Emily, No, Emir: The Man Who Loved Cecilia
"What is it?"
Emily had come to the mansion. It hadn't even been an hour since I'd summoned her.
"Follow me. I have something to show you."
"Why the dramatic atmosphere? It's scary."
She flashed her signature sly smile. I couldn't respond to that. Had she noticed the shift in my mood?
Emily fell silent and followed me.
"Say something, at least. What's this about?"
"It's better if you see for yourself."
I opened the door to the recovery room. The space brimmed with mana flowing from all manner of mana stones. I'd designed it to aid physical recovery through dense mana exposure.
In the center of that recovery room lay Cecilia, the novel's original heroine. I'd stripped off the sackcloth rags she'd worn upon arrival and dressed her in fine silk undergarments. She stared blankly at the ceiling, her anxiety palpable.
"Ce... Cecilia?"
Emily approached the bed in a panic.
"Cecilia, what... what is this?"
She kept calling Cecilia's name. But there was no response. Of course not—her ears didn't work.
"Cecilia, it's me, Emir... What the hell are you doing here? I thought you were living happily with that emperor bastard in the palace."
Emily uttered her old birth name as she faced Cecilia. Predictably, Cecilia couldn't see her.
"Say something. Were you disappointed when I left?"
Emily cautiously took Cecilia's hand.
"Ah..."
Cecilia flinched in alarm. Startled, Emily turned to me.
"What the hell is going on? Explain. What's wrong with Cecilia?"
Her voice was more desperate than ever.
"The emperor blinded her, deafened her, and cut out her tongue."
Silence stretched on.
"...What?"
"Exactly as I said. Right now, Cecilia can't hear, speak, or see."
"H-how? The emperor did this to her?"
I nodded.
"Are you sure?"
"I heard it straight from the emperor himself. He wants me to heal her."
"Ah, ah... Wh-why...?"
Emily's eyes shook. Her fists clenched the bedsheets, trembling violently.
"What reason did he give? Why would he do this to Cecilia...?"
"I can't say."
How could I tell her it was because this was a novel world, and Cecilia had suffered for confessing that she was a possessor?
"Ryuclid, you goddamn son of a bitch!"
Emily screamed until her throat was raw—a curse she'd never uttered since becoming a woman.
"I'd twist that bastard's neck and dump his corpse in the back alleys, and it still wouldn't be enough!"
Emily's eyes turned bloodshot, veins bursting until blood pooled in them.
"Ahh... Cecilia. I gave you up hoping you'd be happy, praying you'd find happiness with that Ryuclid scum... Why do you show up before me like this?"
She choked back sobs. Her speech had long forgotten its feminine lilt, reverting to Emir's tone from the novel.
"This isn't why I let you go..."
Emily rubbed her face against Cecilia's hand, weeping. Cecilia, who had initially recoiled in surprise, now seemed to sense where Emily was.
"Ee-eeuh..."
"Cecilia, don't worry. I'll find a way somehow. I'll figure out how to help you..."
Emily wiped her tears and stood.
"Tell me. Can you heal her?"
A rough, masculine tone poured from Emily's lips. She no longer hid her old speech patterns.
"It's possible. But there's a problem."
"What? What's the problem? Money? Don't worry about that. I'll make as much as it takes."
"Creating an artificial tongue, eyes, and eardrums with magic is difficult, but entirely feasible. In time, the empress—no, Cecilia—will be able to see again."
The word "empress" nearly slipped out, but I corrected myself under Emily's murderous glare.
"You said it's all possible. So what's the issue?"
"It's Cecilia's mental state. The psychological trauma is worse than expected. It won't heal overnight."
"What else did she go through?"
I hesitated, wondering if I should mention the imperial guards, then held my tongue.
"I'll let her tell you once she's better. It's not my place."
"Worse than having her tongue cut out and eyes blinded."
Grind! Emily's teeth gnashed audibly.
"Fine. No matter how long it takes for Cecilia to recover, I don't care. I'll stay by her side. I won't leave her alone this time."
"Understood."
"Then why tell me this? Is it so I'll keep your role as neutral faction leader secret?"
"No."
"Then what?"
"Don't you want revenge?"
"...What?"
"Don't you want revenge on the emperor who did this to Cecilia?"
"Treason?"
"Not yet."
"...Why? You're the Magic Department Minister, appointed by the emperor. Without him, you're nothing."
"True. Morris Dmitry alone wouldn't amount to much. But what if the continent's greatest merchant, Emir, backed me?"
"You want the continent's top fortune on your side?"
"Exactly."
"You think I'll follow you? What if I run to the emperor right now and spill your plans...?"
"The emperor sent Cecilia to me himself."
"So?"
"Said a fresh toy is more fun to play with."
"Ryuclid, you fucking bastard. Hah, hah."
Emily clutched her chest and sank to the floor.
