Regina Rena – To the Unforgiven

—Let’s get along well until we have to stab each other.

That’s what Rena said to Lynn the other day.

[T/N: The conversation in Chapter 14 – The Demure Dog]

The two promised to continue their late-night friendship and put this condition on it.

Rena bit her lip because the words that just came to mind were so coincidental.

The Emperor standing in front of her was urging Rena with her eyes transparent like a lake.

Fight Lynn.

‘Didn’t she say I did well?’

Rena wondered what kind of behavior this was to the person who returned after making a contribution just yesterday.

When Rena was not ready to step out in response to the heavy command, Lynn, who was on the other side, moved first.

Unlike Rena, he approached the servant with the sword without hesitation. So Rena followed him and moved her steps slowly.

As she turned her body, her gaze briefly met the knight who was sitting on the floor.

‘Should I have scolded him more firmly?’

Rena sighed inwardly as she looked at the knight, then she stood in front of the servant with Lynn.

The sword given by the servant was elegant and suited the dignity of the Imperial family. However, the color was not entirely black. It was also thin, but the blade was sharp enough.

As she held a similar sword with Lynn, emotions crossed her mind. So Rena whispered to Lynn on their way to the center of the banquet hall.

“I guess someone heard what we talked about yesterday.”

That’s why things went awry all of a sudden.

As soon as Rena talked about the alliance, this relationship that led to catastrophe looked ridiculous, so she joked lightly. But Lynn didn’t even pretend to listen.

He looked serious. It was not known whether it was just because of the Emperor’s order or because of what had happened in front of the conference room earlier.

Lynn said nothing, so Eena quietly pondered the Emperor’s orders.

‘Until one of you cannot hold the sword anymore…’

It wasn’t just about winning, it meant fighting until either one of them collapsed from an injury.

‘Should I aim at the wrist or shoulder? Or just knock him out for a moment?’

Rena didn’t want to hurt Lynn, but she had no intention of rejecting the order to prove her worth. She felt sorry for Lynn, but she was determined to win for now.

So Rena devised the least dangerous way for Lynn.

It was then.

“Rena.”

When they reached the center of the banquet hall, Lynn, who had not spoken to her, suddenly called out to Rena. Then he whispered softly to Rena, who turned around.

“Hold on as long as you can.”

“Hold on?”

Without time for Rena to be puzzled, Lynn widened their distance and raised his sword. Rena also quietly raised her sword in her battle posture.

The place they met was originally a place where ladies and gentlemen danced ecstatically.

‘By the way, we even talked about dancing together.’

No one expected it to be a sword dance. Rena felt it was such a coincidence and swallowed.

“Start.”

With the servant’s voice, Rena’s attempt to prove her worth began.

Rena tried to widen the distance first. But, unexpectedly, Lynn rushed in.

Lynn’s sword scraped the floor, producing a screeching sound. The sword raised from below flew terribly fiercely.

Kwaaang! The sword collided with each other, the sound was like a hammer hitting the anvil.

‘Ugh…!’

Rena was taken aback by the onslaught that flew at the start.

Lynn’s sword strike was excessively heavy. Her shoulders were creaking. Rena’s shoulders weren’t even in a good condition in the first place. The poison that had not yet gone away seeped into her bones painfully.

Rena clenched her teeth at her burning pain and backed away, but Lynn followed immediately. He swung his sword frantically as if he wanted to cut her down with force.

He not only swung it, but continued to scrape the floor, adding weight to the slender sword. Moreover, his movement was even as fast as a black arrow.

‘Mr. Lynn, are you being serious?’

Rena looked at Lynn, dodging his attacks over and over again. She thought he’d let it go a little, but that must have been a ridiculous expectation.

Rena dodged the attacks one after another. Lynn’s attack was fierce, but fortunately it wasn’t hard to dodge. The trajectory was simple as he scraped and slapped the sword on the floor. Nevertheless, she could not let her guard down because it was constantly rushing.

‘I’m going to get hit if this keeps going.’

Rena, feeling the threat, changed her gaze.

She knew how merciless he was to his enemies and now she knew better after experiencing it herself. It seemed that he was serious, so there was no need for Rena to hesitate any longer.

Having hardened her heart, Rena took a step back and enticed Lynn.

When Rena took refuge in the corner of the banquet hall, the nobles who watched her retreated in surprise.

Rena led Lynn, who was chasing after her, to a pillar, where he paused for a moment because of the obstacle that suddenly appeared.

Rena didn’t miss the gap and turned her body as if dancing, and she aimed for the inside of Lynn’s arm. She casually slashed at Lynn’s wrist as it was.

“Ugh!”

Lynn groaned and backed away. A thin stream of blood ran down his wrist. Still, he did not let go of the sword.

