Ch.144The Declining Imperial Family (15)

In the early dawn, Victoria opened her eyes.

“……”

Victoria’s face was drenched in cold sweat.

Despite finally getting some sleep after frequent waves, it wasn’t peaceful.

She had a nightmare.

A dream where her only son, her most precious person, Ruide, was being devoured by a demon.

“Head of the family.”

Looking up, she saw Rosalie leaning against the wall with her arms crossed near the door.

“You’re awake.”

Victoria sat up.

Tightening her loosened robe, she asked about the current situation.

“How are things going?”

“As expected, the catastrophe has begun. Starting from here, the 9th defense line.”

“It seems Irene’s promised time hasn’t passed yet.”

Irene had gone alone deep into the North and secured one promise from a powerful Mana.

To delay the catastrophe a little. The promised deadline hadn’t passed yet. The timing was too early.

“It’s a Mana after all. Mana generally enjoy lying.”

Victoria felt something strange but pushed away the feeling of déjà vu.

In the end, the fact that they had to fight remained unchanged.

“I see. I’ll go right away.”

“It’s still fine for now. Thanks to you slaying tens of thousands of monsters yesterday, it should be quiet for a while.”

“Is that so.”

Victoria glanced at the moonlight outside the window.

Then she asked Rosalie, whose expression was hard to see in the darkness.

“Then, why did you wake me?”

“Because of another important matter. Someone who isn’t a monster is trying to covet the North.”

Rosalie stepped forward and handed Victoria a scroll.

It was a message bearing the brilliant imperial seal. This meant an imperial decree.

Victoria turned on the small lamp beside the bed and unfolded the paper.

“Windsor, receive the imperial decree.”

Rosalie deliberately recited the imperial decree aloud.

Even in the darkness, her red eyes gleamed.

“As a reward for Windsor’s 1000 years of dedication to the empire, the imperial family freed Windsor from the ‘Noble Personal Soldier Allocation System’ long ago. To freely train knights and strengthen forces.”

Victoria’s eyebrows twitched.

“However, that was only permitted to protect the empire from monsters. Not to use those sharply honed swords to horrifically murder the glorious knights of the empire.”

Victoria closed the letter.

She had already understood its contents sufficiently.

“Windsor, who murdered Sophia Queensberry and brutally slaughtered the knights serving her, listen. Disband all your forces immediately and kneel before the empire in apology. If you refuse, the Prime Empire will no longer recognize the Windsor Duchy as its jurisdiction.”

In other words, it meant they would strip away the title of Duke.

Victoria closed her eyes for a moment.

Rosalie asked coldly.

“Head of the family. Your orders.”

“The only force we can dispatch would be Irene.”

“Facing the empire with just Irene is impossible. Windsor has a more definitive card…”

“Enough.”

This situation shouldn’t be possible.

The current Emperor Lucius, while somewhat indecisive, was not a foolish emperor.

The fact that he issued such an order meant one thing. Someone had moved to orchestrate this situation.

And that someone was likely not from the empire, but from Windsor’s side.

They had perfectly blocked all escape routes, leaving only extreme options.

In other words—

“Irene has made her move.”

Victoria was certain.

Rosalie, having her intentions exposed, remained calm.

Because she believed in Victoria’s insight.

“Rosalie. The reason you keep giving opinions contrary to my wishes.”

Victoria thought of Ruide.

A subtle anger seeped into her voice.

“Is it because you’ve taken Irene’s side?”

Rosalie didn’t answer. That was answer enough.

“I understand.”

Victoria looked somewhere distant.

Boom-! Boom! Boom-!

The drumbeats that signaled an unmanageable monster wave sounded.

Victoria expressed a quiet sentiment.

“She’s grown so much.”

“Irene is an excellent successor.”

“Perhaps so.”

Rosalie handed over a sword. Victoria gripped it, then put on just the top of her uniform.

She brushed past Rosalie, who had bowed her head. As she grabbed the door handle and was about to turn it, Victoria paused briefly.

Glancing slightly at Rosalie, she said:

“Tell Irene not to cross the line.”

What Victoria meant by ‘line’ was all too clear.

At the same time, it was like saying she would overlook things for now.

Rosalie bowed her head even deeper.

**

“N-No way.”

Ruide was trembling. An extremely awkward situation had unfolded.

“Oh?”

Irene tilted her head as if wondering what was wrong. Ruide struggled to get away from her.

Fortunately, she didn’t seem intent on forcing him, and easily let go. Ruide grabbed the blanket and fled to the corner.

‘That was close.’

The development of events was as follows. In the morning, while preparing to go out, Irene tried to kidnap him, suggesting they bathe together after a long time.

“That’s a shame. Ruide has really grown up.”

“O-Of course. I’m 12 years old.”

“Still too young to eat up, though.”

“…!”

Ruide seriously considered whether he should run away.

Irene stopped on her way to the bathroom and smiled.

“Just kidding.”

Ruide sighed in relief.

Irene went to wash up, leaving Ruide alone in the room.

