Chapter 32: To the Empire (3)
Chapter 32: To the Empire (3)
'How on earth was I supposed to deal with this...?'
Saying it was a token of gratitude from a city near the subjugation area... wouldn't fly. I'd gone there under imperial decree, so I'd merely done what I was supposed to do.
And some fairy tale about discovering a cave by chance during the subjugation and finding this inside—even I wouldn't believe that, damn it.
The only remotely plausible option Rememver would buy was the 'token of gratitude' one, but if that reached the Emperor's ears, I'd be in serious trouble.
He'd definitely draw his sword and say something like, 'You extracted money while carrying out my orders? You seem to have quite a belly full of greed. Shall I lend a hand in slimming it down?'
How was I so sure? Because there was already a precedent!
For reference, the subject of that precedent had reportedly become a blood-soaked, cold corpse dragged unceremoniously out of the Imperial Palace. Their family had to handle the recovery of the body themselves after it was tossed on the roadside like cargo.
'Should I just be honest and say I won it through gambling?'
If I left out the Demon Realm part and just said I'd done a bit of gambling... well, my image would plummet catastrophically.
Still, that was the best excuse. No, not an excuse—it was the truth.
Anyway, gambling wasn't exactly prohibited by law, and the Empire's nobles frequently enjoyed it in secret, so aside from my image taking a slight hit, there wouldn't be any other trouble.
I'd more or less settled my thoughts and was about to open my mouth when Rememver, who had been quietly watching me, spoke with a faint smile.
"It was a joke."
"......"
"I shall put this money to good use in our finances. I apologize if the jest was unpleasant. Seeing that the Count is even mindful of the estate's finances, this old man was so overjoyed that he momentarily acted foolish, it seems."
"Ah, haha, ha. Acting foolish, you say. Haha......"
So he wasn't going to ask about the source, thank goodness.
Just when I was inwardly relieved, Rememver—as though he'd read my mind—abruptly swerved the conversation in a new direction.
He stowed the money away with a serious expression and said,
"I shall not ask about the money's origin."
"......"
"Given the Count's position, there must be many who wish to establish connections with you."
"Excuse me?"
Wait, hold on, he was gravely misunderstanding something here.
"At your level, you could accept whatever money they offer and keep your mouth firmly shut, and no one could say a word. Knowing your character, you'd never have solicited bribes first, so there shouldn't be any major issue......"
"Wh-what are you talking about?! Bribes, you say!"
As if I'd ever take bribes! I wasn't even in a position to receive them in the first place!
"Who would give a bribe to a mere honorary count?! This is utterly absurd...!"
And even if someone truly tried to offer me a bribe, I'd probably refuse firmly.
Imagine if the Emperor got wind of that. It's obvious my hide would be the first thing split open.
So I had to clear up this misunderstanding, quickly.
'It's not a bribe!'
"I shouldn't have my hide split open!"
"...Pardon?"
"Huh?"
"...Did you perhaps just swap your thoughts with your spoken words?"
"Ah."
That wasn't supposed to happen.
I hastily corrected myself, but Rememver, who had been watching my fluster, drew a serene smile across his face.
For some reason, it was a smile that overlapped with the scene from moments ago. I paused mid-word, and he spoke with a kindly face.
"It was a joke."
"......"
I really wanted to hit him.
"Surely you aren't thinking of striking this old man."
"You're quick on the uptake."
"Should a butler not be?"
"...Rememver, you'd best refrain from joking. I can't tell them apart from your serious words."
"Oh my, are you trying to deprive this old man of his sole amusement? How cruel. The Count's flustered expressions are this old man's delight."
"You did it on purpose?!"
"The carriage is ready. Did you not say you'd go right away? Please, come downstairs."
Rememver bowed his back with exaggerated grace.
I couldn't very well bicker with an old man, so instead of pressing further, I grumbled internally and set off on foot.
Since this wasn't a formal outing and word of my return hadn't spread yet, the escort's numbers were modest.
Additionally, because I didn't favor lingering inside a carriage, it was a choice made to improve mobility.
Inside the swaying carriage, I lowered the stifling mask and leaned my back comfortably against the wall.
