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Two men wearing breastplates that had the crest of intertwined tigers emblazoned on it were chatting in front of a pair of metal gates. Besides them, a man wearing a suit was sitting on a chair next to a torch, a cup of ale in his hands. One of the guards glanced at the road; a lone figure was walking towards them, but they were still quite some distance away. “Which noble is that? He doesn’t even have a steed.”
“Probably some backwater knight,” the other guard said. “Even dumb kids can be knighted these days, you can’t expect all of them to have horses.”
The other guard chuckled while the man wearing the suit shook his head. The chuckling guard leaned back against the fence, knocking against the latch that held the metal gates shut. “Do you think the demon lord is really going to show up? The banquet’s almost over.”
“Her?” the other guard asked, rolling his eyes. “No chance in hell. If I were her, I’d be too ashamed to show my face. She’s driven the empire into the ground with her policies; it’s a miracle no one’s tried to assassinate her yet. She’ll stay locked up in her palace, ignoring every invitation as usual.”
“Shut your trap,” the man in the suit said, glaring at the guard. “The grand duchess said the empress was attending. She wouldn’t lie, and she most certainly wouldn’t make me wait out here if the empress wasn’t actually coming.”
The guard snorted. “Would you even recognize her if she showed up? I bet you’ve never seen her face in person.”
“I’ve seen her before,” the man said in a low voice, practically snarling. “If you say another word, I’ll have your head delivered to your family before the night is over.”
The other guard removed his back from the fence and straightened his posture. The person traveling down the road had come within earshot. She was a woman with dark-red hair and green eyes. She wore a traveling cloak that covered every inch of her body except her head. It trailed along the ground, even her feet hidden underneath the fabric. With every step she took, metal clanking sounds rang out, each footstep resounding in the guard’s head. She stopped in front of the dazed guard; when there wasn’t a response, a frown appeared on her face.
“S-sorry!” The guard flinched and sucked in his breath. “Your invitation, madam?”
The woman’s frown deepened. She pulled open her traveling cloak, revealing a set of pitch-black armor, and rummaged around. After a brief moment, she closed her cloak, her hands empty. “I must’ve dropped it.” She turned her head towards the side, her eyes flickering when her gaze landed on the man in the suit. His face was whiter than snow, his cup on the ground by his feet, alcohol seeping into the earth beneath his chair. “Aren’t you Apollonia’s nephew?” She gestured towards the closed gates. “Let me in.”
The man in the suit dropped to his knees, knocking his chair over in his haste. “Yes, Your Imperial Majesty! Please, forgive my men for not recognizing Your Imperial Majesty right away! Their eyes are clearly useless—I’ll have them gouged out and delivered to Your Imperial Majesty’s doorstep before the sun rises!”
The empress made a face as the guards dropped to their knees, knocking their foreheads against the ground while shouting for forgiveness. “Don’t do that,” she said. “You’ll dirty my palace.” Her brow wrinkled as she squinted at the man in the suit, whose sweat left visible patches in the fabric. “Oh. No wonder why I thought you looked so familiar. You were there when my brother accidently killed himself on the sword I was holding in the garden. You hid behind a bush, didn’t you? I only realized after seeing your terrified expression.”
“Your Imperial Majesty!” a voice shouted from beyond the gates. Hurried footsteps echoed through the night, and Grand Duchess Apollonia appeared from around a bend. She strode to the gate and undid the latch, letting the metal swing open as her escort that was behind her finally caught up. “Look at how late it is; I thought you weren’t coming.”
“While I was walking, I was distracted by the smell of something nice and lost my way,” the empress said, her expression neutral. “Someone was roasting fish over a campfire.”
Are you a dog? Apollonia thought as a dark expression appeared on her face. “You said you walked here? From the palace?”
“Yes. You know about my motion sickness, don’t you?”
Apollonia’s eyes widened. “The palace is over four mountains away. When did you set out?”
“This morning.”
“…You must be tired.” Apollonia nodded. “Either way, you’re looking well for someone who’s traveled all day. I expected you to look more haggard from all the responsibility that comes with being empress. If someone saw you, they would think you weren’t working hard at all.”
The empress’s expression remained neutral. “You’re looking well for someone who’s almost fifty years old, Grand Duchess. Please teach me how to put on makeup one day.”
Apollonia’s eye twitched as a vein bulged on her forehead. She took a step back, gesturing towards the path that led towards the mansion in the background. “Come, let me show you around. All the nobles have been waiting for you.”
The empress shook her head. “I’m not interested in the banquet.”
Apollonia froze. “Pardon?”
“You’re summoning a devil to get rid of me today, aren’t you?” the empress asked. “I’m here to kill it. I don’t like playing games in the shadows. Let me teach you what it means to be powerless in the face of real strength.”
“…Where did you hear that?” Apollonia asked, raising an eyebrow. “No, I suppose it doesn’t matter. The summoning ritual is taking place in my northernmost fortress. It’s too late for you to stop it.”
“I spoke properly,” the empress said, her eyes narrowing as she drew her sword. “I didn’t say I was here to stop the ritual. I’m here to kill the devil after it comes out. But aren’t you afraid of death? You’re plotting to overthrow the empress.”
“Why would I be afraid if you kill my clone?” Apollonia asked, a smile blooming on her face. “By this time tomorrow, you’ll be dead. I—”
The empress’s sword flashed, and Apollonia’s body shattered like an image in a broken mirror. The fragments dissolved into motes of light that drifted up towards the night sky. The empress swept her gaze over the guards and Apollonia’s nephew before walking past them, exiting the gate. When Apollonia’s nephew was about to take in a breath, the empress whirled around and glared at him, causing him to choke on air. She sheathed her sword, causing a clink to resound through the air.
Apollonia’s nephew trembled as he raised his head, meeting the empress’s gaze. He flinched at another sudden clinking sound coming from the empress’s waist. His eyes wavered before he shut them tight, praying to the god he hadn’t thought about for years to save his life. “P-please, don’t—”
“Stop.” The empress’s command cut through his sentence. She frowned at the rancid smell that assaulted her nostrils and took a step away from the man who had just soiled himself. “Look me in the eyes.”
Apollonia’s nephew’s eyes shuddered as they opened.
The empress stared at him for a moment. “Which way’s north?”
The man’s arm trembled. He raised it and pointed towards the road leading away from the mansion. “T-that way.”
The empress nodded and followed the man’s finger, not saying a word as she turned her back on him and left.