Chapter 67 Part 5: Upheaval, Crisis

A Saint after half a century.

The news shook the entire Empire.

It was none other than the Church that vouched for it.

The Cardinal, and the Pope.

The news began to spread not only near the capital.

There was also a grand announcement in Arnad.

[It is because I am the Saint who received an oracle some time ago.]

That astonishing news spread throughout the Empire.

“Hey, did you hear? An oracle was given after half a century!”

“Yes, I heard. I wonder if something big is going to happen?”

Young and old, men and women, everyone was talking about it.

And they were curious about the content of the oracle.

What meaning could be contained within it?

Before long, the content was revealed.

[The one closest to me will appear amidst the reversed flow…]

Thus began the oracle.

Those who were quick-witted understood.

A divided world, uniting the two.

What those words truly meant.

“…What are your thoughts, Count.”

The First Prince, Leon, asked.

He had an expression of disbelief.

There was also a hint of anger.

“There’s a very presumptuous interpretation going around.”

It was about the interpretation of the oracle.

A divided world, uniting the two.

It was said to refer to the deeply divided Elchen and the Empire.

And the one who would unite the two was rumored to be the Second Prince.

Leon was furious.

“Why, why on earth-!”

The table shook with a bang.

The Saint’s identity was her.

Rosa Anencia.

That woman.

When he found out, Leon felt like he was going crazy.

A woman he had once coveted.

He should have made her his long ago.

A beauty that took his breath away.

The subject of an oracle given after half a century.

‘But why. Why would she go to a guy like that?’

An insolent guy. A guy who didn’t know his place.

Leon felt as if he had been robbed of something that was rightfully his.

The troops were already assembled.

He declared as if giving an ultimatum.

“Capture him by any means necessary. Take his life.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

The lords bowed deeply.

Their expressions were hardened.

But they had already crossed the river.

The identity of the Saint was Rosa Anencia.

Once the lady of the Anencia County, and now none other than the Archduchess of Elchen.

It couldn’t be more unsettling.

Normally, the will of a Saint was the will of God.

So the Second Prince, whom the Saintess cherished, was also interpreted as the subject of the oracle.

“But that is merely a fallacy.”

They couldn’t refute the Prince’s words.

They were too entangled.

They couldn’t back down in an instant.

The Prince was continuously drinking.

The smell of alcohol wafted from his mouth.

“Rosa. Rosa. Even her name is pretty.”

The face that spat out those words as if chewing them.

Leon was already quite drunk.

“I knew it from the first time I saw her.”

She had strangely lingered in his memory.

Of course, her appearance was also incredibly beautiful.

It far exceeded his high standards of beauty.

But there was a reason for everything.

He had recognized the woman’s worth.

“…I should have made that b*tch mine long ago. Somehow, even by force.”

The inner thoughts of the lords who watched and listened.

They all bowed their heads, trying to hide their distrust.

Clink-

Leon, who was tilting his cup, lightly scoffed at the atmosphere in the tent.

“Let’s all have a drink.”

“We’re fine, Your Highness.”

“Then at least stop looking so glum.”

The First Prince, Leon, was a tyrant when the Empress was not present.

“You’re all in the same boat as me.”

He said, hardening his expression.

“What has become of him?”

It had already been days of pursuit.

‘If we kill him, we can just make excuses.’

That was Leon’s thought.

There was clearly a risk.

But it was better than letting him live.

“Only about ten are left, I believe. They will bring his head before long.”

When they left, there were about fifty. Now, only a third remained.

“Kill him! No matter what. Don’t be concerned and deploy all the troops.”

He slammed the table as if giving an ultimatum.

But until then, Leon didn’t expect things to go wrong.

However, even after that, for several more days.

Several battles took place.

The First Prince’s faction, wearing masks, launched ambushes at every strategic point.

But there were no results.

“You said he fell yesterday after being hit in the neck with an arrow. Didn’t you say that?”

