Ch.BONUSEpilogue – The Story Between the Lines (1)

Suddenly, rain poured down.

Anna jumped up from her seat and closed the window. She put kindling into the fireplace and lit it with a candle. As Kairos rose to help his mentor,

“No, I’ll do it. You stay seated.”

She hurriedly waved him off while pushing in firewood.

Some people particularly cherish their own domain. They feel comfortable only when everything is arranged according to their preference, and if someone else changes the arrangement, they insistently return items to their original places.

For Anna, her research office was her “domain.”

It might seem like an unusual habit, but anyone who had visited her research office would understand. The cabinets in her office were filled with old books and parchments. They were so old and decayed that they might crumble if even a butterfly landed on them.

Such materials couldn’t be carelessly copied. If they were ordinary documents, copies would have been made before they reached such a state.

This meant the documents here were so precious and valuable that no one would even think of making copies.

So it was natural that Anna was sensitive about managing the room. After struggling for quite some time, she finally flopped down in her chair. Beads of sweat formed on her forehead.

“I don’t understand why the weather is so unpredictable these days. Especially these sudden showers. They don’t even last long, yet they raise the humidity before disappearing. It’s fatal for records.”

The books in the adjacent room, that is, the personal library attached to the professor’s research office, were in better condition. If one could call a room large enough to rival a decent library a “personal library.”

Student assistants managed that room quite enthusiastically, and Anna didn’t interfere much as long as it was kept clean and organized.

The room, usually filled with students copying old parchments, was tightly closed. But there was definitely the sound of someone inside.

A sigh, the sound of a chair being dragged, and even for a very brief moment, the creaking of the floorboards as someone moved.

‘Who could be in there?’

But there was no time to ask. Anna was now gazing at him intently.

“Thank you for all your hard work. Even though your body and mind haven’t fully recovered, you’ve given testimony for the world’s sake for such a long time.”

“You’re the one who worked hard, Professor.”

It wasn’t just empty words.

When he was told there would be an intensive investigation, Kairos had imagined something like a disciplinary committee.

A row of desks. Old men with gleaming eyes like vultures. People clutching quill pens, dissecting each syllable.

But the only investigator and recorder was Anna herself. And the investigation took place not in some gloomy interrogation room, but in Anna’s research office.

Anna recorded Kairos’s testimony in symbols and abbreviations that only she could understand. At the end of each day’s session, she would expand these into full reports.

Meanwhile, rumors had reached the capital. The darkness in the “Northeastern Wasteland” had lifted, and forests had grown there, with stems and leaves glittering with light, but thick fog and shadows covered the roots.

Of course, countless similar absurd rumors flowed into the capital. They accumulated faster than water draining through sewers. So people didn’t pay much attention.

Only the clergy responded sensitively to the rumors, but none of them recognized Kairos.

Even fellow Imperial Security Bureau agents saw him as “Section Chief Kain,” not as “Kairos the Temperance.”

A secret so secret that even its secrecy was hidden. An ideal deception.

Thanks to this, Kairos enjoyed a peaceful “daily life” after a long time. He couldn’t do so in Valhalla.

He was incredibly happy when he was with Liliana, but when he went out into the hallway, knights would look at him with admiring eyes, kneel, or bow deeply while praising him.

“That’s what fame is.”

When he expressed his dissatisfaction, Anna clapped her hands and laughed. Kairos wanted to ask if it was really that funny, but he remembered that his mentor had been called a “genius of the century” since childhood.

What people call a genius is someone who accumulates knowledge through superior thinking. Thus, genius manifests regardless of age.

But emotions are different. Emotions grow and change through long experience and thought. Just as a plant doesn’t grow faster if you pour water on it all day and leave it in the sun for 24 hours, emotions need time.

‘Perhaps the mentor actually found it burdensome.’

Some kind of compulsion to become a perfect emperor and create a flawless empire.

“Sometimes I think about it. I want to live among people who don’t know me or my face. Instead of kneeling before me, people would walk straight, and instead of looking up at my face, they would look me in the eye and talk.”

“The life of ordinary people.”

“Yes. Ordinary people who fill the world. A daily life that children of the imperial family, royalty, or nobility will never experience.”

Anna looked down at the rain pouring outside the window.

“Am I being too greedy? But I can’t help it. Everyone envies what they don’t have, whether they’re imperial family members or ordinary citizens. I don’t want to pretend to be noble in front of you, of all people.”

