The atmosphere in the Empire has been unsettled lately.
Not that there was ever a time when it wasn’t, but the nature of the unrest was different now.
Before, it had been closer to fear. Now, it was closer to despair and anger.
Rumors spread with calculated prudence. That the Emperor was committing every kind of atrocity.
Those rumors gradually turned into certainty.
And that certainty gave birth to despair.
Until now, Abraham had been seen as “at least still qualified to rule”.
Maybe not perfectly fair or just, but someone who still knew where the line was.
But what if the man people believed in wasn’t actually like that? What if, on top of wielding power and authority tyrannically, he had even lost all consistency?
“Have you heard the rumors about Viscount Fokel visiting the Imperial Palace these days?”
There was already circumstantial evidence obvious enough for ordinary people to notice, like Viscount Fokel hauling wagons full of wine to the palace and then receiving blatantly favorable policy treatment in return.
The Emperor had lost the people’s trust.
“Does the Emperor think we’re idiots?”
“He probably thinks we can’t do anything about it anyway.”
Some people raged. Others gave up.
The streets were filled with unrest.
“Now I get why Yuna told me not to wander around.”
One out of every ten people openly voicing complaints right now was an actor personally planted by the Emperor.
He was deliberately igniting the hearts of citizens who normally wouldn’t even dare speak their thoughts aloud.
Meticulous. Vicious.
A man willing to throw even himself into the flames for the sake of a single goal.
Emperor Abraham was a monster.
Everything he did forced that thought into my mind again and again.
“Executioner.”
“Gaaah! Don’t say that! Johan Damus!”
“You’re going to hear it often from now on, so you should get used to it, Catleya.”
“That gave me chills. Seriously, I almost killed you.”
Shuddering, Catleya shoved the firearm she had hidden beneath the counter back out of sight.
Was she actually about to shoot me? Watching her put the weapon away left a bitter feeling.
What’s so wrong with me? I honestly don’t understand why everyone seems to dislike me so much.
Sure, I know I’m not exactly the kind of person people want to get close to on a personal level.
Still, plenty of people adore me. The very people all of you worship are in love with me.
“Anyway, enough of that. How’s the work coming along? Are the kids ready to move?”
“They’ve probably packed everything by now. I told them to just leave the rest behind.”
“What about the World Tree?”
“Still no solution there. How are we supposed to move something that huge? Forget moving it, it’s getting harder to even hide it now. At this rate, it’s going to turn into a whole hill soon.”
“Hmm…”
As the World Tree grew larger and sank its roots deeper into the earth, the surrounding soil was pushed upward, forming a small hill.
That was how massive it had become. At this rate, after hundreds or thousands of years, it might even create a mountain.
“Well, for now, instead of telling the kids to move immediately, let’s just keep them ready to leave at any time. If we make any suspicious moves, there’s no telling how the Emperor will react.”
“Just tell them yourself. You’re going to see the World Tree anyway, aren’t you? I can’t see the avatar of the World Tree in the first place.”
“That’s true.”
“Then go do that.”
“I can’t.”
“Why not?”
Unfortunately, there was a rather sad reason.
“Yuna’s been keeping an eye on me lately.”
“Knew it.”
“What do you mean, ‘knew it’? What exactly do you think I did?”
“You must’ve done something.”
I already knew my reputation was like this. Still, making assumptions without any evidence was a bit much, wasn’t it?
Just because it was me, apparently I must have done something. Honestly, it felt unfair all over again.
“She says things are dangerous lately, so I shouldn’t do anything that could be used against me.”
“Things are pretty chaotic these days. But if she was going to say that, shouldn’t she have said it earlier? You wandered around just fine even when terrorists were targeting you.”
“I was usually with Yuna back then.”
“What is it about a bastard like you that makes her so overprotective?”
“I’m standing right here. Watch your language.”
“Why should I?”
“Executioner.”
“Gah!”
Catleya recoiled in disgust, rubbing her arms repeatedly like she’d just heard something she never should have.
“I seriously hate that.”
