Episode 104 – The Emperor’s Proposal

*

The Emperor started ranting, even spitting, about how pretty and wonderful Ellie is.

After a while of ranting, the Emperor suddenly stopped and looked at Mela, saying,

,Oops, I guess I got too excited by myself.”

,No, it’s a well-known fact how wonderful Princess Elizabeth is.”

,She could have been part of the Boldiras Count family, but for Daniel-gun to die like that… Life is truly unpredictable. Don’t you think?”

,… I am also very saddened by it.”

The Emperor nodded at Mela’s answer.

The sudden mention of Daniel’s name made me slightly nervous, and I listened to their conversation.

Mela’s expression darkened at the mention of her deceased family member.

The Emperor spoke softly to Mela.

,… Well, the Baron and I need to discuss the Princess a bit more, so if you’re uncomfortable, you may leave us now.”

,…”

Realizing that the Emperor had subtly dismissed Mela, I wondered why he wanted to keep me alone.

Surely, he didn’t just want to brag about his daughter and leave me here; I couldn’t figure out what this sly old fox was thinking.

Mela remained silent for a moment.

After a moment of contemplation, she slowly bowed to the Emperor, got up without a word, and left the terrace.

The Emperor watched Mela open the terrace door and enter the banquet hall, then slowly said,

,You must have wondered why I wanted to talk in such a public place,”

,…?”

I couldn’t answer the Emperor’s sudden, irrelevant remark.

To be sure, I never imagined we’d be talking where everyone could see us, but I had convinced myself that it was because entering a closed space with an unidentified foreigner could be dangerous, like an assassination attempt.

However, the Emperor began to give an unexpected answer.

,But it’s the opposite. They’re not watching me; I’m watching them while talking to you,”

,…What do you mean by that?”

,You might find it creepy, but this is how I govern and protect this country. Information is so important that you can’t afford to miss anything, even while just having a conversation with a guest.”

,…”

As soon as Mela left, the Emperor’s playful smile disappeared, and he began to speak in a dry tone.

My body reacted before my mind could process his sudden change in attitude.

I felt goosebumps on my spine and my hair standing on end, and I shivered slightly.

The Emperor looked at me, then glanced at my teacup and said,

,If you’re cold, have some tea. It’s still warm.”

,…”

,Doesn’t the tea suit your taste? Edward.”

What did he just say?

[…Oh my god]

[Am I hearing things?]

Edward.

My name.

My friends who know my identity call me Ed, and even I use the name Edward more often for Mela’s son, who was named after me, so it felt strange to hear someone call me that.

But no matter how strange it felt, it was still my name.

And someone calling me by my name meant that they knew my identity.

I froze on the spot, unable to deny or make excuses.

I shouldn’t have taken Deborah’s warning lightly.

I shouldn’t have come here.

Since when has he known, and how much does he know?

I stared silently at the Emperor, holding my breath.

The Emperor smiled bitterly at me.

,Indeed, I wasn’t sure, but I guess it’s true,”

,…Since when.”

,I told you, I wasn’t sure. So, I just found out now,”

I did something stupid.

If I had come in my undead body, that dead body without physical reactions to emotional turmoil, I might not have been caught.

No, hearing him say he wasn’t sure, he was already suspicious that I was Edward.

If I had come before him in my undead body, he would have quickly found out as well.

The inside of my mask started to feel slippery with cold sweat.

It doesn’t matter how he found out my identity.

What matters is that he knows.

Who else knows?

How will he treat me now that he knows?

If he is an enemy, can I turn the entire Empire, including Ellie, into enemies?

Calming my panicked brain, I slowly started to think.

It’s too late to hide it.

I need to think.

To plan how I should move in this situation, I first needed to know what the Emperor wanted from me.

I slowly picked up my teacup.

Eating the food prepared by the other party would be a clear sign that I had no hostility towards him.

The Emperor looked at me and said,

,I have a lot to say, but I want to say this first.”

,…”

,It’s good to see you after so long, and thank you for your hard work. Thank you so much for saving the kingdom and humanity.”

The Emperor said, looking at me.

I silently tilted the teacup and drank.

