I was holding back.
This familiar feeling that has been felt since arriving in the north.
I was averting my eyes from the scene of this massacre, which was as comfortable as if I had come home.
No matter how much he went insane from being crushed by the nanomachines, it wasn’t that he couldn’t remember all of the 20 years he spent as the mad emperor.
Rather, there are things I realize after living as a mad emperor for about 20 years.
The frailty of life, the shabbiness of human beings.
‘In order to survive from Archduke Carlos, I continued the unreasonable war.’
Archduke Carlos made me a puppet emperor.
As he intended, I ousted all the power of the imperial family on my own.
After that, he declared a dishonorable war.
Archduke Carlos must have planned to rebel after completing the war to some extent.
‘Killing the Mad Emperor’ is the cause that everyone wants.
He was greedy to become a war hero and have an empire intact.
However, there was something that Archduke Carlos did not know.
That is, the existence of the country.
I inflated war, inflated it, made civil war impossible.
So the last 5 years I lived like a true madman.
Living in a palace where there was no one on my side for decades, I never slept peacefully from the danger of assassination.
Rather, it’s even weirder that it doesn’t go crazy.
And now.
In front of my eyes, a degraded version of my past existed.
‘Thebeus.’
madman.
No… I should say it’s crazy.
To be part of the world of true madmen, this guy is too boring.
“Thebes. Be polite.”
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Jeremin, who couldn’t see it, stepped out.
Thebes laughed out loud.
“hahahaha! Courtesy? All subjects of the Empire know that there is no formality between our family and His Highness Reinhardt. I’m really happy to do that.”
They are close enough not to be polite to each other.
It was half right and half wrong.
You can’t follow manners.
It was a fact that even I, a fool at the time, knew that it was not the emperor’s perfect will that put me in the position of the crown prince.
The influence of the two Grand Dukes, especially Archduke Carlos, must have played a big role.
So I had no choice but to shrink in front of them.
The scariest thing in the world was Emperor Deus.
A family that even that Deus couldn’t move!
“I’m sorry, Thebeus.”
I shook my head and clicked my tongue.
“…just now, did you call me a disappointment?”
Thebeus’ laughter disappeared at once.
It was only natural that the steam leaked when the person who was easygoing said the word disappointment.
However, it was really disappointing.
“It’s ‘hunting’ to kill things that can’t even run away. I think I can understand why you still remain in the rear like this.”
More than half a year has already passed since the Northern Expedition began.
And around the Rockari Mountains.
It was the point that Archduke Carlos would have wiped out first.
Truly the rear of the rear.
Thebeus was living in the safest place killing the remnants.
“What are you saying now?”
“Thebeus. You haven’t experienced a proper battle yet, have you?”
“…”
“Hmm. Apparently, I made a big mistake in the first battle. It’s hard to imagine that Archduke Carlos would use his own son to deal with the remnants of the rear.”
Thebeus’ face became pale because he was not white.
It was true.
Because of a mistake in the first battle, Thebeus was placed in the rear.
‘I roughly read it, but it must have been right.’
It almost seemed so.
The sons of Archduke Carlos are all geniuses.
In addition, unlike the princes, the competition between them was fierce.
It’s normal to be frantic about getting the ball up front, but being safe in the back means you’ve made a mistake that’s hard to forgive.
In order to vent his anger, Thebeus was drying the seeds of all the villages.
I said with a smile.
“It’s a mistake Archduke Carlos can’t forgive. i know what Are you tired?”
“Shut up.”
Even if you have committed murder, you can never get used to the tension and brutality of war.
However, if you are the grand duke’s son, you must be courageous even in such a situation.
Archduke Carlos never forgave the weakness of his children.
stronger, stronger.
It was natural for him to be relegated to the rear if he couldn’t even swing his sword properly while peeing.
Sreung!
Thebeus drew his sword.
However, it does not reach.
wickedness!
In an instant, Thebeus’ sword was cut off.
Croft. Now, this place was within his absolute realm.
“Attack on Your Highness is unforgivable, Master Thebeus.”
no two times
so nailed it
Then, hundreds of knights around them drew their swords.
“Mr Croft. This is the north, not the palace.”
“An attack on Thebeus is also unforgivable.”
indeed.
Still, a knight is a knight.
what if we fight
Croft and Edith. And about 300 skilled knights.
It was certain that neither of them would be safe.
He shrugged.
“Thebeus. I’m sorry if I offended you. We just want one guide.”
“After saying that, you want a guide?”
“Thanks to you annihilating all the surrounding villages, I couldn’t find anyone alive. I’ll admit my nerves were on edge after a few days in the cold snow.”
“You insulted my honor. I ask for a showdown, Reinhardt.”
There was no such thing as stupidity.
Even though he gave a long speech, he couldn’t accept it.
