CH 5

Katlena has relied solely on negative emotions throughout her life, such as her obsession with ‘Schaurillin Inborgia’. 

Regrettable feelings weren’t something that could be resolved in such a short period of time. 

She has no intention of organizing it, and she’s unable to do so.

Katlena is satisfied with her present situation, but she can’t help but wish she had chosen a different path. 

It would have been fun for her to overcome difficulty and live a prosperous life, but she would have preferred a life free of hardship. 

‘Isn’t it reasonable to expect Schaurillin Inborgia to pay at least for her dignity, given that the suffering is originally caused by him?’

It wasn’t just about ‘revenge’ but some might say retribution in this case.

Katlena had no intention of separating Schaurillin’s neck and body. It wasn’t even a neck she could obtain just because she wanted to.

The High Elf, who would have lived for half a thousand years, even if there was no way to know the exact age, could not be beaten by a human assassination group even with her personal combat ability. 

Apart from her trust in her assassination group “Lupus”, she made a rational judgment that it might not be enough to be a match for Schaurillin.

Being gentle didn’t mean that Schaurillin’s strength was diminished. Katlena Agreta knows more clearly than anyone else how overwhelming his power was. 

How could she forget?

She still has dreams about how a single person wiped out a very prosperous family.

Katlena Agreta’s life was also completely turned upside down in front of his ruthless sword.

How could she forget the white fairy from that ruthless day?

Her eyes lingered over the bright hall, which was adorned with bright decorations.

The nine-year-old Katlena Agreta walked along that route that darted through the stretched out corpses, as if savoring the weight of force.

It’s a mansion that once had it all. 

Of course, it was now nothing more than a ruin where no one lived. 

Surprisingly, the old Agreta mansion was restored. This is the ‘power’ that she wields. 

Katlena Agreta gently swallowed a sigh as she looked around the brightly sparkling celebration site silently.

Since the rebels in the area had been swept away, it was now time to use them to extract impure molecules.

The party had just begun.

“Kat’s party?”

With a narrowed brow, General Johann Lacrivia, who protects the front line of the border with the heterogenous, responded. 

He assumed he’d misheard, but Gilar Wügen, the commander of the unit to which he oversee, immediately corrected him.

“To be precise, it’s a party to commemorate the return of the 400-year-old High Elf Schaurillin Inborgia, held by Duchess Katlena Agreta, and it appears that an invitation has been given to you, despite the fact that I assumed you wouldn’t attend the capital party as usual.”

“Kat’s celebrating Schaurillin’s return?”

Johann Lacrivia regarded with suspicion asked once more, then simply pointed to his forehead. 

His noble face was obscured by his fine black hair, which shook down. The blue eyes, which had been lost in thought for some time, swept the floor for a while before returning to the deputy general.

“Are they going to kill him?”

“That’s what the rest of the world thinks, that Duchess Agreta will finally cut Schaurillin Inborgia’s throat.”

“No, not Schaurillin.”

Johann Lacrivia tapped on his desk a number of times, buried in thought with a wary face.

Gilar Wügen, who has been observing him for over a decade, didn’t find it difficult to tell.

Gilar stared down at his young boss with a fresh face. 

General Johann Lacrivia, a 27-year-old young elite known as the “Lion of the Frontier”, was a man who rarely faltered in the face of a crisis. 

However, when that strange and apparent indication of stress appeared on his noble face, he began to appear to be just a twenty-seven year old young man. 

He had the impression that he was more anxious than normal. He’s the type of person who trusts no one.

General Lacrivia’s lips twitched slowly.

“I think there’s something she wants to achieve using Shaurillin as an excuse.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“Because she’s that kind of person.”

“You haven’t seen each other in 15 years. I didn’t even see you exchanging letters, but did you contact her without me knowing?”

“No. But I know just by hearing the rumors.”

General Lacrivia stood up and took up his cape after a brief response. Gilar Wügen, a former vassal knight of the Marquis of Lacrivia, appeared nervous.

By the time he fulfilled his duty to the capital, General Lacrivia voluntarily left the capital. 

Although he was the heir to the marquis, he left the family and just looked straight at the most dangerous place. 

He may be known as one of the country’s finest warriors now, but he started out as a small rebel. 

To put it another way, he seemed to want to die. At the very least, no one in Roschodur will be oblivious of what caused him to wander.

18 years ago, he had a fiance. He suffered hardship after hardship then he was finally destroyed after a family was purged.

So, what was he hiding?

His fiance was Katlena Agreta.

Even if Count Agreta was reinstated, the Marquis of Lacrivia had no reason to continue their engagement because it was no longer beneficial. 

