Emperor's Alternate - Chapter 19
Lecan didn’t recognize me. It was to be expected.
It had been a long time since he last saw me as a child. Besides, I wasn’t currently disguised as the Sixth Prince. To him, I was as much a stranger as anyone else.
‘But this feeling…’
I couldn’t help but feel strangely unsettled, despite knowing that his interest in me likely stemmed from the desire to gain favor with a potential ally, perhaps because he somehow remembered the password to speak to me in secret. If he had recognized me, it would have sent shivers down my spine…
An inexplicable emotion washed over me.
The Emperor had now consumed a poison I had personally crafted. It wouldn’t be long before screams erupted. Wasn’t it oddly coincidental that Lecan discovered the Emperor at this precise moment?
It was unintentional, but certainly politically expedient.
‘While Lecan witnesses the Emperor’s demise, Teiles I will convulse from the poison, ultimately screaming to death. Then, I can pin the blame on Lecan for the murder of the Emperor.’
Lecan had always been a thorn in my side. I had already silently concluded that killing him was necessary. Soon after the emperor’s death, the state of the empire would change dramatically.
The Sixth Prince would ascend to the throne, the Emperor’s mistress would begin her reign as the Empress Regent, and countless noble families would become sacrificial pawns for power. It was to the Sixth Prince’s advantage that the people’s beloved Lecan did not exist in such a country.
Even though it was so clear in my mind, I couldn’t turn away. I knew it was easier to let the tide run its course than to intervene and turn it back.
Yet, I decided to speak to him.
“…Now isn’t the time for Your Majesty.”
Even my own voice sounded foreign to me. Lecan didn’t seem to be listening in the slightest.
I sensed an odd glance from the librarian beside him. Even the knights guarding the Emperor’s chamber seemed to watch me.
Despite having nothing to gain from attention, my lips moved.
“There is a man in urgent need of you, sir,” I said, “and he said he would know if I mention ‘Ancient Tongue.’”
“The Lord is busy; a mere maid like you has no right to detain him.”
The librarian tried to draw a line in the sand, but Lecan responded a moment later. “…Ancient Tongue?”
It was a tactic I could use because he didn’t recognize me as the ally he sought to enlist. Over the past few years, Lecan and I had clandestinely communicated using the secret passphrase ‘Ancient Tongue,’ even though we hadn’t seen each other’s faces.
It was a casual remark, but his expression gradually hardened as if he understood, and he turned to me with clarity, recognizing me as a person, not just a passing maid.
My action was undeniably impulsive, even after I executed my revenge with a cooler hand than anyone else.
“Where are they now? The one in Ancient Tongue.” “Lecan nudged me.
It was a veiled remark, indicating that to Lecan, the one who took the Sixth Prince’s proxy exam was remembered by Ancient Tongue. Later, when he reflected on the situation, he might guess my identity, but I couldn’t worry about that now.
Time was running out.
I needed to get him out of the palace.
“He left me a message saying he was on his way to your mansion. He added that if we don’t meet within a certain time frame, he will never reveal himself in this lifetime.”
If Lecan had even a shred of sense in him, he would have surely noticed something peculiar about this situation.
However, the short time limit of ‘a certain time frame’ and the powerful word ‘lifetime’ seemed to dim Lecan’s rationality. No superior leaves a message of gratitude to a subordinate. Before I could finish speaking, Lecan abruptly turned away.
“…My Lord? Where did he suddenly–!”
What have I just done?
It felt like a desolate emptiness after a storm passed. I froze, thinking that I needed to get out of this place right now.
The bedroom was at the far end of the hall for security purposes, so Lecan, who had been walking away, was soon back at the end of the hall and out of sight. The librarian called out to him in disbelief, but I was dumbfounded.
The fact that someone who sought to be the head of the country was a leader among the political factions of this nation, evoked quite an unfamiliar emotion within me.
“Did the Commander of the Knights Templar just try to see His Majesty?”
“No, it’s nothing. What’s with this sudden talk about Ancient Tongue…”
Judging by the librarian’s reaction, Recan had noticed the Sixth Prince’s proxy test, but had kept it to himself. The knights guarding the bedchamber glanced back and forth between the librarian and me, puzzled by what had happened.
‘Lecan, I can’t let you be entangled with the Emperor now. It wouldn’t be… fair play.’
The Sixth Prince was a bastard. He was no different from Teiles I, known for his debauchery, and the Crown Prince who drove the Crown Princess to suicide. I’ve done the most to help the Sixth Prince ascend to the throne today, but I have no delusions that he’ll thank me. I didn’t demand his gratitude, considering it fortunate enough if he didn’t try to force himself on me. Perhaps that was the reason.
As someone’s servant, I made a foolish choice, but ultimately, I saved Lecan from danger.
