"4th Legion Commander, at attention!"

The loud sound of a military band echoed through the air.
Through the main gates of the Imperial Palace, soldiers from the 4th Legion began marching in formation.
At the forefront, as always, was Reinhardt.
Dressed in heavy armor, Reinhardt dismounted from his horse and walked proudly into the Imperial Palace.

'Still the same...'

Watching Reinhardt, Vanessa let out a soft laugh.
Through the eyes of the Spirit King, the color of Reinhardt constantly flickered and changed.
It was a state of "chaos," where various emotions and tendencies were always mixed together.

How could that guy remain unchanged even after returning from the battlefield?
Vanessa chuckled lightly.

"Welcome, Reinhardt. You've worked hard through continuous battles, and today, I've prepared a feast for you, so take your time and enjoy it. Let the soldiers rest as well."
"This luxurious banquet is the first since Your Majesty's coronation! I will gladly accept it, thank you!"
"But when the 4th Legion first entered the border, I heard you were hauling slaves as spoils. What happened to them?"
"Ah, those? I've taken care of them."
"..."

Vanessa's expression hardened.
He said he "took care of them."
I was informed that there were over a thousand elf slaves...

"Reinhardt. You didn't...?"
"Ha ha ha! Are you upset because I didn't save a portion for you, sister? Don't worry! I’ve prepared plenty of other spoils, not those filthy slaves!"
"That's not what I meant...!"

Vanessa clenched her teeth.
The atmosphere around them suddenly grew cold.
With her fists trembling, Vanessa stood, shaking.
The awkward silence was broken by Reinhardt’s voice.

"Sister. Is that all for my escort?"
"...?"

With a chilling sound, Reinhardt drew his sharp blade from its scabbard.
The guards immediately jumped into action, surrounding the Emperor with precision.
Reinhardt sneered, as if mocking them, and stomped the ground.

Crash!
A deafening sound shook the earth as Reinhardt’s new blade sped toward its target.
The afterimage stretched out before vanishing entirely, and the guards’ eyes widened in disbelief.

'Sword Master!?'

The movement was so fast that even the sword experts of the guards could not follow it.
As the panicking guards searched for Reinhardt, one shouted out.

"Look up! Look up!"
"...!?"

A shadow descended from above, and an unexpected ambush struck the guards.
Before they could react, the heavy thud of the impact echoed, and the guards fell one after another.

"Ugh!"
"Ahh!"

Reinhardt easily broke through the guards’ line and made a beeline toward the Emperor, who still appeared relaxed.
Reinhardt’s sword slashed through the air in an arc aimed at the Emperor.

Huff, huff...
"Your defeat, Reinhardt. You’ve improved a lot."

After the dust cloud settled, the scene revealed the guard captain, who had blocked Reinhardt’s sword aimed at Vanessa, and the Emperor, who was pointing the end of his scabbard at Reinhardt’s neck.

"I never thought you’d reach the level of Sword Master. Guard Captain, there’s no doubt Reinhardt has reached the level of Sword Master, right?"
"Y-Yes? Ah, yes... I have no doubt..."

The guard captain stammered, clearly unable to hide his bewilderment.
The Emperor, who had been angry just a moment ago, was now smiling.
The guard captain, unable to make sense of the situation, was completely thrown off.

"How is this my defeat? Are you saying you can kill me with that dull scabbard?"
"Yes. I can easily stab you and still have time to spare."
"...!?"

Szzzz!
Sparks flew from Vanessa’s scabbard, and the entire scabbard burned away, falling to the ground.
A blade surrounded by a blue aura appeared, its sharpness apparent in the deadly energy that swirled around it.

It looked as though she could pierce Reinhardt’s neck at any moment.
Reinhardt squinted his eyes, letting out a sigh.

"I admit defeat. My aura is still lacking..."
"It seems you’ve learned how to accept defeat. When you were young, you never acknowledged it and kept fighting until you were exhausted."
"...Forget about the past."

Acknowledging his defeat, Reinhardt knelt and bowed his head.
Vanessa tapped his head lightly, then sheathed her sword.

"Does this mean you won’t have to worry about being ambushed anymore?"
"Yes, sister. The rule is that the challenge can only be made once a month."
"Good. Come inside. The food is ready."

As if nothing had happened, the Emperor turned calmly, and Reinhardt followed with a smile.
The nobles, frozen in place, and the guards who were thrown to the ground, could only look on in a daze as the two walked past them.

"...What are you all doing? Play the music again. This banquet feels like a funeral."
"Sister! When will you pass the throne to me? I’ve heard you’ve been buried in work, so now it’s time for you to relax!"
"That’s never going to happen, so wake up from your dream."

It was absurd.
When Reinhardt drew his sword, I thought a major accident was about to happen.
But the fight was over in mere exchanges, and no one was even injured.

I heard that the Emperor and Reinhardt made a promise when they were young.
It was a promise that whoever won in a duel would take the throne.
And that duel had been ongoing ever since.

'Was he not that dangerous of a person after all?'

