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A short while later, the trade wagon train led by Iana arrived at the outer castle.
She stood beside Charles, watching the trade wagons pass through, lost in thought.
"The summer snow was an ominous sign. Announcing that terrible event..."
It was a conversation from a tea party early in her marriage in her previous life, when she wasn't yet very ill.
'What was that terrible event that they said the summer snow was an ominous sign of?'
Iana couldn't recall the conversation before or after that at all.
"Well, now it's Iana the mage's turn to leave."
Was he trying to say goodbye? Charles reached out towards her face.
Tap-.
Iana, thinking he might stroke her face with people watching, grabbed his arm with both hands.
"Why, why?"
"Hold still."
With his free hand, he plucked a summer snow petal from her hair.
He placed her hand on his own, palm up, and put the petal on it.
Iana felt embarrassed, as if she had been thinking strange things all by herself.
"If you go around with flowers in your hair, people might think it's a bit odd."
"Though, of course, it looks lovely to me."
"......!"
Her face turned even redder.
Ahem, ahem.
Townspeople passing by coughed at the cheesy exchange.
Iana, gently holding the petal he had given her, changed the subject.
"I, I should get going now."
She carefully put the petal Charles had given her into her pants pocket.
As if it were a gift from him.
As Iana mounted her horse, the five knights who would escort her surrounded her, front and back.
Whoooosh.
The outer castle gate slowly opened.
"I'll be waiting, so please be careful."
Charles greeted her calmly, but his eyes were full of worry.
"Yes, I'll be back as soon as possible."
After Iana said her goodbyes, she rode out of the outer castle with her escort knights.
She glanced back and saw Charles standing in front of the gate.
A moment later, she looked back again.
He was still there. As if he would always be there.
Thump, thump, thump.
Iana and her party rode out at a rapid pace.
Once again, the words she had heard at the tea party in her previous life came to mind.
'What exactly was the summer snow an ominous sign of?'
No matter how hard Iana thought, she couldn't quite recall.
After riding for about an hour, the procession stopped in front of a stream.
"There won't be a good place to get water for about two hours from here, so it would be good to rest."
At the escort knight's words, Iana also brought Andre to drink water from the stream.
She took out the summer snow petal Charles had given her from her pants pocket and fell into thought.
At that moment, she heard the voices of the escort knights talking by the stream.
"My heart always felt heavy whenever I came here, but today it feels light."
"That's right. Because whenever we came here, it was always to fight a war."
It was that moment.
Iana's mind flashed as if she had been struck hard on the head.
"A war broke out in the northern region. The number of monsters is so great that they said it would be the 3rd Monster War."
"The summer snow was an ominous sign. Announcing that terrible event..."
"It was war..."
Iana murmured with a blank look on her face.
The 3rd Monster War had devastated the northern region, but it hadn't spread to the southern region, so she seemed to have forgotten about it.
The knights looked at Iana with puzzled faces.
"Mage, what did you just say?"
Iana stared at the knights' faces and pondered.
'What should I do?'
The events of her previous life might or might not happen.
'What if the 3rd Monster War breaks out in Ervin when I'm not there?
The problem is the possibility that the timing could be brought forward, like the Goddess of Pain incident.
The moment that small possibility becomes reality, Ervin would surely be devastated.
Riel, who will become the Empress, and Ervin where the war will break out.
The choice was hers.
Then she remembered what Charles had said in front of the outer castle gate.
"I'll be waiting, so please be careful."
Iana said with a determined look, as if she had made up her mind.
"We're going back. To Ervin."
✦ ✦ ✦
At that moment, in the basement of Duke Havel's townhouse.
Riel was tied hand and foot and had been brutally beaten for two days.
Her lips were torn and her whole body was covered in blood.
Bang!
A senior knight slammed a wooden stick against the floor as a threat.
"Speak! Who dared to instigate you to slander Her Majesty the Empress to His Grace, Duke Havel."
Riel threw out bait for now.
That the Empress's Diane family was involved in the Crown Prince's poisoning.
Other than that, she didn't utter a word despite any threats or beatings.
"I will not speak to anyone but His Grace, Duke Havel. Even if you cut off my head right now."
Riel twisted her torn lips in a sneer.
"You stubborn bitch. I'll give you what you want."
The senior knight, with a cruel smile, was about to swing the wooden stick when.
Creak-.
The iron door to the basement opened and Duke Havel entered.
"Stop."
At Duke Havel's command, the senior knight quickly brought a chair from the back and placed it in front of Riel.
