A Poor, Sinful Mortal
A few days had passed since I made my intentions clear to the three representatives. It was a chaotic time, but during those days, I managed to rein in the Anti-Emperor Faction, which had fractured after Valorang’s death. Though they still found me too young to trust completely, they had no other choice. In their current precarious state—like a candle flickering in the wind—without the Grand Duchy’s strength, they would be brutally slaughtered by the Emperor Faction’s army, which was already on its way. After all, most of the soldiers occupying Roman belonged to the Grand Duchy.
Yet, that didn't mean my own situation was any better. My fate, too, was a candle in the wind. That was why my very first decree as Grand Duke was to recover the bodies of the late Emperor and the imperial family. I needed to hold a proper funeral for those beloved rulers to show the citizens of the Empire that I was different from Valorang. And today, their funeral would begin.
Normally, a funeral of this scale would take at least a month to prepare. But with war looming at any moment, I decided it was best to hold it while a fragile peace still held, rushing the arrangements as quickly as possible.
Creak!
The black carriage carrying the bodies of the Emperor and the imperial family rolled slowly down the road. Behind it followed the carriage carrying me and the late Emperor’s surviving family. Along the streets, the citizens of the Empire wept, mourning their loss.
"Your Majesty!"
"How could the heavens be so cruel..."
I watched the scene, enveloped in the somber atmosphere. The late Emperor, Tiberius Augustus, had been deeply loved and respected by his people. I had avenged him, but... would the citizens ever accept me? To them, wouldn't I just look like the son of a shameless usurper?
Lost in these thoughts, I looked at the figures sitting across from me. Three women dressed in black gowns. Each was exceptionally beautiful, sharing the same bright grey hair. Yet, their faces were masked in profound sorrow, tears streaming down their cheeks.
The woman sitting in the center looked to be in her thirties, though I knew she was actually in her mid-to-late forties. She was Eurydice, the Empress Dowager of the Empire. To her left sat Princess Joy, a young woman with soft, puppy-like features and striking red eyes. To the Empress Dowager's right sat a sharp-featured beauty with crimson eyes. She was the Crown Princess, Theodora—the woman who had almost become my stepmother. Once the coronation took place, she would become the Empress.
Having calmed herself slightly, the Empress Dowager dabbed her tears with a handkerchief and spoke.
"Grand Duke... thank you."
I replied, my voice heavy with genuine remorse. "No, please... If only... if only I had acted sooner..."
Regret and guilt. Tangled in those heavy emotions, I found it difficult to look them in the eye. In truth, it was only because the late Emperor had died that Valorang had let his guard down. If Valorang hadn't thrown a celebratory feast for his soldiers, it would have been nearly impossible for me to smuggle mercenaries into the Imperial Palace. I had deliberately chosen that day to strike, exploiting that exact window of vulnerability. I had used the Emperor's death to bring down Valorang. It was a shameful truth I could never bring myself to confess to them.
"No," the Empress Dowager said, shaking her head gently. "Even so... I am deeply grateful that you avenged us."
When she bowed her head to express her gratitude, I quickly waved my hands in protest.
"Y-Your Imperial Majesty!"
"Mother..."
Theodora, Joy, and I were all startled by her sudden bow, but the Empress Dowager simply closed her eyes, as if it were only natural. "Valorang... You will never know how desperately I wanted to kill him myself, Grand Duke."
I could never fully grasp the depth of her pain. But I knew she must have hated and cursed Valorang with every fiber of her being for slaughtering her beloved husband and sons.
"So... thank you, truly."
"Please, do not say that. As a noble of the Empire... I merely did what was expected of me."
The Empress Dowager nodded understandingly at my words. Then, she spoke hesitantly. "Speaker Charles conveyed your intentions to me."
Flinch.
My shoulders tensed. Was she referring to the marriage proposal with Theodora? I stole a glance at Theodora. She was glaring at me with cold, undisguised hostility.
"I see..." I murmured.
What did the Empress Dowager and the princesses think of me? Did they see me as another usurper like Valorang? Or perhaps a foolish, starry-eyed youth trying to marry Theodora out of love?
"However, I cannot say I approve..."
Screech...
The carriage finally came to a halt.
"No matter how much you have done to restore order to the Empire, you are still... the son of my sworn enemy. I have no desire to see my precious daughter marry the son of such a man."
And then...
"Therefore, I reject your proposal."
Just as I was about to respond to her declaration—
Click!
The carriage door swung open.
"I understand... However, I hope you realize that I, too, have no other choice."
With those words, I practically fled from the carriage.
The carriage carrying the bodies of the Emperor and the imperial family stopped before the massive doors of the cathedral. The lead knight of the procession stepped up to the cathedral entrance. He stared at the towering, arched wooden doors. Drawing his sword, still sheathed, from his hip, he struck the heavy doors.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
He knocked forcefully.
"Who seeks entry?" a voice called out. It was an old monk from within the cathedral.
At the monk's query, the knight began to speak in a booming, resonant voice.
"Tiberius Augustus! Emperor of the Great Empire, Protector of the Imperial Diet, Guardian of All Races, First Citizen of Roman, Commander-in-Chief of the Imperial Forces, Grand Justice, King of Epirus and Egypt, Duke of Louvre, Lord of the Nile, Count of Tyril, Lido, and Antice, and Patron of Antioch, Beiren, and Prin!"
