SWNOVELXO Chapter 226
Chapter 226
The era of peace was over.
Marcel sat in his office, listening to his ministers’ grim reports with a somber expression.
The Imperial authority had weakened considerably in the absence of the Emperor of Linia.
The war that Han Siha had warned about was arriving much more suddenly than anticipated.
“There’s been a rebellion in Migrove.”
“Count Pago has been killed. The townspeople attacked him.”
“Abaddon’s followers have surrounded Migrove….”
Marcel glanced around at the ministers, each vying to deliver the latest bad news about the Empire.
“They might invade the capital. You must make a decision quickly, Your Majesty.”
Their mouths moved, but Marcel knew what they truly thought.
Not a single glimmer of trust could be seen in their eyes.
No one believed the young Emperor could navigate through this crisis, and yet, here they were, pressuring him for decisions.
Marcel allowed a bitter smile to play on his lips, remaining silent.
‘Is this Empire finished?’
With Abaddon manipulating people and tightening his grip on the Empire, he felt utterly powerless.
It was pitiful that there was nothing he could do.
Marcel bit his lower lip so hard it drew blood.
‘No, I must not be weak.’
If the Empire were doomed, it would have collapsed the moment the Emperor died.
He was still alive.
There were those who had saved him.
And for them, he had risked everything to return to the palace.
Marcel had never doubted Han Taesu’s decision for a second.
Now, it was his turn to prove himself.
“Your Majesty—”
The office was filled with useless individuals who could do little more than talk.
He could see those who had already liquidated their assets, ready to flee at any moment.
“We must fight back, of course….”
The voices of those speaking senses were drowned out by the wails of the empty-headed.
“Why not offer Pago’s territory to Abaddon to pacify him?”
If Abaddon were the kind to take the land and leave, this war wouldn’t even be happening.
Idiotic suggestions continued to pile up.
“There are rumors Abaddon will curse the capital. We should offer something to prevent a greater disaster.”
“Let’s give in to his demands.”
“They say he controls people’s minds. This is a fight we can’t win. We need a strategic approach.”
“Your Majesty, please give us your orders.”
These bastards were ready to sell the country.
The real problem was that this Empire allowed these cowards to sit as ministers.
Marcel held his throbbing head in his hands.
Easier said than done.
Give up Pago’s territory strategically?
Hand over everything he demands?
“Your Majesty, you must make a decision.”
“Your Majesty….”
Grinding his teeth, Marcel’s thoughts drifted to one person.
The one who always navigated through such insurmountable odds with ease.
Han Siha.
What would that guy have said in this situation?
With these sycophants clamoring for surrender and shirking responsibility onto him.
How would Han Siha have shut them up and chased them out?
“Your Majesty, what should we do…?!”
He would’ve said this, no doubt.
“Fuck.”
Ha, fuck. For real.
“P-Pardon…?”
“Y-Your Majesty?”
“Did I… did I hear that wrong?”
He could practically hear their eyes rolling in disbelief. Pathetic fools.
These people were only concerned with saving their own necks and had already prepared to flee the Empire.
Marcel cursed under his breath and glared at the ministers.
“What do you think we’re going to do? Not fight?”
Hey, you, the one running your mouth at the front.
What’s this about negotiating with Abaddon? Handing over someone else’s land?
“Get up, bastard.”
“…!”
“Let’s start by selling your land. Go negotiate with Abaddon.”
“Y-You mean my territory?”
“What, does that bother you?”
“Guh….”
The ministers’ faces turned ghostly pale at the Emperor’s unfiltered curses.
Marcel let out a short sigh and continued.
“Let’s end this conversation here.”
“…”
“From this moment on, anyone who spouts nonsense will be sold to Abaddon along with their land. Consider yourselves warned.”
Ah.
I’ve lost my temper.
Damn it, Han Siha.
I’ve spent too much time around you—I’m even starting to talk like you.
‘This is problematic.’
Marcel rubbed his forehead as he stared at the now-silent office.
* * *
The sky was painted in hues of sunset.
Sepia sat by the window, gazing at the crimson sky.
The dawn of a new era.
The future Abaddon had promised was coming.
Even if someone raised their voice to criticize, Sepia never questioned that future.
It was a world she saw as a happy one.
A world where the Emperor was dead, the incompetent ministers were gone, and those who had persecuted them had been wiped out.
Looking at the sky that heralded the beginning of this new world, Sepia spoke.
“Han Si-hyuk.”
The magical crystals launched by Abaddon.
They began to rain down all at once.
Black, yet clear, twinkling like stars.
Small crystal-like black holes descended above their heads.
And the moment that silent rain touched the ground—
“This world is finished.”
Boom.
A deafening explosion ripped through the air, and the mountain on the other side was blown away.
Boom.
Boom.
Explosions echoed from all directions, shaking the window frames.
It was a sight unlike anything ever seen before.
The fertile plains of Ardel had been turned into a wasteland in an instant, with the screams of people merging into a cacophony of chaos.
It wasn’t far from where they were.
Han Si-hyuk shivered slightly.