Maybe it was the quiet, but random thoughts kept bubbling up. Perhaps because I was on the way to meet the Emperor, stories about him surfaced in particular.
It wasn't exactly unpleasant.
Since I was seeing him after a long time, it was probably better to chew over my knowledge of him to avoid mistakes.
So, what came to mind when I thought of the Emperor?
'The Emperor... he's a complicated man.'
Where in the world is there anyone who isn't complicated, but with my poor vocabulary, this was the best way I could describe him.
A man arrogant yet equipped with the ability to back it up. A man possessed of not just strength but brains as well. Even greed, so much so that he schemed for his own advancement and spared no support in collecting talented individuals. And furthermore...
'A tyrant.'
He ascended to the throne through a coup.
Do you know what the former 9th Prince—the 'King'—uttered at his coronation ceremony, which began atop a carpet of his brothers' blood instead of a royal one?
[I ascended to this position through blood. Having done so, it would be laughable to continue using the kingdom's name as before. Thus, here and now, I declare that I shall change the kingdom's name.]
It was a statement that could never be taken lightly, delivered in place of a tedious speech.
He discarded the name of the kingdom that had been used until then and raised a new name.
It would have been one thing if it had been something like the 'Kingdom of Eduardo,' named after himself.
The name the new King bestowed upon his kingdom was—
[The Empire.]
[Forget the name of the kingdom that came before. This nation's name is 'the Empire.']
It was arrogance without equal.
'The Empire'—the very word itself was its name.
Naturally, the other kingdoms weren't going to simply stand by and watch.
An enormous backlash erupted.
Every kingdom on the continent rose to condemn him, and the 'King' of the 'Empire' completely ignored their responses—savage and ferocious as they were. No, he provoked them instead.
And so the war began.
The long, drawn-out 'Eight-Year War' that upended my entire life.
'Fuck, it really was hell.'
It was so horrific that half the memories from that time have flown away.
I had no desire to recover them, either. My mind was probably refusing to recall them.
When the Eight-Year War ended, the 'Empire'—which had been an empire in name only—had become a true 'Empire' that no one could dispute.
A genuine empire that had swallowed a third of the continent, ruled not by a 'king' but by an 'Emperor.'
'And then there's me.'
Recognized for my war merits, I became an honorary count.
Before I could even enjoy that status, I was promptly selected as a companion to the Hero—curses—and set out on the road immediately.
My thoughts continued, reaching the point where my nose had been pierced and led to the Demon Castle because of it, when the carriage suddenly lurched to a halt.
"What the......"
—Waaaaaah!
"...Battle cries?"
I hurriedly pulled on my mask and cracked the window open slightly. The escorts had their weapons drawn against some unfamiliar figures.
Clothing uniformly blue, and a single white bird drawn upon those clothes.
...It was the Revolutionary Army.
A rabble born from the actions committed by the Emperor after he conquered the various kingdoms during the Eight-Year War.
'Damned Emperor. It's good to leave no lingering troubles, but he should have at least kept some hostages.'
People of great influence, people with vast popular support, and of course, the bloodlines of royalty—even the collateral branches were hunted down to the last and slaughtered. How could those with nothing left to lose not emerge?
They'd lost their country, lost the people meant to be their rallying point. These people, quite literally, had gone blind with madness.
Things being as they were, they'd begun rampaging, hell-bent on eliminating the Emperor and all the upper echelons to create a world where everyone was equal.
'Personally, I don't care what ideology those bastards hold, but... becoming their victim isn't exactly appealing.'
And their scale was considerable.
It was only natural, given that the people who should have risen under their respective royal families (rallying points) had united under the single name of the Revolutionary Army.
Perhaps sensing that I'd opened the window, the coachman swung his dagger and shouted,
"It's an ambush! Close the window!"
Shouldn't he normally be shouting 'Help me!'? What was I, some noble lady? Granted, despite my appearance, I was someone who'd rolled around battlefields...
Of course, having no real desire to insert myself into that mess, I obligingly closed the window and sat back down. Something—perhaps an arrow—thudded against the carriage with a sound of impact.
