༺ No Hope ༻
“…Puha.”
Rifael removed the handkerchief from her face and silently gazed at Clana.
“Why are you doing this, Clana?”
The princess adjusted her expression, feigning innocence as she asked with a tender voice.
Unlike when both of them were alone, the expression she publicly displayed at this moment was even more detestable because of how fake it was.
– Step, step.
Clana advanced slowly toward Rifael, who was showing such a demeanor.
– Crackle… Crackle
“…..!”
With each step, a tingling sensation pervaded the senses of those in her vicinity.
“W-what the hell… is this energy…”
The complete form of the ‘Aura of Domination,’ known to have unified the Western Continent a thousand years ago, was emanating from Clana, enveloping the courtyard of the Starlight Mansion.
– Srrrring…!
As Clana approached, Rifael’s Imperial Guards drew their weapons, attempting to block her.
“Impertinent.”
Looking at them, Clana spoke with a dry yet dignified voice.
“What authority do you have to point your weapons at me?”
The Imperial Guards, accustomed to seeing Clana in a submissive role to Rifael, were taken aback.
“Even now, executing you all to death would be legally permissible.”
As Clana quietly gathered a substantial amount of Solar Mana, the Imperial Guards hesitated and slowly retreated.
“……..”
Normally, Rifael would have harshly reprimanded the Imperial Guards without hesitation, but at this moment, all she could do was dryly swallow her saliva.
Clana appeared remarkably different from her usual self. While typically exuding an air of laziness, she now presented a terrifyingly imposing demeanor, surpassing anyone else when she was serious.
Clana emitted an overwhelming presence and charisma, characteristics usually associated with the Emperor. These were the only things that Rifael feared, and she felt them emanating from Clana more intensely than ever before.
“It seems like you have something to say, my dear sister.”
However, she couldn’t back down.
In this place, with the attention of so many people, including her supporters and the Imperial Guards, focused on her, she couldn’t afford to appear weak.
“But could you wait for a moment? There’s something I have to do right now. So…”
Despite the perplexing situation, she tried to maintain her composure and lead Frey towards the reporters. However…
– Boom, boom, boom!
“Agh!”
Clana’s Solar Mana flared at that moment, causing extreme pain to an absent-minded Imperial Guard who foolishly aimed his weapon at her.
“…What manner of behavior is this?”
Rifael’s innocent expression cracked as Clana, with the suffering guard rolling in agony, approached right in front of her.
“You must know what it means to throw a handkerchief in someone’s face.”
In response, Clana began to answer with a cold tone.
“That… Of course…”
“…Let’s have a duel. For the second position of the imperial succession.”
As soon as she finished speaking, the surroundings fell into an eerie silence.
– Click, click!
“Princess Clana, what in the world are you talking about?”
“She just challenged Princess Rifael…”
“Princess Clana was ranked 4th in the imperial succession until yesterday…”
However, soon after, a commotion began to stir in the area.
“There is no way that you’ll refuse me, right?”
“…Grind.”
In the midst of the commotion, Clana, who was at its center, responded to the crowd’s sentiments by taunting Rifael, who gritted her teeth in silent frustration.
‘This was… the golden opportunity to completely make Frey mine…’
Then, she secretly looked at Frey, who was standing beside her.
‘If I don’t save you… you won’t last long…’
Soon, she began to look at Frey with pity.
“So, are you going to her?”
After gazing at Frey for a while, she finally asked in a low voice.
“Choose wisely. Whether you become my puppet or align with that foolish Clana…”
“………”
However, much to her surprise…
“W-what’s… going on?”
Frey, who just moments ago had lifeless eyes and mindlessly followed behind her, now widened his eyes and looked at her with astonishment.
“Clana is… already awakened?”
An unfamiliar sound escaped Frey’s lips as he suddenly donned a sardonic smile.
“…Then, there’s no reason for me to yield to you anymore.”
With that declaration, Frey released Rifael’s hand, which had been holding onto his arm.
“What does that…”
Rifael was puzzled by Frey’s unexpected reaction.
“Are you leaving me?”
“…Like that would ever happen.”
