Chapter 604: The Cripple and the Fool

"… P-Please, stop…"

"You are right, I should stop."

Marana looked at the begging old man in front of her and nodded,

raising her belt-like sword.

when her sword was swung down, the head of the old man flew off.

Marana looked at that scene silently before heaving a long sigh.

"Done, we should return with the princess."

"… You killed him too fast, sister. He should have suffered more."

Marana frowned at Akilah's words and shook her head.

"It's enough. Remember that we have work to do."

Akilah was still unsatisfied, but she nodded in the end.

The old man that they just fought was called Carlo. He was a beyond-twelfth layer practitioner and the one that ordered the attack in the Red Skull Gang several days ago where the girls' brother was injured.

The old man did not participate in the fight in the palace. Instead, he had another task. To command the men in the capital to take over it as quickly as possible.

Unfortunately for him, he was targeted by the three girls of the Red Skull Gang, Marana, Akilah, and Raven.

And now that he was dead, it meant that the men of the Carmell Family causing chaos in the capital were leaderless.

When the girls returned to Dina's side, the situation in the capital had mostly been resolved.

With the help of Louise, Daisy, Eternity's Fangs, and the men of Hidden History, the men of the Carmell Family in the capital were quickly routed, and the daemons they invited were killed as well.

Even so, more than three thousand people died in the process. Most of them were commoners completely unrelated to the situation.

When Dina learned about that, she could not help but sigh sadly.

"You don't need to feel guilty about this, Your Highness." Daisy quickly comforted her. "Actually, this result is already good. After all, the Carmell Family had been preparing for this for many years. If their plans would have been successful, many more people would have died"

"Yeah, you are right… I wonder how is the situation on Claus's side."

"Don't worry about his highness. He will be alright. With his strength, nobody in the empire can injure him."

Dina smiled wryly and nodded.

Right, nobody in the empire should be able to injure him.

Even so, she could not help but feel worried.

Mainly because she knew that right now, her brother was dealing with the enemies of her family.

Two of the people directly involved in the tragedy of her mother.

Her father and her stepmother.

When she thought about that, Dina's expression turned complicated.

"Right, how is Lena?" She suddenly asked.

"… I took the little Princess to His Highness's Mansion. Don't worry, she will be sage there." Daisy explained.

Dina nodded. But inwardly, she sighed bitterly.

'Sigh, Poor Lena… In the end, she is the most unfortunate person in all of this.'

Just at that moment, several people appeared on the horizon, flying towards her.

Dina quickly recognized two of them. They were Creig Quintin (her grandfather) and Headmistress Evelyn.

The rest of them were the beyond twelfth-layer powerhouses that were chasing after the powerhouses of the Carmell Family.

"You are back, grandfather. How is the situation?" Dina said as soon as her grandfather landed in front of her.

"Unfortunately, I failed to catch the bastards of the Carmell Family. They sure are quick to escape."

Dina was a bit disappointed, but she already expected it.

In fact, they were not the only ones that escaped. Earl Riea and her big brother, Alan Quintin, escaped as well. They probably left the capital through a secret passage.

However, Dina was not very worried about them.

They were already completely defeated, and Dina knew that they could not escape forever.

Eventually, they would be caught.

Now, the most important was to take care of the situation in the capital.

Her grandfather, Creig, also knew it, so he just patted Dina's shoulder and smiled.

"Don't worry about it. Just take care of the situation in the capital as quickly as possible. Right, you should start to prepare. You are now the new emperor after all."

"Not yet, Grandfather."

"Haha, but you will be soon. Right, did Claus return already?"

Dina was about to shake her head. But suddenly, she felt a familiar aura approaching them.

Looking behind her, she saw her beloved little brother coming towards her with a smile.

Strangely, though, he was carrying two people in his arms.

Dina recognized both of them immediately.

The emperor, Grand Quintin, and the Empress, Lilia Riea.

However, right now, their appearances were completely different than their usual dignified look.

The emperor was groaning in pain with a face as pale as paper and the empress was mumbling something incoherently while saliva dripped from her mouth.

With just a glance, Dina knew that Claus had completed his revenge.

Several expressions passed through her face. Rage, hatred, relief, and guilt.

Finally, the bitch that had killed her mother had received what she deserved.

And her father… Although Dina felt a bit of pity and guilt towards him, she also felt refreshed knowing that he paid for all the pain he caused to her mother.

"… I hope that our mother can see this from heaven."

Claus nodded silently. Then, he looked towards his grandfather.

"He is alive as I promised, grandpa. Lilia as well."

"Is it so?" Creig sighed and looked at his son with a complicated expression and nodded. "… I understand. Thank you for sparing their life. I will take them with me."

Claus nodded and passed them to his grandfather.

Just like that, the hatred that had filled the imperial family for years came to an end.

Strangely, though, Dina could not bring herself to celebrate. Quite the opposite, she felt a bit empty.

But when she saw her brother's calm look, she felt better.

In fact, just seeing her brother's face made her smile.

"… I'm happy that you are alright, Claus."

"Thanks, sister. Fortunately, everything went alright."

Dina smiled. But then, she smiled bitterly.

"Hey, about Lena... What are you going to do?"

Claus thought for a moment before sighing.

"… Don't worry, I'll take care of it."