Emperor’s Alternate - Chapter 56

“What?”

The librarian’s eyes widened in surprise.

“Did I hear you wrong? What did you say? Where are you going with this, my Lord?”

“You heard me right.”

“No, my Lord! Even if you tend to make decisions independently…”

The look in Lecan’s eyes made the librarian’s voice crack, but that didn’t stop him.

“You should consult with me on these decisions. Didn’t you hear what I said? The reformists are trying to push our neutral faction aside. If you leave, I can’t imagine how they’ll take advantage of your absence…First of all, they could accuse me of all sorts of things, even sentence me to death.”

“…Have you ever failed to pay taxes?”

“No! I’m a model taxpayer! I pay so much in taxes that I’m on the verge of bankruptcy!”

“Then, no matter how much they investigate, they won’t find any faults with you right away. Touching you means openly attacking me. The Emperor is a cautious person. He won’t act recklessly.”

“…Was this a prearranged agreement?”

“Yes. In exchange for giving Benedict some control over the underground, we agreed to help capture the Drakeshine.”

“Is this something you discussed with the Emperor himself when you were summoned there?”

Lecan hesitated for a moment, but it wasn’t exactly a lie.

If he were Leyesha, he would have likely assassinated Teiles II and disguised himself as the Emperor. The Sixth Prince he saw in the proxy exam wasn’t the real Sixth Prince, but the disguise was so convincing that it was hard to believe. Even if the real Emperor disappeared, Leyesha could replace him in a heartbeat.

“Something like that.”

“Ah… In that case, I have no choice but to let you go, but they’re not planning to stab us in the back after such an agreement, right?”

Well, considering how Leyesha openly threatened to plunge a dagger into his heart, stabbing him in the back wouldn’t be out of the question.

Lecan patted the advisor on the shoulder and said, “I’m counting on you while I’m away.”

“My lord, I can’t handle this alone.”

“I trust you. You’re my capable subordinate.”

“Sigh…”

Looking at his frantic advisor, Lecan wondered if Leyesha would persist until the end. Despite her innocent appearance, she was cunning enough to push him to his limit.

But there’s always a way to catch the unsuspecting.

***

The moonlight was comforting. I pulled my cloak tighter around me.

Many of my watchers had been killed in the hunt, so I took advantage of the lax surveillance to secretly slip out of the palace. Neither the Empress or Teiles II would approve of my private activities, so I had to be careful to return without being noticed.

‘It’s been a while, black market.’

Mages had ethics, too. The dark school of magic, commonly referred to as black magic, was prohibited by law. There were many forbidden studies, not just limited to magic. I grew up reading and learning without any regards to legality, as my very existence in itself was a secret crime.

The ingredients I was currently seeking were dangerous and shouldn’t even be known to the Empress, so they were only available for sale on the black market.

But before I could even reach the entrance, I was confronted by a thug on a poorly guarded street. I wanted to walk right past him, but the thug chuckled and pushed me down for fun.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

The impact of hitting the ground caused my mask to fall off. He whistled and cheered as my face was revealed.

“You’re prettier than I expected, aren’t you?”

“…Such a worn-out line.”

“What?”

“Don’t you have a more novel line? Or a single original thought in your head?”

“Crazy b***h.”

Someone suddenly appeared and landed in front of the thug who was trying to kick me out of anger and stopped him.

While I had considered using self-defense tools, I was a bit scared. Involuntarily, a sigh of relief escaped me.

I tried to figure out where this person came from, and the only possible location seemed to be the chimney of a three-story mansion. Quite capable in combat, I assumed. Since I couldn’t manipulate mana, I couldn’t sense the opponent’s state, but I could vaguely feel the composure of a strong individual.

“And who are you?”

“Just a knight in shining armor, here to help out.”

The voice sounded unnaturally cheerful for the situation. He sounded like he’d been raised on nothing but sunshine, living a life showered with pampering and love…

The person standing in front of me had half of their face covered with an iron mask. Inadvertently, I frowned. Despite the mask, I could sense that the man behind it was smiling.

“Hello, pretty lady.”