“…Yes. Didn’t we already prepare for this carefully starting a year ago?”
To think they had been preparing to stab her in the back for an entire year.
The fingers clapped over her mouth trembled uncontrollably against her will.
All this time, while whispering sweet professions of love to her face, they had been murmuring plans behind her back to burn her at the stake.
They truly were the most despicable and insidious bastards imaginable.
“Is there any need to discuss this further? Isn’t it already set in stone?”
As soon as the topic of the execution came up, Leonhardt answered in a low voice, somehow sounding exhausted.
“Do we really have to kill her like that?”
Amusingly enough, the one who sounded rather indifferent on the matter was Ian instead.
Holding back her emotions as much as possible, she continued to watch them.
“The Saintess is extremely useful, you know. The mages at the Magic Tower need holy power. Holy power is often used to replenish lacking mana when crafting magic items, isn’t it?”
However, as expected, he was no different.
Elise stared in utter disillusionment at the handsome man renowned as the most beautiful in the Ariaton Empire.
“Elise, I picked violets that resemble your eyes.”
Ian used to pluck violets every day and bring them to her at the temple.
“I love you, Elise. It doesn’t matter even if you don’t accept my heart.”
Seeing him awkwardly lower his eyebrows toward her when she turned down his confession with an apologetic heart—she had felt a tiny flutter in her chest back then.
And yet—
“What a convenient chess piece she was to use. Has there ever been a person gifted with holy power who was so obedient? Especially the Holy Water. They call it Holy Water, but with her arms and legs covered in wounds, where else would you find a woman who gives everything away like that?”
Ian had merely viewed her as a convenient chess piece he could exploit whenever he pleased.
Her face drained of life, her expression contorted in disgust.
Even though she had come here fully expecting them to be this kind of human, she couldn’t stop her hands and feet from trembling violently.
“Are you suggesting we abandon the citizens of the empire for the sake of a tiny handful of mages?”
“Well, I’m not saying that. Once the protective barrier is up, injuries among mages will decrease anyway…”
At the sharp edge in Eshit’s voice, Ian servilely tucked his tail between his legs immediately.
‘To think he was such a man…!’
Shuddering once more with a visceral sense of betrayal, Elise bit down hard on the tender flesh inside her cheek.
She bit so hard that the metallic, coppery taste of blood brushed against her tongue from the torn flesh.
Yet without even noticing it, her intense, purple eyes glared straight at them.
Eshit, not suspecting for a moment that the Saintess currently being discussed was right here, let out a soft laugh.
“The protective barrier will be the greatest achievement of my reign. It will likely make the Ariaton Empire the strongest power on the continent.”
So that’s how he smiles when he’s truly pleased.
Now finally seeing his genuine smile, Elise looked at them with a hollow face.
If he truly cared for the citizens of the empire, he would never have done something as insane as releasing poison into the capital’s square just to kill Demian.
A selfish emperor who only cared about cementing his own legacy, pretending it was all for justice—it was utterly nauseating.
Her face deathly pale, she clenched both fists so tightly that her fingernails dug deep into her palms.
Her vision blurred from the tears welling up from rage and injustice.
However, she had to see every truth clearly with her own eyes.
Elise hurriedly wiped her tears away.
“…An achievement, Your Majesty?”
“Hmm?”
“Please… do not speak of it so lightly.”
It was then. The one who unexpectedly spoke up was none other than Leonhardt.
“What do you mean by that, Sir Leonhardt? You agreed to this as well. Even though Elise is your lover.”
“I…”
At Eshit’s sharp point, Leonhardt’s brow furrowed in agony.
Trailing off, he let out a low sigh.
“I truly love Lady Elise. But just as much…”
Leonhardt clenched his fist, veins bulging against his skin.
“I simply love the empire just as much…”
For some reason, his face darkened drastically.
Yet, in stark contrast to his darkened expression, his chest gleamed brilliantly with numerous medals awarded in recognition of his distinguished service in protecting the realm as a hero of the empire, alongside the insignia embroidered with a lily—the symbol of the Guard Captain.
