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Chapter 82
She thought she had a long dream, but it hasn’t been long since she fell asleep in the carriage. Valletta, who opened her eyes at the touch of the deputy commander, looked at him blankly. Then she turned away silently.
Should this person have been the first person she encountered when she arrived here?
“It’s been a really long time since we’ve seen each other, hasn’t it, Valletta?”
“We met at the banquet not too long ago, your memory seems to be distorted.”
“Your tongue is sharp.”
“It’s better than having a sharp sword on my neck.”
Valletta replied with a casual expression, straining her hands on her knees, as if trying to hide her nervousness.
Isn’t it awful that the emperor is the next in line after Reinhardt in the dream, and that they appear one after the other?
‘It’s not even the last ending.’
Come to think of it, she tried to cut ties with Reinhardt, who was the mastermind at first, but she never expected another mastermind to appear like this.
‘…… I was the problem.’
Combining the contents of the novel that surfaced, the emperor was originally Therion ten years from now……which meant that he had to die at the hands of the male protagonist of this world.
From the reader’s point of view outside the novel, the final mastermind was Reinhardt. However, what Valletta had overlooked was that there was naturally a villain in the novel as well. And that villain was the emperor in front of her.
Therion and Milord should be in a friendly relationship with each other after a few years.
Milord believed in the emperor, but slowly began to question his actions, and heard the truth from Therion. When he did, he was greatly disappointed and despaired. Milord, who could no longer bear the distortions of his father, eventually joined hands with Therion to start a rebellion. As such, it was Milord who occupied the imperial throne after the emperor died.
However, all of these things got mixed up and this was what happened. Originally, the meeting between Therion and Reinhardt would have taken place once in the training room, and then once under the precipice after seven years had passed.
‘…… Wait a minute, seven years?’
It wasn’t sealed for ten years, was it unseal beforehand? If so, it would fit the bill perfectly. Since the emperor will die approximately in 10 years or so…
So from that moment on, Reinhardt chose Therion to take his place and punish the entire Imperial Castle. He went through various trials while choosing him and eventually made him grow.
It was also how Therion found out about the story of the dead coming back to life.
It was Reinhardt’s doing.
Valletta blinked slowly. She dropped her gaze and stared at her cooling teacup, quickly sorting through the few facts that came to her mind.
The stories in the novel had a few major branches, but mostly it was a variety of incidents. Among them, she remembered quite a few events. The moving corpses. The Emperor. The alchemist. The framed murder of Reinhardt, and Lost were two such cases.
‘Something is missing…’
Valletta, whose head was spinning, swallowed her breath.
‘The ones who came back to life…’
Obviously, the dead were revived in the story. It hasn’t been long since Reinhardt was framed….Valletta shook her head. She was sure everything was on the plate, but the plate was flowing in an unexpected direction. Valletta smiled bitterly. She didn’t want this.
‘The empire will be in turmoil.’
The dead will come back to life. Stories like this certainly existed. Valletta swept her face with her hands in frustration. Some nobles were sacrificed here. Obviously……
[‘Lesir’ is rampant throughout the empire. The newly resurrected ‘Lesir’ were easy to deal with, but as time went by they learned how to use their weapons.
‘Lesir’, the corpse that lives without dying.
In order to prevent the increasingly serious damage, Duke Leon, one of the two pillars of the empire, led an army to the plague area, but after a long battle, he was infected and committed suicide himself.
By the time he died, the number of ‘Lesir’ he had killed exceeded several thousand, and many mourned his death].
Valletta’s shoulders stiffened at the memory that came to her mind. Reflexively, she tried to hug the Snorta she’d received from him, only to remember later that it’d been seized by the Deputy Knight Commander.
‘……I’m angry.’
She didn’t remember the year properly. But the main stem hasn’t changed, the outbreak of Lesir in any form was inevitable.
“What are you thinking so deeply about… …I’d like to open your head.”
At the sound of the Emperor’s voice, Valletta raised her head, blinking slowly. She tried to calm herself down. She was not an easy person to deal with while thinking.
“If you split it open, you’ll only see the brain.”
“That’s true. It’s a real shame that it’s useless unless it’s attached to you. Isn’t Valletta a rare top notched alchemist?”
The emperor said with a broad smile. Though his words were bleak and unremarkable. Still, he seemed to think he was completely confident, judging by his generosity.
Valletta just kept her mouth shut and her eyes narrowed. She slowly looked around where she was sitting.
“Where am I?”
Valletta thought it was the office, but the strange structure of the room naturally blinded her. This was due to the bookshelves that filled the room to the brim.
“It’s my office.”
