Chapter 50: Omen (5)
Chapter 50: Omen (5)
"Then I shall take my leave now, Your Highnesses."
"Very well."
'No, why are you having a conversation without me? What about my opinion?'
Even the Duke casually slipped away.
"I should be off as well. Excuse me."
'This really makes it seem like the situation is over.'
'No, it really ended.'
The Duke and Cruel disappeared, and the Crown Prince and Princess waved their hands at me, telling me to be on my way.
General Nemeseus also gestured with his chin for me to hurry along, then personally grabbed the man by the scruff of the neck, scooped up the scattered documents on the floor, and began to lead the way.
And the court physician, who had been hesitating and watching the mood.......
"I will send a tonic to your residence later, so please do not forget to take it."
"......?"
"So please, stay healthy. Please."
For some reason, in a determined whisper that was almost desperate, he then quickly retreated.
I, who hadn't been able to adapt to the situation and had been standing there blankly, glanced over at the General.
He was striding along with the air of someone who would beat me to death if I didn't follow.
'The bathroom.......'
Judging by the atmosphere, it didn't seem likely.
In the end, I had no choice but to hesitantly follow behind.
***
As soon as the carriage heading from the Imperial Palace to the Duke's residence set off, the Duke who had boarded it took something out from his bosom.
One of the documents that the attendant had dropped earlier.
On the white paper, a detailed budget proposal for waging war was densely written.
As if realizing what the paper was, Cruel's gaze turned toward him, but the Duke did not mind.
Without paying it any mind at all, he scanned the document's contents, then let out a short laugh, folded it, and tucked it back into his bosom.
In his mind, the conversation from earlier when he had had an audience with the Emperor was replaying.
"You said you wouldn't wage war right away, yet here you've even prepared a budget proposal."
"You're a poor liar."
An unmistakable sneer surfaced on the Duke's face.
'Now that things have come to this, shall I lend a hand?'
'The Demon Realm must be your greatest concern, Your Majesty.'
'At least until Your Majesty seizes half the continent, they will stay quiet.'
The Duke lightly brushed the area near his heart.
And Cruel silently watched him.
***
"You look unwell. Are you hurt somewhere?"
"No."
"But you're breaking out in a cold sweat right now."
"It's nothing."
'There was no way I could say it's because I haven't been able to go to the bathroom. Even if it kills me with embarrassment, I can't say it.'
I forcibly composed my expression and straightened my back.
The Emperor, seated in the chair across the table, narrowed his eyes and scrutinized me as if trying to gauge my condition.
As I sat there pretending even harder to be perfectly fine, he gave a short laugh and leaned back in his chair.
"If you say so, then it must be true. I say this out of concern, but do not hide it when you are unwell. You are one of the Empire's vital assets."
"I will keep that in mind."
"Then I will ask again."
"......."
"I heard you captured a spy. Are you all right?"
Beneath his lazy, relaxed expression, his golden eyes like a predator's gleamed sharply as if probing.
Unable to meet that gaze head-on, I averted my eyes slightly and answered.
"I'm fine."
'I'm really fine. I got grazed by his blade, but it was literally just a graze. The cold sweat and pallor are only because somewhere inside feels like it's about to burst from being so full.'
'If he's really worried, he could give me a moment to rest. Then I'd truly be fine.'
I was completely sincere, but the Emperor's brow furrowed, perhaps due to how he took my words.
He was silent for a moment, then, with a barely perceptible upward turn of the corners of his mouth, spoke again.
"...Very well. Then I shall ask something else. What brings you here?"
"Regarding Hart Territory......"
"If you intend to return it or request something similar, I shall refuse in advance. Ah, and the same goes for anything concerning the Lofty Knight Order."
"...Then, about resigning from my duties."
"That also cannot be allowed."
'I expected refusal, but to be refused before I even brought it up...'
'If I could, I'd grab him by the collar and shout, "I'm giving it to you, so why won't you take it?!" Of course, if I did that, my neck wouldn't stay on my body.'
Just as I was about to fall into worry about what to do, the Emperor's voice, tinged with laughter, came again.
"However, if you grant my request, I shall grant you one wish. Why not ask again at that time?"
'The Emperor's request... It makes me uneasy.'
But since there was no other way to persuade him, I slowly nodded.
The Emperor then asked, with an ambiguous expression, as if sounding me out.
"Since Cruel Hart has also been entrusted with the same task, if you join as well, I will have to grant the wish of whoever accomplishes it first. Will you still do it?"
"...I will."
'Grant Cruel's wish? That is absolutely unacceptable. Who knows what wish he'll make.'
'He might make a wish that puts me at a disadvantage.'
'If it were an ordinary noble, maybe not, but Cruel is a Hero like me.'
'The likelihood that the Emperor would grant my request over the legitimate demand of such an excellent "talent" like him was infinitely small.'
And so I spoke to him with a resolute attitude.
"What must I do?"
A faint smile crept onto the lips of the Emperor, who had been watching me expressionlessly as if probing.
He took a document from Nemeseus and slid it before me.
When I naturally turned my eyes to the paper, a word that seemed to be a title written at the top caught my eye.
[Salvation Church]
"...Salvation Church?"
"Yes, the Salvation Church. It is a pseudo-religion that has been running rampant in the slums lately. You need to sweep them out."
'Sweeping out a pseudo-religion.'
Faced with a type of mission I had never received before in my life, I ended up going blank.
