Ch.96I said it’s your responsibility.

# 1.

Just,

I wish everyone would die.

【Until Berserk: …99%】

Just as my steadily worn-down heart was about to collapse in conjunction with the berserk state.

“Found her.”

Suddenly, the ceiling collapsed and two black-haired men burst into the training hall.

Thud, boom!

Crack!

Building debris showered down, with crimson sunset light filtering through the gaps.

“W-what is this?!”

“Be quiet.”

The Minister of Defense cowered in surprise, while Barbara shot him a warning glance.

The situation was chaotic enough to make even the doll-like Nameless members flinch, but Reina could only see one person.

He wrapped his cloak around Reina protectively and asked with a gentle smile.

“What’s this, were you crying?”

“……”

“Crybaby.”

At his playful and affectionate demeanor, Reina barely managed to reach out her hand and ask.

“Why do you…?”

When everyone else only tries to use me.

When they only see the position of Emperor, not me as a person.

You,

Why do you care about me?

In response to Reina’s tear-filled question, Nahan took her outstretched hand and answered.

“Because you’re precious to me.”

An answer that revealed his sincerity.

“…Huh?”

“I said you’re precious. Very much so.”

“…!!”

Nahan’s answer was actually about the main quest – <Happy Ending>, but Reina had no way of knowing that.

【Until Berserk: …96% (↓)】

Her heart, which had been full of anger and resentment, calmed down, and the berserk meter decreased.

“?”

Noticing this, Nahan pulled out a health potion from his spatial inventory and poured it while thinking.

‘Why did the meter suddenly decrease?’

…Was it because of what I just said?

Since it was a fortunate turn of events, Nahan continued treating Reina’s wounds while repeatedly whispering similar words.

“Your Majesty is the best.”

“…?”

“An essential existence for the happy ending.”

“…W-what are you…!”

【Until Berserk: …87% (↓)】

As soon as he confirmed his hypothesis was correct, he began spouting words randomly.

As a result,

【Until Berserk: …75% (↓)】

The berserk state that had been on the verge of explosion dropped to around 70%, and Reina’s health, which had been below 10%, recovered to more than half.

This was the first help she had received from another person since her coronation.

Holding back tears that threatened to fall, Reina asked Nahan.

“Can I… trust you?”

Her fingertips trembled.

Nahan firmly grasped her quivering hand again and nodded.

“Absolutely.”

A lonely life of being used by others.

“I’ll keep protecting you from now on, so stop crying and stand up.”

The man’s pure, clear smile at the end of that life was enough to make her rise once more.

Crack!

Reina used her sword as a cane to lift her fallen body.

“I apologize for all the whining.”

If the Black Wolf, a high-class criminal of the Empire, was working this hard for the Empire, how could she, the Emperor, just give in to despair?

Having suppressed her negative emotions, Reina stood in front of Black Wolf and Pedro, her eyes gleaming.

“I’ll take it from here, so rest.”

One instance of help was enough.

If she couldn’t handle this much on her own, how could she call herself an Emperor?

“This is proof of my qualification as Emperor, and evidence that I am still strong. Watch carefully with your own eyes.”

Just as Reina, prepared to die, was about to step forward with determination, Nahan grabbed her shoulder and pulled her back again.

“No. We’ll finish them off, so please focus on recovering.”

“No. I appreciate your concern, but I cannot put you in danger any longer—”

【<Black Curtain(Ex)> – 60% is activated.】

Thud!

With the activation, all the Nameless members and the Minister of Defense collapsed to the ground.

“There are quite a few of them. Let’s see, one, two, three…”

After counting them, Nahan began restraining them one by one before looking up.

“Ah, right. Please continue what you were saying.”

“…Oh, I… was going to say thank you.”

“Ah, yes. Don’t worry about it.”

Reina seemed somewhat dejected for some reason, but situation management was the priority now.

“Hold her, Pedro.”

“…Yes, Captain.”

After entrusting Barbara to Pedro, Nahan approached the Minister of Defense.

The Minister struggled under the pressure of the Black Curtain.

“Ugh, what is this…!!”

As if to prove his corruption, unsightly fat bulged through his disheveled clothes.

‘Right after Hallorand sent the message, Reina was put in danger.’

Then these people must belong to Duke Hallorand’s faction.

Nahan crouched in front of the Minister of Defense, poking at his protruding flesh while asking.