I couldn’t help but be reminded of Ellie’s actions.

When Ellie found out my identity, the first thing she did was thank me.

Of course, he didn’t bow to me like Ellie did, given the presence of others, but I could feel genuine sincerity in the Emperor’s words and expression.

The Emperor looked at me, who had become silent, and said,

,Since you’re curious, let me tell you in advance. I realized you weren’t a Baron from overseas when you showed up in the capital with a huge amount of money. Around the same time, treasures I had never seen before started circulating in the underworld. Through investigation, I found out that those treasures came from the Demon King’s castle. Thanks to that, I realized that Salvie-gun was someone from the Demon King’s castle. At first, I even suspected you might be the resurrected Demon King.”

,…”

,I realized you weren’t the Demon King because my daughter, Elizabeth, trusts you. She’s as smart as I am, so if she had sensed something, she wouldn’t have gotten so close to you. Does Elizabeth know?”

,…She knows.”

,I see. It seems you trust my daughter as well. She didn’t even tell me, so it seems your trust in her was the right choice. Though, as a father, it stings a little,”

The Emperor turned his gaze to scan the banquet hall, looking for Ellie, but when he couldn’t find her, he turned back to me and slowly continued.

,And I only recently started suspecting you were Edward. There was no evidence, and I wasn’t sure. All I had was the continued misfortune of the Boldiras family, and the fact that Salvie-gun was always nearby.”

,…”

,Oh, and Deborah, the former Knight Commander, has been strangely excited lately,”

,Ah, I see. My master…”

I listened to the Emperor, saying as little as possible.

With each word he spoke, I realized how careless I had been, and my heart sank. At the same time, I was trying to understand the Emperor’s intentions in telling me all this.

The Emperor, as if seeing right through me, finished his explanation and continued.

,The reason I’m telling you all this is because I have no intention of antagonizing you. I only know that you are Edward, and nothing else. I don’t know why you’re hiding your identity, or why you’re antagonizing the Hero’s family.”

,…What do you think?”

,Well, it’s not because you like me so much that you’re making things difficult for the Hero who has become a noble, is it?”

,…Are you joking?”

,Is it because of the former Saintess?”

,You’re half right.”

,…Is there something we don’t know about the Hero’s account of defeating the Demon King?”

,Robin’s words are all lies.”

The Emperor stroked his beard as he listened to me.

Just like Ellie puts her hand on her chin when she’s thinking, stroking his beard seemed to be the Emperor’s habit.

The Emperor pondered for about a minute with a hmm- sound, then slowly opened his mouth.

,Revenge?”

,…”

,I see. The body of Duke Villard, found this morning, was severely damaged for a simple carriage accident…”

According to Jennifer, the Emperor also knew about Villard’s plan to win over the Hero and become Emperor.

As she said, the Emperor quickly grasped the whole situation.

Hearing him talk about Villard’s death, he seemed to have guessed that Robin, instigated by Villard, had harmed me, even without me saying anything.

I asked the Emperor,

,I heard you knew.”

,About what?”

,About Villard and Robin’s relationship and plan. You used me to keep them in check, didn’t you?”

,…Used, you say…”

The Emperor squinted slightly and continued.

,It was you who climbed over the castle walls and came to me, asking to join the Hero’s party.”

,…That’s right.”

,Of course, I knew about Villard’s plan. I also knew how vicious his politics would be if he became Emperor. Yes, I knew you were close to the former Saintess, and I trained you and had you participate in the Hero’s party to reduce Robin’s influence within the party.”

The Emperor admitted it cleanly and continued.

,But that was only possible because you wanted it. It was a plan that was only possible because you came to me. It feels unfair to say that I intended to use you from the start.”

,…”

The Emperor’s rebuttal was reasonable.

It was I who wanted to help Mela because the Hero’s party was progressing slowly, and I went to him, the King, without hesitation.

It was I who endured Deborah’s harsh training.

From the Emperor’s perspective, he could only say that he was lucky.

Because of me, Robin, who aimed for a Hero’s harem, could only foolishly watch Mela become my lover and Lara fall in love with me.

