104 – Emotion
The maternal uncles burned to death.
Victoria, covering her mouth and nose with a handkerchief, watched the scene until the end.
“There were ways to ease the pain.”
Even in the era of common executions, many chose to end their lives early and set themselves on fire, she heard.
But Victoria did not show mercy to her maternal uncles. It was to widely express her determination not to show a shred of leniency.
There were moments when she almost collapsed while watching.
When the flames truly engulfed.
When the attention of the crowd watching the execution turned to her.
And when she realized that fear filled those eyes.
But somehow, she endured.
“Sir Alan. It’s all thanks to you.”
“My lady.”
Throughout the execution, it was thanks to Alan Maydof, who stood by her side.
In fact, it must have been a tremendous burden for Alan too. Some of the crowd, crowded to the point of the square bursting, must have recognized Alan’s face. Especially the nobles occupying the front row would undoubtedly be aware of Alan’s presence.
A royal guard casually enjoying the scene of the emperor’s nephews burning to death next to the princess.
“He probably tried to relieve my burden.”
It could have been judged that it would not be beneficial to the imperial family if the imperial princess fully embraced the notorious. If not, of course, it could be a misconception, but it could have been purely out of concern for her. The latter would be better.
“I attended the execution on behalf of His Majesty, Your Highness.”
“Is that so?”
It was what my father had ordered.
Victoria looked at Alan Maydof with a bitter smile.
Honestly, when they first met at the military hospital, she didn’t have a favorable impression of him. It wasn’t because of his looks. Whether back then or now, his facial features were outstanding. It was just that he had a certain venomous quality about him.
What filled that void was a heavy sense of responsibility and composure.
There was also a hint of fatigue. Alan had been living a busy life.
“Your Majesty, you have done something unnecessary.”
It seemed that the Emperor had underestimated her feelings towards Alan.
In reality, when she first considered Alan as a potential Prime Minister, there were no special feelings. To be precise, there were feelings, but not romantic ones.
It was more like sympathy, admiration, and reverence. But now, it was different. Even when she saw Alan speaking bluntly and with a heavy heart, her attachment to him only grew.
Is it okay for me to feel this way while the world is in chaos? Do I really have anything better to do than to think like this?
That was when Victoria was engulfed in confusion.
“Did they all have to die like this!?”
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A cry filled with venom woke her from her contemplation.
When she turned around, she saw a young man clinging to a knight and sobbing.
She knew who he was, of course.
He was the son-in-law of the recently deceased Hayden Walpole… or rather, he would have been. He had been engaged to Hayden’s daughter for a long time. If the persecution had taken place a month or two later, he might have gone with her as a pretend member of the Walpole family.
But now, he was crying in front of Victoria in despair.
“Ah.”
It was a moment when she keenly felt the weight of the persecution.
Of course, in times like this, Victoria knew that she should hold on to her venom and warn him, “Be grateful that you survived.” But given the situation, she couldn’t bring herself to say it. The remnants of the execution were still being cleared away.
“There was no need to send them off in such a dreadful way! I would rather die too…!”
I didn’t want to spit insults at the human who was sobbing in despair, of course.
Someone would probably take care of it if I just stayed still. In fact, Alan Maydoff, who was standing by my side, sighed and stepped forward. He seemed like someone who would feel compelled to solve any problem that appeared before him.
But from now on, I decided not to pass it on to someone else.
“Sure. If you want, I’ll gladly kill you.”
Victoria stiffened her expression and opened her mouth.
The young man’s face became dumbfounded.
“Yes…?”
“Just now, I tied up the two outer prisoners with handcuffs. And at the same time, I sent the outer prisoner to the professor. The rest of the family will live in a remote city where you probably haven’t even heard the name, making ropes for ships to survive.”
“……”
“Is it wise to argue with a noble who can easily do such a thing?”
“Uh.”
“I don’t know. Decide for yourself.”
The young man, who had been blankly staring for a while, slowly knelt down while glancing around. His expression was now filled with fear.
“Your Highness, I…!”
Perhaps thinking that kneeling alone was not enough, he awkwardly lowered his head. It was a gesture that one would only take in the East.
“I’m sorry. I must have gone crazy.”
Please spare me, please spare me.
Begging for his life as a consequence of momentarily losing his sanity. If it wasn’t pitiful, it was a lie.
But Victoria calmly looked at him without even furrowing her brow. More precisely, she looked at him arrogantly.
“If you want to survive, don’t even make a sound and lie down flat.”
Victoria calmly announced and left the square.
The murmuring crowd fell into instant silence.
