・・・・・
Claudia was invited to this event, receiving the emperor's enthusiastic support — support she had never wanted in the slightest. Though it was labelled as an invitation, in reality, it was no different from being forcibly conscripted to sign a slave contract with the emperor.
On her way to the imperial palace after being summoned, she couldn't stop thinking: ‘Had Rin and I not been steadily pursuing our plan to dethrone the emperor, I would never have agreed to such an absurd demand. I would sooner have ended my own life than serve and swear loyalty to such a foolish emperor.’
Claudia’s true feelings hit their peak just before the oath ceremony began when the loyalty oath documents were distributed to the heroes.
[Let us praise Your Majesty, the Emperor, the glory of the heavens. Please save us, the humble ones, with the radiance of Your divinity.
You are the unique and incomparable light cast upon this earth, and You illuminate the darkness that has been cast upon us.
Your Majesty's reign shall endure eternally, without end, until the world itself ceases. We humbly beseech You to grant us the will to obey.
Until the conclusion of this humble life, my soul and body will gladly devote themselves to serving You.]
The loyalty oath document. It was a document they were required to solemnly read aloud and swear to in front of millions of people. Claudia scanned the ridiculously absurd text from beginning to end. In short, the content was something like this: ‘His Majesty, the Emperor, is a revered figure, and I will engrave my respect for him in my bones and devote my life to protecting him.’
"What trash."
She spat out a blunt insult, without any filter. Then, as if nothing had happened, she gently brushed back her silver hair, which had fallen forward as she bowed her head, with a gentle touch that contrasted with her sharp tongue.
His Majesty, the Emperor was nearby. Of course, it was a quiet mutter, so he probably didn’t hear it since he was sitting in the seat of honour, but still, to say such a thing — it wasn’t like she had her liver sticking out, [1] yet she dared to speak like that.
It was the kind of remark that would leave you with no excuse, even if you were immediately dragged away for insulting the imperial family.
Those who had been busy stealing glances at the most beautiful woman in the empire paused for a moment and rubbed their ears.
‘I've been overworking lately. I must be so tired, I'm hearing things,’ they thought, blaming their perfectly fine ears.
Then, once again, they gazed at her divine beauty bestowed by the heavens to the point where their eyes would pop out. It was a desperate action as if trying to etch it into memory and even onto the cornea.
"Should I throw it away, this trash?"
Then, Ilypia, who was standing next to her, asked. The spirit's gaze was fixed on those who had been intently stealing glances at Claudia. When they made eye contact with Ilypia, they flinched as if they had seen a ghost, and then, as if a miracle had occurred, they distanced themselves from her.
Claudia watched the series of events she had become familiar with in recent years with boredom. Then, suddenly, she noticed Felix, silently standing beside the emperor, assisting him. Claudia recalled the moment when his gaze suddenly changed today.
Somehow, she had felt uneasy for a while now. What made her certain was the subtly changed expression on his face. Her older brother, Felix, had always tried to carry everything on his own since he was young. And every time he made such a decision or resolution, he would wear that expression, as if he were about to leave at any moment. No matter how much he had changed in other ways, that part of him remained the same. That was why she could never bring herself to truly hate her brother.
Claudia muttered to herself, naturally recalling memories from her childhood. With the emperor right there beside him, she couldn’t just go up to Felix, grab him by the collar, and demand to know what was going on. She made a subtle gesture, a secret code they had shared in their youth, signalling to Felix.
'Do you want to die?'
‘What on earth happened? Don't think nonsense.’ She wanted to say that as well, but she didn’t have the energy to convey such a long sentence, so she kept it brief.
Then, Felix, who had been lost in his own thoughts, briefly met her gaze. Having been suddenly threatened with death, he looked down at Claudia who was huffing in frustration, with a grimace. The words that Irene had whispered softly for Felix, who had lost all emotions except love, came to mind.
"If Chloe or I suddenly get angry at Fel for any reason, all Fel has to say is this one thing: 'Then, do you want to do it together?'"
It was a challenging request. He felt a tremendous surge of magical energy that made his whole body shudder and breathing difficult. It was something that could only be explained as the power of the devil.
It seemed that his habit of trying to solve everything on his own had become deeply ingrained. Despite Irene’s desperate plea, he couldn’t bring himself to take their hands and willingly drag them into the fire pit. To be precise, he didn’t think he could bear to watch the hell he’d created for himself once he regained his emotions one day. Although he had no emotions right now.
Felix habitually rubbed the spot above his heart, which remained unmoved despite his efforts. Even when asked if he would regret this choice someday, he remained unwavering.
He furrowed his brows slightly, and only after being threatened with death by Claudia more than ten times did he finally offer a response.
‘Shall we do what you like?’
