novelnext Chapter 194 : The Emperor's Slayer (1)
Chapter 194 : The Emperor's Slayer (1)
What?What happened?
The Emperor?
The Twentieth Emperor?
Abel?
Don't tell me...
Father had already passed away?
'...No.'
Even amid the chaos filling her mind, Edel was certain of that much.
Throughout the countless regressions she could no longer keep track of, her father had always fallen into a coma.
Yet he had never once died.
That was one of the three absolute branching points that Edel Ribenia, bearer of the privilege "Eternal Regression," could never escape.
Throughout all the time she had repeated her regressions, that branch had never once changed.
In fact, she had tested it herself in several previous cycles.
Every attempt had ended in failure.
Nor did it apply only to her.
Among everyone who existed in this world, not a single person had ever succeeded in breaking that branching point.
And yet...
If Abel Ribenia had somehow broken it...
'...This is dangerous.'
She didn't know exactly what it meant.
But she knew one thing.
It wasn't a good sign.
Maintaining her guard, Edel slowly drew her sword.
“...The Twentieth Emperor?”
Then, cautiously stepping backward, she asked,
“Don't tell me... Father actually died?”
“Yes.”
Abel answered so casually that it sent chills down her spine.
“Well, it was bound to happen eventually...”
“But in times like these, we can't exactly announce the tragic news of the Emperor's passing to the people.”
“......”
“So I only carried out the minimum necessary procedures.”
“The formal coronation will be held soon enough.”
“I'll have the residence notify you around lunchtime, so get some rest.”
“You've been especially exhausted lately, haven't you?”
Having said only that, Abel sat back down and resumed chewing on the remaining meat.
His eyes were sunken.
His cheeks had caved in.
His face looked so gaunt that it resembled someone who had been starving for weeks.
If the series of shocking incidents that had occurred recently were truly the cause...
Then this wasn't how Abel would be behaving.
Normally, he would have drowned himself in alcohol or drugs to forget the pain.
Or shut himself away in his private quarters or bedroom while searching for women.
Escaping from reality had always been his way.
No one understood Abel Ribenia better than Edel.
And so she became certain.
'...Someone has interfered with him.'
Who?
Several possibilities crossed her mind.
But choosing the most likely one proved surprisingly easy.
There wasn't a shred of concrete evidence.
Yet the strange circumstances...
Abel's behavior...
The extreme events that had unfolded...
And her own instincts...
Together, they convinced her.
“Why... did you kill him?”
So Edel asked.
“Did you think doing that would somehow make you greater than Brother Luel, Abel?”
BOOM!!
Unable to contain his rage, Abel slammed both the table and his plate with tremendous force.
Murderous intent burst from him.
“So you've finally lost your mind, Edel.”
“Why? Did I say anything wrong?”
Edel had no intention whatsoever of backing down.
“Don't tell me...”
“You're still living in Brother Luel's shadow?”
“Watch your tongue!”
“How dare you utter such nonsense before the Emperor!”
“If all you do is hide behind authority and throw your weight around, who would ever acknowledge you as Emperor?”
“Even the Imperial citizens you look down upon as fools won't welcome someone like you.”
Having heard enough, Abel pointed his sword directly at Edel.
“Guards!”
“Take that woman's head immediately!”
“......”
“Commander of the Imperial Guard!”
“Did you not hear me?”
“I ordered you to kill her!”
Judging that allowing things to continue would only complicate matters further, Commander Lugier stepped forward.
“...Your command shall be obeyed.”
Lea's face immediately turned pale.
“W-Wait a second...!”
There was no room for discussion.
The Commander of the Imperial Guard immediately drew his arming sword and charged at Edel.
Clang!
Clang!
Despite such outrageous treatment from the Commander of the Imperial Guard, Edel calmly parried every strike without so much as blinking.
Lea, however, couldn't believe what she was witnessing.
“Have you gone mad?!”
“How can you point your sword at a member of the Imperial Family?!”
“We serve the Imperial Guard.”
“We exist to serve every member of the Imperial Household...”
“But above all else, we swore to obey the Emperor's command.”
“No... That's impossible...!”
“Please comply with the Imperial Decree, Princess!”
“M-Master! It's dangerous!”
As Edel instinctively assumed a defensive stance against Lugier's threatening swordsmanship...
She suddenly noticed something strange.
The blade that had charged toward her with enough force to split both her and her sword in two...
Seemed to slow to an almost complete stop at the very last moment.
Tiiiiiing!
Witnessing that incredible display, Edel instantly understood his intentions.
The Commander of the Imperial Guard was conveying a message through his sword.
'Leave before this situation grows even worse.'
“......”
Without hesitation, Edel drew her wand and cast Frozen Needle.
Dozens of ice spikes erupted between them.
Lugier immediately retreated with practiced movements.
“Let's go, Lea!”
“Y-Yes!”
Taking advantage of the moment their vision was obstructed, the two immediately fled in the opposite direction.
.
.
.
Even after Abel had ascended to the throne and caused such chaos, Edel neither hid nor fled.
Instead, she headed straight for the Imperial Bedchamber on the third floor of the Grand Palace.
Everything was in utter confusion.
More than ever, she needed to uncover the truth first.
BOOM!!
Once, the Emperor's bedchamber had been one of the most secretive places in the entire Empire.
But after the Emperor remained in a vegetative state for so long, security and maintenance had gradually been reduced to only the bare minimum.
“Huff... Huff...”
Even considering that...
The area felt far too deserted.
