Chapter 121

“How could someone who knows better say such things…”

Vivian trailed off, bowing her head. Louis reached out to place his hand on her shoulder, but Vivian suddenly lifted her head.

“Apologize!”

Louis’s hand froze midair, and the Emperor’s expression hardened further.

“How dare you speak like this in my presence…”

“I’m not saying that everything you said is wrong, Your Majesty. From the highest position in the Empire, it’s impossible to always make morally correct choices. Such choices can sometimes lead to the worst outcomes. However…”

“However?”

“However, it is wrong to dismiss the efforts of Crown Prince Luideos like that. Louis has worked harder than anyone.”

At Vivian’s words, Emperor Henry silently looked down at her. His gaze, which would have made ministers tremble and quickly back down, was met unwaveringly by Vivian.

Her audacity was something to be acknowledged. As expected of whose daughter she was. The Emperor let out a scoff before speaking slowly.

“I am not wrong. By my standards, Luideos does not qualify as Crown Prince. He is easily swayed by personal relationships and overestimates his abilities.”

“It is not a personal relationship. He is a loyal subject and a friend. And Aitor is not a criminal.”

The Emperor frowned and slowly tilted his head to the side.

“Defending someone who committed a kidnapping… It’s difficult to understand.”

“There were circumstances behind it.”

“There is no crime without circumstances.”

“Tristan is also someone who kidnapped me. Yet, he has not been punished. Only Aitor is being punished, and that is unfair.”

The Emperor let out a derisive laugh at Vivian’s words.

Tristan, he said, would be appropriately punished once the political situation stabilized. However, since Tristan had offered to assist in capturing Inferna’s organizational structure and key figures, his sentence would be reduced in consideration of that.

“The same goes for Aitor. Considering his past contributions, exile is the final decision…”

The Emperor trailed off, his gaze shifting between the two of them.

How insolent.

His cold golden eyes glinted as he narrowed them.

“I will punish him. I have made up my mind, and so it will be. That is what is best for the Empire. Punishing criminals, stabilizing the political situation quickly, and forging a new agreement with the Mage Tower.”

Aitor was a significant risk factor.

It was a few years ago when the Emperor learned that Aitor was the son of Caspian Turner—thanks to a secret visit from Marquis Cloak.

The Emperor, considering how to make use of Caspian’s talented son for the Empire, had decided to keep that fact hidden for the time being.

However, the variable arose when Aitor discovered the reason behind his foster father’s death through the leader of Inferna.

His terrifyingly strong power posed a threat to the Empire. It had to be cut off. And Aitor had provided justification for that himself.

Sweeping back his wind-tousled hair, the Emperor spoke.

“If I cannot tie his crimes to Marquis Cloak, I will bring your kidnapping case to light, Young Lady. In that case, the Crown Prince and Duke Dinever will have no choice but to take responsibility for their actions.”

Forgetting his status as Crown Prince and sneaking into a dangerous enemy territory was a condemnable act. Those who assisted the Crown Prince, like Rayden and Duke Tereon, could also face punishment.

Seeing the Emperor’s strong determination to exile Aitor, Vivian clenched the item in her pocket tightly.

The Emperor, whose authority was the strongest since the Empire’s founding, was not someone to be confronted lightly. Vivian knew how foolish it was to oppose him, yet she could not remain silent.

“What will you do, Lady Vivian? Will you admit that your young friend made a mistake? Or will you hope for a new trial with additional charges?”

The Emperor’s slow words carried a sharp and chilling blade, threatening Vivian directly. Cornered, Vivian took a deep breath, closing and opening her eyes slowly.

Praying that they would arrive before it was too late, Vivian ran her thumb over the object in her pocket.

At that moment—

“You cannot enter! Stop right there!”

“Hey! What are you grabbing me for? This old man is going to die! I’m going to die!”

“Are you alright?”

“Oh no, I can’t get up!”

A commotion began outside the terrace’s glass doors.

The Emperor, who had been waiting for his prey to fall into his jaws, scowled at the sudden interruption and glared at Dave.

As Dave hurried to open the door to check the situation, three people rushed in through the gap.

“Master Hugo!”

Vivian beamed as she approached Hugo, who was at the front and patting his aching back.

“Are we not too late?”

Hugo’s face was filled with concern, and Vivian quickly shook her head.

“Hugo…”

The Emperor’s face grew fiercer with each person who entered to disrupt his hunt.

“Dean and Marquis Marx as well. What brings you here?”

At the Emperor’s question, Marquis Marx, who looked like a large bear, pushed aside the two elderly men and stepped forward.

“I greet His Majesty the Emperor of the Empire.”

