Chapter 2
“There is good news and bad news. Which would you like to hear first?”
“…The good news.”
“You don’t have to die immediately.”
Her eyes widened.
“And the bad news?”
“You’re going to the Imperial Capital.”
This time, her mouth fell open.
Looking at her, Duke Grixia clicked his tongue with a look of pity.
“So that means…”
“It means… good luck.”
Having delivered his final words, he turned around and walked away.
Perdia stared blankly at his retreating figure until a knight approached, grabbed her by the shoulder, and pulled her to her feet.
“Duke Grixia.”
Grixia turned at the sound of his adjutant calling him.
The somewhat clumsy officer flinched the moment he saw the duke’s crimson eyes, but carefully offered him a waterskin.
“C-Congratulations, Your Grace. It’s a tremendous victory. We’ve captured Perdia, the woman known as the Devil’s Child. Now nothing stands between the Empire and complete victory.”
“The Devil’s Child…”
The title alone revealed just how monstrous an image she had become within the Empire.
Grixia took a sip of water, his brows narrowing slightly.
Her face surfaced in his mind.
“…I should have killed her.”
“…Your Grace?”
No…
The duke shook his head and looked up at the sky.
The brilliant blue heavens were strangely out of place above a battlefield.
And that shade of blue reminded him of Perdia’s hair.
Her image lingered stubbornly in his thoughts, making him click his tongue in irritation.
“You.”
“Yes?”
“Go convene the Senate. Then gather every record from the wars where the Empire absorbed conquered kingdoms.”
“…The Senate? The records?”
“Hurry. I don’t have time to explain.”
At the irritation in the duke’s voice, the adjutant hurriedly nodded before scrambling away.
Grixia watched the awkward figure disappear into the distance.
Then he sighed deeply.
“…What a mess.”
The war ended in an overwhelming victory for the Empire.
At first, Perdia’s main army had crushed Imperial divisions one after another, making it seem as though the Goddess of Victory smiled upon the Kingdom.
But the moment Duke Grixia—the Empire’s unrivaled troubleshooter—defeated Perdia, the Kingdom collapsed.
A foolish king had taken the Emperor’s provocation too seriously.
A petty exchange of words had ultimately led to the destruction of an entire nation.
Every member of the royal family was executed.
Those who had participated in the war were either sentenced to death or stripped of their titles, lands, and wealth according to the severity of their crimes.
As Perdia learned all of this, she sat motionless in an underground prison, bound in chains.
She had no idea how much time had passed.
She had fallen asleep and awakened roughly ten times.
So she assumed about ten days had gone by.
Never once had she imagined she would end up in such a situation.
The weight crushing her heart was immense.
To make matters worse, the words spoken by a prison guard a few days earlier still echoed inside her head.
“So, the bitch who’s about to be skewered and burned alive still has quite the appetite, huh?”
The moment she heard those words, her blood ran cold.
Burned alive?
Skewered?
Wait… weren’t they just supposed to behead me?
She had stared at the guard with wide eyes, but he hadn’t said another word.
Three more days passed.
Perdia gave up trying to survive.
She simply sat there, no longer thinking about her future.
She only waited for the day she would die.
Creeeak—
The heavy prison door slowly opened.
Moments later, three knights approached and unlocked the bars of her cell.
The instant she saw them, Perdia’s face stiffened.
“Come.”
…Was it time?
Was she finally being taken to her execution?
She stared at them with parted lips.
She wanted to resist.
She wanted to struggle.
But the tendons in her body had already been severed.
Without proper treatment, she could barely stand on her own.
Seeing that she didn’t move, one of the knights gestured with his chin.
The others stepped forward, grabbed both of her shoulders, and hauled her upright before dragging her away.
Only then did it truly sink in.
This road…
Was the road leading to her death.
Suddenly, the cold, damp prison she’d hated felt like a place of comfort.
But the moment brilliant sunlight struck her eyes, even that feeling disappeared.
Held tightly between the knights, she was dragged through the corridor.
She could feel countless gazes fixed upon her.
With great effort, she turned her eyes toward them.
A maid spat onto the floor.
“That woman killed my older brother.”
“What a pathetic-looking bitch. Worthless even if you cursed her.”
To them…
Perdia was nothing more than a criminal.
A villain.
The murderer of their families.
She lowered her head.
Her hair fell over her face.
Her lips curled inward.
She was going to die anyway.
There was no point making excuses now.
Eventually, they arrived at a massive assembly hall.
As the great doors opened, Perdia found herself surrounded by countless seated nobles and officials.
The knights led her to a chair placed directly in the center of the hall and forced her into it.
Feeling hundreds of eyes upon her, she slowly lifted her head.
A booming voice echoed throughout the chamber.
“From this moment forth, the military tribunal of Perdia Arde Poeheim, Commander of the Knights of the Kingdom of Artia, shall commence.”
Only then did she fully realize where she was.
Over four hundred pairs of eyes watched her.
More than two hundred voices spoke.
Hands pointed toward her in ridicule.
Soon enough…
Those same people would condemn her to death.
And after that…
The blazing fire.
The execution stake.