Sepia observed Han Si-hyuk’s pale face and asked.
“Are you afraid?”
“A little, yes.”
Boom.
Boom.
Abaddon’s followers were setting fire to villages, stabbing people to death, and blowing up arsenals.
Sepia slowly brushed her hand across Han Si-hyuk’s face.
“There’s nothing to fear.”
Sepia glanced up again at the sky, burning blood-red as if soaked in blood.
This was salvation.
I am your salvation.
Sepia wrapped her arms around Han Si-hyuk’s neck and whispered.
“Isn’t that sky… beautiful in a way?”
“You are really….”
Heh.
“You’re like a crazy person.”
The words “crazy bitch” rose up his throat, but Han Si-hyuk barely swallowed them back down.
He looked at Sepia with a sad smile.
A new world was supposed to come.
In that world, would I no longer need to be on the run?
And could I be with you?
I hope the future I’ve seen is wrong.
Han Si-hyuk murmured softly to himself.
* * *
In a dusty encampment.
Soldiers who once served the Empire, but were now dispatched across various regions, gathered in a corner, talking quietly.
“It seems I’m being sent to Arkenent territory.”
“…I’m jealous.”
“Where are you going?”
“I’ve been assigned to Castica territory.”
“…”
An awkward silence followed.
No one could find the words to say, and the atmosphere felt like a funeral.
Finally, someone let out a sigh.
“Ah, man.”
“You’ll be alright.”
“Come back alive, okay?”
“Sniff…”
Pat, pat.
The soldier assigned to Castica hung his head, sniffling.
It was Zig, a first-year recruit from the southern region.
All the words of encouragement he received only made him feel worse.
“C-Castica… isn’t that where that person is?”
“Han Siha… Huh!”
“Hey, don’t say his name so carelessly.”
“If you’re not careful, you’ll get dragged off somewhere secluded and end up as dragon food.”
“They say he really does feed humans to his dragon.”
“No way.”
“They say one person disappears every time someone goes there.”
Zig’s face turned deathly pale.
“S-So I’ll end up like that too…?”
The trembling soldier, looking like he might wet himself, ended up banging his head against the wall.
“P-Please, let me live….”
Famous for his ruthlessness, Count Han Taesu was already terrifying, but his successor was said to be a madman who fed people to his dragon.
And that wasn’t all.
“They say trees fly away every time he swings his arm.”
“He does the same thing to people.”
A wielder of immense magical power.
Even during his time at the academy, he wasn’t quite like that, but since the war, rumors had spread that he’d returned as a complete monster.
“If you say the wrong thing, it’s curtains for you.”
“…”
“So, just to be clear, don’t talk back.”
“Yes, sir….”
“If you mess up, just beg and grovel.”
“Sniff… I understand….”
“It’s still Castica—people live there. Surely they won’t just kill you.”
The soldiers continued to pat Zig’s shoulder, trying to console him, when suddenly—
“Hello!”
A young girl with her hair tied into pigtails suddenly popped up.
“What are you all talking about?”
“Ah….”
“Kid, get back inside.”
Some of the soldiers cleared their throats, trying to shoo the girl away.
It wasn’t the first time; she’d been showing up at the barracks for three days straight, this mysterious little girl.
No one knew why she was hanging around, but she seemed very interested in the conversation they were just having.
“Why? What’s Han Siha like?”
Ardel Empire’s Princess Rubia.
But to the low-ranking soldiers who didn’t know her identity, she was just an annoying little girl, and they tried to scare her off.
“Han Siha of Castica?”
“Yes!”
“You’re not even allowed to say his name.”
Adding a cryptic smile would usually send someone running.
‘Why isn’t she scared?’
They thought she’d panic and flee, but no. The little girl just looked up at them with sparkling eyes, eager to hear more.
What kind of word games were they playing with such a bright-eyed child?
“Anyway, stop poking your nose where it doesn’t belong. You won’t gain anything good from being involved with him.”
“Why?”
“A little girl like you would get snatched up without anyone noticing.”
Gasp.
The princess briefly gasped in shock.
Good. That’s the reaction they wanted.
“Then I want to get taken!”
The foolish princess exclaimed excitedly.
The soldiers clicked their tongues, assuming she was just a naïve kid. But Princess Rubia continued as if she didn’t care at all.
“Actually, I’m going to see him today.”
“…”
“It’s been so~ long!”
Nobody seemed to believe her.
Rubia emphasized, raising her voice.
“I’m serious!”
Three years had passed since the war began.
With no time to grieve, the war had drastically changed Rubia’s life.
A war with no real progress, only mutual harm.
Countless lives were lost on the battlefield, yet the Empire still stood.
Marcel worked tirelessly as Emperor, and those beside him fought bravely.
It would be the first time Rubia would see Han Siha since the war started.
After rolling her eyes for a moment, Rubia asked cheerfully.
“So, which way is Castica territory?”
This way? Or that way?
It had to be one of the two.
“I’ll just head this way!”
At that moment.
A servant, finally spotting her, came running from a distance.
“Princess, it’s not a place you can walk to…!”