Romeo and Juliet.
As I caressed the book cover with the pretty words of the title, I brought it closer to my nose.
The smell of musty leather and paper.
Through it, the faint scent of a certain someone’s smell was caught.
The proof that it had Julia’s fingerprints on it.
*Creek…*
“Hey, Schlus? Can I come in for a sec?”
“Come in.”
As the door opened, naturally, Erica walked in.
She was one of the few people allowed to freely enter the Chairwoman’s residence.
“About the search for the heart that His Majesty the Emperor ordered…”
“Oh, that. Did you find it?”
“First, tell me this. If I say I found it, are you willing to accept the transplant?”
Erica asked with a solemn expression.
She looked so serious that it shocked me.
If she’s like that, it feels like she actually found it…
No way. Did she really find it?
“Only for patients who have no hope of returning to consciousness forever, or death row inmates who committed heinous crimes. I can’t sacrifice anyone else.”
“Why not broaden that range a bit?”
“No. I can’t increase it further. This is a matter of trust with the people. The Empire is currently fighting against the asylum that uses people as tools. To establish a righteous cause, we cannot sacrifice even a single innocent life.”
“Ah… I couldn’t find anything. Among the data His Majesty gave, not a single one matched. None exceeded a 40 percent match rate.”
I figured as much.
Is it easy for someone with a high heart match to be born?
I was surprised because she talked as if she had found it.
“But, you said? Julia’s heart… is similar to yours.”
“Who said that?”
“Julia told me.”
“What…?”
Suddenly, my vision blurred.
What on earth is she trying to say?
“And so, I thought maybe, so I checked. Just in case…”
“You tested Julia? Erica, are you crazy?”
“I thought maybe so! Just hear me out! I checked, and it really was quite similar.”
“I don’t want to hear it. I’m not taking Julia’s heart.”
“99.7 percent match. The chance of rejection is only 0.02 percent.”
“…”
99.7 percent…
It’s effectively the same heart.
I let out a hollow laugh, baffled.
“You know, Schlus. Julia is basically living on borrowed time. So…”
“I said I’m not taking it.”
“Schlus. Listen…”
“What should I listen to! She hasn’t said she wants to die!”
Erica was momentarily speechless and stepped back.
Then she approached the door and opened it wide.
The moment a wheelchair appeared beyond it, I felt as if the air had been knocked out of me.
Madam Lichtenburg, with a dark expression, was pushing the wheelchair, and Julia, sitting quietly atop it, slowly approached.
“Schlus. What do you want to hear?”
“I don’t want to hear anything from you.”
“It’s okay to die. If it’s for you, Schlus. I’ve gone through death countless times. Things like that are no longer scary.”
I didn’t want to hear such words.
I didn’t want Julia to say such things.
“Julia. Go back. Everything has already been handed over, and there are people saying their goodbyes as if they’re going to die today. If you come back to life, how disgraceful will that be?”
“Is that what’s important right now?”
“I’m saying I’m not taking your heart. If I kill you to survive, I… I might not be able to go on.”
That wasn’t an exaggeration.
It wasn’t out of weakness either.
After losing Han Ah-reum, it hurt so much I thought I might want to die along with her.
As time passed, and the wound gradually healed, Julia appeared.
The same face, voice, and scent as hers.
I had to let go of the one who resided in Julia’s body once again.
And this time, kill Julia as well?
No. Absolutely not.
I couldn’t bear that—it would break my sanity.
“Anyway, I’ll just be reincarnated again, Schlus.”
“No. You can’t. If you give me your heart, as long as that heart lives in me, you can’t be reincarnated.”
If I took Julia’s heart, Julia’s reincarnation would stop there.
Julia’s life would end.
Until I die, that is.
“But it’s okay. If I can save Schlus—”
“I’m not okay with that.”
I didn’t want to hear it anymore.
I hated the idea of Julia forcing herself to say she wanted to die or that she didn’t want to live.
