Chapter 49

After regaining his lost memories, Theodore no longer sought Ferdinand.

The reason he made a deal with Katarina and visited Ferdinand was to find Yvonne and to bring Yves back to life.

But he now knew that Yvonne and Yves were the same person, and there was no longer any trace of the ancient darkness in Ferdinand that would bring Yves back to life.

Benjamin Ferdinand, the damn bastard, burned Yves’s body and the old tree.

However, that did not mean that there was no way.

Recently he was looking for something.

The ancient darkness, the traces of Tenebris.

Although the name has been taboo in the Albrecht Empire, the situation was a little different in the far western continent.

“Armin.”

Theodore put down the fountain pen in his hand and called for Armin.

Armin, who had come in carrying a bunch of documents to report today, froze and answered awkwardly.

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Armin glanced at the wound on Theodore’s forehead.

Of course, that non-human good-looking man was still handsome, but lately the Emperor’s face has been amazing in a different way.

Golden eyes with a ferocious brilliance that seemed to tear and kill anyone if it bothered him.

And the skin under those eyes was rather dark, which made the ferocious energy more intense.

What frenzy he committed every night, the scars that adorned his skin anew…

Besides, the scariest thing was that terribly low and eerie voice… !

The Emperor no longer used vulgar language like before, nor did he laugh and ridicule his opponents.

He only spoke very rarely, only when he really needed it.

Nevertheless, every time he opened his mouth, the voice that came out was so gloomy and creepy that Armin had to tremble.

“In the Kerbel Kingdom, the reply.”

Even with the short phrases that weren’t even a proper sentence, Armin immediately understood the meaning of his words.

“Ah, yes, I just got a reply this morning. But, somehow, that……”

However, Armin’s voice gradually faded away.

Theodore, who had been staring at the documents on the desk the whole time, looked up at him.

The moment he saw the cold gaze, Armin swallowed the sound of ‘Ha’ and tightly closed his eyes.

“Impossible, impossible… … .”

“Impossible?”

Theodore recently made somewhat unreasonable demands on the Kingdom of Kerbel, a powerful country in the western continent.

He asked them to give him the crown of Tenebris, the national treasure of the kingdom.

And, of course, the Kerbel Kingdom refused.

“Yes, it’s impossible to give away their treasures….”

Armin glanced at Theodore’s eyes and began to make excuses on their behalf.

“That’s a natural reaction! It’s a national treasure left by the founder of the kingdom….”

“Ha.”

However, as soon as a short smirk flowed from Theodore’s teeth, Armin froze. Theodore was smiling bitterly, as if he had already anticipated their rejection.

“What a pity.”

“Your Majesty?”

“I wanted to resolve it as peacefully as possible.”

“Peacefully…? Ha, what does that mean…”

“They don’t give me what I want…”

Armin’s uneasy mind blossomed.

And, as if pegging his anxiety, Theodore said with a languid laugh.

“Shouldn’t there be a war?”

‘I wasn’t wrong!’ (Armin)

Theodore was now rejoicing in their refusal.

Armin’s well-groomed face turned into contemplation in an instant.

“Yes, Yes?Ha, Your Majesty! Now, wait, wait, I think I heard something wrong…!”

“Send a letter to the King again.”

Theodore quickly wiped off the smile from his face and said,

“Albrecht wants peace on the continent.”

Saying that, Theodore was like a destroyer of peace from hell.

However, Armin could not refute his words, so he cried and shook his head.

“Yes, Your Majesty…… I see……”

He hoped the Emperor wouldn’t really start a war…

However, Theodore doesn’t always disappoint the expectations of ‘I hope’.

A deep sigh escaped.

Armin, who was organizing the papers on the assistant desk one by one, asked as if he had suddenly remembered.

“Ah, Your Majesty. Do you not want to meet the survivors of Chernicia?”

For a moment, Armin saw Theodore’s eyes flutter for the first time since he had set foot in this room.

However, as if it was his illusion, Theodore looked at the documents to be processed in perfect form as usual.

Sarak, Saraak—

Only the sound of paper rolls shattered the silence of the quiet office.

“Your Majesty…..? The survivors of Chernicia…… .”

“Put it off.”

Armin asked the question again, and only then Theodore answered with an indifferent voice.

His eyes were still fixed on the papers.

