The Shadow of Aquitaine #3
I do not distinguish between myself and Khalid.
Every memory of living as Khalid von Aquitaine is vivid.
There is much karma to account for.
Now that I have come to my senses, the gazes directed at me have changed significantly, but I know.
I know that many still fear me.
Therefore, ever since I realized my past life, my plan has never wavered once.
Change the empire, and pass the throne to Theo.
“In the first place, this position doesn’t suit me. It fits Theodore much better.”
I spoke firmly.
It was something I had only been thinking about in my head all this time.
Now that I’ve said it out loud, I feel relieved.
“What on earth…”
Elizabeth, who had jumped to her feet, looked around the room.
“…For now, it seems I am the only one who heard that.”
“Naturally. Do you think I would have said it without considering at least that much?”
“Haaah. Your Majesty, you’re joking, right? You’re going to abdicate now of all times?”
“Of course, not right this instant. At the very least, I must wait for Theo to graduate.”
“…Hmm. I see. You told me to quit the academy and come back because there was nothing left for me to learn, and yet?”
Pick one: either be proud or interrogate me. Just don’t do both.
Honestly, this need for validation.
“You won’t be able to change the subject by praising me like that.”
“I never did such a thing.”
“Hmph.”
What is the problem?
A moment of silence flowed between us.
The gaze staring straight at me was stinging.
“Are you really not joking?”
“Does it sound like a joke to you?”
“I wish it were a joke.”
Elizabeth pressed her fingers firmly against her brow.
“Ugh, my head is throbbing.”
“Hmm.”
Is it that bad?
Of course, I thought there would be some level of backlash.
But is it enough to block me like this?
“I have committed many sins, haven’t I?”
“Good heavens. You were actually thinking about things like that…?”
That’s a bit insulting.
But Elizabeth seemed sincere.
It wasn’t the relationship between an Emperor and his proxy.
It was the attitude of Elizabeth, my childhood friend.
“I don’t understand. Why? Your legitimacy, your authority—you are ahead in every aspect.”
Well, that goes without saying.
I am the eldest son, I rightfully inherited it from the late Emperor, and my authority is, naturally, the greatest in history.
I crossed my arms.
“Elise. In your view, how is the empire right now?”
“Yes? Well, it’s…”
Elizabeth trailed off.
“In one sense it is prosperous, and in another, it is precarious.”
“What is the reason for its prosperity, and what is the reason for its precariousness?”
“The reason it is prosperous is because of the current Your Majesty, and the reason it is precarious is because of the past Your Majesty.”
It’s the truth, but isn’t she being too honest?
That’s lèse-majesté. Pure lèse-majesté.
“Why are you looking at me with those eyes? You knew it too, Your Majesty.”
“…Then, what do you think the future of the empire will be like?”
“It will become prosperous.”
She puffed out her chest.
It won’t be a smooth path.
Isn’t it scheduled to falter for a while due to the bloody purges?
But that is exactly why.
I will raise the empire that was crumbling back to its feet.
Considering her ambitious nature, just imagining it must make her heart race.
And she had the ability to do so, too.
“Aquitaine has nowhere to go but up. You and I will make it so.”
“That is true.”
That is what I have been preparing for all this time.
Purge the cancer eating away at the empire, and fill the vacancies with talented people.
It might creak a bit, but that doesn’t matter.
Because I will be the one to bear that burden.
“I will handle the chaotic period between cutting away the rotten flesh and the new skin growing in. After that, the golden age of the newly born empire can be left to Theo. With that, Theo will become a flawless Emperor.”
It was the first time.
I had spoken my plan in its entirety.
I will not fall, defeated by Theo, who led a rebellion.
The empire, too, will not be left half-crippled by a war between me and Theo.
Theo, having inherited the empire from me, will not have to suffer to save a broken nation.
Isn’t it a conclusion that satisfies everyone?
Bearing countless sins? What does that matter? There won’t be anyone gutsy enough to question me.
I will simply step down as an Emperor stained with a bit of infamy.
If anything, that’s better.
The duties of an Emperor don’t suit me.
It’s much better to take the private funds I’ve tucked away and live a life of leisure.
“…Your Majesty, that is.”
Elizabeth hesitated, as if she were at a loss for words.
“…It means you are handing over all the glory to Prince Theodore.”
I understood what she wanted to say.
She is currently my Grand Chancellor, wielding immense power.
Once I pass the throne to Theodore, she will naturally have to step down from that position as well.
I suppose that is what she finds regrettable.
“There is still a long time left until Theo’s graduation. Be satisfied with serving as the Grand Chancellor until then. You are scheduled to inherit your own family in the future anyway, are you not?”