“Then you should’ve stopped Emily. Weren’t you the one helping her behind the scenes?”
“My crime was loving Emily more than I hated you.”
“That’s impressive.”
So she hated me that much yet overcame it all out of love for Emily?
At this point, I was genuinely curious what kind of expression she’d make if Emily and I ever had a child someday.
“Anyway, even if I went, I wouldn’t be able to talk to the World Tree. So I’m not going. No, I can’t go. I don’t have time.”
“Hmm…”
Should I wait until Yuna has more free time? Or should I just sneak off alone?
Of course, that kind of careless thinking had a habit of attracting every kind of criminal imaginable.
Though honestly, even when Yuna was with me, the ones determined to show up still showed up anyway.
“Then maybe I should call Emily and go with her instead.”
“Our pitiful Emily.”
“What? Why is she pitiful?”
You’re being way too harsh on me, you know.
***
In the end, I decided to go see the World Tree with Emily.
Getting in touch with her was simple. There was no need to send word to the Robinhood estate or use the silver mirror to make a call.
“Emily, could you come here for a second?”
If I just spoke into empty air like that, Emily would show up sooner or later.
Emily, who used to stalk me every now and then before, had apparently decided that now that we were engaged, she could openly monitor me instead.
Maybe that was why she always responded when I called her like this.
“I’m here, big brother.”
“Yeah. You look pretty today.”
“Hehe.”
Even though I hadn’t called her out for a date, Emily showed up dressed in full date attire.
Though we were about to head into the forest, so I wasn’t sure if that pure white dress was really a good idea.
“So, today I thought I’d introduce you to my friends.”
“You mean the Mistfits?”
“Yeah, them.”
Of course she already knew.
Even though I’d never formally introduced them to her. Well, at this point, I guess that wasn’t surprising.
Anyway, maybe it was a good chance to start seeing Emily more often too. Before this, I’d always been too conscious of Yuna and Ariel watching, so unless it was for something genuinely important, I almost never sought Emily out.
Looking back on it, maybe I really was a piece of trash. This seriously made me look like the kind of bastard who only calls when he needs something.
“I want you to meet the others too and spend more time getting to know everyone. That’d be good.”
Whatever the case, Emily and I were engaged now. Of course, we weren’t married yet, so technically it could still fall apart at any time.
But Emily probably had no intention of ending it. And I couldn’t really break it off from my side either. Most likely, this relationship would just keep going until it eventually became a marriage.
“Here.”
I held out my hand. Emily hesitated for a moment before gently taking it.
When she acted like this, she really was cute.
Maybe I hadn’t been completely without feelings for Emily after all.
Or maybe I was just indecisive.
Still, I hoped it was the former.
Even if that made me sound awful, it would probably be better for both of us that way.
At the very least, I didn’t feel any resistance anymore. Maybe the engagement had already broken down one of the walls between us.
“Let’s see each other more often from now on.”
“Yes.”
Emily smiled brightly. Whatever else happened, she looked genuinely happy, and that was a relief.
Maybe that was why.
The things I’d been deliberately trying not to notice were starting to become visible.
***
Emperor Abraham was the kind of man who sacrificed the few for the sake of the many.
There were no exceptions to that simple yet absolute philosophy.
The minority that had to die for the sake of the majority.
Among them were villains and good people alike. His own wife had been among them, as well as his closest friend and greatest confidant.
“Your Majesty, what exactly are you planning? A parade at a time like this? People will only resent you more. You should be taking better care of the citizens first—!”
“Silence, Theseus.”
And even he himself was no exception to that minority.
His role was over now.
It was time to prepare to step down from the throne he had carried for so long.
And that ending could never be beautiful or grand.
More than anything, it had to conclude with the satisfying downfall of a vile villain.
“You should prepare yourself as well, Theseus.”
“……”
“This is an imperial command.”
Abraham steeled his resolve.
The decision regarding the next Emperor had already been made.
The Crown Prince Theseus who was more righteous than anyone else and beloved by all the people.
