The Emperor Is My Brother's Best Friend
Ch. 95

Rose blinked and opened her eyes drowsily.

It seemed like her mind had momentarily slipped, unaware of what took place, but now it was clearer than ever.

"I was definitely stabbed by Elliot's sword."

Rose muttered to herself, trying to recall what had happened.

She instinctively placed her hand above her left breast.

To her surprise, there was neither a sword plunged into the depths of her heart nor a wound caused by a blade.

"What on earth is happening? And where am I...?"

After confirming that her body was unharmed, Rose cast her gaze around her surroundings. She had been in a brightly lit banquet hall within the Imperial Palace, yet her current location was shrouded in darkness.

She strained her eyes, searching for any clues, but all she could perceive was an impenetrable void displayed before her eyes.

Rose started walking without a clear sense of direction, allowing her feet to lead the way. The darkness that had enveloped her surroundings gradually gave way to light.

Like the dispersion of fog, the darkness finally dissipated, revealing her exact location.

"It's the garden within the Imperial Palace. However..."

Rose fell into speechlessness, confronted by the horrifying scene that unfolded before her eyes.

The once formidable, towering walls of the Imperial Palace lay in ruins. 

The once-green grassy grounds were consumed by a relentless blaze, turning into charred wasteland.

Flames raged unchecked, painting the sky in fiery hues, resembling a never-ending sunset.

Rose covered her mouth, momentarily stunned by the Imperial Palace that was ablaze and engulfed in chaos.

"The seal has been undone... What I saw in Priestess Kate's crystal ball has become a grim reality."

Screams echoed from all directions, and Rose couldn't help but feel that this catastrophe was somehow her fault.

How can I quell this nightmare? 

What could be done to halt the monstrous rampage through Tristan?

"Your Majesty! Brother!"

But Rose's immediate concern was locating Russell and Wells. 

She quickened her pace, calling out for them as she went.

As she continued running aimlessly, Rose noticed a group of people fleeing from the inferno in the distance. 

Like Wells, they appeared to be nobles who had been working within the Imperial Palace.

Rose rushed towards them, shouting out.

"Hey! Have you seen the Duke of Honeywell?! What about His Majesty?!"

As the distance between Rose and the nobles closed, she couldn't help but notice the shock on their faces. 

Incredulous words spilled from their lips.

"Where did Your Majesty summon that monster from?!"

"You must be out of your mind! His Majesty is trying to destroy Tristan!"

"Survival first! Let's get away from here quickly!"

"Damn it! I should've headed straight back to the mansion as soon as the banquet ended!"

The nobles might not have recognized Rose as they passed by her, continuing to move away. 

Left alone amidst the chaos, Rose wondered if she had heard them correctly.

"What are they talking about? His Majesty causing Tristan's downfall? That's Elliot! Elliot summoned the monster!"

However, the name Rose distinctly heard was not "Duke Proud," but "Your Majesty," a reference used specifically to Russell.

Rose kicked her foot against the ground, aghast, and continued running without a clear destination.

She had been trying to locate the source of the commotion and found herself at the entrance to the banquet venue.

Despite the flames engulfing the Imperial Palace, the banquet hall in front of her seemed untouched.

The closed door remained clean, devoid of any soot.

Rose hesitated for a moment but pushed the door open in the end.

It swung easily, despite its size and weight.

As the door revealed the hall beyond, Rose was met with an unexpected sight. Except for a chandelier hanging precariously from the ceiling, the room appeared serene and unaffected.

It resembled the appearance of every banquet celebration she had attended at the Imperial Palace, with gleaming marble floors that almost seemed blinding.

"No one has died."

In stark contrast to the previous banquet she had witnessed, where many servants had been killed by Ilya, who was under the influence of Abaddon, this room appeared devoid of any casualties.

Rose entered the banquet hall, ignoring the screams from outside. 

Step by step, she made her way across the floor.

When she reached the ballroom center, she noticed there was someone else present, a person she hadn't spotted upon first entering due to the distance.

The individual Rose found was a man who had been crouching under the railing on the second floor, where the emperor typically delivered speeches.

"Excuse me..."

Rose cautiously approached the man, her gaze fixed on his back. 

He wore a black tailcoat and held something wrapped in a red cape.

"It's early summer now. Why the winter cloak...?"

Despite her doubts, Rose took another step forward. 

Something nearby caught her attention.

Frowning, she scrutinized an object carelessly strewn across the floor. 

Recognizing its identity, Rose screamed.

"Elliot...!!!"

The person sprawled on the cold, white marble floor was none other than Duke Elliot Proud. 

His pallid face indicated he was already struggling to breathe.

"Why... why would you... how could this happen...?"

Rose mumbled incoherently, struggling to replace words, and then quickly turned her head to look at the man in the black tailcoat. 

He was now just a short distance away, and Rose hurried her steps.

"Hey! Elliot, you...!"

With this man being the sole presence at the banquet, he likely had some connection to Elliot's looming death, or he might have been a witness to it.

As Rose drew nearer to the man, his identity became apparent. 

It was only now, as she got closer, that Rose could make out the color of his hair, which had been hidden as he had kept his head down.

