CHAPTER 124………………………………………………………………
Bitter End (3)
The violet eyes, full of murderous intent, fixed themselves on Anje as if to pierce him. Hildegard ground her teeth, seemingly even more enraged by Anje’s calm expression.
“Tch. The priest doesn’t have much of a look on his face, does he?”
But soon, a sound of annoyance—a click of the tongue—was heard, and a familiar figure’s back came between Hildegard and Anje.
“Aren’t your eyes a bit too fierce? No wonder the guests are too scared to come.”
The Duke of Saide’s voice was loud enough to surely reach Hildegard as she walked down the aisle for the bride and groom’s entrance.
Yet, unlike the murderous glare aimed at Anje, Hildegard seemed not to hear a word, continuing to walk forward as if nothing had happened. Only her stiffened shoulders and tensed posture revealed that her mind was far from at ease.
“Now that our objective has been achieved, shall we return as well?”
The Saide family hadn’t attended the emperor’s wedding just to congratulate him; it was to make clear that Hildegard was not someone to be trifled with.
Having completed his goal, the Duke turned decisively and took Anje’s hand.
The emperor and empress’s bridal chamber had been perfectly prepared days in advance. The ebony bed was draped with thin silk imported from the eastern continent, hanging between the four posts, and the specially crafted, ornate chandelier was adjusted to a perfect brightness.
The air was filled with an indescribably alluring and slightly provocative scent, wafting from candles made from cactus flowers of a distant desert.
Yet, the first person to admire the room—despite the servants’ meticulous efforts—was Davi.
Even though the reception had been canceled, the emperor had fallen into a deathlike sleep immediately after the ceremony, while the empress headed to her office to handle state affairs in his stead.
Davi shook his head, mimicking a whistle with his lips. Even if gold and jewels were ground to dust and scattered here, nothing could surpass the luxury of this room.
But what drew his attention most was the emperor, lying alone on the bed, asleep, with no empress beside him. He was unaware of any intruder and deeply asleep.
Davi approached and looked down at him.
Though the emperor often wore a bored expression and grew irritated easily, he had been healthy not long ago. But due to the continuous poisons Hildegard administered and his endless indulgences with women day and night, his appearance had grown shockingly haggard.
His once golden-brown hair was now more than half white, his once firm skin sagged and wrinkled, dark shadows under his eyes and lips pale to near translucence—an unmistakable sign of illness.
Above all, a healthy emperor of old would never have allowed an intruder to approach his bed and watch him sleep. From childhood, the emperor had honed his swordsmanship to surpass any knight in his service.
Sharp, clever, and relentless.
It was no wonder he had defeated his half-brothers and risen to the throne.
“Even an emperor like that couldn’t defy the will of heaven,” Davi murmured with a bitter smile.
The day Marquis Crow brought Hildegard, claiming her as his granddaughter, Davi had noticed a rare color returning to the emperor’s face, which had otherwise been languid and bored. From that day, the emperor’s star gradually lost its once-brilliant blue glow. This made it easy for Davi to plan the emperor’s demise.
Though a few unexpected variables arose along the way, Davi had secretly enjoyed them.
Especially the woman with black hair and clear black eyes—she had even sometimes excited him. Thinking of Anje’s frowning nose and fiercely wary eyes whenever they met, Davi could not help but let out a low laugh.
At the sound of Davi’s laughter, the emperor’s eyelids twitched in his deep sleep. Slowly, they lifted, revealing dull, lifeless eyes.
“Davi… is it not?”
“It seems you still remember who I am,” Davi replied.
The tone and expression were as usual—mocking—but the content was insolent. Realizing this, the emperor’s vacant eyes regained focus.
“I spoiled you too much. Insolent!”
The emperor let out a faint groan and shifted. He seemed to want to rise, but his body lacked the strength, only producing pained sounds.
“Tch!”
After watching him for a while, Davi cautiously reached out and helped the emperor sit up.
“You must be thirsty.”
Davi’s hand, as it reached for a glass of water, faltered. White sediment floated at the bottom. He glanced between the glass and the emperor and let out a nearly inaudible sigh.
“Drink this water.”
At this point, hiding it wouldn’t help. Clearly, the emperor’s condition was beyond recovery; he couldn’t even support his own body.
With trembling hands, the emperor gulped down the water, then set the glass down as if throwing it.
“Where is Hildegard? How dare you enter the bridal chamber?”
Though the emperor shouted in excitement, it was not threatening in the slightest. Even speaking required effort; his clenched fists shook.
Davi frowned at the emperor’s mix of pity and contempt.
“The empress has never entered this room. And likely never will.”
Davi’s tone had calmed, his emotions under control.
“I came to bid farewell. I considered leaving quietly, but that seemed improper.”
The emperor leaned against the headboard, glaring at Davi. Though he wanted to strike the insolent man, he lacked even the strength to move a finger.
‘I’ve been too indulgent lately,’ he thought.
The emperor bit his lips, watching Davi’s every move with suspicion. If only he could tug on the slightest string or exert any strength—it was impossible.
Davi’s words continued as the emperor looked down at his helplessly limp hands.
“Honestly, just seeing your face would have been enough. But I am pleased to take this chance to greet you properly.”
Davi bowed politely. The emperor refused to look at him, and Davi’s lips curved into a crooked smile.
As if carelessly, he reached out and forcibly turned the emperor’s face toward him.
Having spent most of his life looking at the stars or reading, Davi rarely used physical force. But now, the emperor was so weak that even Davi’s modest strength could control him.
The emperor bit his lips, overwhelmed by a helplessness he had never known.
Pain struck as if his jaw would shatter. He opened his mouth, but no scream came out. Eyes wide, the emperor glared at Davi.
“Look at me, Your Majesty.”
He had indulged in women and wine himself—why was this man doing this? If not madness, there must be a reason. But no matter how he strained his dulled mind, he could not think of one.
“U…ahhh…”
The emperor shook his head, making incomprehensible sounds. Davi smiled disdainfully at his feeble resistance.
“Don’t you remember?”
Freed from Davi’s grip, the emperor gasped and curled up in the corner of the bed. In the past, this would have been unimaginable—pitiful, weak, and utterly insignificant.
“Wh-what do you mean ‘remember’? You insolent wretch! I treated you kindly, and you repay me with betrayal!”
“You speak well, Your Majesty. Precisely that—repaying kindness with enmity. Think carefully.”
Davi’s green eyes curved like crescent moons. A breeze from the open window scattered his long, beautiful blond hair.
The emperor furrowed his brow and fell into thought.
He felt he had seen this before…
A memory hovered just out of reach, tormenting him.
“You… you were… a woman…”
A wandering gypsy, unusually beautiful. He had even regretted killing her slightly. The emperor’s eyes widened as he recalled the dead woman, collapsed on the sand, eyes unopened.
Davi’s smile was exactly like hers. Seeing him was like seeing the gypsy alive again, and the emperor clicked his tongue. Why had it taken so long to notice Davi’s striking resemblance to that woman?
“This troublesome hair has served its purpose. Your Majesty, I have waited all these years for this day. Every time I saw you, I was sick with rage, but I forced a smile and endured. And now, finally, today has come.”
The emperor stared blankly at Davi’s green eyes, which, usually calm, now burned with hatred.
