Chapter 124
From every corner of the battlefield came the sharp whistle of arrows flying.
Soon after, the clang of metal meeting metal echoed.
In the barren, wind-swept region of Iberico, the boundary between the Griffin Empire and the Selon Kingdom had long since collapsed.
Unlike the war two years ago, which had been a chaotic numbers game, the current war was fought with advanced military tactics and strategies.
The Griffin Empire’s military was formidable, and its commander, Crown Prince Agenluca, was indeed a tactician worthy of being called a genius of the century.
Yet from the early days of the war until now, the Selon Kingdom’s allies had multiplied rapidly, raising the possibility that the rebels had not been so carelessly prepared after all.
No matter how many battles were fought, the enemy’s numbers did not dwindle; if anything, they grew. There was nothing more exhausting than that.
Even in this battle, while they had won, the mood in the Griffin Empire’s camp was not one of complete victory.
In the center of the tented strategy room, a tall man sat with his legs crossed, brow furrowed.
He was a man so strikingly beautiful that it was hard to believe he had spent two years on the battlefield.
His pale, flawless skin framed chiseled features that were at once delicate and strong: a sharp nose, lips curved with a hint of a sly smile.
Everything about him was perfect, but the feature that drew attention most were his blood-red eyes.
They were not tainted with the grimy blood of the enemy, but pure, noble crimson, like a single droplet of perfect blood.
Though now called a murderer of the battlefield, in the past, enemies often lost their lives staring dumbfounded at him when his helmet was removed.
“Your Highness, perhaps it is time we charge their camp. One must probe an anthill to know its depth,” Haile said, weary from the long war.
“Those from the Delt Kingdom who joined the Selon Kingdom’s camp this time have entrenched themselves in the blind spot we were aiming for. If we aren’t careful, we could be caught off guard!”
“That may be, but… they see soldiers as nothing more than pieces on a board. When troops we send are annihilated, they will simply send in fresh forces.”
Despite the Griffin Empire’s strategic and numerical advantage, this was why the war had dragged on.
After Haile spoke, an unnerving silence filled the room.
Their master, the Crown Prince and overall commander of the war, had spread out the map.
Once this war ended, he was destined to become the Emperor of the Griffin Empire.
The generals who had fought alongside him for two years had no doubt of his brilliance.
Even the slightest stir in the room quieted instantly under the gaze of his calm, crimson eyes scanning the map.
“Here.”
Crown Prince Luca placed his finger on a specific spot on the map.
“We will end it here.”
“…!”
“To speak of an end…”
Until now, the Crown Prince had never mentioned an ‘end.’
That he did so now, without hesitation, meant that it was truly possible.
Ecil Clare had mentioned that the Delt Kingdom had filled Selon’s blind spots, but there remained a single vulnerable point.
“Unlike the other areas, only a small elite force is stationed here. Once the reinforcements arrive, the attack units will be sent in continuously to carve a path. The moment Haile and Ecil lead the first and second units into the enemy camp, the remaining units will begin attacking from the outside.”
If they could capture this key military position defended by the strongest elite troops, the Selon Kingdom and its allied camps could collapse in one decisive strike.
“As soon as preparations are complete, the operation will begin next week.”
“Understood!”
The meeting ended, morale high, and the generals began leaving one by one. Watching from a distance was Inyoung.
That was none other than Senia.
She gritted her teeth, waiting for Sion Clare to emerge, internally seething.
‘That vile impostor…!’
Feeling the severed connection to the snake, Senia wanted to hurl curses at Lia into the empty air.
She could not believe it.
The snake, from whom no word had come for some time, had finally delivered a message yesterday.
Princess Rayes would visit the temple for a paternity test, and the snake warned that this would be obstructed.
‘Why bother interfering with a fake anyway?’ she thought.
Like a moth drawn to the flame, unaware of its impending demise, that was how Laveria appeared in Senia’s eyes.
Senia had first taken notice of her during the debutante ball.
That Agenluca had partnered with a low-born princess was irritating, but she assumed it was a favor in return for assistance from the Rayes family.
The day Princess Rachel nearly lost her life, Senia quietly left the banquet hall, knowing she was the only one who could save her.
Through the snake, Senia learned that the instigator of the chaos had been Louiscon, an old retainer of the Cablos family.
She did not know why the princess was targeted, but believed that some implicit participation in the family’s crime was necessary to maintain one’s reputation.
Doctors treat patients with the same care regardless of status, all while receiving praise from onlookers.
The princess, however, was ill but gained nothing from it.
It would have been better for her to die cleanly, without involving the Cablos family.
Agenluca, close to the princess, would surely grieve.
She imagined comforting him with healing magic, tending to the deep wounds of his heart, and perhaps he would show her his emotions.
Returning to the banquet, Senia found her expectations shattered.
