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65 - To the Empire




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Chapter 65: To the Empire
My consciousness was blurry, my vision slightly hazy.
It was almost as if I was being rocked by the waves.
I slowly looked around, but I was engulfed in a world wrapped in endless darkness.
“The idea of polishing a raw gemstone is understandable.”
“Eh
?”
I heard a voice.
So, I turned towards the direction of the voice, but
 there’s no one there.
“But what if it’s a unique gemstone that already shines with unparalleled brilliance?”
“
No, what are you talking about? And who really are──”
And then, he was there, calmly present.
Seated on a pure white throne with a unique atmosphere, enhanced by the bright red carpet, was──”Luke Wizaria Gilbert.”
“
Huh?”
He looked at me with a bored expression, resting his cheek in his hand.
Naturally, I couldn’t make heads or tails of this situation.
My mind was bubbling with questions like foam.
Yet, he continued talking as if my confusion didn’t matter.
“There was even a possibility that I could be feared as a ‘monster’. That’s what it means for ‘me’ to make an effort. The weak try to reject what they can’t understand.──And this world is run by the hands of the weak. Just because they are the majority.”
“
”
My heart was still in turmoil, a tumult of emotions swirling within.
Yet, strangely, I found myself listening intently.
I couldn’t help but lend my ear.
“Kuku
 But then something interesting happened. Your ‘imperfection’ began to exert a significant influence, becoming a charm of its own among those around you.”
I rubbed my eyes, repeatedly grappling with the reality before me.
No matter how much I confirmed, the conclusion was the same: this is the real “Luke.”
I couldn’t quite put it into words, but I was certain.
And yet
 what’s this strange sense of discomfort
?
“To become a truly perfect being, it seems even a thread of imperfection was necessary. It’s indeed contradictory, but
 the world is cleverly designed.”
“
”
I couldn’t interject.
There was an indescribable, oppressive aura that brooked no argument.
“Well, regardless, what I need to do doesn’t change. I just need to show that I am the one who should stand at the apex.──Or rather, ‘we’ are?”
§
“
”
When I open my eyes, I see a familiar ceiling.
A sensation of my consciousness and body not quite connecting properly.
However, I vividly remember “Luke” from my dream. And for some reason, I suddenly understood the nature of the discomfort I felt in the dream.
It was his eyes. It’s unclear why, but it felt like I wasn’t being looked down upon.
This contradicts the image I had of him.
“
Just a dream, after all.”
“Ara? What kind of dream did you have?”
Half of my mind is still far from awake, but I slowly sit up. The reason being she was sitting there, calmly as ever.
“Alice
 Well, never mind.”
I no longer feel anger about her entering my room uninvited. All I have is a sigh of resignation, thinking “not again.”
I was about to send Alice out so I could get ready, but then something came to mind.
“Hey, you were going to use poison magic if I had been late that day, weren’t you?”
She had committed the blunder of using magic at a party attended by many influential nobles.
“Yes. That woman deserved to die for what she did.”
“
”
However, the Alice in front of me shows no sign of remorse. Indeed, the incident was easily settled by Yolande, my father, and the influence of the Lonsdale family. But the problem was her attempt to use poison magic.
“You still can’t control poison magic, can you? There was a chance many could have died.”
Yes, Alice is not as adept with poison magic as she is with ice magic.
To be precise, she can’t adjust its power. And what’s worse, Alice herself cannot neutralize it.
“Mia was there, so it wouldn’t have happened.”
“Then why didn’t you use it?”
“
Why indeed.”
I don’t press Alice further as she falters in her response. I’m not that interested.
What concerns me more is
 why that woman, the mastermind, is after my life.
“
Sigh.”
Troubles never seem to end.
There would be no end if I started looking.──But, in reality, I’m feeling quite good now.
I rise from the bed.
“Well, never mind. I’m going to get ready, get out.”
“No, I want to stay and watch.”
“I won’t say it twice.”
Because today is the day I head to the Empire──.
§
A few days earlier.
In the study of Luke’s father, Claude.
“Please, Master! Allow me to accompany Luke-sama to the Empire! Please! Please!”
“
Well, I don’t mind.”
“Oh, thank you so much
”
“
”
While watching Alfred, who is inexplicably teary-eyed, Claude thinks.
(Was he always like this
?)
Something has been off about him since the Ice Dragon incident.
Or perhaps, Alfred was always emotionally unstable, and it just went unnoticed.
Claude’s questions are endless.
However──
“Take care of Luke.”
“Even at the cost of my life.”
Some things never change.
Alfred’s eyes were the same as they were when he was known as the demon of the battlefield.