Yet, Victoria maintained composure. It was possible, thanks to Alan Maydoff standing by her side. She thought she could do anything as long as she could keep him by her side.
Anything.
She could swear to that.
**
I escorted Victoria to her palace.
Right before parting ways, Victoria’s expression as she bid me farewell seemed awkward.
“Thank you for today, Alan.”
Victoria believed she was acting cool and composed.
But her condition was far from normal. Cobalt eyes were lifeless without a trace of vitality, and her lips were slightly parted. If anyone dared to offend her even a bit, they would find themselves on the gallows immediately.
This meant one thing. The Emperor’s intentions had utterly failed.
‘Maybe it even backfired.’
How disappointed would the Emperor be when he learns of this fact?
The amount of whiskey poured into the tea was increasing for sure.
Seeing him mix it with tea indicated the possibility of discreet drinking to prevent rumors about the Emperor sipping whiskey openly during the day. Still, it would be hard to conceal if he ended up getting drunk and sobbing.
The Emperor with whiskey and tea.
The Empress, Silovina.
And the three princesses… yes.
Feeling lost, Victoria gently touched my shoulder.
“Alan, please leave.”
“Your Highness, if you need any advice…”
“No, the knight has already been helpful enough. Besides, if I bring him into the palace now, I might lose my self-control. Even though the situation has come to this, I don’t want to propose to you on the day I killed the outsiders.”
So, you can go now.
While telling me to leave, Victoria didn’t take her hand off my shoulder. She let me go only after some time had passed.
I turned around with courtesy.
When I looked back, Victoria was still watching me.
…
Next was Sienna.
I returned to the workshop, pondering about future actions (if there were any).
I wanted to control my emotions while making the elixir, but I wasn’t given the luxury to do so.
“Sienna requests your presence for dinner.”
Sienna called me immediately.
“I knew she would ask.”
Sienna must have heard about today’s events as well.
Perhaps she even found out that the Emperor and I had a private meeting in the study. She was a woman who boasted formidable information-gathering abilities without relying on anyone.
What I expected was an interrogation or reprimand.
But…
“Come in freely, Alan.”
What Sienna offered me was unexpectedly a feast.
The meal began with a low-alcohol wine and refined finger foods.
“Siena.”
Of course, there were many people in this world who lived on indulgent pleasures. Especially, it was common for evening meals to be enjoyed extravagantly, lasting one or two hours.
However, Siena was not of that type. Would the total time she spent on three meals a day even add up to an hour? Her meals consisted of oatmeal, sandwiches, and pudding. Fine dining was not Siena’s hobby.
But today was blatantly a feast.
It was evident that the food prepared was not for her enjoyment.
“I didn’t prepare this to commemorate the closing of the Wulf family. Don’t misunderstand.”
“….”
“I know you won’t believe it, but I didn’t even watch the pyre ceremony today. I just instructed a few hours ago because I wanted to have a calm conversation with you and Alan.”
“Siena.”
“Just eat for now.”
There was no reason to refuse good food.
Expensive pre-dinner wine. A starter containing the essence of palace chefs who, unlike Siena, usually made sandwiches but showed their skills for once. Unlike Siena, who didn’t consider meals a waste of time, it was a reasonably satisfying moment for me.
Meanwhile, the only strange thing was Siena’s attitude.
“As expected, you’re different. Even though you watched the pyre ceremony for hours, your taste buds… No.”
“Just do as you usually do.”
“I don’t want to do as usual today. So… Alan, do you have any hobbies aside from making dru*gs? I used to think you had a hobby of gambling in boxing rings or dogfighting arenas, but lately, you seem indifferent.”
“….”
“Do you have any hobbies?”
I never expected to receive such a trivial question from Siena.
I had no hobbies in my past life or now. It was due to living in constant tension for several years after cutting ties with my father. I attacked my parents and hastily blocked their counterattacks. Occasionally, I looked out for my younger sibling.
Of course, I could manage things roughly.
But I couldn’t understand why Siena was acting like this.
“Report.”
“Alan, I know what you’re thinking right now. Don’t worry. I’m just trying to find a way to please your heart.”
Siena said this with a grin.
She even proudly added that she contacted her great-grandfather and reassured him not to worry about what was happening in the imperial court. It was as if she was demanding praise for behaving well, even though such a practice wasn’t customary in the imperial family.
“How is it, Alan?”
Siena asked with a smile.
Victoria, who proposed on the day of execution, was pleading gently today, coincidentally seeking Siena’s favor.
The crisis was imminent.
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