Chapter 134

 

At her words, he obediently nodded. He understood that he should be satisfied with just seeing her.

Yet, he couldn’t ignore the aching and splitting corner of his heart.

Unconsciously, Carlothian clenched his fist and placed it over his heart. Thump, thump. His heart was racing as if it were tense.

He knew. He knew very well.

He should be grateful that she hadn’t left him yet.

“……Even if I want to see you, I will endure.”

“…….”

“If you tell me to wait, I will wait forever.”

“…….”

“So, please don’t leave.”

“……Please go out. I beg you.”

“……Okay, I will.”

As Ariadeline watched Carlothian’s face, which nodded obediently, she felt a pang in her heart.

Perhaps it was because a part of her still loved him.

“……Goodbye.”

She left a brief farewell.

Carlothian turned his body and stepped out of the room. Ariadeline closed her eyes as she watched his back.

‘It’s impossible for you to remember the day you first killed me.’

And during that realization, she knew she couldn’t forgive him, even while loving him.

They are destined to run in parallel lines forever. Ariadeline bit her lower lip.

Is it better for both you and me to cut off this relationship that can never be reached?

She sank into deep contemplation.

 

☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓 ☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓

 

This morning, Crown Prince Luciano visited the Emperor’s palace.

The northern minority had abandoned their harsh land and moved south, establishing themselves in the corner of the empire.

They were a warrior race with thousands of years of history, clashing with the imperial soldiers stationed there as they settled in the empire’s corner.

The Crown Prince decided, along with the Emperor, to absorb them with minimal conflict. Recently, they had sent people to reach some agreement, and he was there to report on that.

However, as he approached the Emperor’s office, he heard a commotion.

“What’s all the noise?”

A disturbance in the Emperor’s office? As he got closer to the office door, suddenly—

“……?”

The smell of blood hit him. The Crown Prince was taken aback and looked around. A body was being attended to.

“What is going on?”

Even the servants attending to the corpse couldn’t respond, their faces filled with shock.

“I asked what’s happening.”

When he questioned again, one of the Emperor’s attendants, who was handling the body, stammered out a response.

“It’s a servant responsible for the Emperor’s tea, but he made a mistake…”

“A mistake? What kind of mistake?”

The attendant lowered his head and replied.

“We failed to time the tea correctly.”

“What did you say?”

“So, the Emperor, in his anger, executed him on the spot….”

“Wait a moment, wait a moment.”

The Crown Prince felt a sudden headache and reached out his hand. He then asked again, as if he couldn’t comprehend.

“Are you saying the Emperor killed a servant for brewing tea incorrectly?”

“……Yes, that’s correct.”

“I will go in and hear it for myself.”

Luciano frowned deeply as he entered the Emperor’s office. There, he saw the emperor, who was attending to paperwork with a calm expression.

“You didn’t even knock.”

“Your Majesty, what is happening?”

“What are you talking about?”

His voice was flat, as if nothing was wrong.

“I heard that you killed a servant for brewing tea incorrectly. If there was something else…”

“That’s right.”

“Excuse me?”

“I said that is correct.”

The Emperor spoke without taking his eyes off the documents. Luciano’s eyes widened in confusion as he struggled to understand the situation.

“Your Majesty, no. Father. Was there poison in the tea?”

Luciano asked incredulously. The Emperor lifted his head as if questioning why the same thing was being asked.

“You clearly said it was brewed incorrectly.”

Luciano was left speechless, standing still for a moment.

The Emperor, Luciano’s father, was not naturally a benevolent person. However, he had never killed anyone over something so absurd.

Yet now, he was calmly stating that he had taken a life over such a ridiculous matter.

“This makes no sense…!”

At the Crown Prince’s outburst, the Emperor commanded as if finding it noisy.

“Be quiet.”

“Father!”

“Disposing of my possessions is my decision. It’s not your place to interfere.”

The Crown Prince stood there for a moment, keeping his mouth shut. He felt a strange sensation. It was as if he were conversing with someone who was not his father.

