CH 124

[Do you know about my death?]

When she saw it in the corner of the invitation, it looked like it was passing by, and she thought her heart was going to sink.

At the time, she was so surprised and embarrassed at the time, but thanks to preparing for this moment, she’s calmer now.

“Don’t think about hiding it. I know everything.”

Serdel didn’t answer. 

Just like the Emperor did. 

She closed her mouth and looked at him quietly. 

The surrounding was filled with cold energy enough to freeze even his exhaled breath.

“Lord Serdel.”

The Emperor, who had put pressure on her with weight until a moment ago, softened the momentum first.

It was a rare sight for him, who was usually arrogant.

“Answer me.”

Serdel gave him a sarcastic smile when he spoke softly or nicely in a relaxed, cowardly tone.

“I don’t know what Your Majesty is saying.”

“Ha, you don’t know? Yeah, you might not know. But if that wasn’t a lie, you should have been surprised to hear what I just said.”

The Emperor sneered as he pointed out her actions. 

“You showed no sign of surprise. Rather, you were so calm that it seemed like you knew you would hear this from me. Don’t tell me my eyes are wrong.You don’t want to talk, do you?” 

Even though Serdel knew that depending on the answer, he would strictly rule with the charge of contempt, he didn’t raise an eyebrow. 

It was an act that could never be done by someone who didn’t have some guts.

If it had been someone else, he would have shouted at her for being rude, but it was Serdel, so he couldn’t.

The Emperor finally burst out laughing.

It wasn’t Serdel who was disappointed here. Both she and the Emperor knew this fact very well. 

“It will take some time to get a proper answer from the Lord. I’ll give you time to think. In the meantime, listen to me.” 

It was his secret, which he had kept for a long time from anyone he had trusted. 

In addition, it was impossible to move on to the next by just hiding one. The Emperor needed Serdel’s cooperation, and for that, information sharing was fundamental. 

How should he get started? The Emperor’s expression, which had only been looking up at the ceiling for a while, was lost in thought and dazed for a moment.

“I have memories of my past life. To be precise, I think I did something called a regression.” 

Haa. From deep inside, the pressure is rushing like a wave, and he can’t stop sighing.

She could feel his anger building up. 

The Emperor’s eyes grew red.

“It was nothing special as usual. That’s all…and I died.” 

His hands, which were resting on the desk, gradually got stronger.

“Pain… there’s no such pain.”

The clenched fist revealed blue veins. 

“When I drank the tea I used to drink before going to sleep, my throat was paralyzed and I couldn’t even scream. I couldn’t even resist that one time and died. It was so humiliating that the mirror reflection looked like an uncivilized insect—!” 

Ugh! 

With a laugh, he grabbed his stomach. 

After spitting out only a bizarre laugh for a while, he took a deep breath and washed his face dry to calm his emotions. 

Strangely, the series of actions was similar to Falden’s.

“At that time, I liked to be alone in my personal space, so I didn’t put a guard next to me.”

Serdel glanced at the corner.

They’re not here right now due to the content of the conversation, but there must have been a guarding knight standing there the other day.

After returning, he seemed to be close to the office. 

“If someone had been with me, I would not have suffered such a petty death if they had called a priest and treated me quickly.” 

The complicated madness that had turned around was revealed through his bitter voice.

“I died alone like that—but then I opened my eyes again. It was very confusing. I even doubted if I might have gone crazy—”

He was confused. 

Suddenly, his shoulders lost strength.

“I couldn’t lead a normal life for a while. Who killed me? Is it the Empress? Or the 1st Prince. If it’s not them, Falden? Ah, if it were the guy who was thrown out of the house since he was a child— he deserves a grudge against me. ” 

“….”

“It could be either the Queen Consort or the 3rd Prince. Or someone from outside.” 

Ugh. The Emperor buried himself in the back of the chair and wiped his eyes with his hand.

“The days of doubts continued. My nerves stood up, and I couldn’t trust anyone. In the meantime, Lord caught my eye. When I saw you walk down a completely different path than before, I knew one thing for sure.” 

The Emperor’s gaze, which had been facing the ceiling, returned to Serdel. 

He looks pale. 

“Lord is the same as me. Even the Lord has likely lived longer than me and that you’ve returned. Watching you run without fail, I realized.”

Standing up from his seat, he slowly approached Serdel.

“Why did such a strange phenomenon happen to the Lord and me? No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t come up with an answer. Unless something went awry— but it doesn’t matter.” 

The Emperor paused.

“The important thing is that I have come back to life. Unless I find out who killed me in the past, I will be killed again.” 

Even though the method will be different. 

“Because the enemy’s idea of killing me will not change. So, tell me. Who killed me?”

He told her that he would give her time to think, and Serdel asked him a question instead of giving him an answer.

