Assassination of the Emperor (1)
The emperor shook his head. Kunter lay on the bed, his skin blackened, groaning faintly.
“Ugh, ugh…”
Watching his son hover on the brink of death filled the emperor with unease. He had slain countless brothers and cousins who were once his enemies, but that was ages ago. Only now did he realize that one's child was bound by blood far thicker than siblings or even a spouse.
“Kunter.”
No matter how nominal a crown prince he was, lacking in talent, he was still the emperor's own flesh and blood. Surely, there had been a chance for him to grow.
“Please stay back, Your Majesty. There's a risk of exposure to the curse's remnants.”
Even with Ambrosia's warning, the emperor stared at Kunter for a long while.
“No chance of recovery?”
“At present…”
“Aren't you the empire's finest healers?”
“Curses, including sorcery, fall under the domain of black mages. They're techniques that lurk beneath the surface, making them hard to study.”
“Black mages.”
The emperor shuddered at the words. Black mages wielded forbidden spells, offering sacrifices or driving the user to death in exchange for overwhelmingly powerful effects. If such spells spread to the public, the empire's safety would be jeopardized. That was why he had always upheld a policy of zero tolerance toward black mages. Thanks to that, ordinary folk in the empire had virtually no access to black magic.
Even the Imperial Medical Office's curse experts knew only the basics.
'No matter how relentlessly we hunted them down like rats, black mages always popped up from somewhere.'
Some nations didn't even bother controlling them, and cruel souls were bound to be born anew.
Kunter must have fallen under their sway as well.
Back in the Heavenly Palace, the emperor sank into worry. Kunter had clearly used sorcery himself. How had such a weak-willed boy even thought to dabble in black magic?
“Perhaps I pushed him too hard.”
He hadn't expected the timid Kunter to have the guts to resort to black magic. Of course, he welcomed his children striving with all their might to prove their abilities and grow. Even if one or two lost their lives in the process, as long as it was honorable—in the heat of competition—it was fine.
But Kunter had likely turned to black magic out of rebellion against him, rather than rivalry with Asella. The image of Kunter slamming down the liquor bottle in anger flickered before his eyes. He'd thought harsh treatment might make the boy wise up and grow, while spurring his siblings. But…
'In the end, it was the wrong approach. Isn't Kunter dying because of it?'
This kind of self-destruction and elimination wasn't the picture the emperor wanted for his child.
As he pondered alone, the emperor reached one conclusion.
“If my judgment had been clearer, I would have named a successor outright.”
Forcing his children to compete had been no different from foisting his own flawed discernment onto them. In the past, as emperor, he had been confident no choice of his could be wrong. The current state of the imperial family was the result of his own fear of failure.
Had age made him timid?
“Hmm.”
The emperor's gaze drifted to a bottle on the office bookshelf. Rare liquor brought by Kunter. He fetched a glass and uncorked it, prompting the deputy physicians to glance nervously at Ambrosia. She wanted to dissuade him from drinking outsider liquor, but the mood wasn't right.
It was the last tribute from a son who might soon die.
Ambrosia ventured cautiously.
“Your Majesty, please allow us to test it for safety.”
“It's from Kunter. What danger could there be?”
“Normally, we'd conduct a more thorough examination…”
“Very well.”
With permission, Ambrosia cast a detection spell on the bottle.
…Nothing unusual.
“It seems safe.”
As Ambrosia stepped back, the emperor inhaled the aroma of the clear liquid he poured. Rich and viscous. Surely the finest Kunter had labored to obtain. Thinking that if the boy survived, he might show a bit more leniency from now on, the emperor tilted the glass and swallowed.
“Ho.”
A heavy impact gave way to refreshment spreading through his body. Fine liquor.
As he savored the aftertaste—
—Crash!
The emperor's hand trembled, dropping the glass.
“Your Majesty!”
Ambrosia rushed to him, casting a healing spell. The deputies assisted.
“Ugh, ugh…”
But the more healing spells they cast, the worse the emperor's complexion grew.
“Wh-what's happening?!”
“Stop the spells!”
Poison. And not something healing spells could cure.
Ambrosia bit her lip.
“Am… Ambrosia…”
“Your Majesty!”
