Episode 25. Liberation of Slaves (Complete)
Boom!
The door to the dressing room burst open.
Everyone in the dressing room looked towards the door in amazement.
There stood the crown prince who was breathing heavily.
“Your Majesty!”
“…… Go on.”
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Lufen said to her maids who checked her own clothes. At his words, she moves his hand busily again.
The ladies-in-waiting carefully trim the emperor’s clothes. It was delicately trimmed so that no wrinkles would form, and it was worn over the outerwear.
“Enough, Your Majesty.”
The ladies-in-waiting finish their work and politely step back. Lufen took a peek at his clothes and nodded his head in satisfaction.
Chris, who was watching that scene, burst into anger.
“When you’re done, get out of here!”
The ladies-in-waiting looked at Lufen at Chris’s scolding. Lufen let out a sigh and quietly said, “Get out and see.” She said.
The ladies-in-waiting leave the dressing room. As soon as everyone had left, Chris, who slammed her door shut, glared at his father.
“Your Majesty… No, Obama! Are you really going to do what Prause says?”
“…… What do you mean now?”
Lufen clicked her tongue.
She’s had her heart set on it at best, but now that she’s looking at her son, her regrets and skepticism over the deal she’s made with Prause come over her.
“The liberation of other races! You told Obama a few months ago, right? Why do you want to do what Prause wants?”
“Then you are telling me to wait quietly for the empire built by me and my ancestors to collapse?”
“But…… !”
“Does that come out even when you see Meteor floating above your head? Do you have any idea what would have happened if it had really fallen on Pretium?”
It’s a scorched earth.
After adding that, Lufen pressed her forehead while frowning at her sudden surge of fatigue.
“Still, don’t you think liberating other races has gone too far?”
“Prause’s request was the same from the beginning. Even taking Toriaus to his side! He also contacted other grand dukes! Even trying to break off the engagement of tax collector and make him emperor! The formal duel between Urca and Soro! Threatening the imperial family!”
The more Lufen recited the things Prauss had done, the more he realized how thoroughly he had prepared.
“Everything. Entire! It was all for the liberation of other races! It’s that thorough, but its strength is stronger than S-class. No! I don’t know if I can beat the whole empire. I’m making a deal with a guy like this, but if you’re like me, could you refuse the deal?”
“I wouldn’t have done it.”
“Do you think you could have done it? Wherefore? That guy is a reasonable guy. You can never be persuaded by empty words.”
“Still, isn’t it the liberation of other races? Then why the hell did you do the carnage? I thought you were going to give up so easily!”
“You bastard… Did you say you gave up easily now?”
Chris flinched as Lufen glared at her with his eyes wide open.
“Did you know how many members of the White Gwangjo and the Black Gwangjo were killed in the last battle?”
There were forty-six casualties and injuries alone. Most of them ended up with body defects rather than death, but the biggest was the loss of three S-ranks. Because the absence of three S-class members meant the weakening of the imperial authority.
“They were originally people who would give their lives for the imperial family!”
“…… You speak lightly of people like chess players.”
Chris couldn’t say anything because he felt like his true intentions had been revealed.
“Okay. Let’s just say their sacrifices. How many people do you think would have died if the meteorite had fallen?”
“That… ….”
Chris was speechless the moment he imagined the meteorite falling. He knew that most of everyone in the capital would die.
“However, it is unlikely that Praus, wishing for the liberation of other races, dropped a meteorite on the capital. Even though he has great power in the first place, seeing that he puts tax collectors first, it is clear that Prause needs an empire for some reason.”
“Even if that were the case, we would have died that day. And the emperor would have become a publican.”
Chris’ logic matched Prause’s thinking exactly, and Lufen agreed with him. However, Chris did not foresee the consequences that would follow.
“It is clear that Prause must be punished with death for insulting the imperial family. However, Prause admits that he is absolutely necessary for the well-being of the empire. Acknowledge and use. The Empire can be safe from demons just by using Prause. That alone is enough for the value of liberating other races.”
“…… Then why did you stage the carnage? Isn’t it a waste to give up like this?”
The massacre left countless knights traumatized and left indelible scars on other races. Chris couldn’t understand his father’s willingness to give up easily, even though he had made a huge sacrifice.
“I was just trying to use them for the development of the empire. Even though the empire has been evaluated as rotten, hasn’t it developed far more than the empire created by our ancestors?”
“Then, shouldn’t we continue to use it?”
“As long as there is Prause, it is impossible. He would have freed the slaves by force, even if I hadn’t accepted the deal.”
“Has the imperial power been lost to such an extent that you can’t even capture a single commoner?”
“Poetry… Lose it?”
Rufen’s expression crumpled at Chris’ remark that went beyond the limit. He clenched his fists and strode toward Chris.
Every time he takes a step, his robe adorned with countless jewels shakes and shines brightly.
“If you say that…… Where do you go?”
“Yes?”
Standing in front of Chris, Lufen took off his crown and held it out in front of him.
“I mean, you should become the emperor and deal with Prause.”
“What is that…….”
