CH 29

On the day Viola went to work, it seemed there were people around her secretly cursing her out.

I heard that Viola couldn’t stand the behavior of the people who recklessly spoke ill of her, and she swung her sword mercilessly at them and almost got into trouble.

‘No, it’s not like Sister Viola at all!’

The punishment lasted only two weeks, but it was enough time to damage Viola’s reputation.

What happened at the knight competition and to the knights began to spread by word of mouth.

The title of the Empire’s Greatest Knight had long since been cracked by her defeat in the knight competition, and a lot of people turned their backs on her after her disappointing attitude.

Above all, since there was nothing more enjoyable than this for the common people, I heard that the traveling bards contributed to the spread of rumors.

‘Theodore, a commoner knight who defeated a conceited aristocratic knight fair and square.’

Viola was a laughing stock to everyone.

With her strong pride, she couldn’t tolerate her situation nor she could forgive them.

After the disciplinary action, Viola began to change.

Viola, who was always calm, began to lose her temper easily over trivial matters.

Her face was always full of anger, and if there was something she didn’t like, she would act recklessly.

Above all, she was given a disgraceful nickname because of her insistence on never admitting defeat in the knight competition.

The Tyrant of the Imperial Knights.

I heard that everyone complimented it, saying that it suited her.

So Viola continued to lose her former self.

Seeing Viola increasingly becoming more ferocious, the Imperial family finally made a decision.

Time passed quickly, and in front of me, I saw a haggard Viola, not the one I once knew.

“I’m the leader of the Third Knight Order….”

The Imperial family demoted Viola.

‘Sister Viola was a part of the First Knight Order of the Imperial Family, a special group consisting of the most powerful men in the Empire.’

On the other hand, in the case of the Third Knight Order, most of the soldiers were assigned to patrol the capital and maintain public order, so they belonged to the lower ranks within the knights.

In other words, it was a demotion.

There was no longer any room for her honor to be restored.

Due to the shock, Viola started drinking alcohol, which she had never tasted before.

The whole family tried to stop her from turning into an alcoholic, but it was useless.

The light gradually disappeared from Viola’s eyes.

Then one day, a very special guest came to her.

“Her Highness is here?”

“Yes. She came to see Miss Viola quietly.”

Isabel’s words suddenly made me anxious.

‘She’s drinking a lot these days, will it be fine? Wouldn’t it be better for me to be by her side just in case?’

My body moved first, thinking that if another accident happened here, Viola would never be able to come back.

When I arrived in front of Viola’s room with hasty steps, unexpectedly, no one was guarding the front.

‘What?’

It was strange that there was no escort at the princess’s visit, so I went closer and saw that the door was slightly open.

Looking through the gap, the Princess and her escorts were all in the room.

“It’s interesting how straightforward you are now.”

The unfamiliar voice clearly belonged to the Princess.

“You visited my father and Ronald because of your demotion, but you couldn’t meet them, right?”

“…”

“What are you doing, looking for the people who will abandon you? It’s no use anyway.”

“Your Highness.”

Viola called out to the Princess in a trembling voice, but she didn’t listen and only said what she wanted to say.

“I am different from them. I acknowledge your outstanding talent, and I feel really sorry about this situation.”

“…”

“I’d like to ask my father to reinstate your position right away, but it’s also not an easy situation.”

“I know.”

At Viola’s resentful voice, the Princess comforted her with a gentle voice.

“But I want your honor restored. It’s ridiculous that an excellent swordsman like you is only the leader of the Third Knight Order.”

“…”

“I will reinstate you.”

“How? It’s impossible.”

“Trust me, I will make the impossible possible.”

The Princess held out her sword to Viola.

“Go to the outskirts and come back after winning the war against the demons. If you do that I’ll somehow put you in the position of First Knight’s captain.”

“…”

“Just make an excuse. After that, I’ll take care of everything myself.”

Viola slowly raised her head and looked at the Princess for a long time.

And soon she accepted the sword from her and said.

“I accept your order.”

✲ ✲ ✲

After that day, Viola volunteered to be dispatched to the outskirts, and thanks to that, rumors about her gradually faded away.

But nothing improved.

