Chapter 113

“S-Sorry……!”

As if not even daring to receive the envelope I had handed out, Yuria fell on her face and begged for forgiveness.

She cried so much that tears flowed down her eyes again.

“I-I’m so sorry, Your Majesty…!”

“….…”

“Heuk, hah, ah! I…… I did something so terrible! I really want to apologize…….”

While atoning, Yuria did not dare ask me for forgiveness.

I looked down at her, who was desperately weeping with only bones and skin left.

The point was that she was trying to make her own play.

By feeding Rixus the Heart of Eros, she tried to control him as she wanted.

Both were irreparable sins and could never be forgiven.

I had to gamble my life and death to stop her self-play.

‘If not, I might have been kicked out of Aktoum by now.’

Maybe that would be the reason for war and for many people to lose their lives.

I could never forgive it.

However…

At the same time, I had this thought.

What kind of life would Yuria have lived if I hadn’t appeared?

She would have lived her original life.

She would have dedicated her one-sided, pure love to Rixus, trying to repay his favor.

Perhaps, at the end of the story, Rixus would have noticed.

‘Because she wasn’t a bad person in the original.’

Maybe her life was changed because of me.

That fact remained in the corner of my heart as a very small sense of debt.

I knew another life that Yuria might have lived.

“…….”

However, this document I brought today was absolutely not prepared because of that a sense of debt.

This had nothing to do with my feelings.

It was only the result of weighing the ‘benefits and losses’ in my life.

“Yuria Mavis, take this envelope.”

“Yes, yes… Y-Your Majesty.”

Yuria took the envelope, head and hands swaying as she would soon faint.

I spoke indifferently.

“It’s an amnesty.”

“!”

Yuria’s eyes became as big as the cup of a candle.

At present, there were only three amnesties in Aktoum.

Originally, the emperor and the empress had the right of amnesty, one each.

But now, the ones who owned half the imperial power, Rixus and Johann, along with me, had one.

I came out with my share.

(TL/N: in case y’all are wondering, the amnesty Lucia’s mother/the international court received in episode 34 or so was Spinel’s.)

Of course, it was not yet effective. Because it was not submitted to the judiciary.

Yuria took out the amnesty with my seal.

She had a confused expression.

“I don’t forgive you.”

“…That, but uh, why are you giving me this…”

“Should I even explain why I’m giving you an amnesty?”

When I coldly responded, Yuria quickly shook her head and looked at me with fear.

‘It’s for Spinel.’

Right now, it would be impossible to borrow the power of the Ghost Army by moving the margrave, who had just received a great shock.

However, as far as I know, he was definitely one who would repay a favor.

I had already told the maids that I would give Yuria this amnesty.

It would soon enter the ears of the margrave too.

The margrave would try to repay the favor somehow……

If only the Ghost Army could participate in the Melphius subjugation.

‘Many people, my people, will have their lives saved.’

They would not have to go through the heartbreaking horrors of being separated from their family.

Many would be saved from misery and despair.

‘If there were Lucia and the Ghost Army… I won’t repeat the tragedy in this lifetime.’

Thus, it was a calculated amnesty.

I was paying the fair price and trying to save my people’s lives.

“It’s up to you to decide whether to submit the amnesty to the judiciary or not.”

“…Your Majesty the Queen.”

Once I gave her this amnesty, it didn’t matter if she really submitted it or not.

Whatever the outcome, the margrave would definitely help me.

Yuria didn’t know my circumstances, so she only wore a confused expression. She looked a little stunned as well.

I gazed down at that face and remembered the first time we met.

“Nice to meet you, Your Majesty. I am Yuria of the Duke of Mavis.”

Looking at Yuria’s silver hair… I thought it was like the Milky Way flowing under the bright sunlight.

Seeing the silver hair now tangled like a spider’s web, I frowned and turned around.

“To use the amnesty and return to Malta to spend the rest of your life quietly…”

“….…”

“It wouldn’t be bad.”

I spoke calmly and left, leaving Yuria in the cold prison.

That night, her amnesty was not invoked.

It was the same the next night.

Three days later, after the news that the amnesty was in effect…

One afternoon I heard.

I heard the news while drinking tea.

“….…”

There were no emotional fluctuations or special feelings.

I just looked out the window and drank tea.

* * *

〈I, Yuria Mavis,

All mining rights of Terra Mine are transferred to Her Majesty the Queen.〉

Yuria signed the transfer right at home with her bare fingers.

It was the Terra Mine, which her parents told her to use for something meaningful.

It was only now that she was able to find its use.

Could this be enough to atone for even one percent of her own sins?

It was a hopeless wish. It was a wind of despair. Still, she wanted to repay her with riches. She thanked her for giving her another chance.

The queen herself spared her, who had tried to put her in a predicament.