“…Ha…”
A deep sigh escaped her lips.
Had she struggled so desperately to escape Duke Grixia on the battlefield…
Only to die like this?
She almost wished he had simply killed her himself.
The hall erupted with voice after voice.
Each speaker recited her crimes.
Each described the devastation she had caused.
Each argued what punishment she deserved.
Their words differed.
Their conclusion did not.
Death.
Perdia’s eyes slowly calmed.
She was going to die no matter what.
If that was inevitable…
Then perhaps it would be better to choose the least painful way.
As that thought settled in her mind, her racing heart gradually began to calm.
Then another speaker stood.
“During this war alone, Perdia slaughtered over a thousand soldiers with her own hands. Furthermore, her exceptional command resulted in one hundred thousand Imperial soldiers being cut down under her orders.”
“They were the Empire’s sons. Fathers. Brothers. Lovers.”
“She may have killed one hundred thousand people, but the grief she created has been shared by every citizen of the Empire.”
“Therefore, I believe Perdia Arde Poeheim should be sentenced to live flaying.”
Live… flaying?
Perdia jerked her head upward.
“And after being flayed alive, she should be burned at the stake before all the citizens of the Empire on the final day.”
Burned at the stake too?
The punishment was far worse than she had imagined.
Her heart began pounding violently again.
Why…?
Why not simply execute me?
Live flaying…? Burning…?
She hurriedly opened her mouth to protest.
But her voice was drowned out by the crowd’s furious shouting.
She desperately tried again.
She wanted to avoid those horrific punishments at all costs.
Yet her throat had become so dry and cracked that only weak coughs escaped her lips.
“Cough… cough…”
Lowering her head, she struggled to breathe.
Each ragged breath scraped painfully through her throat, refusing to let her speak.
She hadn’t eaten.
She hadn’t rested.
A splitting headache pounded inside her skull.
Dizziness overwhelmed her.
The crushing realization that her fate now rested entirely in these people’s hands filled her with despair.
Her eyes trembled before finally closing.
Then—
The hall fell completely silent.
Perdia slowly raised her head again.
Something had changed.
She looked toward the presiding judge.
The chairman had just received a sealed letter from someone.
After reading it, he frowned in confusion and asked several hurried questions.
Even that wasn’t enough.
He leaned toward the other council members beside him, whispering urgently.
They all sighed.
One after another, they shook their heads.
The discussion, which seemed endless, finally concluded when the chairman raised his hand for silence.
Moments later, he stood.
The other council members rose with him and quietly followed him out.
Not long afterward, the military tribunal was declared adjourned.
The assembled nobles exchanged bewildered looks before slowly standing as well.
“…What?”
Perdia looked around in confusion.
She couldn’t understand why the trial had ended so abruptly.
Only moments ago they had been arguing over burning her alive and peeling her skin off.
Now they were simply… leaving.
“Let’s go.”
Before she could make sense of it, the knights approached once again and lifted her to her feet.
Anxiety welled up inside her.
“…Are you taking me to be executed?”
One knight glanced at her face.
Then he simply shook his head.
That was all.
A lazy, indifferent answer.
But even that was enough.
At least she wasn’t about to die immediately.
A long sigh of relief escaped her lips.
Just leaving behind the hall where people had passionately debated live flaying, burning, and dismemberment already felt like a blessing.
Soon, the knights opened another door and escorted her into a large room.
“We’ve brought her.”
“Good work.”
The familiar voice struck her ears.
Perdia slowly raised her head.
The first thing she saw was dull blond hair and crimson eyes.
Then her gaze fell upon the silver sword resting in his hand.
Her lips parted.
“…Duke Grixia?”
“So you remembered me.”
With an amused smile—a smile he had never once shown on the battlefield—he walked over.
To the astonishment of the knights, he casually took Perdia from their grasp and lifted her into his arms.
The knights froze in surprise.
Perdia was even more shocked.
As her eyes shook in confusion, his calm voice rang out.
“You may leave. Why are you still standing there?”
Only then did she realize he had been speaking to the knights.
The door closed behind them.
Gently, he set her down in a chair.
“Does anything hurt?”
“…How are you…”
Perdia stared at him blankly.
His lips curved into another faint smile.
She had never once seen him smile during the war.
He walked over to a side table, opened a small box, took out a bottle, and handed it to her.
Perdia accepted the vial with trembling hands, eyeing him warily.
“It’s not poison or anything strange.”
“It’s just medicine for your wounds.”
“…Medicine?”
Still unable to hide her suspicion, she hesitated.
With another sigh, Duke Grixia took the bottle back from her.
Without another word, he poured the liquid over her injured leg.
A blue liquid flowed over the cracked, bloodied wounds.
White smoke rose into the air.
Before her eyes, the injuries rapidly healed.
The scabs peeled away and fell to the floor.
Perdia stared in stunned disbelief.
“…Is this your first time seeing something like this? Doesn’t the Kingdom have medicine like this?”
“N-No… that’s not it…”
“…Isn’t that incredibly expensive?”
“It is.”
“It could easily buy a house.”
“T-Then why… why would you use something like that on me?”
