It wasn’t a sudden realization. My thoughts had clear evidence.

Even though I was originally weak, I hadn’t been this bad. Looking back, whenever I coughed up blood and my condition worsened extremely, Zachary was always nearby.

My health deteriorated significantly after I broke Zachary’s holy power sealing array. He was born with strong holy power. Even before his awakening, the suppressed holy power would have continuously leaked out once the sealing array lost its effect.

‘Holy power and sorcery are opposing forces.’

…Ha. I laughed dryly, finding it ridiculous. I knew that holy power and sorcery were conflicting, but I didn’t know it would lead to this result.

‘This must be the Holy Empire. It’s a place touched by God’s power, so Erhan, who came here, is in a similar condition to me.’

Although Serpentine blood doesn’t flow in my body, I had already used sorcery to break Zachary’s spell array.

The Duke had said that once you dabble in sorcery, the trace remains forever.

‘So that’s why…’

No wonder my symptoms worsened after mixing bodies with Zachary.

It wasn’t just poor condition. I wiped the blood from my mouth with a bitter laugh. Outside the window, Erhan was staring at me with his hood pulled back over his head. Through the gaps in his disheveled hair, his clear, straight gaze fixed on me.

‘What’s done is done anyway.’

His persistent gaze felt like it was blaming me for being so slow-witted.

But I had no regrets. Even if I could go back in time, I would break Zachary’s spell array again. Even if it meant enduring even greater pain than this. However, I couldn’t hide my extremely bitter feelings. It felt like the whole world was blocking my love for Zachary.

“Did you hear what I said? Oscar, you can’t stay here like this.”

Erhan urged me when I didn’t say anything. His brow was slightly furrowed.

“I heard you… Tell me a bit more about how mother is doing.”

I tried to speak as calmly as possible. Erhan was silent for a moment.

“She’s not doing well at all. We need to hurry.”

The words that came after the silence made my heart sink.

“What? Just how bad is…”

“Oscar.”

As the surroundings seemed to become noisy, Erhan spoke urgently.

“I’ll come to you soon.”

At that moment, Erhan’s voice cut off abruptly. He turned around and started walking away as if he had never been looking in my direction.

“Erhan, Erhan?”

Although I called out desperately, he mixed into the crowd of servants and disappeared from sight. My head was too complicated. Mother is sick… I was so anxious, wondering if something bad might happen to her because of me.

But there was no time to keep watching Erhan’s retreating figure. Suddenly, at some point, the door burst open and someone entered.

“We bow before the sole light of the Empire!”

I turned around, startled by the shouts of the kneeling knights. Through the open door appeared a tall figure with a thin build. She strode towards me with purposeful steps. I already knew who this woman of overwhelming dignity was.

“I sensed a wicked energy strong enough to penetrate the barrier.”

…Celestia.

Zachary’s sister, and the one who had directly received Zachary from me.

“So this is where you were, young master.”

Her manner of speaking was somehow similar to Zachary’s.

The sole light of the Empire… She had become the Emperor as she wished. It was a fact unknown to the continent due to the closed borders.

“…It is an honor to meet the sole light of the Empire.”

For now, I also greeted her, albeit clumsily. She smiled with her eyes and then lightly looked around.

“Oscar Serpentine.”

Perhaps because the surroundings were a mess, she clicked her tongue.

“You look like you have many questions. It’s noisy here, shall we talk somewhere private?”

And so…

“Oscar Serpentine? What are you thinking about?”

“Ah, it’s nothing.”

This meeting had come to pass.

In the short span of a few minutes, I felt like I was losing my mind. With Erhan, and the unexpected appearance of Celestia. It was overwhelming to keep up with all these situations.

‘This really is the Empire.’

It was a reception room that well displayed the characteristics of the Empire that worshipped the god Lumina. There were rows of delicate statues depicting the deity, and countless paintings on the ceiling and walls.

“Please, sit down.”

“Thank you.”

Celestia, seated in the place of honor, looked down at me. Every piece of furniture was antique and engraved with Lumina’s symbol, making even sitting down feel presumptuous. As I carefully took my seat and looked at Celestia, I saw that she looked quite tired. Well, she had endured considerable humiliation before we could have this conversation.

“Do you dare defy the Emperor’s orders?”

“We beg your pardon, Your Majesty.”

The knights’ voices were respectful, but they stood firm and didn’t move aside.

For reasons unknown, they did not obey the Emperor’s orders.

Only after she drew her sword and pointed it at a knight’s neck in the height of her anger were we able to leave the room.

‘Celestia has indeed ascended to the throne, but…’

Is her imperial authority still weak? The knights cleared the way but followed behind Celestia and me. They entered the room with us and refused to back down, as if this was the one thing they couldn’t concede. I stared at her, surrounded by knights. The Emperor was lightly tapping on the desk.

“…”

She seemed lost in thought even after bringing me here.

I, too, had many questions for her. Having seized this opportunity, I couldn’t let it slip away.

“May I speak first, Your Majesty?”

“Go ahead.”

The Emperor finally stopped tapping on the desk.

“To get straight to the point… I’m curious how I came to be here.”

“Well, I’m not quite sure about that myself…”

What was that ambiguous answer? Did she not want to tell me?

I narrowed my eyes at her incomprehensible words, and this time she asked me a question.

“There’s one thing I’m curious about. Why did you do that back then? If you had kept him by your side, you could have enjoyed unlimited power.”

“…Pardon?”

Power?

“I mean, why did you insist on sending Zachary back to the Empire?”

Her tone was almost accusatory. Was she not happy about getting her brother back?

The more we talked, the stranger it felt. Still, I spoke firmly for now.

“I had only one purpose. It was to send Prince Zachary Thaddeus back to his home country, as he was suffering without even being able to awaken due to the spell. Also, since our family had done something wrong, I wanted to correct it. That’s why I acted.”

“…”

“Moreover, his blind devotion to me was due to the brainwashing spell affecting him in his defenseless state before awakening…”

“Wait.”

She looked at me as if she had heard something bizarre, then tilted her head.

“Just a moment… Could you say that again? I don’t understand at all.”

“…So, I’m saying again that I only sent Zachary, who was under a spell, back to the Empire to correct our family’s wrongdoing…”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

She spoke, not hiding her bewildered expression.

“Are you saying… that Zachary had not awakened before he was sent back to his home country?”

Why does she keep asking? I was perplexed, but I nodded.

“Yes, so…”

“Haha!”

Suddenly, Celestia burst into laughter.

“Good heavens! You really were a hothouse flower!”

“…”

“No, even a flower would be better than you. My goodness. How pitiful. Shall I tell you something?”

Her eyes shone brightly. As she abruptly stood up and strode towards me, her face was somehow filled with elation.

It was a strange confidence, as if she had gained some advantage. She slowly leaned close to my ear. Momentarily flustered by the closeness, I heard Celestia speak.

“Oscar, he…”

She whispered lightly to me.

“He was already awakened before coming here.”

The moment I heard those words, my mind froze. It felt as if time had stopped and the world had come to a standstill. My mind turned completely blank.

As her words echoed in my head, suddenly, chills ran through my entire body.

It felt as if a biting cold had suddenly invaded the room. My body stiffened at the chilling sensation, as if my breath might form mist between my teeth. It was at that moment. A large hand, drenched in blood, reached out past me, cutting through the air.

That hand firmly grasped Celestia’s neck.

“What is this.”

A cold voice fell like snow. The owner of the hand revealed himself fully.

“What are you doing?”

It was Zachary.