“Yes. That’s right.”

But it seemed he hadn’t really been hit.

“…This necklace stopped it?”

Leon said, dumbfounded.

In his hand was a necklace.

It was a token of affection shared between couples.

Once again, Leon flew into a rage.

Rosa was sitting in her room.

It had been ten days since she had revealed the truth.

She had made that decision herself.

But even now, there was no news.

‘If Caron were to arrive…?’

He should have arrived already.

Her heart grew increasingly anxious.

She had revealed her identity to give Caron strength.

The reason she had initially hidden it was because she had considered various situations.

First, it would give the Empress no room to respond.

There was also the issue of her safety.

Rosa knew very well.

‘I could become Caron’s weakness.’

She was no longer an extra.

She was living a life as Rosa Anencia, a protagonist in her own right.

But acknowledging that didn’t change the facts.

She couldn’t wield magic like the protagonist of some novel.

Nor could she use a sword.

Honestly, she found it hard to even lift one.

She was an ordinary woman.

She realized that now.

‘Back then, Raina, who was a maid, was used.’

So she decided to avoid such a dangerous situation.

There was no guarantee that it wouldn’t happen again.

She had revealed it after such calculations.

Cardinal Lazaro was with her.

He personally swept her forehead and revealed the pure white mark to everyone.

Astonishment, and admiration.

Those two words summarized the reactions at the time.

Many people cheered sincerely.

Their Archduchess was a Saint.

“May God’s grace be with Your Highness!”

Those words must have represented everyone’s feelings.

But Caron was still silent.

Rosa already knew.

‘Pavel told me.’

[A war might break out soon.]

It was bound to come to that.

On the day Pavel left.

Rosa immediately sent a letter to the Count.

[Don’t worry. Everything will be fine.]

That was Count Anencia’s reply.

But just yesterday, she received a letter from Pavel as well.

[His Highness, the Archduke, has not yet arrived. It seems we must act first.]

The situation was not going smoothly at all.

In fact, it was quite serious.

But there was no time to be worried.

She had to do what she could, even if it was just one thing.

Around noon that day.

Several people visited the Archducal estate.

They were all representatives of merchant guilds from nearby regions, summoned by Rosa.

“I need your help.”

Those were Rosa’s words.

They all bowed their heads.

“It is the Saint’s word.”

“We will gladly help the Archducal estate.”

Various items were listed, all supplies needed for logistics.

After a long discussion, Rosa successfully gained their cooperation.

But as she was leaving the meeting room.

She stumbled slightly.

“Are you alright, Your Grace?!”

Freya immediately supported her.

“Ah. Thank you.”

For some reason.

She had been feeling tired lately.

“You’ve been pushing yourself too hard recently.”

But it didn’t feel like it was just because of that.

Her body felt sluggish and tired for no reason.

She had been going to the bathroom more often.

‘Is it that time of the month again?’

She had always been frail.

So she dismissed the occasional dizziness as nothing.

But as she was having lunch.

“Ugh-“

Something rose up from within Rosa.

It was morning sickness, nausea.

At that moment, Rosa, and the maids who had been chattering away.

Everyone froze.

“Could it be…”

“Your Grace.”

Freya spoke after a long pause.

“Perhaps we should call a physician?”

Rosa’s thoughts stopped.

“A physician? Why…?”

But she soon realized what she meant.

There was no way.

Even as she thought that, she asked again.

‘Really…?’

Come to think of it.

She couldn’t be sure.

But Rosa was so bewildered that she couldn’t speak properly.

Still, she had a physician summoned, just in case.

That afternoon, a physician visited the Archducal estate.

“Hmm…”

The physician carefully checked her pulse for a long time.

At one point.

He brightened his expression and spoke.

“Your Grace. Congratulations! You seem to be with child!”

“…What? Pregnant?”

Rosa was utterly dumbfounded.

It was already three months along.