No matter how painful life is, humans fundamentally want to keep living.
I didn’t want to make her lie to that heart.
“I’m asking you, please. Please accept my daughter, Julia’s heart. And live… lead humanity to victory.”
“Schlus…”
“I don’t want to hear it. Get out. Let’s end this conversation here. Don’t ever bring it up again.”
As I turned my head away, the three who had stayed behind for a moment slowly moved and left the room.
As the door closed with a *bang*, I felt all my strength leave my body, and a sense of powerlessness washed over me.
“*Sigh…* Selfish bastard…”
If I survive, I can definitely save humanity.
If I can just endure the anguish of killing Julia, I could save the continent.
A selfish bastard who can’t let go of that and plunges humanity into an uncertain future.
A cowardly bastard running from death because he’s scared of living.
“*Sigh…*”
It was a day when my heart ached a lot.
*
The Freya Empire Federation transformed itself into the Humanity Federation.
Its members were the Monarch Principality, the Trud Kingdom, the Great Forest, and the Elf Alliance.
The war against the Majin was officially declared, and the federation entered an all-out war.
They led their forces to places that had merely been suspected to be the asylum’s base, where they had merely left a mark.
All-out war had begun.
The asylum, which had originally hidden quietly while committing small-scale terrorism, now began to rampage openly.
The asylum hunts that had occurred within the institution were now taking place across the continent.
Unable to withstand the encirclement, the asylum soon began to gather in one place instead of hiding.
In the desert, they were only able to resist as guerrillas due to the lack of suitable locations to settle down, while in the Empire, they gathered en masse in the northern mountainous regions and swamplands, fiercely resisting.
Since they had only been holed up in difficult-to-fight locations, even the imperial army divisions couldn’t avoid hardships.
Nevertheless, there was significance in having driven the asylum into a single location.
However, the most important issue was not the asylum.
It was the Majin.
The Majin had yet to show any significant movement, so we had to stay alert, unsure when they might suddenly appear and wipe out a division, turning the tide.
Of course, we had drafted formations to be ready if they did appear.
If Tiltitz accidentally walked into a trap where Hertlocker was lying in wait, this time, death would be unavoidable.
It was no longer possible to escape with that famed Durandal.
“*Cough! Cough! Huh…*”
And I was dying.
Definitely.
I could feel it in my skin—that there were only a few hours left.
“Wow. Look at your pale face. You’re totally white.”
“Why? Jealous?”
“Jealous of what? A bronzed skin is the symbol of health.”
With my chin resting on the table, Serika jeered.
She must be feeling quite good about me dying.
I wish she would at least hide it a little while in front of me.
“Did you come to watch me die?”
“With your attitude? I’ve heard that humans become nasty right before they die, and it seems true.”
“Don’t you think you’ll die? Just because your lifespan is long doesn’t mean you’re any different.”
“Elves die much more gracefully.”
“Stop saying useless nonsense. Why are you here, *cough*…”
“Just came to see your face one last time.”
“Why would I want you to see the face of a dying weakling?”
“*…*”
Serika quietly stared at me for a moment before getting up.
She pulled something out of her pocket and placed it on the table.
A small metal sphere…
No, it was something that had once been a key but had turned into a sphere.
“This. I found out where it opens.”
“Oh, really?”
“It was Atatürk. That human whom I’ve hated all my life. He hid the crown and scepter in the safe and gave the key to me.”
Looks like it took her a while to realize.
Seeing Serika’s serious face made me chuckle.
“Good job figuring that out.”
“But that’s not the important part.”
“What’s important then?”
“When everything became clear, Atatürk escaped from the asylum after dodging Damien’s soldiers. How was that possible?”
“Atatürk was the prime minister of the desert development area. He must have had his own soldiers. As long as he had a guard, escaping would be a piece of cake.”
“No. Atatürk had no soldiers. The captain of the guard ultimately received orders from Damien. Someone helped him to escape. That someone is you, isn’t it?”
