Chapter 83: Agitation

While the Emperor wore a sneer, Ardal strode over to the stack of documents, flipped through them, pulled out a bundle of reports, skimmed a few pages, grabbed a pen, amended the details right there, and conspicuously sighed.

“Haa… three pieces of royal pottery….”

He crossed out the number of royal pottery, wrote a new ‘3’, and grumbled as he put the report back.

It wasn’t just in the conference room; now he was even breaking valuable pottery.

Although the Emperor acted like a tyrant, he used to have his limits. Lately, he’d been acting strangely.

The Emperor he knew wouldn’t have done the things he’d been doing lately. The questions Ardal had been harboring mixed with his recent surge of dissatisfaction and began to bubble to the surface.

“Has it occurred to you that His Majesty has been acting odd lately? During this crucial period, he often spaces out, sometimes he’s overly sensitive, and when I check to see what he’s looking at, it’s just empty air. It’s as if….”

Ardal froze.

In the strange silence, his pupils widened, and his hand, suspended in the air, trembled.

He turned his head to look at the Emperor. Was he waiting for Ardal to speak, or was he going to feign ignorance until Ardal hit the nail on the head? The Emperor remained silent.

“……As if he’s seeing things.”

“…….”

Receiving no response, Ardal became even more certain. And he knew the source of it.

“You haven’t called for a physician, have you?”

Guilt, masquerading as responsibility.

“No.”

“Haa….”

Forgetting all decorum, he rubbed his forehead.

Ardal couldn’t understand the Emperor. Eudoardo Deserte was the most inscrutable person he knew.

Yes, a person.

The word didn’t fit the Emperor, who was flawless in battle, paperwork, and even daily life. Ardal gave a bitter laugh.

He was human after all.

“Can you distinguish between friend and foe?”

“So far.”

“Yes, you absolutely must. The moment Your Majesty loses your judgment and swings your sword at an ally, the imperial power will change hands.”

He meant that he would personally take the lead in replacing the Emperor.

The Emperor clearly understood the implication but said nothing, knowing that for Ardal, the ‘Empire’ came first.

Among all the greedy people, wasn’t it good to have at least one like him?

“Are His Highness the Crown Prince and Her Highness the Princess aware?”

“The Crown Prince knows.”

“Then it’s highly likely Her Highness the Princess is also aware. Haven’t you been urged to seek treatment? …No,”

Of course, they would have. He needed to rephrase the question.

“Does Your Majesty still have no intention of seeking treatment?”

“No. Rather, Chancellor,”

As if wanting to end the conversation, the Emperor firmly changed the subject. Ardal, about to say something, stopped when the Emperor spoke again.

More precisely, because of the Emperor’s action of pointing to a specific spot on the map.

“As you know from attending the meeting, the next target for war has been decided as the Srahan Kingdom. I intend to attack starting from this region, so prepare the documents outlining the characteristics of this area….”

“Are you serious?”

The expression vanished from Ardal’s face.

The Emperor, his words cut short, looked up. Their eyes met in the silence.

The brilliant gold eyes, like those of a predator, burned fiercely, fueled by a strong will and the sacrifice of his own soul, as always.

Ardal watched him silently before slowly opening his mouth, breaking the silence.

“Even though you’re not in good condition?”

“That’s a matter of the mind, not the body.”

“The mind inevitably affects the body.”

Like other nobles, Ardal was not pleased with this war.

Attacking the Ireon Kingdom was one thing, but there was no need to poke at other kingdoms and stir up trouble. Of course, since the Emperor’s goal was to conquer the continent, he wouldn’t care about such things….

More than anything, he disliked the reason why the Emperor aimed to conquer the continent.

So, when he confirmed that the Emperor’s condition was not good, he had secretly hoped that the Emperor would at least postpone the war, even if he didn’t cancel the plan.

“So, Chancellor, are you saying we should overturn a plan that has already been decided in a meeting?”

“……But.”

He knew that would be disregarding the nobles who participated in the meeting.

But even so.

“This is madness.”

The stiff voice escaped his lips.

The Emperor accounted for a significant portion of the Empire’s military strength.

It wasn’t for nothing that the Emperor was unofficially considered the Empire’s first hero. He was the strongest among those who possessed fragments of the Hero.

To push forward with the war when his condition was poor, when he was a key figure both as a commander and a soldier….

War was dangerous; a single misstep could instantly obliterate countless lives.

What would happen if the Emperor’s condition worsened and he couldn’t distinguish right from wrong, issuing misguided orders or swinging his sword at allies?

“I know.”

“Then why—!”

“Well….”

As if lost in thought, his golden eyes quietly lowered, long eyelashes casting shadows.

The Emperor, silently observing the broken pottery on the floor, suddenly lifted the corner of his mouth and looked at the Chancellor.

An enigmatic voice flowed out calmly.

“Why does a madman need a reason to do mad things?”

Bang!

At the sudden noise, the Emperor, who had been smiling languidly, instantly dropped his smile. His golden eyes went down to the hand that had slammed on the desk, then back up to the owner of that hand.

The Emperor, expressionless, watched the Chancellor, who was gritting his teeth as if about to explode, and asked softly.

“What is the meaning of this, Chancellor?”

“If you’re going to go mad, go mad gracefully! If you want to die, go somewhere quiet and die without sacrificing innocent citizens of the Empire! If you want to hurt yourself, harm your own body instead of moving the Empire!!”

