Chapter 67 – 22. Interlude – The Emperor
The peaceful system was quickly stained with blood. At first, the people of the Empire were not surprised. It was because it was thought that it was only a matter of time before the government of the weak empress was overthrown. In fact, not a few people were hoping that the girl would be kicked out as soon as possible and that a powerful person would take her place in the imperial palace.
However, when the faces of those hanged in the plaza were revealed, the entire empire trembled. I thought it would be the nobles who were obsessed with the old emperor, but the ambitious people who seemed to be facing a new era were at stake. All of the main figures who opposed the emperor, regardless of position, including the great nobility, royal family members, priests and serfs, were all killed.
〈 remember death〉
It’s an institutional proverb.
It was the motto of the rule of the empress.
In an instant, in 50 legions and 120 provinces, the motto of the emperor was hung along with surrealistically beautifully beautified portraits. (In reality, the portrait did not reflect the emperor’s beauty.) The Senate hurriedly approved the emperor’s inauguration, and the empire returned to peace amid bloodshed.
After the major purges, the gray-haired empress returned to the form of a daughter mourning the loss of her father, as usual. The people of the empire mourned the former emperor along with the empress this time.
“Good job. Ellen von Daannon.”
“This is how the Tassilons live.”
“You are also a Tassilon. I am their emperor.”
Next to the tomb of the previous emperor, two young women sat and had a conversation. Looking at their appearance, they look similar and the age difference isn’t too big, so they look like older sisters and younger siblings, but in reality they were mother and daughter.
“… Finally, the people are mourning their father.”
“They are mourning you. Baby.”
“… Me?”
Blood Empress. The people called the princess they loved that way. The daughter who was crying after losing her father proved her qualifications on her own, and the princess who loved them has now become a murderer.
“Okay. Because the princess they loved is now dead.”
“… Why don’t you mourn your father?”
The young empress had doubts.
Father was a good man.
He was a good father and a good husband.
He was a sage who took care of the people.
“La Chapelle was not a man to be mourned. You’ve got so much innocent blood on your hands, and you’ve only chosen that path.”
“I had no choice but to live. Mother.”
“So the people will understand you. But please understand that they can’t help but fear and hate you.”
Ellen looked at her mother disapprovingly. My mother was always strict and only discussed the facts. Even to the family. The young daughter was always displeased with her mother.
“Father would say something else——”
“Your father is a murderer, every rape.”
“… That was in the past.”
“You are the daughter of a murderer and a rapist.”
“… It is the same with my mother.”
Rulers.
Royalty and nobility.
Sword Master and Archmage.
They explain at length why they should rule the world. Because I am the leader elected by popular vote, because I am the legitimate heir to the throne, because I am the smartest person in the world, because I am the strongest person, it is right to rule others.
Numerous tools are used to justify these stories. School, religion, ideology, education, cause. All tools to strengthen and legitimize dominion.
However, those who have reached the pinnacle of power.
So those who have commanded the world know.
That they are helpless killers.
That the world is ruled by violence and sex.
“Your mother’s family was also founded by people who were good at killing. Thanks to you, I became the king of the north, but I met your father, who was better at killing than him, and fell into ruin.”
Empress Dowager was the princess of a ruined country. It was only that the previous emperor, who enjoyed raping the fallen princesses, was particularly fond of Ona Hall, who did not lose his spirit until the end. She did not lose her temper even though she whipped the noble princess, stripped her naked and displayed her in the palace, and violated her endlessly in the most shameful way.
So she was adopted as empress.
Recognized as having equal qualifications.
A royal family that does not succumb to pain.
That he deserves to be his companion.
Of course, the princess, whose entire family was enslaved or murdered by her husband, had a very different idea, but she had no choice because she already had a tyrant’s child. Because he wanted to raise a child as well as he could.
“But you walk the same way.”
“… Did you want me to die?”
“No way. If so, I have already killed you.”
“I am a sword master——”
“When you were a baby, you were nothing.”
The emperor lowered his head grimly. Her dark family history always weighed down on her shoulders, but she pretended not to know and lived a bright life.
“The baby I gave birth couldn’t wield an aura blade while teleporting, didn’t have the charisma to control an army of 1 million, and didn’t have the skills to find out who was behind the war with the elves. I was just a weak child.”
But I didn’t kill you
Because I was an innocent child.
So her mother was talking in silence.
“… I am your daughter.”
“I am also the heir of my enemies.”
Empress Dowager stood up quietly in her mourning clothes.
