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Chapter 271

The 3rd Imperial Princess.

Iris Hysirion.

The princess who had slit her own throat and renounced her claim to the throne.

Now, amidst the Empire's chaos, she faced an unusual situation.

She was alone.

Truly alone, with no one interfering in her time.

Not a single noble from the Empire came looking for her.

It was only natural.

The one who had tried to make her Emperor was Celestial Duke.

Iris was nothing more than a disposable tool.

There weren’t many who had sided with her out of loyalty to her alone.

And now that Celestial Duke was associated with Demon Sovereign, there was no reason to approach Iris anymore.

Celestial Duke might’ve been the primary focus, but Iris was also entangled with Demon Sovereign.

Anyone who got involved with her might be branded a traitor.

If she became active again, who knows what resentment she’d face from the people?

So it was best that she stayed quiet.

As a result, Iris was completely neglected after her rescue.

The children who had been with her at the time didn’t have the luxury to take care of her.

They had all begun training with one goal in mind — to save Vikamon.

Everyone knew well that they couldn’t save him with their current strength.

So Iris, receiving no attention from anyone, was left with time entirely to herself.

She would sit in silence, sometimes dozing off, passing the long hours.

But no matter how many days passed, she couldn’t forget one person.

Vikamon Niflheim.

The man who had saved her when she attempted to take her own life — his final image never left her mind.

His warm scent came to her memory.

The smell that had comforted her into peaceful sleep when she was held in his arms.

Maybe that’s why.

Whenever she went to bed, she thought of him even more.

She no longer had nightmares.

Her insomnia had improved because of him.

Even though she had escaped from the nightmares completely, her sleep still wasn’t restful.

“Go.”

That final word he had shouted came to mind again.

Along with the image of him burning and melting before her eyes — she squeezed her eyes shut at the memory.

Vikamon. Vikamon. Vikamon.

Every time she muttered his name unconsciously, Iris felt both pain and confusion.

Was this a curse?

A curse for surviving in his place.

If so, then she deserved it.

None of the others who had loved Vikamon ever blamed her.

So at the very least, she had to blame herself.

“Lady Iris.”

At the sound of a voice, Iris lifted her head.

There stood Hania.

Her lifelong friend and servant — and even when Iris had decided to die, she hadn’t said a word to her.

Hania surely knew that.

And she must’ve been disappointed.

Yet Hania treated her the same as before.

“I brought you something to eat.”

A food tray sat in her hands.

Salad with balsamic vinegar.

Cream pasta with ground meat and gorgonzola.

A tart topped with apple jam.

All of Iris’s favorite dishes.

Clearly, Hania had carefully arranged each item.

But even seeing the tray, Iris felt nothing.

It wasn’t about having or lacking appetite — she simply felt… nothing.

“...Hania.”

Instead, she wanted to ask the one person who cared for her so dearly.

“Why did he save me?”

Vikamon had known full well that his body would burn and melt.

He must’ve known how painful and agonizing it would be.

And yet, he still chose to give up his life for her.

Iris couldn’t understand why.

“Because Vikamon liked you, Lady Iris.”

Hania answered, surprisingly easily.

Iris looked at her.

In Hania’s eyes was a tender sorrow as she gazed back.

“Just like I care about you, Vikamon cared about you too. He loved you enough to gladly sacrifice his life for you.”

This wasn’t about romantic emotion.

This was person to person —

Someone who cherished and cared deeply for another.

That was what Hania meant.

“...We only became close after he lost his emotions.”

Vikamon had lost three emotions.

Among them — love, the ability to care for others.

But as time passed, he regained his feelings.

Eventually, he learned to love again.

“And when he finally got his emotions back… I wasn’t even there.”

Yet even then, Vikamon had smiled so sadly at her.

That mournful smile haunted her mind.

Why did he smile at her like that?

She had done nothing for him.

She couldn’t even raise her head, overwhelmed by guilt and sorrow toward him.

It was unbearable to think that his pain might have been her fault.

Maybe it would be better to disappear from his life forever.

Even if she helped bring him back, standing before him again felt shameless.

“Even so…”

Despite all that, Iris’s eyes trembled.

“Why… do I miss him this much?”

She missed him.

She missed him so much it was driving her insane.

Whether she opened her eyes in the morning or closed them at night —

All she could think of was him.

She wanted to be held in his arms again.

To feel that warmth once more.

She longed for him.

She longed for him so much.

“Because you love Vikamon too, Lady Iris.”

And once again, Hania gave her the simplest answer.

What might be a simple truth for one person could be a revelation for another.

She loved him.

That truth pierced deep into Iris.

To Iris, who had always been treated like a decorative cat —

He was the one who led her out into the world.

At last, she realized it.

His feelings and her own were different.

What she felt wasn’t just affection like his—hers was far deeper, clinging, and embarrassingly raw.

Ah, so that’s it.

‘I’ve been in love with him. Maybe I had been for a long time.’

[Translator - Night]

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Vikamon had become the most precious person to Iris.

Since the time he was known as Hannon, he had always stayed by her side.

He was the one who held her in his arms that night when she lost control.

