195. Live or die
‘It was the emperor, Gustav Friedrich von Freyja, who killed your father.’
As he pondered over those words, Hwang Tae-son’s teeth gnashed.
That made no sense.
Didn’t my father die in Henderson’s attack?
By that crow that managed to break through the strong barriers of the imperial palace and the strict guards of the imperial guards, and then escaped leisurely…
“No way.”
Hwang Tae-son’s eyes trembled.
Come to think of it, why hadn’t he ever had a single question?
Perhaps it was because he overestimated Henderson’s capabilities.
Or is it because he underestimated the Imperial Guard prior to the reorganization?
Why didn’t I think of the possibility that someone opened the barrier and weakened the guard?
Feeling as if he had suddenly woken up from a dream, Hwang Tae-son stopped on the spot and his hands trembled.
“Are you all right, Your Highness?”
“Yes… It’s okay.”
“Anyway, thank you again, Your Highness. Thank you so much for letting me in again…”
From the side, the attendant was bowing his head.
The year before I got fired for making the mistake of opening my bedroom door without permission.
Hwang Tae-son looked at the teacup she was holding, took a deep breath, and took her step again.
“I’m going to spill the tea. Stop it.”
“Yes, that’s right…”
As Hwang Tae-son stood in front of him, the door moved by itself and began to open.
It was the bedroom of the emperor.
The attendant, who saw the scene inside for the first time, inadvertently opened his mouth to look around, but came to his senses and stuck closely behind Hwang Tae-son.
In the back, the emperor was sitting at a table, stroking his white beard.
The door slammed shut with a thud.
“Cha······ Colonel please······.”
Taeson and the emperor stood face to face without saying anything.
The hand of the attendant trembled as she felt pressure from the strange air currents swirling in the meantime.
The attendant, who finally put down both cups, bowed once and headed toward the door hesitantly.
The door opened and closed again, and soon there were only two people left inside, the emperor and the grandson.
“Ah…! I thought I was choking to death.”
“What is that frivolous?”
“How are you?”
The noble posture up until now had completely collapsed, and the crown prince had a completely crooked posture.
Gustav, who was watching the scene, picked up the teacup with a smile.
“Wait a minute.”
“Why is that?”
At that time, the prince’s hand suddenly approached and grabbed Gustav’s hand.
Gustav took a peek at the serious look in his eyes and slowly lowered the teacup.
Anyway, the granddaughter didn’t come here just to chat.
“I have a few questions for you. Schluss Heinkel… Are you really going to kill me?”
“That’s it… It’s a bit complicated-“
“Then please tell me briefly.”
“Yes. I will kill you. By all means.”
In an instant, Hwang Tae-son felt his breath quicken.
“So Grandpa thinks Schluss Heinkel is a liar?”
“A liar? No. Schluss Heinkel is cunning but not cowardly. He destroys opponents with the truth, not with lies and slander.”
“Well then, Grandpa. How would you feel if Schluss Heinkel was given an office?”
“I already gave it to you, but it was of no use. He’s the one who gave up all the positions of the duke and first swordsman… He’s probably the kind of guy who can’t be satisfied with anything other than the throne.”
“Hmm…”
Even as he nodded, Hwang Tae-son was thinking differently.
Perhaps Schluss Heinkel is rejecting an official position that is confined to one place.
I wondered if I was pursuing freedom more than ambition to reach the top.
If that were true, Schluss Heinkel would not have the will to take over the throne.
In other words, all of this board was designed to survive against the Emperor’s attack…
“Grandpa. Last question.”
“Do whatever you want.”
“My father. Why did you kill him?”
“·······?!”
Gustav’s eyes flashed.
Hwang Tae-son, who had carefully observed the change in his expression, was sure of it.
What Schluss Heinkel said was very true.
“Collock! Coke! Kuck…!”
Gustav started to let out a dry cough, then picked up the teacup and gulped down.
Nevertheless, thirst climbed the line.
Seeing his granddaughter’s fierce eyes sitting right in front of him, Gustav felt his body sting.
“Answer me, Grandpa.”
“Where the hell did you hear that? I heard rumors from someone-“
“Don’t be fooled and answer my question! Why did you kill me?”
“That, that’s it…”
Gustav avoided that sharp gaze.
He couldn’t possibly tell her granddaughter that her father had been killed because he was such a stupid, arrogant, cruel bastard.
He didn’t have the confidence to say that he took his father’s crown and killed it to give it to you.
“To say the least, it becomes a complicated story…”
“You don’t have the heart to answer. All right. It was all just excuses anyway.”
“·······?”
Hwang Tae-son jumped up.
Looking up at that face, Gustav suddenly felt a tingling sensation inside.
“Cool!”
Sudden vomiting.
He regurgitated something warm inside with him, pouring out of his mouth.
“What…!”
It was a massive hemoptysis.
Gustav’s eyes, covered in blood on his mouth, returned to the prince.
However, Hwang Tae-son just looked down with cold eyes.
No matter how much he stretched out his arms for help, he just turned away.
“Kuh?! Ughhhhh!”
