“…Hmm.”
Bam, the Emperor opened his eyes in bed.
As he saw Ambrosia smiling with relief, he got a grasp on the situation.
Though his body was in a horrible mess, he clutched the lifeline with a ghostly willpower.
Slowly, he began to revive his memories.
He got intoxicated from Gunter’s alcohol. Just managing to call Gothberg, he vaguely recalled the sounds from when he had just arrived.
Did he keep this body tethered to the realm?
Had he departed from this world as he was, the Empire would plunge into chaos over the loss of its Emperor, leaving him with nothing but regret.
“Where’s Gothberg?”
“He went after the perpetrator after treating Your Majesty.”
As the Emperor sat up, he pulled out the IV line stuck in his arm. Ambrosia gasped and tried to stop him.
“Your Majesty, you must stabilize yourself!”
“An attack on me is an attack on the Empire. I will respond immediately.”
The pain from the surgical site and the nausea did nothing to weaken his will.
Ambrosia knew well that he was a person who particularly insisted on his will when it mattered. She prepared to leave at his command.
Dressed in imperial robes, he had already returned to his charismatic usual self.
“I shall take you to the Moonlight Palace.”
He climbed into the carriage with the Imperial Guards.
At the Moonlight Palace, Acella was already waiting, having prepared her respects upon hearing the news.
“Congratulations on the restoration of Your Majesty’s health.”
“Acella, report.”
At the Emperor’s command, Acella looked up sharply.
“The assassin who attempted to murder Your Majesty has been captured and restrained. Your enemies are the Empire’s enemies. We are prepared not just to punish them, but to hold them accountable for even more.”
Suppressing her rage turned cold toward hatred.
“Please give the Imperial Edict.”
Acella’s firm stance left a profound impression on the Emperor.
Having distanced herself from Camilla and participated in the succession struggle, she was growing stronger with each passing day.
Now, the Emperor was beginning to see qualities befitting an Empress in his daughter, who had shed her girlhood.
“Quickly responded from the Moonlight Palace, I shall grant you praise.”
“I am honored.”
“And Gothberg?”
“He is currently interrogating the perpetrator and will be here shortly.”
“I will wait.”
As Acella turned to leave, the Emperor called out to her as if remembering something.
“Acella.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Are you on good terms with Gothberg?”
Caught off guard by the unexpected question, Acella pressed her lips together.
Seeing her pondering what to say, the Emperor smirked lightly and waved his hand.
“That suffices as an answer. You may go.”
“Yes.”
*
“How’s the state?”
I had come down to the underground prison of the Moonlight Palace and met Tanya, who was on guard.
“He’s silent, no matter the questions. With the handcuffs on, he won’t be pulling any tricks.”
The handcuffs were enchanted to negate spells.
They were quite expensive, but they had them in the Moonlight Palace prison.
But the atmosphere was chilling. The stone walls were packed with all sorts of torture devices, not even an ant could pass through.
Did the Moonlight Palace have a torturer? I hope the Head Maid isn’t using them.
As I entered the prison, Livio looked up at me weakly.
“How’s the sleeping arrangement? Former Priest Livio.”
With limbs bound, he was a mess of wounds, looking like he could collapse at any moment.
“Ow, that looks bad. You really beat him up.”
“It wasn’t me; it was the Royal Princess.”
“Really? Whoa…”
Were the holes in his limbs from Acella’s ice spear? That sounds pretty painful.
Still, I felt no pity.
I grabbed a wooden chair and placed it backward in front of Livio, sitting down.
“Let’s have a chat. I’ve got good news.”
“……”
“I saved the Emperor. With his strong will, he might wake up today or tomorrow.”
Hearing the news, Livio joyfully twitched his shoulders and clicked his teeth together.
Tanya had knocked out a few of them, so it didn’t make much noise.
“Gothberg…!”
“Yep, that’s me. We gotta hurry this along.”