Gasping, the emperor forced out his final words.
“…Gotberg.”
He fainted before finishing. Ambrosia commanded the deputies.
“To the bedroom, now!”
“What about the sisters?!”
Steadying her breath, Ambrosia replied.
“I'll fetch Gotberg.”
I led the knights to the First Star Palace office.
Bang!
Tanya kicked the door open roughly, startling the healers into clearing a path. I strode straight to Libio, seated at the far end.
“Teacher Gotberg.”
“Tanya.”
“Yes.”
Thud!
Tanya yanked him out and forced him to his knees. She pinned his arms behind his back to prevent any tricks. The First Star Palace healers screamed at the sudden chaos.
Even in the tension, Libio looked up at me with his emotionless face.
“What is the meaning of this?”
“Priest Libio, the Prophet. You're under arrest for colluding with a black mage and poisoning your charge.”
“I haven't the foggiest.”
I shoved the document in front of his impassive denial.
“The sorcery that turned His Highness Kunter into that state? Analyzed. Evidence you smuggled the spell? Secured.”
“You accuse me, his personal physician, of harming him? Baseless slander.”
“We'll see with a test. We measured the spell's residual mana. Let's compare it to yours.”
Mana was like a fingerprint—unique to each person. With remnants like this, we could extract traces as proof.
“You analyzed sorcery? That's black mage territory. Impossible.”
“Looks like the Holy Kingdom only suffered from it. My team handles it. Underestimating the empire?”
Libio narrowed his eyes.
“I refuse comparison. Without official orders, this is private vigilantism. You're no constable anyway.”
“Won't it become official once evidence confirms?”
“I protest. I'll bring charges against Moonlight Palace for this violence—”
Crack!
I planted my foot on his kneeling shoulder.
“That's for later. Why's your tongue so long?”
“What is this outrage—”
“Haven't you heard? I'm the expert at this sort of thing.”
Caught off guard by my brute force, Libio twisted to escape. No chance. Tanya tightened her grip on his arms. Even cornered, not a drop of sweat, face unchanged—the guy's tough.
“I merely fulfilled my duties as physician…”
“Teacher Gotberg!!”
Ambrosia burst in from outside.
“Sister.”
“Emergency. Come at once.”
“What? No way.”
I glanced at Libio. The fake mask cracked; he smirked faintly, unable to hide it.
“What have you done?”
“One confession, Teacher.”
Libio lifted his head toward me.
“Human emotions never made sense to me.”
“What?”
“Indeed. I first realized I was different when my little sister died. A monster devoured her lower half in the hills behind the village. Everyone wept in grief.”
Suddenly, Libio rambled nonsense.
“I saw opportunity. A chance to examine human innards. It honed my healing skills.”
“Teacher, shall I slit his throat?”
I held out a hand to stop Tanya.
“It benefited me, so I enjoyed it. But others' sorrow? Baffling.”
Libio continued eagerly, lost in reminiscence.
“From then, I studied human emotions too. Healers brush death often. The emotional swings yielded diverse behavioral patterns to record and analyze.”
“So?”
Libio flashed a genuine smile I'd never seen—twisted like a forced demon mask from Hahoe.
“No parent ever cherished a child's final gift after their death. Not even the worst villains.”
It was a declaration of victory. Ambrosia's arrival meant the emperor had collapsed. Libio dropping the act confirmed he'd assassinated him, mission accomplished. No regrets.
“Just pointless drivel to stall. Think that buys you time?”
His face hardened at my words. He'd meant to delay me here as long as possible.
Which meant the opposite.
“Afraid I'll save the emperor?”
Libio's eyes widened. He feared me. His plan was on the verge of success, but I might ruin it.
The emperor could still be saved.
“Sister, let's go.”
“No time. Move!”
I left Libio bound to Tanya and followed Ambrosia out. In the original history, Father's failure to heal the emperor here led to assassination suspicions, dooming our house. Saving him would forge unbreakable trust.
“Teacher, I heard. I'm joining.”
I spoke to Palkenhain, who'd rushed over.
“Prepare the full surgical and healing teams. Include Hugo the curse healer.”
I popped a candy into my mouth.