Episode 109. ceryl (2)

“Abama.”

“Seryl? You woke up early today Well… . Are you still not sleeping well these days?”

“no. actually… .”

Even now, when dawn broke and the bedroom started to glow dark blue, Zer-sama was holding a pen in one hand.

Following Seril’s report, Zer-nim, who was in bed looking at the supply of munitions needed for border defense, had to put down the documents he was reading for a while.

“I received a breaking news that vampires caused a commotion in the Caldera Lab, so I contacted you urgently.”

“… Please elaborate.”

“A group of Dipels raided the lab and destroyed the facility. they-“

Zer-sama, who had been nodding without missing a single word from Seryl, sighed while squeezing her eyes, which were burning hot from heavy work.

Seril looked straight into the emperor’s eyes.

“In this raid, two professors and many scholars dispatched from Kiruna lost their lives. … Obama, can you entrust this task to me?”

“… .”

“I am well aware of the efforts that Obama has made so far to coexist with the different races. but… . With the recent increase in crime caused by Dipel, if the Empire does not take a strong response, there will surely be bigger problems.”

“… Seryl. This is not something to be taken lightly.”

“Is it because a large number of vampires are on the front line guarding the border?”

Even two years ago, Cheryl had an argument with her father about the issue of conscription into the Imperial Army.

Unable to break Zel-sama’s will, she decided to assist him in other fields besides the war against the Witchbeast.

“If we stick to the current system of minimizing conscription and putting vampires on the frontlines, people who aren’t conscripted right away will be happy. Where will the resentment of the victims go when they are not held accountable for being vampires now that the number of cases of damage caused by Dipel is rapidly increasing?”

“Even though a long time has passed, it seems that your intentions have not changed.”

“If the reason why relations with vampires should not deteriorate is to defend the border, then we can recruit soldiers.”

Zer-sama smiled wryly at the thought of Seryl, who could see so clearly.

“The Witchbeast is an enemy whose identity and size are still unknown. You never know when the Empire’s defense tactics will be figured out, new objects will be brought in, or the main unit that has been hidden will be advanced.”

“Yes, it is.”

“Thanks to Obama’s excellent command, we are now holding back the Witchbeasts with very few troops… . After all, reinforcements are inevitable.”

“… .”

“To avoid enlisting more Imperials. Those who do not take preemptive measures to prevent the damage caused by Diffel, cannot hold vampires accountable, and do not know when they will turn into Diffel, and the soldiers of the Empire must serve in anxiety.”

Cheryl carefully conveyed her thoughts to her father, who was smiling bitterly.

“If it were me, after integrating Kiruna and the Imperial Academy, and concentrating all research capabilities of the Imperial Academy on the military field. I would have sent all the mages to the battlefield.”

“… .”

Unlike two years ago, I’m calmly expressing my thoughts now… . The conviction she revealed to her father was still firm.

“Seryl. First of all, as I said before, I’m not trying to approach the Dipel situation cautiously in order to put the vampires on the front line.”

“… .”

“Vampires and Dipels should be viewed as completely different groups. Just because one member of a family commits a crime, doesn’t it mean that all other family members are also criminals?”

“If I come to the evidence behind this raid, will it change Obama’s mind?”

“Of course, in that case I would have to deal with it differently.”

“… all right.”

“You may need to think a little more about conscription, but I will think positively about defeating vampires on the front line. We can’t make them bear the burden of defending the border forever… . Cheryl, as you said, there is an alternative to using the magicians’ firepower.”

Zer-nim tried to accept as much as possible his daughter’s opinion so that he could understand if Seryl would be hurt.

Seril had already gotten everything she wanted from Zernim.

“Seryl, the power to lead humans is understanding, not blood. It may be the exact opposite teaching from the royal studies you learned, but… . I learned that from my teacher when I was young, and I still think that’s right.”

“… I will listen.”

“It’s not that I don’t understand what you mean, so I hope you don’t worry too much… . Don’t trust me with this job. Take care of yourself, Cheryl.”

“… Yes. I hope that Obama is also safe.”

When the light in the crystal ball went out, a deep smile formed on Seryl’s lips as she lowered her head so that Zer-sama couldn’t see her.

“Do you know how much blood is flowing behind the road Obama is walking on?”

The reason why he was able to keep his warm convictions to the point of yawning in the imperial family, which is full of aristocratic families who scrutinize the imperial power… .

It was because she dipped her hands in the hot blood every day behind him.

Nobles and subjects obey the emperor’s orders because he made them understand? It’s nonsense.

“The only thing that moves humans is fear… .”

I couldn’t just wait for the day when Obama understood my thoughts in the face of a situation where the fortunes of the empire were at stake, with demonic beasts constantly coming in.

“The first thing a ruler should look for is a scapegoat.”

A representative example of this is the Stella family, the victim of the politics of terror left behind by the previous emperor.