***
Deon Hart withdrew with a pensive face as if already mulling over how to handle it, and the Emperor, who had been rereading the document in his seat, raised his eyes to look at Nemeseus.
Rarely, a negative emotion was visible on his face.
The Emperor put down the document he was holding and, as if speaking in passing, said.
"Still dissatisfied?"
"I am against it."
It was an immediate reply.
At the reply filled with firm will, the Emperor pressed his brow.
Nemeseus disliked Deon Hart. No, he was overly wary of him.
The Emperor said in a tired tone.
"Still, is he not better than Cruel Hart? He is the Duke's subordinate, after all."
[I understand Your Majesty has been suffering from a headache lately due to fanatics. As it happens, Lord Cruel has said he would gladly forgo his rest period and step forward if it is for Your Majesty. Even for the sake of the war, should we not sweep away the fanatics?]
[...I overstepped. I still have no intention of starting a war.]
[Dear me, it seems I was mistaken. My apologies.]
The Emperor slightly scowled as he recalled the Duke, who had so shamelessly thrust forward his subordinate.
It was obvious what the Duke was aiming for.
A Hero backed by the Duke would easily deal with the fanatics. Since they were something that had even given the 'Emperor' a headache, from his position as Emperor, he would have to repay the favor without fail.
And when demanding that 'repayment,' the Duke's influence would be strong enough to make it 'without fail.' No doubt, the demand would benefit the Duke himself.
He had originally planned to draw in Deon Hart, but this only solidified his conviction.
He was undoubtedly on the side of the 'Emperor's Faction,' or more precisely, on the side of 'Edoardo Desert.' His abilities were outstanding, leaving no worry that he would lose in a competition against Cruel, and because his opponent was Cruel, his motivation would overflow.
He was truly an ideal card to play.
But Nemeseus...
"I consider them all the same."
"......."
"He is dangerous."
Nemeseus was resolute.
As if determined to persuade the Emperor this time no matter what, he looked straight at the Emperor with a firm light in his eyes, daring to do so.
It was clearly impertinent behavior, but the Emperor did not rebuke him.
Because it was not an insolent gaze.
He was 'appealing' for him to listen so earnestly; how could he rebuke him?
A voice that sounded urgent, as if being chased, continued.
"Do you know what he did during the Eight-Year War?"
"I heard he displayed cruel handiwork, such as hacking up enemies. Is that the reason?"
"No. That was probably his own method of survival, and a strategy. So that is not important."
A small boy who stood out even more because of his white hair and red eyes.
It was the first time a noble-born child had enlisted as a common soldier, and since the boy was under his command, his gaze was naturally drawn to him.
The ridiculously weak child, as expected, was not accustomed to killing people.
Even ordinary people suffer long aftereffects from their first kill. But on a battlefield that ran without pause, there was no way he would be given time to collect himself.
Thus, even grown men struggled; what then of a child who chose 'cruelty' as his means of survival?
A young child's mind is much weaker than an adult's.
Such a child had to create corpses with his own hands, something that was even painful to witness with his own eyes.
Clutching a dagger that looked too heavy for his small hands, he had to stab people and feel the sensation.
He had to be stained by madness, then escape it, again and again.
"That boy......"
He must have felt like he was going insane.
He must have felt the limits of keeping his sanity approaching.
While maintaining cruelty, being consumed by madness, and tormented by surging guilt—
...He had to keep his sanity.
Do you know what method the child chose in that situation?
'You... are you okay?'
'Huh? What do you mean?'
'Well....'
'Ah, if you mean injuries, I'm fine. They weren't that severe, you see.'
'No, not that. In the battle just now...!'
'General.'
'.......'
'I do not know what you are talking about.'
Nemeseus could not hide his trembling eyes.
"That boy split his own personality apart, I tell you!"
The child, who had been shaking and holding onto his wavering sanity in confusion, as if having made some resolution, went into his tent with alcohol and drugs and holed himself up for three straight days.
And thus, he created two personalities.
No, calling them personalities was ambiguous. It would be more accurate to call them 'natures.'
Because calling something that remembers everything and can switch at will 'two personalities' would be a stretch.
The child gave himself two natures.
A 'mad nature' that thoroughly focused only on battle and survival, gone insane with blood,
And a 'normal nature' that remembered only ordinary battles and his usual, ordinary self.
"In other words, he even cast aside the guilt he should have borne!"
When you tried to bring up the things he had done while in his 'mad nature' to the child who was presenting his 'normal nature,' he would pretend not to know and change the subject.
He knew. He knew what he had done.
He was just pretending not to know under the name of 'rationalization.'
Denying and turning away from what he had done.
"What do you think will happen when the mind of such a guy collapses?"
He had even found the guilt he should bear so heavy that he abandoned it in such an extreme way.
So his mental strength must be less than a sandcastle. It was obvious that merely forcing him to face reality would make him crumble in an instant.
If you keep appointing such a man to important tasks, and his mind collapses, what will happen then?
But the Emperor, unlike someone who had just heard such a grave matter with his own ears, was calm.
Having leisurely crossed his legs and listened to the end of Nemeseus's words, the first thing he uttered was the kind of remark that sounded like it belonged to another world, terribly composed.
"What of it?"
Uncrossing his legs, he leaned forward.
Facing Nemeseus's face, now closer, the Emperor drew a cold smile over his expressionless visage and said.
"It is something I am aware of as well."