“Honestly, it is disgusting. To honor your father.”
“… “
“I was so happy every day watching your father die painfully from syphilis. I hoped that she would live one more day while taking care of her with all her heart. It will make you suffer.”
My mother was most happy about my father’s death.
It is the mother who wants the pain of the father the most.
The harmonious family he grew up in is all lies.
A fake paradise built on violence and lust.
That was the identity of a great empire.
It was the essence of the world he would rule.
It was the essence of who he was supposed to be.
‘I’m different.’
I want to change.
However, the people of the purged family flickered before my eyes. If the father was a traitor, his wife and all his children were killed. In some cases, he was implicated and killed because he was a relative. Still, he couldn’t stop himself. The emperor who hesitates to purify himself will be purged himself.
Die or die
Hunt or be hunted.
“… Are we animals?”
“Is there anything different?”
Empress Dowager smiled coldly.
“We are just the heads of the animals.”
She rolled up her black dress and quietly turned back to leave her ex’s sarcophagus. It was because she felt relieved and uncomfortable after she released her hatred for her husband to her daughter.
“Remember. Dear daughter.”
Empress Dowager laughed ferociously.
“Today, you became the emperor because you were the best at killing people. It’s the greatest talent you inherited from your father. But.”
The Empress was terrified.
“Please stop it. Mother. It is an order!”
“If a murderer superior to you appears, then you won’t be the emperor either. So from now on, practice living as a scapegoat.”
“The Royal Guard!”
Knights like steel golems stepped in and blocked the Empress’s path. Her knights appearing behind her also surround her.
“Are you going to kill me? Like your uncle you killed today?”
“Your uncle rebelled against me—”
“He was my only blood relative.”
“… If you are a traitor, you will kill even your flesh and blood.”
“Do it. However much. I’ve been waiting for you.”
Her mother mocked her daughter and threw off her top without hesitation. Even though it is blasphemy to stare at the naked bodies of members of the imperial family, the knights do not look away.
That’s because she wasn’t naked.
It was the body of a survivor.
“Your father scribbled his back with fire.”
A scar was left on her mother’s back.
“I mean it makes it compliant.”
Fuck house.
A private house for the emperor.
Indelible letters drawn with a magic sword.
“I begged him to kill me every day.”
“… Mother. Please.”
“I hope you do the same. Daughter.”
The empress cursed her and shook off her knights and left. The moment her ignorant newcomer was about to draw her sword at the empress, her senior knight held out her hand to stop her. The Empress was as stiff as a stone statue.
“… Scram. Entire.”
When the Empress barely opened her mouth to speak, her knights bowed her head and vacated her room. Even her escort of assassins left, not wanting to offend the empress in rage. Dragon’s blood flows in the veins of the people of the Imperial Family of Tasilonia, and when they rage, they completely lose their reason. So it’s best to avoid it.
The Empress buried her face in her father’s sarcophagus and wept silently. She is the Empress. She must never look like a girl. She must never show any tears.
But in the dark, the shadow knight, her empress’ favorite servant, approached her. The Shadow Knight was the childhood friend of her Empress, a man who gave up her own name to serve the woman she adored.
A man approaches a crying woman.
At first, I want to comfort her, and then I want to help.
“Ellen.”
“Get out.”
“It’s urgent——”
“Shut up. Get out. It’s an order.”
The dragon’s rage dwelled in the woman’s eyes. In an instant, the atmospheric concentration of her mana exploded, and her hands trembled with anger.
“Or kill me.”
“… Your majesty. These are my words as a servant.”
“Get out!”
The imperial palace vibrated at the cry of the empress. It wasn’t a metaphor, but the pillars around them shook and the sarcophagus shook for real. The stronger her feelings for the empress are, the more ferocious her inner magic is.
“This requires immediate action! I found the one behind the fomentation of the war between the elves and His Majesty. His name is a northern savage named Rustam, but he needs to be investigated right now… Shut up!”
The Empress raised her hand, and her unspoken pressure caught the Shadow Knight by the scruff of his neck, constricting her. The shadow knight raises his hands to declare surrender.
“I will come back later.”
“This disloyalty will not be tolerated again.”
“… Keep in mind, I will. Emperor, Your Majesty.”
The wounded boy left the audience room bitterly.
The girl who carried the evil karma of the empire cried alone.
But the girl would have liked to listen to the boy. If so, he would have known for sure if he was a bright girl.
Right in this era.
Surpass yourself.
The fact that the strongest killer exists!
