CH 96

Valery found the emperor, just as Delkian had said.

Since that day, the emperor’s body had been getting worse, and he had been spending most of his time in bed. He also couldn’t escape the sense of betrayal and guilt. For the rest of his life, he avoided the truth like a scarecrow, closed his eyes, and kept his position as an emperor. His survival was only the way to protect the throne.

However, when Duke Ragham and Duke Rudbihi gathered the nobles and tried to rebel after the poisoning incident, the emperor realized that all of his stupidity had come back as his own karma. When he was in the middle of death and living matter, he discovered that the one who saved him was none other than the daughter of Lucelai, who had committed an evil deed. It was already too late when he knew all the reasons why Lucellai Rudbihi had committed the evil deed.

“…My son.” The emperor beckoned Valery as if to come here.

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Perhaps, had it not been for his sons, he would have given up the throne to them.

As Valery approached, the emperor struggled to raise himself. He then took his son’s hand. It was a hand he had never held since his son had grown to a certain extent.

He always set up his two sons to compete against each other. It was to make them worthy of the throne. Because he had to give that position he had kept to the right person. Ultimately, he failed, and what he did was a failure.

“I will leave everything to you. I will live my whole life to atone for them too.”

That day, the emperor entrusted everything to his second son, the crown prince.

* * *

It had already been two months since Ian came. Now that he had become quite close with Kuren, the days they cut firewood together had become more frequent.

“(I thought he was weak because he is slender, but he is man of strength?)”

“(What is man of strength?)”

“(It means he’s strong! He wasn’t the one to look down on. He’s good at adjusting. It seems like he’s adapting faster than you. And, how rich was him in the land below?)”

I widened my eyes at Amaterin’s words.

“(What are you talking about?)”

“(Ian brought the communication stone! It’s expensive to rent it. But does it make sense that he’s buying it so casually?)”

I waved my hand.

“(He brought it because someone he know has expanded their business to Riwendel.)”

“(Knowing that person means he’s rich too!)”

“(Does that even make sense?)”

In the end, I couldn’t overcome Ian’s persistence and contacted Shale Iskar. At the same time, like water flowing, I contacted Juri del Chartero again. After that, I was able to receive the communication stone from Juri.

I wouldn’t take him so easily if I knew Ian was such a persistent person. I really didn’t expect that I would be able to contact the people of the empire again like this. I thought that even if I contacted them again, the feeling of betrayal and resentment would turn into an arrow that turned to me, but that was my mistake. Ironically, as soon as I contacted them again, my guilt gradually faded. You may call me selfish.

While contacting them, I also heard about the document I sent to the empire. I didn’t hear about my documents arriving well in the imperial court. Still, I heard that Duke Rudbihi died a miserable death. He seemed to be trying to rebel while my mother and Sir Shubart died, and I left.

That news wasn’t cold enough to soothe my heart, but when I heard that the person who had bullied his wife and his daughter all his life died, I felt like the anger that remained somewhere in my heart was gone. Perhaps because of that, the nightmare I had once every three days no longer comes.

These days, Valery came out more than the nightmares. Even when he came out, we didn’t talk much in the dream. Like we did at the villa, he would lie on my lap. We just spent a long time quietly, and then I woke up. When I woke up like that, I found myself crying.

“(Renia, what are you thinking?)”

“(Huh? It’s nothing. I was dazed for a moment.)”

“(I heard you sleep well these days.)”

“(Right.)”

I moved my hands diligently again as I peeled the fruit.

“(But… are you sure the two of you don’t have any romantic relationship?)”

Amaterin took her chance again.  

“(There’s nothing between us. There’s absolutely nothing going on, so don’t worry.)”

“(It’s not something to be relieved about! No matter how I look at him, it’s true that he likes you.)”