Viola’s honor and reputation remained, and every time she returned occasionally, there was a lot of friction in the house.

Liliana and Viola hadn’t been together for a while because they clashed at every opportunity.

‘Where will this dream end?’

The dream and reality didn’t match.

Liliana obviously chose to become Lord Grayton’s apprentice rather than betrothed to the First Prince, so why is she still present as his fiancée in this dream?

Time passed by quickly again, with the question still unresolved.

The swift-passing time stopped on the day Viola returned to the capital after her long absence.

Liliana and Viola still growled and argued when they met.

“You’re going to put the hedonistic princess on the throne? For you to make that decision, you must be insane.”

“You talk a lot about the subject, considering you made a decision because you were blinded by love. Don’t judge her by how she looks on the outside. Enjoying entertainment is just her external appearance, but she is a person who plans thoroughly and looks into the future.”

“Once she becomes the Emperor, Odphelia will perish in an instant.”

“I cannot tolerate anyone insulting my lord, even if it’s you.”

But today, Liliana and Viola’s war of nerves intensified.

The two reacted more sensitively than ever, and their voices gradually rose.

“Are you going to point a sword at me?”

“If it’s necessary.”

At Viola’s words, Liliana looked at her with a shocked face.

“I thought you and I could walk the same path, but I guess I was wrong.”

Liliana’s face no longer showed any emotion.

“Our relationship as a family ends here. I won’t care what happens to you in the future.”

“You said what I wanted to say.”

The two stared at each other and turned their backs and disappeared.

They didn’t hesitate at all as they walked away without looking back as if they would never see each other again.

I was looking at those two with a nervous feeling, but the surroundings suddenly started to shake.

I closed my eyes, enduring dizziness from the collapse of the space around me, and when I opened them, I was standing in a place I had never seen before.

‘Prison?’

Startled, I looked around and saw a familiar face in the distance.

Viola was shouting, looking up at the Princess with a desperate expression.

“I believed in Your Highness. I didn’t want to disappoint you for trusting me. I wanted to give my life to be with you until the end.”

Contrary to Viola’s miserable expression, the Princess was looking down at her with a smile.

“Why? Why are you throwing me away like this?”

“You’re no fun anymore.”

“For that reason….”

The Princess burst into laughter at Viola’s bewildered expression.

“And I decided to join hands with Ronald for a while. I guess your twin sister is no longer useful.”

“Liliana…?”

Viola froze at the name that was suddenly brought up.

“Go back to the mansion and wait for your end, Viola.”

With the Princess’ last words, the view surrounding me began to shake again.

This dream was similar to Lilliana’s.

The reason why they chose their respective Imperial family member, and the final image of being betrayed.

The surroundings crumble again.

The space in my dream changed so quickly that it illuminated the lobby of the duke’s residence.

Familiar places, familiar situations, familiar people.

“Yes, we did. I don’t want to see your arrogant appearance anymore, so I tried to kill you by colluding with the demons! I was about to hand over this Empire into the hands of the demons!”

“Is that enough? Now that you’ve got the answers you want, you must be feeling better!”

Lilliana’s and Viola’s raging voices made it clear that this was part of the dream I had a year ago.

“I love you and everything is now ruined. I shouldn’t have loved you.”

I could hear Liliana’s voice sobbing in agony.

“If only I didn’t serve you as my lord. That’s where the worst started.”

I also heard Viola’s voice of regret.

“If I could turn back time, I wouldn’t hold your hand.”

Those two looked at the First Prince and the Princess with hateful eyes and said.

“Never!”

As soon as those words ended, the dreams I had so far began to flow quickly in my head as time passed.

Starting with Liliana’s happy engagement with the First Prince, she gradually began to distance herself from her family.

After Viola was defeated in the knight competition, she began to break down, and after meeting the Princess, she suddenly volunteered to leave for the outskirt.

Liliana wanted the First Prince to become the crown prince, and the two of them became isolated from a certain moment and did not even talk.

In the end, those two became each other’s enemies, and the moment they became useless, they were abandoned by the people they trusted.

And lastly.

The family and Empire that perished along with my sisters who shouted their regrets with hatred and resentment.

When the dream was over, I opened my eyes.