episode_0011

“Whoa… Whoa.”

The voice of the silent attendant was filled with weariness. Perhaps because of me. It seemed like he had been tense since morning. The clattering sound echoing on the cobblestones gradually slowed down. After a while, the carriage came to a slow stop. It was Hwangmyeong. Just like when I was brought here. Emperor’s private carriage was used to escort Elaine. The knights who followed on horseback automatically dispersed as soon as they entered the palace. When the door opened and I stepped out, I was right in front of the Emperor’s office.

The scorching sun, burning fiercely in longing for summer, was now soaring towards noon. In the vast expanse of the sky, bluer than the endless sea, a few large clouds resembling giant whales peacefully floated by.

Suddenly, I felt a gaze and turned my head. From the second-floor window, the Emperor was looking down at me. His stern expression and piercing gaze made it impossible to discern what he wanted. It was as if he meant for me to come up immediately, wanting to hear many things. But it wasn’t the time yet. I pretended not to notice and turned my head again. Nonchalantly, I took a few steps, still feeling the weight on my back.

It should be time for him to come by now. Although I felt a bit uneasy about being caught off guard, I continued to feign ignorance and looked into the distance. Then, after a while, I noticed a maid hurrying from the direction of the Empress’s residence. She held a small green vial in her hand, smaller than a wine bottle, clasping it tightly with both hands as if it were something very precious. That was exactly what I had been waiting for. Ignoring the approaching maid, I headed towards the Emperor’s office.

***

“Suddenly vomiting blood and collapsing, then nearly dying and coming back to life. Tell me in detail what happened. What on earth occurred?”

This demanding request was the first thing I heard from the Emperor as I stepped into the office. It was thrown at me like a net before the door even closed. His gaze shot out like the scorching midsummer sun, carrying an unwavering determination to hear the answer. Due to my prolonged silence, it felt like the melted soy sauce was pushing the Emperor’s patience to its limit.

“……”

“Nothing but the unvarnished truth is what I seek. Speak. What exactly transpired? If there’s anything Jim doesn’t know, every bit of it must be laid bare.”

The voice was solemn, as if discussing a serious matter.

Fingers tapping the desk urged for the truth to be revealed quickly.

But the truth was never simple.

No truth stood alone, for all truths were interconnected.

Every truth, always linked to another truth. Cause and effect. Or, in the form of large and small keystones supporting a grand inevitability.

Even if cleverly concealed amidst falsehoods at times, truth could never exist in isolation for even a single moment.

What the emperor desired now was no different.

The moment when I secretly left the palace and collapsed on my way back, I would confess to breaking the law.

Of course, the emperor seemed to already know that I had secretly left the palace.

The real issue was when the question of “why” would be attached to that fact.

It would inevitably lead to revealing Elaine’s identity and abilities.

One truth naturally drew forth another truth.

Furthermore, if he were to ask why I wanted to meet the saint, I would inevitably have to explain a significant portion of what I knew.

And if, in that process, a gruesome truth were to be exposed…

Could the emperor truly bear its weight?

My eyes involuntarily closed.

I forcibly steadied my head that was beginning to shake.

Having read novels, I already knew well enough.

The emperor would never be able to bear the weight of the truth.

Emperor Velkreed Suphelator Kaldebrion of the Mersen Empire.

He was a man born without restraint.

From a young age, he swept through battlefields, subduing countless enemies and becoming a great conqueror of the empire.

He was just and strong, overflowing with decisiveness yet never reckless.

But even such a man had a weakness.

His arrogance, considering tactics and strategies as the exclusive domain of cowardly individuals.

Due to his stubborn pride, he tragically lost his wife.

The beloved son, too, was unable to be protected and ended up so broken that recovery seemed impossible. For a considerable time after the empress’s death, I myself lived immersed in alcohol. As a result, I found myself in a situation where I had lost most of the power that once ruled the empire. All that remained was a mere facade of authority. Furthermore, even the remarkable commander who always led the charge and slaughtered enemy forces at the forefront had fallen to the level of a mere criminal. Everything was due to Empress Herpina. She was the one who poisoned the former empress and brought about the downfall of the crown prince. Such an extraordinary woman could not be allowed to remain as the empress. Just like what she did to Eos, she consistently administered poison to the emperor for quite some time. It was a minute amount mixed into the medicine, undetectable even with prolonged consumption over several years, resulting in the emperor’s physical state being on the brink of death. The weight of truth was never light. The fact that the empress, known as a soldier, was actually poisoned, and that the current crown prince, Service, was not her own son, the sheer weight of these absolute truths was something the emperor could never bear. I opened my eyes that I had been holding shut, silently standing there. I gazed at the emperor’s face, sitting quietly for a while. As if sensing something from my expression, the emperor made a look as if he had nothing more to lose. He looked extremely bitter. A faint smile, barely recognizable whether it appeared or not, briefly lingered and vanished. All that remained was firmly sealed lips. There was a strong determination not to be surprised by any truth, no matter what. “Stop delaying and speak now. Tell me exactly what has happened to you. I understand that your father is still displeased, but I hope you will tell me,” the emperor said. Even knowing all the truths, can the emperor truly carry on as before? No. It would be absolutely impossible. Given his personality that I know, he would probably spew the most intense hatred, screaming like a banshee, with every breath he takes.

