“In four years, the Duke of Bauner will have to choose between me or my mother.”
Garou, who climbed the wall, spread his arms. His baggy shirt flew like a flag.
“You asked me if I’m going to destroy this world, but that can’t be true. I have no intention of matching the rhythm of the demon god who drove us into this world. If other races, including your family, are sacrificed, it must be because they didn’t join hands with us.”
Garou’s tone was as light as if he was flying, but I could clearly sense the intent of killing in his sharp eyes.
I muttered a little as I pondered his words.
“…But if you kill the Emperor, this world will eventually be destroyed.”
We were living on the branches of the World Tree.
If the tree supporting this land was cut down, the entire empire would collapse.
All the people of the empire living in peace would be torn to death by the evil spirits’ hands.
Aside from whether it was possible, killing the emperor was absurd.
Still, Garou calmly shrugged his shoulders.
“There is a way.”
“What is that?”
“Should I tell it to someone who is not even on my side?”
Garou unfortunately gave a sound reason and squatted down to look at me.
“Choose, Lilietta. The Emperor who exploited the demons for thousands of years, or the resentment of the demons that had built up for thousands of years. Which one of them will you stick to?”
I swallowed dry saliva.
Although I did not feel homogeneous with the race itself, it was the same as having to choose one.
‘If there is a war that has been prepared for thousands of years, the Duchy of Bauner will inevitably be involved.’
‘And if I don’t intervene, Alan will surely stand by the Imperial House.’
No matter how unstable the alliance was, Alan could not stand on the side of the rebels.
Garou knew this, so he tried to destroy the relationship between the two families by killing Lilietta.
“Are you going to be used by my mother like this?”
Garou reached out as if asking for a handshake.
“Or would you like to hold my hand?”
The lamp that had been set down on the stone floor flickered anxiously as if it would go out at any moment.
I looked at Garou’s outstretched hand.
The shimmering light made his dark skin glow golden.
“If I persuade the Duke to join you…”
I made eye contact with Garou while clenching a part of my skirt.
“Can you promise the safety of the people of the Bauner family?”
Garou closed his eyes and smiled. His face, which was always full of joy, looked particularly ecstatic.
“Of course. Are you afraid that I will break the promise I made with you?”
“I mean.”
I lowered my eyelashes and thought of a boy. The boy who drank the poison instead of me was still tied up in a cold dungeon.
“I want you to keep everyone. Even non-blood related family members.”
Garou nodded heavily and jumped in front of me.
“I’ll protect them.”
It was a romantic and friendly voice.
His hand came close. I wiggled my fingertips and slowly lifted them up.
Then someone standing under the tower shouted loudly.
“Liiiilyyyyy!!”
…It was a very familiar voice.
***
“I can’t believe he’s holding you this late, the Crown Prince, that wretched child.”
Benny and I, along with Pedro and Hugo, were in a carriage that was racing swiftly down the road to the Duke’s Castle.
Outside the window was thick darkness.
It was difficult to drive the carriage with only the moonlight, but we left the Crown Prince Palace by force.
The first reason was that we couldn’t let any rumors spread, and the second reason was that it was not night in terms of time.
“Surprisingly, it’s still only 7pm.”
Hugo pulled out his pocket watch and said dryly. Pedro’s mouth dropped opened as if it was nonsense.
‘It’s natural to react like that.’
No matter how short the days and long the nights were in the north, it was summer now.
It was at least twilight at 7pm, but now the sky was no different than midnight.
“These days, the barriers of the World Tree are said to be unstable, so it must be because of that, Brother.”
“There are a lot of earthquakes… The duchy’s side is better, but the barrier is broken every day in the east. What’s wrong with the empire these days?”
Pedro scratched his loosely ponytailed hair.
I leaned my head against the window of the carriage and fell in thought. Pedro’s words were connected to the question that was running through my mind.
‘I know he’s starting a rebellion, but why now?’
The first thing that came to mind was the rain shower that fell without any sign. The idea that started with the summer rain extended to the meteor shower that was pouring strangely during the debutante.
The empire’s weather, in other words, the illusions the Emperor displayed was unstable.
The World Tree, Igdrasil. The first spirit created by the plant god.
