Chapter 203: The Weight of Guilt

‘Don’t feel guilt if you don’t want to die from guilt?’

Interpreting those words in reverse, it means the level of blood in the puddle increases every time I feel guilt.

To be certain, it’s best to test it. What could I possibly feel guilty about?

Without even needing to ponder, a memory buried in a corner of my heart asserted its presence as if it had been waiting.

A recent memory. Innocent people ruined and destroyed solely because of me. A presence that is faint, but a lifetime of guilt I must never forget.

“…Sir Lien.”

Ah.

The area of the blood puddle expanded.

The Demon King seemed to notice it too, glancing down briefly before looking back at Deon. A belated answer returned.

“…Then it can’t be helped. You’d better find another way to turn away from guilt.”

“As I said before, avoidance is…”

“I’m not saying you should avoid it. I know. But there’s a difference between not avoiding it and focusing intently on things you don’t need to see, isn’t there?”

Even though the distance was already close, the Demon King took another step, narrowing the gap even further.

Deon glanced down at the Demon King’s foot, which was placed precisely within the blood puddle’s area. The Demon King grinned and rubbed his shoe against the clean dirt floor.

“How about taking up a hobby?”

“…Pardon?”

At the sudden, irrelevant remark, Deon’s brow furrowed involuntarily.

“An instrument, painting, gardening… anything is fine. Just create a very wholesome and peaceful hobby. A gap to catch your breath from the headache of reality.”

“……”

“I’ll help you.”

It was a kind of declaration.

Deon frowned, sensing he couldn’t refuse. The Demon King chuckled, solidifying it as decided and smoothly shifting the topic.

He didn’t even give Deon a chance to argue, let alone speak.

“Oh right, did you hear the news?”

“…What is it?”

“The Crown Prince… no, should I call him Emperor now? Elpidius Deserth received mercenaries from Esperance.”

“Oh.”

***

Rememver was the head butler of the mansion where Deon Hart had resided.

Emperor Elpidius idly fiddled with the armrest of his chair, reminiscing about his rewarding meeting with the old head butler. Unresolved questions remained.

‘Why did the Duke do that?’

The day he went to find the head butler named Rememver with the note, he and Aletea received unexpected gifts. It wasn’t just gifts; questions came as a bonus, which was the problem.

The note the Duke gave was a certificate. A certificate stating that the mercenaries requested from Esperance were placed under Elpidius and Aletea’s command. They were by no means a small number.

He was astonished at the number of available troops Rememver had mentioned. Despite the advantageous situation, he couldn’t just stay silent and had ended up saying something.

[That’s too many. Isn’t there a calculation error?]

[We requested mercenaries commensurate with all the Duke’s Family assets, so it is only natural.]

[…Huh.]

It must have been a very difficult decision, truly remarkable.

The Duke received only a portion of the requested mercenaries first and used them for the royals’ escort, leaving all the remaining mercenaries under Elpidius and Aletea’s command.

It was bewildering to suddenly have unexpected forces, but it was good news nonetheless. Since it wasn’t a calculation error, there was nothing to feel uneasy about, and Elpidius gladly accepted.

The Duke’s actions would remain an incomprehensible question for life, but they were too overwhelmed with current problems to dwell on unanswerable questions, quickly dismissing them from their minds.

[What is the dispatch period?]

[It is initially set for six months…]

[…Short.]

[It can be extended longer if you pay an additional fee.]

It needs to be at least a year to do something.

…Well, he could pay an additional fee when the time came.

With this, their forces had increased. There were also Hero candidates who were holding back some troops by clashing with demons at the border by order of his uncle… the late Emperor, but calling them back would be too risky.

Knowing the reason why his uncle sent them there, Elpidius decided to treat them as non-existent forces, though it was a pity.

They would either hold out there until the war with the demons ended, or die before that.

“Are you even listening to me!”

“……”

A voice raised to its highest pitch shattered his thoughts.

Did they just dare to raise their voice at the Emperor? Elpidius’s brow furrowed slightly at the impudent behavior.

Whether they knew it or not, the nobles were shouting at the top of their lungs.

“How could you arbitrarily form an alliance without a meeting!”

“Sanguo is a nation that offered no help until the Empire was in danger and the late Emperor was left alone to face death! What reason is there to re-establish an alliance with them now!”

Ah, was it about that? Elpidius looked at the nobles with calm eyes.

The alliance with Sanguo was not initiated by them. Sanguo had expressed their intention to form an alliance first. Since all new information regarding his uncle’s actions since the completion of the handover was always updated immediately, he, who knew the inside story, had re-established the alliance without much resistance.

‘…Come to think of it, not all information was updated.’

Like how he was preparing to move the capital without him knowing.

Anyway, this information wasn’t that kind, so he should probably consider it fortunate.

When would their remarks end? Against the backdrop of the noisy nobles’ shouts, Elpidius closed his eyes as if annoyed.

***

Before the re-alliance between the Empire and Sanguo, the King of Sanguo heard news.

The Emperor, Eudoardo Deserte, had finally died, they said.

The King of Sanguo, who nonchalantly ordered people away as if he didn’t care, read the same document over and over for a while. The words didn’t register in his mind.

As expected, he didn’t die an ordinary death. Nor was it a shameful death.

A death worthy of myths or fictionalized history books, where he remained alone in the Imperial Palace to die alongside the Demon King’s army.

‘Truly, he departed in a manner befitting him.’

Even though they were not on good terms, he couldn’t help but respect his actions themselves.

He acted like an ‘Emperor’ and yet not, and despite that, how should he view the sublime him? He idly traced the letters on the document with his fingertips, lost in thought.