What was more surprising was the Emperor’s reaction.
If someone was aiming for her life, she would have sensed it with her sharp eyes immediately.
At the very least, Reinhardt didn’t seem to be harboring any malice for now.

"Ah, I have someone to introduce. Count Vermont. Come here."

"Ugh. Aslan Vermont..."

As Reinhardt reluctantly approached at the Emperor’s call, his face clearly showing distaste, I had to suppress a curse that nearly slipped out.
"I don’t like you either, buddy."

"Recently, he has become a good friend. We get along very well, and above all, he does his work excellently. He always complains, but he delivers results beyond expectations, so I can’t help but appreciate him."
"Sister, then he’s not a friend, but a servant, isn’t he?"
"He’s just responding to the Emperor’s summons. I’m pleased to meet you, 4th Legion Commander. May I ask you a question?"
"Go ahead, ask freely."
"Earlier, you mentioned disposing of the slaves you brought back as spoils. What exactly did that mean?"

I couldn’t help but ask the question that had been bothering me.
Up until now, from what I had observed, Reinhardt seemed far from being a villain.
He was just a bit rough around the edges and boisterous.

But that didn’t mean that Reinhardt’s tendencies were not "evil."
It’s possible that he was so pure that he didn’t even realize his own evil nature.

That’s why I had to ask.

"They were all spoils taken by my soldiers during the war. There was no other way to dispose of them, was there?"
"Does that mean...?"
"I bought all of them by paying their ransoms. Then, I gave them citizenship and freed them in my domain. Now that elves have entered my territory, the labor shortage will be solved. Hahaha!"
"Why are you taking all the responsibility for this? I’ll have everything revealed and report the details. I’ll cover the cost."
"That’s not possible, sister! Why should the national treasury pay for my soldiers’ spoils? I should cover everything myself!"
"..."

The situation was unexpectedly heartwarming, leaving me momentarily speechless.
I had wondered why the Emperor was so stern and angry earlier...
It seemed that it bothered her to see her half-brother spending such large sums of money.

The back-and-forth between them now resembled the squabbles of middle-aged men fighting over who would pay the bill after a company dinner.

"Then what about the cattle you seized in the village you passed through?"
"The cattle and the villagers' wages, I signed a promissory note for them in my name. Despite the unreasonable demands, no one complained, so I decided to pay double the market price. The village chief was so overjoyed that he was almost crying."
"..."

This guy...
He wasn’t pure evil, he was just pure-hearted, wasn’t he?
This absurdly good story after another was starting to make me dizzy.

How on earth is this guy the main villain of Chapter 2?
Did I misunderstand everything?
If that’s the case, what about the cutscene where he pointed a sword at the Emperor in the burning palace?

Now, I couldn’t figure out what was going on.

"Sister. Shall we have a drink? It’s elf traditional liquor."
"Traditional liquor...?"
"The scent has already dissipated, so you can rest assured, Your Majesty."
"Heh. My soldiers and I have been drinking this for five years; there’s no way it’s poisonous."

The Emperor seemed to relax at the words of the maid and Reinhardt, and she took the drink.
At that moment, I was overwhelmed by a strange sensation.
Something felt off.

'Based on his character, Reinhardt isn’t an evil man.'
'The fact that the Emperor isn’t wary of him means he’s not hiding an evil nature either.'
'But the palace is still burning, and Reinhardt is attacking the Emperor.'

All the information I had was conflicting, creating a huge gap.
No matter how I tried to explain it, there were contradictions.

Perhaps, because of the butterfly effect I caused, Reinhardt in this world was different from the original story...
But Reinhardt had been isolated on the battlefield for five years and had just arrived.
So it wasn’t likely that my influence had completely changed his personality...

'Wait a minute. Elf traditional liquor?'

A sudden, chilling thought crossed my mind.
Before I could decide, my hand instinctively reached out and grabbed the wrist of the Emperor, who was about to sip her drink.

"Ah!?!"
"Forgive my rudeness, Your Majesty. Did you already drink that?"
"A sip... maybe half a gulp."
"4th Legion Commander, where did this liquor come from?"
"It was brought from the elf kingdom. My subordinate, Sephiroth, handled the purchase..."
"Sephiroth, you say?"
"Yes, I haven't met him yet, Your Majesty."
"This...!"

Everything finally clicked into place.
Reinhardt was not the main villain of Chapter 2.
The cutscene was all a fake.

'The mastermind is Sephiroth!'

I had mistakenly believed Reinhardt was the leader of the attack on the palace, and that Sephiroth was just a subordinate following orders.
But it turned out to be the opposite.
The burning palace and the Emperor kneeling were all part of Sephiroth’s plan.

Reinhardt was just being manipulated without knowing anything.
Sephiroth, hiding in the shadows, had been aware of the Emperor’s sharp eyes the entire time.

"Your Majesty! We must stop the banquet immediately!"
"Why, what is it all of a sudden—"

Crash!

At that moment, a massive vibration caused the walls to collapse.
The banquet hall was instantly thrown into chaos.