“You’ve been doing it for too long. I think you’re slowly losing that insight, so I’m drawing it out in advance, so please forgive me for my disloyalty.”
Hwang Tae-son bowed his head and paid his final respect to the greatest monarch in history who led the empire’s heyday.
But the monarch’s youthful intelligence was already fading.
Before he does anything further to disgrace his name, it is his duty as a child to bring him down before he becomes completely senile.
When the Crown Prince finally opened his eyes, Gustav, who had fallen on the table, was completely motionless.
A faint smile appeared on the corner of Hwang Tae-son’s mouth when he last checked his pulse.
“Dad… Are you watching?”
The enemy was avenged.
It seems like it took too long, but it paid off in the end.
My father would be happy to look down from the sky.
Hwang Tae-son was shedding tears of joy.
Letting the tears flow, Hwang Tae-son hugged the emperor tightly.
“Guards!!! What are the guards!”
“What are you doing?!”
“Damn, Your Majesty…! Your Majesty suddenly vomited blood and this happened! Quickly call the doctor! Call the doctor! Hurry up!”
“Ah, I see, Your Highness!”
“Halva Mama! Open your eyes…!”
“Emergency. Emergency… Close the palace immediately.”
In the middle of the chaotic bedroom, Hwang Tae-son hugged his grandfather’s corpse and let go of his head, crying.
I’ve never done acting in my life, but for some reason, it worked just fine.
“Check the well! Quickly!”
“Catch all the attendants who touched the car!”
No one, no one even thought that the person crying while burying his face in the bosom of a corpse was the culprit.
And no one noticed that the crying soon turned into grotesque laughter.
***
10 Am. Good news came.
Two hours ago, the emperor died suddenly after drinking poisoned tea.
The whole system was shaken by the sudden news.
Usually, when something like this happens, they’ll have a brief meeting and make a presentation after the matter has been sorted out inside the imperial family.
It usually takes one to three days for that to happen, but the imperial family chose to announce it right away.
It wouldn’t be without thinking, everyone must have had their own thoughts.
That wasn’t the only problem.
-His Majesty’s coming-of-age and coronation ceremonies are both scheduled to take place in two days.
This absurd schedule was the problem.
Even the death of an emperor is quite sudden, but just two days later, the coming of age ceremony is held and the coronation ceremony is held at the same time.
Thanks to that, all high-ranking nobles across the country were on fire.
Since it was time to rush to Jedo right away.
Unfortunately, given the two days that were allotted now, it was time to set aside everything that was immediately at hand and run to Jedo from anywhere in the country by taking the fastest carriage.
There is nothing to be used as an excuse for being late.
Nothing could take precedence over the death and coronation of the emperor.
‘It worked just the way I wanted it, but…’
Up to this point, everything has been going as I intended.
The problem was this.
Arya was blinded by her vengeance and killed the emperor, but after she ascended the throne, will she maintain the same line as Gustav and keep me in check, or will she actively appoint me… ···.
That was the problem.
Of course, Gustaf wasn’t the only one who didn’t want to appoint me.
Although he is the most sh*tty of the dukedoms, he proposed the position of duke in his own way, and even recommended the Imperial First Sword.
But what I wanted was not a position full of responsibilities and obligations.
I needed a seat with greater power and freedom at the same time.
When I say this, it sounds like an absurd greedy person.
Anyway, whether Arya would give me such an outrageous position was also a key issue.
“Let’s start slowly now?”
“Uh. I have to go.”
“Won’t you go and be accused of being an assassin?”
Emilia asked with a worried look as she tightened her tie.
Her skilful hands tightened her tie neatly and tucked it inside my coat.
Emilia was so cute that I accidentally stroked her hair.
From noble mtl dot com.
“Don’t worry. It’s not going to happen. We still have too much to do. We can’t collapse here.”
“Ummm… That’s right. If my brother collapses, we’re in danger too.”
Emilia came naturally to me.
I hugged this little creature and stuck her nose in the crown of her head.
It smelled good.
Now, just as I was about to fall for real, Emilia tugged on my tie.
Whenever she wanted to kiss her, she would ask for it.
It seemed embarrassing to say.
“Ehhhhh.”
I grabbed Emilia’s braided hair and kissed her lips.
Her trembling hands were so cute, with one hand holding my tie and the other hand gripping my chest.
I have to go to an important event soon, so I can’t ruin her clothes.
I coveted Emilia’s lips for a long time, as if meeting all the other desires that had accumulated over the years.
Soon the guilt came rushing in.
I wonder if it’s my guilt that I’m bumping into a minor with my low-level s*xual desire.
If that’s not the case, then maybe you feel guilty about getting pleasure from a child you don’t even like.
“Puheuh…”
“I’m leaving.”
“Yes······. Let’s go······.”
After wiping the corner of Emilia’s mouth with the back of Emilia’s hand, she fell.
Still, her kiss cleared her head.
The place she is heading now is not just a place to go to celebrate the emperor’s ascension to the throne as Arya becomes an adult and weeps when the emperor passes away.
It was also a place where I went to check my true political position.
Me and the Secret Service were going to be sentenced to life or death.