Don’t you know that if you insist on that, you’re admitting that you’re really tired?
Besides, that’s the real heart.
It was proof that the grand duchess thought they were higher than the imperial family.
If it wasn’t for that, I wouldn’t have talked about honor right away saying that my pride was a little hurt.
It could be seen as the atmosphere of not only Thebeus, but the entire grand ducal family.
With a sigh, Croft interceded.
“Thebes. Do you really want infighting?”
Anyway, they are people of the same empire.
Even if we fought each other, there was nothing good in this war.
Croft’s cold eyes scanned Thebeus and the knights.
gulp!
No matter how old he was, there was no one here who could beat him 1:1.
No, even if all of them rushed in, they couldn’t even guarantee that they would kill Croft with certainty.
It is such an existence.
To the Empire, to the knights, the existence of Croft.
“done. Sir Croft, I will accept the confrontation.”
“··· majesty!”
“Instead, there are conditions.”
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Just fighting is suicidal.
Although Thebeus was relegated to the rear, he was also the grand duke’s son.
It was a monster with a genius equal to that of the princes.
In particular, Thebeus had a good knowledge of swordsmanship to the point of rising to the position of sword master.
So, I set a condition.
“One of them must die before it ends.”
Everyone who heard of my condition became agitated.
A confrontation that ends when one of them dies.
There was no way anything like that could have happened.
No matter who dies, it is ultimately catastrophic.
The knights thought about this.
‘It must be a bluff.’
‘The crown prince must have gone really crazy.’
‘Puha! A life-and-death battle between the crown prince who has no powers and Master Thebeus?’
‘Do you think there’s no way I can accept it?’
‘Tsk tsk, even if I don’t know Thebeus’ personality, I don’t know too much.’
that kind of bullshit.
It might not work for other people, but it doesn’t work for Thebeus.
‘Please tell me to stop, I’ll make you cry and cling to me.’
At this, Thebeus grinned and was about to agree to the confrontation.
Flash!
In an instant, blue light flowed from the prince’s body.
tangible mana.
An aura that I’m used to.
It’s what I’ve seen from the sword masters under Archduke Carlos!
“Oh, come…?”
one of the knights murmured.
Everyone heard that sound.
Come on. Why did the sword master’s symbol protrude from there?
It didn’t last long, but the aura was definitely right.
It’s still incomprehensible, but if the crown prince were a sword master.
This fight, Thebeus’ defeat.
‘It will be a later thing for Thebeus to become a sword master.’
The current Thebeus is not a sword master.
At most, it is not even up to the pure swordsmanship of the first prince.
So, I straightened my shoulders, met everyone’s eyes, and opened my mouth.
“It is a life-and-death battle. Even if I die, Lord Croft will not hold me accountable. I promise with all my honor. Isn’t that right, Lord Croft?”
“······ Yes. If Your Highness wishes to do so, I will comply.”
Croft agreed.
All ‘shows’ are over.
All that remains is the pressure on Thebeus.
“Thebeus, raise your sword.”
“…”
Thebes closed his mouth.
It has to be.
The prince’s incompetence was immediately confirmed by the grand duke’s family.
If that’s the case, then the crown prince is a sword master?
‘Did I cheat?’
I don’t know.
It was clear that he was a crazy guy, but I didn’t expect him to be a crazy guy with skills.
But what if you’ve been acting ‘incompetence’ so far?
What if it was just a postponement to be crowned crown prince?
In fact, maybe he had the same talent as the other princes.
Because you can’t create an aura with lies.
That confidence, that attitude. It was the leisure of a true strongman.
‘Why now?’
My mind was complicated.
If you’ve been hiding it so far, why are you showing that ability now?
‘Damn it.’
Thebeus shook his head inwardly, biting his lips, and said.
“. . . we have no guides. I killed them all because there was no need for them.”
“Then let’s take those kids too.”
The people of the north find their way in an unusual way.
Even children could do enough to get directions.
Thebeus frowned.
“Take only one person.”
“Assuming you’ve given permission, don’t take them both.”
“Reinhardt…!”
How far are you ignoring yourself?
Thebeus grabbed Reinhardt by the shoulder.
As he turned, their eyes met.
‘what······?’
For a moment, Thebes was shaken.
It had to be.
Reinhardt’s Eye.
‘This bastard’s eyes…’
A bottomless abyss.
Would a true madman be like this?
I had never felt anything like this from my father.
It was like falling into an abyss.
“If you put your hand on my body again without my permission, I will cut off your wrists immediately.”
And with those eyes and words,
Thebeus involuntarily let go of his shoulder.
This is no mere madman.
This was clearly the case of the ruler.
In an instant, he was dominated.
Overwhelmed.
‘Damn it…!’
At that fact, Thebeus trembled.
＜From the North＞ End