2. Omen (2)
2. Omen (2)
I couldn't understand what he meant.
No, actually, I did understand.
I understood every word perfectly.
It's just that I hadn't accepted it yet.
So I went back and carefully reconsidered from the beginning.
Princess?
Currently, the Leopold Empire only had His Majesty the Emperor, my father, my older brother, and myself.
Her Majesty the Empress passed away from illness when I was young.
So naturally, there couldn't possibly be a sister who could be called a princess.
But what exactly did His Majesty the Emperor just say to me?
Asking if I could become a princess.
Does he mean I should live like a princess?
Like, disguise my appearance and live that way, or abandon my position as prince and die socially.
As I was seriously agonizing over this, His Majesty the Emperor continued speaking.
"I will explain. However, this matter must remain an absolute secret known only to you, me, and the Night Knights Captain here."
"········Understood."
"····And...,"
"·····?"
Suddenly, His Majesty the Emperor couldn't continue speaking.
Then he looked at me with extremely sad eyes and spoke.
I could tell from his next words why His Majesty the Emperor was looking at me with such sad eyes.
"·····However, you who have heard this conversation·····, have no right to refuse."
"··········."
Was it catastrophic?
The moment I heard His Majesty the Emperor's words, I realized.
Ah.
So that's why it's an absolute secret.
Because if I don't agree, I must die.
It seems even being part of the Imperial Family makes no difference.
So that's why His Majesty the Emperor had such sad eyes.
Honestly, I hated it.
I didn't want to die, and I didn't want to live as a princess.
After living well as a prince until now, to suddenly be told "become a princess or die."
If this was going to happen, wouldn't it have been better if he hadn't summoned me at all?
Naturally, it was hard to accept.
Because of that, I hated my father.
Not His Majesty the Emperor, but my father.
Not the Emperor, but my father.
Why was he giving me this trial?
Just because I'm the Second Prince?
Perhaps my father read my expression, as he couldn't meet my eyes properly.
My father knew too.
That what he was commanding me to do wasn't normal.
"·····Father. I'd rather—"
"·····Jerod."
"—I'd rather die."
"·····Hear your father's explanation first."
"·····."
I closed my mouth.
I knew that saying more would only make things ugly.
But those words were sincere.
Rather than live as a princess now, I'd rather die.
"·····My son, listen carefully."
I decided to listen first.
After all, this person was the Emperor of the empire, and my father.
"—The Resurrection of the Demon King is imminent."
"·····Excuse me? The, the Demon King?"
The Resurrection of the Demon King,
something only seen in literature,
believed to be just a story from the distant past?
Naturally, it was hard to believe.
Besides, what does that have to do with this, and most importantly, isn't there a Hero?
"·····And, unfortunately, the Night Knights Captain has reported that the Hero hasn't even manifested yet."
"·········."
"Jerod, you know about the incident in Imperial Year 251, don't you?"
"··············."
I know.
I know it all too well.
Even though I was born after my older brother and couldn't inherit the crown prince position, as a child of the Emperor, studying history was natural.
And among that, I naturally had to learn about the imperial records from about 300 years ago.
After all, it was a major incident where the empire, always prosperous, came to the brink of destruction for the first and only time.
"And most importantly, Jerod, you're my son but you wield the sword best, don't you?"
Clearly, my father's words were an excuse.
Naturally, they were sweet words to persuade me.
Why,
why did the praise from my father that I'd so wanted to hear feel so sweet?
-Our son looks so handsome with a sword. Your Majesty, aren't you proud?
-·····Hmm. Certainly.
The reason I first picked up a sword.
It was because of my father and mother's praise.
Besides, as long as my older brother existed, I never planned to inherit the throne.
My brother was better at politics than me.
More interested in swords than politics, I had long abandoned any ambition for the crown prince position.
It wasn't that my relationship with my brother was bad, and he wasn't some tyrant who would become a despot.
"····Jerod, listen carefully to your father's words now."
"·····Yes."
My father spoke with a solemn expression and serious voice.
At that moment, I felt I shouldn't receive this so pessimistically anymore.
