chapter_0235

234 – The Sins of Emperor Bertham

234 – The Sins of Emperor Bertham

People create large and small despairs in their hearts as they live.

Life is never smooth, and one experiences adversity regardless of one’s will.

The greater the adversity, the more people are frustrated.

This inevitable cycle of fate could not be avoided even by the Emperor of the Empire.

“…The Princess Selvia has passed away.”

The physician’s words, spoken in solemnity, created a pit of despair in Bertham’s heart that could never be filled.

“Ah…”

He knew.

That Selvia’s illness was worsening and she might die soon.

But knowing this did not dilute the sorrow brought on by his daughter’s death.

Bertham, kneeling, sobbed softly as he looked at Selvia lying in bed.

He could no longer find hope in her bloodless face.

Bertham shook his head as if denying reality, then raised his hand and stroked Selvia’s cheek.

“Selvia. My beloved daughter. How can you leave so futilely…”

Unspeakable sorrow permeated his heart and manifested in the form of tears.

The physician, unable to bear watching the Emperor weep, bowed deeply.

“Your Majesty, if you permit, I will summon the Empress here.”

Bertham did not answer.

Or rather, he could not answer.

The time was too short to escape the sorrow of losing his beloved daughter.

Bertham held Selvia’s hand and wept for a long time before he could rise from his seat.

Bertham looked down at Selvia lying in bed and began to speak.

“Physician.”

The physician bowed his head at the tearful voice.

“Yes, Your Majesty. Ask away.”

“Do not let anyone know that my daughter has died.”

The silence about the Princess’s death was ironic.

“…Your Majesty? What on earth are you saying?”

Unable to understand, he asked again, and Bertham raised his head.

As if he had to move on from the sorrow of reality and look to the future.

“I have heard that you are knowledgeable about memory magic. You have even published a paper. Then you must have found a way to transfer people’s memories.”

It was not wrong.

The physician had even written and submitted a paper on ‘The Theoretical Structure and Applicability of Memory Implantation Magic’ when he was in university.

However, in order to prove the paper, it was necessary to incorporate post-mortem memory extraction technology, which traces the mana residue left in the consciousness of the deceased.

Only then could memories of the past be extracted, reproduced, or transferred.

Naturally, this was considered taboo not only in the Empire but also throughout the world, so the physician was disciplined and expelled from the university.

Since then, he had stopped working on memory-related magic, but he was embarrassed that the Emperor of the Empire was suddenly discussing taboos.

“…Your Majesty. It is true that I was deeply involved in memory magic at the time, but it is still a taboo. Transferring memories is no different from insulting the personality of the transfer target. It will have a significant impact on their life.”

The physician tried to say that he did not want to do it as indirectly as possible, but Bertham did not back down.

“Do you think I am saying this because I want to use taboos?”

Bertham continued, as if he had no choice.

“Now that Selvia is dead, the only one who can succeed me is Arno. Do you think Arno is fit to be Emperor?”

The physician could not answer.

It was not the kind of question he could answer.

Bertham, who knew this, sighed softly.

“You know that Arno recently attacked the master who was teaching him swordsmanship. He ran to the instructor who was resting and swung a real sword. As a result, he was seriously injured in the back and hospitalized. Do you know why Arno attacked the instructor?”

The physician, who was looking around, said what he knew.

“I heard that the instructor made remarks insulting the Imperial Family.”

“That is just a story created by the Imperial Family. The instructor considers it a great honor to be loyal to the Imperial Family. It does not make sense that such a person would insult the Imperial Family.”

“Then why did Prince Arno…”

“He retaliated because he resented the instructor for defeating him in a practice match. There is no other reason.”

He cut down the instructor with a real sword for such a trivial reason? The physician, who was embarrassed, could not say anything, and Bertham slowly turned his body.

“In addition to this incident, Arno has treated human lives like animals and committed numerous atrocities. He is my son, but he has a level of violence that I cannot understand. I do not know if my education was wrong or if it is his innate nature…”

One thing is certain.

“The Empire cannot avoid destruction the moment Arno takes my place.”

Bertham could see it in his eyes.

The future where Arno, as Emperor, would drive countless people to their deaths.

“So I am asking you. In order to stop Arno, Selvia must not be dead. Only then can there be a future for this Empire.”

The words that it was for the sake of the Empire were moving the physician’s heart.

In addition, the researcher’s curiosity was greatly shaken by the opportunity to prove the paper he had written in the past.

The physician, who had stepped over the line of taboo, swallowed hard and raised his head.

“A large amount of Remisia ore will be needed. Several devices will also have to be manufactured.”

“Tell me the quantity you need. I will prepare it.”

“Since you say so…”

The hesitation was short.

The physician, who had crossed the line of taboo in his heart, knelt before Bertham.

“I will do my best to proceed.”

*

After deciding to cross the taboo, the Emperor made it so that no one except the physician could enter Selvia’s room.

Not even the Empress was an exception.

When the Empress asked why, Bertham said that blocking access to others was the only way to improve Selvia’s illness.

The Empress, hearing that her daughter’s illness could be cured, gave up her insistence, and the other members of the Imperial Palace did not dare to ignore the Emperor’s orders and enter Selvia’s room.

In Selvia’s room, isolated from the world, the physician prepared to succeed in the memory transfer.

It took about three weeks for the preparations to be completed.

The physician, who had secured all the items for the memory transfer, prepared the last ‘person’.

After traveling all over the Empire, he finally found a child with a similar appearance to Selvia.

The physician, who had brought the child back to the Imperial Palace, met Emperor Bertham in front of Selvia’s room.

“Your Majesty. Have you been waiting?”

Bertham, who was pacing anxiously with his hands behind his back, looked down at the child the physician had brought.

The child was wrapped in a pure white robe and wore a hood.

The physician had put it on in case anyone recognized her on the way here.

“Is this the child?”

The physician nodded at Bertham’s question.

“I found her in the mountainous region of the west. She was living alone in a collapsed house. I do not know the details, but it seemed that she did not have parents.”

“I see.”

It was fortunate that he had not taken the child from her parents, Bertham thought, and knelt down on one knee.

Bertham, who met the child’s eyes, was surprised without realizing it.

“…Selvia?”

The child’s appearance was surprisingly similar to his dead daughter.

Bertham, who was momentarily surprised and stiff, raised his trembling hand.

When he took off the hood the child was wearing, platinum blonde hair was revealed.

If it were not for her dark expression, there would be almost no difference from his dead daughter.

Bertham, who was staring at the child’s appearance in a daze, regained his senses and opened his mouth.

“What is your name?”

When the child remained silent, the physician next to her answered instead.

“She does not have a name. There must have been no one to give her one. However, it seems that she had a nickname. Strangely, a lot of edelweiss grew near this child’s house, so the nearby village called her the Edelweiss Witch.”

Bertham listened to the physician’s story and stared at the child for a while.

The child also looked at Bertham with indifferent eyes.

“Child.”

Was it because it instilled guilt in him?

Bertham said something he did not have to say.

“I apologize in advance. From now on, I will paint my daughter over you. You will live the rest of your life with my daughter’s memories. So from now on, you are not the Edelweiss Witch who lived alone in the western part of the Empire…”

Bertham gently grabbed the child’s shoulder.

“You will be reborn as the Princess of the Empire.”

A word from the author (Author’s Afterword)

Thank you for reading today!

Are you having a good weekend? Have a happy day!

Then I will see you again tomorrow!