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Chapter : 22
I’ve Come to Take You, Charles.
“Have you heard the news? They say His Majesty is on his deathbed.”
The Emperor had been confined to his sickbed for a long time.
At some point, he began to suffer from madness, claiming that he could see the late former emperor, and even had his grave dug up.
After desecrating and relocating the tomb,
the Emperor continued to lose his mind, slowly descending into insanity until he lost all reason.
He covered his eyes and ears,
withered day by day under bouts of madness, and one by one beheaded his officials.
He cut out the tongues of those who spoke the truth and then took their heads.
The Emperor was mad, and his relatives were corrupt.
The Central Elders and key ministers were all filled with the former emperor’s kin.
You could tell just by looking at the state of the Eternal Rest Palace.
The Eternal Rest Palace was where the remains of the ancestors were enshrined.
It was the place where the remains of the founding king were buried, where his death was honored and comforted.
“What is to become of the imperial family at this rate…?”
“If the founding king could see the palace now, he’d be horrified.”
The sentry knights guarding the Eternal Rest Palace swallowed their breaths in anguish.
As royalty, they had lost both dignity and honor.
“Tsk. Keep it down. This is the Eternal Rest Palace. It houses the tombstones of the former emperors—how can you say such things here?”
“Do you know that the late emperor’s grave is empty? His Majesty said the former emperor appeared in his dreams and dug it up… Didn’t you hear anything?”
“Damn it! Are you trying to scare me all of a sudden with that kind of talk?”
There were two knights guarding the entrance to the Eternal Rest Palace.
“Must’ve been the wind.”
“It’s getting colder, so the wind’s getting harsher too.”
“Why are only we stuck with duty here?”
“Isn’t it usually given to the youngest knight who just finished training? We just have to wait until someone junior comes in under us. What choice do we have?”
It had once been an honorable post, but not anymore.
“Shh. Someone’s really coming. Be quiet.”
Soon, the sound of footsteps echoed.
“Isn’t that His Highness the Crown Prince?”
“We greet Your Highness.”
Benjamin walked alone through the imperial palace.
The knights bowed their heads, and Benjamin turned his gaze away.
“…”
Without a word, he resumed walking.
“His Highness wishes to view the Eternal Rest Palace alone. Do not follow.”
Yet Roskella followed behind Benjamin.
“Your Highness, where are you going?”
Benjamin crossed between the graves of the Eternal Rest Palace.
His birth mother had been executed, and he couldn’t even recover her body. His grandfather had no grave either—no tombstone.
“So many empty graves in the Eternal Rest Palace.”
Roskella looked around in a daze.
“What have they done here…”
The sight of graves dug up and crudely covered again was miserable.
“He’s losing his mind. Those who had to witness this…”
“Some died. Some lived.”
Benjamin looked down at an empty grave—the tomb of the late emperor, his grandfather.
“Prepare to hold a requiem ritual.”
A consolation for the dead.
Soon, the time will come.
[The capital is in turmoil. Still, there’s nothing for you to worry about. We’re all doing fine here, so you must do well too. Tsk, tsk. Are you eating properly? You always skip meals when your heart’s in turmoil, don’t you?]
A postcard arrived from the imperial capital.
It had been a couple of months since Charlot left for her estate to recuperate.
After she left the capital, news spread that the Emperor was near death, and chaos quickly followed.
Though the Emperor who was said to be dying would cling to life for another five years.
‘Even this will end.’
Charlot unfolded the letter and finished reading.
[And you, taking after Cosette, love your drink far too much, don’t you? Don’t drink on an empty stomach.
Do I really have to lecture my grandniece about her drinking habits at my age? Tsk, tsk. Uncle Cesar is calling for me, so I’ll stop here. I may not be in touch for a while. Take care of yourself.]
Charlot folded the letter and walked through the backyard. The trees had shed their leaves, growing more desolate by the day.
The gardener swept fallen leaves from the ground, and servants hurried about.
“Miss, the wind is cold. Please go back inside.”
“Katarina said it’s not good for me to stay cooped up in my room, so I came out for a little walk.”
As Charlot gently closed her eyes, a voice came from behind.
“If you stay inside just because it’s cold, your strength will weaken.”
“You’ve started nagging more lately too.”
“It’s my duty to protect you, Miss.”
Katarina stayed by Charlot’s side as her personal guard.
“I’m not some child left by the water’s edge.”
Five years—short if you say it’s short, long if you say it’s long.
[I found records of the Luppertic disease in the southern continent. So I’m planning to go there. Even if it takes some time, please wait for me.]
Aaron had closed the apothecary and left temporarily for the southern continent.
It had been quite a while since then. Strangely, she felt no sense of crisis.
If she let herself sink into this peaceful daily life, she might even forget that she was once living on borrowed time.
Was it because nothing hurt?
Or because this routine had become so natural?
The cause and cure for Luppertic disease had still not been found.
“If I die like in my last life, then so be it.”
Still.
Charlot looked up at the empty air.
“At least this time, I won’t be alone like I was back then.”
Charlot smiled quietly.
Then—
A message arrived. No sender. No source.
[Soon it ends]
Just three words.
[Charl.]
