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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 12
Chapter Title: The Emperor's Command
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I narrowed my brow and slowly shook my head.
“No.”
“Why?”
You know the saying about pretty faces? Darcy has a rotten personality.
Rotten isn’t quite the word; he’s just unpredictable. The person he likes will surely have a hard time. So, I have no desire for Darcy to like me.
But how could I say that to his face? I just had to make up a plausible reason.
I thought for a moment before speaking.
“…Well, I just can’t imagine you passionately loving only one person.”
“Hmm,” Darcy hummed, propping his chin on his hand. He stared intently at me and muttered.
“I think so, too.”
I was baffled by his words.
“Then why did you ask?”
“I wonder.”
Darcy, who had readily agreed with me, then asked.
“Love isn’t exactly pleasant, you see.”
Darcy looked at me and narrowed his eyes.
“But hearing you say that… it sparks a bit of a competitive streak in me.”
Don’t get competitive over something so strange!
“I don’t want to… but if I did, I think I could do it well.”
His vague answer seemed to miss the point. I frowned.
“…What do you mean, ‘do it well’?”
“I’ve never done it, so I can’t say for sure, can I?”
No, I realized his words held a hidden meaning, different from what he was showing on the surface.
Though he would never tell me.
“You don’t believe me.”
Darcy strode toward me and took my hand. The cold chill of his hand resembled him.
I had the illusion that I couldn’t escape his gentle grip.
It felt as if I could never get away.
Did he sense my unease? Darcy let out a soft laugh and quickly released my hand.
“Believe it or not, once I set my sights on something, I never let it go. It’s just hard to find something to set my sights on.”
Darcy, who had been muttering to himself as if lost in thought, gave a short, self-deprecating laugh.
“I’ve seen people in love.”
“…”
“They hold hands and embrace every day, leaving kisses all over each other’s bodies. Making it so they can’t look at anyone else.”
His tone, as if speaking from experience, was laced with hatred.
“If I had to, I suppose I could do that too.”
Looking into his melancholic, damp eyes, I felt a pang of pity for the person he might one day love.
“But I don’t know if that would be real love.”
His muttered words were tinged with disgust, as if he were chewing on them. He was smiling, but his mood was clearly down.
“You might have seen right through me. But you still haven’t answered my question, Marso.”
His deep voice was like an angel’s, but his appearance was closer to a devil’s.
“Do you want me to be interested in you?”
He asked again. The way he waited for an answer was almost obsessive.
Darcy’s existence is definitely different from the book.
‘He’s clearly never loved anyone in his life.’
Otherwise, how could he say things like he’d be good at love?
This made me even more curious about Darcy.
‘Is it because he hasn’t met Reshuan yet?’
This was a world that revolved around Reshuan. All the men liked Reshuan.
Her gentle and lovely demeanor, combined with the subtle hints she gave, made her unforgettable.
Over the past year, I had witnessed every man who approached me eventually drift toward Reshuan.
It was the same for the other young ladies, not just me. The probability was one hundred percent. This time would be no different.
The book’s default settings had never changed.
Unless Darcy could shatter those settings, he would be the same.
I calmed my churning heart.
‘I can’t get my hopes up.’
So my answer was already decided.
As I mulled it over, I realized a contradiction.
‘Wait, why am I even bringing Reshuan into this?’
I should have just said no from the start.
…But it wasn’t that easy.
Because he was the only one who had listened to me and had a proper conversation with me, I couldn’t completely dismiss him.
That’s why I was seriously contemplating such a frivolous question.
‘Still, no.’
He’s someone who will leave.
Just as I finished my thought and was about to open my mouth, Darcy waved his hand dismissively, as if he’d lost interest.
“Forget it, you don’t have to answer. I’ll see you in two weeks.”
The answer I had carefully prepared scattered into thin air. I was annoyed.
“Why are *you* so curious about it?”
Darcy flinched at my words. For a moment, he seemed shaken.
I sensed something different from his usual self.
“Why do you want to hear my answer so badly?”
“You didn’t answer, so I won’t either.”
He easily slipped out of the trap I’d set.
“See you later.”
Darcy waved and turned away. I could no longer see his expression.
It felt unsettling, but it was probably for the best that the conversation stopped before it got any deeper.
