

Thud-!!

In her haste, she yanked the needle from her blood vessel, and bright red blood began to flow down her arm.

The area swelled where she hadn't properly stopped the bleeding, but Lizzy didn't even flinch.

Squeak-!!

She just opened the door and stepped inside.

"Ah..."

Then, she noticed a bundle beneath a red cloth.

Lizzy had an immediate and dreadful realization that the bundle contained the heads of Cesar and Roer.

Although they were shrouded in red cloth, she knew what lay beneath.

Rustle-!!

Lizzy approached it, her hands trembling as she removed the cloth, revealing the heads of her two brothers.

Carefully, she channeled her magical power, embracing her family, her two older brothers.

No matter how powerful Ferzen was, even as Brutein's legitimate son, he couldn't have saved her from that predicament.

Lizzy began to think that maybe it was her brothers who had orchestrated a way out for her.

She found it difficult to believe that Roer had committed an act of rebellion, so she sought confirmation by connecting with his head.

"Ah, hmm… ah…"

But even for Lizzy, someone who shared their blood, it was impossible to comprehend the world's most profound secret, created by the two people.

There was no memory of the 'process' to begin with as they had constructed it to prevent even Lizzy from opening Pandora's box.

Even without the memory of the 'process,' like Ferzen and the Imperial Officials, Lizzy could access sufficient information from the remaining memories.

There were numerous contingency plans in place to ensure that even if a rebellion occurred, the guillotine's blade wouldn't reach her.

With intense emotions, Lizzy held Cesar and Roer's heads close.

But the cold bodies of her brothers couldn't be warmed by her embrace.

She cried desperately, but her brothers, already deceased, couldn't reach out to console her.

Where had it all gone wrong?

While it was clear that Ferzen was at fault, Lizzy couldn't help but wonder if her own actions had contributed to her tragic fate.

She had ignored so many things.

Ferzen von Schweig Brutein.

After the day she was defeated by him, she not only abandoned her desire for revenge but also neglected her beloved family.

If she had genuinely believed she could find happiness through means other than revenge, she could have convinced her brothers.

However, she couldn't bring herself to do it.

She had hoped that her servile, pitiful, and miserable brothers might be able to do what she couldn't.

Wasn't it all just a false hope?

Still, Roer and Cesar had ventured to fulfill that false hope.

In a broader sense, it could also be seen as turning away from their family, just as Lizzy had turned away from them.

After all, it was like giving up the future of living together after they stop pursuing revenge.

However, there was a crucial difference between their actions and hers…

Roer and Cesar did not abandon Lizzy.

Even when a future in which everything was shattered and ruined awaited.

They had readied a small boat for her, protecting her from the wind and waves.

"Ugh…! Ugh…! Whaaaaa!"

That's why,

All Lizzy Poliana Claudia could do was step onto the boat Roer and Cesar had prepared for her and watch her family sink.

She no longer had a world that would weep alongside her.

Nor did she have a world to share her laughter.

* * * * *

"Uh…!"

Flinch-!

Early in the morning, a mournful cry echoed through the corridors of the Imperial Palace.

Knights and guards hurried towards the source of the sound.

However, when they spotted Ferzen standing there, leaning against the wall in silence, they came to an abrupt halt.

"C-Count… Louerg."

"Go back."

"I-inside…"

"There's nothing happening inside."

In truth, it was nothing.

Ferzen gestured with his hand and instructed them to return to their previous posts.

Then, almost involuntarily, he offered a bitter smile as he searched for a cigarette and closed the window that was left open in the corridor.

Judging by the traces left behind here, it seemed that Lizzy had likely attempted to take her own life.

And the individuals who had prevented her from doing so were Roer and Cesar, who were inside that room.

Ferzen couldn't help but wonder who was committing the more cruel act.

The answer eluded him entirely.