Chapter 12

The capital of the Illumina Empire, Grantera.

At its center, towering high and grand, the largest and most imposing Imperial Palace stood. Yet, one room within it remained eerily silent today.

This place, akin to a city that never sleeps, was as bright as day even at night. A hub where all power converged, it was never devoid of human presence.

Here gathered those who had already seized most of the power, standing apart from the rest, and those who sought any opportunity to rise by catching their favor.

Yet, one room remained quiet, lonely, and desolate. No footsteps came to visit it.

A woman, wearing a mask made of gold—said to be the least toxic to the human body—and clad in golden robes, laughed hollowly within the room.

Seeing the meal laid out on the table, she couldn’t help but laugh. If her tears hadn’t already dried up, she might have shed a few drops.

“Is this my share of the meal?”

A few pieces of white bread and a bowl of soup so thin it could pass for sauce, with no solid ingredients in sight. A cup of water, seemingly drawn straight from a well, completed her dinner.

When had she ever eaten such a thing before?

So absurd was it that her appetite vanished entirely. The woman waved her hand, dismissing the meal.

“You all can have it. If even I am reduced to this, do you think you’ll get even a crumb of bread?”

“Princess… I’m truly sorry. No matter how much we protested to the kitchen, they only said that expenditures were high and we had to cut back…”

“No need to apologize. The fact that you’ve stayed by my side is more than enough to make me happy.”

There are things one doesn’t realize until they’re lost.

Once, her residence was bustling with people and envoys. The gifts that arrived daily alone were enough to fill the room, leaving no space for people to stand.

She hadn’t known how terrifying the fickleness of human hearts could be. She couldn’t have known.

They say you know true loyalty in times of hardship.

Those who flattered her, those who gilded her face with praise—none of them were truly loyal.

Not a single one of those who once acted as if they would lay down their lives at her command remained. The only true loyalists were the maids who had stayed by her side to the end.

“A wingless eagle is insulted even by chickens!”

The princess threw the cup of water. It wasn’t a golden or silver goblet.

The wooden cup didn’t break or shatter but rolled on the ground. The princess sighed and picked it up again. Even this was precious now.

“The room is so empty. All the valuable things have been handed over, and nothing remains.”

The mask and robes were her last luxuries.

To those who had come begging with wealth, she had to give even more to borrow.

She had bowed her head to save those who had chosen the wrong side.

To anyone who could offer even the slightest help, she had given a fortune.

“We could do some weaving in our spare time…”

“Enough. Don’t trouble yourselves for someone who’s already as good as dead.”

She had thought she could seize the throne with just a reach of her hand,

but the heavens had blocked her path. They had afflicted her with an incurable disease.

A disease that rotted her body, decaying her alive.

Leprosy, as it was called, was a disease even Divine Power couldn’t cure. It was simply misfortune to be endured, with no cure in sight.

“I’m already like a walking corpse. I’m just waiting for the day I die.”

“Your Highness…”

“But if even I disappear, how will you endure this disdain? So, I must live until the end. It’s truly pitiful that the only ones left by my side are you.”

The princess sighed. In her prime, had she even noticed these two maids?

If they had been noble-born ladies-in-waiting, perhaps, but maids were treated like mere decorations.

The princess was human too. Even if she was called the Iron Lady, she was still just a person.

Naturally, she had trusted and confided in some. Who among them remained by her side now?

She could only blame and resent herself for misjudging people.

In truth, she could understand. What elite would want to be buried alive with her?

She could understand them fleeing to save themselves.

But the fact that those she had looked down upon were the ones who stayed by her side—

it was truly shameful and left her speechless. It meant that despite having eyes, she had failed to see who would truly stand by her.

The princess struggled to speak.

“If a miracle were to come and free me from this curse-like disease…”

It was a sincere wish, free of any pretense or falsehood.

With nothing left to lose or gain, it was the purest form of honesty.

“I won’t forget your kindness.”

As she dismissed the dinner, a maid entered the room without even knocking.

The maid spoke as if delivering a notice. Her tone was polite, but only her tone. That much was a blessing.

The gaze that once wouldn’t even glance at her now held a look of disgust, as if staring at filth.

“Princess Ardein. A guest has arrived.”

“A guest? For me?”

“Baron Eandrim, he says. He seems to have come in a hurry from afar. What shall we do?”

“Who is that? There’s no reason for someone from afar to seek me out.”