Rushing to wield a sword against those who have taken what is most precious. Even the gods seemed poised to raise the most desperate storm of blood. However, in such a situation, Queen Shleyn and her father, Duke Shleyn, could not stand idly by. They would subdue before being subdued. They would even pull out the fangs of a lion that had already lost its teeth. Without hesitation, they would drive a rusty iron stake into the worn-out sole of a lion with all its claws broken. Therefore, I cannot tell all the truths. Just one. I intend to show only one aspect of the vile truth, surely having hundreds of faces. And so, I will make the impending fall of the Mersen Empire revive the emperor. Of course, that alone would not be enough. But for now, it was the best I could do. Sometimes, that’s just how it is. The darkness that shrouds the world, veiling it in the night, sometimes can be more beautiful than light that reveals even the vile. Now was such a moment. What is urgently needed to save the emperor is not light, but rather the darkness that has swallowed up most of the vile truth.

Tap-tap—

A lively knock shattered the sustained silence.

As permission was granted, the door opened, and the maid I had seen outside the study came in carrying a tray with a medicine bottle and a glass. With a faint smile, she approached the desk. Simultaneously, I asked the emperor, “Do you truly wish to know the truth?”

The maid was startled and froze in place. Slowly, she turned her head like a malfunctioning wooden doll. I met her trembling gaze, and in an instant, a deep sense of dread fell over us like the shadow of an eclipse. Her slightly raised shoulders and stiffened posture brought to mind a startled cat at the sound of thunder. With a strained expression, she carefully shifted her weight after swallowing hard. “First, have your medicine and then listen—” I interrupted the emperor’s words and asked again, cutting him off, “Sometimes, falsehood is better than truth. Yet, do you still desire the truth?” My voice carried a bit more force than before. The gaze that had briefly rested on the emperor now shot back to the maid.

With a deeply tense expression, he gently lowered the foot he had raised. It felt as though he could sense my gaze even without looking at me. His toes trembled, and so did the tray, the bottle, and the cup on it. Sweat was dripping profusely from his forehead. If he wasn’t a nervous thief, this would have been an extremely suspicious attitude that one could never display. “……” The emperor stared at me silently. Then, following my gaze, he turned to look at the maid’s face. He finally seemed to detect the awkward atmosphere. “You still want to know, don’t you? What exactly is the truth?” I continued forward and grabbed the maid by her hair. “Yikes!” Thud! I trampled on her foot and snatched the vial while she kneeled in pain. The tray fell to the ground and spun, while the glass shattered into dozens of pieces. “What on earth are you doing all of a sudden?” he asked, but there was no wavering in the emperor’s eyes. His low voice, like thunder rumbling after a lightning strike behind dark clouds, showed no hesitation. His moistened pupils couldn’t completely conceal his soaring curiosity. It was a face that demanded a more detailed explanation. But what was needed now wasn’t an explanation. Words were something that could never precede enlightenment. Snap! After unscrewing the vial, I poured its contents directly into the maid’s sobbing mouth. “P-please spare me! Ugh! No, stop! *Gasp* Huh!” The vial emptied in an instant, and the weeping maid was thrown around mercilessly like rotten straw. “Is this the truth you spoke of?” The emperor’s face was suddenly filled with anger. It seemed as if he was ultimately disregarding the hope he had harbored for his son. But in the next moment, a single drop of astonishment fell sharply onto his contorted face, creating a powerful ripple. Splat! It was because the maid, spitting out saliva, had shoved her finger into her throat, desperately trying to expel what she had swallowed. There was no trace of anger left in the emperor’s face upon witnessing this. All that remained was an expression of disbelief.

“This is the truth as I know it, Your Majesty.”

The emperor, who had been standing, suddenly slumped back into his chair as if all the strength had left his legs. It seemed he couldn’t bear the weight of the newly discovered truth.