âDonât joke with me!! Those damn traitors!!!â
The ex-crown prince of Lemuria, Hadrianus, was shaking with rage.
Originally, he was supposed to inherit the Lemurian Empire. But losing to his lust, he assaulted a noble girl and got disinherited because of it. Even now, Hadrianus still thought that it was all the girlâs fault for tempting him.
Having been spoiled rotten by the Empress Dowager and Hadrianus III since childhood, the word âremorseâ did not exist in his dictionary. Itâs not his fault, itâs the worldâs.
âWhy!! I am clearly worthy of the throne!! How come that brat was chosen to be the Emperor?! Preposterous!!!â
There was no defending Hadrianusâs behavior, but you canât help feeling a little pity for him. With his spoiled upbringing, it made sense that he couldnât control himself.
He had always been pampered, highly flattered and favored⌠But because of a single mistake, he was disinherited and forsaken by his father, and finally, got the throne snatched away by his thirty-year-younger brother who was only recently born at the time.
He was certainly pitiful. But pity and sympathy were no reason to forgive himâreality was a cruel mistress.
âBlasted traitors!! Even though they gave me the sweet talk, they changed sides after a single speech!!â
Originally there were a lot of nobles in Hadrianusâs camp. Non-elven nobles, mostly. Because Hercule levied heavy taxes, they were disgruntled and elevated Hadrianus to oppose Hercule.
Of course, most of them never thought to make Hadrianus the Emperor. Hercule was preferable to Hadrianus in every way.
The non-elven nobles simply felt an inferiority complex towards the traditional elven nobles. They only elevated Hadrianus to oppose the elven nobles who openly supported Hercule and prevent Hercule from raising more taxes.
But the earlier speech changed everything.
The lands they inherited from their ancestors were laid waste by barbariansâthis was true for both elven and non-elven nobles. Hercule had gotten a firm grasp on the nobilityâs hearts.
Some were moved by his speech. Some shared his opinion. Others just went with the flow. Andâalthough only a fewâsome were clever enough to make out his intention and break away from Hadrianus.
Aside from the speech, there was another major reason why the nobles were leaving Hadrianusâs faction. It was the attempted assassination on Hercule.
Although the assassination wasnât made public, rumors had reached the nobilityâs ears.
The Lemurian Emperor held absolute authority, he was equivalent to the representative of God himself. To assassinate such a figure? That was going too far, no matter how you think about it.
The nobles feared Herculeâs wrath, so they broke away from Hadrianus to avoid danger.
Now, on Hadrianusâs side only remainedâ
People cut from the same cloth as Hadrianus himself, who couldnât read between the lines and only intepreted the situation in a way convenient to them; and the unlucky nobles who had colluded too much with Hadrianus to turn back now.
âYour Imperial Majesty. Her Highness the Empress Dowager has come to visit you.â
One of those fools who couldnât read between the lines reported to Hadrianus about his motherâs arrival. Hadrianus had instructed the nobles in his faction to call him âImperial Majestyâ within his residence.
âSend her away! Motherâs always yapping about how I should submit myself to Hercule as his vassal. She is his ally, too!! Sheâs my enemy!!!â
Hadrianus had not sworn fealty to Hercule. That was a big problem.
No one was allowed to be friend or even sibling with the Emperor. The Emperor must be without equal, must be absolute. That was something all past Lemurian Emperors strived for.
Once Hercule assumed the throne, they were no longer brothers. Their relationship could be nothing other than that of a master and a servant.
Hadrianus refusing to swear fealty to Hercule was the same as declaring that he didnât recognize Hercule as the Emperor. His attitude was worthy of being executed for treason.
He was only kept alive because the Empress Dowager had pleaded Hercule to spare his life, and Hercule himself didnât want to tarnish his reputation by executing his brother. But Hadrianus thought Hercule was simply afraid of him.
People often refuse to belive something until they see it for themself.
In contrast with Hadrianus was Herculeâs stepbrother, Titus. The day Hercule was crowned, Titus wasted no time to seek an audience with Hercule and swore fealty to him. That was how Titus gained Herculeâs trust and and Hercule kept him company.
If Hadrianus had done the same even just for formalityâs sake, maybe he could afford to be a bit less paranoid⌠But his ego didnât allow him to do that.
