Chapter 42
Kylus’s deep voice resonated through the vast audience chamber.
“Rise.”
Kylus stood up and raised his head towards the emperor.
Crachino Pentium XIV.
Golden hair and opal eyes that had long since lost their intelligence.
But even if they had lost their brilliance, those opal eyes were still the symbol of royalty.
So this aged man before him was indeed the current Emperor of the Pentium Empire.
It had been a truly long time since Kylus had seen the emperor.
About a year, including the period he was incapacitated.
And the emperor had grown even fatter and more bloated than when Kylus had last seen him.
The most incompetent and foolish among all the emperors in Pentium’s history.
He had clearly indulged in even more debauchery while Kylus was down.
But despite his thickened jowls, the emperor’s face looked far from comfortable.
And understandably so.
Kylus, whom he had surely thought would die – no, had believed dead – had suddenly appeared before him. How uncomfortable must he feel?
He must have found Kylus’s presence as unbearable as Madam Quillian did.
Perhaps he had wished for Kylus’s death even more than Madam Quillian had.
Just as Kylus smirked inwardly, the emperor, who had been letting out uncomfortable groans, opened his mouth.
“Duke of Dearrut.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Kylus answered the emperor without lowering his head.
It was a disrespectful attitude, showing no trace of respect for the emperor. But the emperor couldn’t bring himself to point out this rudeness.
He merely pretended not to notice, cleared his throat, and spoke:
“Ahem, seeing you standing here so normally, it truly feels real that you’ve regained consciousness.”
“I’m honored.”
“To be honest, when I heard yesterday that you had requested an audience, I couldn’t believe it. But seeing you now… you look as if you were never incapacitated in the first place.”
“Does my sound recovery displease you, Your Majesty?”
The emperor shifted in his seat at Kylus’s direct question.
Snorting, unable to hide his flustered state, the emperor said:
“What, what do you mean? You are an indispensable presence for the empire. There isn’t a single imperial citizen who doesn’t know that the empire’s borders are safe thanks to the Duke of Dearrut. I merely meant that I was very surprised… I have no other intention. I’m very pleased to see you so fully recovered.”
“I was joking too, Your Majesty. How could I not know how you think of me? Didn’t you grant permission for my marriage, disregarding all procedures, to care for me when I couldn’t wake up?”
There were exactly three ducal houses in the Pentium Empire.
Among them, the Dearrut duchy held the strongest power.
When such a ducal house’s marriage was conducted without proper procedures, while the head of the house was incapacitated, the emperor did nothing to prevent it.
The emperor merely watched as Madam Quillian took control of the Dearrut duchy.
As if waiting for Madam Quillian to ruin the duchy.
To say he merely watched was putting it mildly; in truth, the emperor had all but abandoned the Dearrut duchy, a founding contributor to the empire.
“That, that was…”
As Kylus stared at him intently, the emperor stammered, unable to hide his embarrassment.
A pathetic sight for the emperor of a nation.
Kylus continued calmly, with a hint of derision:
“How could I not be grateful to Your Majesty? Therefore, now that I’ve come back to life, I intend to dedicate myself to Your Majesty and the empire. So, Your Majesty, please grant me the position of military commander that you mentioned before.”
“What?!”
The emperor stood up abruptly, too shocked.
Though the emperor’s face was colored with astonishment, Kylus spoke calmly:
“Seeing Your Majesty so pleased, I regret not having taken charge of the empire’s military sooner. I should have accepted it right after returning victorious from the battlefield, but at that time, I thought stabilizing the duchy was the priority, so I couldn’t follow Your Majesty’s order. Please forgive this disloyal subject generously.”
“No, about the military command…”
The emperor stumbled over his words, as if his mind wasn’t working properly.
Though his stupid appearance was disgusting, Kylus understood how flustered the emperor must be this time.
The emperor had feared nothing more than Kylus gaining powerful military strength.
There was no way such an emperor would want to give him military command.
But the emperor had no justification to deny Kylus the military command.
Kylus was currently the knight with the most achievements in the empire, the key figure who had led numerous wars to victory.
It was only because he had refused the position due to his family matters that he hadn’t taken it until now. If he decided to take it, he could receive the position of military commander at any time.
There was no military officer in the empire more capable or with greater achievements than him.
Moreover, before being a knight, he was the head of the prestigious Dearrut duchy.
He had perfect qualifications.
“Why do you suddenly want to take charge of the military? Back then… when I first proposed it, didn’t you say it would be difficult because you had many duties in your duchy? You must still have many duties in your duchy now… there’s no need to overexert yourself.”
Though the emperor spoke as if considering him, Kylus flatly rejected this consideration.
“Don’t worry, Your Majesty. I will never neglect my duties as military commander because of family matters.”
