Chapter 22
===
Leone, walking along the corridor, smiled faintly. The sound of a piano drifted from afar.
In the palace where the Emperor resided, there was only one person in the Empire who played the piano. Leone quickened his pace with delight.
As he drew closer, the sound of the piano became clearer. The performer executed a highly difficult piece, demanding intricate virtuosity, with chilling precision.
Tremolos, arpeggiated chords, leaps between keys—despite the extreme difficulty of the piece, there was nothing to fault in the performance. It was a skill that would earn a standing ovation at a solo recital in the capital, but sadly, the performer was not interested in such things.
Entering the room with the piano, Leone smiled warmly at the performer.
His younger brother, playing the black grand piano in front of the tall window that reached from floor to ceiling, was beautiful. With hair as black as ebony, his long fingers pressing the ivory keys, he was a work of art in himself.
However, unsuited to the bright sunlight, his brother's playing resembled a dark night. Even though he played bright pieces well. Leone swallowed a hint of regret and enjoyed the performance.
As the last key was struck and the performance ended, Leone applauded enthusiastically.
The performer turned his head and looked at Leone. His brother, with eyes as red as blood, gave a faint smile. Leone approached him and said,
"Cesare, your skill has improved even more."
His brother rose from the chair and closed the piano lid. Leone, secretly wanting to hear another piece, couldn't hide his disappointment as he looked at his brother.
The one who possessed eyes suited for guns and swords, and who performed better than most pianists in the capital, was Cesare, the Emperor's only brother.
Leone looked up at his brother. He himself was taller than the average adult male, but his brother far surpassed that. Because of that, he always had to look up like this when they stood side by side.
His brother, wearing the uniform of the Commander-in-Chief, had a way of stirring people's hearts. Not just because he was his own flesh and blood, but because everyone in the Empire truly thought so.
His body, as hard and sharp as a sword crafted by a master artisan, blended perfectly with the dark navy uniform. There was a reason why so many people fell ill with lovesickness after seeing Cesare's Triumphal March.
Leone grinned and lightly tapped Cesare's forearm.
"I should touch my violin too… I feel like my hands have stiffened up."
The brothers had learned instruments since they were young. They both learned the violin and piano, but later each took on only one to play.
The reason Leone played the violin and Cesare played the piano was simple. It was because Cesare's hands were large.
His grown-up brother had fingers long enough to comfortably reach a 12th. Whenever he saw his brother playing, Leone inwardly took pride in his choice to recommend the piano to his brother.
The brothers left the piano room and headed to the audience chamber. It was an audience chamber that the Emperor used only when receiving personal guests. It was a little smaller than the official audience chamber, but instead, it had a courtyard view, creating a warm atmosphere.
Leone, adding sugar cubes to his black tea, spoke with a mixture of jest and seriousness.
"There's depth in your playing. Is it because you're in love?"
"Is that all it could be."
Cesare replied with just one word and then closed his mouth, drinking the black tea with brandy. Leone frowned and grumbled.
"You… Ugh. Never mind, never mind."
Even after the marriage articles had been released, he didn't reveal anything clearly. He felt frustrated, but knowing that this was just how he was, he couldn't say anything and just drank his tea.
Cesare chuckled at his brother's reaction. Leone looked at his brother and smiled back.
Leone and Cesare were the only blood-related brothers among the countless imperial family members born to the late Emperor.
The late Emperor never had two children from one woman, but Leone and Cesare were born as twins. They were fraternal twins, so their physiques and appearances were very different.
'Aileen Elrod.'
Whenever he heard that name, an incident naturally came to mind. Leone still remembered that day.
Upon hearing the news that the child he cherished had been kidnapped, Cesare, who was on the battlefield, immediately deserted and returned to the capital.
He saved the child, but could not avoid the Emperor's wrath. He was furious that the prince he particularly trusted had done something as foolish as deserting, and personally whipped him as punishment.
Leone went to Cesare with ointment, crying. But his brother was already being treated by his knights.
The four knights who followed Cesare were expressionless. As if this level of injury was nothing.
Cesare, nineteen years old, with bandages wrapped around his upper body, said with the same indifferent face.
"I need to become the Emperor."
"What…?"
"No, you do, brother."
Leone thought he had misheard. But Cesare calmly continued, wiping the blood flowing from his torn lip with the back of his hand.
"Five years from now, brother."