“If I had to deal with Prause instead, I would have to risk everything. All of your life, status, and rights. Are you saying that you are prepared to risk your life?”
“Yes! I had been prepared to that extent ever since I was selected as the next emperor.”
For some reason, the meaning sounded like the emperor was prepared to kill the other princes.
“…… Okay. Try it where But keep in mind. The moment you become hostile to Prause, there will be no victory for you. He will surely step down from the position of emperor.”
Actually, Lufen didn’t mean to say this.
She wanted to tell her to take care of her brother even after becoming emperor. He wanted to tell him never to be hostile to Prause. However, through this conversation, she decided that it was unreasonable to convince her son.
“That will never happen.”
Seeing the confident Chris, Lufen slowly closed his eyes and opened them. Intuitively, he had the feeling that the next emperor would be a tax collector, but he tried hard to ignore it.
“I will hand over this crown to you before the end of the year.”
It meant that the emperor’s coronation ceremony would be held before the end of the year. Since he wasn’t the prince who couldn’t understand that, his straight-faced expression changed at once. In an instant, sternness settled in his eyes.
“I want you to follow me and shine this empire.”
“… Please leave it to us. Your majesty.”
Looking at Chris and feeling her insecurities, Lufen did her self-justification.
‘This is enough. If this…….’
Smart.
A knocking sound resounds in the silent dressing room.
“Who are you?”
“This is Toriaus, Your Majesty the Emperor. The time has come to see you.”
“I will go.”
Lupen put on the crown again and left the dressing room. Before he steps down from the emperor’s seat, he has to do one last thing.
* * *
Wow!
Before the emperor could even open his mouth, the people of the empire burst into cheers. The sky was about to cry. However, it was mostly human, and other races only glared at him disapprovingly.
“I’m sure there will be people who welcome me here, and there will be people who don’t.”
Emperor Lufen speaks into the loudspeaker.
It is calm. There is no trembling even in front of a large number of people.
“I know. It was because I had done something I shouldn’t have done, to the extent that I was called the worst of all emperors. It is natural to criticize me. It doesn’t matter what you do.”
Before he could stop talking, boos poured out of the crowd. Some even threw things towards the balcony where they couldn’t reach.
“I know what I’ve done wrong, and I’ve had doubts and regrets about my actions. But even if he apologized now, he doesn’t think he will ever be forgiven. Countless people have suffered unreasonable sacrifices because of my orders that came out of my greed, so how can forgiveness be achieved with just an apology?”
“If you regret…… Already…… !”
“I knew…… !”
At his speech, Iris and Maria gnashed their teeth at the same time. My fists are shaking. I cautiously approached and grabbed the two of them by the hand.
“Su, Master?”
When I gently opened the two of them’s hands, they were bleeding profusely as if their fingernails had dug into their flesh.
“Don’t get excited. Didn’t you all know that the emperor was such a person?”
“…… Yes… ….”
I sprinkled some potion on their hands. Traces of blood could not be erased, but the wound quickly disappeared.
“Nevertheless, I have to apologize to you guys. Trampling on your dignity for the prosperity of the empire is one of the things you shouldn’t do as a human being. I sincerely apologize.”
He says he apologizes, but he doesn’t bow his head.
For the emperor to bow his head meant that the empire had surrendered to another race.
However, just by apologizing, he was able to stir up the public. They, who had been booing nonstop, showed a look of bewilderment at the unexpected words.
“Is it washing?”
I muttered as I listened to the emperor’s speech.
“You mean laundry?”
“Why are you doing laundry all of a sudden?”
“…… I don’t mean that.”
I hoped. To think that he would try to do laundry in his speech so that his mistakes would not affect Chris.
After that, I continued my speech with excuses, and when it was nearing the end, I started to bring out the main topic.
“If an apology is made, the responsibility must follow. I am going to announce an important fact to all other races in the Empire today.”
The public is buzzing about the story of an important fact. The emperor took a moment to examine the crowd carefully.
Just when everyone listening to the emperor’s speech was restless, mixed with anticipation and anxiety, the voice came again.
“I thought that I would never be able to force them to sacrifice, and I thought that I should not continue to treat them unfairly in the future. Therefore, from this speech, we proclaim the emancipation of the slaves of other races and at the same time recognize their independence.”
His call goes through the loudspeaker.
It became quiet as if the world had stopped for a moment. He didn’t say anything until anyone understood what he was saying.
And within.
“Wow!”
“aaa!!”
Excitement broke out in the crowd.
“Safely… really safe……. It’s done.”
Urca sits down after listening to the speech in a state of fascination. He whimpered and burst into tears.
Iris and Maria both started to cry as if they were moved by that. Tina sees this and hugs the two of them.
“Good. Hey guys.”
“Yes!”
Iris, who is being held by Tina, looks at me.
“Thank you, Master.”
It was a thank you with many meanings.
It was regrettable that Iris was not given the opportunity to free the slaves, but the results were good, so I decided to be satisfied.
“Really…… Thank you.”
As I saw Iris hugging Tina tightly, I answered awkwardly.
“…… OK.”