Chapter 11: The Emperor 4
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 11: The Emperor 4
Casten Leonhart.
Born an illegitimate child, he was the man who had slain an incompetent emperor to seize the throne for himself.
He possessed the administrative prowess to rapidly stabilize an empire ruined by his predecessor, as well as the sheer martial might required to personally execute both the former emperor and the crown prince.
"Are you not going to answer? I believe I asked where you learned Shadow Step."
Every word the Emperor spoke felt like it was being driven directly into my brain. It was Domination—the same trait Lucas possessed.
However, he was on an entirely different level from Lucas. Right now, I felt as though I needed the Emperor’s permission just to draw a single breath.
When I remained silent, the Emperor spoke again.
This time, it felt slightly easier to breathe; I could tell he had stopped using Domination.
Perfect control over his trait. That alone illustrated the vast chasm between his power and mine.
"I thought about unmasking you first. But the mask wouldn't budge."
Of course it wouldn't. This mask will never come off unless I remove it myself.
"I considered using my sword infused with Aura to cut it off, but I decided against it. I can't have my son's friend getting hurt, after all."
He spoke with a smile, and I responded with a smile of my own.
"That was a close one. My handsome face might have ended up with a scar."
"You are exactly as Lucas described."
"Did Lucas say I was handsome? That’s a bit embarrassing."
Though I spoke playfully, my mind was racing.
‘The Emperor definitely said "Shadow Step."’
As far as I knew, the only person who used Shadow Step was the now-vanished Phantom Thief Cardinal.
Anyone who played Croaka knew that the Emperor had personally recovered the national treasure from the Phantom Thief.
Assuming the Emperor and the Phantom Thief clashed during that process, it was plausible that the Emperor saw him use Shadow Step.
I could understand him watching my exam video and thinking my movements were similar to the Phantom Thief's.
But if that were the case, his question shouldn't have been "Where did you learn Shadow Step?"
Unless the Phantom Thief Cardinal had explicitly announced the name of his technique to the world, it made no sense for the Emperor to know the exact name "Shadow Step."
‘What am I missing?’
"Have you finished thinking? It would be best if you answered this time. Where did you learn Shadow Step?"
The Emperor already knew I was stalling for time to think. If he already knew, I might as well be a bit more brazen.
"I'm sorry, but could I think for just a little bit longer?"
"...You certainly have nerve. Fine, think to your heart's content."
The description for the Shadow Step skill book in Croaka contained this sentence: [A technique mastered by none other than the Phantom Thief Cardinal.]
If that statement was true, did the Phantom Thief Cardinal actually explain Shadow Step to the Emperor himself?
‘But why?’
The Phantom Thief Cardinal stole money from corrupt officials and the national treasure. The Emperor "recovered" the national treasure himself. Then where did the officials' money go?
After killing the former emperor, the current Emperor distributed massive amounts of food to the suffering citizens using his own private funds. Where did that money come from?
Croaka didn't delve deeply into the Emperor's past, but I knew he hadn't grown up wealthy.
Could it be?
"Um, Your Majesty?"
"Are you finished thinking? Let's hear your answer."
"By any chance... are you the Phantom Thief Cardinal, Your Majesty?"
The Emperor remained seated, leaning his head on his hand with a relaxed expression. It was as if he didn't care even if he were caught.
"Hmm. What makes you think that?"
At first, I thought the Phantom Thief and the Emperor might be accomplices. But then, the Phantom Thief would have gained nothing.
What would be the point if the Emperor took everything he stole?
My next thought was that the Phantom Thief was a subordinate who had sworn loyalty to the Emperor.
That would explain why the Phantom Thief gave everything to him.
But there was a flaw in that hypothesis as well.
In the original story of Croaka, the Emperor eventually dies. The Phantom Thief Cardinal never appeared then.
That left only one possibility. The Emperor himself was the Phantom Thief Cardinal.
It sounded ridiculous even to me, but I couldn't think of any other explanation.
"Shall we call it a handsome man's intuition?"
I couldn't explain my full reasoning, so that was all I could say. Regardless, I had no intention of letting the Emperor die in this timeline.
"I haven't denied your claim. Do you know why?"
"Because nothing changes even if I know."
Even if I ran around the Empire shouting that the Emperor was actually the Phantom Thief Cardinal, no one would believe me.
"Do you not think I might kill you to keep you silent?"
