Ch.149The Declining Imperial Family (20)

# The Northern Gate of the Capital

Ruide looked up at the city walls while holding Rosalie’s hand.

“Once we break through there, it’s a straight path to the Imperial Palace.”

“Congratulations in advance.”

The walls stood as tall as a mountain.

Moreover, each brick in the wall was enchanted with high-level magic, making it impossible for ordinary people to even attempt breaching it.

Of course, such things don’t apply to Ruide.

“Yes. Let’s go.”

‘This really is the final barrier.’

This place was the last Maginot Line protecting the heart of the Empire.

Who would be waiting at the end once they crossed this threshold?

One person appeared in Ruide’s mind.

Emperor Lucius.

‘I’m sorry.’

Whether he was a great emperor or not, at least to Ruide, he had been a good person.

Someone who cared deeply for him, and Ruide still held no ill feelings toward him.

However, the conclusion of Irene’s plan was to replace the emperor.

There cannot be two suns in the sky. Did that mean Lucius had to die?

‘I’m still not sure.’

Thud.

Ruide had already reached the front of the wall.

Arrows blackened the sky as they flew toward Ruide.

It was an excessively grand welcome for just two invaders.

Ruide stopped all the projectiles with just a raise of his hand.

Arrows, fire, and chunks of ice.

The sight of these objects suspended in midair was truly magnificent.

Ruide thought it was beautiful.

He considered sending them back like last time but decided against it.

No matter how he thought about it, Ruide couldn’t find a reason to kill innocent people for his personal desires.

Unless they were the rude invaders of the North.

‘Yes, let’s handle this amicably.’

Ruide lowered his hand.

The projectiles lost their power and fell to the ground with a soft rustle.

The soldiers on the wall looked at him with speechless expressions.

Ruide whispered, “Fly.”

His small body slowly floated up toward the top of the wall.

He intended to give a small warning and suggest surrender. He thought they might be able to pass through peacefully.

But then—Ruide saw them.

Academy students looking at him with terrified faces.

“…!”

Ruide’s pupils dilated.

His thoughts momentarily froze.

The Academy was quite far from here.

So why were Academy students here?

“It must be the Emperor’s ploy.”

His eyes met with Rosalie, who had spread her black wings.

“He probably thought that by putting people you’re somewhat friendly with at the front, he could stop your advance.”

Rosalie’s fine brows furrowed.

“It’s an extremely distasteful idea.”

“…Indeed.”

Ruide’s eyes turned cold.

“Distasteful indeed.”

**

Dawn.

Near the northern wall of the Empire, in the operations tent.

“Your Majesty. It’s dangerous here. Please evacuate first.”

Imperial Guardian Knight Reinhardt said, prostrating himself.

“Where would I flee to? There’s nowhere to retreat. If this place falls, it’s over.”

Lucius appeared detached.

Reinhardt looked at him with a complicated expression.

“Has the attack begun yet?”

“No. He’s just standing there with a maid in uniform, looking in our direction. And…”

Reinhardt glanced in Ruide’s direction.

“He’s made something like a tent out of ice.”

“A tent?”

“Despite being just two people, it’s large enough to house an entire unit.”

Reinhardt narrowed his eyes.

“What could it mean?”

“It means those two are Windsor’s entire army.”

Lucius clenched his fist.

“In other words, those two alone can easily bring down the Empire.”

Crack—the sound of Reinhardt grinding his molars echoed clearly in the tent.

“…How arrogant.”

“Yes, Windsor is arrogant. In the past and now.”

But Windsor wasn’t simply arrogant.

This was confidence based on substance.

Ruide Christopher had already transcended human limitations.

“We must do what we can.”

Lucius opened the tent flap.

As he walked outside, Reinhardt hurriedly followed.

Around them, tense soldiers were taking brief moments of rest.

The most noticeable among them was the area where Academy students had gathered.

Some stared blankly at the sky, while others hugged their knees, trembling.