Clana, who was beside her, approached her while biting her lip as she once again spoke like that.
“Such a nuisance…”
And then, Rifael shot Clana a fiery look.
‘If things continue like this, nothing good will come out of this…’
Having dispatched several informants to monitor Frey’s condition, she believed her plan was foolproof. She had intended to visit Frey when he was on the verge of breaking down, condemned by the world and suffering from a serious illness simultaneously.
After sufficiently frightening him, she would take Frey to her room and subjected him to abuse for a while.
Then, as she gradually started to treat him well, Frey, pushed to the edge by continued persecution, would have no choice but to rely on her.
When Frey completely depended on her, she would convince him it was all for his own good.
Was it not the case in reality? She did such things just to save Frey. She believed that her actions, though extreme, were necessary to save Frey.
“Why are you interfering…”
However, if she got stuck at just stage 1, the whole thing would become different.
Her heroic intentions might not reach Frey.
This is a misunderstanding. It needs to be corrected.
“Alright, I’ll accept.”
Deciding to start afresh after removing Clana from her sight, she thought, ‘I may need to adjust the plan a bit.’ Pushing too hard might break Frey’s heart.
After the duel, she considered saying some warm words to him,taking him to her room, offering some delicious food, and trying to ease his guard.
“So, what’s the method of the duel?”
“It’s simple. The person who falls to the ground on the dirt floor first loses.”
“…Good enough, the faster, the better.”
With a serious expression, Rifael began channeling Solar Mana throughout her body.
“Alright, what about the time and place?”
“Right here, right now.
“You want to do it right away? That’s bold. What if this little sister of mine gets embarrassed…”
– Crackle, crackle…
As she mockingly stared at Clana, to her surprise, Clana was already amassing a massive amount of mana, preparing for the fight.
“We don’t need weapons, right? We both wield the power of the Solar Mana, after all.”
“…Right.”
“Hmm… In cases like this, there’s no precedent, so the judges are not prepared either, but with a simple set of rules and a multitude of spectators, it shouldn’t be an issue, right?”
After saying so, Rifael continued with a chilling smile.
“But… what will you wager?”
“I’m naturally the one in line for succession, so what about you?”
“My life.”
“Ha.”
Hearing those words, Rifael let out a bitter laugh.
“You don’t need to wager something so pitiful… Ah, how about this?”
She whispered in her ear in a low voice.
“…The transfer of the covenant that Frey used on you.”
– Crackle, crackle…
As soon as those words were spoken, the Solar Mana around Clana’s body began to crack like sparks of electricity.
“It should be at least something like that…”
“Alright.”
“…Fine.”
Clana responded with gritted teeth and a hint of satisfaction appeared on Rifael’s face.
“…Hey, you over there! Come here to give a signal to start the duel or whatever.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
She ordered one of the Imperial Guards, who stood blankly in front of them, struggling to comprehend the rapidly changing situation.
“Um, well… Get ready, please.”
A moment later, the guard tasked with starting the impromptu duel broke out in a cold sweat as he spoke.
“…Let the duel begin.”
As soon as he finished speaking…
– Kugwagwagwagwang…!
The mansion’s courtyard basked in a golden glow.
– Kugugugugugug…
Soon after, sharp fragments of stones and clouds of dust filled the courtyard.
“…!!!”
Reporters, capturing the scene with their magic recording tools, stood frozen.
“Heugh… ugh…”
Rifael, who had demonstrated overwhelming skill and garnered support from various factions, knelt down, clutching her stomach as saliva dripped from her mouth before collapsing.
“The duel is over.”
Meanwhile, standing on the ground with a very calm demeanor, Clana looked down at her once terrifying older sister, who had pushed her to the brink of hell.
“So, everyone, please leave now.”
She kicked Rifael to the ground and knocked her down to the earth. Then, with an icy expression, she looked around at the crowd and said.
“If you want to keep watching the disgrace of the Imperial Family, you’re welcome to stay.”
The duel that unfolded that day became the shortest in the history of the Imperial Family.
.
.
.
.
.
