Chapter 532 (2) - The Academys Weapon Replicator |
Azier de Roach was dead.
The eldest son of the Roach family, the pinnacle of spearmanship, the hope of all Constel warriors.
……The Sword, Azier.
His death sent shockwaves through the Empire, and rumors about his demise ran rampant among the citizens.
This chaos spread to the Pro headquarters, Constel, and even the Imperial Palace.
However, the deeper one went inside the Imperial Palace,
A suffocating silence descended upon all the courtiers.
Deep inside, where the Emperor, Empress, and Princess resided.
Only in this place did the outside commotion completely die down.
“Indeed, Your Highness. Please open the door.”
“Your Highness……!”
In front of Philly Terst’s door.
The courtiers were calling out to her with pleading faces.
It had been two days since Empress Philly had locked herself in her room, refusing all food and water. The courtiers could only pace anxiously outside.
Yesterday, when only one day had passed, one of the courtiers had tried to force the door open.
His loyal heart, wishing for the Empress’s well-being, was commendable, but
As the courtier struggled to unlock the door,
Philly personally opened the door, blasted the courtier away with magic,
And locked herself back in.
After that, the courtiers only dared to call out “Your Highness!”, not daring to enter.
And this didn’t just apply to the courtiers.
“……Mother.”
Knock, knock.
Aten cautiously knocked on Philly’s door.
But there was no response from inside.
Never had Philly ignored Aten unless she was away.
However, this time, only a cold silence followed the knock.
No one could reach Philly now.
Considering their positions and authority, Emperor Terst could see her, but he knew her intentions and left her undisturbed.
Inside Philly’s room, voices pleading with her could be heard from outside.
But Philly sat on a chair in her room, unresponsive.
Tap, tap.
She tapped her fingers on the table in front of her.
At first, the tapping was erratic, tainted with regret and frustration, but as time passed, it became as steady as a metronome. Philly herself didn’t even notice.
If anyone had been around Philly, they would have known that the steady rhythm she was tapping out with her fingers was not normal.
She tapped her finger every second.
Repeating it precisely, without a 0.1-second error.
Meaninglessly.
‘……If there is such a thing as an unavoidable fate.’
If such a thing truly existed.
Philly’s premonitions were undoubtedly a superior version.
Because she could change the premonitions she saw.
Philly could avoid danger in advance based on the ominous feelings she felt. Her premonitions had been a great help in firmly establishing her power and foundation as Empress.
Even if they were nothing more than feelings, those feelings were real, and Philly had experienced escaping danger in many situations because of them.
So she,
‘……Even though I saw it.’
An unbearable regret washed over her.
Her premonitions had grown stronger.
Not just feelings anymore, but to the point where she could see them with her five senses.
She had seen the man collapse in front of Malia, and she had seen Malia crying.
She didn’t know if the man was Frondier, Azier, or someone else, but it didn’t matter.
She could have saved him.
Because her premonitions were changeable.
They weren’t premonitions she couldn’t change.
But if she could have changed it and didn’t,
‘……What have you done, Philly Terst?’
Having reached a point where she couldn’t make any excuses, Philly was backed into a corner.
‘If I had judged better.’
Where did she go wrong?
What information did she need to know?
What should she have prepared for, what countermeasures should she have taken?
Tap, tap, tap.
The tapping of her fingers became more precise.
Philly’s eyes slowly lost focus.
No matter how hard she racked her brain, the answer wouldn’t come.
What should she have known, where did she take the wrong path?
Right. Now she understood. It was because she was Philly Terst that she couldn’t find the answer.
Because she was human.
A dull, foolish human who couldn’t prevent a tragedy even when she foresaw it, that’s why she didn’t know.
If only she had focused all her efforts on reading the future.
If only she had tailored all her thoughts and actions towards calculation and response.
‘Philly Terst’ had no need for humanity.
If she had just discarded it, this wouldn’t have happened,
Bzzzt─
“!”
Philly was startled. Her tapping fingers stopped.
Her phone was ringing.
She had set her phone to silent mode, blocking all notifications. She didn’t want to hear anything, didn’t want to be disturbed.
But regardless of her wishes,
There was one person she absolutely had to answer to.
At least from that one person, she couldn’t hide and had to face the consequences.
Philly looked at the phone screen.
‘Frondier.’
A sigh escaped her lips at the sight of the name.
“……Sigh.”
She had to tell him.
That she had foreseen it.
That she knew and still couldn’t stop it.
With trembling hands, Philly brought the phone to her ear.
“……Yes.”
A short reply indicating she had answered the call.
Then Frondier spoke.
[Philly.]
At that single word,
Philly slumped down like a puppet whose strings had been cut.
Her fingers trembled as if they would crush the phone, and she clenched her teeth to keep her ragged breaths from reaching Frondier.
[Help me.]
Frondier said.
Help him.
He said it without knowing her situation.
He said it without knowing that Philly had already seen it all in her premonitions.
‘……Alright.’
But if Frondier needed help.
Even though it was already too late, if Frondier asked for it.
She could help him.
This time, she wouldn’t make a mistake.
She could devote everything she had to calculate the optimal solution.
Philly Terst was a human capable of that.
[Philly. I need you.]
However, Frondier spoke as if he knew what Philly was thinking.
[I need the wisdom of Her Highness, Philly Terst.]
“……Wisdom, you say?”
What was he talking about?
What did Frondier know to say such a thing?
[I am but a man of limited wisdom.]
As if he knew what Philly was about to do, he spoke words that seemed to hinder her.
“……So am I, Frondier. I’m not a person with wisdom or anything like that.”
Philly had failed.
She wasn’t someone Frondier should be asking for wisdom.
That’s why she was trying to discard everything.
[That’s not true.]
But Frondier simply refuted her.
[Because now, I am not fighting alone.]
“……!”
─You’re always fighting alone, you slothful Frondier.
Words Philly had spoken once.
As if those words had become a lesson, etched deeply within him.
Unable to speak, Philly instinctively tapped her fingers on the table again.
……Tap, tap, tap.
But the rhythm was erratic.
Philly’s eyes slowly began to regain focus.
Soon, her tapping fingers stopped.
“……What are you planning to do, Frondier?”
She clenched her fists.