216. The Emperor’s Circumstances (2)
At first, only the king of Epina was killed.
Then, his sons conspired with the enemy and started an internal rebellion.
So, in the second regression, he also killed his sons.
Afterwards, the grandchildren grew up and took their revenge.
Whether it is a child, an elderly person, or a woman.
He has a desire to take revenge on us inside.
I had no choice but to kill everyone.
Behind their pitiful, innocent faces, they are monsters who only want to kill us.
「….」
When all the royals who were captured in the imperial palace were killed.
Only then did I think I had escaped the fate of death.
But.
「Rosanna, you have arrived at the grave.」
When they returned to Epina to bury her and her slain relatives.
His younger brother, who barely survived because he was not there, stabbed him with a dagger.
“Sister. It’s because of my sister…. If only my sister hadn’t betrayed me….”
For a young boy, the shock of the sudden death of his father and brother was significant.
And what’s more, he found out that the cause was his older sister.
“He got attached to a stranger and killed all of us…. “Did you have the audacity to hold a funeral?”
“Robin….”
Her younger brother, who had lost his mind, was waiting to kill her.
「How dare these scumbags… !!」
As someone who has already killed the same people dozens of times, there was nothing particularly surprising about it.
Also, all they had to do was kill themselves, return, and wipe them out again.
But.
As I continued to return, more and more problems began to occur in my body.
As if he was losing his vitality, his aura became weaker and his vitality disappeared.
Still, I thought I could overcome anything for Rosanna’s sake.
But….
For the first time in my life, I began to feel skeptical about this.
When she was stabbed by her younger brother whom she cared for so much.
Because Rosanna’s last words in her carriage were very shocking.
“I’m sorry…. Robin….”
She was blocking all her enemies who threatened her by turning back decades of her life.
But what she said back from that person was that she was sorry for not being able to kill me.
And that too from an enemy he had killed countless times.
“If only I had died with Leon back then…. It wouldn’t have happened like this…. I’m sorry about my sister….”
「Rosanna….」
For what reason did I repeat that nightmarish cycle?
Was I worse than her relatives who used her like a toy?
「….」
As she thought about that, she felt something boiling in her empty heart.
It became empty, and anger began to well up inside her skinny body.
Soon, that anger exploded.
「These parasite-like Epina clan… !!!」
He grabbed Robin’s neck with his bare hands and twisted it.
A boy who died with his neck broken like a young chicken.
I threw the boy’s body next to Rosanna, who had been stabbed to death with a dagger.
However, my anger did not stop.
I looked with disdain at the corpse of Rosanna, who cared for her leech-like Efina clan more than me, who was trying to protect her.
Just before she committed suicide, they repeatedly held a grand funeral for her body.
I couldn’t do that at all this time.
I left the carriage on the street and returned to the imperial palace alone.
And then, by bingeing on her alcohol, he tried to somehow forget Rosanna.
But.
“Your Majesty…. “You must run the government!!”
“The people’s complaints are loud!!”
“Please, please come to your senses….”
Her body and mind, which had already been completely destroyed, could not come back.
Because every time she tried to fall asleep, the curses of the murdered Epina royal family rained down in her head.
「Let the officials take care of it.」
I was lying in the bedroom like a rotting corpse.
After that, he did not even attend the imperial palace and spent his time alone.
There was a rumor going around that I had gone crazy and the foundation of the empire was in disarray.
Thanks to this, the defeated countries that had just annexed the country plotted a revolt.
「….」
However, I was so devastated that I couldn’t even recognize it.
I only managed to take a walk in the garden in front of my bedroom once in a while.
―――――.
Dirty pajamas that have not been washed.
I wandered around the grass in bare feet like a ghost.
Perhaps because of the rumor that I was crazy, no one came near the garden.
Even the imperial knights who served as guards were reluctant to approach for fear of making eye contact.
But.
Among them, there was only one other person.
“Meet Your Majesty the Emperor.”
Calm voice.
When she turned her head following the voice, the black-haired man appeared.
「Who are you… ?」
“This is Bertie, the imperial knight who has been newly assigned to guard Your Majesty.”
Berti.
He was the most extraordinary imperial knight I have ever seen.
A middle-aged man with a golden glow in his heart who may have reached the level of sword master at a young age.
Furthermore, even after seeing me, who was rumored to be crazy, there was no emotional change whatsoever.
「That’s strange…. “I never dreamed I had an escort until now.”
“There were definitely very few people who applied. “I even came in as a substitute for a senior who quit.”
Black hair and black eyes.
Even the thin eyes that somehow look like a treacherous spirit.
To be honest, he wasn’t a character I liked at first glance.
However, for some reason, his tone was not unpleasant.