‘Was it too shallow?’

Rena clicked her tongue. She wanted to end it with as little pain as possible.

So Rena, who decided to be more adamant, dug in again without giving him a break.

The situation was immediately reversed by the daring counterattack of the Southern Representative. Until just before, the Eastern Duke had been terrifying, but now the Southern Representative was the one pouring out the attack without breathing.

‘My god…’

The nobles swallowed with their dry throat at the constant clash of swords and their brittle sound.

It was such a ruthless collision that they became worried some arm muscles would break.

Rena’s attack was fast and sophisticated. Therefore, Lynn didn’t even have time to breathe as he avoided her sword and backed away. In the meantime, the hem of his right arm, where the blade had scraped several times, had long since become tattered.

The two swords collided again. Rena, whose attack was blocked, tried to withdraw her sword, but Lynn pressed it down with force. Rena also endured the sudden power struggle.

The swords creaked under the heavy pressure. Rena’s shoulders also complained because of the pain again. As Rena bit her lip to contain the pain, Lynn whispered in front of her nose.

“Avoid.”

Immediately after his unexpected whisper, Lynn raised his sword once more with all his might.

The swords collided head-on, and the sudden change in the direction of the force caused Rena to let go of her sword.

Rena’s sword flew away with a clang.

Rena lifted her head in bewilderment, then widened her eyes when she realized that there were not one but two swords grazing the ceiling chandelier.

Lynn had let go of his sword as well.

The sword, which had bounced off, fell to the marble floor with a bang. Rena ran to grab her sword. But just before Rena’s hand reached, Lynn kicked the sword.

The sword swung round and round and rolled far away. Then, beating Rena, who was bending down, Lynn snatched the only sword nearby.

Rena, whose sword was taken away, had no choice but to roll towards the other sword. Luckily she managed to grab the other sword before Lynn rushed in.

Then Rena realized that the sword had changed.

The sword, which Rena was holding, was tangled with Lynn’s blood, and somehow it felt strangely different in her hand.

‘What is it?’

Rena felt a sense of disharmony and looked at the sword that Lynn had wielded so far.

There were scars here and there from scratching the beautiful black floor and hitting the pillars.

‘Could it be…’

Rena was having doubts, but Lynn rushed in again. He rushed forward, scratching the floor again with the sword that had been used by Rena before.

‘There must be something he’s aiming for in doing that.’

Rena doubted Lynn’s intentions and avoided the attack. The sword that flew through the marble was only fast, and the orbit was also quite simple.

However, Lynn continued to destroy walls and floors while chasing Rena.

To the onlookers, it looked absolutely brutal. The sight of chasing a woman with fierce eyes reminded them of the bloody rumors of the Eastern Duke.

But Rena had a different thought. She felt like a fox being chased by the sound of bells. Everything was just a fuss, and there was only little real threat.

As Rena became suspicious of Lynn’s intentions, she focused only on stopping and avoiding the attack. Nevertheless, their appearance was bloody enough because of the shards of marble and the roaring sound.

Shortly thereafter, the sword, which was abused by Lynn, began to creak again. Rena heard a grunt as well.

Just then, Rena’s eyes met Lynn’s. Then he said with his eyes.

‘Receive.’

Contrary to his rough behavior, his eyes were still.

Lynn raised his sword. He was going to hit hard. Rena, who was finally convinced, held her sword without avoiding it.

Both swords collided once again. And this time there was a loud, cracking sound.

It was the sound of Rena and Lynn’s swords being shattered.

.

.

.

“Oooh!”

When the sword broke, the nobles who were watching while holding their breath burst out in exclamation.

Rena’s sword was not able to withstand the weight it hit and was split in two, and Lynn’s sword that had broken Rena’s sword also hit the floor and shattered.

Fighting until the sword breaks, it was a rare sight that was hard to see anywhere.

Rena and Lynn, whose hands became bare, looked at each other while holding their breath.

As they ran out of breath from swinging their swords around, at the moment it felt as if their heart was about to explode.

The arms, which had been pushed to the limit, were now difficult to even move.

However, the two hid their tiredness and looked at the Emperor.

In any case, it was as the Emperor had said. Since the sword was broken, both of them could not hold the sword anymore.

If the Emperor didn’t order someone to bring new swords, they would be able to finish this clown game with no winners or losers or wounds.

Rena and Lynn awaited the Emperor’s verdict.

The Emperor looked indifferently at the two, who were controlling their breathing, and turned her head to her feet.

“What do you think?”

The knight who was dragged out at the Emperor’s feet was still kneeling on his knees. The Emperor asked him.

“Do you still think I’m wrong?”

“Y-Your Majesty. I’ve sinned to death…”

“Mm, correct. Treason is punishable by death.”

