episode_0012

She had no choice but to kill the person who was pushing for her succession and betrayed her, and ascended to the throne.

She apologized to me in a very apologetic manner.

[I apologize for disrupting your plans···]

At first glance, it seemed like the attitude of a truly reflective person. He expressed his recklessness and guilt for not following my instructions over three pages of letter paper.

But I didn’t believe her apology one bit.

Because the words, “she had no choice but to kill,” seemed to me like, “she killed them because she wanted to kill them.” I am certain that she killed my brothers on purpose.

For her, a born murderer, there is no such thing as an inevitable murder. There is only a murder out of necessity… I can guarantee that she killed her brothers out of necessity and ascended to the throne. As evidence of this, her apology letter contained a subtle pressure toward me.

[But since things have come to this, shouldn’t I just offer this empire to you, Master? For example, if you marry me and······]

Pressure to stop fooling around and come running to the palace. He even mentioned the extreme method of marriage. He said that if she married him and ascended to the throne, then changed the name of the empire, wouldn’t that be essentially conquest?

If you look at the story, it was pretty much a correct argument. In fact, once she became the emperor, there was no need to start a rebellion. If she wanted, she could just separate the old regions and make them independent, and her revenge on the empire was already over the moment she took the top ruler position. In short, it was a piece of cake. It was the perfect situation for revenge…

…Of course, if I were a real rebel.

I’ve said this many times, but I have no intention of harassing the people of the empire who are living well. What do I gain by harassing these countless people? Not only will the dead families not come back, but the people of the empire are not guilty in the first place.

I replied to her.

[First of all, congratulations on becoming emperor. But please wait until I give you my orders. You will follow my orders, right? And as I have said several times, please stop sending me letters.]

[······Understood, Master···]

He seemed a little dissatisfied, but he somehow got over it. He didn’t seem to have any intention of dragging me away right away.

But she didn’t give up easily.

Since that day, the frequency of her letters has increased. What used to be about once a month has now become once a week.

The content also varied.

[Master, it’s cold these days. Are you dressed well?]

[I always worry about whether you are eating well… Do you have any plans to come to the palace…?]

[I had a dream about you last night… I miss you so much…]

Usually, it’s just a trivial story. Originally, I used to write letters about the situation in the palace or the progress of work as if they were reports (I never asked to do that), but now I just use letters as a pure means of communication. It’s no different from a diary.

Actually, sending a letter every week was crazy. It took about a month for the letter to arrive, so sending a letter every week was like talking to a wall. But she kept sending letters every week. It was proof that she was crazy.

I decided that it would be difficult to reply every week, so I replied only occasionally enough to not upset her.

Yet she reacted very violently to that short reply. When she sent a letter, she had to listen to the reply for a month, like an echo.

Still, her letters were not entirely useless, for she often included something in them, usually money or small gifts.

[Master, I am sending you a small amount of money. I hope it will be of help to you in your work.]

[I saw a pretty flower and put one in the letter. Please think of it as me and raise it.]

[These are the rosemary tea leaves that the owner likes.]

As expected of an emperor, she was very generous. The allowance she gave me was considerable. The flowers were fresh, as if they had been preserved with some kind of magic. It looked ominous, so I burned them and took the money.

Suddenly, I thought that living like this wasn’t so bad. I still get surprised when her letters arrive, but it’s not so much that it interferes with my daily life. Besides, I feel comfortable because I just have to reply and she doesn’t come and I give her money. Especially because I don’t have to worry about when she’ll come.

***

Years passed like that.

It’s been ten years since I abandoned her in the palace. I’ve already reached the realm of the devil’s twenty-year-old. I haven’t lived since then. Every moment is a record.

But I’ve been thinking lately that that record won’t last long, because the letters I’ve been getting from her have been so bad lately.

[Master, can we meet just once? I’ll go there. It’s been so long since we’ve seen each other… This is too much…]

[How far along are you? What are you even doing in the first place? Are you just hiding and playing around like a little mouse?]

[I’m sorry about yesterday’s letter… I guess I was too excited. Please forgive me. But I really do miss you, Master.]

[Master··· I want to see you··· Why can’t I···? I don’t understand. Why on earth···? ■■■ Mr.■■■ As expected, the Empire■■■■ Obstacle■■■■ Removal■■]

Her letters were now coming every day, not just every week. Even the content and the mood were completely different from a few years ago. It was as if she would kill me if I didn’t meet her.