The genocide that started 150 years ago ended with the previous emperor executing the last member of the Stella clan.

“Did you say that there are still collaborators who helped them?”

There could have been some of Stella’s blood among them… . For the sake of the imperial authority, he had to completely step on even those seeds.

Seril, who was setting an example to those who defied the imperial authority by gathering the previous emperor’s human hunters whom Zer-sama had completely dispersed.

Even today, the emperor’s path was being wiped with blood.

“Shall we listen to today’s harvest?”

* * *

At the window at dawn, Seryl, who had been served as an attendant, lightly knocked on the desk where a map of the empire’s territory was laid out in detail.

Then, in the shadows created by the dawn, those who became one with the shadows appeared.

“Meet the first princess.”

“How many did you catch?”

“For the past month, we have dealt with fever, a human who is expected to be of the blood of a collaborator.”

“Looks like the direct descendant didn’t come out this time either… . Ha, to put an end to Stella so perfectly, even His Majesty the predecessor of the Emperor is too much. If we caught and publicly executed one person a month, as our ancestors did, they could still be used as useful political scapegoats.”

“… .”

“ah?! fail. A descendant of Stella, whom Halva Mama said was the last to be executed. What was his name?”

The leader of the assassination organization, Fail, hesitated for a while on his knees before answering, then carefully brought out the name.

“… This is Kissing Stella.”

“Is that the one that Obama called Master and followed?”

“Yes, I am a woman who held a professorship in Kiruna under the name of Kissing Garden and was selected as His Majesty’s personal instructor.”

“Crazy or wise… . They said it was dark under the lamp, and the woman who crawled into the imperial palace survived the longest.”

Cheryl spread her fingers and started counting.

“It’s already been 150 years since the previous emperor ordered the extinction of the Stella family. If the family business had been carried on to the previous emperor, and had ended before Obama ascended the throne. So, how many years did Stella last?”

She hadn’t asked the exact reason yet, but Seryl guessed that her father’s blood phobia had come from witnessing his predecessor’s execution of the Kissing Garden.

“No matter how many times he approached using a pseudonym, to think so much about the person he had to destroy for the sake of the imperial authority… . Where in the world is there a monarch who fears blood?”

Thinking of her frail father, Seryl looked down and looked down at the assassins who were kneeling again.

“What happened? It’s a family that disappeared anyway, so even if His Majesty continues to remember it, that’s all.”

“… We have more-”

“No, there is no need to pursue Stella anymore. Instead, I will have to visit the site where the underground laboratory was located.”

Seryl wanted to create evidence that vampires had attacked the lab before observers flocked to the scene.

Although Ian’s forces won’t let this go unnoticed.

Ian’s party, exhausted from fighting the Dipelins, would not be able to block the movements of Kegar and the assassins.

“Pale, you watch them… . If you see an opportunity, don’t hesitate to kill it. I will take care of the aftermath.”

If this job is over, even if you’re Obama, you won’t be able to stand up for the vampires anymore.

Cheryl was convinced.

* * *

“Hurry up a little more… !”

Gina, Frill’s maid who brought breakfast, started putting clothes in her bag without knowing why.

While the Guardian Knights were checking the condition of the arms, Frill continued to try to contact the Caldera Research Center.

‘Frills. You said you were going to the first tower at dawn tomorrow, right?’

‘Yes, Dad.’

Frill, who had been contacted by her father while rubbing her eyes since morning, was hurriedly preparing to head for the first tower.

‘… what? attack!?’

‘The Dipels have been raiding the lab. The first one just left to take care of the situation, but it could be dangerous-‘

Frill, who was trying to make sure that Professor Ian was all right, felt an uneasy feeling from the silence beyond the receiver.

Professor Ian might not have been seriously injured while fighting against the enemies.

No, before that, I wonder if Dipel’s attack is over… .

Watching Frill’s concern deepen moment by moment, Guardian Knight Virgo cautiously opened his mouth.

“Princess, the time when the incident happened… . It’s not serious. It may be that a power struggle within the imperial family has come to the surface.”

“Then you should go faster. If Ian is in danger at the recital hosted by my sister, it must be because of me.”

“It could be dangerous, I’ll find Professor Ian instead and-”

“It’s okay, Mina said she would go with me too.”

“… .”

The moment Virgo was about to say more to persuade Frill, Mina and Carol, who had just passed by and brought them, ran to Frill.

“It will definitely be dangerous. There may still be Dipels inside, or you may get caught up in a dispute over the imperial power… . By the way, is it really okay if I go with you?”

“We share the same desire to help save Professor Ian.”

“Thank you guys. then… . Let’s hurry before it’s too late.”

The sincerity and determination revealed in Mina and Carol’s expressions revealed their will to start right away without having to ask further questions.

“I have prepared the train tickets, so I can leave for the station right now. let’s go.”