Chang-in heard a voice as if someone was calling out to him from somewhere.
It was urgent, yet filled with care and affection. Just hearing it made him feel at ease.
He thought he should wake up, but unfortunately, he was so exhausted that he didn’t even have the strength to open his eyes.
“Sir Karl, please…”
Chang-in felt a sense of unease at the voice calling him “Karl”.
Then suddenly, memories of the events that had abruptly happened to him began to surface one by one.
The voice that had been calling for Karl disappeared.
Anxiety, tension, and the fear of death slowly crept in.
Just as Karl who was overcome with fear tried to struggle, something happened.
“Ghk!”
A horrific, searing pain surged through his entire body like an electric current, and Karl’s eyes flew open.
His body, forced awake without proper rest, felt like it might collapse from the mere act of opening his eyes.
No….something was clearly wrong with his body. Karl could distinctly feel a trace of the force that had forcibly awakened him.
“……”
Startled by the sudden situation, Karl tried to call for Cecil, but his voice wouldn’t come out properly, and his body wouldn’t move as he wished.
With great effort, Karl shifted his gaze and looked around, eventually realizing through his blurry vision that someone was looking down at him.
“…Karl…”
A voice as if rolling unfamiliar words of an unfamiliar language in its mouth.
A voice infinitely heavy, cold, and firm.
“I see. It appears you truly have lost your memory.”
The low, emotionless voice pierced him, and Karl’s eyes widened as if burned.
“Y-Your Majesty…”
Cecil’s frightened voice could be heard.
She was outside Karl’s field of vision, so he couldn’t see her.
But none of that mattered. Karl couldn’t take his eyes off the man standing before him.
Rough, stiff golden hair and beard, like the mane of a powerful lion.
Within them, yellow eyes tinged with red burned quietly.
It was as if nothing else in the world existed but those eyes.
If it’s His Majesty… then that must be Emperor Madius!
Madius was the enemy Eingir faced in the early part of the story.
With overwhelming political power and chilling cunning, he was the absolute ruler who controlled all the might of the thousand-year empire and the monster the empire itself had produced, lurking behind every major incident in the early arc.
But he exited the stage sooner than expected and was gradually forgotten over time.
That’s why Karl had thought he was inferior to Eingir.
That’s what he had believed.
“……”
Could the supreme ruler of a thousand-year empire, the great emperor, really be such a simple man?
With just Madius’s calm gaze, Karl felt as though he were facing the sun, his mind going completely blank.
“S-Sir Karl, your manners…!”
Even as Cecil’s terrified voice rang out, Karl couldn’t take his eyes off that sun-like presence that seemed to see right through him.
The moment he looked away, it felt as though it would burn him to nothing, leaving not even ashes behind.
Karl felt the fear of death.
And at the same time, he felt a desperate yearning to live.
The most primal and fiercest instinct of a living being pounded violently in his mind.
Despite the horrific fever, despite Madius’s gaze that seemed to scorch him alive, Karl didn’t even blink.
He faced the eyes of the great emperor of the thousand-year empire head-on, without avoiding them.
Like prey refusing to avert its gaze from a predator, knowing that showing weakness would mean having his throat torn out.
“……”
Madius quietly observed his fourth son, who had spent his entire life bedridden in this small room due to a raging fever. A child so insignificant that he had never even bothered to remember him, a child destined to die soon.
Yet that burning will to live was unbelievable.
How could it burn so fiercely?
How could it be so desperate?
How could he dare to meet his gaze?
“…Those are the eyes of a starving beast.”
At those words, Karl snapped back to his senses.
Chillingly, the moment Madius locked eyes with Karl, he instantly realized that he was something… different.
“You possess nothing, and yet you carry yourself as if you do.”
With a casual gesture, Madius turned and left Karl’s room. Beyond the open door, the sight of numerous people briefly came into view. They were strangely unfamiliar.
Karl couldn’t even breathe.
The meaningful words Madius had left behind weighed heavily on his shoulders and pierced through his chest.
Something’s gone terribly wrong.
That thought barely surfaced in his stiffened mind.
“Sir Karl.”
A voice he had never heard before called out to him. It belonged to an elderly man who had somehow been there without Karl ever noticing when he arrived.
The old man politely, yet mechanically, reached out and placed a hand on Karl’s chest.
Hummm…
“I won’t be able to cure your illness completely, but I can restore you enough so that you can move about. Of course, it won’t last long, so you will need treatment at least four times a day.”
“…Why…?”