"Ayy, surely not. Didn't you say it yourself? I'm your son's friend."
‘I considered using my sword infused with Aura to cut it off, but I decided against it. I can't have my son's friend getting hurt, after all.’
"Is that the only reason I wouldn't kill you?"
"There's one more."
"And what is that?"
"Because I am clearly a talent the Empire needs!"
"What? Bwahahaha!"
The Emperor laughed for a long time before stopping to look at me. His gaze was like that of someone who had discovered a fascinating new toy.
"You truly are strange and quite to my liking. If you had been around back when I was attending the Academy, I would have recruited you right after them."
That was the highest praise the Emperor could give.
During his Academy days, the Emperor had cautiously and secretly gathered allies. The "them" he referred to were the current Duke Adelian and Duke Freya.
It might be an exaggeration, but it meant the Emperor valued me highly enough to place me right after those two.
"Haha, thank you for the compliment. Since it's praise from Your Majesty, I'll have to pass this story down through the generations. Well then, may I be excused?"
"Halt."
His voice turned ice-cold, and his expression became dead serious—a complete 180 from the man who was laughing just a moment ago.
"You still haven't answered my question. Where did you learn Shadow Step?"
Tsk, I guess he won't let it slide. Just as I was about to tell him the truth...
"As a reward for entertaining me, let's have a wager. If you can land even a single hit on me, I won't ask about Shadow Step again."
What? Attack the Emperor? There's no way I'd do something that crazy. I should just tell the truth.
"A wager needs a prize, of course. If you land a hit, I shall give you an Elixir."
I immediately drew my cane and lunged at the Emperor. I couldn't pass up an Elixir.
The Emperor, still seated, simply tilted his head slightly to dodge my attack.
I swung downward this time to prevent him from dodging by just moving his head.
Thud!
My cane slammed into the empty chair.
Before I knew it, the Emperor was standing behind me.
I used Shadow Step to rush toward him.
Anyone else would have lost track of my unusual movement, but the Emperor dodged with ease.
His movements weren't even that grand. He just took a single step here and there.
Yet, that was enough to ensure my cane never touched him.
"I saw the video the Principal sent, but your way of swinging a blade is quite similar to Duke Adelian's."
Whoosh.
The Emperor spoke casually while dodging my strike.
"Come to think of it, I spoke with the Duke recently. He mentioned the Duchess has made a full recovery."
Swish.
"The Duchess regaining her health is a wonderful thing for both the Empire and myself. She was close with the Empress, you see. So, I sent a gift as well."
Swish. Whoosh.
"I heard the person who cured the Duchess—whom no one else could help—was younger than expected. The Duke said he would grant that person any one wish."
Whoosh. Swish. Whoosh. Zip.
"The Duke mentioned he is teaching that person how to fight. Even though the Duke doesn't use a sword himself, he is unrivaled in combat, so I'm sure there were no issues."
Zip. Whoosh. Swish.
"He told me a lot about the child he's teaching. Said the boy was like a wild beast. He even went as far as to say he wanted to adopt him as his own son."
Zip.
The Emperor spoke while effortlessly dodging my continuous barrage of attacks. My strikes didn't even graze him.
"Looking at you now, though, a 'beast' doesn't exactly come to mind."
"Haha. A beast... that's a story from my immature days."
Thinking back on it now, my behavior back then was a cringeworthy past I'd rather forget.
Anyway, to think the Duke said he wanted to adopt me... I'll have to tease him about that next time we meet.
"You've stopped attacking. Are you giving up?"
"Giving up? I still have plenty of trump cards left."
I created nine illusionary doppelgangers, just as I had when facing the Golem.
Along with my clones, I used Shadow Step to charge at the Emperor.
"I saw it earlier, but it truly is a fascinating Innate Magic. However, you are still far from proficient."
The Emperor, who had been backing away until now, took a single step forward.
But the impact of that step was massive.
In an instant, all my clones vanished, and the Emperor's sword—which I hadn't even seen him draw—was resting against my throat.
Anyone else wouldn't have even been able to process what happened, but I could.
The Emperor had used the exact same Shadow Step as me.
However, our levels were worlds apart.
Unlike Johanna, the Emperor didn't bother trying to figure out which one was the real me.
He had simply cut down every single clone in a flash and stopped his blade at my throat.
"I lose."
In the quiet room, my declaration of defeat echoed softly.