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A moment ago, in the Emperor's office.
Azef frowned, reconfirming Idris's request.
"Advance Deon's execution date?"
He had abruptly canceled the airship departure, which was meant for national publicity, just a day before it was scheduled.
How he knew, he suddenly brought in the remnants of Deon's forces and said that.
"Before being an emperor, as a brother, I know His Majesty's heart will be uneasy, but if we leave it like this, we will put the empire's people in danger."
Even though he was talking about an uncertain event that may or may not happen, Idris's voice was full of conviction.
"You suddenly postponed the airship departure, it's as if you know the future."
Azef's gaze towards Idris became sharp, as if trying to read something.
But Idris, as always, only wore an inscrutable smile.
Sighing and pondering for a moment, Azef finally opened his mouth.
"I will advance the execution to the morning after tomorrow."
Executing his brother as Idris said was not easy on his heart, but it was something he would have to do eventually.
And Idris, even though he had been at odds with Deon all his life, was not the type of person to call for his brother's execution based solely on personal feelings.
It was then, as Idris smiled in relief at having obtained the desired answer.
Thump!
A heavy roar and a strong tremor shook the Imperial Palace.
Idris staggered for a moment and hurriedly turned to where the explosion had come from.
Then, through the window, he saw the building housing the prison.
More precisely, the collapsing building.
Idris's eyes began to shake violently at the sight.
'Letitia...!'
Letitia was there.
"Young Lady! Are you alright?"
The knight guarding the front of the prison reflexively grabbed my arm.
"Ah, thank you."
I quickly regained my balance and assessed the situation.
The culprit who caused this was obvious.
'Deon Zahir...'
I never imagined he would blow up the prison he was being held in.
'Is he planning to create chaos and escape in the confusion?'
I peered inside the prison to confirm his exact plan.
If Elize was in league with Deon, she would definitely know the plan.
'If necessary, she might also be valuable as a hostage.'
But Elize inside the prison completely shattered my expectations, trembling as she looked at the collapsing ceiling.
The vivid fear in her eyes proved that it was not an act or a ploy.
'She's a discarded piece.'
After quickly assessing the situation, I turned my back on Elize.
If she was a discarded piece, she was of no value to me either.
But then.
"Sa, save me!"
A terrified Elize quickly approached and grabbed the hem of my dress.
"Sa, save... me. Please..."
I couldn't help but chuckle at her tearful pleas.
The person who had desperately tried to bring me down was now kneeling and begging me.
'There was a time when I desperately wanted this moment, or so it seems.'
But what I really wanted didn't seem to be this.
I looked down at Elize with cold eyes and asked.
"Do you want to live?"
Elize nodded, clutching my dress tightly with trembling hands.
"Even if you have to spend the rest of your life in this prison, even that kind of life?"
This time, Elize couldn't answer easily either.
But seeing the fear in her eyes, it seemed closer to 'I'm afraid of death' than 'I want to live'.
As is the case with all humans.
I stared at Elize, who seemed more human than ever.
I didn't feel any sympathy, though. Of course.
Elize had played a part in framing me and causing my miserable death.
And in my previous life, she had tried to kill Idris, as well as the countless innocent people who had boarded the airship with dreams.
Of course, it was all gone now.
'But I remember.'
Betrayal, misery, fear, sadness...
All of it.
She wasn't a young child whose personality hadn't yet formed, and Elize, who had already become twisted, wouldn't change even if she survived here.
After pondering for a moment, I opened my mouth.
"Okay, live."
Perhaps she hadn't thought I would readily agree, even as she desperately clung to me, Elize's eyes widened in surprise as she looked at me.
"Live and see clearly how trivial and insignificant the things you believed in were."
I received the prison key from the knight next to me and threw it to Elize.
At the same time, small fragments began to fall from the ceiling.
"Young Lady Chloe, let's go now."
The knights urged.
I turned away from Elize.
I could feel Elize hesitantly following, but I left her alone.
Just as we had climbed to the upper floor with the knights, we encountered a group of men.
"Hurry, get out quickly in this gap!"
"Damn it, stop pushing!"
The bodies of some guards who had been killed, and the bewildered men.
They were the vicious criminals who had been imprisoned in this prison.
'It seems Deon released everyone while escaping.'
If the vicious criminals escaped, it would become even more chaotic, which would divide the Knights' forces, giving him more time to escape in the gap.
'But if we don't try to suppress them first, it should be fine.'
Surviving this collapsing building would be their priority.
I gestured to the knights not to suppress them, and quietly tried to pass by.
Until I heard a chilling voice from within them.
"Wait, isn't that woman... Duke Dellua's lover?"
Then, the vicious criminals who had been rushing out all turned to look at us at once.
But most seemed uninterested, and only the man who had spoken first approached with a lewd smile.
"Well, it seems the gods haven't abandoned me to the very end."
"Hey, what are you doing? You're distracted by a woman in this situation?"
One of the escaping prisoners grabbed the vicious criminal as if he had developed camaraderie, but the man scolded him instead.
"No, you idiot. Are you the only one who can only think of that when you see a woman? Use your head and think."
"I'm worried about you...!"
"Even if we manage to escape from here, the knights of the Imperial Palace will already be everywhere outside the prison. We won't be able to escape the Imperial Palace if we go out like this. Never."
"That doesn't mean we can die here—"
"Let's take that woman as a hostage."
The colleague seemed to understand the vicious criminal's words, and the look in his eyes as he looked at me slowly began to change.
The vicious criminal smiled and added.
"Then there will be room for negotiation with the Duke."
Only then did the criminals, who had been indifferent and focused only on escaping the prison, begin to turn and look at us one by one.
Their eyes gleamed as they looked at me, like hyenas who had found prey.
"We can dream of a new life!"
At the same time, the menacing-looking vicious criminals all rushed towards us at once.
The knights quickly drew their swords and shouted, protecting me.
"We'll stop them here. Turn around and go to the back gate, Young Lady Chloe. Escort the Young Lady!"
There was no time for a long conversation.
It was already not enough to just stop the rushing vicious criminals.
In the end, I turned around and started running in the opposite direction with one knight and Elize.
Fortunately, there was no one we encountered, as the criminals had all been heading that way.
But just as we had climbed to the upper floor.
We encountered an unexpected... no, an expected figure.
"Here you are. Young Lady Chloe."
The main culprit of all the events.
At this moment, Deon Zahir, who had made me stand here.
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