Cesare turned that absurd declaration into reality. He truly made Leone the Emperor. But they were brothers who had risen from the bottom without a foundation. Just because they had seized the throne did not mean it was over.
Around the time the struggle for the throne was coming to an end, a defeated member of the imperial family fled to the Calpen Kingdom. The mother, who was a princess from Calpen, fled to the kingdom with her son and requested support. Calpen declared war on the Empire, and Cesare set out to conquer.
Everyone said he would die. Traon was considerably weakened by the civil war. In comparison, Calpen was famous for its powerful army. Leone even tried to dissuade Cesare, suggesting that they just cede part of the Empire's territory and negotiate.
But Cesare went to the battlefield and eventually achieved victory.
'I was a little surprised that he cut off the head of the King of Calpen…'
The King had planned to frame Cesare's child for drug manufacturing through a spy planted in the Empire and have her executed.
But before he could even do anything properly, he was blocked by Cesare and beheaded immediately after the defeat. The King's scheme against Aileen was revealed after his death. Leone was just amazed at how Cesare knew and punished him.
'He's been strange lately.'
Leone stared at his brother. Demanding an Arch of Triumph was also unlike Cesare. He was not the type to feel the need to be recognized for his achievements by others. To the point of giving the throne to his brother.
That brother was now strutting around and running wild as if to show off. Thanks to that, the anti-imperial faction was completely suppressed.
'And his decision to marry Aileen Elrod.'
He had always cherished and adored her so much that he had tentatively suggested that he marry her. At that time, his brother had given a clear reason and said that he would not marry.
"He said that she would be unhappy if he kept her by his side. But in the end, he's marrying the Elrod heiress."
He had said that he would just let her play with flowers and leaves, but as soon as he returned to the capital, he declared to the entire Empire that Aileen Elrod was his.
It was truly amazing. Because he knew better than anyone that Cesare regarded Aileen only as his child.
Waiting quietly to see what kind of answer his brother would give, Cesare twisted the corners of his lips and smiled.
"After having about seven years to think about it alone, my mind changed?"
"You're saying things I can't understand again."
Constantly saying things that were up in the clouds was also a change from before. Because he had been on the battlefield for a long time, Cesare preferred clear and direct conversations. He did not like metaphors, euphemisms, or the socialite-style conversations that expressed things indirectly.
But these days, he was the one making strange noises first.
What had made his brother like this? He thought that Aileen Elrod was the cause.
"Bring the Elrod heiress to the palace soon. You have to say hello before the wedding."
"I will."
Cesare, picking up the Amaretti that came with the tea and examining it, suddenly dropped a bomb.
"I'm going to deal with the Speaker of the Senate first. After the wedding."
"...Hmm. It won't be easy."
During the struggle for the throne, while the imperial family was in turmoil, the nobles of the parliament had greatly gained power and enjoyed it. Even now that the imperial authority had been established, they had not forgotten the glory of the past and were constantly looking for opportunities. The Speaker of the Senate was the central figure of the anti-imperial faction.
"I'll create a scandal and send him away, so just assist me."
"Do you have a plan? That old man is quite the slippery eel."
His brother spoke in a languid tone suitable for an afternoon tea time.
"The Speaker of the Senate is going to cause an accident soon, and I'm thinking of using that as bait to catch him."
It was as if he had gone to see the future from somewhere. But trusting uncertain matters and proceeding with work was not like his brother. Leone asked without realizing it for a moment.
"Are you okay?"
His intuition as a twin signaled something was wrong. A neat answer came back to Leone's question.
"No."
Cesare, who had cut the Amaretti in half, licked the crumbs off his fingers and smiled crookedly.
"Brother. To be honest, I think I'm a little crazy."
Cesare rarely talked about personal feelings. Leone's face hardened at the rough language that came out of his brother's mouth.
"I'm trying to live as normally as possible, but it's quite difficult. Because I keep thinking. Who were the guys who threw stones at my child? And who were the guys who cut up the bodies into pieces and took them away? Thoughts like that."
Cesare's voice, as he continued to speak slowly, was extremely calm. That's why it was even more frightening.
"So I'm going to get married soon. Otherwise…"
His long eyes curved mischievously, drawing an eye smile. His red eyes flickered dangerously, as if on the verge of bursting.
"I think I'm going to kill about half of the Traon Empire's population."