As Duke Havel sat down there, the knight bowed sharply and went outside.
Only Duke Havel and Riel remained in the basement.
Duke Havel asked with an indifferent face.
"I heard you caused a commotion at the gambling den where you went to meet Franz."
"Isn't it because I caused such a commotion that I can now have a private audience with His Grace, Duke Havel?"
Duke Havel asked directly.
"Is it a lie?"
"......"
"That the Diane family is the family that has not been revealed in the Crown Prince's poisoning case."
Riel also answered without hesitation.
"It's a lie."
Smack!
Duke Havel slapped Riel across the cheek.
Riel's body staggered, but she straightened her back again and said.
"I will not tell a lie at any moment. Not to His Grace, Duke Havel."
"......"
"If you're going to use me as a card, use me, and if you're going to discard me, discard me. Either way, I'm as good as dead."
Duke Havel slowly rose from his seat.
"Sometimes, a desperate heart can ruin things."
"I'm not begging with a desperate heart, but coming to persuade you with a clear strategy."
The two people's gazes intertwined fiercely.
Duke Havel slowly sat back down.
"Tell me. Tell me about that strategy you're willing to trade your life for."
"There was a country called Tuuk, which briefly dominated the Western Continent. In that place, they worshiped people as gods."
"......"
Duke Havel stared at Riel, as if trying to grasp the meaning of those words.
In an instant, Riel's eyes changed.
"I will win the heart of His Majesty the Emperor, who feels insecure on the throne. By deifying His Majesty the Emperor."
"Deification?"
"I will make His Majesty the Emperor believe that he is a god himself. With the method of brainwashing that the Tuuk monks used on the human goddess and the people of the empire."
Because a human with extreme anxiety sometimes uses delusions to find peace of mind.
Riel was planning to manipulate the Emperor by taking advantage of that point.
"......!"
Duke Havel's eyes flickered slightly.
Riel raised one corner of her mouth as she saw that.
"After that, I will bring down the Empress. By linking her to the Crown Prince's poisoning case."
✦ ✦ ✦
Thump, thump, thump.
Iana's party rode quickly.
After riding for about an hour, the outer castle of Ervin came into view in front of them.
Just as the outer castle gate was about to close, Iana and her party quickly entered.
As Iana stopped inside the outer castle, the knight guarding the outer castle asked with a surprised face.
"Mage, why have you come back?"
"Has Your Highness returned to the Ducal Palace?"
"Yes, he went down with the procession of townspeople a little while ago."
"Open the gate leading to Ervin."
Iana said urgently and pulled on the reins again.
"Yes? Yes. Mage."
At the outer castle knight's gesture, the bugler blew the horn.
Whoooosh.
Iana and her escort knights passed through the gate connected to Ervin.
Summer snow petals were piled up like white snow on the path.
Just as they were about to leave the Mage's Forest, they saw a scene of huge flames burning in front of them, along with people's screams.
As Iana's party left the Mage's Forest, an unbelievable sight unfolded before their eyes.
Kuaaaak-.
A Krikan with two heads was spewing fire at the barrier.
'It's a mutation.'
Iana stared at the sight with a horrified face.
Swoosh-.
Archers fired arrows at the Krikan's tongue, which was its weak point, but they disappeared without a trace in the fire the Krikan was spewing.
Lyman the mage was lying there bleeding, seemingly injured.
Then Charles picked up a shield and climbed onto the roof of the carriage.
Since the arrows were burning as soon as they were fired, it seemed he was planning to attack directly by throwing his sword.
'It's dangerous!'
Iana quickly chanted a spell.
It was the moment when the Krikan was about to spew fire at Charles.
Iana's barrier, with intense flames, was erected in front of Charles.
Charles looked back with a surprised face.
"Iana, how did you get here?"
"I came because I have something to tell you. First, the monsters!"
She said urgently and pushed the barrier towards the Krikan.
The Krikan's flames and Iana's fire barrier clashed.
"Ugh!"
The mutated Krikan's magical power was strong.
Iana turned around and shouted at Lyman.
"Lyman the mage, send me your magical power."
"Yes?"
"Send me your magical power. Quickly!"
Lyman inadvertently sent blue magical power towards Iana.
As Lyman's magical power was added to Iana's body, the fire barrier burned more intensely and engulfed the Krikan.
The Krikan burned white with a grotesque sound.
Everyone stared at the sight in a daze.
Charles came down from the roof of the carriage and ran towards Iana.
As he approached, Iana whispered softly in Charles's ear.