“…… office.”
There was something strange about it. What could she say? It was a weird feeling, like she had invaded someone else’s territory. The silent Valletta clenched her fists.
‘Where did I get this familiar feeling?’
Her eyes narrowed. Valletta exhaled and slowly leaned back. Maybe it was because she was too nervous, but she felt like she couldn’t think straight. She clicked her tongue low and shook her head.
There will be a guest soon, so wait a moment.”
“You don’t want to let me go.”
The Emperor smiled at Valletta’s words. His eyes, which had been bent, appeared slowly under his eyelids. Unlike his smiling lips, his gaze was cold and disgusting, and Valletta’s shoulders hardened for a moment.
“Didn’t you tell me? Careful when you roll your tongue. It’s not hard to inflict pain. There are many ways to bring a man to his knees.”
Like a snake hissing in her ears, so did the emperor’s voice. It gave her goosebumps. It was like a snake climbing on her ankle, threatening her with its venomous teeth bared as it wrapped around her neck.
Knock knock. When she heard the knock on the door, the emperor’s eyes bent gently again.
The atmosphere changed once again as the eyes that had been spewing out the killing energy that disappeared.
“Come in.”
Click, the door opened. Heavy steps were striding inside.
Valletta didn’t turn around. She didn’t want to, and she was serious enough without him.
“Father.”
“…….”
No matter how much so, this would not do. Valletta bowed her head with a tired expression . Did she really have to see him now?
“Yes, have a seat.”
“Yes.”
Valletta exhaled and turned her head. This man… she sighed. Did he have to sit beside her on the couch? Well, of course, he couldn’t sit next to the emperor.
As he sat beside her, the familiar necklace with the red bead on his neck shook. Valletta’s eyes widened as she saw the necklace around the Crown Prince’s neck.
The culprit was visible in her eyes. Valletta clenched her fists. She had a rough guess, but she didn’t know that the emperor had taken the necklace. And she didn’t know that he had given it to his son.
“It’s been a long time, Miss Valletta.”
“Didn’t you take the medicine with the group?”
Harsh words that came out of Valletta’s mouth. The moment she saw the necklace, she couldn’t hold back her irritation at the pain that surfaced. They met the other day…
“……What?”
“Long time no see. What kind of greetings do you have after such a long time?”
“What’s wrong with you? Why is the sun standing still?”
Valletta chuckled at Milord’s narrowed forehead. What’s going on? There had to be. Wasn’t it obvious? Even if leaving the necklace out of it, wasn’t there a problem with the fact that she was dragged here?
“Where did you get the necklace?” (Valletta)
“It’s mine.” (Milord)
“It looks just like mine… …No, it’s exactly the same.” (Valletta)
Milord stared at Valletta. Valletta’s violet eyes were shining. She glared coldly at Milord with her clenched fists. Milord opened his mouth, unperturbed by her gaze.
“Isn’t it mine that I got it from my father?” (Milord)
“Didn’t you learn to return what you picked up?” (Valletta)
A smile crossed Milord’s lips as if he had just heard something interesting. His blue eyes were hidden for a moment by his long eyelashes before quickly reappearing.
“No, I didn’t learn that.” (Milord)
“…… What?” (Valletta)
“I’m the Crown Prince and I’m going to be Emperor…. What’s wrong with having what I want?” (Milord)
The deep desire in Milord’s usual cold voice left Valletta speechless. She never thought he would say something like this. She crossed her legs and stared at the red bead on Milord’s neck.
“Do you know what it is?” (Valletta)
“Yes, Gillian explained it to me. But I still can’t give it back.” (Milord)
Milord’s answer was firm and concise. Valletta was stunned for a moment. Was this man originally this kind of person? His blue eyes bent round as if she didn’t need to worry.
“However, I have no intention of fearing Miss Valletta with this.” (Milord)
“Then give it to me.” (Valletta)
“That’s hard. If Miss Valletta tries to get away from me or commits dangerous acts such as being inspired by the Tower Master, feel free to do so.….” (Milord)
Milord moved his hand as if trying to grasp the necklace.
“I am also willing to punish you.” (Milord)
The hand that acted as if it was squeezing tightly stopped in front of the bead. Valletta’s shoulders shook. Milord glanced at her and put the necklace gently into his clothes and lowered his hand. His action left Valletta speechless.
No, d*mn it. What was she supposed to do when there were two crazies instead of one? One doesn’t have to be a know-it-all to know the answer.
Valletta smiled bitterly and lowered her head. She finally knew what it meant to be at a loss for words. She struggled to suppress the boiling inside her.
“You……Have you gone mad?”