The princess slowly rose. The maids supported her.

Her condition was already so severe that she could barely stand on her own.

But it was a guest who had come all this way. Whatever the reason, she wanted to meet them.

Ardein slowly made her way to the reception room.

“I greet Her Highness the Princess. I am Eandrim.”

“I’m sorry, but I don’t recognize you. Do you know me?”

“I am but a lowly noble, unable to even participate in politics. But how could I not know the hero of the former empire? How could I not know the renowned Princess Ardein?”

Baron Eandrim, in other words, was not part of Princess Ardein’s faction.

To be precise, he was a minor noble who hadn’t reached out to any faction.

The princess had no reason to have noticed him before.

She had a keen eye for talent, selecting only the best to serve under her.

Perhaps that was why, when crisis struck, they all flew away like migratory birds. If one couldn’t even avoid the fire at their feet, they couldn’t be called talent.

“I never pledged loyalty to you, but even if I had wanted to, I wouldn’t have had the qualifications. I wouldn’t have had the chance to stand by your side.”

“Get to the point. Did you come all this way to tell this walking corpse such things?”

“But I hope you’ll acknowledge that I am loyal to this empire.”

When a nation declines, one must have the ability to sell its secrets.

When a nation falls, one must have the ability to sell the nation itself.

That’s what makes one a talent.

There’s no rule saying a talented person can’t be patriotic, but the empire is in decline.

Devoting oneself to a nation showing signs of collapse is the work of a patriot, not a capable person. People differ, but for the capable, their priority is themselves, not the nation.

Baron Eandrim was not a capable person. He didn’t even have the ability to betray the nation.

But before that, he was deeply patriotic. The baron hadn’t come here for the princess.

He had come for the empire.

Not for the emperor’s daughter, but for the hero who could save the empire.

That’s why he was here.

“Your Highness. There may be a way to cure your illness.”

“Nonsense. Even the Saint of the Three Divine Gods couldn’t cure it. Not one of the three saints!”

“None of them could cure a cavity, but my rotting teeth are now perfectly fine.”

The baron opened his mouth to show his teeth.

The princess looked skeptical. Honestly, she didn’t believe a word of it.

“I met a priest who serves an unknown god, a god not yet known to the world. He is currently in the small southern city of Larpentia. If you hurry, you might be able to meet him before he leaves.”

“How can some unknown god cure what even the Three Divine Gods couldn’t! Have I become so pathetic that I’ve lost all common sense? Are you mocking me?”

“Your Highness. I’ve said what I needed to say. Whether you believe it or not is up to you. But Your Highness, miracles don’t come to those who don’t seek them.”

As he rose to leave, the baron muttered.

“If you still have even a sliver of hope, go to Larpentia and find the priest, Kyle. I can’t guarantee he’ll save you, but…”

He knew. It was just a possibility.

Whether the priest could save the princess or not was unknown until tried.

And if it failed, he had no confidence in dealing with the aftermath.

That’s why he was stepping back now.

“In my current state, I don’t even have the influence to borrow a carriage. The coachmen wouldn’t want to accompany me. The temple already disapproves of me staying here.”

The princess lamented.

“Larpentia is far from the capital. If I ride there, by the time I arrive, I’ll be even closer to being a corpse. Is it really worth it?”

Horseback riding was strenuous on the body.

In her prime, the physical exertion of riding would have been nothing,

but now, it could deal life-threatening damage.

“Your Highness. When you were on the battlefield, you were an undefeated warrior who feared no death.”

Suddenly, the baron, who was about to leave, stopped and spoke.

“But now, why have you become a coward too afraid of death to take a single step?”

“A coward, you say…”

“I’ve said all I needed to say. Do as you will, Your Highness.”

Long after the baron left,

the princess stood there, pondering his words.

She eventually burst into a bitter laugh. Indeed, his words weren’t wrong.

“I’ll go.”

“Your Highness!”

“You two, wait here for my obituary. I’m sorry for leaving you with such a pitiful master.”

She silently called for a maid to prepare a horse. She packed a few items for the journey but nothing more.

The maids tearfully opposed her, but the princess’s resolve was firm.

“If I’m to die, I won’t die a coward.”

If she was going to die anyway, she’d rather die on horseback. She wasn’t heading to Larpentia with hope.

She simply wanted to make her final journey, to conclude her life.

Staying cooped up in this palace, waiting for death, was more detestable than death itself.