183 – reverse-2

“…You didn’t come voluntarily, did you?”

“yes…”

I was looking at the aristocratic woman in front of me with a confused face.

“I’m saying this just in case, are we dating? I think I’ve seen you before.”

“That’s right. At that time, I really didn’t know anything, and I was just blinded by loyalty…”

It was someone I knew. Specifically, he was the one who fought lightly when he had just returned to the capital.

It doesn’t seem like it was that long ago, but it felt like a faint past. There were too many things.

“Really, I didn’t really think of being a hero, so stop…”

“Okay. That’s possible. Wasn’t it originally a knight?”

Before I gained the power of a hero, I was someone who could be defeated with crude swordsmanship.

“At that time, I thought it was a knight… but it wasn’t true. I felt it after losing to the hero.”

She spread her hands cautiously.

“The only reason people called me a knight was because a woman from a prestigious family asked me to call myself a knight, so I did.”

“…it could be.”

He had no strength left to be angry with her. There was so much to find, so much to do.

“I decided to become a noble lady again. I didn’t have the patience, talent, or mindset to work hard like a knight.”

I had no intention of lying. I didn’t even feel the need.

I didn’t want to insult her for giving up and returning to her place. At that time, I was so insecure that I was very angry, but I didn’t have enough anger left to rush to get revenge now.

“But warrior. Back then… I don’t think you were this strong.”

“At that time, I was not yet a warrior.”

Maybe, I’m still not a hero. I can’t see this light as absolute proof, but the power of the hero never gave up on me.

Not having the persistence to try, not having the talent and mindset. It may not be just her job.

“Aha.”

Silence ensued again. Between her and me, there was no pleasant talk.

“The Empire is getting confused. If the warrior supports someone, it will be of great help.”

“Is there anyone I should recommend?”

Her expression brightened for a moment, but it quickly darkened as if she realized what I meant.

The moment she chooses to live as a noble lady, she becomes part of the family.

Aside from personal likes and dislikes, not supporting the imperial family decided by the family head was a rebellion against the family. After giving up once, she couldn’t have the courage to commit it.

“Prince Franz…”

“I’m sorry. I have no intention of supporting anyone.”

Perhaps, even this could be an escape.

If I really want to serve the citizens of the Empire and not want innocent lives to be lost, then I have to move.

I could become emperor, or if I didn’t like that, I could capture someone and make him emperor, and then monitor him later.

I don’t want to take responsibility. wanting to run away

If I choose someone to be emperor, it’s no different than putting my choice behind all the misdeeds and misdeeds he commits.

“I see. By any chance, you’ve already made up your mind…”

“No. You’re not the only noble lady here. I sent them all back.”

There were times when members of the imperial family came directly to me, and there were many times when a powerful person from a noble family or a beautiful woman came to visit me.

I returned them all.

“Sorry.”

After sending her away, I stared again at the pile of papers on the desk.

On the torn paper, heaps of notes written with a rough pen were piled up.

I was afraid to go inside again. I blankly stared at the notes I wrote, one step away.

– Eleanor has changed. Loyalty to the Empire is no longer essential to her.

-Farse language has changed. The hope of eternal life had become meaningless, and she had given up on it herself.

-It’s the same with Celia. Instead of being immersed in the anxiety, fear, and guilt that she always felt when she saw me, she was able to look at me and say hello proudly.

-It is no longer my smell that moves Nerwen.

After looking at the memo for a long time, I felt a strange feeling. Maybe, I already knew, it was just a sense of incongruity that I didn’t admit.

Celia and Nerwen would have known, but at least Eleanor and Farseer had ‘already’ changed.

Helping me is not for the Empire. It’s not even for life. If it was a Farseer’s head, it might have gained something more in the process, but at least that wasn’t an efficient action.

During my travels with them, I did not see them. I was only looking at Eleanor of the past, Farseer of the past, Nerwen of the past, and Celia of the past.

They were atoning for me during that time. I had no intention of accepting that, and I wasn’t sure if their atonement was enough.

At least, it was right to think that I was at the base of their actions.

“then…”

I remembered. I frantically pondered what the purpose of their ‘seemingly changed’ was.

I couldn’t ask directly. Even if their actions are for me, they don’t trust me. Obviously, it will give you wrong information.

I had to find out myself. What are they trying to do, what are they preparing for me.

“ah.”

That was too obvious.

/////

“You’ve finally revealed your true colors, you evil impostor!”

The fact that Eleanor had participated in the competition for the next emperor quickly spread throughout the capital.

People who were shaken believed in the name ‘Eleanor’ and flocked to her banner. Even those who were quick to calculate profit and loss recognized that she was the person closest to the throne right away.

If it hadn’t been for a few variables, she would have ascended the throne without incident and attended the coronation ceremony.

“These are the ones who serve Franz.”

“Of course! He has the qualities of an emperor! Even comparing him to a traitor, swindler, or prostitute like you is an insult to him!”

The knight standing in front of her lined up his subordinates around him and made abusive remarks about the princess.

It was common sense that this shouldn’t have happened. No matter how much the battle for the throne was going on, she was a member of the royal family.

Although fighting and beheading would be an extenuating factor, insulting with words was a great disrespect to a knight of the Empire.

However, the knight standing in front of her was doing the minimum calculation.

“Whore… I don’t know much about them, but Franz seems to know. Few people know each other as well as people of mixed flesh.”

“You mean bitch!”

“So, did you share the same prostitute? Or, it wouldn’t be strange if you became his prostitute. The Platinum Knights rescued a boy who was kidnapped and put into his bed.”

However, Eleanor did not lose a word. If he was aiming for the position of the real emperor, it would have been better to refrain from talking in such a place.

They weren’t alone in the imperial family, and the others would watch this fight win or lose and then talk about how much their dignity had fallen to the ground.

But, to Eleanor, such trifles were out of the question.

“Don’t insult Prince Franz!”

The first reason he was able to criticize Eleanor so bitterly was that the family had already placed too high an expectation on the rest of the royal family.

He forcibly questioned the crimes of the imperial family he had singled out as emperor, and swore an oath of allegiance to him. Even if they now come and strike at Eleanor, there is no way for the family to avoid its downfall.

If they put their heads to the ground and beg for help, their lives would be spared, but for ordinary nobles, preserving the family line like that was more disgraceful than dying proudly.

In that case, it was a wiser choice to act under the premise that the imperial family he served would become the emperor.

“In the first place, didn’t you admit that you were the child of a whore? You’re not from the royal family!”

“It is.”

The second reason was that Eleanor had admitted with her own mouth that she was not the emperor’s daughter.

As if she didn’t even have the strength to invent a lie, she meekly admitted the truth. Punishment for insults was applied when the victim was a member of the imperial family, not a child born to a noblewoman and a knight of a similar level.

“Today I will punish you, and I will further raise the banner of His Majesty Emperor Franz!”

“Do you think so?”

He believed that Eleanor’s exploits and might had been inflated.

I heard rumors that after being beaten up without being able to do anything in front of a real hero, he begged for mercy from him.

Besides, it is not easy to deal with multiple knights even if it is a strong knight. The knights next to him now also boasted famous martial arts in the empire, and he thought he could win if he rushed at them all at once.

For this day, the sword was coated with deadly poison, and precious artifacts were not spared.

The fact that Eleanor was the closest person to the position of emperor meant, conversely, that the royal family he served would be the closest to the position of emperor if only she could get past him.

It was the head-on armed conflict that everyone feared, but this knight was ready to open the door.

“Die, whore!”

The knight ran. The sword cut through the air.

Blood poured out in an instant. His upper and lower halves were split.

“…next.”

Eleanor stood there.