Chapter 94: Deceive and Be Deceived, Use and Overcome (2)
Chapter 94: Deceive and Be Deceived, Use and Overcome (2)
"At the time, the situation was such that the 1st Prince, the legitimate eldest son, was all but confirmed as Crown Prince. So, what do you suppose would have happened if he were killed?"
"......The other princes and princesses would have scrambled to fill the vacancy."
"Yes, and that is precisely what occurred. I intended to select a suitable puppet among them and seat him on the throne, but...."
A blatant laugh rang out.
The Duke, who had been casting his eyes downward as if reminiscing about the past, paused and raised his gaze. The Emperor was looking down at him with a sneer.
"Ridiculous. Did you truly believe the affairs of the world would unfold as easily as you wished?"
"......Indeed. It was my arrogance."
He stared blankly at the proof of that arrogance, Edoardo Desert, before a smile touched his lips.
"Who could have possibly imagined that the unremarkable 9th Prince would rise to prominence?"
To be precise, he had gone on a mad rampage.
The 9th Prince, Edoardo, believing the death of the 1st Prince was due to the succession struggle, slaughtered all of his siblings who had coveted the throne and ascended to the position himself.
There was no mercy. He even killed their children, eradicating the seeds of rebellion.
The Duke had silently watched this entire situation unfold.
From Edoardo ascending the throne, renaming the kingdom the 'Empire,' and acknowledging the 1st Prince's children as the Crown Prince and Princess — everything.
And then he had laughed. Asking who was supposed to protect whom.
"......Strange. Why is it that you are so deliberately provocative today, Duke?"
The Emperor raised a hand to pinch the bridge of his nose, as if a headache was coming on.
"Bringing up the 1st Prince so casually, admitting to the murder charges you've persistently denied, and even revealing your filthy greed."
"......."
"What in the world are you scheming?"
He was already exhausted, and he didn't understand why the Duke had to come and scratch mercilessly at his insides.
Old memories, buried by a busy life, resurfaced, and the Emperor quietly tightened his grip on the armrest.
[I'll be back. It won't take long.]
[Please look after Elpidius and Letheia while I'm gone.]
If he had known those would be his last words, he would never have let him go.
When he sensed the foreboding, he should have stopped him.
When he heard the news of his death, he should have investigated instead of reaching for his sword.
No matter how repulsive his siblings were for coveting his vacant position, he should not have so easily aimed his blade at them.
He should not have been so easily swayed by the rather credible rumor that his other siblings had killed him to seize the throne.
'Ah.'
His head ached.
A specter was shoving its face right before him, giggling. It descended, circled around the Duke once, and then superimposed itself over his face.
He wanted to draw his sword and cut that throat down right then and there, but instead of rashly bursting with emotion, the Emperor gritted his teeth.
He could not make the same mistake as last time.
"The assassination of the 1st Prince, the fact that Deon Hart participated in the Eight-Year War instead of Cruel Hart, the Church of Salvation."
"......."
"You have always been behind every incident. Since you wouldn't spout nonsense, my wariness is immediately piqued, wondering what scheme you're plotting this time."
"That is only natural. Though, even if you ponder it, you won't be able to figure it out right away."
The Emperor raised his head. He wore a rare expression of surprise.
By saying that, the Duke had just acknowledged two facts.
That he was involved in all the incidents the Emperor mentioned, and that he was indeed scheming something again this time.
Among those, there was a story that, if Deon Hart had heard it, would have turned the world upside down.
[That the Duke was the mastermind behind Deon Hart's participation in the Eight-Year War instead of Cruel Hart.]
During the Eight-Year War, it had originally been decided that Cruel Hart would participate on behalf of the Hart family. It would have certainly been so if the documents hadn't been switched midway.
The Emperor, too, had only learned that the documents were switched after the war ended, during the discussion of rewards and merits.
To be precise, he had learned of it when Deon Hart wished for the extermination of his family — he felt something was amiss and investigated.
──That the documents were switched, forcing Deon Hart into the war, that the Hart family had submitted several requests for correction to the Imperial Palace early on, and that all those documents had gone missing along the way.
He himself, who knew all the truth, yet pretended not to, kept his mouth shut, turned a blind eye, and granted Deon Hart's request, was trash, but....
The Emperor glared at the larger, more viscous trash before him.
"Are you admitting to all of that now? It would warrant a death sentence at the very least; you truly seem to have lost your mind, Duke."
Setting aside the fact that he killed the 1st Prince, even just admitting to being involved in all the other major incidents were grave sins, each and every one.
At the voice thick with murderous intent, menace, wariness, and poorly concealed disbelief, the Duke grinned.
"I've told you before, haven't I? Your Majesty cannot kill me."
With an exaggerated gesture, he looked around, reminding the Emperor that he had dismissed everyone.
"There are no witnesses, no evidence. Do you require further explanation?"
"......."
The 1st Prince's assassination was already a closed case and couldn't be touched recklessly. The missing documents regarding Deon Hart's participation in the Eight-Year War wouldn't deal a significant blow to him unless there was proof that the documents were directly siphoned from the Imperial Palace. The Duke had merely tampered with a Count's family, and that Count's family had now lost its power — who could say anything about it now?
Furthermore, as there was no clear evidence linking the Duke to the Church of Salvation, the Emperor had no justification to strike the Duke down.
"Of course, even without evidence, Your Majesty could personally put an end to a single life like mine. However, you wouldn't want to do that. If you kill me without any justification, my honor would remain intact, and Your Majesty would become a narrow-minded tyrant who killed out of fear of the Duke's power, or simply because he found me irksome."
"You certainly... have a loose tongue."
The armrest made of gold finally buckled.
