156 – Fog-3

Fortunately, there was no one by the emperor’s side. The appearance of the emperor sitting alone in the vast audience room looked incredibly shabby and precarious.

“…”

It was difficult to decide how to start a conversation.

We weren’t close enough to ask if our bodies were okay, and it wasn’t a harsh atmosphere that made them angry.

“First of all, thank you. I didn’t expect you to be involved in this. The Empire has once again received a great gift from you.”

“I have nothing to thank you for. I have nothing more to ask of you. Just supporting me until I return is enough.”

Fortunately, it didn’t seem like he had any grudges or dreams of revenge against me. The emperor must have gone through all the hardships, so even if he was hiding something, I wouldn’t have found out.

“Don’t worry about that. Just like we promised at the time, the Empire will wholeheartedly support you. If I’m not very trustworthy, there are other ways.”

However, I didn’t want to scrape it here and make a swell. Rather, my reason for coming here was simpler.

“What is the punishment for the criminal?”

There were strange rumors. Cristina insisted that the emperor was involved in this, and the wizards seemed quite confident.

“…it won’t be that big.”

“Is it because of the law? If so, it can’t be helped.”

When I calmed down and thought about it, it was a bit difficult to kill all the buyers or imprison them for life just because they bought the corpse at a high price.

I don’t know if there’s a crime of damaging a body, but if you use the justification that it’s necessary for magic, at best it might be about showing your face in prison.

Unfortunately, it is possible to sort out the criminal organizations in each region that actually caused the crime, but in fact, it does not solve the fundamental problem.

Those who kill people to rob their pockets, and those who kill people to get their bodies. It would be pointless to argue which of them is better or worse.

“No. Rather… it’s because you can’t be so harsh on those who follow the will of the Farsi language.”

In an instant, the atmosphere froze. I never thought he would lie to me like this.

“You mean Farseer planned this?”

However, Christina’s words were different. Setting aside anything else, there was no reason why the emperor should deceive me.

As an aristocrat, Christina could benefit from framing the Farseer, who was comparatively inclined towards the emperor, and worsening my relationship with him.

“One of the nobles I know claimed to have you behind.”

“Of course, that’s true. I sympathized with Farsi, and condoned it to happen.”

The emperor showed no signs of hiding, just nodded.

“Why?”

“For you. Still… I agreed with Farseer, but that wasn’t really what I wanted.”

How far are you connected? Because of the confusion, I’m in a position where I can’t trust anyone’s words.

“Then… what do you want?”

“Hmm.”

After a long pause, he let out a weary sigh before opening his mouth.

“Actually, I didn’t mean to bring this up right now. I thought it would be rude to you, so I took a chance and tried to say it.”

“…just say it quickly.”

I didn’t think I would say anything so important. Because his thoughts were obvious.

“At most, you can bond with Eleanor and give birth to the next emperor, isn’t it?”

“It’s a failed proposal. I’ll bless the union whenever you want, but I didn’t invite you to make that proposal. Still, if you have any ideas…”

“I will never do that.”

My gaze at Eleanor was a bit complicated. It was an obvious fact that she followed me and fought for her life, and I couldn’t deny that.

Still, I didn’t want to formally have a relationship with her.

A pity passed through the emperor’s eyes, but as he said, as if that wasn’t the point, he immediately opened his eyes and looked at me.

Eye to eye met. It was the look in the eyes of an aging emperor, but there was a lot of time and pressure in it.

“Hey. Can you be the next emperor of the empire?”

However, the words that came out of the emperor’s mouth were shocking words far beyond my expectations.

Frozen, I paused and slowly chewed on his words. However, no matter how I thought about it, there was no element that would cause me to misunderstand his words.

“That… are you serious?”

It wasn’t a word that was cleverly twisted, leaving room for escape.

Of course, since the words were not spoken in a public setting, they would not have any binding force, but even so, it was clear that they were words that could not be easily brought out.

