My Desertion Would Be Faster Than Heros' Obsession-Chapter 42Vol 2.

I gazed into the empty air with a peculiar expression.

'Kill the Emperor...'

That was truly...

‘My heart is racing.’

Assassinating the Emperor had been my long-cherished wish, ever since he had toured the Border Defense Army during his time as Crown Prince. Just thinking about it made my arms ache from the memory of scrubbing floors back then.

Taro, too, had his own grudge against the Emperor, and for the first time in a long while, his eyes burned with life. Poor Taro...

Meanwhile, Victim, who had been listening to our entire conversation, stared at us like we were lunatics. Taking a step back, he stammered,

“E-Everyone’s crazy... I must be the only sane one here...”

But honestly, it wasn’t that we were insane. It was that the world had made us this way.

***

[Salvia,

Just as you predicted, war has begun.

We are now moving toward the Fleur-Rosen region.

Before that, I will send someone who may be of help to you.]

“What’s this?”

I tilted my head at Gavle’s cryptic letter, but I couldn’t decipher its meaning. Instead, I decided to focus on the present.

Right now, we were each spending our time preparing for the upcoming Imperial Palace infiltration.

“Well, since there’s a chance we might die, might as well splurge on money while we can.”

As I strolled along the road, saying this, Aquila flinched.

“Salvia, don’t say things like that...”

This chapt𝒆r is updated by frёewebηovel.cѳm.

“I’m joking. I’m the protagonist, so I won’t die. Well, there are some stories where the protagonist does die, but in a general-rated novel, that’s unlikely—wait, is this 19+?”

I suddenly went quiet, recalling the recent 19+ events that had happened with Aquila. Hmm, this was a high-level romance fantasy novel, after all.

We were taking a moment for ourselves in preparation for the revolution. Up until now, we hadn’t had a single chance to be alone without interruptions.

At least today, I had left Karon in Benny’s care. I had actually intended to leave him with Ishina, but Benny had grinned and insisted she would watch over him for the sake of our peace. I decided to trust her. Benny truly was more devoted to coupling than anyone else...

Just as we were passing in front of the Imperial Palace, I abruptly stopped in my tracks.

"A-Aquila. That is..."

"......."

Several corpses were hanging at the palace gates. And at the center of them—

‘The Second Prince’s faction!’

It was a member of the Second Prince’s faction—one of the men I had personally arrested and thrown into prison.

Because of their corpses, the scent of blood lingered heavily in front of the palace. It was as if their bodies carried the plague of fear itself—everyone who passed by wore faces drenched in terror.

The Crown Prince I remembered had been soft-hearted. But now that he had become Emperor, he must have changed.

By displaying the corpses of the Second Prince’s faction, he was issuing a warning to all who opposed the Empire. It wasn’t just them—anyone who dared challenge the Imperial family would meet the same fate.

‘A reign of terror, huh...’

Tightening control internally while redirecting external focus—the Emperor was playing an efficient game.

As I stared at the gruesome sight, a sudden sharp pain shot through my temple, piercing straight through my skull.

"Ah!"

"Salvia, what’s wrong?"

"Nothing... my head just hurts..."

It felt like my skull was cracking open, but I clenched my teeth and endured the pain.

My blurred vision was filled with the hanging corpses of the Second Prince’s faction. And beyond them, I caught a glimpse of something.

Yes, it was almost as if the lifeless body of a woman with flowing golden hair was suspended there...

‘What is this?’

A faint image surfaced in my mind, but it felt like an enormous wall was blocking it, making the memory unclear.

If only I could break through that wall, I had a feeling that everything locked away would come flooding back...

When Aquila pulled me away from the scene, the headache gradually subsided. Maybe it had been a temporary reaction to witnessing such a brutal sight.

I looked up at Aquila, who was supporting me.

‘Why?’

For some reason, in moments like this—when my mind felt suffocated—Aquila was always the first person who came to mind.

Whether I was longing for memories of my past world or struggling to recall something now,

It was in those moments that I instinctively felt the need to be closer to him.

"Aquila, you know..."

So, in a calm tone, I said to him,

"Let’s get married after this is over."

“Cough! Cough!”

Aquila let out a violent fit of coughing, clearly caught off guard. But I genuinely believed it was time for us to start talking about marriage.

Our current relationship was rather ambiguous.

We had already exchanged a ‘Let’s get married!’ and a ‘Sure!’ But there was no official marriage registration system in this world.

Not to mention, we hadn’t even held a wedding yet. I had postponed it, telling him we would do it after the revolution.

But now that I had brought up the wedding, Aquila’s orange eyes blazed like fire.

