Part 2 Chapter 94
“Why, why are you acting like this? Is it that bad?”
Bania peeked her head into the laboratory. Rivan glanced at Edgar, who was behind him.
His eyes were dull, having lost their luster from an overdose of anesthesia. His face was gaunt, looking like someone who couldn’t be considered a normal human anymore.
“Uhm…”
“It’s alright, oppa.”
Bania sighed, shrugging her shoulders.
“The Emperor isn’t unaware of this, you know.”
“……”
Well, that’s true.
Even though we were carrying out unethical acts in this poor environment, after all, this experiment was happening under the Emperor’s authorization.
“You said you also possess Ryan’s special abilities, right?”
The Crown Prince asked with concern.
He had come with the Emperor and was now speaking with me in the lounge on the first floor of the estate.
I hesitated for a moment and then nodded.
“Yes, Your Highness. But unlike my father, I can’t just kill someone with a glance. It has to be like this.”
I lightly placed my hand on the Crown Prince’s shoulder and added,
“Contact has to come first before I can cause instant death.”
“……Ah, I see.”
The Crown Prince seemed to be sweating nervously, so I quickly withdrew my hand.
“How many people know about this?”
“I’ve kept it to myself since I’ve never used it. So, no one knows.”
“That’s a relief. We can’t hide the fact that you have special abilities, but it’s best to keep the fact that you can kill instantly until your grave. Do you understand what I’m saying?”
“Yes, I understand. I’ll keep it in mind.”
The Bassenberg family’s fall.
The Emperor had exercised his right to immediate execution, and Ryan had carried out the order, but of course, it couldn’t go without follow-up.
It was a significant event—a noble family wiped out.
Why did we use force to attack an ordinary noble family? Did Bassenberg really commit a crime that warranted such a punishment? These questions would need to be addressed in a post-trial, and the truth had to be publicly revealed.
If not, the imperial family could easily become a tyrant abusing their right to immediate execution and lose the people’s trust.
In any case, there were several secrets that would inevitably come to light in the process.
The fact that Ryan was a special abilities user and that his ability was instant death would soon be known to everyone.
Zedo was in turmoil.
With the downfall of the Bassenberg family, the citizens of the Empire, who were unfamiliar with special abilities, became highly concerned about the new powers. It also triggered deep thoughts about the monopoly of force.
For ordinary people who had never been affected by Bassenberg, their concern wasn’t about how much Ryan had cleaned up their mess, but about his power.
Is it really safe to live alongside a person who can kill with just a glance?
…Well, it’s understandable.
Of course, it was an expected scenario, and that’s why Rivan was trying to extract my father’s blood for the experiment.
“I hope the experiment yields meaningful results.”
“Yes. That way, our father can get married and have children.”
Poor Ryan, who, as I told him, never had a chance to date or even get close to someone. He’s never had the opportunity to create a weakness for himself.
Now, he could date, and if he found the right person, he could even get married.
And if he had children?
They would likely be special abilities users too.
“Do you have a reason to be so sure that Ryan inherited the blood of the family head?”
“Because I’m a regressioner. I know for sure that the first to fourth brothers didn’t have the chosen blood. Our father was obsessed with finding the successor, so he had many nephews.”
I thought back to the time before my regression and stuck out my tongue.
“In Romayere, our fourth brother, who had been serving as a priest, was even made to father an illegitimate child in a hurry.”
“I see.”
“Anyway, none of them inherited the special ability blood, and the remaining direct descendants were the fifth brother, who had been exiled. But it turned out he was a special abilities user. Naturally, I thought he must be the chosen one.”
“Hmm, why exclude yourself?”
“Well, I was the eleventh child. In the Bassenberg family history, the special ability blood usually showed up in the first or second child of the family head, so I wasn’t the most likely.”
“So, it’s ‘statistically’ unlikely, right? In other words, there could still be a 1% chance that you inherited it.”
“……That’s true.”
Since I had never had children, I couldn’t be sure.
“But the identity of the chosen blood isn’t what’s important. If special abilities users are to continue living alongside ordinary people, we absolutely need some kind of control.”
The special ability, an unknown power.
Even I, a special abilities user, couldn’t be sure.
Even if the chosen blood didn’t have children, who knows what other bizarre way the ability might be passed down.
The first head of the Bassenberg family had awakened his power without any forewarning.
So we had to prepare for the fact that special abilities users would continue to exist, and that they might use their overwhelming power to create another Bassenberg.
That was the task we had ahead of us.
“That’s why Rivan oppa’s experiment has to succeed. Well, I really want to have children.”
I preemptively reassured the Crown Prince that I wasn’t planning to have children just yet, in case he started worrying.
“Haha. Who would say anything about that?”
“I thought you might be worried, just in case I have the chosen blood…”
“I was just curious. Do I look like someone who would meddle in my younger sibling’s plans for children?”
“Haha, no, not at all.”
At that moment.
“Bania.”
Niké, accompanied by five of the Emperor’s bodyguards, rushed up to the first floor.
“Why are you here so soon?”
It had only been 10 minutes since I went down with the Emperor to visit my father in the basement.
“The Emperor insisted on going in with just Ryan.”
“Excuse me?”
I was taken aback.
The Emperor’s bodyguards, who had accompanied him, looked displeased.
It was understandable.
The most precious person in the Empire, going into a private room without any guards, with an instant death user.
For the bodyguards, it was an unimaginable situation.
But I could guess why the Emperor insisted on this. It was probably to show that he trusted Ryan.
Sigh.
I sighed.
A human who can take a life with just a glance.
In a sense, he had transcended the boundaries of humanity. The power to decide life and death was something that was not meant to be in the hands of humans.
Everything was over, and unlike in my past life, Ryan had completed his revenge legally as the executioner. Yet, the reason we still had concerns was because of this.
***
Emperor Alphonse Rod Valencia was greatly disturbed.
He was confused about whether the man kneeling in front of him was really Edgar.
The man, now small and frail, his face gaunt, his mouth gagged, and his eyes empty, looked nothing like the proud, arrogant man he once was.
“Cough! Cough!”
Rivan, standing next to Edgar, cleared his throat awkwardly as he glanced at the Emperor.
“Could you remove the gag?”
The Emperor ordered, and Rivan, sweating nervously, hesitated.
“Your Majesty, considering his condition, I don’t think he’ll be able to communicate…”
“Whether he can speak or not, I said, remove it.”
At that moment, Ryan, stepping forward, removed Edgar’s gag for him.
“Don’t bite your tongue. It will hurt.”
“……”
For the first time since the fall of Bassenberg, the Emperor was now face-to-face with Edgar.
As Rivan had said, Edgar’s eyes were dulled from the anesthesia, making it seem like he wouldn’t be able to speak.
…But then.
“You’re so bold.”
Suddenly, Edgar’s eyes regained a glimmer, and he smirked.
“What made you stand so proudly next to a special abilities user with instant death powers? Even after humiliating my father like this?”
“……”
A tense silence fell over the room.
“When do you think my son will still be your Majesty’s sword?”