“What kind of baseless speculation is that?”
“Atatürk was intending to turn the desert development area to ash with an obelisk. You stopped that stupid thing and helped him escape. The only person I can think of that could do that is you.”
“*…*”
I had to admit it.
Serika might not be that dumb.
I didn’t expect her to figure it out so quickly.
“How many times have you done this, pretending to be the mastermind while doing good for others? This can’t be the first time.”
“You’ve got it all wrong. Do you think I’m a pushover? Everything I did was for the benefit of the Empire.”
“That’s a lie. You could have squeezed the elves more for the Empire’s benefit. You could have made them completely subservient to humans. Despite that, you chose a path that might harm the Empire in the future.”
“If that’s a mistake on my part, so be it.”
“No. You’re just a hypocrite who doesn’t want to see anyone suffer.”
“*…*”
Hypocrite.
Those words pierced deep.
I might have hit a nerve.
“No race wants to see its own destruction. A hypocrite aware of their hypocrisy but stubbornly refusing to compromise. A greedy person. Or… observer?”
“What?”
“You, are you from this world? Your reasoning is strange. You’re neither a nationalist nor a patriot, nor do you crave power. A pervert wanting all three races to survive in balance. It sounds like someone from another world. An observer…”
That was a sharp jab.
Perhaps it unveiled a truth about myself that I didn’t even know.
If I truly wanted humanity to progress as powerfully as possible, I should have consolidated power within the Freya Empire.
It would have been easy to trample all the kingdoms, subhumans, and elves and unify the continent.
But I didn’t do that.
For some reason, I felt repugnant about it.
That must be because I crafted and scribbled the races of this realm with my own hand.
I couldn’t bear to see the races I created suffering and dying; that hypocrisy and greed always resided in a corner of my heart.
A hypocrite. Stubborn. Greedy.
And an observer.
Serika had seen through my essence.
“What are you really? A being from another dimension? Or someone who once had absolute power but got trapped in a human body? It’s not the kind of thing any human could do.”
“Think whatever you want…”
“Answer me.”
“You got close to the truth. I’ll only tell you that much. But let’s keep this conversation between us.”
“Ah…”
It wasn’t the exact truth, but it was pretty close.
Come to think of it, Serika might be the only one to get to that truth on her own.
I thought she was among the dense ones…
Maybe her intelligence had been buffed without me realizing.
Hertlocker was supposed to be quite intelligent, when does that guy ever figure it out, I wonder.
Not that it matters, really…
“People are gathering. I need to step aside.”
“You’re here, right?”
“It’s awkward…”
The sound of steps came echoing from below.
Serika, wearing a wry smile, opened the door and fled.
Although I asked her to keep it a secret, was it really possible to keep it under wraps for a lifetime?
Considering Serika’s tendency to run her mouth, I doubted it.
*Creak…*
“I heard the news. There’s not much time left.”
“Oh dear, Schlus! What on earth…!”
As the door opened, people rushed in.
Ludwig, Professor Sergey, Erwin, and more…
As soon as I saw that crowd, my headache intensified, and I almost lost consciousness.
During this time, my condition had never been made public.
I had completely prohibited any announcement of whether I was ill, dead, or alive.
But someone had defied my orders.
Looking at the people gathered here, though, they seemed to be nothing but allies, so I wasn’t worried, but once an order is broken, it’s hard to prevent more.
I was worried about what would happen after my death.
They came in to pay their respects, but it was basically a farewell.
Everyone had their own way of saying their last goodbyes.
Professor Ludwig spoke in his usual cold tone without any change.
Yet, I was a bit surprised when he said I was his best student, as he couldn’t say empty words.
“Once again, you’re my best student. Not a genius. In my eyes, your head doesn’t seem all that bright.”
“Professor, you were doing so well earlier. Why ruin it with extra words?”
“…I’m sorry.”
Well, that’s that.
Still, everyone thought I was a brilliant genius, so I appreciated that Ludwig acknowledged that I worked hard.
