Chapter 124
Once Edwin obediently left, only Alferen, Pierre, and I remained in the room.
Pierre glared at me, his lips sealed tight.
Even after everything had been exposed, his effort to avoid mentioning Cesare or the Empress was admirable, but at this rate, he’d end up taking the fall for it all.
“I hear you’re not in good health. Surely it’s due to the sorcery.”
“……If you’re referring to the events from six years ago, you should take it up with the Emperor, not me. Haven’t you already found all the evidence anyway?”
Pierre fixed me with a direct stare and let out a scoff.
“We confirmed that the door to the Fairy Bloom opened and closed. So it was you after all, my lady.”
Having verified that I was the summoner, he seemed convinced they’d secured the evidence.
As he’d said, traces of his sorcery lingered on the Dragon Heart of the now-deceased Ice Dragon.
With my arms crossed, I asked arrogantly.
“So, did you tell the Empress that I’m a summoner?”
At the mention of the Empress, Pierre’s face registered surprise.
A moment later, he glanced toward the direction Edwin had gone and let out a low sigh.
“I didn’t tell her.”
“Why not? Because I’m Edwin’s friend?”
When Edwin was brought up, Pierre’s expression darkened.
A fleeting bitterness in his eyes.
“I knew this would happen, so I tried not to form any attachments.”
His face betrayed regret for having given Edwin more affection than necessary.
But he seemed unaware that it was precisely that quality which had swayed my heart.
“Hearts have a way of defying our intentions. If you confess your wrongs even now, I’ll take responsibility for the rest of your life.”
Yet Pierre didn’t bend easily to my persuasive words.
“No. I have no intention of betraying Her Majesty the Empress. No matter how much you torture me, you won’t pry my mouth open.”
He spoke stubbornly, fixing his gaze on Alferen.
“I’m sure Your Grace wants to tear me to pieces.”
Given that he’d attacked Davin, he seemed to believe there was no turning back.
It was the same point I’d agonized over when first convincing Alferen.
If he’d insisted he couldn’t forgive Pierre, I wouldn’t have even attempted persuasion.
“Thanks to you, we’ve been through quite an ordeal.”
However, Alferen remained composed.
Though his father had nearly died from Pierre’s sorcery, in the end, he’d survived.
If Davin had died as in the original story, Alferen likely wouldn’t have been able to forgive Pierre.
‘The original story has already changed. So I don’t want any more innocent people getting hurt.’
I approached Pierre a bit closer.
He looked somewhat drained, as if he’d anticipated a day like this.
He appeared resolved to shoulder even the Empress’s crimes.
But he couldn’t die here.
For Edwin’s sake, if nothing else.
The fact that he’d kept my abilities secret from the Empress suggested there might still be room for persuasion.
I met his gaze more intently and said.
“We have no intention of killing you. But if we leave things as they are, you’ll end up dying at the Empress’s hands, not ours.”
“What do you mean?”
“You must have heard that the Crown Princess’s condition isn’t good. That she hemorrhaged and underwent surgery just a few days ago.”
“Don’t tell me……”
“Yes. The Empress cursed the Crown Princess without your knowledge. In the process of covering her tracks, assuming there’d been a miscarriage, she left evidence with us. Tomorrow, during the Founding Festival events, the Empress is scheduled to be arrested for regicide against the imperial family.”
“……”
“And if the fact that Cesare tried to kill Alferen comes to light amid all this, it’ll be quite troublesome. No doubt she’ll try to pin it all on you.”
Pierre seemed utterly flustered by the Empress’s unilateral actions.
Yet he didn’t deny the attempt on Alferen’s life.
“The Founding Festival plot was my doing alone.”
At his words, resolute in taking the blame entirely upon himself, I sneered cynically.
“Really? And if you take the fall for everything right now? You think the Empress will be pleased?”
“……”
“I heard from Edwin. That you harbor resentment toward the imperial family over the Serak tribe. If the Emperor learns of this, the Empress won’t escape unscathed either.”
“Are you threatening me now?”
The mention of the Serak tribe brought a murderous glint to Pierre’s eyes.
I withstood that glare with my whole being and coldly intoned.
“It’s not a threat—it’s persuasion. From the start, I know Cesare forced you into setting that trap against your better judgment. Compared to the one you laid six years ago, it was shoddily done.”
Bringing up the events of six years ago, Pierre’s face twisted in anguish.
Back then, the Empress would have followed his lead.
It was a time when she was desperate for anything.
But once she got what she wanted, the Empress changed.
I’d already read in the original story how he’d left her side temporarily in disappointment.
I intended to give him one last chance.
Would he continue to be used and discarded by villains?
Or would he snap out of it and live a peaceful life from now on?
Pierre still kept his lips firmly sealed, holding out.
He seemed to believe that if he took the blame for everything, it would all be resolved.
“What astonishing loyalty.”
“……”
“The reason the Empress called you back was because she needed a scapegoat for the events of six years ago. Do you still think she’s interested in avenging the Serak tribe?”
“……”
“Unlike you, the Empress has no real stake in revenge. She just wants her son to become Emperor.”
In the original story, Pierre showed unwavering loyalty to the Empress, even unto death.
All for the revival of the Serak tribe, but the Empress had never cared about that from the beginning.
When the Crown Prince fell and Cesare was installed as the new one, she was quick to deny the Serak bloodline.
Pierre, unaware of this, wouldn’t find it easy to betray her.
In that case, I needed to reveal just how deep her flaws ran.
“I know how despicable Prince Cesare is. You must be aware of the baseless rumors I suffered because of him. Do you think someone like that, once Emperor, would bother restoring the Serak tribe? He’d probably couldn’t care less about such things.”
My words struck a nerve, and for the first time, Pierre wavered.
Seeing this, I whispered even more conspiratorially.
“In fact, he’d only tarnish the Serak tribe’s name further. You seem to know that already.”
“Then what would you have me do? The only remaining royalty is Her Majesty the Empress, and even my own life is running short.”
Pierre swallowed a bitter groan, choked with resentment.
“Is it wrong to use what’s left of my life for the sake of my people?”
“Yes, it’s wrong. If you die like that, what about the family you leave behind?”
Mentioning his remaining family brought a hint of hesitation to Pierre.
He was probably thinking of Edwin.
Glancing toward the door, he asked in a weary tone.
“……Why are you going to such lengths for me?”
It must be incomprehensible.
The motive for persuading an enemy who deserved death would seem suspicious.
Fully understanding Pierre’s inner conflict, I headed toward the door.
As I opened it, Edwin looked at me with an anxious face.
I flung the door wide open so Pierre could get a clear view of Edwin.
Only then, seeing Edwin’s restless state, did Pierre’s eyes shake violently.
“When a friend comes crying, begging me to help his family, how could I just ignore it?”
At the revelation that Edwin had pleaded, Pierre bit his lip hard.
Edwin, embarrassed that his crying had been exposed, scrunched his face and shot me a glare.
Still, the fact that he didn’t spout nonsense showed he could read the room.
“If you die, Edwin will suffer greatly.”
“……”
“He’s more fragile than he lets on. He probably won’t hold up if you die. If he turns bitter and goes astray, will you take responsibility for that?”
Bringing Edwin into it clearly unsettled Pierre.
He hung his head low, as if giving up in despair.
“I don’t have much time left to live anyway.”
“Then spend that remaining life with your family. If you squander it just because you’re dying soon, do you think Edwin will understand?”
If you die like that, Edwin will go mad with revenge, get played by the Empress, and end up dead himself.