Gazing at his brilliantly shining silver hair, Rose muttered and called out to the man.

"Your Majesty?"

...The man was none other than Russell. 

Though she couldn't see his face with his head bowed, she was certain it was him.

Rose, who had momentarily held her breath and stared at him in disbelief, gradually took a step closer.

Before Russell, fragments of Elliot's old sword and a shattered mirror lay scattered. 

As Rose inspected them, she heard Russell's faint voice.

"I'm sorry, Rose..."

Startled, Rose turned her head to face Russell.

"Your Majesty, why are you apologizing to me?"

Stepping back and closing the distance between herself and Russell, Rose soon realized that his apology was not directed at her.

She had noticed Russell holding something in his arms, although it had been wrapped tightly in a red cloak. 

And now, as she closed the gap between them, the cloak slipped down, revealing its contents.

"That... It's me."

The person in Russell's arms was none other than Rose Honeywell herself.

Her eyes were closed, her face devoid of color, paler than freshly fallen snow, and her body hung limp.

"I'm dead...?!"

As Rose looked at her lifeless form, memories of the nobles she had encountered in the hallway flashed before her.

They hadn't ignored her because they didn't notice Rose. They simply couldn't see her.

"Is that the state of my body right now?"

Rose rotated her hands, bringing them closer to her face for inspection and examining them closely. 

It was disconcerting to witness her own lifeless body, but something about it seemed strange.

"I'm wearing the clothes given out at the Gloria Temple. Shouldn't my body have the clothes of the Gloria Temple candidates?"

She cast her gaze downward.

Indeed, the attire she currently wore was courtesy of the Gloria Temple.

However, the clothing her lifeless body was adorned with was a dress.

It looked familiar, unmistakably hers, but Rose couldn't fathom why she had died wearing it.

"That's a winter dress. It's early summer now, and Anne has nothing like that packed away for me to wear. The last time I wore it..."

Rose, lost in her memories of the dress, was jolted as though struck hard in the back of her head.

The dress adorning the lifeless body of Rose Honeywell in Russell's arms was the very one she had worn on the day of the year-end celebration at the Imperial Palace. 

Not the one from last year, but the one from before the regression.

A heavy thud echoed in Rose's heart. 

Her crimson eyes darted anxiously back and forth.

"This... Is this the aftermath of my fall from the cliff and my death...?"

Rose gazed out of the expansive glass window of the banquet hall. 

Upon closer inspection, beyond the crimson hues, she discerned a night sky as dark as obsidian.

Snowflakes descended gently from the heavens.

It was Russell's voice that redirected her attention from the falling snow outside.

"Rose, ever since I first met you, I had no choice. It would always be you. You're the one for me, my Rose."

Russell's voice carried a profound sadness. 

Rose remained stunned, unable to react, and merely stared blankly at him.

"I can't bear this world without you."

Russell bowed his head and tenderly kissed the lifeless Rose's lips.

"I love you, Rose. Let's remain together for eternity in this timeless world."

A shadow began to creep from beneath Rose's feet, gradually enveloping her surroundings. As her consciousness waned, she recalled the words of the nobles she had overheard in the hallway.

"You're crazy! Your Majesty must be trying to destroy Tristan!"

A single tear rolled down Rose's cheek.

...I understand now. Your Majesty... You brought about the downfall of Tristan. 

Perhaps the reason I returned to this world...

"Rose! Ugh... Rose... please---can't be done. If you go like that..."

Wells' cries roused Rose from her slumber. 

She slowly opened her eyes and realized she had returned to the real world. She was back to the present---her rebirth. 

"Brother...?"

Rose raised her hand and gently touched Wells' cheek.

Tears welled up in his eyes as her feeble hand made contact with his skin.

"Rose! Wake up! Are you awake? You're not dead?"

"Yes, I think I'm alright."

With Wells' assistance, Rose managed to free herself from his embrace. 

She noticed that she was covered in what she believed to be Wells' coat and hastily adjusted it.

As Rose examined her chest, Wells' gaze followed hers, and he took a deep breath.

"It's unbelievable! Elliot's sword had clearly pierced your heart..."

Indeed, it had been Rose's heart that the sacred sword wielded by Elliot had impaled. However, now her chest was unharmed, left unblemished, and without a trace of a wound. The clothing only bore a slight tear where the sword had passed through.

Just as Rose pondered this, a sharp clang of metal meeting metal resounded in her ears. Before she could identify the source of the sound, Wells urgently grabbed her arm.

"Rose, we need to get out of here."

"Huh...?"

"It appears that Abaddon's spirit temporarily vacated your body. It seemed to have settled down for a while, but when you fell, it caused a brief commotion."

Rose diverted her gaze from Wells and turned her head to observe the situation.

Abaddon had momentarily awakened, leading to the destruction of half of the banquet hall. 

Compared to the Imperial Palace, which had been engulfed in flames just moments ago, the scene before her was relatively tranquil.

Clang! 

Another sharp clash of metal reached Rose's ears. 

It was only then that she could pinpoint the source of the noise.

Russell and Elliot were locked in a swordfight, their blades clashing fiercely as they battled for blood.