Book 3: Chapter 23 (2/2)

“This morning.”

“…You must be tired.” Apollonia nodded. “Either way, you’re looking well for someone who’s traveled all day. I expected you to look more haggard from all the responsibility that comes with being empress. If someone saw you, they would think you weren’t working hard at all.”

The empress’s expression remained neutral. “You’re looking well for someone who’s almost fifty years old, Grand Duchess. Please teach me how to put on makeup one day.”

Apollonia’s eye twitched as a vein bulged on her forehead. She took a step back, gesturing towards the path that led towards the mansion in the background. “Come, let me show you around. All the nobles have been waiting for you.”

The empress shook her head. “I’m not interested in the banquet.”

Apollonia froze. “Pardon?”

“You’re summoning a devil to get rid of me today, aren’t you?” the empress asked. “I’m here to kill it. I don’t like playing games in the shadows. Let me teach you what it means to be powerless in the face of real strength.”

“…Where did you hear that?” Apollonia asked, raising an eyebrow. “No, I suppose it doesn’t matter. The summoning ritual is taking place in my northernmost fortress. It’s too late for you to stop it.”

“I spoke properly,” the empress said, her eyes narrowing as she drew her sword. “I didn’t say I was here to stop the ritual. I’m here to kill the devil after it comes out. But aren’t you afraid of death? You’re plotting to overthrow the empress.”

“Why would I be afraid if you kill my clone?” Apollonia asked, a smile blooming on her face. “By this time tomorrow, you’ll be dead. I—”

The empress’s sword flashed, and Apollonia’s body shattered like an image in a broken mirror. The fragments dissolved into motes of light that drifted up towards the night sky. The empress swept her gaze over the guards and Apollonia’s nephew before walking past them, exiting the gate. When Apollonia’s nephew was about to take in a breath, the empress whirled around and glared at him, causing him to choke on air. She sheathed her sword, causing a clink to resound through the air.

Apollonia’s nephew trembled as he raised his head, meeting the empress’s gaze. He flinched at another sudden clinking sound coming from the empress’s waist. His eyes wavered before he shut them tight, praying to the god he hadn’t thought about for years to save his life. “P-please, don’t—”

“Stop.” The empress’s command cut through his sentence. She frowned at the rancid smell that assaulted her nostrils and took a step away from the man who had just soiled himself. “Look me in the eyes.”

Apollonia’s nephew’s eyes shuddered as they opened.

The empress stared at him for a moment. “Which way’s north?”

The man’s arm trembled. He raised it and pointed towards the road leading away from the mansion. “T-that way.”

The empress nodded and followed the man’s finger, not saying a word as she turned her back on him and left.