The Marquis’s booming voice made Hugo and Dean cover their ears.

“What brings the Marquis here now?”

“Hahaha. It seemed like an urgent matter, so I left my son in charge for a while and hurried up here.”

A loud laugh erupted from the Marquis’s large mouth, and Hugo lightly tapped his protruding belly.

“I’ll explain. Please step back for now.”

At Hugo’s words, the Marquis laughed heartily and took a few steps back. Hugo exchanged glances with Dean before slowly turning to look at Vivian and Louis.

Sighing deeply as he looked at his students, Hugo finally spoke.

“The reason these old men have dared to stand before His Majesty the Emperor is to fulfill the will of the late Emperor.”

“The late Emperor’s will?”

Not only the Emperor but also Louis and even Dave, who stood frozen in confusion, widened their eyes.

Hearing about the late Emperor’s will out of nowhere, Louis began to doubt Hugo’s health. However, Dean’s serious expression and the sparkling eyes of Marquis Marx made him look back at Hugo.

“What nonsense is this…”

As the Emperor began to speak, Hugo nodded toward Vivian. Vivian then retrieved the pocket watch she had been holding tightly and handed it to Hugo.

“This is something you should recognize, Your Majesty.”

Looking at the pocket watch in Hugo’s palm, Emperor Henry’s expression darkened.

The watch was the Empire’s jewel, “Aitenus,” passed down from Emperor to Emperor. It was said to have been crafted by the first Emperor to symbolize the Empire’s eternal time. And now, that watch lay in Hugo’s palm.

“Why do you have that, Lady Vivian?”

The Emperor’s icy aura, sharp enough to pierce to the bone, was blocked by Louis stepping in front of Vivian.

“I gave it to her. The Aitenus that Grandfather gave to me—I gave it to Vivian.”

The Emperor had suspected that the late Emperor had given Aitenus to Louis. However, hearing that Louis had given the Imperial treasure, a symbol of the Emperor, to Vivian made the Emperor’s fists tremble.

As the enraged Emperor approached Louis, he raised his hand.

“Your Majesty!”

It all happened in an instant. Louis’s face turned red and began to swell where it had been struck.

Marquis Marx and Dean quickly stepped in to block the Emperor.

“What does the position of Crown Prince mean to you? How could you act so recklessly?”

The Emperor’s furious outburst left everyone speechless—Vivian, who had been looking up at Louis in shock and worry; Hugo, who had closed his eyes in regret; and even Dave, frozen in place, unable to move.

It was the first time anyone had seen Emperor Henry express his anger so openly.

“You knew what that object meant, yet you gave it away so easily!”

The Emperor’s chest rose and fell rapidly as he struggled to catch his breath.

Louis, licking his split lip, raised his head to meet the Emperor’s gaze. To Louis, the Emperor’s reddened eyes looked sorrowful.

After glaring at his son for a long moment, the Emperor pushed aside Dean and Marquis Marx, who had been holding his arms.

Catching his breath, the Emperor turned his gaze to Hugo.

“Speak. What is this so-called will of the late Emperor?”

Hugo lifted his lowered eyes. Bowing deeply to the Emperor, he nodded toward Dean.

Dean, following Hugo’s signal, took out a recording crystal from deep within his robes.

“This is something the late Emperor entrusted to me before his passing. He instructed that it be revealed only if Crown Prince Luideos raised a rebellion against His Majesty the Emperor. No one, not even myself, has seen what it contains.”

As Dean approached Hugo with the recording crystal, it began to glow in response to the Aitenus in Hugo’s hand.

The light from the crystal grew brighter until a clear image appeared in the air.

Is this thing recording properly?

The late Emperor appeared in the image, looking suspiciously at someone off-screen. When assured that it was being recorded properly, the late Emperor, who had been wearing an awkward expression, adjusted his demeanor and began to speak seriously.

If you’re watching this, it means that our Louis has finally struck a blow against his father.

The late Emperor’s triumphant expression made Emperor Henry’s face twist into a scowl.

The late Emperor, laughing so hard that his shoulders shook, wiped the tears pooling in his eyes before letting out a bitter smile.

This will is not for Louis. It is for my son, Henry.

The late Emperor, speaking slowly, paused as if lost in thought.

I forced you to give up everything for the Emperor’s throne. My stubbornness even denied you the freedom to love. This is my will, my reflection, and my message to Luideos, who must have grown up watching such a father.

At the late Emperor’s words, Emperor Henry’s golden eyes began to waver violently.

His father had been especially strict with him. Even on his deathbed, his father had only worried about the Empress and Luideos. Hearing that his father had left a will for him made Emperor Henry feel as though he had been struck in the head.