"The 3rd Monster War will break out. In Ervin."
She stood beside Charles, watching the trade wagons pass through, lost in thought.
"The summer snow was an ominous sign. Announcing that terrible event..."
It was a conversation from a tea party early in her marriage in her previous life, when she wasn't yet very ill.
'What was that terrible event that they said the summer snow was an ominous sign of?'
Iana couldn't recall the conversation before or after that at all.
"Well, now it's Iana the mage's turn to leave."
Was he trying to say goodbye? Charles reached out towards her face.
Tap-.
Iana, thinking he might stroke her face with people watching, grabbed his arm with both hands.
"Why, why?"
"Hold still."
With his free hand, he plucked a summer snow petal from her hair.
He placed her hand on his own, palm up, and put the petal on it.
Iana felt embarrassed, as if she had been thinking strange things all by herself.
"If you go around with flowers in your hair, people might think it's a bit odd."
"Though, of course, it looks lovely to me."
"......!"
Her face turned even redder.
Ahem, ahem.
Townspeople passing by coughed at the cheesy exchange.
Iana, gently holding the petal he had given her, changed the subject.
"I, I should get going now."
She carefully put the petal Charles had given her into her pants pocket.
As if it were a gift from him.
As Iana mounted her horse, the five knights who would escort her surrounded her, front and back.
Whoooosh.
The outer castle gate slowly opened.
"I'll be waiting, so please be careful."
Charles greeted her calmly, but his eyes were full of worry.
"Yes, I'll be back as soon as possible."
After Iana said her goodbyes, she rode out of the outer castle with her escort knights.
She glanced back and saw Charles standing in front of the gate.
A moment later, she looked back again.
He was still there. As if he would always be there.
Thump, thump, thump.
Iana and her party rode out at a rapid pace.
Once again, the words she had heard at the tea party in her previous life came to mind.
'What exactly was the summer snow an ominous sign of?'
No matter how hard Iana thought, she couldn't quite recall.
After riding for about an hour, the procession stopped in front of a stream.
"There won't be a good place to get water for about two hours from here, so it would be good to rest."
At the escort knight's words, Iana also brought Andre to drink water from the stream.
She took out the summer snow petal Charles had given her from her pants pocket and fell into thought.
At that moment, she heard the voices of the escort knights talking by the stream.
"My heart always felt heavy whenever I came here, but today it feels light."
"That's right. Because whenever we came here, it was always to fight a war."
It was that moment.
Iana's mind flashed as if she had been struck hard on the head.
"A war broke out in the northern region. The number of monsters is so great that they said it would be the 3rd Monster War."
"The summer snow was an ominous sign. Announcing that terrible event..."
"It was war..."
Iana murmured with a blank look on her face.
The 3rd Monster War had devastated the northern region, but it hadn't spread to the southern region, so she seemed to have forgotten about it.
The knights looked at Iana with puzzled faces.
"Mage, what did you just say?"
Iana stared at the knights' faces and pondered.
'What should I do?'
The events of her previous life might or might not happen.
'What if the 3rd Monster War breaks out in Ervin when I'm not there?
The problem is the possibility that the timing could be brought forward, like the Goddess of Pain incident.
The moment that small possibility becomes reality, Ervin would surely be devastated.
Riel, who will become the Empress, and Ervin where the war will break out.
The choice was hers.
Then she remembered what Charles had said in front of the outer castle gate.
"I'll be waiting, so please be careful."
Iana said with a determined look, as if she had made up her mind.
"We're going back. To Ervin."
✦ ✦ ✦
At that moment, in the basement of Duke Havel's townhouse.
Riel was tied hand and foot and had been brutally beaten for two days.
Her lips were torn and her whole body was covered in blood.
Bang!
A senior knight slammed a wooden stick against the floor as a threat.
"Speak! Who dared to instigate you to slander Her Majesty the Empress to His Grace, Duke Havel."
Riel threw out bait for now.
That the Empress's Diane family was involved in the Crown Prince's poisoning.
Other than that, she didn't utter a word despite any threats or beatings.
"I will not speak to anyone but His Grace, Duke Havel. Even if you cut off my head right now."
Riel twisted her torn lips in a sneer.
"You stubborn bitch. I'll give you what you want."
The senior knight, with a cruel smile, was about to swing the wooden stick when.
Creak-.
The iron door to the basement opened and Duke Havel entered.
"Stop."
At Duke Havel's command, the senior knight quickly brought a chair from the back and placed it in front of Riel.
As Duke Havel sat down there, the knight bowed sharply and went outside.