"You don't want Cecilia going back to the emperor."
"Even if I join you, she'd still return to him. Better if I just tell him myself not to torment her..."
"I'll help you and Cecilia escape somewhere the emperor can never reach."
She blinked in disbelief.
"You're serious?"
"Yes. If that's what you want."
"Ha, haha. Hahahaha."
Emily laughed weakly.
"You're dangling a deal I can't refuse."
"For the record, it's a losing deal for me."
But acquiring a political partner of Emily's caliber was worth it.
Emily steadied her trembling legs and stood.
"Fine. I'll join your mad scheme. How do we start this insanity?"
"First, we'll court the noble faction."
Siegfried Duke never showed at the Harvest Festival—the empire's grandest event and social highlight. The nobles must have grown anxious, while the imperial faction swelled with pride.
The emperor parading the empress and asking me to heal her? Likely because he assumed noble leader Siegfried was gone from politics for good.
This Harvest Festival was practically an imperial faction celebration.
That's why they grew complacent. That's why they couldn't read my true intentions.
"You'll become the new noble faction head in Siegfried's absence?"
"Not right away."
Ronald Count. And Emily. Those two would lead the new noble faction. I'd be the joker pulling strings between them.
I'd step forward only after the new nobles solidified their position.
"Ha, right. Makes sense. I'm that shocked—my head's not working straight."
"I understand."
"One last question."
"Ask."
"If, just if, the new noble faction grows stronger than the imperial one, what then?"
Emily stared at me with bloodshot eyes.
"The nobles surpassing the imperials..."
I hadn't considered it. It was just a choice for my own peace and safety.
"I'd have to aim for an even better ending."
"Ending... You have some endgame in mind?"
"I can say with certainty it'll be better than now."
Emily fell silent, just staring at me for a long while.
"Fine. Got it, Morris. We'll do it your way."
She thumped her chest, which had opened wide.
"I'll be your best partner. But the condition is Cecilia escapes the empire safely."
"Don't worry."
"How long?"
"At least three months."
"The emperor will come sniffing around before then."
"I know."
"You're confident we won't get caught?"
Emily extended her hand.
"Of course."
I clasped her hand firmly.
"By the way, no more fake smiles or coquettish act?"
"Need it? We're political partners now, right?"
No intention of masking her broken facade again, it seemed. Nor did I care to force the womanly pretense.
"Still, be discreet in public."
"Don't worry."
After shaking hands, Emily glanced at Cecilia and asked,
"Can you give us some time alone? I won't see her again until the deed's done..."
Her eyes swirled with countless emotions.
"Sure."
Understanding her heart, I quietly left them.
A woman's—no, a former man's—heart-wrenching screams and sobs shook the mansion. Unable to bear listening, I sealed off all sound around the recovery room.
That was the greatest kindness I could offer Emily.
Seria visited the recovery room to wash Cecilia's body. She'd seen Emily weeping as if she'd lost the world.
Poor woman...
Cecilia, too, had loved the emperor and met misfortune. Perhaps far worse than Seria, stripped of her status. A woman robbed of every sense by the emperor himself.
Compared to Seria, who'd merely lost her title, Cecilia's plight was utterly pitiable.
We were rivals fighting over one man not long ago.
How did it come to this? Seria couldn't fathom it.
Maybe loving the emperor was the seed of misfortune. Maybe that's why she'd suffered.
Seria thought so as she wiped Cecilia's body with a cool, damp cloth. Truly a beautiful woman. Setting aside jealousy, Cecilia matched the empire's flower—Seria herself—in looks and figure. And she'd risen to empress without any halo of prestige, a symbol of sheer will.
"You and I both have terrible taste in men."
Seria murmured while cleaning her. Cecilia couldn't hear, of course.
I won't make the same mistake again.
Seria vowed inwardly.
"Luis."
I murmured as Emily's carriage faded into the distance. A gaze from nearby—the leader of the emperor's assassin unit, the Crimson Lotus, Luis.
"Saw it all, I assume?"
"Yes."
"What will you do? Report to the emperor?"
"I must."
"Even if it kills you?"
"Is there a way I survive without reporting? His Majesty would kill me otherwise."
"One way."
"One?"
"A way you don't die, and I don't have to kill you."
I turned to Luis behind me.
"Will you trust me?"
"..."
Luis nodded.
"If it succeeds... then that thing from before. Will you do it?"
She meant the ecstasy that had awakened her mind.
"Of course. As many times as you want."
"Understood. What should I report?"
"Say it was a meeting to buy the Torimong Mountains' iron mine discovered by a noble faction noble."
"Will that work?"
"If it's a one-sided deal fleecing the nobles, the emperor will love it. It's a mine he coveted too."
"...Understood."
Luis vanished.
To live unbound by anyone...
I need my own faction.
A force too mighty to touch recklessly.
I'll bide my time until then.