Recently, he’d been spending most of his time with Irene.

“War, huh.”

Irene truly intended to wage war.

He had heard about it last night.

-Come to think of it, I haven’t told you, Rui. The reason why I want to wage war.

Irene’s thoughts were completely unfathomable. Probably even Victoria wouldn’t know.

Naturally, Ruide didn’t know either. Why Irene wanted war with the empire.

He had assumed it was simply because she enjoyed fighting and slaughter… but that wasn’t it.

Rather, it was an extremely normal and obvious reason.

-In the North, no matter what you eat, you never feel full. Dry bread, tough monster meat. That’s all there is.

-I thought it was strange. Why do we have to be confined in such a barren place? Despite having this much power.

This was the medieval era.

The Prime Empire was the only superpower.

Ruide recalled what happens in human history when a single superpower swallows most of the world.

That structure is inevitably overturned. The reasons vary. Either civil war breaks out, or other kingdoms form alliances to drive out a common enemy.

-The time has come. The empire has enjoyed enough, and we have starved enough. The strong and hungry need to take from the weak and full. That’s the way of the world.

Ruide could only nod at Irene’s serious words.

The law of the jungle had been an established truth in the world for so long it was almost cliché.

‘Am I any different from the First Emperor?’

Ruide disliked the First Emperor.

He thought he was too presumptuous for someone who had possessed another’s body.

Does democracy even make sense in the medieval era?

It would only bring more confusion.

That’s an elitist mindset beyond imagination.

But at least, the First Emperor fully utilized the power he had.

He used it to create an empire that held world hegemony for a thousand years.

‘Compared to him, I…’

Undoubtedly, the conditions aren’t inferior.

The character “Lazy Ruide” is an overwhelming powerhouse who could break the balance of this world.

With a single finger, he could erase a country, or restore that erased country to its original state.

With a bit more research, he might even be able to resurrect the dead.

With abilities no different from a god, what had he been doing all this time?

Just sleeping. All the sleep he couldn’t get in his previous life.

Sometimes causing trouble, sometimes acting like a child.

This way, his life wasn’t different from his previous one.

Just a pathetic unemployed person.

‘Maybe I was afraid of this power.’

Ruide stretched his small hand into the air and clenched it.

Even without ambition.

Living like this with this power…

Yes, borrowing Irene’s words, it’s a ‘waste.’

If he’s going to sleep, it’s better to sleep after conquering the world.

At least leave a much greater footprint than the “First Emperor” he had looked down on.

Ruide decided that.

“Rui. I’m back.”

Just then, Irene entered.

Ruide’s expression brightened before he panicked and shouted.

“S-Sis, put some clothes on!”

**

Irene was kneeling quietly in front of the mirror, blinking her eyes.

Whoosh-

Ruide was extending both hands, blowing warm air toward Irene.

Since there were no hair dryers in the medieval era, people usually air-dried naturally, but seeing Irene wiping her hair with a towel all day was too frustrating.

‘Come to think of it, with her hair down, she looks like Amelia.’

Irene always braids her hair. So she usually has a calm impression, but now she looked somewhat cute.

“That’s a useful function, Rui.”

“…I’m not an artifact.”

“My hair is drying quickly.”

Irene seemed fascinated.

‘By the way, doesn’t Irene have any attendants?’

“Do you always dry your hair alone, sis?”

“Yes. Generally.”

“…What about handmaidens?”

“None.”

Irene said with a raised corner of her mouth.

“Everyone’s afraid of me.”

Sorry, but Ruide sympathized.

Irene’s unique atmosphere makes it difficult for anyone but family to approach her.

“I hate seeing that.”

“Must be lonely.”

“It’s fine. Because I have you, Rui.”

Ruide stopped the wind. Irene’s hair was completely dry.

Irene brought her back hair forward and slowly began to braid it.

She seemed very skilled, probably from doing it every day. Though her hands moved slowly, the braid was completed quickly.

Irene flipped her braided hair back and stood up.

Ruide looked Irene over. Now she was the usual Irene.

‘But somehow, only Irene seems like a modern person.’

That’s the feeling he got.

The way she dressed wouldn’t look out of place in the 21st century.

A white blouse, straight black pants, and a slightly long necktie. Just ordinary formal attire.

Irene put on a black coat and made a final check of her appearance.

“Rui. You need to wear a coat.”

“Okay.”

“And a scarf too.”

Irene prepared various things for Ruide.

“That’s too much…”

“You’ll catch a cold.”

Irene firmly stated as she wrapped the scarf around him.

Not only that, she made him wear a thick robe under his coat, saying he looked cold.

Ruide’s assurance that he was fine with temperature control magic fell on deaf ears.

Almost forcibly dressed in several layers, Ruide looked at himself in the mirror with half-open eyes.

‘I look like a penguin.’

“Rui. Let’s go.”

Irene extended her hand to Ruide.

Sighing slightly, Ruide took Irene’s hand.

“To destroy the empire.”