It was a position he should have accepted long ago.
But in the past, besides family matters, he had refused because he didn’t want to get involved in politics.
But not anymore.
He had clearly realized through this incident that he could no longer stay out of politics.
That even if he lived quietly, the emperor would be wary of him until his death.
In the end, it was a fight that wouldn’t end until either he died or a new emperor was enthroned.
One of the two had to happen before it would end.
And since he couldn’t live as a sycophant to an emperor who was like a bloated pig, what could he do?
To protect the Dearrut duchy and his own life, he had no choice but to prepare a new path for the empire.
“But… well, Duke. As you know, Viscount Bailo is currently in charge of the military. He’s handling things well without major issues. Of course, I’m not saying you’re not more capable than Viscount Bailo, but we can’t suddenly dismiss Viscount Bailo. So, um…”
The emperor rambled on, seeming anxious.
At that moment, Kylus raised his head.
“Then how about deciding on the matter of the military commander at next month’s regular meeting, Your Majesty? You can make a decision after considering the opinions of the nobles.”
“Ah! That’s a good idea!”
The emperor clapped his hands together as he answered.
Though it was merely postponing the immediate decision rather than resolving it, the emperor wiped the sweat from his brow with a relieved expression, as if that alone was good enough for now.
“Yes. It’s right to make a decision after gathering the opinions of the nobles, Duke.”
“Your Majesty, I have one more request.”
“A request?”
“Yes. After overcoming a brush with death, I’ve been thinking about the First Prince who lies ill. Since I miraculously recovered, though inadequate, I would like to visit the Prince and share some good energy. Please grant me permission to visit the Prince’s palace, Your Majesty.”
The palace of the First Prince, who had been unconscious for years, had been closed off by the emperor, deeming it unlucky.
Thus, no one could enter the First Prince’s palace without the emperor’s permission.
Kylus bowed his head as he made his request.
The emperor’s uncomfortable groan sounded above Kylus’s head.
“…Since you ask so earnestly, how could I refuse? I grant permission.”
“Thank you, Your Majesty. Then I shall take my leave now.”
“…You may go.”
The emperor sat on his throne, turning his body slightly as if he didn’t want to see Kylus’s parting bow.
What a man, unable to hide his emotions.
So unbefitting of an emperor.
Kylus made a graceful bow and turned to leave the audience chamber.
* * *
“Oh, I didn’t know there was a place like this here.”
Behind the main building of the Dearrut duchy mansion, Alice discovered a three-story annex she had never seen before.
She had ended up here after walking aimlessly to clear her mind.
Walking through the garden wherever her feet took her, passing by the empty knights’ training ground of the duchy, she had noticed an uneven path overgrown with weeds and followed it.
She never expected to find a place like this at the end of the path.
“But… this doesn’t look like a place where people live.”
Alice looked up at the three-story annex building.
Though much smaller than the main building of the duke’s mansion, it was still about the size of a country house.
But more than that…
“Why does it have such a scary atmosphere…”
Vines that hadn’t been maintained at all spread across the outer walls of the annex, built with red bricks.
Moreover, it seemed the surroundings hadn’t been cleaned either, as weeds grew thickly in front of the annex’s door.
The windows were so dusty that the interior couldn’t be seen.
The exterior of the mansion, which looked like something out of a horror movie, even made her feel a chill run down her spine.
The complete absence of people around also contributed to this feeling.
But what was this place used for…
“Ah, could it be… that place?”
The annex where Madam Quillian had stayed after being driven out of the main building.
It was a brief explanation she had heard before, but Maris had once told her about the duke’s mansion.
She clearly remembered being told that there were three annexes besides the main building in the duke’s mansion.
One was where the knights stayed. Another was where the servants stayed.
The last one was for guests, but was currently unused.
The servants’ annex was right next to the main building… and she had passed by the knights’ building on her way here, so the only remaining annex was this one.
So this must be the annex where Madam Quillian had stayed.
But to be in this state… Hmm, did Madam Quillian deliberately order the annex not to be maintained?
Perhaps out of shame for having to stay in such a place?
Given her arrogant personality, it was entirely possible.
Knowing this fact, the desolate atmosphere of the mansion took on a new light.
Rather than scary, it felt lonely and abandoned.
But that didn’t mean she had any desire to go inside.
In novels, something always happened in mansions like this.
The protagonist who enters the mansion out of curiosity and discovers something!
While it was entertaining as a reader to watch characters who opened things despite being told not to and caused trouble, she had no desire to become such a character herself.
Safety first.
That was her motto.
If you sense danger, turn around and run without looking back.
“Let’s go back.”
Just as Alice turned around decisively, recalling her motto…