“So what is the matter?”

“……The battle tribe that came down from the north.”

“Oh, that. Measures have already been taken regarding that.”

“Measures have been taken?”

Luciano was momentarily taken aback. He had just heard this morning that a peaceful resolution had been reached with them. But now he was being told that measures had already been taken.

“They crossed the empire’s borders at will and attacked the imperial guards.”

The Emperor looked at Luciano.

“They will be subdued by force and reduced to slaves.”

At those words, Luciano cried out in horror.

“Father!”

“Why?”

“The discussions ended peacefully! Such punishment is…!”

“What’s the problem?”

A cold and firm gaze looked down at him.

The Crown Prince was at a loss for words. It felt as if he were asking and answering against a wall.

“There are plenty of reasons to punish them. Their military power is not to be underestimated, but that’s precisely why it’s a good thing.”

The Emperor smiled faintly.

“If we can subjugate them as slaves and handle them as we wish, they will serve as excellent troops in wars against other kingdoms.”

“Wars?”

“The empire’s territories have been fixed for hundreds of years.”

“Father, what are you saying?”

“It’s about time to expand our territory.”

“Are you suggesting we wage a conquest war?”

“The Crown Prince is quite talkative today.”

The Emperor’s icy gaze shot at Luciano.

“How foolish.”

“……Your Majesty.”

“I no longer wish to hear your voice, so step aside. Do not take my orders lightly.”

The Emperor returned his attention to the documents he was reviewing.

“If you understand, leave.”

Luciano stood there quietly. However, he had no choice but to step away due to the Emperor’s attitude of not wanting to engage further.

“What on earth is going on?”

As the Crown Prince stepped out, looking dazed, the advisors and attendants following him also wore expressions of confusion. They had never seen the Emperor behave this way before.

Even if he wasn’t benevolent, the Emperor had never proceeded with such coercion.

“What should we do?”

The Crown Prince’s advisor asked. The Crown Prince ran a hand through his hair and then commanded.

“Stop the order to suppress the minority group by force.”

“Is that really okay?”

“It seems something is wrong with Father. This can’t be happening otherwise.”

“Understood. I will send a message urgently.”

“I will take responsibility.”

Saying this, the Crown Prince hurried back to his palace.

 

☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓 ☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓

 

Seth Dolorante arrived secretly at the Emperor’s palace late at night, having been summoned.

Lately, various rumors about the Emperor had been circulating beneath the surface. Since the beginning of this week, the number of court members he had killed had exceeded ten.

Seth Dolorante felt a sense of unease. It was strange for the emperor to act so suddenly.

Even with his bizarre and obsessive desires, the Emperor had always expressed them somewhat discreetly. But now, he was showing such violent behavior all of a sudden. This was incomprehensible to Seth Dolorante.

“Please come this way.”

He followed the Emperor’s attendant to the audience chamber. The attendant’s demeanor was even more rigid than before.

That made sense. While the Emperor had not yet harmed the noble attendants, no one knew when they might become his target.

Seth Dolorante soon arrived at the Emperor’s audience chamber, where he could see the Emperor waiting for him. He dismissed the attendant, closed the door himself, and sat down.

“It seems you’re not in a good mood these days.”

“Not really.”

The Emperor sat crookedly on his throne, looking down at Seth Dolorante. Shadows cast over his eyes made them appear dark. Seth thought those eyes looked strangely unsettling.

“So, why did you call me here?”

“How is the plan to lure that woman going?”

“I thought we could handle that through correspondence.”

“No.”

The Emperor sauntered down from his seat and stood in front of Seth Dolorante.

“Bring that woman to me as quickly as possible. I want her now.”

The Emperor’s hand reached out and tightly grabbed Seth Dolorante by the collar. Seth found himself pulled along unexpectedly, forced to look deeply into the Emperor’s dark eyes.

“I need to get Carlothian Denaves out of my sight.”