In other words, even after being reinstated, Katlena Agreta had to walk around the monastery, the wizard tower, and the kingdom of Mado because the Marquis of Lacrivia cut her off.

And with that, Johann Lacrivia also lost his place to go. 

If Katlena Agreta had nowhere to go physically, Johann Lacrivia had nowhere to go emotionally 

He just wanted to leave his heartless parents. He wanted to break ties with his family who didn’t even reach out to Katlena. 

He hated himself for not helping her. He just wanted to push himself and forget about everything.

As soon as he reached the age of fifteen, the age at which he could serve the capital, he didn’t return and began to wander around the outskirts. 

So even after Katlena Agreta returned to the capital and began to build up terrifying achievements, Johann and Katlena never met. 

She was once a fiancée but that happened when they were young. 

The emotions that encouraged his disappointment with his parents would have been much more closer to a guilt for a childhood friend than a guilt for a fiancée.

Only rumors have been spread about Count Agreta, now Duchess Agreta, for being ruthless and cold-hearted. 

A person that has lost its heart. Only scary legends exist regarding whether she’s an iron-blooded or cold-hearted duchess.

What information did Johann Lacrivia get from the rumor? 

Gilar believed that the more he deliberated on reports, the more Katlena Agreta would be able to take care of Shaurillin Inborgia.

Johann Lacrivia, on the other hand, is claiming that Katlena will not kill Shaurillin based on the rumor. 

Whether there’s a glorifying prejudice against an old childhood friend’s morality or personality.

“Do you think Duchess Agreta’s personal animosity won’t lead to revenge?”

“I’m not suggesting that, do you believe death will be enough revenge for an elf who has already lived for hundreds of years?”

“It turned out to be so. But…”

Before Gilar’s thoughts could follow, General Johann closed his pale blue eyes, as though immersed in thought, and spoke in a firm and sad tone.

“If there was a way to ‘destroy’ him, Kat would know better than anyone else in the world. She doesn’t even have to use her own hands.”

There was no way to describe how dangerous those words sounded. Gilar had to look at General Lacrivia with troubled eyes for a moment.

General Lacrivia, with a cape and a sword around his waist, glanced at Gilar with confused eyes, as if he had just thought of a place to go, and Gilar carefully asked.

“Are you going to the party? Because it’s not just anyone else’s party, but Duchess Agreta’s.”

For him who held back what he wanted to ask, whether he wanted to reunite with her or not, General Lacrivia smiled as if passing by with a unique, still expression..

“No way.” 

After shedding a smile, General Lacrivia replied quietly. 

“I don’t want to go back to the capital.”

•••

The fair and honest High Elf, who had served as prime minister for 400 years, had the right to take immediate action. 

Shaurillin Inborgia was always a wise and strong man, and everyone in the Empire praised him. 

Even the Agreta’s trusted him.

Shaurillin Inborgia was, in fact, a trustworthy person. He was like Roschodur’s second father and had been the Emperor’s teacher for 400 years. 

Even if there had been no need to take immediate action in the first place, if Shaurillin had made a report, the Emperor would have acted quickly.

But that wasn’t the case from Katlena Agreta’s standpoint. 

The Agreta family was destroyed without even receiving a fair trial due to the abuse of the power for summary disposition.

Shaurillin Inborgia used the right to summary disposal as soon as he knew of Count Agreta’s family’s treason. 

The guilt was too much to bear. 

It was not a crime that was solved to the satisfaction of the capturing family’s head.

The high elves, who had lived for half a thousand years, decided to attack, so Count Agreta, who was a nobleman, had no choice but to be swept away like autumn leaves. 

Only Katlena Agreta, who’s too young to take over the line of succession, escaped the maddening fire. 

In front of Katlena, who woke up to the noise and walked barefoot to the square, Duke Inborgia was cold. 

He single handedly grabbed Count Agreta’s hair, dragged him, and stood on the platform.

He was a close friend of Count Agreta. In his youth he was very fond of Katlena Agreta. 

With his lemon-colored bright golden hair tied behind his neck, the man with the world’s noblest and most beautiful face laid down his purple eyes.

When Katlena Agreta and his gaze met, he struck the sword as it was.

It wasn’t a personal vendetta. Despite her youth, she was a noble who understood loyalty and honor to the bone. 

She didn’t believe she deserved to die because her father had attempted to rebel but rather she “wished” to die because she was the daughter of a traitor. 

She should not have survived. 

After being transferred to the monastery, she refused to eat or drink for six months.

Talks began to be said that the punishment for the Agreta family was excessive.

Katlena thinks it’s a little bit messy.