Karl asked, feeling his body grow at ease.
If it could be treated, even temporarily….why hadn’t they done so before?
And why start now?
The old man replied in the same matter-of-fact tone.
“His Majesty has commanded it. I merely follow his orders.”
Madius had previously ordered that no manpower be wasted on a worthless prince like Karl, leaving him to be neglected.
Yet now, after seeing him just once, he had commanded that he be treated.
With a mind now clearing as if a fog had lifted, Karl realized that things were unfolding in a very… strange way.
Madius was not a man capable of paternal affection. And yet, he had taken action to delay Karl’s death.
Madius’s gaze would now follow him. He was no longer free.
In other words, while Karl could preserve his life for the time being, he had been placed in an extremely dangerous situation overall.
Madius, the emperor of the empire, the very origin of everything that would drench Eingir’s life and the empire itself in blood… was now watching him.
Karl didn’t want to die. And to survive, he would have to do whatever it took.
He couldn’t afford to just watch and wait anymore. He had to move.
***
Karl knew a way to cure his illness. However, he couldn’t act on it right away.
If Karl who had spent his entire life confined to his room suddenly jumped up and declared, “I know the cure to a disease that even the imperial physicians, the best in the world, couldn’t treat!”, it was obvious things would take a turn for the worse.
“Milton, is there truly no way to cure it?”
Karl asked Milton, the imperial physician who had now been assigned exclusively to him.
Milton was a middle-aged man with graying dark brown hair tied back. He was a quiet, reserved man who spoke little, to the point that even Cecil had barely exchanged words with him.
“Not that I am aware of.”
Milton replied bluntly.
At those words, Cecil looked like a prisoner whose execution had merely been delayed by a single day. She looked half out of her mind, while Karl was too busy thinking about how to overcome this situation to worry about reading either Cecil or Milton’s expressions.
Think, Karl… no, think, Han Chang-in!
Karl racked his brain, going over the contents of “The Iron-Blooded Emperor Rules” that Chang-in had read.
But unfortunately, since Chang-in had read the novel casually, he hadn’t paid close attention to every detail or piece of foreshadowing, so no brilliant idea came to him.
“……”
Milton silently watched Karl, who, with a pale face, bit down on his lips as he desperately searched for a way to survive.
His dark brown eyes lowered, absentmindedly observing the disheveled blanket.
“…If you are searching for something, perhaps you should make use of the imperial library.”
At Milton’s quiet suggestion, Karl’s head snapped up. He moved so abruptly that he bit down hard on his lip, filling his mouth with the metallic taste of blood.
“Am I allowed to enter?”
At the rise in Karl’s voice, Cecil also came back to her senses and looked at Milton with desperate hope.
“Unless it is a text forbidden by His Majesty, there is no reason you would be denied access, Sir Karl.”
It felt as though Karl had been struck on the head.
Right. I’m a prince right now!
No matter what, Karl was the Fourth Prince of the Hardion Empire. There was no reason he wouldn’t be allowed into the imperial library.
The imperial library is said to contain everything…! Right, I remember now. Eingir also recalled something he had read there and used it to obtain the medicine!
Karl felt hope suddenly pour into him.
“I’ll go right now!”
Karl hurriedly threw off the blanket and tried to get up.
But there was one thing he hadn’t taken into account.
Karl, that is, Karl before Chang-in entered this novel, had been a frail, emaciated boy who had never once left this small room for sixteen years.
“Sir Karl!”
As Karl tried to push himself up from the bed with his weak arms and collapsed back down, Cecil, startled out of her wits, hurriedly rushed over to support him.
The Karl of the past had never walked without someone’s help. When he was young, Cecil would carry him as if he were a baby, and after he grew older, even with her support, he would only manage a few steps before collapsing in exhaustion.
“I-I’m fine.”
With Cecil supporting him, Karl struggled to lift his body and then, without stopping, swung his legs off the bed and stood up. His legs trembled violently.
“Milton, can I not enter the library as well?”
Cecil spoke in a desperate voice.
“That is not permitted.”
However, Milton crushed Cecil’s hope without so much as batting an eye.
“I can walk on my own.”
Saying this, Karl clenched his teeth and pushed Cecil’s hand away.
But the moment her hand left him, he staggered badly and nearly fell. It was only natural that he lacked muscle in his thighs and calves, but he was at the point of barely having enough muscle to support his joints.
“Karl!”
Cecil screamed and tried to catch him, but Karl raised his hand to refuse her help.