Just two enemy soldiers.

But they had eyes and ears too.

No, they knew better than ordinary soldiers.

What power a mage who had transcended humanity possessed.

“Your Majesty.”

An elderly man bowed his head.

His name was Clifford, and he looked noticeably aged.

Lucius thought that he had aged considerably since they last met.

But his spirit remained as strong as ever.

Archmage Clifford was definitely a powerful asset.

Lucius spoke with a smiling face.

“Speak, greatest mage of the Empire.”

“Why did you summon the Academy students? According to the First Emperor’s will, mobilizing students is forbidden even in wartime.”

Lucius calmly looked up at Clifford.

Perhaps his imposing presence wasn’t just due to his skill, but also his massive stature.

“Didn’t you say it yourself? That we shouldn’t be bound by a figure from a thousand years ago. That we must emerge from the shadow of the First Emperor.”

Clifford didn’t want to engage in unproductive conversation with Lucius.

So he got straight to the point.

“One old man is enough to stop that brat, so please withdraw the Academy students.”

“You?”

“It’s a bad move, Your Majesty. How could that brat not understand your intention?”

Using Academy students he’s somewhat familiar with to appeal to his sympathy.

Everyone thought so, and Lucius knew it too.

But—

“Do you really think that’s the only intention?”

“Pardon?”

“That it’s just appealing to sympathy?”

The look in Lucius’s eyes as he gazed at Clifford was peculiar. Clifford’s expression hardened.

“Then what is the intention?”

“It’s simple.”

Lucius stared fixedly at something.

Clifford followed his gaze.

He thought Lucius was looking toward where Ruide was, but that wasn’t it.

Lucius was looking at something further away.

“Because that gives us the highest chance of victory.”

A female knight in brilliant silver plate mail was riding toward them on horseback.

Golden hair fluttered in the air, and even from a distance, her bright blue eyes were clear.

Clifford’s eyes trembled slightly. It was a familiar face.

Unconsciously, Clifford uttered the name of this radiant female knight.

“Amelia Windsor.”

**

In the temporary tent made of ice.

Inside were a table and chairs taken from subspace.

Ruide sat on a chair taller than himself, swinging his legs.

‘The North really is igloo territory.’

Drip-drip—

Rosalie poured tea with elegant manners.

Ruide held the steaming teacup with both hands and took a small sip.

“Why did you stop?”

Rosalie seemed inwardly displeased that they weren’t finishing the job quickly.

“If Ruide wishes, we could capture that fortress without causing any harm to the Academy students.”

“To them, I’m just an invader.”

Ruide blinked.

“If I did that, they’d think of me as some demon lord.”

He stared at Rosalie.

Meeting his transparent blue eyes, Rosalie slightly averted her gaze.

For Rosalie, a vampire close to evil, the innocent pupils of the young human were uncomfortable.

“Irene said it too. We need justification. So, I’ll create justification. I’m thinking about how to do that now.”

Rosalie respectfully bowed.

“…I apologize. Ruide had everything planned all along.”

“…Did you think I had no thoughts at all? For 20 hours?”

“Yes.”

Ruide was dumbfounded by her blunt answer.

‘Do I really have that little credibility?’

Anyway, he finished his apple juice.

Just then, the ground trembled slightly. Ruide removed the cup from his mouth and set it down. Rosalie spoke.

“Right now, coming here…”

“You don’t need to tell me. They’re family after all.”

Shortly after—

Ruide hopped down from the high chair and walked outside.

“Rui.”

The first person he saw was Amelia, drenched in sweat. Behind her were familiar faces.

Damon, Hersy, Asha.

People he liked, but faces he didn’t particularly want to see right now.

“Stop this now, Rui.”

Ruide didn’t answer and turned his head.

“It’s enough, isn’t it?”

Amelia grabbed Ruide’s small shoulders.

“It’s not enough. The Empire is still intact.”

“That statement raises some questions.”

Damon stepped forward.