Her magic was weakening. Maybe…
“…Is Her Majesty the Emperor’s life ending?”
I said it as if in passing, but the inside of the carriage quickly became quiet.
I looked back at the two brothers.
Pedro’s eyes were wide open, and Hugo glanced quizzically at me and raised his glasses.
“A person who has been fine for thousands of years, suddenly?”
“That makes sense.”
Pedro smirked as if he couldn’t imagine, but Hugo, who was next to him, looked interested.
“Even though she is said to be the first being created by a plant god, the emperor is always a spirit. There are trees that live long, but there are no trees that do not die, so the emperor’s life will have an end.”
In my head, my thoughts felt as thin as a piece of paper, but when I heard Hugo’s voice, I felt somehow persuaded.
‘If this assumption is true, then it makes sense. Why now?’
The demons used by the emperor waited for her to grow old and weaken.
The demon’s wrath. A rebellion four years later. The crown prince’s proposal to hold hands. All the events were linked together.
Now, all that’s left was the crossroads of which side to stand on when the world is changing.
“I’ve never thought of it like that, but you’re sharp. Lil…”
Hugo shut his mouth as he habitually called my name.
An awkward air flowed through the carriage. I gazed at Hugo who was sitting obliquely and said cautiously.
“Say… You don’t have to call me ‘Lily’ if you’re having a hard time.”
Just because I was in Lily’s body, there was no need to forcefully call me her name.
After all, ‘Lilietta’ wasn’t my name from the beginning.
‘Is it better to tell them that name?’
I remembered the name I had in those ant cave days when no one ever called me.
It wasn’t the name my father gave me. He only called me ‘fire ant’. Everyone else around was not interested in anything but an insulting nickname.
So one hot summer day, I gave myself a name.
‘I wanted someone to call me by my first name. Though I didn’t know it would be this way…’
The time when I was about to finally bring out that dusty name into the world.
“You bastard, why can’t you call your sister’s name right?”
Bugh!
Pedro hit Hugo in the back.
The force was so strong that Hugo’s body staggered. Because of that, the knitted item that had been pushed to the corner of the carriage bounced like a spring.
“Lily, you are my sister.”
Sitting opposite me, Pedro gathered his thick eyebrows and grabbed my forearm.
“Uh…”
“Isn’t that right, brat? You’re also Benibeni.”
Pedro blinked at Benny.
Benny looked at me and Pedro in turn, and said firmly.
“Yes. Benimus is my name.”
It had been a long time since Benny gave a serious answer to anyone other than me.
“I think the shell defines the person. If not, it means that I am not his son.”
The boy’s voice, which had been clear, was momentarily lowered.
I hurriedly grabbed Benny’s collar.
“Benny. When you call yourself ‘Benimus’… Good. It’s really good. I’ll think the same way.”
I had no intention of blaming Benny or changing his mind. This was just my problem.
“…But not me.”
A moment of silence passed.
Surprisingly, Benny was the first to break the silence.
“Since the Princess said so, let’s assume that ‘Lilietta’ and the Princess are different people.”
It was a tone that said my words could be absolute justice. Benny was as obedient as a tamed dog, despite daring to secretly put magic stones on my clothes.
“But after all things… It’s not worth paying attention to what’s inside.”
“Hey, are you talking about us?”
Pedro pointed at himself as if he was absurd.
Benny replaced affirmation with silence. He was really an honest kid.
“This savage bastard! Isn’t that too much for your future family?”
“What?”
Hugo, who had been listening to the conversation silently, suddenly raised his voice.
“Family? What do you mean, Brother?”
“Ah, you didn’t hear it because you fainted, right? Lily wants to marry Benibeni. We haven’t told Father yet…”
“What are you talking about?!”
Bang!
“Ahh?!”
I flinched at the loud noise. Hugo had gotten up and hit his head on the carriage ceiling.
He grabbed the crown of his head with both hands and let out a silent scream, then clenched his teeth and lifted his head.
“How the hell, why, with that monster…!”
“…Brother Hugo.”
I cut Hugo’s words softly.
If I was the “monster” Hugo was referring to, I would have stayed still.
But that person was Benny, and now that I promised to be by his side, it was a matter that had to be addressed.
“Benny is not a monster.”
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