Amaterin was eager to connect Ian and me whenever she had a chance. She had been like that ever since Ian came. She kept encouraging me, saying that there are only a few people who are so strong and handsome to come to this faraway place. Even if we’re not in that relationship, I would listen through one ear and let it out through the other.

When I evaded Amaterin’s words for a while, the communication stone placed on one side sparkled like a decorated wall.

“(Looks like someone contacted you. I’ll give these to them.)”

Amaterin saw it first and poked me. Then, while I was on the call, she left, saying she would bring the fruit to Kuren and Ian, who were chopping firewood. I roughly wiped my hands on my clothes and squeezed the communication stone.

“-Is it connected?”

Shale’s voice was heard faintly from the communication stone.

“Shale.”

“-It’s connected.”

I could imagine Shale grinning at those words.

“What’s going on?”

Since the communication stone was made using mana stone like the others, it couldn’t be used permanently. If you used it for a certain period of time, it would break like the teleportation stone, so I told them to contact me only when it was very important. If I didn’t warn them, they would throw all sorts of questions at me, not knowing how time flies, just like when I first contacted them.

“-It wasn’t anything else, but I’m wondering if you’re curious about the news from the empire.”

“Um, sorry, but I wasn’t curious.”

“-Really? When I say this, you suddenly become curious, right?”

“Sorry, but no.”

“-Ah, you’re still the same.”

His voice made me chuckle.

“What’s really going on?”

“-Not long ago, there was the coronation ceremony for the emperor.”

“Coro… what?”

“-There was an emperor coronation ceremony.”

I already saw the coronation ceremony of the crown prince, so I knew about it, but what does this coronation ceremony mean? I asked without understanding what that meant.

“Why did they do that?”

The emperor had already held out. They said his health had deteriorated, but it must have been because he was shocked. I thought that he must have recovered since Duke Rudbihi had also disappeared. I guess his health wasn’t as good as I thought.

Before Ian came here, I wasn’t very familiar with the news of the empire. And after he came here, he was just the same as me. As I got back in touch with Juri and Shale, I heard the news of the empire, but I didn’t know anything else except what they told me, so I could only guess.

“-Who do you think it would be?”

“Um… I don’t know.”

I blurted the end of my words without realizing it.

“-Valery Ahibara Kashinev. Um, so he’s the 28th emperor.”

I stared at the communication stone, which glowed like a firefly. And after a while, I opened my mouth.

“…I see.”

“-Are you not surprised?”

I said, still keeping my eye on the communication stone. “No, I was surprised. Come to think of it, it seems natural… He was the crown prince.”

“-Even though the imperial family had become the talk, I guess his achievement of cleaning up the trash was great. When I went to the coronation ceremony, everyone congratulated him without any resistance.”

I see. He’s already the emperor…

I didn’t know if time flies fast or if things change quickly.

“Because he has done nothing wrong.”

“-Hmm…”

“Did you contact me to tell me that?”

“-It’s just like that. You still don’t want to come back? Madame is curious about you. She took her son back a while ago. Madame’s father has also been swept away during the purge.”

I gently rubbed my thumb on the communication stone. “I feel comfortable here. It’s good that Madame lives with her son. I was worried about when she would take him back.”

“-Danny said that you’re going to play ball with him. He asked me when are you coming?”

“Play in my stead.”

Shale laughed, saying he conveyed useless things. 

“-If you change your mind, tell me anytime. I will find a way to help. Even if you return, no one will stop you.”

That’s true. Maybe if I showed up, their eyes would be drawn to a different perspective now.

“Isn’t it that I can’t go there anymore? The surname Rudbihi would no longer exist there. You can’t even put it in your mouth, can you?”

I said it like a joke, but I had neither the intention nor the courage to go back. And more than anything else, I wanted to abandon the name Carbella Rudbihi. Rudbihi was a nightmare and hellish name to me. A name I never wanted.

It was my mother who made me have the slightest attachment to that name, but now I had really no reason. So even if I went back, I didn’t want to return to the empire under that name.