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Armin left the office after a few more reports.

Click.

Theodore, who was finally left alone, was flipping through the files as indifferently as when Armin was next to him, abruptly dropped the fountain pen he was holding.

Tuk.

Theodore sat there silently for a long time, then got up and picked up what had fallen to the floor.

Ha. A sharp breath escaped between his lips. Yvonne’s family was alive. If it was before, he would have called in the Chernicia’s survivors, but now….

“Later, a little later……”

Theodore mumbled bitterly as he rubbed his face with one hand. He did not yet have the courage to face Yvonne’s family.

“After getting a way to find you…………”

****

As the sun went down and night fell, Yvonne’s voice invariably came from all directions, making him sleepless.

I liked you a little, a lot more than I thought. It was not a dirty feeling, as Your Majesty said.

It was such a tender and precious feeling that it was heartbreaking to see your contempt. I really liked Your Majesty. I loved you so much.

The voice of her confessing that she loved him was cold, so he couldn’t find even the slightest bit of affection.

Don’t worry, I don’t like Your Majesty anymore, and I won’t look at Your Majesty with the dirty eyes you speak of.

But Theodore was glad even with that cold voice, and he smiled faintly as he walked through the night palace.

I do not like Your Majesty.

“But I like you.”

I do not like Your Majesty.

“I don’t care. Because I like you.”

Meeting you was like X, let’s not see each other again.

“I’m sorry. No matter how much I look like X, please look at me just once. As you said, I’m like an X, so even if you don’t like it, I’ll go see you again.”

Please live a long life.

“I will. As you say, I will live a long, long life, so look at how your X-like Theodore lives. Yves…”

It was very bizarre to see him wandering in the dark, muttering to himself. Therefore, the servants of the imperial palace were avoiding the Emperor’s surroundings early on. It was because if they blindly caught the eye of the mad Emperor, they didn’t know what was going to happen.

“Hello, brother.”

Suddenly, a soft voice broke Theodore’s peaceful stillness. When he lifted his head, he saw Ernst’s bright white blonde hair scattered in the wind blowing in the moonlight.

“I heard you’re looking for the relics left behind by the ancient darkness?”

Ernst asked with a gentle smile. Come to think of it, he’s changed a bit since Yves’s death. Theodore felt a little strange, but then walked away. It was such a waste of time to focus on Ernst and the like.

Because Theodore’s night was completely filled with Yvonne’s voice. Whoosh, Theodore passed by Ernst without saying a word.

As if he knew it, Ernst looked at Theodore’s back, still smiling, instead of grabbing him.

Thud. Thud.

At some point, Theodore’s steps arrived in front of the tree of promise, where he played with Yvonne when he was a child.

From now on, we will meet here every day at two o’clock in the afternoon. Without Ernst, just you and I.

A faint smile appeared on Theodore’s lips as he recalled his childhood.

“Yves, I will save you.”

He whispered, stroking the rough wood grain lovingly.

“I’ll find a way somehow.”

The relics left behind by the ancient darkness were also products of black magic.

The four powers left by the ancient apostles, also called ‘Briem’s Protection’. They all came from the same source.

Among them, magic and black magic have the same principle.

If there was one other thing, unlike Ferdinand’s magic, Tenebris’ black magic violated the providence of the world.

That’s ridiculous.

That providence was, after all, the order established by the defeat of Tenebris.

“Wait a little more, Yves, because even if I go against the providence of the world, it will take time. I will come to save you.”

Theodore murmured, staring softly at the empty branches.

“It’s okay to hate and curse at me. It’s okay to be cold and neglectful. So…… Just allow me to see you breathing.”

Lately, rumors had been circulating that Theodore was following in the footsteps of Tenebris.

This gave credibility to the rumor that had been circulating in the past, that the emperor was the embodiment of the ancient darkness, but Theodore only sneered.

Even from a very young age, he wasn’t the type to care about rumors.

“I miss you, my Yves.”

A wet voice filled with affection and scattered into the air.

****

A week later.

Theodore started a war on the western continent.

Rumors swept across the continent that the emperor, who had lost his fiancée (Katarina) and went crazy, eventually started a war.

And Yvonne, who had been holding her breath at Ferdinand’s mansion until then, took advantage of that opportunity to flee to a foreign country.