Emperor's Alternate - Chapter 40
One summer eleven years ago, the tears wouldn’t stop. Instead of bothering to wipe away the droplets rolling down my cheeks, I let them flow freely. It was because of Lucian that I went to the Information Guild, even though I knew I was being watched.
I don’t know how many times he’s grabbed me, begging me to kill him. ‘Mana therapy is the worst kind of pain,’ I’ve read it so many times in print that I know it in my mind, but it doesn’t describe the emotions of witnessing a family member suffer before their eyes over and over again,
Lucian was the last thread left in my life. What was I to do faced with a child writhing in agony, pleading for me to take their life? Reading thousands of medical texts, seeking ways to contact Lecan while evading surveillance with the fervor of catching straws—that was all I could do.
“Do you think your crying will erase your sins?”
The Sixth Prince was arrogant even at that tender age of ten. Whether it was in his nature or influenced by the courtesan grooming him as the future Emperor, his sense of superiority was strong from childhood. Even those in the aristocratic faction of ‘elitism’ paled in comparison to his ‘elitist’ tendencies
The Sixth Prince saw my relationship with the courtesan and looked down on me. Though not her blood relatives, Lucian and I were under her protection. She saw me as a tool, and the Sixth Prince viewed me as a target for exploitation.
My talent was meant solely for the Sixth Prince’s benefit. That’s what his mother had always taught him, and it seemed the Emperor’s mistress had already paid a hefty price to ensure that if a girl like me came to the Information Guild, they would inform the Sixth Prince first.
The Information Guild member who forcibly tied me up as I arrived as a guest silently left.
I continue to shed tears, not out of frustration, but because I’ve been caught trying to get Lecan to help me. Even before, I used to cry for days after Lucian’s ‘mana treatment.’
“I apologize. I don’t know how the lady managed to escape from the tower. Perhaps she used magical tools, and I failed to notice…”
Thud!
The Sixth Prince’s spear pierced the knight who was reporting the situation. I vividly heard the sound of iron clanking, the knees hitting the ground, the heavy thud as the body fell. There was no mercy at the hands of the Sixth Prince, even if he hadn’t exhausted his excuses. I didn’t bother to take a closer look.
I stared at the Sixth Prince, splattered blood dotting his cheek while he smirked—it was the face of a potential tyrant. If I genuinely care for the country, it would have been right to end the Sixth Prince there and then. But my brother’s life was ten thousand times more important to me than any tenuous loyalty to the Empire.
“The crime of letting you slip away must be punished by death.”
“…”
“Isn’t that right, Winter?
He addressed me, drawing the spear from the corpse. The blood that pooled in the dead knight’s moist retinas were a surreal red.
I took this risk on the chance that Lecan might know a solution. Even if Lucian’s illness could only be cured with the help of seven of the greatest minds in the House of Rotea, Lecan was still an overwhelmingly powerful man who might have similar talents working for him. It was a desperate attempt to grasp onto even a flicker of hope.
“If you run away again, I will drive my spear into your brother’s heart.”
As soon as that spear was plunged into Lucian’s chest, the Sixth Prince would die as well, but I did not tell him that. The ‘Imprint of the Heart’ was a secret only I and the courtesan knew.
Another tear silently fell, and the Sixth Prince must have laughed at that time.
***
Drip.
Lecan watched me as I poured the tea. It was my first attempt at brewing tea, so it might have been amateurish, but the aroma was rather pleasant. Teiles II seemed to be keenly observing the inexplicable emotions hanging in the air between me and Lecan.
Instinctively, my fingers trembled slightly. It would do no good to show agitation, but my body refused to listen.
“Please, have some tea, Commander.”
“…I don’t particularly enjoy tea. Please, get to the matter at hand.”
Teiles II laughed at the bluntness of Lecan’s words.
“Why, afraid it might be poisoned?”
I was the one who brewed the tea, so that statement was open to multiple interpretations. For a moment, Lecan and my eyes met in response to this seemingly joking remark.
…Come to think of it, that was a good idea. I had been too honest, simply reflecting on the past while I brewed the tea.
‘Maybe I should have poisoned it.’
Even if Lecan wouldn’t instantly die from poison, upon reflection, I felt somewhat displeased for missing what seemed like a good chance for assassination.
As I averted my gaze, feeling regretful, Lecan’s expression turned peculiar. He could have refused, but instead, he raised the teacup. Watching him quietly sip the tea I brewed, I politely stepped back, but the disappointment lingered.
Setting the teacup down, Lecan remarked sharply, “The tea’s taste is quite inadequate. To serve something like this…”
Lecan seemed to catch himself mid-sentence, abruptly closing his mouth. Suddenly, Teiles II’s eyes flashed.