That contradictory sight made Elise want to vomit, and she slapped her hand over her mouth.
“It’s truly wonderful, Leon. These insignias and medals are proof of how much you love the empire, aren’t they?”
“Just as much as I love the empire…”
A time when she was happy with him, completely unaware of the truth, flashed through her mind.
“I love you just as much, Lady Elise.”
In a way, he was remarkably consistent.
Forcing back her ragged, choking breaths, she glared at the three men through tear-filled eyes.
“It is only natural for Elise to sacrifice herself, Sir Leonhardt. Is there anyone here who does not love her?”
“Your Majesty, I merely…”
“Enough. If you are going to wear such an expression, leave.”
“…I shall attend again at tomorrow’s meeting.”
At the Emperor’s dismissal, Leonhardt’s shoulders slumped limply as he exited the conference room.
“Wants to be a hero even if it kills him, it seems.”
Sarcasm slipped unconsciously from between Eshit’s lips.
Watching that, Ian burst into a laugh despite himself.
“Pfft.”
Panicking as if he hadn’t expected the sound to leak out, Ian clamped his mouth shut.
However, in a conference room with only the two of them, there was no way Eshit could have missed that blatant snicker.
Eshit furrowed his brows in annoyance, raising his tone.
“What’s so funny, Ian?”
Yet, unlike his timid attitude earlier, Ian did not back down this time.
“It was just funny when you asked if there’s anyone here who doesn’t love Elise. You don’t love her, do you?”
“…What?”
“I mean Elise. You’ve never loved her, Your Majesty.”
“Hmph.”
Amusingly, the annoyance that had covered Eshit’s face vanished completely. The curve of his lips turned upward as if relieved instead.
“And here I thought I put on a flawless performance.”
“You can’t deceive the eyes of the Tower Master. Besides, I saw it. You handing the Holy Water over to your concubine, Your Majesty. To think I’d see you giving that precious Holy Water to your lover just so she could regain her youth.”
“Indeed. If I truly loved Elise, I would have kept her by my side by any means necessary. Who cares about a protective barrier?”
Eshit shook his head, casting his gaze toward the direction where Leonhardt had walked off into the distance.
“Besides… a porcelain doll that is suitably incompetent and pretty is far more fitting to be a lover. A woman who acts high and mighty just because she trusts her own ability isn’t my style.”
The moment she heard those words, she felt with bone-deep clarity what Eshit had truly thought of her all along.
“My beloved Elise, this is the temple I built for you. Isn’t it wonderful?” “I don’t know if I truly deserve to receive such a grand temple.” “Do not say such things. There is no woman in this empire as remarkably gifted as you.”
That face, which had praised her abilities yet never once offered a genuine, bright smile.
Why hadn’t she noticed the hostility and contempt hidden in those red eyes gazing at her before?
When Eshit had already hated her from the very beginning.
“She’s not my style either. I hate women who are prettier than me.”
“So you agreed in the end after all? What a filthy reason.”
“Heheh…”
“Whatever the reason, it doesn’t matter. Just imagine that foolish hero driving his own lover to the pyre three months from now.”
“I’m already looking forward to it.”
“It’ll be no different from a farce.”
Exchanging remarks as if it were nothing more than a light joke, the two left the conference room looking quite intimate.
Silence descended upon the conference room that had been filled with the voices of the three men.
Tears no longer flowed.
Now that she knew the dream she had was not a mere dream, but the future she was destined to suffer, there was no time left to cry.
With a deathly pale face, she quickly slipped out of the conference room.
Only after walking all the way to a secluded garden did she shed her stifling robe and take a deep breath.
Drinking in the fresh air, the suffocating knot in her chest seemed to ease just a bit.
“Phew…”
Pressing her aching temples, Elise parted her lips slightly.
“…I have to meet Demian.”
It was merely a tiny whisper to herself.
However, at that very moment—
“What an incredible coincidence this is.”
“Eek!”
Demian appeared right before her eyes.
Her lovely villain—the only one who had saved her at the moment everyone else demanded her sacrifice.