I got right to the point.
“Did the curses you used this time come from Camilla, the Third Empress?”
Livio’s face twisted with anger.
“…I have no words.”
“Admit it; it’s better for you this way. You wouldn’t find it fun if the Empire grew stronger, would you?”
“Stronger… completely perfected?”
“Exactly. Since you’re a healer dispatched from the Kingdom of Law, the Empire would have an excuse to go to war with the Kingdom of Law. For now, we’re allies, but you sent a murderer? It’s a matter that could raise the entire army.”
Livio must have understood my words.
There are dozens of countries on the continent, but most are small nations, with the current major powers being the Empire, the Kingdom of Law, and the Kingdom.
Among them, the Empire is the strongest, having conquered a third of the continent’s territory.
The years of halted conquests were due to the Emperor’s whims, but they were always ready to invade other nations.
“If the Empire engulfs the Kingdom of Law, unifying the continent wouldn’t be too difficult. A perfect map of the continent. Wouldn’t that be an achievement in the history of humanity?”
“…Ugh.”
Livio wasn’t a philosophical type nor was he someone who looked out for personal interests.
He was a hedonist.
A psychopath who only derives pleasure from ruining what others have painstakingly built.
Like a little brat who kicks down someone’s carefully constructed sandcastle.
He couldn’t stand the thought of the Empire’s golden age becoming even more perfect because of his failure.
“If you admit it, this matter could be resolved within the Empire. What do you think?”
That was the confession I sought.
The crystal ball footage was not conclusive evidence. It would be hard to prove that the disease he brought was the sorcery used on Gunter.
What mattered most was the curse used to attempt the Emperor’s assassination.
Proving its connection to Camilla would give us a strong justification to take action against her.
“Am I to be executed?”
At Livio’s question, I smiled widely.
“If you admit it, I’ll have you executed. If not, I’ll throw you in the torture chamber for life to extract information.”
Livio lowered his head at my response.
For him, witnessing the Empire reaching its full potential while still alive would be agony.
Finally, Livio answered with great difficulty.
“…I confess. But please execute me within a week.”
“Sounds good. A judicial deal is established.”
*
After finishing the interrogation, I went back up, and Acella was looking for me.
“Prince, the Emperor seeks you.”
“Well, that’s great. I have something to say.”
As I headed to the reception room, bang, Acella grabbed my arm.
“Do you have nothing to say?”
“Hm, is a thank you okay?”
Acella’s expression fell as if my answer displeased her.
“That’s not it. You haven’t followed my orders again.”
“But I got results, didn’t I? How much praise do you think the Emperor will give to the Moonlight Palace?”
“That’s… well, but.”
Acella seemed to disagree, biting her lip.
“Don’t you care about your life? How long will you keep playing this tightrope act?”
“I don’t see why it’s so tight. I won’t play a game I can’t win either.”
“What will you do if you fail? If you lose in a gamble where your life is on the line like now, you wouldn’t even have a chance to make excuses!”
“Eh, how is healing a gamble?”
“Then are you saying you’ll keep ignoring my orders like this?”
“Ugh, why do you keep exaggerating?”
This was a task I absolutely needed to undertake. I had to prevent my family from being annihilated, and I no longer had a future that would call me to be a hero.
Since Acella didn’t know about the information and skills I had due to regression, she must have seen it as risky.
But calling it a gamble was way too much.
Yet it seemed that Acella had no intention of yielding, staring at me with resentment in her eyes.
“Prince, why can’t you understand my feelings?”
“Uh… what?”
For a moment, I doubted if I heard her correctly.
The Acella I knew was always confident, utterly unconcerned about anyone else’s feelings.
If she was in a bad mood, she would punish the other party to feel better, and when in a good mood, she’d demand everyone join in.
And her past self wasn’t much different, as I had confirmed. Just look at how she acted freely in the Marquis’ family or the Moonlight Palace.