‘...What I like?’ Claudia thought it was quite out of the blue and furrowed her brow.
・・・・・
The emperor appeared at the tallest building overlooking the square. Immediately, a thunderous cheer erupted. The people first marvelled at the beautiful appearance of their young emperor. Then, they directed their praise towards the heroes standing in formation behind him, clad in the imperial guards' ceremonial uniforms.
It was as if a scene from an ancient heroic tale, passed down through the generations of the empire, was being brought to life before their eyes. They greeted the heroes with fervent cheers, reminiscing about the days when they had been enchanted by such legendary stories.
More dependable than the mythical dragon said to protect the empire were the heroes, gathered together, each radiating their own unique presence.
Lucas felt the heat of the moment coursing through his body and smiled with satisfaction. Starting with this oath ceremony, he intended to utilise the heroes to make external achievements, thereby associating the title of the emperor with images of justice and virtue. Once public sentiment had been sufficiently restored, even Benjamin wouldn’t dare to treat him disrespectfully. If the heroes united to support Roxitant, it would instil the belief that the radiant sun of the imperial family and the empire would shine eternally.
“I will begin the oath ceremony before the speech.”
Lucas cast a subtle glance at Felix. Walter was a renowned war hero who defended Roxitant, so it was important for him to step forward first and draw attention. Felix obediently moved toward the balcony as instructed, attracting all eyes to him.
He heard a scream gradually reverberating from a distant place, muffled by cheers and fervour. Darkness was closing in. It surged like a fierce storm and crashing waves. As the ground began to shake violently, as if an earthquake had struck, people grew agitated and began looking around in confusion. The excitement was brief, and chaos spread quickly.
"...What is this smell?"
"Sulphur... isn't it?"
It was the smell of burning corpses. At the same time, it was the smell of rotting corpses. Wild animals, fish, flowers, grass, trees, food, and land... everything except humans began to crumble and decay like ashes left after burning. It was the beginning of a disaster.
People who were panicking and wondering what was happening suddenly remembered a legend from thousands of years ago. A being as detached from reality as the dragon that was said to have bestowed blessings upon the empire. It had so little influence on the human world that it was dismissed as nothing more than a figment of the ancient people's delusions and imagination. People trembled with fear as they spoke of that being.
"Damn it, a devil has crawled out of hell!"
The people, already on edge from the Emperor's frequent wars of aggression, immediately sensed the smell of doom. This land would be stained with a silence worse than death.
‘We're going to die. We'll definitely die here. It’s over for us.’
The streets quickly turned into a scene of chaos. People rushed to flee the square, bumping into each other, tripping, falling, and being trampled as others ran over them. It wasn’t at all surprising that casualties might occur in this mayhem, even before the devil appeared.
As everyone hurriedly gathered around the Emperor to protect him, Claudia, despite her confusion, urgently shouted.
"Ilypia!"
As soon as the short command was given, the Spirit of Life stepped forward. With a wave of his hand, he began to restore the things that had blackened.
'Something is strange...'
Ilypia felt a sense of incongruity as he covered the contaminated land with life force. However, a high-ranking devil that could exert this much influence on the human world was a superior existence to a spirit. He couldn’t even grasp the source of the feeling of discomfort.
「Chloe, what should I do?」
Ilypia asked in the language of spirits, and Claudia responded fluently in kind.
「What is the range you can exert within the limits of maintaining it for a lifetime?」
「About half of the empire's land, with the capital as the base point.」
Ilypia had grown stronger than when he was about to wither on Camoli Island. It was thanks to having frequented the great outdoors, rich in life energy, with Claudia under the pretext of training.
「But it will be difficult to use any other power.」
「We have no choice.」
As everything contaminated by the thick evil energy came back to life, people looked up at her on the balcony with desperation, as if they were seeing a saviour from heaven.
"Th-the Spirit of Life! Truly, the Spirit King! The land has been purified once again!"
"She has been hiding such tremendous power all this time!"
"As expected, it's Lady Claudia!"
That wasn't actually the case. Reviving the dead was the realm of God. The Spirit of Life merely gave a temporary life force to make things appear alive. Although it was not a fundamental solution, it could at least prevent the people's confusion from spreading like a plague. As long as Claudia and the spirit remained in this imperial land, this appearance could be maintained.
She raised her voice and shouted loudly. A sonorous voice echoed throughout the square.
“Everyone, stay calm and hold your positions until further orders! As long as I’m here, this place is safe!”
It was a lie, but she kept a confident expression, and fortunately, the chaos subsided. People were looking around, appearing relieved and anxious at the same time.
It was a devil who could darken even the sun, which was too powerful to gaze at with the naked eye. The race that was said to have incurred the wrath of God and been eternally imprisoned deep underground.