Today, Theseus was meant to place the final period on Abraham’s plan.
And so, the grand imperial parade began.
“Do you see it, Theseus?”
“……”
Countless knights.
Honor guards and soldiers.
And atop an extravagant carriage overflowing with vanity sat the two men.
Abraham smiled.
Theseus frowned.
There was no way anyone could look favorably upon this.
The authority of the Imperial family was already sinking to rock bottom as it was.
And yet, no one could say anything.
The Imperial family’s power was stronger than ever before. No one even dared consider rebellion or resistance.
“This is the Empire.”
Abraham spoke while looking down at the people crowding beneath the platform and filling the streets.
The expressions on their faces were dark.
In stark contrast, the streets themselves were beautiful.
The terrorist groups that once carried out attacks almost daily had all fallen silent.
The Construction Guild, long accustomed to endless reconstruction work, now found itself desperately searching for jobs.
The streets had become peaceful.
Only the streets.
“A long journey that began with the arrogance of a small kingdom has finally reached its conclusion in my generation.”
Back when the Miltonia Empire had still been a kingdom,
That insignificant nation had arrogantly dreamed of conquering the continent.
Did the first king who declared war on the neighboring nations ever imagine it would come to this?
Did he truly understand that his decision would ignite centuries of warfare?
Abraham hated him.
He hated the man’s foolishness.
The spark that rose from a small frontier grew into an inferno that engulfed the continent.
To extinguish that flame, everything had to be burned away.
There was no possibility of stopping halfway.
When Abraham was born, the Empire was at war.
When Abraham ascended the throne, the Empire was still at war.
He had spent his entire life on the battlefield. Even if he wanted to stop, he could not.
“We devoured everything. We bound it all into one, and now we are cutting away everything that is no longer necessary.”
“It was greed.”
“Yes, it was greed.”
Abraham admitted it.
Too much blood had been spilled because of the Empire’s greed.
But they could not stop.
He wanted to stop, but those around him would not allow it.
“But as a result of that greed, we have finally ushered in the age of mankind.”
They suppressed every other race and erased the names of all gods from the world.
Now, fate belongs to humanity.
An age would begin where humans themselves would make mistakes and resolve them, rather than being manipulated by the hands of some absolute being.
“Now only one final step remains.”
People were gathering.
They were dissatisfied, but they could not avoid witnessing the Imperial procession.
And before the countless people gathered there, Abraham spoke.
“Theseus, you are a good man.”
“……”
“But you can never become a good Emperor. You would bring the Empire to ruin.”
“I never wanted to become one in the first place.”
“That is fortunate.”
A faint, bitter smile touched Abraham’s lips as he looked at Theseus once more.
“Then do you know why I summoned you here?”
“……”
“Why do you think I chose you instead of Lobelia and placed you before all the people?”
“I see.”
At last, Theseus understood.
This was not a parade.
“So this is my execution ground.”
A plan to kindle the final spark of an Empire reduced to ashes.
“Indeed.”
Abraham drew his sword.
And before the eyes of everyone gathered there, he drove his sword into his son.
“Die for the Empire.”
“……”
Theseus hunched over as the blade pierced deep through his body.
Even though he knew Abraham intended to kill him, he could not react. Perhaps some foolish part of him had still believed that, despite everything, his father would never truly do such a thing.
Silence fell over the crowd. Then, before long, screams began to spread.
The Empire’s hero was dead.
With the death of the Imperial prince who had been loved by all, flames began to kindle in the eyes of the people, who until now had only bowed their heads in despair and resignation.
“How dare you presume to lecture me. Insolent wretch.”
Emperor Abraham spoke.
By killing a hero before the eyes of the masses, he revealed his own ugliness for all to see.
But only as death approached did Theseus finally realize it.
The sword that pierced him.
The hand of his father that he had instinctively grasped.
“That insolence is a sin worthy of death!”
That hand was trembling, like that of a frightened young boy.
Only in his final moments did Theseus finally understand his father’s heart.
Abraham was a monster.
He was someone who had to be a monster.
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