“Did Hallorand order this?”

“How dare you!! What gives you the right to speak the Duke’s name so casually!!”

“What do you mean ‘right’? You’re the ones who barged into the Emperor’s training hall, so why are you acting so righteous? And ‘Duke’? So Hallorand did order it, right?”

“…!!”

Finally realizing his slip-up, the Minister of Defense glanced at Barbara before shutting his mouth.

“How stupid. What difference does it make to stay silent now?”

“Shut up!! I don’t know who you are, but I am the Empire’s Minister of Defense!!”

“Gasp…!! M-Minister of Defense…!!”

At Nahan’s deliberate surprise, the corners of the Minister’s mouth curved slightly.

“I-I was also threatened by them along with the Emperor!! We’ll sort out the blame later, so state your affiliation and name!!”

In response to the Minister’s confident outburst, Nahan trembled and mumbled quietly.

“…of the …wolf.”

“Speak up properly!!”

Nahan leaned forward and whispered into the emboldened Minister’s ear.

“Black Wolf of the Black Wolves.”

“…?! W-wait!! The Emperor consorting with crimi—!!”

The next moment.

Thwack!

“Kuhak…”

Nahan struck the surprised Minister on the back of the neck, knocking him unconscious, then hoisted him up.

‘He’s stupid and loose-lipped. If I leave him to my members for interrogation, he’ll spill everything he knows.’

So the Minister was a keeper.

The urgent matter now was information about those who tried to assassinate Reina.

‘Their connection to Hallorand is established fact.’

So then…

Nahan approached the subdued Barbara and asked with just a downward glance.

“Why did you try to assassinate the Emperor?”

“……”

Silence followed.

Nahan spoke again.

“You heard who I am, right?”

“……”

“…Last warning. If you remain silent again, I’ll lead the entire Black Wolf organization to find Duke Hallorand and tear him to pieces.”

【<Black Curtain(Ex)> – 60% is activated.】

Under the malicious and oppressive aura directed only at the Nameless members, Barbara and the others realized Black Wolf’s words were sincere.

So she contemplated.

‘Right now, only we Nameless members and the Minister of Defense could endanger the Duke.’

In other words, if they all died, the evidence linking Duke Hallorand would be completely erased.

‘…The Minister of Defense. If we kill him and then commit suicide, it will be resolved.’

Barbara’s judgment was accurate.

The only direct evidence of the Emperor assassination attempt was themselves and the Minister of Defense.

If they killed him before he could speak and then committed suicide, the Duke wouldn’t be implicated.

But,

‘…How exactly?’

【<Black Curtain(Ex)> – 60% is activated.】

A literal monster.

The power he emitted tore through her heart and brain, leaving only survival instinct in control of her body.

Even struggling with all her might would clearly result in death, so she wondered every second if it might be easier to just die like this.

Even maintaining sanity was difficult.

“So this is the last time. Why did you join hands with Hallorand to assassinate the Emperor?”

“T-that’s…!!”

Terror invaded her ears and brain.

Just as she was resisting by biting her tongue almost to shreds,

Crack!

Something imprinted in Barbara’s brain shattered, and all the Nameless members went limp.

“…What’s happening?”

As the confused Nahan took a step back, the doors to the training hall opened as if on cue.

Amid the Imperial guards rushing in, there was a man with golden hair.

“Protect the Emperor!!!”

Shouting along with the guards, he drew his sword and charged at Nahan.

The first thing Nahan did was lower the level of his Black Curtain.

【<Black Curtain(Ex)> – 10% is activated.】

He reduced the output because maintaining the previous level would cause ordinary guards to cough blood and die instantly—a measure to avoid harming innocent people.

However, this proved to be a mistake.

Through the gap created by Nahan’s reduced output, Pedro’s vigilance, and Reina’s surprise,

【Savior – <Hallorand(A+)> deletes the <Cause> to produce only the <Result>.】

【Result: [The Minister of Defense who attempted to assassinate the Emperor was purged by Hallorand.]】

Thwack!

Hallorand’s rapier pierced through the Minister of Defense’s forehead.

A supernatural power beyond comprehension.

Only Hallorand and Nahan noticed the distortion in time, and in that fleeting moment, Hallorand conveyed a message to Nahan.

“I said it was your responsibility.”

That’s what he said.