Standing inside the luxurious dressing chamber before the Emperor's bedroom, Duchess Rogermond, Emperor Ludwig's personal attendant, greeted her with surprising indifference.
“Oh my, Princess.”
“What exactly happened?”
Edel strode straight into the bedchamber.
The scene before her eyes was eerily peaceful.
The father who had always been sleeping quietly in that bed...
Was nowhere to be seen.
The room had been cleaned so thoroughly that it looked as though no one had ever occupied it.
Turning toward Rogermond, who had followed her inside, Edel asked,
“...I'm asking you.”
“What happened?”
“Crown Prince Abel visited during the night.”
“And?”
“...Then His Majesty passed away.”
“Don't you understand the connection?”
“It was Abel!”
“Abel killed Father...!”
Even as she demanded answers...
Edel already knew the truth.
No matter how worthless Abel was...
He was still the Crown Prince.
If the Emperor had still been healthy, perhaps things would have been different.
But what authority did Rogermond possess now?
Even if she had possessed any power...
All that had happened, on the surface, was a son visiting his father.
The fault lay with Abel.
Not with the maids or guards who had been powerless to stop him.
“...Who's behind this?”
That was why Edel changed her question.
“I don't understand what you mean...”
“No matter how rational and composed you are, Rogermond...”
“There's no way someone like you could remain this calm after something like this.”
“Someone told you not to worry about anything and simply continue with your duties, didn't they?”
“That's...”
At that very moment—
“My little sister Edel really is frighteningly perceptive.”
Hearing the familiar voice from behind her, Edel quietly ground her teeth together.
“Rachel...”
“I'll speak with my sister myself.”
“You may leave us, Rogermond.”
Once Rogermond, the Emperor's personal attendant, departed...
Only Rachel, Edel, and Lea remained.
Smack—!
Rachel, however, found that highly displeasing.
“Ah!”
“You insolent little bitch.”
“When I told you to leave, you should've known better.”
“Just because Edel treasures you doesn't mean you're someone important.”
Rachel slapped Lea across the face without warning.
Her hand swung once more—
Only for Edel to stop it.
“Go back to the residence first.”
“B-But, Master...”
“I said go back!”
Lea flinched.
Her master almost never raised her voice.
Yet now she was furious enough to shout.
Lea bit her lip and lowered her head.
As soon as the door beyond the dressing room quietly shut—
Edel's hand shot forward.
Smack!
Rachel was struck across the face before she could even react.
Surprisingly, however...
She didn't seem angry at all.
“...What an interesting experience.”
“Being slapped by my own little sister.”
“......”
“Well.”
“I suppose we're even now.”
Edel had countless things she wanted to say.
But this wasn't the time.
Taking a deep breath, she calmed herself before asking,
“Are you really going to let him continue like this?”
“You're seriously going to let that idiot impersonate the Emperor?”
Pointing downstairs, Edel demanded an answer.
Rachel folded her arms.
“That gives me far better odds of winning.”
“...What?”
“Don't pretend you don't know.”
“I already know your plan.”
“Dale told me everything.”
The instant Dale's name came up, Edel instinctively stiffened.
Rachel noticed immediately and continued smugly,
“You were planning to convince Abel to mobilize the army under the pretext of crushing the weak Dawn Society.”
“Then after destroying them...”
“You were going to get rid of me first, weren't you?”
“...Ha.”
“After removing me, you would've used your popularity with the citizens as an excuse to reduce Abel to nothing more than a puppet.”
“And while he served as your figurehead, you would've seized the Imperial Throne yourself.”
“Am I wrong?”
“......”
Not a single word of it was true.
Edel was left speechless for an entirely different reason.
At the same time...
The last traces of suspicion she held toward Dale completely vanished.
She actually felt relieved.
'Dale really has joined our side.'
'To feed them such a perfectly crafted piece of false intelligence...'
Of course, even Dale himself couldn't have predicted things would spiral this far when he'd fabricated that scenario.
No matter how much confusion he'd intended to create...
Who could've imagined these idiots would actually choose the worst possible option—
Murdering the Emperor with their own hands?
'Abel may have carried it out...'
'But that's not what's important.'
What mattered...
Was that Emperor Ludwig was dead.
The moment that truth spread throughout the Empire...
Ribenia would descend into the greatest chaos it had ever known.
Fixing Rachel with a fierce glare, Edel shouted,
“Have you both completely lost your minds?!”
“Do you have any idea why the Imperial Family has remained strong all this time?”
“It was because of our eldest brother!”
“Our eldest sister!”
“And Father!”
“......”
“You think the Empire will recognize the legitimacy of an Imperial Family after all of them are gone?”
“This is suicide!”
“And not the kind you can ever undo!”
“...That's only your opinion.”
No matter how fiercely Edel pressed her...
Rachel's eyes remained filled with unwavering confidence.
“I don't know about the commoners.”
“But the remaining nobles are on my side.”
“The one who actually killed Father was Abel.”
“I merely stepped forward because I had no choice but to stop him.”
“Isn't that a much better story if I want to become Empress?”
“...Your forces can't stop Abel.”
“He has the Imperial Guard now.”
“And he holds supreme command over the military.”
“We'll find out once we try.”
“No.”
“I'm certain.”
“Unless my forces join yours...”
“Which means your choice is obvious, isn't it?”
“...What?”
As though she had been waiting for that question, Rachel raised her right index finger and smiled wickedly.
“Wouldn't it be far better, in every possible way...”
“To make me Empress instead of that fool Abel?”