The Emperor nodded calmly. Then she looked at Rena again and said.

“It was interesting.”

That was the end of her words.

“Next time, show me how to dance, in a pretty dress.”

The Emperor said so and beckoned. It meant they could stop.

And that was how the ruckus ended.

Rena and Lynn sighed knowingly and looked at each other for a moment.

However, unlike the two, there was still someone who could not be relieved.

“What should be done with this?”

The Emperor muttered as she looked at the knight at her feet.

The knight trembled and begged for mercy. Fortunately, the Emperor was in a good mood.

“It was fun, so I’ll spare you. But you should be punished for making fun with your mouth.”

The Emperor who had made up her mind blinked at Clavis.

At that, Clavis approached the kneeling knight. The knight blinked anxiously, not knowing what was going to happen.

“May Her Majesty’s mercy be deeply engraved in your heart.”

“Uuu…”

Clavis covered the groaning knight’s forehead with his hand. The sight of the Cardinal in white reaching out to the knight seemed divine at first glance. But the reality was just the opposite.

“U-Uaaakh…!”

Under Clavis’ touch, the knight began to scream. He trembled as if he was being tortured. At the same time, his thick body began to dry out.

“Keeugh…!”

As the knight’s movement became weak, the Cardinal finally let go. The knight just fell down. And his body, which was spread out, was bare and dry like never before.

The nobles swallowed with their dry throat at Clavis’ cruel power. Clavis smiled at them and said.

“Honor to Her Majesty’s mercy.”

The nobles got goosebumps, but they did their best to pull their lips together and followed.

“Honor to Her Majesty’s mercy.”

What the hell is mercy? No one understood, but no one questioned.

Letting go of thoughts and agreeing with the words of the Imperial family. It was because everyone knew it was the best way to survive in the Imperial Palace.

***

The victory banquet continued until late. However, the main character did not stay for long. She had a more important appointment waiting for her.

On a dark night, Rena and Lynn met again at the lake shore. They smiled faintly at each other.

They’ve already spent a lot of time together for a day, so they couldn’t figure out why they were so happy.

However, contrary to the happy heart, it was difficult to openly open their mouths. They hesitated, being cautious.

So, after looking at each other without a word for a long time, in the end, Rena whispered first.

“I thought you wouldn’t come.”

“Why?”

“Because we got along well until we stabbed each other.”

Rena said that and looked at Lynn as if she was sorry.

Actually, they didn’t stab each other. It was only Rena who did the stabbing. Lynn didn’t hurt Rena. Instead, he took on her burden and found her a way. Sincerely, and foolishly.

When Rena was being sorry, Lynn turned away.

“Is your arm okay?”

“I’m fine. How about Mr. Lynn?”

“Me too.”

That’s a lie. Rena remembered how tenaciously she had cut him down.

Shall I apologize? If she said she was sorry, of course he would forgive her. Then everything would be fine, comforting even.

Knowing that, Rena couldn’t apologize. She didn’t want to take advantage of Lynn’s thoughts.

So Rena took the offer instead of the apology.

“Is the alliance proposal you made yesterday still valid?”

Lynn was a bit startled by the unexpected words. With an incomprehensible expression, Rena couldn’t help but confess.

“To be honest, I didn’t feel like it yesterday.”

“But?”

“But I changed my mind. Because Mr. Lynn is so pretty.”

[T/N: A reminder that ‘pretty’ can also mean ‘kind’ or ‘good’]

Rena’s voice was calm in answering his question, but Lynn’s heart was beating fast.

Lynn remained stiff for a while at the unexpected attack before complaining as if he found it unfair.

“I know you like to use that expression, but to say it so casually…”

“Do you hate it?”

“… No.”

“That’s a relief.”

In the end, Lynn still couldn’t overcome Rena.

Lynn eventually bit his mouth and Rena smiled even more as she looked at him. He didn’t seem to know why Rena kept saying he was pretty.

“I think it will be fine if it’s with Mr. Lynn. Whether to form an alliance or hold hands.”

[T/N: Hold hands as in working together, I translate it literally because the essence is just different if I translate the implied meaning directly]

Rena couldn’t overcome Lynn as well.

Even if she was suspicious and wary and tried to draw a line, Lynn was approaching her with ease, and it put Rena in a difficult situation.

Rena, who had surrendered this time as well, eventually decided to give up and continued her word.

“Instead, there are conditions.”

“Conditions?”

“Mr. Lynn, please finish what you said yesterday.”

Lynn looked at Rena with puzzled eyes. As Rena looked into his deep eyes, she added.

“I want to know why Mr. Lynn can’t have a companion.”

The author’s words:

Emperor, 112 years old. Merciful.