Why did a devil appear on a day like this? The less educated people were, the more susceptible they were to superstition. They simultaneously thought it was ominous and began to harbour doubts about the emperor's qualifications. Lucas gritted his teeth and glared. He knew exactly who was behind this.
Duke Lamberg...!
"That crazy bastard!"
After dealing with Felix Chamberlain as a devil, the Duke had shown an unusual interest in the usefulness of devils. He had been researching how to use devils without harming or causing side effects to himself. Was he trying to push this to the limit?
Lucas roughly shook off the knights and heroes who had flocked to protect him. And without anyone having time to stop him, he extended his hand towards Claudia, who was the object of everyone's admiration.
He had arranged this ceremony to brand her as his possession, not to let her spread her wings wide outside the world. How dare she try to fly away in front of him?
Lucas grabbed her wrist roughly, intending to break the wings of the foolish bird that tried to fly towards the sky without realising it was trapped in a cage.
“...”
Lucas suddenly stopped and slowly lowered his gaze. The pure white blade of a sharply honed sword was pointed at his throat.
“...What is this?”
"Your Majesty, let go."
"Ha, I understand. It was on Duke Lamberg’s orders, right? How dare you, a lowly mercenary, point a sword at my neck after I elevated you to this position..."
"I told you to let go."
“...”
The blade came closer and dug into his flesh. The merciless touch made it seem as if it didn't matter if his head was cut off right away, and red blood flowed down and soaked the nape of his neck. Unable to move, Lucas cried out in panic.
"Why is everyone standing around like zombies?! Hurry up and kill him!"
There was no answer. Unable to look back due to the pressure on his vital spot, the place where those who had been protecting him a moment ago was as quiet as a tomb.
"Let go!"
Claudia shouted irritably and swatted her hand away. She even blurted out casual speech. She had changed so completely, almost the exact opposite of the relatively obedient behaviour she had shown before... What was this?
“Did you two get together?”
Claudia clenched her throbbing wrist and scrunched her face as if it were a crumpled piece of paper. She then whispered a sharp remark to him, trembling with anger.
"The way you think is pathetic."
Claudia twisted her mouth into a sneer, then turned to Felix with a sulky expression.
“This is treason.”
She looked back at those who had been struck in vital points with the back of a sword and instantly knocked unconscious. Among them were many who had gathered claiming to be heroes, but in front of Walter, they were helpless. Felix met her gaze with his crystal-clear, bright blue eyes and responded.
"Nothing new."
Irene had said to wait patiently until the time was right, but situations always change dynamically. In the end, Claudia couldn't help but let out a small laugh. Now was the ‘time,’ as not just a fragment of the devil, but the real devil had appeared. This was the moment to make the decisive move.
She spoke to Lucas, who seemed to have reached the limit of his patience.
"Your Majesty, this is something Shayne Speare said."
She continued speaking while unwaveringly meeting the fiery red eyes, heated with madness and relentless obsession.
"Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown." [2]
“...”
“Did you enjoy the position of emperor established by Duke Lamberg? Now, it is time for you to bear the responsibility.”
“...You will regret the choice you made today for the rest of your life.”
The best he could come up with was that. Claudia was genuinely baffled. Putting aside his utterly hopeless attempts at courting her, she couldn’t understand how he expected to win her attention when he was so oblivious to her feelings.
"Even if I were to die right now, I wouldn't regret it. I'm so happy at this moment. My dear older brother understands my heart so well, you see."
“...Older brother?”
Suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere, someone who had passed away long ago was mentioned. Lucas narrowed his eyes and muttered under his breath. At that moment, the oath ceremony, which had been momentarily paused, resumed.
“Let us praise Your Majesty, the Emperor, the glory of the heavens...”
It was a flat, monotonous voice, perfectly masking a deep hatred.
“...The blood You have spilled and the long-standing hatred and resentment You have sown will persist eternally, lasting until darkness engulfs this land and the very end of the world.”
However, precisely because of this, it reverberated through the square in a manner both devout and solemn, as if chanting a prayer, as if speaking on behalf of God's will. The people, caught amid confusion, were unsettled, yet at the same time, they fell silent. Completely overwhelmed, they did not dare utter a single word.
"Through Your suffering, blood, sweat, and pain that far transcend death, grant us salvation."
And finally, the judgment was pronounced.
Translator's Corner:
[1] In this context, the author is expressing the disbelief in her bravery since the actual Korean idiom itself: "간이 배 밖으로 나오다" translates to "liver comes out from the belly / sticking out" and it means someone who is recklessly fearless since Koreans associate the liver with bravery. E.g. someone with a large liver would be considered brave, and if someone's liver was outside their body it means they are fearless.
[2] Well-known line from Shakespeare’s Henry IV, Part 2, which means that those in positions of power often face great stress and responsibility.
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