Kairos bowed his head, feeling a little embarrassed. But Anna just shook her head.

“By the way, did the doctors take good care of you?”

“Yes. My body is getting better day by day. Now I’m well enough that I don’t get out of breath even if I run lightly all day.”

During his stay in the capital, imperial physicians had personally visited to check on Kairos’s condition. Still, Anna was full of concern.

“If there’s anything wrong, tell me right away. The body is like a fortress—it’s more important to maintain and protect it well than to rebuild it after it collapses.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

Anna smiled warmly at Kairos’s answer.

“Now it’s really time to send you back. You’ve told me everything you needed to say, and I have no more questions. There are some minor verification procedures left, but I can have someone else do those.”

Anna pointed to the stack of manuscripts on the desk. They were piled quite high. It was simply amazing how she had written so much.

“So today, feeling regretful about parting, I asked to see you for purely… personal reasons. Stories between the lines that won’t go into the official report.”

“What kind of stories?”

But Anna didn’t tell him right away. Instead, she smiled enigmatically.

“Before we get to that, I’d like to call in one more person. What do you think? It’s someone trustworthy.”

‘Someone trustworthy?’

He couldn’t think of who it might be. It also didn’t make sense that someone else would hear such heavy and secretive conversations.

“If you say so, Professor, I’m fine with it.”

Anna rang the bell on her desk.

The tightly closed door of the personal library opened. A man wearing what appeared to be quite luxurious silk clothes awkwardly greeted them.

He seemed unfamiliar, yet somehow familiar.

‘Where have I seen him before?’

Kairos’s face turned pale as he searched his memory.

That man, he looked very much like Anna. And he looked exactly like someone Kairos had seen from a great distance. The silhouette of the man he had seen during events in the capital, when standing guard for the emperor.

“No, stay seated.”

The Emperor, Joannes, smiled, mimicking his sister’s words. Furthermore, he personally brought over a chair.

“This is a secret, but I’ve had the same wish as my sister. The only difference is that while my sister has at least some opportunity, I’ve become someone who can never have that chance.

So be merciful and let me taste such pleasure, if only for a moment. Right now, I’m just someone who dropped by by chance. Just my teacher’s handsome younger brother, nothing more. Do you understand?”

“I understand.”

“Then let’s get rid of the awkwardness now.”

The Emperor shook a bottle of alcohol he had secretly brought.

* * * * *

Kairos had never heard that the Emperor was a drinker.

Joannes was known to be ordinary to the point of being colorless, odorless, and tasteless in his private life.

Compared to emperors who were obsessed with and showed expertise in hunting, drinking, singing, dancing, or sculpture, he was practically without distinction.

But perhaps because of that ordinariness, there was little pressure in getting along with him. The thoughtful Emperor had even laid out snack pouches filled with raisins, peanuts, and roasted almonds, which paired well with the alcohol that had a smooth but intense aftertaste.

“Actually, I tried all sorts of things to secretly visit you. Once I was going to pretend to be a physician, but unfortunately a delegation arrived, so it came to nothing.”

As soon as the alcohol ran out, the Emperor brought another bottle from the next room. Judging by his manner, he seemed to have come quite prepared.

“What else could I do? I had to ask my sister. In exchange, I promised to give her all the alcohol she likes best. This is something we don’t have much left in storage. How does it taste? You probably haven’t tasted anything like it anywhere else.”

It was true. Despite having traveled the world extensively, even Kairos had never had such unusual alcohol before.

“The aftertaste is remarkably vibrant and intense. Like a festival.”

“I’m glad. My father made it himself.”

He almost choked, but fortunately managed to swallow. While the former Emperor Alexios I was known for his fiery temperament, Kairos had never heard that he personally brewed alcohol.

“Actually, for my taste, it’s a bit… the finish is too strong. I should have brought cookies baked with raisins and figs, but I forgot.”

“How old are you to still be eating raisin cookies? Are you a child?”

“That’s just because you don’t like the taste of raisins, sister. Would you say the same if it was to your taste?”

“When raisins are added, all you can taste is raisins. They kill everything else. I also hate that mushy texture.”

Anna insisted, not backing down. Come to think of it, she hadn’t touched the raisins in the dried snacks. Joannes chuckled and popped a handful of raisins into his mouth.