And I died, and Robin and Jennifer testified that my death was a great sacrifice to comfort Mela, so Villard could not ascend to the throne even though Robin had married all the party members as planned.

From the perspective of the current Emperor, I was like a gourd rolling in with the vine.

That’s probably why the Emperor didn’t rashly antagonize or chase me away, even though he suspected my identity early on.

I later heard that it was also the Emperor who paid the costs and persuaded the priests who were reluctant to hold a funeral with an empty coffin due to religious reasons.

He must have some gratitude towards me.

The Emperor looked at me and asked,

,Do you resent me, or hate me?”

,…”

I said nothing.

I understood in my head that he was just lucky and had done nothing wrong.

But because of the immense misfortune I had experienced, I honestly found it hard to look favorably upon him, who had benefited from me.

Rather than seeing him as a target of revenge, I felt wronged and resentful.

I gritted my teeth and answered,

,If you don’t interfere with me, I won’t do anything to harm you.”

The answer that came out of my mouth was more of a warning than an answer to his question.

It was an impious thing to say to the Emperor, who represented all of humanity on this continent, but the Emperor didn’t seem to mind.

He nodded and said,

,If it’s revenge, are you talking about Count Boldiras?”

,Just call him Robin. That title doesn’t suit that son of a bitch.”

,No, I can’t bring myself to call him ‘Hero’.”

,…Haha,”

,I hope you’ll consider that I only just found out that you were betrayed by him. To think he married the former Saintess after doing such a thing… What a tremendous thick face.”

The Emperor glared at the banquet hall.

His gaze was directed towards Robin, who was standing alone with a glass of wine, looking lonely because no one was approaching him.

I clenched my hands on my lap and closed my mouth when Mela’s story came up.

The Emperor watched Mela approach Robin and continued,

,Considering that, he didn’t show much reaction even with her by his side. Has he unloaded the burden of his heart regarding her?”

,I don’t want to have that conversation, so let’s move on.”

,…My apologies.”

The Emperor turned his eyes back to me and said,

,…What are you planning to do from now on?”

,…”

,May I make a suggestion?”

,Go ahead.”

The Emperor nodded and took a moment to gather his thoughts.

He hesitated for a moment, then whispered in a cautious tone, as if borrowing money from a friend.

,…Stop your revenge.”

,Eat shit.”

I immediately spat out the curse.

It was as if my spinal cord was reacting before my brain could even process it.

The atmosphere, which had seemed to be loosening up, rapidly cooled down, and my heart started beating fast.

Blood was rushing through my body.

I knew this feeling.

I could feel immense anger rising up, turning the area around my neck red.

If I took off this mask now, a vein would definitely be bulging out on my forehead.

,I clearly told you not to interfere.”

,…That reminds me, you weren’t the type to use honorifics in the first place.”

,Knowing what I’ve been through, what I’ve lost, are you still spouting that bullshit?”

As he said, I was able to remain relatively calm even with Mela by my side.

That’s probably because all my lingering feelings disappeared when I clearly realized that she would never come back to me.

But that desperate and immense emotion had not simply evaporated.

That immense emotion was added to my hatred for Robin.

It wasn’t that it hadn’t been there before, but it was definitely more now.

In my human body, just thinking about Robin made me feel like all the blood vessels in my eyes would burst, and a huge pressure was applied to my head.

I cursed and glared at the Emperor with bloodshot eyes, even in front of him.

The Emperor didn’t seem to mind and said,

,Then why are you hesitating to kill him right away?”

,…Because I’m not going to let him off that easily.”

,Then?”

,…”

,Edward. Take a look.”

The Emperor pointed at Robin.

I slowly turned my head with excited eyes and looked at Robin.

I saw Robin sitting alone with a flushed face among the murmuring people, and Mela comforting him.

The phrase “a kite with a cut string” immediately came to mind as the perfect description of that scene.

,The moment you killed Villard, it was as good as over. I don’t know how Piadu, the next head of the Balguir family, will turn out, but even if he helps, he won’t be able to enjoy the same power as before,”

,…”

,All that’s left for the Boldiras Count family is downfall. For someone so thirsty for power, there’s no more miserable life than that.”

