Chapter 140 – Commander of the 4th Knight Order (4)

-Emperors Kingdom’s 4th Knight Order Commander’s POV-

When we entered the king’s bedroom, we found a strange existence.

It is wearing a robe of a high mage but the figure is….

「A high mage….」

My friend said to the being in front of us.

Are you saying that it’s one of them?

This….creature?

The skin is dark and there’s no place where there are no wrinkles.

Excess skin is even hanging down.

Its eyes look strangely large and the position of its nose is also strange.

「The magic stone has completely broken in two and this is the result.」

「The result?」

A hazy voice reaches my ears.

I was surprised when I heard that the magic stone broke but I’m more concerned about the strange creature before us.

Why does he look like that?

 

His voice changes from a faint one to an increasingly shrill and inaudible one.

I was surprised by what I heard but I was also frightened about how his appearance constantly changes as he speaks.

 

And there’s another one.

I can hear another shriveled voice but I can’t seem to understand what it’s saying.

It’s too hazy.

 

I looked around to find the source of the sound and noticed that at a place a little further away, there’s another one that looks like this high mage.

….those clothes…is that the king?

I gulped upon seeing the king that I had feared so much.

 

Neither my friend nor I can move.

I came to where the king is with determination.

We are here to change the future once and for all and when we arrive, I have never imagined that this is what would happen.

 

What should we do?

 

The high mage in front of us collapsed on the floor and began to struggle.

Even though we’re at a distance from him, I can hear sounds of something breaking.

I can’t help but take a step backward given what I’m seeing and hearing.

It’s terrifying.

However, I couldn’t take my eyes off it. I watched until his head rested on the floor.

「Hii」

That scream came from the mouth of the vice commander of the 1st knight order.

I’m not going to lie. I let out something like that too.

 

Suddenly, I heard a rattling sound of something falling down.

Looking at the source, I saw the king struggling on the floor.

He seems to be trying to escape but he can only move a little.

 

Even if we don’t finish him off, he will surely die.

Is this the end of the king of Emperors?

Will the king die in such a monstrous appearance?

…like this?

 

I noticed someone approaching the king fast.

It’s the princess, one of the king’s granddaughters.

In reality, she is one of his slave wives.

I was quietly watching as she moved her hands upward.

「Ah」

I don’t know whose voice it was but, as soon as her arm swung down, the king’s head rolled to the floor.

「I protected you with this.」

I heard the princess saying that in a low voice.

I don’t know how much she must have suffered as one of the king’s slave wives.

I don’t even have any idea.

However, her expression while she sheds tears quietly is really gentle.

It was hard to believe that she had just chopped off the king’s head.

 

—Scene Change—

 

The king not only disposed of his brothers who fought for the throne but also all his male blood relatives as traitors.

In addition to that, all women were confined to the inner palace where they were engraved with slave crests and turned into the king’s wives.

The wives who rebelled were apparently subjected to severe treatment to set an example.

 

Stories about the inner palace rarely come out but rumors still circulate.

He never allowed anyone to challenge him and he never showed mercy even to his own blood relatives.

It was when the first prince was born that it became known to the whole castle.

When the king found out that the child was a boy, he immediately ordered for that child to be killed.

The king was furious with those around him who were worried about the matter of his heir so he had the prince brought to them and killed him in front of everyone.

After that, whenever a child turns out to be a boy, he will be disposed of on the same day.

When a princess was born, she would be marked with a slave crest and on her tenth birthday, she will not be allowed to leave the inner palace because she’ll officially be a wife.

The only time she can leave the inner palace is when the king calls her to be by his side.

In time, the wives in the inner palace came to be called slave wives and the king never denied it.

 

I don’t know how many lives were lost in the inner palace.

The king’s death will slightly heal their broken heart.

 

My friend took the crown that had fallen near the king.

「Let’s go.」

We left the room and walked down the hallway.

The soldiers and knights froze the moment they saw the crown my friend was holding and then, they’ll show relieved expressions.

The king’s death was quick and easy.

The king, who was said to be the strongest and most feared person in the world, was killed by his wife while being protected by no one.

「It was a quick death.」

I couldn’t help but say those words.

Then, I heard my friend laughing.

「We have oppressed everyone for so long. We will have to ask for forgiveness from the slaves and the forest.」

「…will they forgive us?」

「Until we are forgiven, we will atone.」