Chapter 68: Malice (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 68: Malice (1)
Sparks flew from the fireplace. A high-pitched groan was swallowed by the crackling heat.
"Nnggh! Ghk!"
When the Queen saw me, her entire body trembled. Perhaps because of the gag, only suffocated groans leaked out instead of words. The Emperor lightly tapped the tip of her nose with his index finger—as if handling a pet.
"Shh, my lady. We have a guest."
The Queen's groans faded.
She seemed unable to even catch her breath properly.
"You must maintain your dignity as a member of the imperial family."
The Emperor's eyes as he chided the Queen were dull and lifeless. The only thing alive about him was the smile curling at the corners of his lips.
Episode. Malice.
When the Queen showed no sign of calming down, the Emperor held a skewer to the torch, heating it up. The metal turned red-hot. The Queen's face turned deathly pale.
What followed was...
Smoke billowed up to the ceiling from her thigh.
The Queen's head thrashed violently. Her entire body convulsed as if strapped to an electric chair. The pain of burning flesh was the absolute worst agony a human could experience.
"Mmph!Mmmph!"
Oscar, the Royal Guard Captain, looked as tormented as if he were the one being tortured himself.
...What on earth is going on here?
I felt a slight sense of detachment from reality.
And understandably so. A single narrow threshold separated comfort from torture.
Calm down, Kang Geomma. Assessing the situation is the top priority.
'The Emperor knew who the mastermind was.'
Up to this point was within the realm of my expectations.
'But to think Oscar and the Queen were involved in that kind of relationship...'
'Ah.'
At the exact moment I sighed inwardly,
"It seems you've figured it out."
The Emperor set down the cooling skewer.
"It's a cliché story. My young wife became pregnant with Oscar's child. Naturally, that sparked an ambition she previously lacked—for the throne."
The reason behind Oscar's persistent attacks on me finally came to light. Why he stood up to me despite knowing he would lose, brushing aside his subordinates' dissuasions.
Alright, let's piece this together. Oscar's primary goal was to raise vigilance against me, but his plan was derailed by the appearance of Shail and Choi Seol-ah.
Because of those two eye-catching uninvited guests, the Royal Guard members unintentionally grew excited, which likely reignited Oscar's suppressed competitive spirit as well.
'Once things reached that point, he needed to leave at least a scratch on me.'
Oscar had done his absolute best to achieve that. That was as far as my thoughts had gone before.
'If he was emotionally entangled with the mastermind, then it all makes sense.'
He had become foolish in the face of love.
'Of all people, he had to get involved with the Emperor's woman.'
The terrifying part was that the Emperor knew all along and turned a blind eye.
Why?
I didn't want to know.
The Emperor wasn't sane. He was a lunatic.
"My, was this uncomfortable to watch?"
A smile hung on his lips. It was chilling.
"...I think an explanation is in order."
"You ask even though you already know."
As the Queen dropped her head heavily, the Emperor fixed his gaze firmly on me.
"It seems I had a misconception about you. I thought a man like you wouldn't bat an eye at a scene like this. But, hm. Judging by your reaction, you don't seem particularly fond of it."
"Don't ask if you already know."
I responded abrasively. This was hardly a situation to show courtesy to the Emperor. He didn't pick a fight over my attitude, either.
"Heavenly Sword, I thought someone like you would appreciate this, but it seems I've only damaged my standing in your eyes instead. This was my own way of trying to win your favor."
"Don't do things out of character. It's disgusting. Who would enjoy being invited over just to be shown a torture show? If you want to make up for your ruined reputation right now, put down that skewer first."
"Haha, well now. Just a while ago, I was thinking it was the first time in my life I'd ever been threatened."
The Emperor wiped the cooled skewer with a blood-stained handkerchief.
In response, I unsheathed my Sashimi by a span. The Emperor backed up against the wall and spread his hands to show he was harmless.
A look of relief washed over Oscar's eyes. Then he suddenly checked on the Queen, but she remained motionless with her head hung low. She was still alive. The steam rising from her thigh fluttered with her breathing.
"To be threatened twice by the same man. Should I thank you, Heavenly Sword, for giving me so many novel experiences?"
"First, step away."
"As you wish. But keep this in mind. These are the people who tried to poison Victoria, whom you are trying to protect. If I dispose of them, there will be no noise whatsoever."
The Emperor glanced at the man and woman before making a bold declaration to me.
"On the other hand, if you step in..., well, you know best, so I won't say more."
I could vividly picture the nobles rising up in outrage. And not just them—even those who were favorable to me might look at me differently.
So, in this very moment...
The Emperor had driven me into an inescapable trap.
'Why on earth is he doing this?'
The most plausible reason was...
'He wants to tell me.'
That I'm the exact same kind of person as he is.
As I reached that conclusion, a sudden surge of anger washed over me. What drove me crazy was that I couldn't entirely refute his logic. Because I felt like I roughly understood what kind of bastard this Emperor was.
'Dammit.'
Curses drummed against the back of my front teeth. Only after swallowing them down my throat did I open my mouth.
"...You just want to hear those words from my mouth, don't you? 'Hurry up and kill those two wretched bastards.'"
"That is merely your assumption, Heavenly Sword. They were my hands and feet. Like it or not, cutting them off causes bleeding. This young lady is also the daughter of quite a prestigious noble house. If I handle them with my own hands, I'll be put in a difficult position as well."
I calmed my agitation slightly.
Dousing my mind with cold water, I spat back out with formal politeness:
"The one who created this difficult situation is you, Emperor. To be entirely honest, I doubt something like this would even trouble you—since you are the 'Emperor of the British Empire.'"