,…Are you telling me to just accept that?”

,Yes,”

,Don’t be ridiculous.”

The Emperor leaned back in his chair, looked up at the sky, and slowly said,

,Even a cornered rat can bite,”

,Why the sudden proverb?”

,That Robin is a deficient guy who enjoyed glory that didn’t suit his humble origins, and eventually became intoxicated by that glory.”

,…So what’s that supposed to mean,”

,But, don’t forget that he’s a rat that can bite quite painfully.”

,…?”

,If you put too much pressure on him to torment him, he’ll do something big. If you leave him alone now, he might just live a powerless life and meet a miserable end. If you want, I can subtly help him do that,”

,…”

I said nothing.

Maybe he’s right.

There might be harsh revenge like what I did to Jennifer or Villard, but making him live a miserable life and meet a pathetic end might be a satisfying revenge as well.

But I had never imagined that my revenge would end so vaguely.

I thought it would have a more definite ending.

The Emperor asked me,

,Are you not satisfied with that? Or are you just unfamiliar with the disappearance of your goal?”

,…”

,If it’s the latter, find another goal.”

,Ha, after all this time, what…”

,It’s already 20 years late, but find a happy life.”

,…Keuk,”

Happiness.

That word, which felt so distant, was so unfamiliar that I let out a hollow laugh.

To tell me to live a happy life now,

I had never even thought that it would be possible.

But the Emperor said with a serious expression,

,Even though it might not be Mela. Even though it might not be as good as her, still, love someone else. The end of revenge is only destruction.”

,…That’s bullshit.”

,How about my daughter? I’ve heard a lot of rumors that you two are on good terms.”

,…What?”

,If the person in question is okay with it, I’m willing to allow it. What other reward can I give you, who already has so much money?”

,I don’t need it.”

,I’ll prepare land and a house in the capital, or a suitable place if you don’t like the capital. I can even find a place like your hometown,”

,Why are you so desperate to stop my revenge?”

I asked, dumbfounded.

Of course, Ellie had been constantly showing me affection.

Although it was half a joke and the other half seemed to have an ulterior motive, I had lightly ignored her appeals, but I knew that there was definitely affection for me behind it.

But she is the Princess of the Empire.

Even though there had been talks of marriage with Daniel, which fell through, the Princess’s marriage would be one of the Emperor’s strongest political cards.

I couldn’t understand the Emperor’s attitude of trying to stop my revenge, even by giving me his precious daughter or that opportunity.

The Emperor pointed at Robin and said,

,…If the wound from a rat bite festers, it’ll be a big problem.”

,Are you saying you’re afraid of that bastard Robin?.”

The Emperor shook his head and said,

,Seeing Villard’s end, I know how dangerous it is to incur your wrath, but I have no choice but to make this offer,”

,Why?”

,Politics and business are definitely different, but an Emperor who is a merchant of a country with the size of an Empire must look at the world through the eyes of a merchant,”

,…What are you trying to say.”

,That you have to weigh everything on a scale and make a choice. For example, which is better, to condone everything you do and gain something, or to persuade you to stop your revenge?”

,Ha, so, you’re saying that it’s more beneficial for you to stop my revenge, so you’re telling me to stop?”

,No, it’s the opposite. It’s more beneficial to help you take revenge as you want and ask you for financial compensation.”

,Then why the hell,”

,But, as an Emperor, I can’t put the safety of my people on the scale.”

The Emperor answered in a serious voice.

His words, that he wanted me to stop my revenge because he was afraid that the people would get hurt if Robin went crazy and rampaged, didn’t even reach my ears.

Rather, only a sharp sneer came out.

I said, sneering as much as possible,

,I’m also a rat that bites pretty painfully, you know.”

,You’re closer to a beast or a monster than a rat. If you wanted to, you could kill all the people in this Empire.”

,You know me well,”

,But you’re not that kind of person.”

The Emperor stated definitively.

I felt bad about his words, as if he was looking down on me, and asked,

,How can you be so sure? Have you ever seen a beast that never bites?”

,Then why did you save Mela’s daughter?”

,…”