Emperor's Alternate - Chapter 1
What is your first memory?
Most people say their first memory is at some point between the ages of two or three and usually eight or nine.
“I remember a day entirely red, sister. My hands were sticky and filled with hot things, my body soaked as if it had been rained on, the world was dark, and an unpleasant smell lingered. The only pleasant scent was the warm embrace that never left my side. Tears mixed with a comforting voice… It was you.”
“Yes, you remember…”
“I don’t know how old I was. I only recall the memory of struggling to breathe with white smoke filling my throat. Am I right, big sister? It was the day we became orphans, wasn’t it?”
Lucian’s voice still sounded rough, as if it was a lingering effect of the fire. Lucian was three years old at the time, and I was seven. No matter how composed Lucian tried to appear, the scars imprinted in his subconscious left me momentarily speechless. I had expected some of it, but the answer was partly unexpected.
“Reality was more gruesome than my little brother’s memories, but having raised him as a protector since childhood, I was unfazed and agreed.
“Your guess is correct. …I didn’t think you’d remember.”
It was something that happened when we were very young, and he had never asked me about our family. Lying in the hospital bed, Lucian softly smiled at my words.
“I know you’ve worked hard for me, but I want you to be free now.”
The words were meaningful, as if we both understood without the need for them to be spoken.
Now a young man, Lucian’s voice resembled that of his eldest brother, Lloyd. The pale complexion was due to a genetic disease that had been exacerbated by late treatment, but the blue eyes reminded him of his father, the late Duke, and his blond hair brought to mind his famous beauty of a mother.
My family was one of the most prestigious in the Horenes Empire. Now they are all dead, unjustly accused of treason and unable to even speak their names.
“Please.”
“My lady, it is time to leave the tower.”
The servant, who had been waiting inconspicuously, approached me. The scheduled test is in two days from this morning, so there was no reason to leave already. It was simply in accordance with her wish.
“The time has already…”
Lucian gasped through the pain.
The Emperor’s mistress. The one who secretly raised us, the descendants of rebels who should have died. The rumors of the public painted her as an irredeemable villain, and I agreed with that description. However, she was also my benefactor.
It was all for her ulterior motives, but thanks to her favor, I could always wear such magnificent dresses, and we could cover my little brother’s astronomical medical expenses. Even though the price I had to pay was not insignificant.
“I’ll come back another time.”
I rose from my seat, responding with feigned warmth, but in reality, I had no intention of granting my younger brother’s request.
“I want you to be free.”
Freedom, in many ways, was an impossible word for me.
As I was about to leave the room, the servant followed me. It might seem like they were accompanying me, but they were actually an observer appointed by the Emperor’s mistress.
“Sister.”
I heard my younger brother’s voice trying to stop me, but I didn’t turn back.
I still remembered everything.
The screams. The desperate pleas. My family, reduced to maimed corpses.
***
His beauty was unrivaled, even in the darkness, and his jawline, reminiscent of a mountain cliff with a cascading waterfall, was unusually sharp and chilling. If you were to name the most frequently heard name from the mouths of all living humans, it would undoubtedly be the man, Lecan.
Of course, his title was only a marquis. However, beyond the marquis’s title, he was acknowledged to have a semblance of the imperial inheritance right. Everyone knew that he had not been promoted due to the restraint of the royal family.
The betrayer facing Lecan was convinced that his stunning appearance had a lot to do with his rise to prominence, besides his background as a rising power.
“When you hear the word ‘alternate,’ what comes to mind?”
Lecan’s voice was excessively calm. The betrayer had been Lecan’s loyal hound just a while ago, or more precisely, until they exposed themselves as an undercover agent from the imperial family sent to kill Lecan.
As if his anger at the betrayal wasn’t bad enough, he had to ask a question like this……. The betrayer answered as if he were a beast, their blood rising as they spat it out due to a knife that was now buried deep in their belly.
“Well… my lord. Often, when someone is so… unique… that they are irreplaceable, we look at them and say that there is no substitute, don’t we?”
The traitor’s breathing became ragged, unavoidable due to heavy blood loss. Lecan, the one who had drawn the beast into this, spoke without a single faltering expression.
“Indeed, and who do you see as the replacement for the current royal family?”
“…You are disgusting. It is because you enjoy this sort of thing that assassins like me are sent to you… endlessly.”
“You’re going to die soon anyway. Honestly, give me an answer.”
The traitor’s vision blurred, bound and chained to the chair. He turned to see Lecan bending down to lock eyes with him, bound and chained to the chair.
‘Yes, I wished you were my real lord. That’s how I truly feel. …I deserve to die for my treachery, too.’
The empire, with a history spanning nearly a thousand years, was so thoroughly decayed that it seemed beyond saving. The imperial power was so weak that it was easily overlooked by other nations and targeted for wars of conquest. A myriad of vassals wielded power under a weak emperor who was set up like a scarecrow.
The imperial family had already lost its dominance and had become little more than an honorary title.
The only thing they excelled at was hounding troublesome noble families into disgrace for threatening to overthrow the state.
Lecan’s family was no exception, but for three generations they’d been exiled to the fringes of the empire.
When Lecan broke the unspoken rule and came to the Isles, he was subjected to constant assassination attempts.
“Everyone will talk… that you want to become the emperor, Lecan. That you are treasonous.”
“Is that so?”
In the darkness, Lecan chewed on his cigar with a strange composure. His servant carefully lit his cigar. The betrayer found it ironic and lamentable.
‘If only the crown prince were half as good as you, it would have been worth it for me to turn a blind eye.’
Lecan was a man of the people. A native of the cold north, he stood a head taller than the average nobleman. His body, hardened from a childhood of hunting wild beasts, was toned and perfect enough to inspire envy even in other men.
He was hailed as a genius for his intellect as well as his martial prowess, and his charismatic appearance made it seem as if he had already surpassed human limits.
It was easy to see why the imperial family had kept his family in check for generations. This is what a young absolute power would look like in human form, and the people, who had been waiting for the arrival of a powerful ruler for so long, idolized Lecan, regardless of their social status.
While the noble elite indulged in extravagance and debauchery, Lecan was different; he was almost ascetic in his lifestyle. He had never been close to a woman, which added to his enigmatic and intriguing nature, earning the attention of all.
That was the issue – it was problematic that someone like Lecan, who stood out so remarkably and could make even nobles bow their heads in reverence, didn’t come from the true high aristocracy, but rather from a newly emerging noble family.
“You are… too dangerous.”
“I ask you. If I were the imperial successor, does a substitute for me exist on this continent?”
“…….”
No. If he were gone, everyone would miss him, the traitor thought. But the beast could not answer, for at that moment he completely stopped breathing.
