CHAPTER 181…………………………………….
After the tournament ended, Repeinon couldn’t eat a thing.
Since stepping out with a face pale as death, he had spent the entire day restlessly pacing around, as if something were troubling him.
Rekanon’s expression, watching his older brother like that, wasn’t any better.
“Could it be that Your Majesty ate something wrong during the tournament?”
“After holding the sword all day, are you suggesting the accident stopped because of that? The only thing you can think of is that he ate something wrong? This isn’t the kind of matter you can solve so easily.”
Repeinon, his nerves taut and sensitive, swallowed back his anger and spoke with a hint of discomfort.
Seeing Repeinon dismiss his speculation as if it were a joke, Rekanon scratched his head awkwardly.
He had only tried to help, but it seemed he had only made his brother feel worse.
Just when he thought he was starting to understand politics, he found himself back at square one. Politics simply did not suit him.
“Then… are you saying that Your Majesty betrayed the Guardian?”
Repeinon scoffed as if the idea were absurd, but the Crown Prince did not answer.
Long silences often meant affirmation. Rekanon’s eyes wavered in anxiety when his brother offered no reply.
“Brother, please answer me. Is it really so? Then what will happen to us?”
“What will happen? If it comes to that, Your Majesty will become the last Emperor of the empire. Facing the Guardian is akin to the crisis of the nation’s very existence.”
“That’s impossible. Would Your Majesty have opened the tournament without any plan for this?”
Seeing Rekanon’s eyes full of faith, Repeinon sighed.
The world treated the royal family like gods, but being royal didn’t make them any different.
If they went hungry, they felt hunger. They envied those with extraordinary talent.
So what makes an emperor so different from anyone else?
“Even Your Majesty is only human, so naturally, desires arise.”
“I believe in Your Majesty. You wouldn’t abandon Elupe like this. How dearly Your Majesty has cherished Elupe. Brother, you know this too, don’t you?”
Every time naive Rekanon spoke, Repeinon’s dark blue eyes grew clouded.
There was a time when he, too, had worshiped the emperor like Rekanon.
Even if the Guardian protected the vast empire, the emperor represented it.
“How could I say I know? If, as you say, Your Majesty cherished that child, he would have done everything in his power to prevent her execution at the tournament. But what have your eyes seen?”
Even Rekanon, who trusted only what he saw, could tell the emperor’s intentions were clear.
The empire had decided the death of Elupe Infera.
“No. I cannot believe your words. I will hear it from Your Majesty directly. Until then, I do not wish to trust you.”
His faith bordered on blind trust.
Repeinon nodded in agreement, hoping his younger brother’s mind would not collapse.
There was little time left. The Guardian would soon return and learn the truth. He had to present a countermeasure before the Guardian’s wrath fell.
“I won’t stop you. But don’t be reckless and barge in on His Majesty. That’s the way to protect Elupe.”
“I will remember.”
As Rekanon left, Repeinon staggered under the weight of frustration.
If he could, he would immediately free Elupe and let her escape.
‘I never wanted to give my heart to anyone so easily…’
Indeed, dealing with complex political matters was far less painful than ignoring those you cherished.
If he had to live seeing this every day, he would never sit on the throne.
Standing before the emperor, Rekanon could not hide the fiery intensity in his eyes.
As a Sword Master, Rekanon’s aura inspired more fear than an ordinary killer’s. That he did not conceal it from the emperor was telling.
Had he not been the imperial prince, he would never have had this audience.
“You said it was urgent, so I allowed it. Yet your gaze on me is… unusual.”
“Do you think it is right to execute Lady Elupe Infera as things stand?”
“Do you wish to reopen the tournament to reverse the verdict?”
Rekanon nodded, incredulous.
The emperor, watching him cry like a child and reveal all his emotions, felt a twinge of pain in his neck.
“When I was twenty, I lost a companion I had spent my life with.”
“……”
Though history had been taught, no one had bothered to teach the current emperor about his childhood.
So Rekanon was hearing for the first time that the emperor had a companion—and that this companion had died.
“He was wise and upright, far more capable and courageous than I, the Crown Prince.”
“Why… are you saying this now?”
“It is also the reason my companion died.”
Rekanon’s expression darkened as he pondered the emperor’s words.
“Are you saying that Your Majesty believes Elupe, being wiser and more upright than the royal family, deserves to die at such a young age?”
The emperor fell silent, watching Rekanon grit his teeth until the veins in his jaw stood out.
Tapping the armrest with his fingers, the emperor nodded.
“Sometimes, it is better for a hunting dog to die before biting its master.”
With a thud, Rekanon dropped to his knees on the marble floor, eyes brimming with tears, then bowed his head.
“If all Your Majesty desires from my friend is obedience, I will give it. But please, spare that child’s life.”
“She will be executed immediately before the Guardian returns. Do not concern yourself with unnecessary matters—leave.”
Rekanon lifted his gaze to his father’s face.
The emperor had once stammered, barely meeting anyone’s eyes.
It was Elupe Infera who had made it possible for Rekanon to speak with him like this.
Elupe was everywhere; he could not turn away from her.
“What do you think will happen to the empire when the Guardian returns and learns this?”
“…Bound by contract, he will protect this empire, whether he wishes to or not.”
“I know the Guardian who loved the first emperor chose death long ago. If he abandons the empire and chooses death, what then?”
The emperor, having never sacrificed for anyone, could not understand.
This was neither for him nor the empire—why give one’s life?
“I don’t understand a word you’re saying.”
“Love is like that. Your Majesty has never experienced love, so you cannot understand.”
“…What are you saying?”
Though he had wanted not to believe Repeinon, he now knew everything.
The emperor was not a god.
He was not omnipotent, nor had he ever deeply loved anyone.
He had only calculated what was advantageous. He was no different from the commoners who died of hunger.
“I heard the true culprit has backing.”
“I know.”
“Then you must also know that the most likely candidate is the Marquis of Slurnt.”
“What are you trying to say?”
Facing the irritable emperor, Rekanon’s smile turned bitter. Watching the emperor feign ignorance until the end, he ground his teeth in disgust.
“So all that was gained from selling a child is merely the execution of one young lady?”
“Are you saying I am colluding with rebels?!”
The emperor’s eyes widened, his fists clenched as he shouted.
But the days when he had cowered before the emperor were over.
Moreover, if the empire’s youngest Sword Master fled out of fear, he would lose face in front of Elupe.
“I will investigate thoroughly. If Your Majesty has any involvement, I will immediately report it to the Guardian.”
“For what purpose! For whom! You have no reason to involve yourself, yet you insist!”
“As Crown Prince, for the empire’s future. As an older brother, for my sister on the brink of death. As a friend, for that child who suffers injustice. I offer everything and raise my objection.”
Rekanon sprang to his feet and turned away.
Seeing him coldly turn his back for the first time, a look of emptiness passed over the emperor’s face.
“The Guardian must not love that child too deeply. Like the first emperor, she will desire the empire soon enough. The only way to protect the empire. Since your heart is for the empire, I trust you will understand.”
The emperor desperately tried to persuade him, but the cold gaze never returned.
“El loved this empire. She cherished Lin like a sister and saved me, the troublesome Crown Prince. If Your Majesty fears after witnessing a life of sacrifice, it is because you lack confidence in this empire.”
“……”
“I once admired Your Majesty. I thought you had a heart wide enough to embrace the empire. But now I see you are narrower than little Roelin. I will not hope anymore. I will save El with my own hands.”