He finally snapped.

A coldness flickered in the Emperor’s eyes, but Ardal, not afraid, unleashed his pent-up anger.

Knowing the Emperor’s goal and caring for the Empire more than anyone, he was furious.

“Surely, Your Majesty is aware that the soldiers sacrificed in war are also citizens of the Empire! Yet why do you insist on pushing for war! Is it enough to fulfill your responsibility after death! Why is the option of not waging war at all excluded! Why must the citizens of the Empire be sacrificed and the Empire used for your personal goals! Why?!”

“Chancellor.”

“Responsibility, fine. It’s something humans ought to bear. But… but why,”

He had thought the Emperor’s top priority was ‘responsibility.’ No. The Emperor prioritized responsibility, but it wasn’t his absolute first.

If the Emperor truly valued responsibility above all else,

“Is your responsibility to something else more important than the citizens and the Empire!”

He would have prioritized the Empire and its people over his responsibility to his dead siblings.

His true first priority was….

‘Guilt.’

Responsibility was like a second-place prize with no first. ‘Guilt’ wasn’t even on the list.

The Emperor prioritized guilt, disguised as responsibility.

In the end, he too was just a weak human, swayed by guilt.

“Chancellor.”

“…….”

Ardal didn’t answer.

The Emperor, silently watching him gasp for breath, slowly uttered each word carefully.

“What did I just say?”

“……Ha.”

In the end, the story circles back to this conclusion.

Whether those words meant, ‘Since I am the Empire, I will not neglect it, so don’t worry,’ or simply, ‘Since I am the Empire, shut up and do as I say,’ the conclusion was the same.

According to the Emperor’s will.

Ardal, who had been silently glaring at the Emperor, searched the filing cabinet and pulled out one of the files, placing it on the desk and sliding it over.

“……I’ve already prepared it. The characteristics of the area you mentioned, Your Majesty.”

“…….”

“Do you think I’ve only known you for a day or two? I anticipated this much.”

What decision he would make, what route he would take if they went to war. Everything.

[I am the Empire.]

If anyone other than ‘Eudoardo Deserte’ had said these words, Ardal would have left without hesitation, even if that person was his benefactor.

Usually, the person who says these words is a hopeless tyrant who will be recorded in history books, and such a tyrant could never properly govern a country.

But Eudoardo Deserte was….

“Do as you please, Your Majesty. Either way, I don’t have the ability to stop you, and….”

As long as you don’t abandon the Empire, I’ll mostly turn a blind eye.

He quietly swallowed the rest of his words. The Emperor, flipping through the documents, seemed to know his thoughts and looked up to meet his eyes.

“……I know.”

You understand.

If you let go of the Empire, you won’t be the Emperor then.

I will mobilize all my capabilities to cut off your head and hang it on the city walls.

Ardal met the Emperor’s gaze before quietly looking away.

A heavy silence flowed.

That day, the Empire declared war on another kingdom bordering their territory.

Several kingdoms, already suspicious of the Empire’s constant warmongering despite the lack of significant wrongdoing by their targets, seemed to realize something and hastily entered a state of war preparedness.

It was a moment that foreshadowed a bloodbath on the continent.

***

Currently, there are four official heroes in the Empire.

Three heroes who emerged during the Eight Years’ War, and a fourth who additionally contributed and was recognized as a hero later.

The three heroes of the Eight Years’ War were those who survived among countless others who were called heroes but ultimately died and were forgotten, protecting their names until the end.

As such, their contributions were considerable.

The first hero took command at the start of the war, backed by the Emperor’s strong support, and directed the battles.

The second hero distinguished himself from the early stages of the war, relentlessly cutting down enemies and building mountains of their corpses, earning great renown.

The third hero served as a vanguard from the early to middle stages of the war, displaying a ruthless nature that left no intact corpses.

Stigma Primiero was the second of these heroes.

“The Ireon Kingdom has already surrendered?”

“Yes.”

“I don’t understand why they even provoked us if they were going to do that. Those bug-like bastards.”

Disgust flickered in the eyes of the man dressed in clothes that were a bit different from the Empire’s formal attire.

It was an inevitable reaction for someone who disliked the weak.

As if not wanting to waste any more thought on the defeated, whose aftermath had already been handled, he lowered his crossed legs.

He roughly slammed the bloodied sword he was holding upside down and rested his chin on his hands placed on the hilt. His low voice continued.

“So, why did His Majesty summon me?”

“He instructed you to prepare for war.”

“War? Isn’t the war already over… Could it be.”

The man’s eyes widened.

His surprise was momentary. As if gaining confirmation, he twisted his lips.

“Khah.”

“…….”

“Kyahahahaha!!”

His refreshing laughter spread across the sky.

After laughing for a while, the man still wore a smile as he moved his lips.

“As expected of His Majesty.”

Finally.

Stigma muttered to himself, his voice barely audible, and chuckled a few more times.

He had expected the Emperor wouldn’t end the war like that. During the Eight Years’ War, the Emperor’s moves seemed to have continental conquest in mind.

It wasn’t the Emperor’s move towards continental conquest itself that pleased Stigma. He was happy about the fact that he could participate in the war.

More precisely, that he would have the chance to earn merit.

‘This time for sure.’

In return for his achievements, he would request the destruction of his family.

Just like that guy back then.