“Everyone was scared because of the rumor that His Majesty suffered from mania.”
「I see…. Okay, as you can see, I’m not in a good state right now. “Your face sometimes looks like a dead roadie.”
Usually, when you tell a joke like this, the expressions on your associates’ faces turn blue.
From the beginning, they all had doubts in their minds that I was crazy.
“I know.”
However, the middle-aged knight in front of him was different.
“Now, Your Majesty’s eyes have lost their light. “It wouldn’t seem strange even if he hung himself right now.”
An expression of conveying one’s thoughts as they are.
In the past, I would have thought it was rude, but now it is completely different.
After Rosanna died, everyone was frightened by my madness and bowed down to me.
However, to me, it looked similar to the Epina royal family before they were stabbed, so I was very disgusted.
In that respect, this guy in front of me looked much better.
「It’s a neck…. I’ve already tried it countless times….」
“….”
Even though he made one more practical joke, the man in front of him still looked calm.
He just stares at me coldly with his thin eyes like a fox.
「Why are you doing this, Sir Berti? Do you think I look very pathetic to you?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
Just like Rosanna, she only blurts out the truth.
When I saw that, the corner of my mouth automatically curled up.
「I understand. But, I have no intention of changing. “Because there is no reason or will to change.”
It has been a long time since I had any regrets about Rosanna, who was the source of my life.
Like the wilting garden leaves in front of her, she was just waiting for the day to die.
“Is it because of Her Highness, the deceased Empress?”
The good thoughts I had for him in my heart faded away.
Because the middle-aged man in front of me brought up a person who should never be mentioned.
「Are you aware of the weight of the words you speak now…? ?」
A withered garden leaf suddenly fell.
As if the string of reason I was barely holding on to was broken.
“Yes, I know. “I am also risking my life to tell you this.”
However, the guy didn’t react at all to my efforts.
I just catch leaves in the air as they fall to the ground.
“Do you know the current situation of the empire, Your Majesty?”
「Situation of the Empire… ?」
As I asked in a daze, the fox-like man in front of me opened his mouth.
“Thanks to the rumor that His Majesty has gone mad, all the defeated countries that were barely united are plotting a rebellion.”
In addition to the leaf Berti was holding, many leaves began to fall.
So much so that it is impossible to grasp.
From Noble mtl dot com
“In this situation, there is no one who can succeed your crazy majesty.”
He openly mentions that he is crazy in front of him.
I began to worry more and more about what to do with this arrogant fox.
“That is why even those close to him are debating whether to imprison or kill His Majesty the Emperor.”
「So, what do you want to say?」
I asked, crossing my arms alone.
In the time I didn’t see you, my arms were much lighter and thinner than before.
Knight Berti stared at me with very cold black eyes.
And, he said.
“Who are you, Your Majesty?”
He held out his hand to me.
Afterwards, he asked back in a serious voice.
“I knew you were close to Her Highness Rosanna. But, Your Majesty, did she live her life just to meet him?”
Rosanna lived her life for herself.
At those words, my lips that opened for a moment became stiff.
“You must have said that after meeting His Highness. But before that, what His Majesty cherished and wanted to protect the most was….”
Berti carelessly dropped all the fallen leaves he had collected on the ground.
Then, he pointed to a field of grass with countless leaves spread out.
“Isn’t this Leon, the homeland that your ancestors asked for?”
「….」
“Just as you were the only remaining family member of Her Highness Rosanna, you are the father of your people.”
The middle-aged knight swallowed deeply.
There were wrinkles around his eyes that had been forged over the years.
“Even if everyone says they should bring you down and imprison you, I am different. “I want to believe in you once again as you are the father of this empire.”
The black-haired man bent his knees.
And, I asked the old and thin emperor for a favor.
“Please stand up for the empire once again.”
「….」
When I didn’t respond, he shouted even louder.
“Even His Majesty, who passed away, would not wish for His Majesty to be like this.”
After listening to his words, I thought about Rosanna blankly.
Even amidst the countless news of her victory, she only cared for the wounds that occurred to me.
Even though she regretted saving me because her family was killed.
Just as Bertie saved my life, maybe I can change her so that she doesn’t have any regrets.
When that thought grew bigger and bigger.
「I understand.」
I grabbed the shoulder of the man kneeling in front of me.
「Lord Berti. “Please forgive me for ignoring your advice.”
And then, she asked him who woke me up.
「What is your family name?」
“….”
Upon hearing my question, the middle-aged knight raised his head.
“It’s a common name. “Half of the empire’s population shares the same last name.”
And then, he looked up at me with his black eyes and answered.
“My family is Mikhail. “He is a knight who guarded the border of Epina for generations.”
「I will remember your name.」
After listening to him, I left the garden.