Fortunately, Karl was able to stand and walk on his own two legs.
It was possible not because he was the Karl who had given up for sixteen years, but because he had the memories of Chang-in, who had spent decades walking and running on his own legs and naturally believed that walking was something he could do.
“…Good heavens…”
Surprisingly, the one who muttered that was not Cecil, but Milton. Cecil, overwhelmed with emotion, covered her mouth tightly as tears streamed down her face.
“It’s fine. I can walk…”
Karl staggered forward with his teeth clenched. It felt as though his ankles might twist and break with each step.
Naturally, he would not be able to walk for long. Karl knew that as well.
Even so, rather than sit here waiting for death, he would move even if his limbs were to shatter.
“….…”
Milton slowly closed his eyes as he watched Karl, trembling like a newborn fawn, make his way toward the door.
Then, letting out a deep sigh, he stepped forward and helped Karl, who was leaning against the door and shaking, unable even to turn the handle, and opened it for him.
“Ah…”
“I am permitted to enter the library.”
“Ah, well… thank you.”
“Please, speak comfortably.”
Milton simply supported Karl as he left the room. Cecil didn’t even have the chance to say anything.
With Karl leaning on him, Milton walked on in silence.
Though he could have easily lifted Karl who was far too small and frail for his age and carried him, which would have made things much faster, he never offered more than support.
He simply made Karl walk on his own legs.
“Huff, huff, huff….”
When Karl soon stopped, gasping for breath, Milton stopped as well and silently waited.
Even Milton himself could not quite understand why he was helping Karl.
Why he had mentioned the imperial library, or why he was offering support he didn’t need to give.
Perhaps it was simply out of pity.
In any case, Karl would not live much longer, so perhaps it wasn’t a bad thing for Milton himself to feel a sense of satisfaction.
Regardless, Karl’s mind was occupied with nothing but survival. Cecil and Milton didn’t even register in his thoughts.
‘How can I make it seem natural when I obtain the information?’
With that thought alone, Karl forgot the pain and continued forward in silence, leaning on Milton for support.
***
Damn it!
Upon arriving at the imperial library, Karl couldn’t help but curse inwardly.
The imperial library was a place that could truly be said to hold all the knowledge in the world.
Naturally, there were an unimaginable number of books. There were even preserved ancient clay tablets. That said enough.
At least it was fortunate that he could read and write just as naturally as he could speak and listen…
And I’m supposed to find it here? And make it look natural?
A cold sweat broke out on his back. Just searching a single one of those massive shelves would take a month!
…No, wait. I don’t have to find it by myself.
Karl looked up at Milton, who was supporting him.
“Milton, please help me.”
“….….”
Milton seemed momentarily taken aback, as if he hadn’t expected Karl to ask for help so abruptly.
But he soon gave a slow nod and, supporting Karl, led him into the library.
In truth, however, the person Karl wanted to ask for help wasn’t Milton.
Milton was the imperial physician, a man who had already experienced enough failure in treating Karl and had given up.
‘The Third Prince IlIlias frequents the imperial library.
The Third Prince Ilias was an adventurous young man who had grown disappointed with the imperial palace, a place steeped in schemes and conspiracy, and longed to leave and see the world.
He had not the slightest interest in politics or power, caring only to one day leave the palace and travel freely.
On top of that, he wielded a spear with near-supernatural skill. So much so that even Eingir, the overwhelmingly powerful protagonist, could not defeat Ilias in single combat.
The reason such a man frequented the imperial library was, of course, to seek out mysterious and wondrous stories that stirred a man’s heart.
In other words, there was a chance he might “mention” a clue, something that could cure Karl’s illness, which could not be treated by conventional means.
Above all, Ilias is kind enough to help if I ask.
The Ilias described in the novel was a man who, in this imperial palace where even a single word or gesture could threaten one’s life, would still be willing to extend a hand at least once to someone like Karl, who was otherwise of no use.
More importantly, if his sick younger brother asked him to share some mysterious stories that happened to match his interests while searching for a cure, Ilias would gladly tell him those stories as many times as needed.
Ilias was that kind of admirable easygoing man. At least in the early part of the story.
Of course, considering that even Madius who was just an early-passing villain exuded such an intimidating aura that one cannot dare breathe when facing him in person….there was no way of knowing what Ilias was truly like until meeting him.
Please, let me meet him soon…!
Karl wished for it with all his heart.
After all, he did not want to die.
He no longer even knew how much time he had left.
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