FMV 34

Chapter 34

“That isn’t retaliation. It’s blackmail.”

“Whether it’s retaliation or blackmail, what difference does it make?”

A derisive chuckle escaped Esit’s lips.

“That’s what politics is like.”

“Your Majesty.”

Leonhardt couldn’t understand the situation at all.

A hollow expression appeared on his face.

Esit could hardly be called a particularly good man, but he was still the lord Leonhardt was sworn to protect. At the very least, Leonhardt had believed that they shared the same goal of serving the Empire.

But what was this despicable behavior?

At last, he clenched his teeth and spoke.

“Lady Elize has already suffered enough—”

“Enough?”

Esit spun around sharply.

“Enough what? You mean she has suffered enough?”

His face twisted viciously.

“If you cared so much about Elize, why did you turn a blind eye to her all this time?”

His languid, low voice carried a mocking edge.

“And didn’t you see her today? Elize has changed. As if she has made some sort of resolution… She was like a venomous snake carrying poison.”

Esit slowly raised the corners of his lips.

“So wouldn’t it be most satisfying to crush the head of that snake in front of a crowd?”

Ian, who had been watching the situation, curled his lips into a sinister smile and began to applaud.

“An excellent metaphor. A snake. It suits the Saintess perfectly.”

There was something faintly sarcastic about his tone, but Esit paid no attention.

“You take care of the preparations, Ian. Don’t make the children’s symptoms too severe. I have no desire for those worthless things to die in the temple I built.”

“Fine.”

“And tell the temple this: this ceremony is a joint charitable project between the Imperial Family and the Holy Temple. If it fails… all responsibility will fall on the Saintess.”

Unable to endure it any longer, Leonhardt stepped forward.

“I oppose this.”

The room fell silent.

Esit looked at Leonhardt. His gaze slowly turned cold.

“You oppose it?”

“Using children crosses the line.”

“Hah. Elize was the one who crossed the line first. You saw it yourself, didn’t you?”

Esit cut him off coldly.

“If Elize continues behaving like this, it could interfere with the execution. As an asset of the Empire, she must be sacrificed.”

At those final words, Leonhardt’s eyes froze.

An asset of the Empire.

It was such a cold term, as though she wasn’t even being treated as a person.

The moment those words pierced his ears, the smile Elize had shown him came vividly to mind.

Was that why she had changed?

Regardless of the execution, treating Elize this way was simply wrong.

“Regardless of the sacrifice, Lady Elize is not an object.”

Ian turned his head toward Leonhardt.

His gaze was filled with interest.

Esit remained silent for a moment before slowly laughing.

“How amusing. Only now?”

Leonhardt closed his lips at the mockery.

He knew he was too late.

He simply hadn’t understood what kind of situation Elize had been in all this time.

But even if it was late, there were things he had to correct now.

Esit watched his silence with satisfaction before giving his final order.

“Good. This will be an excellent opportunity to test your loyalty.”

“……Your Majesty!”

“On the day of the Great Blessing Ceremony, you will personally bring Elize there.”

Leonhardt’s gaze wavered.

Esit went one step further.

“And you will personally draw her blood.”

Leonhardt’s eyes widened.

“Your Majesty.”

“You couldn’t even hold a knife today, could you? But on that day… you will have to use your own hands to take Elize’s blood.”

Esit’s voice was cruel enough to sound almost sweet.

“And if you harbor something that might be love—or guilt—then all the better. It will make the performance even more convincing.”

Ian let out a low laugh beside him.

“Your Majesty!”

Leonhardt shouted through clenched teeth, but Esit raised one hand, cutting him off.

“Lower your voice.”

His red eyes gleamed coldly.

“If you refuse, your Guardian Order will begin the process of disbandment.”

It was an overt and despicable threat.

“If the Guardian Order disappears, the people of the Empire will suffer quite a bit as well. Don’t you think?”

With that final blow, Leonhardt could say nothing.

His tightly clenched fists had gone white.

Esit turned away as though the contest had already been decided.

Then he picked up a small bell from the side table.

At once, his adjutant hurried into the room.

“Bring me a draft of the invitations by tonight.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

The man bowed crisply before immediately leaving the room.

“Make sure the children from the orphanage don’t say a word. It would be even better if the director comes crying and begging. Those tears will make the performance more convincing.”

Ian gave a slight nod, smiling.

There wasn’t the slightest hint of disorder in his expression.

“How beautiful it will be.”

Esit looked out the window one last time.

The setting sun had dyed the spires of the Holy Temple crimson.

It was a color as dark as blood, and just as ominous.

“Elize.”

He murmured her name in a voice that sounded almost gentle, though it carried something far more terrible beneath it.

“Look forward to it.”

A slow smile spread across his lips.

“Because it’s going to be very entertaining.”

Who could have imagined that, not far from the temple, an ugly stage was already being carefully prepared to squeeze the blood from the Saintess?

What expression would Elize wear at the Great Blessing Ceremony?

Lost in the delightful fantasy, Esit slowly smiled.

He was certain that this time, he would finally make her smile disappear.

“Hah.”

At that very moment—

Outside the closed door, beneath the shadow of a black curtain, someone quietly held his breath.

In a corner untouched by even a sliver of light, Damian covered his mouth with the back of his hand and narrowed his eyes with a grin.

“Wow.”

A small exclamation slipped from his lips.

“This is beyond anything I imagined.”

Damian’s eyes sparkled playfully.

Yet beneath that sparkle lurked something as cold and sharp as the tip of a blade.

He silently turned around.

There was someone he needed to tell this to before anyone else.