“Does Your Majesty really believe in me?”

He said he believed her earlier, but he didn’t. It wasn’t a kind of alertness that could be described with just one word. 

“I believe you.”

Nevertheless, he didn’t change his words. Serdel looked into his eyes. 

How long have they been trapped in the silence they’ve created for each other?

She thought it would be hard to tell from this conversation whether he had anything to do with her mother’s death.

Serdel fiddled with the pendant Blenn gave her in return for his loyalty before becoming an official knight.

This pendant was not triggered for some reason, even though it claimed to be able to see the opponent’s truth through the eyes of the red hawk.

Even though this is the most important moment—.

In the end, she had to admit that there was a limit to hiding the truth and reading the other person’s truth.

‘Let’s go straight through it.’

Without finding the answer, she couldn’t turn around from where she was.

“I’m not a chess horse that Your Majesty can swing at will. Please don’t involve me in Your Majesty’s fight.”

“Weren’t you going to share a boat with me?”

What do you mean? It’s only a one-time deal. 

“I just moved for the benefit.”

The Emperor furrowed his brow.

“Lord Serdel!”

“What can I gain by helping Your Majesty?”

The Emperor, who had just barely been able to hold back the roar, raised his hand and told her to wait a moment.

Whoo, whooo—.

“…I’ll listen to anything. If there’s anything you want, say it.”

“Can you promise me?”

“I can promise. I’ll make sure to listen.”

“Then please fill out the magic contract. To the top level of it.”

The magic contract carries the risk of the promise.

It depends on the level, but from the top level, life is basically collateral.

In the case of the highest level magic contract, he had to risk his own life as well as valuable things.

It could be a person, or it could be an object.

It was a so-called double security contract.

Instead of worrying about betrayal, it was a pretty dangerous contract.

Therefore, a witness was also needed.

The Emperor’s open mouth slowly closed.

His forehead narrowed, too.

“A top-level magic contract…Lord is the first who ask such a thing from me.” 

One step, two steps. He stepped back and sat back at his desk.

“Okay. Before that, I want to ask you a question.”

“Please ask.”

“…After I died… What happened to Falden…?”

It was an unexpected and unintentional question.

“Did he die? Or did he survive?”

“He’s alive, and left.” 

The emperor clenched his fists.

“Yeah… I see.” 

He started to control his facial expressions while mumbling as if he were relieved. 

“I don’t have a top-level magic contract right now, so I will call the wizards and tell them to make it. I’ll call you back as soon as it’s finished…”

“Lord of the Wizard Tower.”

At Serdel’s call, a silver stream appeared along with the Lord of the Wizard Tower.

“Could you give me one of the top level magic contracts?”

The Lord of the Wizard Tower snapped his finger as he looked at Serdel’s hand, which was in front of his nose.

Then, out of the air, a piece of paper filled with heavy energy fell into her hand. 

“Thank you.”

“It was nothing.”

Then the Lord of the Wizard Tower disappear as it was. 

This time, Serdel came close to the Emperor.

He is trying not to show it, but the Emperor’s embarrassment is clear.

She had no intention of giving him time.

If she did, she should probably stop.

She put down a top-level magic contract in front of him.

“As the content is the content, It would be better if you called the witness after writing the contract. Your Majesty.”

“Well… okay.” 

The Emperor took out a fountain pen.

He quickly wrote down what he wanted.

– Serdel Robbesta speaks and cooperates as she knows about the person who killed me(the Emperor).

– Serdel Robbesta will not betray me(the Emperor).

–

–

Most of the ten or more rules were pretty much the same. 

He put down the fountain pen and changed only the words to stop her from using the blind spot to escape from the contract. 

This time it was Serdel’s turn.

She wrote down her thoughts one after another and showed them to the Emperor.

– The Imperial family thoroughly protects Count Robbesta and doesn’t betray him.

– The Imperial Family doesn’t harm anyone in Count Robbesta. The Emperor makes this promise on behalf of the Imperial Family.

– 

The Emperor clicked his tongue. 

He had known for a long time that Serdel was a tough opponent, but she was also a very good player. 

The transaction was made by two people, but she specifically mentioned the imperial family, so the agreements applied to all palace members.

That’s not enough. On behalf of the Imperial Family, the emperor promises—.

If someone in the palace attacks Count Robbesta with an evil heart, the risk of breach will not only go to the enemy but also to him, the Emperor.

The Emperor twisted his lips and looked under the contract.

Startle. his shoulders stiffened.

– The Emperor tells the truth he knows about the death of Serdel Robbesta’s mother, the Countess.

This contract must be answered as soon as it is read, and the eye for determining the truth contained in the top-level magic contract are activated. 

“Lord Serdel—!”