Raid (6)

Whoosh—the chimera passed by Frondier and reached Philly. It stopped right before her.

—The chimera’s feet had stopped moving before its body. It just slid all the way to Philly with the momentum it had built up.

“…Lies,”

Philly shared the same sentiment as Elysia, who muttered beside her.

Philly looked at the chimera’s left side. Its wound was gruesomely long. Its torso was split open as much as Frondier had slashed it.

That obvious fact was terrifying.

“Well then,”

Frondier said in a parched voice. Elysia swallowed hard. Her eyes were filled with fear as she looked at Frondier.

“Miss Elysia.”

The same haughty way of speaking, yet Elysia had no intention of pointing it out. She took a step back.

Frondier’s normally lazy face looked different now.

“Did you finish talking to your mother?”

“I, I… no, well…”

Elysia stuttered. Her lips moved involuntarily.

Her mind was spinning, yet she couldn’t form any coherent words.

It was only natural, considering that Frondier was the one who had brought her here. Empty excuses wouldn’t work.

She had failed to convince Philly in the first place. There was no way this man would fall for her lies.

"Philly, what will happen to Miss Elysia?"

“…Execution.”

Philly said flatly.

All her other sins could be forgiven, but she had tried to kill the empress. There was no other choice.

“She won’t die comfortably. She’ll suffer terribly, to the point where she’ll wish she was dead.”

Elysia trembled. Frondier glanced at her.

“Then, how about showing her your last mercy as a mother?”

“What do you mean?”

When Philly asked again, Frondier spread his hands, and black droplets gathered in them. When he clenched his hand, the droplets formed into a dagger.

Philly and Elysia dumbly watched this bizarre phenomenon that seemed impossible even by magic.

Frondier handed the dagger to Philly.

"Use this. Be careful with the blade."

"What is this?"

"It's a dagger laced with deadly poison. Even a slight scratch will certainly lead to death."

Philly swallowed hard as she took the dagger.

So, this is the mercy Frondier spoke of.

To send his daughter off without pain.

Kill her with your own hands. Stab her with this dagger.

"I told you, didn't I? That I wouldn't tell Philly the true culprit. I said Philly would find out on her own."

"…You did."

"It's the same this time. What to do with Elysia, that's up to you, Philly."

Philly stood with the dagger in hand for a moment.

Her expression was vacant, and it was impossible to tell what she was thinking. This unsettled Elysia.

"…Mom."

At Elysia's strained voice, Philly looked at her.

"Elysia, you know, don't you?"

"…"

"Right now, the empire is hell for you."

Elysia hung her head.

That was true.

Elysia had undeniable evidence against her, and there were two eyewitnesses. One of them was the high-ranking Empress Philly, her own mother.

A life worse than death. That's all that was left for her in the empire.

The ambition to stand above the empire and look down upon its citizens had now vanished into nothingness.

"…Just tell me one thing, mom."

With those softly spoken words, Elysia looked a bit younger. No, she looked her actual age.

"Did you love Aten more than me?"

"…"

"Is that why you put Aten at the forefront, to preserve our family's image through Aten?"

Upon hearing Elysia's words, Philly closed her eyes.

Philly reminisced. Just as Elysia said, she had conducted most of her public activities alongside Aten.

She couldn't forget the words of a young Aten at that time.

-I hate it, Mom.

-Being used as a poster child.

-What do you think of me? Do you think of me as your daughter?

-If you don't love me, then I...

...Politics, after all, is about dealing with people.

Philly was someone who had dived into that political world from a young age and survived.

Everyone thought it was natural to be able to do so. She thought her daughters could do it too.

But what Philly did to her daughters, one envied, and the other thought of as being treated as a tool.

Putting Aten at the forefront was because she believed it was the right decision.

Because Aten was considered the best in terms of appearance, abilities, and character.

However, as much as that, it was Elysia who was meant to succeed the throne.

Just as there was no hesitation in using Aten's image.

There was no hesitation in entrusting the empire to Elysia.

"Elysia. I've always told you."

Philly said. She smiled wistfully. It was a different face from when she dealt with others.

Philly was always like that in front of her daughters. Trying to show a different side from politics, trying to show an honest side.

She thought that alone would convey her true feelings.

"I love all of you differently."

Elysia blinked at those words.

Every time she closed and opened her eyes, tears shimmered in them.

Soon as the tears flowed, Elysia tightly closed her eyes. Tears seeped through, rolling down her cheeks. Elysia trembled, sometimes heaving as she lifted her face.

...Elysia had made up her mind.

Philly slowly raised her dagger-wielding hand. Even Frondier saw her trembling hand. She couldn’t fathom the idea of killing her own daughter.

But if this would allow Elysia to die less painfully, then Philly would be doing the right thing.

…There was a way for Elysia to not die.

If they hid everything that happened in this tower, then Elysia wouldn’t die.

She wouldn’t die since she was the First Imperial Princess, even if she did commit multiple felonies.

Of course, this was assuming that Constel responded appropriately to the monster invasion.

Philly knew this, and so did Elysia.

But Elysia didn’t say anything about it.

She didn’t try to run away.

She chose to die of her own volition.

She decided to repent for her sins.

Philly placed the tip of the dagger’s blade on Elysia’s collarbone. And with a stab, she pierced her. The tip of the blade barely pierced Elysia’s skin, and a bead of blood seeped from the tip.

…After that, she couldn’t bring herself to apply any more force.

“…What is this, Mother?”

Elysia opened her eyes slightly and smiled after confirming that she’d been stabbed.

“That didn’t hurt at all.”

And so with those curt words that were hardly a last will, Elysia collapsed.