AWEOM 06

Chapter 06

After hastily finishing my bath and stepping out, I noticed the hallway was somewhat chaotic.

The servants had gathered in twos or threes, whispering to each other with worried expressions.

“What’s going on?”

At my question, Piele gave me a brief nod.

Then she stopped a passing maid.

“What’s the situation?”

I turned to look at Piele.

The fact that she asked about the situation first, rather than what was happening, meant she already had some idea of the events that had unfolded.

We had been together in the bathroom—how could she know?

But the next words from the maid erased all doubt from my mind.

“The third sector of the Infinite Sea has been breached.”

“……!”

Even if I weren’t an Argenta, I knew what that meant.

It was Argenta’s responsibility to block monsters swimming through the Infinite Sea and attacking the mainland.

And now the line had been broken?

My gaze quickly moved toward the window.

It was night, so I couldn’t see anything, but if the monsters had truly broken through the defenses and entered the land, it wouldn’t be this quiet.

“Has the entire defensive line collapsed?”

Piele asked seriously. The maid shook her head.

“No, not entirely.”

She hesitated for a moment, then glanced at me.

She must have been weighing whether it was appropriate to speak in front of an outsider.

After all, I was going to be the lady of this place, at least for a while.

Unless I planned to run around announcing that I’d soon be divorced, I had to act like the perfect mistress.

In other words, just because the maid was checking me out didn’t mean I had to step aside.

I folded my arms and stared at her, signaling I had no intention of yielding.

“……Two groups of monsters invaded the third sector. The first group that attacked the sector was far larger than usual.”

The maid continued speaking.

Listening to her, I thought: how could a mere maid, not even a knight, know so much about the battlefield?

Surely the report wouldn’t even reach her?

“The field commander, Roa, naturally instructed them to contain the larger group, but the second invading group was overwhelmingly large, and the defensive line collapsed in an instant.”

It wasn’t just this maid.

It seemed that the knights and the other servants were talking about the same thing.

“So, there were far more monsters than usual.”

“Yes. According to the testimony of those present, it seems several monster groups had joined forces.”

Ah. Hearing this, I remembered.

In the original story, this part was only described as “the monsters from the Infinite Sea were acting unusually.”

Piele frowned seriously at the maid’s words.

“It seems the final defensive line wasn’t breached… but how was it handled?”

At that, the maid gave a slight nod.

“Roa, the guilty party, took full responsibility and leapt into the monster horde. While he was rampaging, the defensive line was reconstructed…”

I couldn’t even hear the rest properly.

Guilty?

Wasn’t Roa supposed to be the field commander just moments ago?

“So that’s what happened. And the reinforcements?”

“They’ve already departed.”

The maid bowed briefly and moved on.

I watched her glance at me as she passed, then turned to Piele.

“Why is he guilty?”

I couldn’t understand.

Even I, who had read the original story, didn’t know the monsters would come in such numbers.

How could someone defending the field possibly be at fault?

This was nothing short of a natural disaster—something an individual couldn’t be held responsible for.

Yet it seemed Roa believed it was his responsibility and threw himself at the monsters to stop them.

From my perspective, it was a noble sacrifice.

But looking at Piele’s face, and seeing the murmuring of the others, no one seemed to be praising Roa’s sacrifice.

Rather, it was treated as if it were only natural.

“He failed to fulfill his duty properly. If he hadn’t thrown himself to buy time, he would have been punished even more severely under Argenta’s code.”

I frowned slightly at Piele’s words.

As she tidied my somewhat disheveled clothes—resulting from my hasty exit—she spoke in a calm voice.

“You may find it strange, since you haven’t seen this in Aloze.”

At her gesture, the servants who had been whispering in the hallway gradually dispersed.

Now, it was only Piele and me in the hallway.

She spoke in an even tone.

“You asked why he is guilty, didn’t you?”

I nodded briefly.

It was true he hadn’t completed his duty properly… but to think he would have been punished even more severely if he hadn’t thrown himself at the monsters?

That was beyond my comprehension.

“Argenta has an absolute code of conduct.”

Piele escorted me like a knight as she explained.

“‘Do it, or don’t do it.’”

I widened my eyes at her calm words.

I had heard it before—or rather, seen it written.

It was the first phrase that appeared when describing Argenta in the original story.

A phrase that once seemed innocuous now sounded terrifying in this context.

“So… if you don’t complete your work properly, it’s as if you haven’t done it at all?”

Do it, or don’t do it.

Thinking of her words, I repeated them, and Piele smiled.

“You adapt quickly.”

Do it, or don’t do it…

A place where failing to complete your work means your life is forfeit.

And even if you give your life to complete your duty, you still remain guilty.

It wasn’t just the chill that ran down my spine because I had just come out of the bath.

“…….”

I pressed my lips into a straight line.

Suddenly, I remembered Diello’s smiling face.

According to the original story, he had a warm and affectionate disposition.

But Argenta’s reality looked nothing like his gentle image.

In a place like this, his kind nature would probably have been more of a curse than a blessing.

Thinking of Diello Argenta from the original story made me ache a little.

Even though I hadn’t finished the book, I could easily guess what came next.

How much he must have suffered in Argenta with his fragile, kind nature.

Both Aloze and Argenta seemed equally careless with life.

Thinking of his bright smile made my chest ache.

“Roa…”

At that moment, Diello Argenta was also being briefed.

Of course, the information he received was far more detailed than what Crua Aloze had received.

What type of monsters had invaded, how many, and how the field commander Roa had thrown himself to stop them.

“He died from going berserk using Argenta’s power.”

Argenta’s power.

Each of the three duke houses possessed the ability to control fire, water, or wind.

That much was known outside. But there was a peculiar point.

Anyone who had pledged loyalty to a family head could use the family’s power until the head retracted it.

It was weaker than the power of someone with the family’s blood, but its strength depended on how strong the head was.

Therefore, all household members desired a powerful head.

And currently, even without Perozo, Diello Argenta was known as the weakest of the three heads.

Exactly as Diello intended.

“And the body?”

Diello asked without changing his expression.

The reporting knight gave a brief nod.

“It is recoverable.”

“Bury him right in front of the Infinite Sea.”

Diello answered immediately.

Even in death, Roa, the guilty one, would continue guarding the Infinite Sea.

“Understood.”

The knight withdrew.

“We’ll need a new commander for the third sector.”

Diello thought this, then suddenly thought of the priest.

She had been in the bathroom when the emergency report came and had rushed out in shock.

And she had asked…

Why he was guilty.

With a face that clearly showed she couldn’t understand.

“What should I do with her, that priest…”

Diello smiled silently.

Crua Aloze was far too…

innocent, even more than he expected.