“What about you? Do you like raisins?”

“I do like them. They’re sweet and chewy.”

Joannes rubbed his hands together with satisfaction at Kairos’s answer.

“See? People can be so divided over the same thing. ‘Chewy and sweet’ versus ‘mushy and cloying.’ Even siblings can be so different. It’s so hard to reach consensus.

Still, there are things people unanimously agree on. Things they dislike. You’ve traveled the world extensively. What do people everywhere dislike?”

“First of all, taxes are universally disliked.”

Joannes burst out laughing.

“What else?”

“Noisy neighbors. Children who throw stones at windows and run away. Husbands with bad drinking habits. Cloudy and humid days… there are many.”

“What about things they like?”

Kain took another sip before answering.

“Everyone likes good food. Naps, festivals, holidays… and clear summer days with cool breezes.”

“Then, what about heroes?”

The Emperor’s eyes were calm.

Kairos calmed his mind. This was a question he had expected to come up at some point. Only, the person asking was the Emperor, not Anna.

“People like heroes too. The specific heroes they like and their ideal image of a hero may differ slightly, but in any case, there’s a hero in everyone’s heart.”

After hearing Kairos’s answer, the Emperor fidgeted with his cup. Like taking a moment to gather his breath before saying something difficult.

“That’s right. That’s why people love fallen heroes.

The human heart is strange—people want to rely on, believe in, follow, and emulate heroes, but at the same time, they find reassurance in seeing them fall miserably.

‘Ah, that person was just a human like me after all,’ they think.

But deception is not acceptable. What people want to see is a hero who stands up to an unbeatable opponent and meets a tragic end, not a con artist who pretends to be a hero and swindles money.”

The Emperor poured himself another drink and downed it in one go.

“My sister and I have been having quite deep conversations about this issue. As you’ve seen, the world needs heroes.

Of course, the most ideal world would be one where heroes aren’t necessary, but I guarantee that heroes will never disappear.

I’ve never seen anyone who accepts themselves exactly as they are. Even if such a person exists, if you follow the trajectory of their heart, there’s always an ideal human image, and they try to match that standard.

Whether they’re wise, evil, or wicked, it doesn’t matter. They’re all the same. Some image they want to become, something they want to improve into… in a way, it’s a grand deception.

But it’s different from ordinary deception. Deception typically involves deceiving others, but this kind of deception involves deceiving oneself, and eventually either becoming that or trying to get close to it.

I heard an interesting story recently. The difference between fermentation and decay is that if it’s beneficial to humans, it’s called fermentation, and if it’s harmful, it’s called decay.

I think the difference between hope and deception isn’t far from the difference between fermentation and decay.

My theory is this: Heroes have always existed. Whether they actually exist or are fictional characters doesn’t matter. If they don’t exist, people create them.

At some point, when someone appears who perfectly meets people’s expectations, everyone says a hero has appeared.

Isn’t it funny? The person who’s supposed to come hasn’t shown even the tip of their nose, but we’ve already slaughtered a whole pig and roasted it, and prepared a silk-covered chair.

Seven heroes appeared before them. They knew they weren’t qualified to sit there, but since the world wanted it, they thought ‘why not’ and promptly sat down and enjoyed it for 10 years.

But you’re the opposite.”

The Emperor looked at Kairos with hazy eyes.

“You, despite being more than qualified, say you don’t want to be treated as a hero.

If what I’ve heard is correct, the White Blood Knights, the Holy Grail Knights, the Mercy Knights, and countless others already know what you did in the wasteland.

It’s absolutely impossible to silence all those people. They will find you and inevitably place you on the hero’s throne, whether you want it or not.

So, why not seize the glory yourself? Why do you refuse such a position?

You could become the hope of the Empire’s people who desperately long for a new hero.

Above all, I think you shouldn’t be satisfied with just this much. You shouldn’t be in a role where you receive recognition while hiding.

You even received the Veneration of the Sword. Those seven con artists received all kinds of praise from people around the world. Everyone sang of their achievements, and adults and children alike remembered in detail the stories they made up.

So why do you, who are better than them in many ways, refuse even a thousandth of the praise they received?”

Kairos took a deep breath.

“The reason is simple.”

His voice cracked. He took another sip. The Emperor swallowed dryly, as if even that brief moment was too precious to waste. Kairos lightly clenched his fist.

“Because I am not a hero.”