The gender of the child was still unknown, but it was definitely a pregnancy.

Her belly was still flat.

‘Pregnant…?’

Rosa’s face was blank.

It was truly unexpected news.

A desperate battle continued.

A continuous process of killing and being killed.

The forest, devoid of any light, was filled with a heavy atmosphere.

They had just repelled another ambush.

Three knights had been lost.

They deliberately erased their tracks and didn’t even light a fire.

Yet the enemy was relentless.

The knights quietly wiped the blood from their faces.

Their eyes were filled not with sadness, but with cold determination.

Max reported to him.

“We are very close now. Soon, we will reach the border to Elchen.”

Caron nodded quietly.

Only for a moment, he soon approached the lying corpses.

He silently closed the eyes of the dead knights himself.

The remaining knights remained silent.

This had already happened many times.

There was no time to capture enemies alive. They couldn’t stop at villages or estates.

They didn’t know when or where the enemy might appear.

They also had to consider the possibility that the lords had already been bought by the First Prince’s side.

They knew it was a long shot.

In the first place, the First Prince was like that.

In reality, it wasn’t just the First Prince, but the nature of power struggles.

Dirty, underhanded tactics.

Eliminate the opponent by any means necessary.

They were also the same kind of people.

They had faced many dangerous crises, and they had barely made it through many times.

If it weren’t for Caron’s prowess.

They would have all been lying on the ground long ago.

Even Caron was getting tired.

“At least we have horses, which is fortunate.”

They had mounted again.

Although they were riding two to a horse, it was possible because they were Elchen horses.

A cold-blooded breed with a large build.

They could sufficiently bear the weight.

But the horses’ stamina seemed to be running out, so now it was truly a crisis.

‘We’re almost out of their reach.’

But the group was exhausted.

When the destination was in sight.

That was when carelessness was most dangerous.

As expected, the ambushes became more frequent.

The enemy seemed to be getting desperate too.

They no longer cared about the eyes of civilians.

Slash-

A swung sword.

Three masked men fell.

A desperate battle came once again.

Those who wanted to kill. Those who wanted to survive.

Neither side backed down an inch.

“Kill them!”

“Argh-!”

The occasional death cries could be heard.

“More of them are coming!”

They were already outnumbered several times over.

Caron’s cloak fluttered. His eyes were bloodshot.

His sword was pulled back, then thrust forward in a straight line.

Stab-

After stabbing one. It was immediately drawn back in a half-moon shape.

The enemies fell like autumn leaves.

Caron immediately rolled forward and dodged a sword from behind.

He fell to the ground and immediately rolled his body.

Fwish-

A thrown sword pierced the opponent’s neck.

Blood spurted like a fountain, and all the masked men paused.

But they soon rushed in, shouting.

But who was Cayron Winslet?

The Empire’s finest swordsman, the demon of the battlefield.

He had fought in dozens, hundreds of battles.

His own confidence. More than that, his body moved on its own.

The prowess of a rampaging beast on the battlefield.

The enemies were almost getting sick of it.

Thud-thud-thud-

At that moment.

The ground shook violently.

The sound of hundreds of horses running.

And the sound was coming from both sides.

Caron’s expression hardened.

Who were they?

Everyone’s lives depended on it.

‘If all those sounds are enemies…?’

Even he, really, couldn’t do anything.

But what was soon heard were shouts of joy.

“It’s the flag of the Black Wolf-!”

One side was the reinforcements from Arnad.

Knights in black armor came rushing in like a tide.

“Protect His Highness, the Archduke!”

Pavel, at the forefront, looked like he was too late, with a mortified expression.

Finally, the other side revealed itself.

From the opposite side of the forest.

This time, it was the First Prince’s forces.

They were taken aback by the appearance of Arnad’s troops.

But eyes filled with bloodlust met in mid-air.

“Kill them!”

Soon, the forces were chaotically mixed together.