The Emperor slowly leaned forward, looked down at the Duke, and smiled, baring his teeth.
"How long do you think you can live, constantly destroying and hiding all the evidence?"
—Yes,
"Try holding out until the end. The moment a crack appears will be the day of your execution."
And it will be the day everything you have built is cast into the abyss.
The meaning of life, which had been growing fainter by the moment, sharpened once more.
The purpose of his life was etched in strongly, and a sliver of attachment bloomed in this life that had once seemed ready to end at any moment.
Until the moment he could tear down and horribly kill everything that the Duke, Stave Illustar, had built.
The Emperor resolved that he would not die.
* * *
Daniel, who had no way of knowing what was happening in his absence, stopped before the closed door and examined his attire.
Thankfully, because he had changed his clothes first, the tattered appearance he'd had when he first returned was nowhere to be found. The wounds he'd sustained in the battle there were concealed under neat clothes, and the faint lingering scent of blood was masked by cologne.
Perfect.
He briefly grimaced as the memory of the fierce battle against the Murderous Demon Knight Order waiting in Ireon surfaced, but Daniel quickly composed his expression.
He couldn't show an unsightly face before his mother.
-Knock, knock.
"Mother. It's Daniel."
"Come in."
As he opened the door and entered, the first thing that caught his eye was the woman smiling and extending her hand.
It was likely a gesture of welcome, but Daniel strode over, knelt on one knee before her, respectfully took her hand, bowed his head, and touched it to his forehead.
Instead of withdrawing her hand, the woman raised her other hand and gently stroked his head. A soft voice flowed like water.
"Are you hurt anywhere?"
"Yes, I've returned safely."
"You've put on cologne."
"Yes."
"It seems you didn't usually wear cologne before."
"I tried using it this once. Do you like it?"
"Son."
"......."
Daniel flinched and raised his head.
Taking advantage of the opening, the woman naturally withdrew her hand, then cupped his cheek in the same motion, prompting him to lift his head. Eyes that closely resembled each other met in the empty air.
The woman neither probed the weakness in his words further nor reprimanded him.
She simply gazed at him quietly.
After a brief yet long silence, in the end, Daniel was the one to lower his head first.
"......There was a clash with the Murderous Demon Knight Order in Ireon. I sustained minor injuries in the process, but the wounds were not severe, so I thought it wasn't worth mentioning to you, Mother. I'm sorry."
"I see. What right do I have to scold my son?"
"No, that's not...!"
His objection to her sigh-laced words was cut short.
At the sensation of the cozy fabric wrapping around his neck, Daniel blankly raised his gaze. The woman who had placed the completed scarf around his neck was smiling faintly.
"Winter is almost over, but I thought it would be better to give it to you now that it's finished."
"......This is...."
"Whatever my son does, wherever he goes, this mother will not say a word. I have no right to, after all. However, if I may say one thing, under the pretext of a request...."
As if heralding spring's arrival, a warm voice that melted the snow settled in his ear.
"Take care not to catch a cold, son."
Don't get hurt out there, don't get sick, and most of all, don't die.
Take care of yourself, son.
This mother still treasures the gift her son gave her.
* * *
"Are you truly going right away?"
"Yes."
"Without even changing your clothes."
"The Duke is plotting something again. The fact that he came to me so brazenly to speak means that, even if I investigate now, it's likely too late to act. So it would be better to hurry before the incident erupts."
He could change his clothes upon arrival.
Still wearing the cumbersome attire, the Emperor strode across the corridor with wide steps. The Chancellor, following behind him, spoke up, sounding endlessly worried.
"Your escort...."
"They'll just get in the way, so no."
"You're traveling in cumbersome attire, without an escort. And is not your destination a war zone? Are you truly in your right mind?"
"Who knows. It would be nice if I just dropped dead doing so."
"Your Majesty!"
"It's a joke. What will we do if even you, the Chancellor, can't distinguish between sincerity and jest?"
At the voice clearly laced with laughter, an open sigh escaped. The Emperor glanced sideways at the Chancellor, then returned his gaze forward and muttered as if talking to himself.
The lips that had held a faint smile were set hard again, as if they had never been.
"What is a mere king's position, anyway? There was something my siblings used to say as they flattered Father to curry favor. I still remember it."
"......."
"One older sister said she wanted to make the kingdom prosperous, and an older brother said he wanted to make it a kingdom no other kingdom could ignore — an empire, in other words. I don't remember who it was, but there was also a sibling who harbored the grand ambition of unifying the continent."
"......."
"It's truly fortunate they had so much greed. Thanks to that, I'm kept this busy, aren't I?"
A dry laugh echoed through the corridor.
Leaving the laughter in the corridor, the Emperor, who had just exited the building, walked without stopping, striding purposefully across the well-kept grass. His voice continued.
"I intend to burn fiercely until the very end. So you needn't worry about a hollow death like suicide."
Unless it was an unavoidable death beyond his power, he, who had so much to do and so many responsibilities to bear, would absolutely never take his own life. Especially since, at this very moment, he didn't even feel like dying, thanks to someone.
Having arrived at the stables before he knew it, the Emperor, stroking the bridge of his horse's nose, suddenly let out an 'Ah' of exclamation.
"Thanks to this, I've remembered something I'd forgotten. I should have mentioned it long ago."
"......?"
"I place no value whatsoever on a body once the soul has departed. So, if I die...."
"Your Majesty."
Sensing something ominous, the Chancellor hastily called out to him.
He wanted to stop his words. Even more so because he felt he knew what the following words would be.
But the Chancellor's call did nothing to halt the Emperor's speech.
"I would prefer that there be no wasteful squandering of troops just to retrieve a mere lump of meat."
"Your Majesty!"