He was still arrogant, but his expression was unusually cold.

“It sounds like you’re saying the Empire shouldn’t be intact.”

“Yes. You heard correctly.”

“What do you plan to do now?”

“Destroy it.”

Ruide tried to speak as calmly as possible. To appear as if he had no emotions.

“You say such brutal things so casually.”

“Wait, Rui.”

Amelia spoke urgently.

“Why are you suddenly like this? Destroying the Empire! You hate that kind of thing.”

She seemed completely unable to understand the current situation.

Ruide also didn’t have confidence in making Amelia understand.

‘This is troublesome.’

Simply because he could do it, that’s why he would.

“Then allow me to explain, Lady Amelia.”

At that moment, Rosalie, who had been silent, stepped forward.

Amelia, who had been sitting, stood up and looked at Rosalie with hostile eyes.

Rosalie, completely unfazed, walked right up to her and met her gaze.

With her hands folded, her behavior was impeccably proper, but the vampire’s inherent coldness made the atmosphere tense.

“There are three main reasons.”

“…Three reasons?”

“One, the Emperor’s direct knights made a fatal mistake against a Windsor family member. They wounded him and dared to point swords at Ruide.”

“That’s already over…!”

Rosalie interrupted Amelia.

“Two, they questioned Windsor’s efforts to save an Academy student whose life was in danger, testing the Duke’s patience.”

“Three, they doubted Windsor’s loyalty of a thousand years, and there is no reason why Windsor should endure such suspicion.”

Rosalie coldly spat while looking at Damon.

“Above all, the attempt to trample the North.”

“This cannot be forgiven.”

Rosalie bowed her head as if her role was finished.

“Even so.”

Amelia bit her lip slightly and raised her voice.

“That’s not a reason for Ruide to participate in war. My brother is only 12 years old.”

“This is Ruide’s own will.”

“What?”

“He witnessed with his own eyes more than 200,000 imperial troops trying to trample the North, and in his anger, Ruide chose to handle it personally.”

Amelia slowly turned her head to look down at Ruide.

“Rosalie is right. Right now, I’m not acting according to anyone else’s will. I’m doing this because I want to.”

It was the moment when Amelia’s conviction that this was all Irene’s plot shattered.

“All of this… is Rui’s will?”

She couldn’t believe it.

That her brother, whom she believed to be the kindest person despite his occasional mischief, had made the decision to destroy a country on his own.

That was a path so different from the Ruide that Amelia knew.

That’s why she couldn’t say anything.

“Is this tearful sibling quarrel over now? Then it’s my turn.”

Damon seemed as if he had known all of this from the beginning.

He stood in front of Ruide and said with a hardened expression.

“I understand your thinking. However, I have no interest in a crown placed on me by someone else. If you thought that’s what I wanted, you’re greatly mistaken. We’ll see on the battlefield. I’d like to cut off the enemy commander’s head right now, but I’ll spare you for old times’ sake.”

Then he extended one hand toward Amelia.

“Amelia Windsor. I highly value your abilities. If you choose our side, I’ll ensure you’re well-treated after the war ends.”

That was truly a Damon-like statement.

Insane words.

But his demeanor was so confident that no one could object.

“…Even if my brother committed worse deeds, my sword would never turn against my only brother, Damon.”

“I see.”

Damon didn’t seem to have expected otherwise and showed no lingering attachment. He simply turned away coldly.

At that moment, Ruide’s eyes met Hersy’s.

Hersy, who would normally have given him a bright smile, deliberately avoided his gaze and turned away.

Ruide spoke while looking at Damon’s back.

“You want to become Emperor, don’t you? Damon.”

Damon’s steps halted.

“Then stay put. In two hours from now. I will destroy the Empire.”

Damon turned his head slightly and said quietly.

“I wish you luck.”

Then, with one hand in his pocket, he walked away proudly.

He looked like someone without any fear whatsoever.

It was the most dignified back that Ruide had ever seen.