The knight solemnly recited the late Emperor's grand titles.
"We know of no such person," the monk replied coldly from behind the door.
Despite the long list of titles the Emperor had held in life, the monk dismissed them as if they meant nothing. The knight struck the door once more.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
"Who seeks entry?"
At the monk's repeated question, the knight cried out even louder and more majestically than before.
"Tiberius Augustus! Member of the Imperial Diet, Chairman of the Five Races Council, Honorary Doctor of the Academy, Protector of Roman, and recipient of countless medals bestowed by the Diet and the Holy See!"
This second time, the knight proclaimed the achievements and honors the Emperor had accumulated throughout his life.
"We know of no such person," the voice from within repeated, unyielding.
Two rejections. The monk surely knew he was delaying the Emperor's final rest. Yet, this was not an act of treasonous defiance. It was a sacred imperial tradition passed down through generations, designed to remind the royal bloodline to guard against pride and moral decay.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The knight struck the cathedral doors with his scabbard once more.
"Who seeks entry?" the old monk asked again.
And the knight replied:
"Tiberius. A poor, sinful mortal."
"Then let him enter."
Creak...
The massive doors slowly swung open, and the carriage rolled into the cathedral.
"Ugh..." The Empress Dowager sobbed.
"Father..."
Princess Joy muttered, her legs giving out as she collapsed to the floor. Supporting her weight, I asked, "You don't look well. Perhaps you should rest a moment?"
Joy shook her head weakly. "No... I'm fine. Just a brief spell of dizziness."
She gently pushed me away and made her way deeper into the cathedral.
Whoosh...
A cold gust of wind swept through the hall. Theodora turned her head, and our eyes met. Was she still harboring resentment from when I caught her trying to escape? Her gaze burned with intense fury. But I had no choice. If I let her escape, the Empire would plunge into a devastating civil war. The only reason I could negotiate with the Emperor Faction was because she, the future Empress, was in my custody. After piercing me with her icy crimson eyes, she turned away and walked into the cathedral.
A solemn Requiem. The mournful melody drifted through the air.
"Ah..."
"Your Majesty..."
The melancholy, majestic hymn blended with the quiet weeping of the mourners dressed in black. It was a devastatingly tragic sight. Valorang had caused this tragedy. Everyone gathered here had loved the late Emperor. Naturally, they would harbor nothing but hatred for me. No matter what I did, I was still Valorang's son.
The Empress Dowager and the princesses wept bitterly as they gazed upon the bodies of the Emperor and the princes.
"Brother!"
Their tears flowed endlessly. I felt a small sense of relief that I had ordered the bodies to be made as presentable as possible, considering they had been brutally executed. Fine black stitches ran along their necks. We had somehow managed to piece back together the horrific remains of those who had been decapitated. It looked a bit crude, but... we had done the absolute best we could.
Soon, the funeral service drew to a close. Once this was over, I would have to tackle the mountain of paperwork waiting for me. According to yesterday's reports, we were running low on Fireball scrolls and artillery shells. I had ordered additional shipments, but I wasn't sure if they would arrive before the Emperor Faction's forces reached us.
Hmm...
I watched as the final task of placing the bodies into the imperial mausoleum neared completion.
"Your Grace..." Agrippa approached and whispered in my ear. "I have instructed the Grand Justices. They are prepared to hand down a ruling at any time."
I nodded and whispered back, "Good. Go ahead and file the petition for judicial review of the unconstitutional law later. Tell the Grand Justices I need their ruling by tomorrow."
"Sigh... You really are a slave driver," Agrippa grumbled, letting out a weary sigh.
"Pfft. You haven't been sleeping much lately either, have you?"
Both before and after Valorang's death, he had stayed up late with me every single night, mapping out our next moves. And since Valorang's demise, he had been working day and night to clean up the mess. I couldn't help but feel a bit guilty.
"True, but I never expected becoming a noble to be easy," Agrippa replied with a bright smile.
I grinned back. "You won't just be a noble in name. You'll be part of the Grand Duke's family... and the father of a future Grand Duke. Anyway, finish this up and go get some sleep today."
Agrippa shook his head. "Haha... I doubt I'll have time for sleep with so much work left to do." His playful tone vanished, and his expression turned grave. "Your Grace... if the negotiations fall through..." Preparing for the worst, Agrippa asked hesitantly, "Will we be able to rescue Lady Mary?"
Mary Lion. My younger sister and the pride of the Grand Duchy's knights. But she knew her duties and responsibilities all too well.
I shook my head. "She probably... won't leave."
Just as our family had done for generations, she would stand her ground and defend her post. "That's why these negotiations must succeed."
If they failed, both the Grand Duchy and Mary would be in grave danger. No matter how powerful the Grand Duchy's military was, and even though we led the Anti-Emperor Faction, a full-scale war against the Emperor Faction was out of the question. The neutral factions aside, even the nobles who had once belonged to the Anti-Emperor Faction had defected to the Emperor's side, horrified by Valorang's extreme tyranny. I had to bring this to a peaceful resolution, no matter what.
"Ah, right. Did you deliver the evidence of Valorang's demon worship to the Pope?"
At my question, Agrippa nodded. "Yes. But we have yet to receive a response."
Ugh...
I had expected them to show some goodwill toward me, but was it all for naught?
"Whew... nothing is ever easy."