She wasn’t sure exactly what the reason was, but one thing was clear…

‘She is a respectable and good person. Just like His Highness the Crown Prince…’

She was the second person who brought light into Yuria’s life.

The person who reached her hand out when she thought her life was over.

Thanks to Rixus, who reached out for the first time, Yuria got a new life, but… 

This time, she just couldn’t do it.

Because she realized so vividly what she had done to such a good person.

‘……Even if I die, I won’t be forgiven.’

Everything that she longed for as a monster now felt so futile.

“……”

Yuria looked out of the window with blank eyes.

It was autumn, when summer passed and the leaves dried out.

The bare branches resembled her body.

Wheeik—

A cold wind blew and made her silver hair flutter.

From Malta to Akktoum, and everything she had been through…… It all felt like a dream.

Yuria closed her eyes.

She then pulled the calling string for her nanny. As soon as her nanny arrived, she gave her the handover papers.

“Take care of this. Nanny.”

“…Doing this paperwork isn’t difficult. But my lady, really, don’t you want to call a member of the legislature?”

The nanny looked down at Yuria with the most worried eyes.

From the time her lady returned to the mansion, she had been ill.

She had already been in that harsh prison for several days with her weak body, so it was reasonable.

Plus she heard she didn’t eat any food when she was in prison.

Her lady refused to see her till now. The first thing she did when she returned was to fill out the transfer papers.

“Please, my lady…”

Yuria looked up at the nanny’s worried face.

She always raised her like she was her own child. She was just like her mom on behalf of her busy parents.

Of course, there were differences in status, but from time to time, Yuria felt a strong affection for her.

The nanny surely felt the same way.

Although now that the whole world cursed Yuria, the nanny only cared about her, regardless of her sins.

“….…”

Yuria looked at her nanny with blurred eyes, and then she opened her mouth.

“Yes, I beg you, nanny.”

“Ah, my lady. Wait a minute!”

Joy and relief appeared on the nanny’s face.

The nanny, who was about to leave the room in a hurry, stopped by the doorway, waving the papers in her hand and saying,

“Don’t worry about this either. I’ll take care of it right away!”

“……Nanny.”

Yuria stopped her before she completely turned her body.

“Yes?”

Yuria said,

“…Thank you. For being my friend.”

The nanny smiled faintly with her wrinkled face.

“Don’t say that, my lady.”

The nanny closed the door and left.

Yuria’s eyes slowly trembled in the stillness that fell in the room.

She instinctively realized that the time had come.…… It was now.

Yuria slowly opened a drawer and took out the bottle inside.

It was the Poison of Mandra Gora, which was used at the last wedding she attended and only had half of it left.

The difference was that today, she was sitting in front of this poison without any antidote.

Tuk—

Yuria’s hands as she opened the bottle cap shook like crazy.

She decided to die, yet her fears did not go away.

But her hesitation did not last long.

She closed her eyes tightly and swallowed the poison.

The poison scorched her esophagus and devoured her whole body like a demon.

“Uck.”

Suddenly, hot, crimson blood flowed from her lips.

Her delicate body slowly collapsed onto the floor, and the blood from her mouth slowly wetted the floor and spread widely.

Looking at the blood, Yuria was happy inside.

She became a monster for a while, but at the moment of her death…… She could die as a human.

The last light shone in Yuria’s pale blue eyes.

A long time ago…

When she tried to give up her life in front of a swamp of despair like death.

She heard a dry voice that had brought her back to life and sustained her.

“Live.”

The words that a god-like being with blue-purple eyes had spoken to her.

“If you can’t live well…”

“….…”

“You can hold on by desperately grabbing your life.”

The voice that illuminated her life and made her live again……

It rang slowly in her ears and then fell in vain.

Tears trickled out from the corner of one of Yuria’s eyes.

Whoosh—

The gust of wind made the hem of her thin, blood-soaked dress flutter in the sky.

At last, the energy of life completely disappeared from Yuria’s body.

A few days after Yuria’s death……

In the northern part of Spinel, a major disaster occurred when ‘Melphius’ invaded.

It happened on the same date and at the same time as her last seven lives. 

The monarch of Spinel asked for close cooperation from Lucia and the margrave.

Lucia, commander of the transnational knights, the Valderi Order, and the large Ghost Army joined the subjugation group.

Melphius was defeated at an unprecedented rate.

There were no casualties among the common people, only a small number of injured people.

In the history books, it was recorded as Spinel’s brilliant victory.

Ame: ah, I’m so conflicted as to how to feel about Yuria. Is dying easier than living calmly in Malta? Isn’t it cowardice? And that aside… Deborah! That snake! Ugh!

Dea: I…WHAT? YURIA! I had this whole redemption arc ready for her, she was going to help completely bring Deb down and then she goes and dies…