He could no longer restrain the ego that had been spoiled rotten. That was apparent from how he ignored the warning from his own mother.
Even though she regarded Hadrianus as her only son, whom she dearly loved.
Even though she had pleaded Hercule to spare his life, because she loved him so much and wanted him to live on.
But Hadrianus wasnât aware of her love. He thought that she didnât love him after all, that she favored Hercule and supported him, wanting him to be the Emperor.
If Hercule knew that, he would probably burst out laughing. âYou seriously think that woman loves me? Get your eyes checked!â
Frankly speaking, Hercule and the Empress Dowager had an extremely cold relationship. Between them, there were neither love nor hatred.
There was only indifference.
Because Hercule and the Empress Dowager had never had a real conversation, he didnât think of her as his mother but rather just a widow who had lost her husband. On the other hand, the Empress Dowager felt a slightly chilling fear for Hercule who was much too extraordinary. To put it bluntly, Hercule wasnât cute at all.
Hadrianus was much more blessed with familial love. After all, he had a mother who could read the situation and wouldnât give up trying to persuade him.
But Hadrianus didnât know. He couldnât notice, he didnât realize how much she loved him.
âYour Imperial Majesty, have you heard about it?â
âAbout what?â
Hadrianusâs followers broke the news.
âHis Higness Hercule is embarking on a campaign to the Principality of Trabizos.â
âThat bastard⌠Getting all cocky just because he has won onceâŚâ
Hadrianus grumbled bitterly. If he had army, even him could have defeated that werebeast sellsword. Then everyone would accept him as the EmperorâŚ
If Darios heard that, he would probably sneer.
The moment Hadrianus thought Darios was no big deal, he lost all chance of winning.
Of the current century, there were probably less than ten military leaders of Dariosâs caliber.
âFather, why did you not give me the crownâŚâ
That day, Hadrianus were ranting and raving as per usual. He didnât have the ability to do anything else, nor did he have the courage to take action.
That night.
A woman was riding on Hadrianus. She wore strange clothes and had black hair.
âWho are you?â
âI am As⌠no, I am the angel Jibril.â
The woman introduced herself with a somewhat sour expression. Hadrianus questioned.
âWhy does an archangel not have wings?â
âW-Wings? H-Here they are, see?â
A pair of white wings jutted out from the back of the self-proclaimed Jibril. Her facial expression seemed stiff somehow.
âWhy have the archangel Jibril come to meâŚâ
Jibril was one of the three archangels in the Messianic faith. Her duty was to bring messages from God to mankind. Jibril coming to visit Hadrianus must meanâŚ
âI have come to deliver a message from the Lord. Emperor Herculeâs campaign to the Principality of Trabizos will be a failure. His fleet will meet a storm on the way and his whole army will be decimated. You must assemble troops without delay, Emperor Hercule will be too absorbed in his campaign to notice. When news arrives that Hercule has lost all his men, raise your flag. The Lord bless you with divine protection. You will surely become the Emperor. With you as its ruler, the Lemurian Empire will grow even further.â
âTr-Truly!!!â
Hadrianus was in shock. God had communicated to him.
Moreover, God told him to assume the throne!!
âI-I will gather troops at once!â
âVery good.â
After giving the message from the Lord, the self-proclaimed Jibril left Hadrianusâs dream.
âWhat a strange dream⌠Thereâs no way the archangel Jibril could have come to me.â
The next day, Hadrianus collected himself and thought back on the dream he had the previous night. Even Hadrianus wasnât stupid enough to believe that the dream was real.
ButâŚ
âJust in case.â
Hadrianus summoned his number one supporter, a human noble, and told him about the dream last night.
âDid the archangel Jibril wear strange clothes?â
âShe did. She had black hair, too.â
ââŚI saw the same dream.â
All the other major nobles told Hadrianus of the similar dreams they saw.
(Thereâs no mistake!! This is a revelation!!!)
Hadrianus was convinced that he had found favor with God, and becoming the Emperor was his destiny.
A month later, news came to Hadrianus that Hercule had lost all his soldiers on the expedition to Trabizos.
Hadrianus danced with joy and raised his troops.
Still, thoughâŚ
There was a demon resembling that self-proclaimed Jibril, wasnât there? Or was it just his imagination?