"Haha. You're not very skilled at hiding barbed thorns in your words, Heavenly Sword. You certainly wouldn't make a good politician."
"I'm making it obvious on purpose. And I have zero intention of going into politics. Lest I become a person like you, Emperor."
I had no interest to begin with, but now I could say it with pride.
I didn't want to be involved with someone like the Emperor. To achieve that, I needed to stay as far away from the pinnacle of power as possible.
Listening quietly, the Emperor lowered his hands.
He grabbed the Queen's jaw and turned her face toward me. One swollen eyelid drooped down, covering her eye.
Bound to the rack alongside her, Oscar's eyes grew moist. A pair of damn wretches. The ones who had tried to harm my disciple. Yet, despite that, their expressions dripped with heartbreaking sorrow.
"People often share a common misconception—that I, the Emperor, wield absolute, unrestricted power. It isn't entirely wrong, but I cannot wholly agree either. Even I must read the room. Especially when it comes to the founding contributors of the British Empire, like this Queen's house."
The Emperor loosened his grip. The Queen slumped back down like a sinner once more.
Flicker.
The torchlight swayed in rhythm with the Emperor's short steps. In the next moment, a shadow fell over Oscar's face.
Oscar didn't even dare to meet the eyes of the Emperor standing right in front of him. At a glance, the Emperor's combat prowess was abysmal.
And yet, a Warrior-rank hero could do nothing more than drench his gag in saliva.
Now that I thought about it, for a Warrior-rank, breaking those rusty chains would take nothing more than a slight flex of strength to crush them into dust.
Which meant that this miserable state was a choice born of Oscar's own will. At least, that was how I interpreted it. The Emperor lowered himself to meet Oscar's gaze.
"Look at me, Oscar."
"..."
"My good friend. As the Royal Guard Captain, you should have hidden your emotions well. Didn't you receive special training for that?"
"I trusted you. I believed in you constantly."
"..."
"I have watched over you ever since you entered the palace. You blossomed your talent just as I expected. I felt my investment paid off. That is why, from early on, I turned a blind eye even when you engaged in carnal affairs with the Queen."
"...!"
The Emperor gave a bitter smile.
"Did you think I wouldn't know?"
Oscar looked as if he were about to sink into utter ruin. It was the face of a man who had abandoned something crucial in his life.
He must have thought it was a secret tryst.
But everything had been within the palm of the Emperor's hand. Physical bindings? Oscar was bound by the invisible shackles known as the Emperor. Probably ever since he stepped foot into the palace...
'A life no different from livestock.'
Get a grip.
Kang Geomma, are you really in any position to pity someone else?!
'I can't afford to have such soft-hearted sentimentality.'
Whether he knew my inner thoughts or not, the Emperor offered a faint smile to Oscar.
"Isn't it funny, Oscar? You tried to assassinate my daughter. I'm not just saying this because the Heavenly Sword is here, but even I didn't know about that."
I simply watched in silence.
Unless the Emperor was completely deaf to reason, he must have understood what I meant.
'I have no intention of ignoring the imperial family's shame.'
The Emperor is selfish and unpredictable. I have no desire to be in cahoots with him. Therefore, I won't 'dispose' of the Queen and Oscar here and now.
"However, I don't wish to scold you for it. Because she must overcome even trials like that if she is to inherit the throne. It could be considered merely a minor ordeal. To be honest, Victoria isn't particularly precious to me. As you know, I have quite a lot of children."
Grant me a wish?
I refuse to accept a wish from a bastard who treats his own child as less than a replaceable part.
I will take what I must take. The terms of the deal we struck remain valid. I will oppose the Emperor ideologically—not through crude, mindless violence, but through my future 'actions.'
"By the way... Victoria seems to possess far greater value than I thought. To think the Heavenly Sword would end up doting on her and protecting her. That alone gives Victoria more than enough value."
The Emperor spoke as he lightly patted Oscar's chapped cheek.
"You almost snatched that value right out of my hands... but it seems our merciful Heavenly Sword is reluctant to dispose of you on the spot, isn't he?"
His gaze, which had been piercing through Oscar, finally detached.
Clang.
As the Emperor operated a button, the iron shackles binding the Queen and Oscar unlocked. The strap of the gag snapped off, allowing Oscar to gasp out his trapped breath.
It was then.
"Armin!"
The Queen's upper body fell forward. Oscar hastily supported her chest.
"You two will be brought before the empire's tribunal."
"A-Ar... Armin..."
The Emperor turned away heartlessly. Oscar wept while embracing the Queen.
"I'm... I'm so sorry. For dragging you into this because of my ambition."
"...It will be an international disgrace. However, the Emperor's dignity cannot fall any further than this. For the time being, recuperate in the spire and regain your health. You two are perpetrators, not victims. You must appear in court looking the part."
"Sob"
"There is a more than eighty percent chance you will be sentenced to hanging. Still, since you were a soldier I cherished, I shall at least ask the judges for beheading instead."
His voice was as dry and hollow as rehearsed lines.
Leaving the two behind, the Emperor prepared to pass by me. In the fleeting moment as our sleeves brushed against each other, the Emperor scanned me up and down.
"Heavenly Sword, isn't this a novel experience for you?"
"..."
"To have brought me to submission without even drawing your blade."
His voice seemed coated in a thin layer of ice.
"Truly... you are a terrifying man."
Ah, how long had it been since I last heard such a warning?
It stung my heart even more than the furious roar of Ragnarok, the Old Knight of the Apocalypse.
A thunderbolt of realization struck my mind, clarifying why I repelled the Emperor so strongly.
The Emperor stood at the exact opposite pole of where I stood.
The bottomless malice of mankind...