He stayed beside her even inside the Demon Dungeon.

Iris had cherished him in her heart for a long time.

She slowly closed her eyes.

And once again, his face came to her mind.

As expected, she missed him.

She wanted to be with him for the rest of her life.

More than the emperor’s throne, which had once been her lifelong goal, she now wanted to stand beside him.

The family Iris had always longed for—

She wanted to be that kind of family with him.

Her heart began to beat.

It started beating late, but it beat wildly now, as if to make up for all the times it had stood still.

Her face burned with embarrassment.

Such a foolish emotion, one only truly felt after realization.

But once realized, there’s no emotion more violent than this.

Iris had lost everything.

Her position as emperor, her title as a princess, her grandfather, even the empire itself.

Everything had left her and turned to nothing.

Now, the only thing that remained was a single person named Iris.

And for the first time, she had something she wanted to have.

A violent love moved Iris.

The power that had once stopped now began to move her world again.

Iris opened her eyes once more.

A spark returned to those previously dull eyes.

The final villainess was no more.

All that remained here was a girl who held a man in her heart.

“Hania, I have to go see my brother.”

That was the moment when Iris, who had been frozen, began to move again.

Hania, with a face finally relieved, handed her a spoon.

“Then first, let’s eat.”

People need to fill their stomachs before they can move.

“And you should go with me.”

Hania also wanted to see Vikamon.

Her ex-boyfriend had helped so much—it was time for the ex-girlfriend to return the favor.

Iris stood up, and all the people connected to him began to move as well.

To defeat Demon Sovereign.

To save Vikamon.

The scenario picked up pace and began heading toward its final chapter.

* * *

The capital of the empire, overtaken by a nightmare.

There stood the heart of the greatest nation in the world.

The Hysirion Imperial Palace.

A man sat leaning against the imperial throne there.

His name was Gerdio Robliage.

Once known as the grace of the heavens, the Celestial Grace, and a duke of the empire.

He sat on the throne in silence.

In his mind, he recalled the emperor.

More precisely, the Grand Emperor—a generation before the current emperor.

Duke Robliage, when he was still a boy.

He remembered the Grand Emperor, who had been around ten years older than him.

That man always acted as if he owned everything.

There were no rivals for the throne around him, so he had ascended to it easily.

Perhaps that’s why it was only natural for the world to seem like it belonged to him.

Maybe that’s why.

The Grand Emperor had many qualities of a scoundrel.

Long ago, it was because of him that the Celestial Grace discarded his emotions and turned his back on the world.

The woman he had loved and cherished more than anything—his own sister—was ruthlessly trampled on by the Grand Emperor.

She had long been betrothed to him.

But the Grand Emperor discarded her and chose a baron’s daughter as empress.

At the time, the Robliage ducal family wasn’t as prominent as it is now.

The family was on a slow decline back then.

It was only thanks to the Celestial Grace’s abilities that the family had regained such influence.

So, back then, things were very different.

Even among dukes, political rise and fall depend on the members' capabilities.

A family without talent is destined to fall—it’s only natural.

Perhaps that’s why...

The Robliage family couldn’t say a word about the emperor’s decision.

Back then, imperial authority was even more absolute than now.

The Grand Emperor’s father had been a charismatic and legendary ruler of his era.

Naturally, that authority was passed down to the Grand Emperor, who wielded it with unmatched power.

Speaking up against him at that time was unthinkable for Gerdio.

So when his sister’s engagement was broken, no one said a word.

Instead, she was shamed and locked in her room.

And soon after, she took her own life.

Even after her death, the Grand Emperor never once visited her grave.

Though she had loved and cherished him, her love had been nothing but a burden to him.

The Celestial Grace slowly opened his eyes.

Even after all these years, the memories of that day were vivid.

His sister screaming the emperor’s name as she jumped from the mansion rooftop.

Since that day, he had obsessively fixated on the throne.

The disgrace and grief his sister had suffered.

Thinking of that day, he resolved to make the throne his.

And now that he had finally reached that long-coveted throne—why?

The Celestial Grace felt nothing.

Everything seemed meaningless.

“Boring.”

It had been a long-standing goal.

Too long, even.

Though the memory of his sister remained vivid, doing it for her felt like a story from long ago.

The pursuit of the throne had become the meaning of his life.

And now that it was achieved—how to put it?

Everything just felt empty.

Even the title of emperor was only a hollow shell.

That didn’t matter anymore after his plans had gone awry.

He recalled the image of Iris, who resembled his sister in many ways, taking her own life.

Compared to the blazing fury he’d once felt as he consumed the apostles left behind by Demon Sovereign, he now felt utterly drained.

“Celestial Grace, sir.”

A voice reached his ears.

It was one of the members of the Celestial Echo Unit.

His appearance alone revealed what situation was unfolding.

Demon Sovereign’s remaining soul, sealed deep beneath the Demon Dungeon.

Time for Demon Sovereign to move in order to reclaim it.

Naturally, opposition would follow.

The Celestial Grace slowly rose from the throne.

“Prepare.”

This will be the final war for the fate of the world.

[Translator - Night]

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