Because my father's, that is, the Emperor's dignity and sincerity were evident.
Even the Night Knights Captain beside us showed visible tension at my father's voice.
"The Hero's appearance is certainly inevitable. But we can't help if they appear late like in the past."
"However, the reason our ancestors couldn't stop the Demon King's forces was because there was no one to wield the Divine Sword. Jerod, you must have heard about it at least once."
"·····The First Emperor's Divine Sword, you mean?"
The First Emperor's Divine Sword.
The divine weapon said to have been wielded by the First Emperor who founded the empire, nearly equal to the holy sword used by the Hero, or so I'd heard.
But that was closer to legend, something only heard through rumors...—
"-It exists. The Divine Sword. Definitely in the imperial Treasure Vault, in the deepest underground."
"·····Really?"
I didn't know that.
That the Divine Sword, passed down literally from mouth to mouth, was in the imperial Treasure Vault.
Seeing how it's been passed down through people's mouths for hundreds of years, you can tell how magnificent it must be.
If news spread that the Divine Sword was in the imperial Treasure Vault·····,
things could become truly dangerous.
There would certainly be adventurers seeking the hidden sword somewhere,
and since it was only a legend passed down orally, there were people who formed exploration parties to search for it blindly, and other countries might even eye it and start a war.
"However, aren't you curious why the Divine Sword hasn't been used until now?"
Certainly.
Couldn't all the past emperors have wielded that sword?
But conversely, my father saying this must have a reason.
And that reason was likely connected to why my father made such a request of me.
"The Divine Sword can only be wielded by women among those with imperial blood. And·····the First Emperor was an empress."
When I tried to rebut something there, my father cut me off and spoke.
"And it seems our ancestors from previous generations prepared an Elixir for such an occasion as this·····."
"··········."
I couldn't say anything after that.
Only then did I realize.
The meaning of what my father had said.
My father stood up from his seat.
Then slowly knelt down.
"··········Father!"
How dare,
how dare the sun of this nation kneel before someone.
But the Emperor had no choice.
They say no parent can win against their child.
My father knew too.
That I would choose seppuku rather than become a woman.
Honestly, it was cowardly.
Selling family affection to protect the empire - is that really something a father should do?
That's why my father knelt.
"I'm sorry, my son····."
Tears I had never seen before flowed from my father's eyes.
"I'm sorry that this is the request your father has to make of you."
My father knew too.
That he was selling family affection.
That despite that, he was making this request of me to protect the empire.
And I,
when I first picked up a sword, when my mother passed away leaving her last words,
even now,
"··········Is it possible to return to my original body?"
Like a fool, I couldn't refuse their request.
-·····Jerod, my son. Even without your mother, live longer than your mother did···, can you do that·····?
As if I still couldn't defy the last words my mother left me when she passed away.
"Not yet, we haven't found a way to reverse it·····, but I will. This father will definitely find a way····."
"········Understood."
Call me foolish,
say I'm too weak to emotions,
you can criticize me all you want.
Though I didn't wish for it, I was born with a personality that truly can't refuse.
That's partly why I abandoned the imperial throne.
Even if I had become Emperor, an Emperor who can't refuse like this would be considered lacking in qualifications.
"·····Then, what exactly must I do as the princess, Father?"
"Your father doesn't wish for you to suffer either. So I have two requests for you."
"I will appoint you as Captain of the 2nd Imperial Knights. Wield the Divine Sword and deal with the Demon King's army alongside the Imperial Knights."
"··········Is that all?"
"Of course. Making this request to you is already burdensome enough - your father doesn't want to trouble you further."
Then some of my misunderstanding was cleared.
I thought the request to live as a princess might involve an arranged marriage with some indispensable noble family.
"Tonight, I'll send the Night Knights Captain to your room, so come with me to the Treasure Vault."
"·····Understood."
"Thank you, Jerod. I'm truly relieved. I'm proud that you're my son."
"········."
Hearing my father call me a proud son just for changing from male to female felt somewhat strange.
Well, if it's really just wielding the Divine Sword and fighting the Demon King's army as my father said.
My troubled heart found some comfort.