“Ugh… ugh…”
As time passed and the crowd of protesters, citizens of the fiefdom, and journalists dispersed from the courtyard, Rifael, still sitting in the courtyard, continued dry heaving.
“Uuuh…”
– Sssk…
Eventually, she quietly raised her head.
“Frey.”
Clana, who had been looking down at her until just a while ago, slowly approached Frey.
“On my birthday, you protected me.”
Upon arriving in front of Frey, Clana grabbed his hand.
“Now, I’ll protect you.”
With those words, she gently embraced Frey.
“This isn’t… this isn’t what was supposed to happen…”
Rifael’s expression contorted as she watched them.
‘Everything was going according to plan… I have done everything according to plan…’
Clana, whom she had always looked down on so much, was now wearing a happy expression.
Clana embraced Frey, who had just moments ago been broken by Rifael herself, and silently led him into her arms.
Not only that, Clana also defeated her in front of so many people.
“Why? Why did it turn out like this?”
Rifael, who could have had everything she wanted, was deeply shocked by her failure to obtain what she wanted.
“………”
She stared blankly at Clana, who held Frey for a long time while muttering something.
“Alright.”
She came to her own conclusion.
“I… must have lacked power.”
She pulled out a strange pill given to her by a woman she had met in the past, who introduced herself as the Demon King.
“Maybe you came across it by chance somewhere…? If that’s the case, I might have one too…”
While unknown to the public, all the members of the Imperial Family except Clana were already aligned with the Demon King.
They had pledged their loyalty to the Demon King instead of gaining power by consuming the pills she offered.
Of course, Rifael, with suspicions and a cunning personality, never took the pill until now.
Eventually, she made her choice.
She decided to offer herself to the Demon King.
If sacrificing her soul was what it took to have the power to tear Clana apart, who stood in front of her, and to manipulate Frey into becoming her puppet, then she considered it a small price to pay.
“Heh, hehe…”
A pitch-black pill writhed in her hand. Was this pill genuine? Such doubts didn’t matter to her.
– Ssk….
Her possessiveness had long blinded her.
“…Haup.”
With that, she put the wriggling pill into her mouth.
“Princess Rifael.”
And at that moment, Frey appeared in front of her.
“Your clothes are disheveled…”
“…..!?”
And suddenly, he began to tidy up her disheveled clothes as she had become a mess after rolling on the dirt ground.
“…Are you going to eat that?”
As Frey continued to fix her clothes, he asked in a low tone.
“You’ll regret it. For real. You know how it was made, don’t you?”
Of course, she didn’t give any response since she had pills wriggling inside her mouth.
“…Do you remember what happened that day?”
Frey continued whispering to her.
“If you truly remember that moment, please spit out that pill into my hand.”
“……..”
“Please hurry.”
A strangely sorrowful expression crossed Frey’s face.
“…Why should I?”
Looking at Frey in this state…
“Why should I even listen to the likes of a scoundrel like you?”
Her tone dripped with disgust until the very end.
‘Taking this pill is the only way I can save you, you know?’
She thought inwardly.
‘Be grateful towards me. Don’t embrace the likes of Clana, and praise me as your savior.’
Ultimately, she held onto the hope that Frey would grasp her intentions and feel gratitude.
‘Because there’s no one else who will save a person like you except me.’
“…Gulp.”
With this conviction, Rifael swallowed the pill that had been squirming in her mouth.
“Tch.”
And in that moment…
“I can’t believe this. Originally, you were supposed to take that power-up item during the 3rd-year final boss battle, but suddenly you used it now? It’s really baffling.”
Frey’s expression turned cold.
“I knew you were beyond redemption, truly trash. I didn’t expect much, but I was willing to give you one last chance before imprisoning you for life…”
Frey was looking at Rifael, who could not see his expression, as she fell asleep with a happy smile while imagining the strength that would soon come to her.
“…I guess, indeed, there’s just no hope for you.”
He muttered coldly as he distanced himself from Rifael.
– Shaaa…
In the meantime, Rifael’s entire body had turned purple.
– Crackle…!
Shortly after, ruby-colored horns sprouted from her head.
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