Emperor’s Alternate - Chapter 93

There were many signs of rebellion. But to me, it was a sudden revolution without any warning. I never expected to see the Courtesan off so hollowly, without even a proper farewell.

I didn’t even feel the urge to rush to the magic tower. Was it really necessary for me to confirm Luciann’s survival with my own eyes right now? After all, the black signal flare marking the death of Teiles II was already exploding in the sky. There was no way they’d keep the old emperor alive while creating a new empire.

‘He must be dead. Lucian, too.’

The knight said it was by the emperor’s — Lecan was already proclaiming himself emperor, it seemed — order that they put me in the carriage and hurried somewhere. The lingering effects of the paralysis meant I couldn’t move my body, but I didn’t even think of resisting. Sitting quietly in the carriage and just breathing was the only thing I could do.

Since the moment I desperately carried my younger brother on my back and escaped the grand duchy as a child, his life had been my responsibility. From age seven until today, when I was twenty-four, there had never been a day I didn’t care for Lucian. But now, what good was all that?

The Courtesan’s last drop of blood hadn’t even cooled yet. Just as much as I hated Teiles I, I had often felt murderous intent toward the second as well. Yet I still remember the child’s face, laughing spasmodically yet terrified of dying, when I ran into him in the hallway.

‘A man who became emperor just two months after receiving the title of duke…’

I thought it wouldn’t take more than a few months for him to ascend to archduke, but I never imagined he would usurp the throne immediately upon gaining the right of succession. Teiles II’s premonition wasn’t wrong. Lecan executed all the royal family members, overturned the country, and finally seated himself on a throne soaked in blood.

Where did it all go wrong?

“There’s someone urgently looking for you, Commander. They said you’d know if I mentioned ‘Ancient Tongue.’”

‘Back then, I shouldn’t have helped Lecan.’

It was the last chance to kill him by implicating him in the death of former Emperor Teiles I.

Why did I help Lecan then? The paralysis affected only my body, but my mind crawled sluggishly. I couldn’t remember the reason. I stopped Lecan impulsively as he was about to enter Teiles I’s chamber.

‘If I hadn’t stopped him, Lecan wouldn’t have recognized me.’

Just as a butterfly’s fluttering wings can summon a storm, what I had thought was just a small action piled up and led to the current disaster. I felt like tearing out my own tongue for telling the Empress that I wanted to give Lecan a chance.

The carriage raced on and on. In that isolated space, feeling the void of life, I half-impulsively felt a murderous intent toward myself.

After a long while, when I blinked suddenly, the carriage had stopped — apparently having reached its destination. I heard the sound of the knight who had pulled me out dismounting from his horse, and soon the carriage door swung open.

“…Get out.”

“……”

“Still under the influence of the paralysis incense?”

I didn’t answer. Like my body wouldn’t move, my gaze remained fixed straight ahead. The knight frowned, climbed up into the carriage, and tried to grab my arm. That was the moment—

Thunk!

I drew the dagger from my robes and thrust it into the knight. He reacted quickly and dodged as best he could, but I still managed to drive the blade deep into his thigh during his moment of carelessness.

Immediately after, his brute strength came crashing down on my face. With a single blow to the cheek, I was thrown to the floor of the carriage.

“Aagh! You crazy bxtch!”

The knight screamed, overcome with fury, and then slowly pulled the dagger from his thigh. I looked up at him calmly as he raged.

“Does it hurt? From just that?”

“…How dare you, a mere servant…Do you have a death wish?!”

Even when he drew his sword and pressed it to my throat, I didn’t so much as scoff.

“And you, a traitor, just pointed a blade at the highest authority in this land — the Empress Dowager herself.”

“A lowborn like you has no sense, huh? The world’s changed! The empire is dead, and a new nation has risen in its place!”

“…Call it what it is. Usurpation. You hacked apart a woman who didn’t even resist and snatched the imperial seal without the slightest reverence. And now you sit on the throne, daring to speak of legitimacy?”

“His Majesty was chosen by the people. Keep running that mouth of yours, and no matter what orders were given to spare you, I’ll cut you down myself.”

The knight kicked the bloodied dagger away with his uninjured foot, then dragged my now-silent body out of the carriage with force. I had only managed to land a blow because he had let his guard down. After all, I couldn’t even wield mana. The difference in skill between us was staggering.

Outside, we were surrounded by dense forest. The coachman glanced nervously between me, soaked in the Empress Dowager’s blood, and the knight, blood pouring from his thigh, clutching the whip in one hand and swallowing hard.