And then, to avoid the protests of the emaciated people who resented me, I headed to a graveyard.
To the place where Mosian buried Rosanna while I was neglecting it.
「Rosanna….」
I stood blankly in front of the empress’s grave for a long time.
Then, I gathered my courage and took out the dagger that I always carried in my pocket.
「I’ve been running away from reality and thinking about it countless times.」
Wearing white pajamas.
In that outfit, I raised my dagger into the air.
「But, in the world I decided to create….」
Tears flowed from the corners of my eyes that I thought were dry.
And then, those tears soon flowed down the deep hollows of my cheeks.
「As expected, I don’t think I can do it without you….」
I thrust the dagger through my white pajamas.
Red blood stained my body.
However, I did not feel any pain.
I closed my eyes with a humble heart as the emperor of an empire and the husband of a woman.
「――――――」
When I returned to the past like that.
I saw Rhodri, the king of Epina, again.
“The one who wants to kill you is Leonhard, the only one in the world.”
In the past, when I saw him, I would have rushed at him like an animal.
However, this time was different.
「I know.」
I raised my sword in the same manner as I had repeated dozens of times.
And then, he resolutely cut off the old king’s head.
「So this time, I plan to kill that entire cart.」
I started work with a calmer mind than ever before.
Starting with the royal family of Epina that can be seen before your eyes.
All of Rosanna’s relatives who are far away.
Is it because they were killed so indiscriminately?
Rosanna, whom she had sent away, also quickly returned to the capital.
And then, he hugged his younger brother Robin and begged him to save him.
But, I didn’t stop.
“Why on earth are you doing this? “What kind of revenge can a child this young grow up to take?”
“Please save me, Your Majesty….”
「Rosanna. “Step back.”
The white uniform was soaked with red blood, turning it yellow.
I walked up to Rosanna in that same outfit.
「This is for all of us.」
The girl I love.
For the country I love.
“Ah… !”
Leonhard roughly pushed his wife.
Then, he grabbed the boy by the scruff of the neck.
“If you kill Robin, I will curse you for the rest of your life…” ! So, please stop….”
The empress with tears in her eyes.
She was thrown to the floor and cried out loud.
But, I didn’t stop.
「This is the end of the last variable.」
I looked down at Rosanna’s younger brother as if he were her parasite.
After that, she swung her sword resolutely.
“Robin… !!”
The Empress’s lips parted at the sight of her younger brother being torn in half before her eyes.
The young boy’s clear blood was scattered and smeared on the white tiles.
Thump.
The First Empress of the Empire hurriedly crawled over to her younger brother’s body.
And then, her whole body trembled as she saw the figure split in half.
“How can this be…?” . Even a child this young….”
「The day will come when you will understand me too, Rosanna.」
Rosanna shook her head as she looked at my determined, indifferent expression.
Then, she got up and ran out of the imperial palace covered in her blood.
「Someday…. You will understand….」
I couldn’t afford to feel her heartache as I watched her grieve.
First of all, the urgent priority is to dispose of the remnants of the dead King Epina.
I quickly grabbed my armor and started preparing to go out.
「Mosian.」
“Yes, Your Majesty… !!”
I asked him in front of the capital city walls.
Thinking of a man my age who enlightened me.
「Tell the Knights of the Epina border area to prepare to subdue the remnants immediately. “I will join you myself.”
“I understand, Your Majesty!”
Mo Xian quickly started writing the letter.
「Oh, and by any chance…. Please check if there is a name among the knights named Berti Mikhail.”
“I will do as you command.”
The Prime Minister wrote down the contents with quick writing skills.
Then, she tied it to Jeonseoung and sent it flying away.
The moment you receive a reply a few hours later.
“Your Highness, it is said that the border area is currently engaged in combat with the remnants of an internal rebellion!!”
My lips parted as a wave of Epinins hit me in the back at a faster pace than I expected.
「Okay… ? So what about Mikhail? What happened to Sir Michael?”
“I’m sorry, Your Majesty….”
I asked the Prime Minister in an urgent voice.
Then, the answer that came back to him was….
“Sir Berti Mikhail is said to have died during the battle.”
It was so ironic.
「He died… ?」
“Yes, they say his name was on the death list.”
Nobu handed over the arrived document to me.
I checked the contents again with trembling hands.
「That can’t be possible…. He was clearly an outstanding friend who reached the level of a sword master at a young age….」
But, as expected, there was no reason for the Prime Minister to lie to me.
‘Berti Mikhail, killed during battle.’
The eldest grandson of the family died, and the main family burned down during a battle with the Epina army.
He was presumed to have children, but his whereabouts are unknown, and he is presumed to have already died.
Instead of saving everyone, I lost the precious relationship that enlightened me.