Emperor's Alternate - Chapter 2
Lecan, who had been staring silently at the traitor’s lifeless eyes, straightened his back and rose. His hidden guards, who had been lurking like shadows, appeared, blindfolding the traitor’s eyes, and carried him away. Likely disposing of the body.
The tip of Lecan’s cigar smoldered. The sensation of blood on his hand was peculiar. Disposing of assassins was routine now, but killing a mole who’d been pretending to be one of his own for years made him feel sick every time.
“Are you alright, my lord?”
“Don’t betray me.”
Lecan glanced briefly at the servant, chuckled as if he were joking, and passed by his side. The servant, who was startled and followed Lecan closely as he left the room, responded.
“Betrayal, even in jest, is a frightening word, sir.”
The corridor was as splendid as the imperial palace itself. It was decorated with gifts from nobles who had eagerly gathered to impress Lecan. Lecan took his servant’s advice that it was better to show power than extravagance.
“Wouldn’t life be much easier if you didn’t suspect me down to the core of my heart?”
“Well.”
“But what was your question earlier? Did you have a change of heart, or was it through my persuasion?”
“Enough talk.”
Lecan languidly took another drag on his cigar. The servant shrugged, as if that was a good thing.
“More importantly, I heard that Lady Lesia and Princess Swinney are arguing in front of your door. The situation seems to have escalated to this point, and I didn’t really want to report such things. But they’re making so much noise, each claiming to be your lady, and…”
Lecan, in his assessment, considered his servant a man who placed morality and virtue at the top of his list of duties as a monarch, so he answered the obvious question with aplomb.
“I haven’t slept with anyone.”
“I know, it’s just…”
“I have no intention of doing so with anyone.”
Lecan’s straightforward answers were concise enough to shut down any unnecessary questions. The servant lowered his eyes nonchalantly as Lecan stopped and turned around in the hallway.
“I apologize.”
“No, not that.”
Betrayal by his confidants and approaching women were just part of daily life for Lecan. There was nothing that could truly shake him. What provoked Lecan’s indifference lay elsewhere.
Creeeeak.
Beyond the window, he spotted a falcon heading his way. When Lecan opened the window, the falcon perched on the sill as if it had been waiting.
Lecan untied the message attached to the falcon’s leg and inspected it. The betrayal by his confidant was gone from his mind. In fact, Lecan’s attention had been focused on the message that had just arrived.
The corner of Lecan’s mouth twitched upward. His suspicions were confirmed.
A woman’s handwriting…. For someone who’d been analyzing handwriting for twenty years, she was quite good. The choice of vocabulary suggested an aristocratic upbringing, but Lecan hadn’t been able to discern the gender solely from the handwriting.
“My lord, why are you smiling?”
“The alternate. I was wondering what it would be like if someone dared to impersonate a royal family member.”
“Pardon?”
If the answers that the 6th prince submitted for the magical arts exam had been at a passable level, Lecan wouldn’t have needed to pay attention to it.
‘It was too perfect. A level that no sixth prince I know could ever reach.’
A handwriting analysis confirmed Lecan’s suspicions that the answers submitted to the test were fabricated. Rather than thinking of the proxy exam as unethical, Lecan was more impressed by the exceptional talent.
‘Such talent, and why didn’t I know about them before?’
She was a noblewoman. Lecan was genuinely surprised that there was such a talent on the continent, particularly someone who had taken the proxy exam. Who could she be? And for what purpose is she lining up with the Sixth Prince?
“Wasn’t the exam the day after tomorrow?”
“Yes? Oh, are you referring to the final entrance exam for the Persi Academy? Yes, it’s in two mornings. The entire nation is in an uproar because of that.”
“I think I should go and see it.”
“By your lordship himself?”
“I think it might be interesting.”
Lecan grinned, tapping his servant’s shoulder.
The servant felt a momentary chill as he sensed something unusual in Lecan’s smile. He couldn’t quite pinpoint the reason, but an inexplicable sense of dread washed over him. It was strange to see his master laughing so innocently, with an assassin’s blood on his cheeks that hadn’t yet been completely wiped away.
‘Interesting.’
Lecan had no intention of exposing the person who had tampered with the proxy exam, even if he witnessed it at the scene. He was simply hoping for the day of the test to arrive quickly, driven by the expectation of discovering who was behind this.
‘Who could this woman be?’