"Then... you’re saying we’ll have an actual wedding."

"Yeah, a /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ grand one."

I was going to wear the most extravagant romance-fantasy-style wedding dress, complete with a tiara. Since neither of us had parents, those seats would be left empty... or should I put Ishina there?

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

Regardless, we were going to have a splendid, extravagant, and happy wedding.

‘Even though I know this is a death flag.’

Still, I felt like I had to say it. Aquila needed the motivation, after all.

And, as expected, I had chosen the right words. Aquila looked ready to storm back home and start intense training right now.

"I will make this revolution succeed at all costs. The Emperor... must be assassinated."

Watching him, I smiled happily and took his hand in mine.

"It’s taken us far too long to get here."

Seriously, I never expected that getting married would be this difficult. Just to reach that ‘And they lived happily ever after’ ending, we had endured so much suffering.

"But I promise you. Soon, we will truly be happy."

As I said that, Aquila turned serious, locking eyes with me as he made his vow.

"I promise I will make you happy."

His words were filled with unwavering sincerity, and just hearing them filled me with an overwhelming sense of joy.

Yes.

Once this revolution was over, I was truly going to be happy.

***

At that very moment, Alexander sat alone in his office.

Having just declared war, his mind was weighed down with worry and anxiety.

What if an unexpected situation arose? What if the public reaction turned out to be worse than anticipated? Would he be able to navigate this crisis safely?

Of course, his soldiers would win. The overwhelming strength of the hetero sapiens would inevitably lead them to victory in battle. So—

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty!"

"What is it?"

Alexander frowned as yet another chamberlain burst into the room, making an unnecessary commotion.

However, the chamberlain paid no heed to his irritation and shouted,

"The Kingdom of Butein has invaded!"

"Yes, of course, they would invade. Would they not?"

Alexander replied in an indifferent tone. After all, it was only natural that in the midst of the battle at Fleur-Rosen, their forces would inevitably cross the border.

But the news the chamberlain was trying to deliver was not so trivial. Taking a deep breath, he raised his voice and declared,

"They have invaded through the Northern Beast Zone!"

"What? How...?"

Alexander sprang to his feet in shock.

Several ministers and the Minister of Defense stormed into his office, seemingly having received the same information.

"Your Majesty! You must give orders immediately!"

"W-What is this...?"

Stammering in disbelief, Alexander finally grasped the horrifying truth—while the Border Defense Army had been deployed elsewhere, the Kingdom of Butein had seized the opportunity to invade.

"But that area is guarded by monsters! How did they...? Even our own forces couldn’t cross that land!"

The Northern Beast Zone was usually guarded by the Border Defense Army. Even though they had temporarily vacated the area, the presence of monsters meant no foreign force could simply march through.

The Kingdom of Butein shared a border with the Adolph Empire only in the Fleur-Rosen region. Until now, Alexander had believed that was the only possible route for an invasion.

‘Beyond the Northern Beast Zone is the sea. So, if they used a naval route, they could have reached the northern border, but... how?’

He simply couldn't understand how the Butein forces had bypassed the monsters.

As Alexander reeled in shock, a hesitant chamberlain stammered out an answer.

"T-The thing is... Not long ago, an incident involving a dark magic artifact occurred in the Snowy Mountain Battalion, temporarily leaving an area free of monsters. It appears they invaded through that exact route."

"And you only thought to inform me of this now?! What happened to the spy I planted? Why didn't I receive this information earlier?! Dammit!"

Alexander hurled his pen across the room before suddenly realizing the truth.

"A traitor!"

His eyes burned with fury.

Someone had deliberately used a dark magic artifact to clear out the monsters beyond the border—and then sold that information to the enemy. His own spy had somehow been neutralized in the process.

There was no time to waste. If he delayed even slightly in issuing his orders, the Empire could be completely overrun.

Even though he no longer trusted the hetero sapiens, there was no one else he could command to defend the border.

"Summon the troops back to their stations! Immediately!"

Alexander roared, his voice echoing through the room. The ministers scrambled to carry out his command.

***

"Aha, so the Kingdom of Butein has invaded?"

Hearing the news, I smirked, my lips curling upward.

Everything was proceeding exactly as planned.

With this, the Adolph Empire had essentially lost the war without even fighting.

The crime of engaging in an unnecessary war. The crime of endangering the nation with foolish decisions.

This was more than enough to provoke the citizens of Adolph. It provided the perfect justification for a coup.

The Imperial family was cornered, and the contract magic was still suspended.

"Aquila, let’s go."

I reached out my hand toward him. Aquila grasped it, his eyes overflowing with love.

The time had come.

It was time to infiltrate the Imperial Palace.