'This seems a bit dangerous. Shouldn't I be fighting too?'
Gripped by unease, I clutched the emergency dagger I'd brought and was seriously considering whether I had to go out, when at some point, a "kuhk—" sound came from the coachman's seat. It was such a familiar noise that identifying it was easy.
'He's dead.'
A chill ran down my spine. Simultaneously, a crunching, tearing sound began coming from the carriage door.
Like something was breaking......
CRASH!!
"Crazy, it really broke."
And not just broken. The carriage door had been completely ripped off.
Beyond where the door used to be, I could see the escorts fighting desperately. Just how many enemies were there? Every single one of them was swinging their swords like mad, not a shred of composure on their faces.
'Great, everything's just great... but I'm about to die here, you bastards...'
A massive frame was squarely blocking my sole escape route.
From the scars on his face alone, he was vicious-looking, and as if intending to intimidate his opponent outright, the brute held a giant axe in one hand.
Just looking at him made my knees tremble.
The creature—so monstrous in appearance it was indistinguishable whether he was a monster or a human—was looking straight at me, his eyes gleaming.
"So it's you. The Emperor's dog."
"Ah, no, I'm not."
"......"
"......"
Silence flowed.
"...Excuse me, but your name?"
"Deon Hart."
"That's right, the Emperor's dog!"
"No, I'm really......"
It seemed his target was indeed me, but the Emperor's dog? Seriously, I wasn't.
But before I could even open my mouth, the brute saw my white hair and red eyes and nodded to himself, muttering.
"No doubt about it. You look scrawny as hell."
"Scraw......"
Scrawny. Weren't you just unnecessarily huge?
Of course, I didn't voice that out loud.
I didn't have the guts for it, and besides, the bastard had reached out his huge hand and grabbed my throat.
"Keuhk! Kk......"
"I was tense because I heard you were a hero, but to think you were this wretched a creature. How disappointing."
"You... crazy... bastard......"
"Seems your mouth's still alive, at least. Cursing in this situation is almost commendable."
What had I even done?
"How the hell did you become a hero? The Emperor's not one to pour his sincerity into a nobody."
I was running out of air. To make matters worse, this godforsaken body of mine was spiking my heart rate, demanding oxygen immediately.
In desperation, I tried to drive the dagger in my hand down into his arm, but a clumsy swing while short on breath had no chance of gaining any speed.
Instead, it struck the axe he'd lightly swung and was batted right out of my grip. Damn it!
'If only it had been outside the carriage...'
There would have been more space to dodge; I wouldn't have been caught so easily.
I shoved that thought to a corner of my mind.
Pointless 'what-if' assumptions could wait. Right now, I had to focus on breaking free.
'Damn, my breath...'
These blasted escorts were all too busy dealing with the enemies swarming in ceaseless waves.
'I have to... do something...'
My head was screaming that I needed to stay calm, but my body moved on its own, thrashing wildly, defying my will.
As if begging to live, I clutched his solid forearm—which was clamped around my throat—with my two trembling, quivering hands, scratching and clawing at it.
In the process, the gloves slipped from my hands and the bandages carefully wound around them unraveled, revealing pale skin.
I heard the brute scoff as he saw my hands, thin and gaunt.
"Direct your resentment at the Emperor. If it weren't for him, you wouldn't have ended up like this."
Sure, he had a point. If it weren't for the current Emperor, the Revolutionary Army would never have come into existence.
...But how?
'How did he know... that I'd returned?'
Before such a question could fully seize my mind, my consciousness began to haze over.
His brutish grip was choking me. Honestly, the fact that I'd managed to keep my wits about me this long was more impressive.
If I had my way, I'd like to give myself a pat on the back, but I knew that passing out now meant death......
'Th-that son of a bitch, he's picking up the axe right now, isn't he?!'
My eyes snapped wide open.
I absolutely could not lose consciousness! The moment I let go, I'd die. I'd definitely die!
But against my will, my vision kept blurring over, damn it all.
The strength drained from my trembling hands, and in the end, just as the brute hefted his massive axe, my memory cut off entirely.