It felt as though she could hear someone’s voice.
Everyone thought Benjamin would be deposed.
The Crown Prince could not blend into the palace. He stood apart, like oil and water.
His support was weak,
and even as he lost his mother and had his arms and legs broken, he lay low in silence.
But that balance was overturned in just five years.
The deposed Crown Prince ascended the throne.
“All the princes and their factions have been dealt with.”
From his place of disgrace, he beheaded his half-brother and relatives.
The coldness of it chilled even those watching at his side.
“That a country like this still has to be kept alive by someone—how ridiculous. If the founding king saw the state of the nation now, he’d burst from his grave with a sword in hand.”
Benjamin wiped the cold sweat on his brow with the back of his hand.
He had waited to be deposed for the sake of justification.
Only when all of them tightened the noose around his neck
would he have the pretext to drag the Empress, the former emperor’s relatives, the Central Elders, and the key ministers into the grave all at once.
Removing just one wouldn’t end it.
To remove them all, Benjamin had to bury himself first,
and wait for them to crawl in after him.
“What are you thinking about?”
“The sword feels unusually heavy.”
“Ah, the blade must have dulled. Take mine instead. It’s time to finish this. Let’s move.”
Benjamin walked slowly—noble steps, without the slightest haste.
“We will escort you to the Confinement Palace.”
The Confinement Palace was where members of the imperial family were temporarily imprisoned when they committed crimes.
It was all over.
Roskella glanced at his lord.
His steps were steady, without the slightest disorder. Only a little blood had splattered on his collar.
From the start, he maintained a clean composure.
His jet-black hair rustled softly with every step.
“The Empress drank poison herself.”
“…”
“She had kept it prepared.”
Empress Lilliana had taken her own life.
Benjamin opened the doors of the Confinement Palace.
A slender female body lay collapsed on the floor.
“She’s dead.”
“I clearly told them to keep her alive…”
“Who would’ve known she carried poison in her bosom?”
Lilliana had passed away just like that—truly quietly. Her expression was peaceful.
“Hic!”
The chief attendant fell backward onto his rear.
Benjamin looked down at him and asked,
“Are the ones you should serve those dead bodies there?”
“Y-Your…! Your Majesty the Emperor! I am loyal to the imperial family. The master of this palace is my master!”
Benjamin’s eyes sank quietly.
‘What are you doing! Burn the deposed empress’s corpse and hang it at the execution grounds!’
‘Watch the Crown Prince closely. Make sure he doesn’t try anything foolish!’
‘Move the former emperor’s grave. That damn old man keeps appearing in my dreams. He’s crawling out of his tomb!’
‘Please, listen to me carefully, Y-Your Highness… Even if you punish this criminal, please hear me out. Beware the Empress. There is something about her. I could not disobey. I had no choice.’
Benjamin felt weary—slightly exhausted.
The sharpened blade cut down his enemies, and cut into his own grip as well.
As time passed, it felt as though something inside him was festering.
He bound people with fear,
and the citizens of the empire felt both awe and rejection—respecting him, yet keeping their distance.
There was a sense of remoteness about his very existence.
—Thud.
A coffin containing the belongings of the executed criminals was placed in the audience hall.
Benjamin herded the nobles into a pit of vipers,
as if to survey who would be stuffed into that coffin next.
“Will you remain as dogs to the dead, or as people?
If you choose to be dogs, remain dogs.
If you choose to be people, remain people.
Choose for yourselves.”
The deposed Crown Prince ascended the throne.
Killing his half-brother and his relatives.
“They say a requiem ritual will be held in the capital.”
A ceremony to console the souls of the dead would be held in the imperial city.
“His Majesty himself will attend.”
The maid spoke as she brushed Charlot’s hair.
Charlot’s fingers paused. Had this happened in her past life too? She was hearing about a requiem ritual for the first time…
“It coincides with Mother’s death anniversary.”
“I’ll pray as well.”
Charlot steadied her breathing. When her breath trembled, her heart wavered.
She closed her eyes. Why were tears falling just from hearing that?
As Charlot sat there alone, someone knocked at the door.
“M-Miss!”
The maid called out to her urgently.
“I can hear you, so you don’t have to raise your voice.”
“That’s not it…!”
The maid shook Charlot by the shoulders.
“I’ve come to take you, Charl.”
Aster stood over Charlot, looking down at her.
Leaning against the wall, Aster knocked on the door with the back of his hand to announce himself.
It was a reunion after five years—a long wait, a long separation.
“Are you crying?”
“…”
“Who made you cry?”
What’s wrong with our girl? Aster asked, but the maid had nothing to say.
“What were you talking about?”
“Ah, we were just saying that a requiem ritual will be held in the capital soon.”
“Now that the chaos is over, the dead should be comforted.”
“It seems Miss has a tender heart.”
The Charl who had been shaken by the talk of the ritual had already regained her composure, as if nothing had happened.
The maid looked at her young lady quietly, then smiled.
“So you’ll be returning to the capital soon, I suppose.”
“What should we do with such a tender child? No matter how old she gets, a child is still a child.”
Charlot felt a little dazed.
So even at my age, I’m still called a child.