Sergey, on the other hand… was noisy.
Very noisy.
“It’s all my fault! It’s all my fault! If I had known, I would have taught better!”
He wailed so loudly that it took several men to drag him out.
Both Ludwig and Sergey swore in front of me.
That they would dedicate themselves to the future of the Empire and the continent.
Now that the table was set for humanity’s battle, both educators had ample justifications to step forward.
Ludwig, who had vowed never to step onto the battlefield again after making his homeland a sea of flame, and Sergey, who had set down his weapons, claiming he would not interfere with the military and politics as a former enemy would also join the front lines.
“Damn it… My student, but truly, you’re amazing. It’s as if I raised you myself…”
“What do you mean by that, Professor Relic?”
“*Cough.* Feels like just yesterday you enrolled.”
“It hasn’t even been a year yet. ‘Just yesterday’ is normal.”
Speaking of which, I wondered why Professor Relic had come.
He kept blubbering and subtly emphasizing he was my mentor…
He was a consistent human, that’s for sure.
If he suddenly became serious and paid his respects, that would have been even scarier.
“Did I thank you?”
“What for?”
“For saving my sister… Thank you…”
“I’m sure you did.”
Suddenly, Erwin, who hadn’t been seen much, appeared.
The spell I had implanted in Erwin’s heart had long been lifted.
I thought he’d fled far away after becoming free, but he had already returned to the side of the pro-slavery faction.
Is this Stockholm syndrome or something like that?
“It’d be a good idea to run away. If I come back to life, I’ll come straight for you to re-implant the spell in your heart.”
“That’s a lie.”
“It’s not a lie. Go. Take your siblings and go to a quiet countryside. This place will be dangerous for a while.”
“I should… probably consider that advice…”
“Yeah. Far away, *cough*! Ugh…! *Cough*…”
“Should we stop here? Can you all leave now?”
Suddenly, blood spewed out.
Emilia hurriedly got the visitors out, and in an instant, the room fell silent.
Once the door closed, it was just me and Emilia left.
“Phew. Were you feeling greedy?”
“What greed?”
“I thought we’d hold hands tightly and watch the end together as a romance.”
“There’s no such romance…”
Emilia looked at me with pity and wiped the blood from my mouth.
Sorry, but I didn’t think I was dying right away.
I thought I still had at least three more hours to go.
I feared I might just suddenly drop dead while trying to sleep at night.
After a moment, when Emilia left and returned, she held a teacup in her hand.
“Can you drink this?”
“Probably.”
“I made your favorite black tea…”
Steaming teacup.
I grasped it with both hands laboriously and brought it to my nose.
I couldn’t smell a thing.
It seems my nose was already numb.
“Mmm. Smells good. I wonder if this will be my last black tea.”
“Brother…”
I took a sip of the hot tea.
No taste at all.
But I could imagine what it would taste like.
It would have been the familiar, soothing, and bitter taste as always.
“Thank you. Did I ever say your black tea was good?”
“You say that every day, Brother. Every time you drink, you say it, even if it’s the same routine because you lack words, you always say it was delicious.”
“Did I really?”
“Yes, you did…”
After handing the teacup back, Emilia took my hand.
Then she sat on the bed, leaned on my shoulder, and quietly sobbed.
We didn’t discuss what would happen after I was gone.
That was already settled.
We simply sat side by side, feeling each other’s warmth as we waited for the end.
“Emilia.”
“Yes?”
“I’m feeling a bit dizzy.”
“Mm…”
At first, I thought I was about to die.
Suddenly, my head spun and my eyes began to close.
But I noticed something strange about Emilia’s response, and it made me feel even more uncomfortable.
It was a sensation I had felt before.
“Sorry, Brother. I had no choice but to do this.”
“You… What did you give me…?”
It felt just like that time Emilia had slipped me a sleeping pill.
And just like that, I succumbed to the sleep and fell into a deep slumber.
.
.
.
I was deceived.