I hinted at that, but there was no answer.
“Elise?”
“…Yes. For now, I will take it as such.”
A vague answer.
It’s Elizabeth, not just anyone else.
She didn’t say she understood and then start plotting something else, did she?
“…What is that look? I am not plotting anything. It’s just… I need time to accept it.”
“Is that so?”
Still, I decided to trust her.
Because she is someone who knows how to respond with goodwill when she receives it.
And she isn’t the type of woman to start a rebellion while I’m still alive and kicking.
Still, I’m glad she accepted it quite docilely.
By the way.
“I plan to retire at the same time I pass the throne to Theo, so in a way, we are companions of a sort.”
“*Cough.*”
Oh dear.
I lightly patted her back as she coughed, having choked on her own breath.
*
Elizabeth was confused.
This man, what is he saying all of a sudden?
“*Cough*, *khe-hem*, *khe-heung*. Suddenly, what, what is this?”
“No, just… it was a thought that came to me suddenly. Was it such a surprising thing?”
It was even more infuriating because he seemed to mean absolutely nothing by it.
Does he not see her as a woman? That’s not it.
Elizabeth was clearly aware of where his gaze landed every now and then.
And it wasn’t particularly unpleasant.
It’s not that she herself has romantic feelings for Khalid, of course.
No, but.
The Emperor, famous for his love of women, only sends glances—I suppose it’s admirable that he holds back that well—.
Anyway.
What is certain is the fact that the Emperor is conscious of her as a woman.
And yet, he threw out such an absurd remark as if it were a joke.
‘…The subject is uncomfortable, is that it?’
Elizabeth realized Khalid’s intention.
He must have realized that she didn’t look favorably upon his abdication, so he subtly changed the subject in such a way.
She found that fact quite cheeky.
It was cheeky, but.
“Sigh, I’ll let it slide just this once.”
“Right. Thank you.”
She decided to let it slide.
Because bringing that topic up again right here would require some mental preparation on her part as well.
Outwardly, she was putting on a prim, nonchalant expression, but inwardly, she was more agitated than ever.
Retirement?
Abdication?
Quitting as Emperor?
‘I cannot accept it.’
She was the one called the Queen of the Social World.
Wasn’t it Khalid who brought her, Elizabeth, who was expanding her influence in the social world and the academy, to his side?
‘You said there was no one but me.’
He begged and pleaded, so she even gave up the image she had built in the social world to come here.
And now he talks of retirement.
If he does that, she’ll be in a position where she has to retire too!
Of course, after he retires, she could prepare to inherit the family from the Duke of Valerian.
She could, but.
Emotionally, that was a separate issue.
“Tsk!”
“Why are you being sulky again?”
“It’s nothing.”
“My goodness.”
She had clicked her tongue without realizing it.
Elizabeth didn’t even like the fact that Khalid had made up his mind to retire.
‘What is this? That attitude of wanting to shoulder all the sins himself.’
Elizabeth was born a woman with a strong sense of responsibility.
But just as much, her pride in the achievements she had built was also strong.
Therefore, she did not like Khalid’s attitude.
Karma should be treated as karma.
But shouldn’t the credit for setting the empire straight be treated as credit?
To pass all the credit for setting the empire straight to Prince Theodore, and to shoulder only the karma himself.
Isn’t that something only a noble saint would do?
‘Such a foolish thing.’
I cannot allow it.
A saint? Good.
Elizabeth liked such noble people very much. She even admired them. She had thought that if such a person existed, she would want to help them.
But she had never, ever wanted that person to be her, or someone around her.
And this gentleman.
He seems to be under some kind of delusion.
Thinking with Elizabeth’s brilliant brain, it seemed he didn’t know the fact that he himself was the current empire.
That a man who prepared so meticulously to overhaul the empire didn’t know his own importance.
It was truly a lamentable thing.
‘It can’t be helped.’
If he doesn’t know, I must make him know.
Elizabeth’s purple eyes glinted ominously.
“…It’s a bit cold, for some reason.”
Strange.
There’s no way this body could catch a cold.
Khalid muttered in a small, puzzled voice.
*
The next day.
The Imperial Palace was silent.
The secret blade that the Emperor had quietly swung the previous night was very clean.
Even though countless people had vanished, it was as if nothing had ever been there in the first place.
Only the fact that the seats that should have been occupied were left empty allowed one to guess what had become of their owners.
Empty seats where nothing remained but shadows clinging to the floor.
A foul stench of blood seemed to linger there like a hallucination.
The complexions of those who survived turned pale.