The Sins of the Late Emperor Bertram
The Sins of the Late Emperor Bertram
As people lived, they harbored great and small sorrows within their hearts.
Because life was never smooth, and adversity befell them regardless of their will.
The greater the adversity, the more inevitably a person fell into despair.
This inescapable yoke of fate was something even the Emperor of the Empire could not avoid.
"......Her Highness the Princess has passed away."
At the physician's solemn words, a bottomless pit of despair opened in Bertram's heart.
"Ahh......."
He had known.
He knew that Selvia's illness had worsened and that she might die soon.
But knowing did not lessen the grief of his daughter's death.
Bertram knelt, weeping softly as he gazed at Selvia lying on the bed.
No hope remained on her pallid face.
Shaking his head as if denying reality, Bertram raised his hand and caressed Selvia's cheek.
"Selvia. My beloved daughter. How could you leave me so soon......."
An unspeakable sorrow seeped into his heart and spilled over as tears.
Unable to bear the sight of the Emperor weeping, the physician bowed his head deeply.
"Your Majesty. If you permit, I will summon the Empress here."
Bertram did not answer.
To be precise, it was more accurate to say he could not answer.
For the time had been far too short to escape the grief of losing his beloved daughter.
Only after Bertram had sobbed a long while longer, clutching Selvia's hand, was he able to rise.
Bertram, still looking down at Selvia lying on the bed, spoke.
"Physician."
At the voice thick with tears, the physician bowed his head.
"Yes. Your Majesty. Please speak."
"Do not let anyone know that my daughter has died."
The command to keep the Princess's death silent seemed ironic.
"......Your Majesty? What do you mean by that?"
When the physician asked again, utterly unable to understand, Bertram raised his head.
As if he must now escape the grief of reality and look to the future.
"I have heard that you have considerable insight into memory magic. You even published a thesis. Then you must have also learned of the method for transferring a person's memories."
That was true.
After all, the physician had even written and submitted a thesis on 'The Theoretical Structure and Potential Applications of Memory Implantation Magic' during his university days.
However, to prove that thesis, one had to incorporate a method of extracting post-mortem memories by reverse-tracking the mana residue remaining in the consciousness of the deceased.
Because only then was it possible to extract, reproduce, or transfer the memories they had in life.
Naturally, as this was considered taboo not only in the Empire but across the entire world, the physician had been disciplined by the university and expelled.
He had since ceased all work on memory magic, so it was deeply flustering when the Emperor himself suddenly raised such a taboo.
"......Your Majesty. It is true that I immersed myself in memory magic at the time, but it is, ultimately, a taboo. Transferring memories is no different from violating the personality of the recipient. It will profoundly impact their life."
The physician hedged his refusal as best he could, but Bertram did not relent.
"Do you think I say this because I wish to use a taboo?"
As if he had no choice, Bertram continued.
"Now that Selvia is dead, the only one to succeed me is Arno. Do you see Arno as fit for the Emperor's throne?"
The physician could not answer.
It was not the sort of question he could answer.
Knowing that, Bertram let out a low sigh.
"You must know that Arno recently attacked his swordsmanship master. He rushed at the instructor, who was resting, and swung a real sword. The instructor sustained a large wound on his back and was hospitalized. Do you know why Arno attacked him?"
The physician, who had been cautiously gauging the mood, spoke of what he knew.
"I heard that the instructor made remarks insulting the Imperial Family."
"That is merely a story fabricated by the Imperial Household. That instructor is someone who considers loyalty to the Imperial Family a great honor. It makes no sense for such a person to have insulted the Imperial Family."
"Then why did Prince Arno......."
"He took revenge out of spite because the instructor defeated him in a practice spar. There is no other reason."
He cut the instructor with a real sword for such a trivial reason? The physician was so flustered he could not speak for a moment, and Bertram slowly turned around.
"Besides this incident, Arno has committed numerous atrocities, treating human lives as if they were animals. He possesses a level of violence I cannot understand, even though he is my son. I do not know if my education was wrong or if it is simply his innate nature......."
One thing was certain.
"The moment Arno inherits my throne, the Empire will not be able to avoid ruin."
Bertram could see it before his eyes: the future in which Arno, as Emperor, drove countless citizens to their deaths.
"That is why I am asking this of you. Even to stop Arno, Selvia must not be dead. Only then can a future exist for this Empire."
The words that it was for the Empire's sake moved the physician's heart.
Also, the chance to prove the thesis he had written in the past greatly stirred his scholarly curiosity.
The physician, who had already stepped into taboo, swallowed dryly and raised his head.
"A large quantity of Lemisia ore will be needed. Various instruments will also have to be created."
"Tell me the required quantity. I will have it prepared."
"If you are willing to go that far......."
The deliberation was brief.
The physician, having crossed the line of taboo in his heart, knelt before Bertram.
"I will proceed with my utmost effort."
*
After deciding to cross the taboo, the Emperor ensured that no one except the physician could enter Selvia's room.
Even the Empress was no exception.
When the Empress asked for the reason, Bertram made an excuse that blocking others' access was the only way to improve Selvia's illness.
Hearing that her daughter's illness might improve, the Empress relented, and the other palace personnel dared not ignore the Emperor's command to enter Selvia's room.
Thus, in Selvia's room, isolated from the world, the physician prepared for the memory transfer.
About three weeks passed before the preparations were completed.
Having secured all the supplies for the memory transfer, the physician lastly prepared the 'person'.
After scouring the entire Empire and choosing carefully, he found a child with an appearance similar to Selvia.
The physician returned to the Imperial Palace with the child and met Emperor Bertram in front of Selvia's room.
"Your Majesty. Were you waiting?"
Bertram, who had been standing with his hands behind his back and an anxious expression, looked down at the child the physician had brought.
The child had her whole body tightly wrapped in a pure white robe and was even wearing a hood.
The physician had dressed her this way on the way here in case anyone might recognize her.
"So this is the child."
At Bertram's question, the physician nodded.
"I found her in a high mountain region in the western area. She was living alone in a completely ruined house. I am not sure of the circumstances, but she appeared to have no parents."
"Is that so."
Relieved that he had not taken the child from her parents, Bertram knelt on one knee.
And as he made eye contact with the child, Bertram was startled without realizing it.
"......Selvia?"
Because the child's appearance uncannily resembled his dead daughter.
Bertram, who had frozen in surprise for a moment, raised a trembling hand.
As he removed the hood the child wore, platinum blonde locks were revealed.
Except for her dark expression, she was almost indistinguishable from his dead daughter.
Bertram, who had been staring at the child in a daze, came to his senses and spoke.
"What is your name?"
As the child remained silent, the physician beside her answered instead.
"She has no name. There must have been no one to give her one. However, it seems she had a nickname. Strangely, many Edelweiss grew near this child's house, so the nearby village called her the Witch of the Edelweiss."
After hearing the physician's story, Bertram quietly looked at the child for a while.
The child also looked at Bertram with emotionless eyes.
"Child."
Perhaps it was because of the guilt that had taken root.
Bertram spoke words he did not need to say.
"I apologize in advance. From now on, I will overlay my daughter onto you. This means you will live your entire life with my daughter's memories. Therefore, from now on, you will no longer be the Witch of the Edelweiss who lived alone in the west of the Empire......."
Bertram gently placed his hand on the child's shoulder.
"You will be reborn as the Imperial Princess of the Empire."