Only Duke Havel and Riel remained in the basement.
Duke Havel asked with an indifferent face.
"I heard you caused a commotion at the gambling den where you went to meet Franz."
"Isn't it because I caused such a commotion that I can now have a private audience with His Grace, Duke Havel?"
Duke Havel asked directly.
"Is it a lie?"
"......"
"That the Diane family is the family that has not been revealed in the Crown Prince's poisoning case."
Riel also answered without hesitation.
"It's a lie."
Smack!
Duke Havel slapped Riel across the cheek.
Riel's body staggered, but she straightened her back again and said.
"I will not tell a lie at any moment. Not to His Grace, Duke Havel."
"......"
"If you're going to use me as a card, use me, and if you're going to discard me, discard me. Either way, I'm as good as dead."
Duke Havel slowly rose from his seat.
"Sometimes, a desperate heart can ruin things."
"I'm not begging with a desperate heart, but coming to persuade you with a clear strategy."
The two people's gazes intertwined fiercely.
Duke Havel slowly sat back down.
"Tell me. Tell me about that strategy you're willing to trade your life for."
"There was a country called Tuuk, which briefly dominated the Western Continent. In that place, they worshiped people as gods."
"......"
Duke Havel stared at Riel, as if trying to grasp the meaning of those words.
In an instant, Riel's eyes changed.
"I will win the heart of His Majesty the Emperor, who feels insecure on the throne. By deifying His Majesty the Emperor."
"Deification?"
"I will make His Majesty the Emperor believe that he is a god himself. With the method of brainwashing that the Tuuk monks used on the human goddess and the people of the empire."
Because a human with extreme anxiety sometimes uses delusions to find peace of mind.
Riel was planning to manipulate the Emperor by taking advantage of that point.
"......!"
Duke Havel's eyes flickered slightly.
Riel raised one corner of her mouth as she saw that.
"After that, I will bring down the Empress. By linking her to the Crown Prince's poisoning case."
✦ ✦ ✦
Thump, thump, thump.
Iana's party rode quickly.
After riding for about an hour, the outer castle of Ervin came into view in front of them.
Just as the outer castle gate was about to close, Iana and her party quickly entered.
As Iana stopped inside the outer castle, the knight guarding the outer castle asked with a surprised face.
"Mage, why have you come back?"
"Has Your Highness returned to the Ducal Palace?"
"Yes, he went down with the procession of townspeople a little while ago."
"Open the gate leading to Ervin."
Iana said urgently and pulled on the reins again.
"Yes? Yes. Mage."
At the outer castle knight's gesture, the bugler blew the horn.
Whoooosh.
Iana and her escort knights passed through the gate connected to Ervin.
Summer snow petals were piled up like white snow on the path.
Just as they were about to leave the Mage's Forest, they saw a scene of huge flames burning in front of them, along with people's screams.
As Iana's party left the Mage's Forest, an unbelievable sight unfolded before their eyes.
Kuaaaak-.
A Krikan with two heads was spewing fire at the barrier.
'It's a mutation.'
Iana stared at the sight with a horrified face.
Swoosh-.
Archers fired arrows at the Krikan's tongue, which was its weak point, but they disappeared without a trace in the fire the Krikan was spewing.
Lyman the mage was lying there bleeding, seemingly injured.
Then Charles picked up a shield and climbed onto the roof of the carriage.
Since the arrows were burning as soon as they were fired, it seemed he was planning to attack directly by throwing his sword.
'It's dangerous!'
Iana quickly chanted a spell.
It was the moment when the Krikan was about to spew fire at Charles.
Iana's barrier, with intense flames, was erected in front of Charles.
Charles looked back with a surprised face.
"Iana, how did you get here?"
"I came because I have something to tell you. First, the monsters!"
She said urgently and pushed the barrier towards the Krikan.
The Krikan's flames and Iana's fire barrier clashed.
"Ugh!"
The mutated Krikan's magical power was strong.
Iana turned around and shouted at Lyman.
"Lyman the mage, send me your magical power."
"Yes?"
"Send me your magical power. Quickly!"
Lyman inadvertently sent blue magical power towards Iana.
As Lyman's magical power was added to Iana's body, the fire barrier burned more intensely and engulfed the Krikan.
The Krikan burned white with a grotesque sound.
Everyone stared at the sight in a daze.
Charles came down from the roof of the carriage and ran towards Iana.
As he approached, Iana whispered softly in Charles's ear.
"The 3rd Monster War will break out. In Ervin."
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