Chapter 82

Padelmon, locked in prison with shackles on his legs, trembled as he looked up at the shadow looming over him.

The man in uniform standing in front of him radiated an overwhelming presence.

“Y-Your Majesty…”

He clenched his teeth as he looked at Etias, who had now become the Emperor.

The world had turned upside down.

The flames of the revolution had completely destroyed the corrupt royalist faction, and the ragged prince Etias von Clyde had ascended the throne.

At his feet, the black shadows now surged openly.

The undeniable qualification of an emperor, the overwhelming killing intent, the pressure that seemed to crush his heart—all of it made Padelmon’s legs go numb.

“I came here to ask you two questions.”

The low voice sank into his ears.
He had a feeling that if he didn’t answer properly, he would die.

He had heard that many nobles who had been at the forefront of the royalist faction, especially those who had cruelly exploited the people, were hanged on the castle walls today.

Now was the time for revenge and purges. As someone from the Ellemore family, how could he not be afraid?

‘That brat Katrin ran away, and now it looks like I’ll have to take all the blame for the Ellemore family’s crimes!’

“Ask me anything. I’ll gladly answer, Your Majesty.”

“First, where is your daughter Lucia, who was in the cell next to yours?”

The cell where Lucia had been was empty.

“That damn girl stole from my pockets while I was asleep. Then, when the revolution broke out and the prison guards tried to flee, she bribed them and escaped. I overheard her talking with other prisoners she plotted with… they said they were heading to Quayden. Somewhere near the Montella border, a place where they won’t be noticed.”

“Quayden, huh.”

Etias took a step closer to the bars.

“I’ll have to send someone there too.”

When Padelmon saw Etias’ face up close, he shuddered.

Etias had inherited his father’s striking looks, and even in ragged clothes, he had always been a handsome man.
But now, there was a chilling darkness on his face, like a shadow that clung to him.

It wasn’t simply sleeplessness or fatigue.

‘His eyes… they’ve gone insane.’

Etias muttered with a cold, almost deranged expression.

“I’m looking for the rat’s hiding place. Ah, I don’t mean her. I’m talking about the rat next to her. Rats usually like places where the sun doesn’t shine.”

Padelmon flinched at Etias’ words, which sounded like he was talking to himself.

“I’ll ask you one more thing.”

The truth was, Etias hadn’t slept properly for nearly a week.

He had thought that once he reclaimed the palace, put the capital under his feet, and became the ruler of the empire, his emptiness would be filled.

But now, even after owning everything, after avenging the worst of his enemies…

He realized it wasn’t the end.

—Etias.

He wanted to bring her before him.

He wanted to hear that urgent voice asking if he was hurt, the same voice that had once cupped his face when he was at his lowest.

He wanted to see those violet eyes and say, See? I did it, while holding her hand tightly.

He dreamed…

Dreams where his dead uncle dragged her away, where the damned royalist nobles targeted her, where everyone who had once threatened her…

“Do you have evidence that you cooperated with Aglia, hidden in your house?”

“…!”

Dreams of choking her.

Now he was terrified those fears would become reality.

He had never feared failing the revolution, but not knowing whether she was alive or dead weighed heavier on him than anything else.

So, if he was going to bring her back, he needed to eliminate the threats first.

“You two were working together, weren’t you?”

Padelmon’s eyes shook violently at Etias’ words.

Aglia, the chairwoman of the Assembly faction, had openly celebrated Etias’ revolution as if it were her own.
She was already gathering nobles to form a new pro-emperor faction, acting as if she were Etias’ parent.

This had caused friction with Kamel, but politically, Aglia’s power was now overshadowing Kamel’s because she had consistently supported Etias in the Assembly, while Kamel had only joined in the later stages of the revolution.

“…Wh-what do you mean, Your Majesty?”

Of course, Padelmon had letters exchanged with Aglia as evidence. He planned to use them to blackmail her and save his life.

He had hidden those letters deep within his mansion where only he could find them.

But now, Emperor Etias was asking for them.

“As you know, politically we were on opposite sides…”

“You’re lying.”

“Keugh!”

A pitch-black shadow shot out from Etias and broke one of Padelmon’s toes instantly.

He screamed from the sharp pain.

“Ughh… argh!”

“Next time, I’ll break your neck.”

“Y-Your Majesty…”

Sweat poured down Padelmon’s back. Etias’ blue eyes held a chilling murderous intent.

What would have happened if Etias hadn’t died after the revolution in Star of the Revolution?

Surely, he would have been a good emperor. He was upright and sensitive to justice.
He had compassion for others and was never swayed by empty temptations.

He was the perfect candidate for emperor, with the extraordinary power of Shadow of Darkness.

But I suddenly wondered…

Why was Jeffrey Wissler so afraid of Etias consolidating his imperial power that he even went as far as to take away his lung function?

“Well, since you’re here, I should ask you directly.”

I smiled wickedly, and Heros’ eyebrow twitched.

“Hey, if there wasn’t this life-bond with me, you were going to do something bad to Prince Etias, weren’t you?”

Because I had lowered my voice, the fake Eros walking far ahead wouldn’t hear our conversation.

“…How did you know?”

Heros tilted his head slightly.

“I just know. But why though?”

We could now see the village chief’s house. The impostors had taken it over and were using it as their base.

“A strong emperor doesn’t necessarily have to oppress the Scavengers. Etias is a righteous person.”

There was a brief silence before Heros spoke.

“As the guild master of the Scavengers, who have the continent’s widest information network, I already suspected that Prince Etias possessed a special ability. An extremely powerful one.”

“So what?”

“But what’s not widely known is that the power of an ability is proportional to the hole in one’s heart.”

“Huh? I’ve never heard that before.”

I stopped in my tracks and stared at Heros.

“The Clyde royal family’s Shadow of Darkness is like a living creature. It feeds on the fragments that fall away when the heart is broken.”

His hair glowed in the evening sunlight.

“From the eyewitness accounts, Emperor Etias’ shadows are stronger than any emperor before him. That’s because his heart is already shattered.”

My heart pounded heavily.

His heart… shattered?

Heros’ words echoed in my mind.

Scenes from Star of the Revolution played in my head like pages flipping open.

Come to think of it, the intensity of Etias’ shadows grew stronger as the story progressed.

I had just assumed it was because it was a growth arc.

“…That can’t be true.”

My dry lips trembled.

Heros’ gaze was fixed on the distance.

“In the end, the shadows that feed on the fragments of his heart will consume no one but himself.”

I imagined the dark shadows devouring Etias, wrapping around him with every negative emotion he carried, and my body turned cold.

“Or the person he’s obsessed with.”

If simply becoming emperor didn’t guarantee a happy ending… if the wounds he had carried all his life, the hole in his heart, couldn’t be healed and only continued to eat away at him…

“……”