It was driven heavily into the surrounding ground.

The terrifying force caused the cracks to widen further, the surrounding earth completely caved in, and the enormous palace trembled as well.

What terrifying power.

And this was just a casual strike from Aubrey.

Claudia gave this assessment.

but……

"Incompetent rage."

"You only need to tilt slightly to pierce right through my body."

"But I don't believe it's because you've softened your heart."

Claudia looked at the aloof Aubrey before her and gave a faint smile:

"You have never loved me, never."

As soon as she finished speaking, Claudia struggled to pull the spear that was driven into the ground.

He gripped it tightly in his hand, his gaze defiant as he looked back at Aubrey.

Then, he reversed the spear in his hand and aimed it at his own body.

*Pfft*

The silver, cold iron pierced through Claudia's flesh and blood.

An astonishing amount of bright red blood gushed out, completely covering the ground.

There seemed to be some black streaks mixed in with the blood, which was extremely eerie.

But Victor and Aubrey just watched Claudia's self-harm silently, and neither of them went to stop her.

He watched helplessly as Claudia committed suicide.

Finally, Claudia's body lay on the ground.

The body and blood began to gradually merge and intertwine, as if becoming one.

The bright red blood gradually congealed, flowing down the crack in the ground and dissipating.

"She's gone."

Aubrey looked at the bloodstains that had disappeared before him and said calmly.

But his voice sounded much older.

"It seems you are not in a good mood, Your Majesty."

"Do we need to talk?"

Aubrey glanced at Victor, then turned and walked toward the royal passageway.

Victor followed closely behind him, listening quietly as Aubrey's voice echoed once more:

“Claudia Stock, my first wife, before I even ascended the throne…”

This was a necessary political marriage, as the Stoke family was still in power and could be considered a prestigious and noble family.

The former emperor arranged a marriage for Aubrey, in which he married Claudia.

Only in this way can he inherit the throne.

After Aubrey ascended the throne, Claudia gave birth to two sons for him.

They are the eldest prince, Albany, and the second prince, Owesser.

Originally, Aubrey lived a very comfortable life after becoming emperor.

Eating, sleeping, practicing martial arts, and ransacking homes.

This peaceful period lasted until the Kingdom of Kant came to extend goodwill.

The Grand Duke of the Kingdom of Kant met with Oberly and wanted to offer his own daughter to Emperor Oberly in a marriage alliance.

Aubrey was stunned when he saw her.

Just because...

"She is the love of my life."

Although Aubrey was so powerful that he could slay a dragon single-handedly at the age of seventeen.

But at that time, he was not powerful enough to control everything.

During a war, he met the girl from the neighboring country.

The two fell in love.

He had never liked anyone so much before.

But as the heir to the empire, he could not designate his own marriage.

Not to mention that the other party is from another country.

As a result, he missed out on this love from his youth.

Fifteen years later.

Now in his thirties, Aubrey encountered her once again in his own country.

She was the daughter of the Grand Duke of Kant, and she never married, waiting for him her whole life.

This time, however, Aubrey, now the emperor, had the ability to make his own decisions.

That year, Aubrey truly experienced the taste of love.

until……

“I saw it with my own eyes; it was Claudia who killed her.”

"When I reached out my hands to embrace her, all I could do was take out the child, bathed in a sea of ​​blood, from her blood-soaked arms."

At that moment, Viktor heard it.

Aubrey's voice was filled with a long-lost sadness.

“Aurelian was born absurdly and tragically from within her mother’s corpse.”

...

Claudia left the palace and fled outside the capital.

She was trembling all over, and blood was flowing from her chest.

At the last moment, she used the Witcher's Blood Secret, sacrificing herself in exchange for escaping.

Aubrey became stronger.

But Claudia was not surprised.

From the moment she met Aubrey, it seemed like Aubrey had no limits and kept getting stronger.

She slumped onto the grass, pulled a bottle of pale red medicine from her waist, and slowly drank it.

She tossed the bottle aside, breathing softly, quietly feeling a warm current enveloping her body.

Life is slowly recovering.

However, the recovery is still too slow.

In a daze, she heard a fluttering sound in the air.

Claudia quickly became alert and tried to stand up, supporting herself with her hands.

When the flapping of wings gradually stopped, she could finally see what it looked like in the darkness.

Immediately, I breathed a sigh of relief:

"It was just a crow."

The black creature stood on the grass, carefully preening its feathers, seemingly unafraid of humans at all.

Claudia didn't pay any attention to the raven. She leaned weakly against the rock, looked up at the starry sky.

Wait a minute, a crow?

Sizzle—

Suddenly, a cacophony of electrical noise began to reverberate in Claudia's ears, making her eardrums feel the sharp, overclocked intensity.

The starlight was instantly swallowed up, and the surroundings became pitch black.

Claudia's body froze instantly.

what happened……?

Before she could react, a playful laugh gradually rose from the darkness.

It was as if it were an endless mockery, as if it were dragging her into an abyss:

"Don't rush off."

"Someone told me to come and arrest you. Do you want to cooperate?"