“Of course. I’m not a light person enough to joke about something like this.”

My head was dizzy.

“The next emperor… I don’t think there’s any reason why I should be.”

“You are a legitimate warrior. Even if you hold the next coronation ceremony right away, the protection of the imperial family will touch you.”

“Isn’t there someone else? Even if I choose anyone walking around the streets and make him emperor, I think he’ll be better than me.”

“The people of the imperial family are foolish and evil. There is no human more suitable to be the next emperor than you.”

As his words got longer, I had to hold my head and seriously consider the emperor’s proposal.

I had never expected to make such a concession. It was such an unexpected situation.

However, there was nothing to be gained by becoming the emperor. I shook my head.

“Not only do you have no desire to become emperor… Really, do you have other intentions? Take care of Eleanor…”

“On the contrary, if you hate her, you should seriously consider my opinion. Eleanor’s power only comes from her position as the commander of the knights and her potential as the emperor’s daughter.”

Every single word the emperor said was far beyond my expectations.

“Even if the first order I gave after becoming emperor was to expel my daughter, I wouldn’t resent it at all. After you become emperor, it won’t matter if it’s an order from an old man in the back room.”

Not for Eleanor, not for the Empire. If so, did he really come up with this suggestion for me?

It must have been the best gift he could give me as an emperor. Perhaps, he did not know that it would be a greater atonement than his own life.

“Emperor…”

Gritting my teeth, I tried to understand his thoughts. After I become emperor, what kind of actions are they expecting me to do?

“Eleanor… like it or not, I can’t beat her. At any rate, if I become the emperor.”

Rather than becoming emperor in the form of usurpation with the support of the aristocratic faction, there was no choice but to inherit the position with the support of the current emperor.

The weakness that the supporters are shaking will be my problem at that moment, not the current emperor. No matter what I did, there was no way I could beat Eleanor, who would follow my will, with my own hands.

“Hmm… I didn’t even think of that.”

“Are you serious?”

“Anyway, after that much time has passed, it’s no longer Jim’s business. It’s for the young, energetic, new humans to deal with.”

However, the fundamental problem has not changed.

“I refuse. All I promised you was my safe return.”

“That’s not necessarily incompatible.”

“What is that…”

don’t know the motive It’s this person and that person, it just moves and no one shows me the principle of action.

“If you’re trying to get the dragon’s heart in a normal way, it won’t take at least a few years. It’s enough if you take over that position.”

“…What next?”

“I don’t care if you insist… Imagine having the power of an emperor. You can hold any woman you want.”

I didn’t know that I would hear such words from the emperor, who had only Eleanor as his only child, let alone an illegitimate child.

“Since you have the blood of a hero, even if you hug a woman of low status, that child will be enough to become the next emperor. The empire will be stable.”

The emperor was conceding too much. I couldn’t tell how far I was looking.

“Can I leave my child and lover behind?”

“If you don’t give it affection, if your hometown is really important to you, you can leave. If you can keep your chastity like a monk even with the power of the emperor, that doesn’t matter.”

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Judging from how he didn’t force anything on me after becoming emperor, it seemed that he was really only interested in the fact that I became emperor.

Searching for a reason any longer seemed to be a problem that would never have an answer.

“In that case, can’t we just hand over the throne to Eleanor?”

“Will you admit that?”

I gritted my teeth. I didn’t know how far he was serious, but if I had the authority to decide the next emperor, what should I do?

I blankly thought of Eleanor. The sword she wielded, the people or demons she killed, the words she said and the things she did.

It was a painful choice. However, I opened my mouth.

“…yes. I’ll admit it. If possible, I’d like you to return before you see it. I won’t help you, but I won’t hinder you either.”

The emperor smiled dejectedly.

“Heh heh… Thank you. But, that can’t be the case. She shouldn’t be emperor.”

The emperor’s voice, whether it was screaming or spitting out, felt like a sound coming from a corpse that was about to die.