The Emperor's Summons

The road to the Imperial Palace. The imperial crest...? I shook off my dazed mind and stared down at the letter in my hand. Elegant golden lines swirled across the pure white paper in intricate patterns. The luxurious, silky texture beneath my fingers made it clear this was no ordinary stationery.

In my confusion, I muttered to myself.

"Did you cause some kind of accident...?"

"Normally, a bit of trouble doesn't warrant a personal letter from the Imperial family, you know?"

What exactly did she think of me? I waved my hand dismissively at Rachel, who was staring at me with open suspicion.

"Still... I really don't understand why this arrived."

After fiddling with the letter for a moment, I carefully broke the seal. With a soft ripping sound, the wax gave way. I slowly pulled out the contents and unfolded them. The message read as follows.

I stared blankly at the elegantly written characters. Rachel, who had been sneaking glances at the letter from the side, wore the same dumbfounded expression.

"Hehe, His Majesty is the same as ever."

"Haah... Yeah, it's been a really long time since I received a letter from him."

"I think you're the only person in the entire empire whom His Majesty would personally write to, Young Master."

"This is... burdensome."

No, seriously. The man was sitting on the throne as Emperor—what was he doing personally writing letters? Not to mention the tone and content were far too casual. He sounded more like a friendly neighborhood uncle than a ruler. I understood he was overjoyed his daughters were safe, but this seemed a bit excessive. What a massive daughter-obsessed fool.

"His Majesty has always cherished his bloodline with particular devotion."

"It's a problem because he cherishes them too much."

With complicated feelings, I looked at the letter once more. An invitation to the Imperial Palace. This event had definitely never occurred in the original story. If I had to guess why it was happening now...

It was because Allen had failed to protect the princesses perfectly back then. Lucy had died during the attack, and Neria had suffered severe injuries. Milliam, who loved his children more than anything, had fallen into deep despair and taken to his bed, weakened by grief.

Come to think of it, that was the true beginning of the tragedy...

The wise Emperor lost his strength. The imperial authority began to waver. Later, when even the Crown Prince was assassinated through the schemes of the demon race, the empire fell into utter chaos. It was only around volume seven of the original story that Allen helped Neria seize control and ascend to the throne to restore order.

But now, everything should be fine.

I nodded inwardly, feeling a quiet sense of satisfaction. The butterfly effect was terrifying, but I couldn't just stand by and watch tragedy unfold before my eyes. If I started fearing every possible consequence, there would be nothing I could do.

"The carriage will be sent first thing tomorrow morning... I should prepare some proper clothes."

"Young Master... are you really going...?"

"Hm? Of course I am?"

They were offering me a reward. There was no reason to refuse. Besides, when the Emperor himself summoned you, declining wasn't really an option. I'd just accept a small token of appreciation and leave it at that.

Contrary to my lighthearted attitude, Rachel's expression had grown deadly serious.

"Young Master."

"What? Why are you looking at me like that?"

"You must not—absolutely, absolutely must not—make any mistakes with Her Highness the First Princess!"

"......Ah."

Only then did I realize what Rachel was so worried about. Right. That incident had happened. Raiden's insane career-high performance. To shake off Lucy, who refused to give up on him, he had slapped her across the face right in front of the Emperor.

Fuck.

How was this bastard still alive? Well, technically he had died, but how had he survived that particular incident?

I let out a sigh with a sour expression.

After doing something that insane, he apparently cried his eyes out in the underground prison.

From what I remembered, Raiden had begun his self-harm shortly after that event. He couldn't forgive himself for raising a hand against his precious lord. Yes, it was pitiful. Pitiful, but still...

Hasn't this guy piled up way too much bad karma?

And now I was the one stuck cleaning up his mess. He really should have lived more cleanly, if only for the sake of the poor soul who came after him.

"......"

What the hell are you? You've been quiet this whole time—why do you only pop up at moments like this? And shouldn't you, of all things, be on my side?

I internally hurled complaints at the status window.

"Young Master! Are you even listening to me?!"

"Yeah, yeah... I'll behave with perfect manners this time, so stop worrying."

"Ugh... I'm so anxious...!"

"If I get thrown in prison again, you'll come visit, right?"

"Young Master!!!"

I let out a small chuckle at Rachel's frantic outburst and neatly folded the letter. Speaking of which, the Imperial Palace. It had been a long time since Raiden had visited as well. After he became a complete degenerate, he hadn't set foot there even once.

Well... nothing bad would happen, right?

I muttered the thought to myself and turned my gaze away.

The next day, after receiving the letter, I boarded the carriage bound for the Imperial Palace.

Rattle, rattle...

Inside the empty carriage, only the sound of the wheels turning echoed quietly. Perhaps it really was a royal carriage—the stability was on another level compared to the Academy's. There wasn't even the slightest jolt. Was this the wealth of the Imperial family?

The comfortable, unshakable ride continued for several hours without incident. The only downside was that the spacious interior felt somewhat empty.

"......Maybe I should have brought Rachel after all?"

I muttered to myself and looked out the window. With no one sitting beside me, a strange sense of loneliness crept in.

"Good grief... Why am I getting sentimental?"

I let out ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a self-deprecating snort and closed my eyes. The raw silence, devoid of any noise, gently wrapped around my ears. As I savored the quiet for a moment, I noticed the carriage was cutting through a forest path.

"That's strange...? Was this the road to the Imperial Palace?"

Maybe it was a shortcut I didn't know about. Before my muttering could fully echo inside the carriage—

BOOM!

A massive impact shook the carriage as it came to an abrupt halt. From outside the swaying vehicle, a rough voice bellowed.

