Emperor’s Alternate - Chapter 63

“…”

Apparently, my guard escort hadn’t noticed Lecan’s intrusion. My room was on the 6th floor of the castle, but it wasn’t impossible for someone with Lecan’s abilities to reach the window sill. After all, they say it’s difficult to detect the presence of skilled mages.

The Drakeshine was just an excuse to kill him from the very beginning. If I valued human life more than my own greed, I would have warned the villagers that the volcano was about to erupt and would wipe out all the creatures there. But I didn’t.

Why? Because the man in front of me had to die, no matter what.

Thud.

With an impassive face, Lecan stepped down from the window frame and stepped onto the carpet, closing it behind him. Given his personality, he’d probably cast a mana barrier now to keep anyone else away. Which meant that even if I screamed right now, no one would be able to hear me.

“…”

Lecan approached me, his eyes fixed on mine. How did he survive? I wondered, but now, it didn’t seem to matter. Even Lady Luck seems to favor Lecan. I felt like a villain in a poem written by bards or a play with him as the main character, and the end of the story was always the same—I deny my defeat, resist, and end up facing justice, losing my life.

“Make me a Duke this time. I won’t go so far as to ask for the title of Archduke.”

I hadn’t heard his voice in a month, but even now, it sounded strangely familiar.

‘He knew all along.’

During the month that Leckan was away from the capital, his men suffered greatly. It was a famous story, after all. Everyone in the world was talking about Lecan. The imperial family punished Lecan out of jealousy, they said, and we must protect our hero.

“…Are you here to ask for a favor?”

“Well, you’re the one who has to make the decision anyway. I doubt the Emperor has the savvy to understand, let alone suffer through a long-winded explanation, so I’ve decided to come to you directly.”

The fact that Lecan’s formal title did not match his actual power had always been a subject of controversy. He’s implicitly making a compromise. If he was made Duke and doesn’t insist on being Archduke, that should be enough recompense—both for attacking his men and from him getting rid of the Drakeshine.

The world valued legitimacy. No matter how much power Lecan had, people were hesitant due to the significance of nominal positions. Titles above duke implied the right to succeed to the throne if circumstances permitted. The imperial family, which already had to keep Lecan in check, couldn’t make such decisions lightly.

But perhaps I cannot refuse this compromise. For if I do not accept what Lecan has conceded now, I may not be able to correct the course of events later, even if I try to placate him by declaring him Archduke.

“…I sent you to die.”

“You were worried about me.”

I muttered to myself, and as I sat up in bed, Lecan walked over next to me. Had he been watching me from afar, riding the mana train to where he was?

‘I couldn’t feel his gaze. No, I wouldn’t have been able to feel it.’

Lecan must have seen it. Considering the entire village was covered with white volcanic ash, he must have been somewhere, alive, watching over me. He must have been convinced that I sent him there, knowing that the volcano would erupt—that I had planned to kill him.

“… I was worried you might not die.”

“…Really?”

“I was just worried about what would happen if you came back alive. You should have died right there. If you had, I would have honored you, given you countless medals, and written in history that you died in the service of your country.”

“What’s the point of honoring me after I’m dead? If you want to honor me so much, do it while I’m still alive.”

“…You should have died then.”

“Speaking informally again.”

I couldn’t control my trembling voice. I felt like I wasn’t in my right mind at the moment. I didn’t want to face Lecan in this state, just like I didn’t want to face him while I was drunk.

I wondered if he’d foreseen the volcano’s eruption and avoided it, or if his prodigious skill with magic shielded him from death even then. Everything was full of uncertainty, but what mattered most right now was Lecan’s existence itself.

His greatest sin was being alive. His existence itself is treason.

My heart pounded loud enough to echo in my ears.

“Someday, when I become your lord, I will never forgive such disrespect. Right now, I understand your loyalty, so I’m letting it pass.”

He’s just narrowly escaped death, but he has the wherewithal to talk so casually?

I raised my head to meet Lecan’s eyes, but his expression was icy cold.

‘He’s holding back his rage…He’s barely just keeping it in check.’

Perhaps he truly regarded me as one of his men, and after being treated like a monster by Teiles II, I was glad that at least Lecan treated me with respect.

Despite knowing that I was the one pulling the strings to disempower his people, he didn’t blame me. He just stared at me, his face impossibly calm.

“…Your Excellency.”

Even to my ears, my voice was a mess. It rang faintly, sounding like it could crumble at any moment.

“Just promise me one thing, please.”

“…”

“Promise me you won’t incite rebellion. Swear on your soul. Just that one thing.”

“…”

“If you do, I will immediately arrange for your promotion as Duke, reinstate Your Excellency’s men, and grant amnesty to those imprisoned.”

I looked up at Lecan and pleaded. I knew he responded to hard threats with hard threats and gentle persuasion with gentle persuasion. Please, please give me a reason not to kill you, I begged him over and over again.