Watching his retreating back, my thoughts shifted from our discussion about love to his future whereabouts.
‘Did he really die and fail to appear in the story?’
He hasn’t appeared in the main story yet, and I wonder what reason could keep him from appearing in the future.
If he dies, why would he die?
Maybe I’m overthinking it. Maybe he doesn’t die, but just leaves for another country. He did say he’d let everything go.
My head was a mess. Was I thinking too much?
Finally, I stopped worrying.
‘I should just do what I can now.’
The only thing I could do now was to diligently provide the magic stones so that Darcy’s plan could succeed.
If I tried to dig any deeper, Darcy wouldn’t stand for it.
I let out a bitter sigh.
‘I ended up getting attached after all.’
I told myself not to expect anything from people, yet here I was, worried he might die.
But what could I do? That’s what my heart was telling me.
‘Well, it’s not like I’m hoping for anything more.’
We won’t even see each other after this is over, so this much should be fine, right?
I smiled faintly and headed for my bedroom.
***
“In two weeks, on the morning of the 21st, I will lead an expedition to wipe out the mages stationed at the border. It will take a week, so guard the palace well. I wondered where they had been hiding… they tricked us like rats.”
“Leave it to me, Your Majesty. Everything will be as you command.”
Ryan knelt before Kies, the current Emperor and ruler of the Empire, and bowed his head in reverence.
Mages deserved no mercy. It was a fitting end for those who were hostile to the imperial family and always busy lining their own pockets.
Ryan raised his head and pleaded in a deep voice.
“Please give me the opportunity to go into battle.”
As clashes with mages were frequent, small-scale battles and suppressions occurred regularly. They were all battles to capture mages who sought to exploit the citizens.
The mages fought back with their magic, while our side used magic tools and the knight orders.
Fierce battles broke out several times. Of course, the Empire had never once lost. Its military power was overwhelming.
But Ryan hated battles fought without him. As the sole prince and a citizen of the Empire, he wanted the chance to punish them.
It made no sense for him, the man who would one day be crowned Crown Prince and rule this nation, not to be involved in eradicating the mages, the imperial family’s greatest nuisance.
“No, I will handle it myself this time as well.”
But he had never once been allowed to go into battle.
“Is it not dangerous?”
“This is something I must do myself. Do not make me repeat myself.”
Emperor Kies always said the same thing. That his turn had not yet come. That he should wait a little longer.
“I understand.”
Ryan reluctantly nodded. He could not disobey the Emperor’s command.
He thought to himself. Then why did he summon me today? Is he just telling me to watch from the sidelines as always?
“When this is over, I will bestow upon you the Sylon Palace. The crown prince investiture ceremony will be held soon… We should also arrange your engagement around that time.”
“Sylon Palace…”
“The one in the west. It’s about time it was renovated.”
Kies muttered, stroking his beard. Ryan’s body flinched.
Sylon Palace. The palace, which was subject to bizarre rumors that all who went there died, was Kies’s favorite place.
Though it was an old palace, it was beautiful… that was just a rumor among the people, and different from the truth. Ryan knew the truth.
The western palace had long been a place of madness where Kies mercilessly slaughtered people.
Unidentifiable slaves were killed, and mages were tortured there.
In particular, rumors of mages being massacred were the most common. Kies hated mages with a passion.
This was why Ryan had never once set foot in Sylon Palace his entire life.
He was powerless to stop the merciless slaughter, nor could he pretend to know about it. He knew everything, but had to bury it.
‘It’s not something I’m proud of.’
But he always remembered. He planned to become prince, then crown prince, and finally emperor, to end this mad succession. Until then, falling out of favor with Kies would be problematic.
To Ryan, Kies was his biological father, but nothing more and nothing less.
Ryan knew all too well. Kies was a ruthless man who could cast him aside at any moment.
The only person Kies had ever loved was his mistress, Nigel.
His only mistress, whom he had secretly brought in after Ryan’s mother, Empress Emerald, had passed away.
Few knew of her existence, but those who did were all powerless against her.
Because she had the Emperor’s favor.
The Emperor cherished this woman of unknown origin.
The two of them seemed happy.
Until Nigel died.
It was around that time.
That Kies went completely mad.