"Everyone inside the carriage, hand over everything you've got!!"

For ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a moment, I thought I had misheard. This was an Imperial carriage...? And it was being attacked by bandits?

Flustered, I opened the carriage door and stepped out, only to see the coachman on his knees on the ground, trembling violently. I spoke to him.

"Coachman, please get inside the carriage."

"Pardon...? B-but..."

"You'll only get in the way."

"Y-yes, my lord!"

The coachman scrambled back into the carriage with frantic footsteps. I glanced at him briefly before turning my gaze toward where the voice had come from. There stood a group of thugs dressed in the most stereotypical bandit attire imaginable.

All their equipment consists of daggers and longswords... roughly twenty of them.

As I assessed their combat strength, one of the bandits shouted.

"Hey, you! You look like some rich young master. If you hand over everything inside the carriage, we'll spare your life."

"......"

Were these guys idiots? Could they not see the imperial crest on the carriage? If they were caught after this, having their entire families executed would be the bare minimum—

"Huh?"

As I scanned the carriage with a question in my mind, I finally noticed something strange. The surface of the carriage, which had clearly displayed the imperial crest when I first boarded, had been wiped clean. It was as if the emblem had never existed ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠in the first place.

Wait a second, this is...

A carriage that had taken an unknown side road. A coachman who had thrown himself to the ground the instant the bandits shouted. A suddenly erased imperial crest.

Putting all the clues together, I finally understood what was happening.

"So that's how it is."

I muttered quietly and drew the sword from my waist. With a clear shing, the gleaming blade revealed itself.

"If you surrender quickly and get on the ground, it'll be better for your—"

So damn noisy. They were nothing but extra-level bandits. Annoyed by the chattering fool, I quietly chanted the spell.

Crackle!

My vision flashed with blue sparks. When I opened my eyes again, I was staring at the back of the bandit's head.

"Huh? What the—where did he suddenly disap—"

I swung my sword at the idiot's stupid head as he looked around in confusion.

Squelch!

The sound of cold steel slicing through flesh and bone rang out. A silver arc traced through the air, followed by a fountain of red.

Thud. Thump...

The severed head fell to the ground pathetically.

"......"

The previously rowdy bandits fell into complete silence. I looked at them, then stomped on the rolling head.

Crunch!

The face burst with a refreshing sound. I wiped the blood and brain matter off my shoe onto the ground and spoke.

"Not coming in?"

"......"

"Then I'll come to you."

I raised my sword and kicked off the ground. For a while, the forest echoed with the sounds of clashing iron and horrific screams.

"Ugh... uwaaaah..."

A forest path splattered brilliantly with red bloodstains. Severed limbs lay scattered across the ground. The dirt was soaked with chunks of fresh organs. Standing at the center of this hellish landscape was...

"It's over."

Me.

I flicked the thick blood off my sword and turned my head. In the direction of my gaze, the last surviving bandit was crawling across the ground.

Both of his legs had been cut off. He writhed and struggled desperately.

I slowly approached him.

"D-don't come...! Please...!"

The bandit screamed as I drew closer. Ignoring him, I raised my sword.

"Spare me... please spare me...!"

His voice was so desperate it had become pathetic. I frowned at the wretched cry. A sliver of sympathy almost bloomed in the depths of my heart, but my reason ruthlessly tore it out by the roots.

"How ridiculous."

These were people who made their living by oppressing and plundering others. Yet here they were, shamelessly begging for their lives.

"Didn't the people who lost their lives at your hands cry out the same way?"

"I-I was wrong... J-just this once, please show mercy...!"

"......"

What made these bastards any better than the Seekers? They were the kind who lived by coveting what should never be coveted, all to satisfy their own greed. How many people had been sacrificed to fulfill their desires?

I felt a thick wave of disgust crawl down my throat. My grip on the sword tightened on its own. I spoke to the bandit, who was looking at me with desperate eyes.

"Accept it."

"N-nooooo!! Don't—!!!"

"Your death will become someone's revenge."

A death sentence without the slightest mercy.

Squelch!

The sword moved once more, separating the bandit's head from his torso. The face that fell at my feet stared up at me with a horribly contorted expression. I kicked ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠it far away and returned to the carriage.

"We can depart again now."

When I knocked on the carriage, the coachman who had been hiding inside crawled out.

"Oh my... Thank you, my lord...! Thanks to you, I survived...!!"

I looked at the man who kept bowing repeatedly and made a tired face. This guy was... something else. Tough as nails.

"It seems we've lost quite a bit of time."

"I'll get you there as fast as the wind, my lord."

"This time, I'd appreciate it if we took the normal road instead of a 'shortcut.'"

"Ahem, hm......"

At the coachman's awkward cough, I shook my head and climbed back into the passenger seat. Once the mess around us had been somewhat cleaned up, the carriage began moving again.

Rattle, rattle...

With the familiar sound of wheels turning, I pulled out a handkerchief from my pocket. As I wiped away the bloodstains covering my hands, a thought suddenly crossed my mind.

Come to think of it... I've been killing people without much hesitation lately.

Just a few days ago I had torn apart and burned a man's limbs, so this was nothing. Still, feeling like I was becoming a creature devoid of humanity left a foul taste in my mouth.

"They were people who deserved to die anyway......"

I muttered the words as if making an excuse and threw the bloodied handkerchief out the window. Then I leaned back against the seat with my arms crossed. Maybe it was from all the physical exertion, but I felt a bit tired. Closing my eyes as sleep crept over me, I cleared my mind of idle thoughts.

And then.

Several hours later.

"We've arrived at the Imperial Palace, my lord!"

The coachman's energetic shout woke me.