She no longer hid her ferocity. Every time I opened her letters, I couldn’t help but feel fear. Of course, there was no option to not read them, because they often contained messages telling me to reply.

I thought about running away.

But no matter how much I thought about it, there was nowhere to run. No matter where I ran, she would find out where I was. And now, it really felt like if I provoked her one more time, she would explode.

She was a time bomb on the verge of exploding.

I ended up writing her a long letter.

To summarize the contents of the letter, didn’t you promise to be a spy for 30 years? Are you going to break that promise? If you think of me as your master, then be quiet. That was about it.

And from that letter onwards, no more letters came from her.

It was a strange thing. That huge amount of letters suddenly stopped. I felt a little bit of liberation. But I wasn’t completely happy.

It was because some uneasy thoughts were welling up. Why wouldn’t she reply? Up until now, no matter how much I begged her not to send me letters, she just ignored me and sent me letters… But then, out of nowhere, she suddenly came to visit me?

Several months passed by with a mixture of anxiety and relief.

To cut to the chase, my guess was correct.

She came to me.

And in the worst possible way…

***

“Master··· I’m here···”

The door opened wide. Someone was standing in front of the door. It was her. Her face had become much more mature. Her face, which I had not seen in 10 years, was very different from before. Her girlish appearance had disappeared, and now she was a face that could be called beautiful. I was more familiar with this side.

“······.”

But I just couldn’t welcome her. I had to welcome her even through acting, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. It was physiologically impossible. This time, she was crazier than ever.

“I missed you so much··· Master···”

She comes to me sobbing.

“!! Don’t come!!”

I screamed in surprise. She paused. There was a moment of silence, and then she opened her mouth.

“Why, why are you like this, Master··· Didn’t you want to see me···?”

As she spoke, her face looked very sad as she cried. It was like the expression of someone who was shocked. If someone who didn’t know saw her, they would feel sorry for her. Her appearance was very outstanding. However, to me, who had recently heard rumors about the Mad Emperor, her appearance seemed bizarre rather than pitiful.

“I was so desperate to see you, Master··· I’m so sad···”

“Stop talking nonsense!!”

“Ah, don’t be angry··· If you get that angry, I’ll be scared···”

“······Why did you do that···? Why on earth do you go around slaughtering people···!!”

“Ah··· Did you hear?”

Her expression changed.

With an expression that seemed somewhat innocent.

“That’s··· to get praised by the master!”

My mind went blank. Is this to get my compliments?

“How can I just leave these dirty imperial bastards who destroyed my master’s country alone? I killed them all, leaving only my master’s land. They lived shamelessly. My master and I are suffering because of the mistakes these bastards made···”

She smiled brightly and told the story of how she slaughtered the imperial people. It was like a horrifying monster was writhing.

“Did you do well? Ah··· You don’t look so good··· Is it because of the traitors living on the master’s land? Should I have taken care of them too···?”

She was talking as if all of this was my fault. In fact, I knew that to some extent because I was a regressor. That this was the first time she had destroyed an empire. I felt guilty. Was it really my fault? Was it because I neglected her that the empire people were massacred? No. It wasn’t my fault. It was just because that bitch was crazy. She was just weird. I wasn’t at fault.

I screamed to overcome my guilt.

“Mi, you crazy bitch···!!! You’re crazy··· I said you’re crazy!!”

“······.”

Her expression hardened coldly. Her face was cold and chilled, as if all the laughing and crying she had done until just now had been an act.

She opens her mouth.

“Master, you can’t do this to me. I’ve worked so hard for you… I’ve endured for 10 years thinking only of you, and this is not how I’m treated.”

“I saw the master deceive me···”

“!!”

For a moment, a chill ran down my spine. Did you know? Did you send that letter knowing everything?

She comes towards me.

“Kkaaaak!!!”

Unable to overcome the overwhelming sense of fear, I ran backwards. But I was blocked by a wall. There was nowhere else to run. I could hear her footsteps behind me. The creaking of wooden planks. That indescribable horror. I screamed.

“Oh, don’t come!! You crazy monster!!”

“······.”

I scratched the wooden wall with my fingernails. Of course, the wall didn’t go through. Just pieces of wood got under my fingernails and caused me pain.

“Ugh···!! Aah···!!”

Her melancholy voice could be heard from behind.

“Bad boy···”

…That was the last thing I remember seeing of myself.

As always, I went back to the past.