That Acella was now using such expressions meant she had something to wish from me.
Her actions, which usually screamed her supreme confidence, instead revealed a desire for me to respond to her feelings.
‘Acella has changed.’
The discomfort I’ve felt recently transformed into certainty.
The Acella before me was neither the worst tyrant nor the golden witch.
“Your Highness, what do you desire from me?”
At my question for confirmation, Acella glared at me resentfully, as if her pride had been hurt.
“What do you think?”
“If you don’t tell me, I won’t know for sure. Why especially to me?”
At my answer, Acella let out a breath of astonishment.
In a voice I had never heard before, frail and vulnerable, she let her words drift away with the wind.
“You’re my betrothed.”
She had said that to me many times before.
What was she looking for in response?
When I didn’t immediately answer, she shook her head.
Suddenly, it seemed like a thought struck her, her eyes blinking with disbelief.
“Prince, how do you see me?”
Silence hung thickly between us.
Minutes passed until the Emperor’s secretary came to me.
“His Majesty seeks you.”
Leaving Acella with her averted gaze, I headed toward the Emperor.
*
Upon entering the reception room, the atmosphere was buzzing.
“Daddy! Are you really okay? Didn’t they say you nearly died and should be resting?”
Having heard the news, Lau was gripping the Emperor’s hand with tear-filled eyes.
The Emperor didn’t seem displeased by Lau’s behavior and wore a gentle expression.
“Oh my goodness, Gothberg!”
She rushed over and without warning wrapped her arms around me.
“You saved Daddy, thank you so much!”
“I did my job… I can’t breathe.”
“Gah, look at me! Is Acella not here?”
Once she let go, Lau quickly scanned the room.
“She’s not. Come here, give me another hug.”
“That’s enough. How is your health, Your Majesty?”
I greeted the Emperor, who nodded.
“You have saved my life, Gothberg. You saved not only me but the Empire.”
“I’m honored. I couldn’t have done it alone.”
“I heard from Ambrosia. You worked hard too.”
Ambrosia also bowed her head to the Emperor.
Rewards are nice, but there were still matters to resolve, so I offered counsel to the Emperor.
“Your Majesty, the one plotting this incident is Priest Livio.”
“I’ve heard. Is he an assassin sent from the Kingdom of Law?”
“I concluded from the interrogation that he was a hedonist acting on his own.”
“Did he think he could throw the Empire into chaos alone? Quite audacious.”
The Emperor recognized how insane Livio was and was impressed.
He stroked his beard and said, “Once the interrogation is done, set a date for his execution. Secretary, prepare a letter to send to the Kingdom of Law.”
“Whoa… Dad, not a war, right? I’ve been feeling awkward about throwing parties lately.”
“I intend to respond based on the Kingdom of Law’s attitude.”
As expected of the Emperor. Upon waking, he was focused solely on the Empire.
But still, more important matters than responding to the Kingdom of Law remained.
“Your Majesty, there’s someone who provided the curse to the perpetrator to cooperate.”
“A collaborator?”
Despite just getting out of bed, the Emperor’s fierce glare showed he was full of energy.
His body probably wasn’t even back to normal yet, but this level of spirit was what made him the Emperor.
“It’s someone who works within the Imperial Palace.”
“Who?”
“Camilla, the Third Empress from Togin Palace.”
Upon hearing her name, the Emperor understood the situation immediately, without a moment’s hesitation.
He rose from his seat and declared, “Empress Camilla is hereby deposed with immediate effect. Assemble the Knights. There will be no mercy for a black magician.”
My site has received a lot of DMCA notices, lol. From now on, I will update the MTL on https://darkmtl.com/.
The site is fast and lightweight because there are no ads yet. However, the theme is different from Cybor-TL, so take some time to familiarize yourself.
Support me by donating at least $10, and you'll have the right to request any novel from Novelpia (excluding 19+ content) using a newly developed tool.