The princess, who should have been on the verge of death, was alive, and the low-born princess who had been mocked had awakened as a healing mage.
It was she who had saved Princess Rachel.
From that moment, the impostor’s atrocities began.
The low-born princess, obsessed with emulating her, continued to follow Senia in everything.
But when she realized she could not reach the heights Senia attained, she would, like a moth to the flame, turn to ashes.
Watching Laveria continue to act, Senia tried to remain detached.
The moment she lost composure, intrusive thoughts crept in.
‘What if Laveria is the real one, and I’m the fake?’
Senia shivered and sank beside the tent.
“No… that can’t be!”
Whenever such thoughts arose, the snake’s voice had always offered comfort and reassurance.
‘Today at the hunting festival, Princess Rayes saved people. She grows more impressive every day… making me feel small.’
‘You don’t need to feel inferior. No matter how perfect, a copy is just a copy.’
‘Still, I’m anxious. You’re the only one I can tell this to.’
‘I know. Only tell me. Never show weakness to anyone else.’
Her only true friend, the snake, who had understood her better than anyone over the past twelve years… was dead.
Because she had been linked to the snake, she instinctively felt the bond severed.
“Please… tell me you can hear me…”
With the connection gone, she lost the ability to perceive emotions through scent.
She could no longer control her feelings.
Accustomed to reading emotions as easily as breathing, she now felt her suppressed nature awaken.
Just moments ago, she had scolded patients she was tending to, unable to contain her irritation.
Disappointed and flustered, she fled the barracks.
‘I’m tired. Of this war, of everything…’
She resented the past when she had eagerly volunteered for war and followed one man with fluttering heart.
Agenluca had not so much as glanced at her in the past two years.
If he were injured, she could at least be with him under the pretext of healing, but he had avoided even the tiniest scratch, as if bound by a vow to someone else.
But soon…
‘Father’s puppet spell on His Highness will activate.’
Lady Jeria had tried to kill the young prince using Cablos.
Cablos pretended to have eliminated him but secretly bound a puppet spell that would activate at seventeen and imprisoned him in his subordinates’ orphanage.
It was meant to ensure Jeria would eventually be under his control.
The prince’s escape from the orphanage was unexpected, but the spell remained.
The snake had told Senia,
‘The puppet spell can also erase the prince’s feelings for the fake. How?…’
“You said we need to destroy the necklace he cherishes above all else.”
Once the spell activates, and he writhes in pain, if she saves him, their crossed fates would be restored.
After the war, the princess, deprived of his protection, would immediately take revenge.
Feeling better after organizing her thoughts, Senia stood, waiting for her longtime friend, Ecil Clare.
She intended to use him, as he could only watch her longingly and not make any move.
Finally, she saw the man with blue hair leaving the conference room.
“Ecil!”
She smiled brightly as she called his name.
Upon seeing her, Ecil approached, visibly brightened.
“Senia, what are you doing here? You never leave the temporary ward.”
Her smile nearly faltered at his assumption.
‘The place I belong isn’t that stinking ward, but by His Highness’s side!’
Concealing her true feelings, Senia allowed tears to fall.
“Senia!”
Ecil panicked, grabbing her shoulders.
“What’s wrong? Who’s bothering you? What bastard dares…!”
“It’s not that, Ecil.”
“Then—”
“Huff… you know, don’t you? That I adore His Highness…”
“…I know.”
Ecil knew, yet tried not to feel petty jealousy as the prince’s subordinate and her friend.
“Actually… Princess Rayes placed a dangerous spell on the necklace His Highness treasures more than his life. It immobilizes him, so he could be in danger anytime. I haven’t been able to sleep out of worry…”
“What…?! Who told you that?!”
“Does it matter, Ecil? You should believe me, of course. This is the first time I’ve ever told you.”
Ecil, still confused, didn’t notice the sudden shift in Senia’s demeanor.
“Ha… I’m a healing mage. I can sense malicious power.”
“But the necklace is reinforced with magic. It can’t be undone. How…?”
Reinforced magic.
Senia frowned.
She could no longer tell if Laveria had ensnared the prince, or if the prince had bonded with Laveria.
Senia looked at Ecil with cold eyes.
“Ecil, you’re a transcendent who can wield sword energy. I heard sword energy can destroy steel.”
“But that’s too dangerous…!”
“If we don’t destroy it, His Highness will be in danger. But you must never let him know we intend to destroy the necklace, since he is utterly bewitched by the fake princess.”
“….”
“Ecil, you can do it. Just channel sword energy into a small dagger and cut it cleanly.”
Senia smiled like a flower and embraced him.
“You can do it. If you ease my worries, I might like you even more.”
“Senia…”
Listening to his heart pounding in his chest, Senia’s lips curved into a smile.