Objectively speaking, his choice was not entirely rational.

‘If a royal had to remain, it would have been better to leave the Crown Prince, the heir, there.’

It was inappropriate to frame the Princess remaining for the sake of the Imperial citizens with sublimity, as the image of an abandoned sacrifice would remain stronger, and the Emperor was one of the Empire’s strongest forces, possessing even a fragment of the Hero’s power. Furthermore, considering the chaos that would ensue from the Emperor’s death, he should not have died.

So, if one of the three had to remain for the sake of public sentiment, it should have been the Crown Prince. He couldn’t have been unaware of that fact.

“…Indeed, it’s difficult to call him the epitome of an Emperor.”

The King of Sanguo, Yeonhwa, realized. What Eudoardo Deserte chose at his last moment was family.

It was not a sacrifice for the Empire or the Imperial citizens. He sacrificed himself to protect his nephews and nieces, not even his own children.

That fact was too astonishing.

“It must have been a difficult choice.”

He murmured quietly, his eyes wide open.

…Come to think of it, when unilaterally notifying the termination of the alliance, he made remarks thinking of his nephews and nieces who would remain in the future.

[From this moment on, as long as I am alive.]

[Do not concern yourself with the Empire’s affairs.]

Reinterpreting it, it meant to care for the Empire from the moment Eudoardo died. Not excessive interference, but to look after his nephews and nieces well—something to that extent.

He put down the unread document and fiddled with his fingernails.

‘In the first place, we aren’t even in a relationship where such requests should be exchanged.’

It wasn’t a direct, outright request, but a subtly expressed wish. The self-willed Emperor’s wish, he didn’t have to listen to it, but…

The target was, unfortunately, those whom he tried to protect by sacrificing himself. Even though it wasn’t a death for the country, his death was so sublime that it captivated even him, making it hard to look down on.

“…There’s no reason not to grant a wish of the deceased.”

Besides, Sanguo was located in the south, so there were many superstitions, and it would feel emotionally unsettling if he didn’t grant it.

He finally raised his hand to the communicator.

As expected, if he hadn’t misread the Emperor’s wish, the communicator on their end connected to this one without being abandoned or lost, and as anticipated, the communicator conveyed the other party’s voice before long.

– King of Sanguo, what brings you here?

“To drive out the Demon King’s army from the continent, I propose an alliance to the current Emperor of the Empire.”

***

By now, he had listened enough, and endured enough.

Elpidius, who had been silently listening to the nobles, tapped the armrest of the ornate chair to gather attention. A calm voice, as if to quell the heated atmosphere, filled the meeting room.

“Sanguo did not fail to help, but was unable to help. When the Empire was in danger and the late Emperor was left alone to face death, we had already terminated the alliance first.”

“Pardon? What are you…!”

“The late Emperor secretly terminated the alliance first.”

“Why without a meeting…”

Someone groaned as if in disbelief.

But the target to be blamed was not present here. The nobles’ attention shifted back to his heir, the current Emperor.

Amidst the gazes, Elpidius continued his explanation in a soft voice.

“As you all know, we were planning to abandon the old capital. If Sanguo had tried to help then, it would have become troublesome instead. Not helping until the late Emperor was left alone to depart on a long journey? That too was something the late Emperor… did with the intention of passing this position to me, so there is no fault to be attributed to Sanguo.”

“……”

“You all shouted that I arbitrarily formed an alliance, but that too was something that had been pre-arranged by the late Emperor. The termination of the alliance was temporary, with the intention to re-establish the alliance when I ascended the throne.”

“This is information we are not aware of.”

“As I said before, it was conducted in secret, so it’s understandable.”

All actions that would be criticized afterward were borne by his uncle.

Therefore, at least in this matter, I should not be criticized. Because that would be an act of nullifying his uncle’s efforts.

They seemed to be trying to gain the upper hand by using this as an excuse… but he had no intention of being helplessly suppressed.

To achieve revenge, he had to protect the imperial authority, and although he lacked charisma and martial prowess compared to his uncle, he was the Emperor whom such a person had intended to pass the position to. The fledgling Emperor clenched the armrests tightly.

“Do not further disrespect the late Emperor’s efforts. There is nothing to fault in either me or the King of Sanguo.”

“However, Your Majesty, even so, proceeding with matters recklessly without a meeting with the nobles…”

Slash! Thud!

The nobles’ mouths snapped shut. Their wide eyes, as if seeing something unbelievable, turned to one place. There, a table split in two was placed.

Princess Aletea, who had drawn her sword in front of it, glared at the nobles with blazing eyes. Those who met her gaze lowered their shoulders and averted their eyes, and then a voice as sharp as her gaze pressed down on the assembly.

“Enough.”

Neither the uncle who controlled the imperial faction nor the Duke who was the leader of the noble faction was present.

In an unfamiliar place, facing an unfamiliar power structure, the royals were completely alone. Their only reliance was each other.

So, I will take care of my brother. To protect the imperial authority, among the things my uncle had, what did we lack?

Yes, it was martial prowess.

‘Lacking martial prowess? That can be filled with spirit.’

Aletea slowly slid the sword she had drawn back into its scabbard. She spoke coldly with a face that was unsmiling, unlike usual.

“It’s already done, and there is no one to hold responsible. If you must see someone take responsibility, consider that the late Emperor bore the burden with his death. In a situation where we need to save time, do we really need to continue meaningless disputes?”

Now that her brother had safely ascended the throne, the mask of a foolish and cheerful princess was no longer needed. Aletea chuckled lightly at the bewildered nobles’ expressions at her completely changed demeanor.

Why? You didn’t think a foolish royal could wield a sword? How amusing.