Chapter 169
The birthday banquet for the Supreme Sun Emperor of the Palen Empire was fast approaching.
Amid delegations from across the continent gathering to offer congratulations.
The Holy Empire, recently embroiled in successive scandals, had yet to decide on attendance even with the event so near.
Given it was the Emperor’s birthday, the Holy King’s participation would normally be a given.
A bishop or cardinal would be insufficient to bestow blessings upon the Sun Emperor.
But the Holy Empire and the Holy King’s prestige had plummeted to rock bottom.
The Holy King, accustomed only to adoration, couldn’t endure the disgrace.
Fearing the scorn he’d face at the banquet, he ultimately decided to attend only at the last moment.
And before the news of the Holy King of the Holy Empire, Sianor Hilderd’s attendance was officially conveyed to the Palen Empire.
Duke Ivroiel, Serea, was already reading intelligence on the matter.
“He’s finally declared his intent to attend.”
Her face cast in deep shadows flickered chaotically in the wavering lamplight.
Serea narrowed her eyes.
With the Holy King’s decision to attend, the inquisitor would move as well.
Though stripped of his clerical status after declaring rebellion, he was no longer an inquisitor.
Recalling the holy knight with blue eyes, Serea ignited magic in her hand and burned the paper she held.
She roughly brushed away the scattering ashes and pulled an urgent document from the stack beside her.
In the current chaotic political climate, Serea was exerting every effort.
Most of her labors were spent reining in the rampaging Kierne.
Having seized control of Palen’s political sphere, Kierne was acting utterly unchecked.
Causing incidents almost daily, it was a nightmare for Serea.
“Damn that disciple of mine.”
In the absence of said disciple, Serea cursed freely.
She scrawled her signature on the document with her quill, then clicked her tongue.
“Tsk.”
Groping across the desk, she grabbed a handful of sage leaves from a bowl.
Chewing the fragrant leaves crunchily, she muttered.
“But thanks to that bastard, I became human again…”
Serea recalled the past, still vivid in her memory.
It had been love met on the battlefield.
She’d felt certain this man was her soulmate, but the gap in their statuses was vast.
A foreign mercenary from slave origins.
Utterly unfit to marry the noble Duke Ivroiel, mingled with Palen imperial blood.
Thus, Serea declared she’d remain unmarried for life and maintained a long-term lover’s relationship with him.
She’d believed she’d be happy living like that forever.
But the sweet interlude couldn’t last eternally.
Serea’s lover met a sudden death.
To fill the hollow void, Serea drowned in drink.
Thinking it wouldn’t matter if she died like this, yet lacking the courage to end it.
Hating her own cowardice, she sought alcohol even more.
Then she committed acts she shouldn’t have.
She began gambling.
Serea, who had only engaged in light betting at card games during banquets, soon became obsessed with gambling.
So-called ‘sharks’ eyeing the Ivroiel Dukedom’s wealth had lured Serea to the tables.
But Serea, oblivious to the trap, was ensnared by their enticements and frequented underworld gambling dens, staying up all night.
Drunk and immersed in gambling, she could forget her dead lover.
She’d thought living like this wasn’t so bad.
Then Kierne came.
“Aaaah!”
Bang, the gambling den door burst open as if shattered.
Parting the billowing dust, Kierne entered elegantly without a word.
He gazed at Serea for a long while, then smiled brightly and sat beside her.
“You’re having fun without me. Let me join.”
And he gambled through the night with Serea.
Serea, expecting a scolding, found it unexpected but rolled the dice enthusiastically.
That day, Serea lost the most.
Losing an amount that made her gasp, fear struck her.
Thus, she stayed away from gambling for a while.
But her restraint didn’t last long.
Before long, Serea crept back to the underworld dens, clutching cards and rolling dice.
To Serea, who gambled until dark circles formed under her eyes, Kierne asked just one thing.
“Are you going to continue?”
“Life’s no fun in old age. Understand that, Kierne.”
She brushed him off irritably and immersed herself in the game.
Kierne replied shortly, “I see,” and left Serea be.
From then on, Serea suffered streak after streak of losses, her gambling debts snowballing rapidly.
By the time she snapped to her senses, even the historic Ivroiel Duke’s residence was mortgaged to the underworld gambling house.
As Serea trembled on the verge of total ruin, Kierne approached and asked.
“Shall I lend you money?”
Serea couldn’t refuse, of course, and borrowed a fortune from Kierne to repay the den.
The lending condition was simple.
[Serea Fron Ivroiel swears to Kierne Basilian as follows.
She will not gamble.
Repay only the principal without interest, within three years.
In case of violation, pay the price as demanded by Kierne Basilian.]
Until stamping the loan note with a magical seal, she’d merely been grateful to Kierne.
Resolving to straighten up and live properly from now on, yet she soon slunk back to the gambling dens.
Then Kierne’s collections began.
“Pay up, Master.”
Kierne arrived with a bright smile, mercilessly hounding her without mercy.
He followed her everywhere, causing chaos, ultimately getting Serea banned from every den.
Whenever she tried to drink or engage in other follies without paying, he appeared without fail to torment her.
He even showed up at the duke’s residence in the dead of night, wielding a magic sword in a blade dance.
That day, all who had gambled secretly with Serea lost their wrists.
They were the ones who had first lured Serea to the tables.
Seeing the blood spray, Serea doggedly began repaying the debt.
She repaid steadily with earnings from roaming battlefields.
Living on the front lines again naturally distanced her from thoughts of gambling and alcohol.
The grief over her dead lover faded naturally too.
After fully settling the debt later.
When she learned Kierne was the underworld master and owned the gambling dens, her rage knew no bounds.
She’d borrowed from Kierne to pay Kierne back.
“You rotten bastard!”
Seized by betrayal, she clutched her neck and roared, but it was futile.
Kierne merely smiled slyly with his eyes and retorted.
“But if I hadn’t done that, you’d still be gambling, Master?”
“……”
It was true.
Moreover, Kierne even returned all the money Serea had repaid.
With that stomach-turning smile.
“If you want to gamble again, just say so anytime.”
“…If I gamble again, I’ll be your house dog.”
In any case, if not for Kierne.
Back then, Serea—the Ivroiel Dukedom—would have gone bankrupt.
The historic duke’s residence would have been dismantled and sold off, down to the last piece of furniture and painting.
Murmuring briefly as she recalled the past.
“Annoying brat.”
She was grateful for the help, but he was truly annoying.
But still…
Having someone who offered unconditional support and aid no matter the hardship was incredibly reassuring.
In fact, back then, so-called ‘friends’ had all turned their backs on Serea.
“I have to help my disciple too.”
It was as she muttered to herself, pushing the memory to the back of her mind and shaking her head.
Golden magic appeared in the study.
Serea rose from her seat with delight.
“Isuel!”
“Master.”
The boy’s clear smile closely resembled his father’s.
Seeing the beaming Isuel, Serea blinked.
“…You look in good spirits?”
She hadn’t seen him smile since his adopted youngest sibling went missing.
Asking in disbelief, Isuel smiled even more radiantly and said.
“Help me land a blow on Father.”
