LRAB Chapter 222 : Chapter 222
Chapter 222 : Chapter 222
“If you’re going to reveal it, do it quickly.”“….”
“From what I've learned living for about 100 years, it’s better to tell them quickly. Looking back later, the sense of betrayal is less severe.”
“….”
I remained silent.
I looked out the window.
In the distance, Lilac was approaching with the brooches.
I managed to open my mouth with difficulty.
“…I’ll gratefully accept your advice.”
More importantly, I didn't expect Lilac to be back so soon.
I hated that it seemed like I was changing the subject, but there was something I had to say.
“…Speaking of which, my question is late, but do you know about the System?”
It was a question I should have asked when we met before.
But I had forgotten due to the circumstances of me, Kim An-hyun, possessing Martin's body and the Master grade of Know-It-All.
“The System? Are you talking about the all-powerful cheat key for protagonists that appears in novels and comics on Earth?”
“Well, yes. Something like that.”
“Looks like you have one too.”
I do.
Of course, I do.
If I didn't have this, there would be no Know-It-All, no Wild Instinct, nothing at all.
“But what you said… it seems you don't know.”
“Of course, I don't know. Why would something like the System exist, it's scary….”
The Star Maiden made a disgusted face.
“….”
The direct medium that brought me to this world was the Star Maiden.
And she didn't know.
…Actually, there was one more person who might know.
“I don’t know, but I know who uses it”
It seemed the Star Maiden had reached the same conclusion.
Of course.
It was the scenario she gave, and the work I wrote.
“Gilbert.”
“Gilbert.”
We answered at the same time.
The protagonist, Gilbert.
A fool for justice, appointed as a savior by the continent to protect itself, showered with all sorts of blessings.
***
Adela was not in a bad mood.
No, she was in a good mood.
Adela had also made a New Year's resolution.
Independence.
Yes, independence.
And today was the New Year's banquet.
A day when all the nobles gathered.
Which meant, Martin would also be here.
‘What an impertinent hunting dog….’
She understood he was busy with various things, but she couldn't accept that the total amount of attention she received from him had decreased.
‘Making me come and find him.’
So, wasn't it a good thing that they could meet like this?
…If it weren't for that one voice that ruined her mood.
“Princess Adela.”
At the voice that irritated her just by hearing it, Adela simply ignored it.
She quickened her pace, but the person behind her started to run.
“Princess Adela!”
“….”
It seemed he would keep following.
She hated that even more.
“You unlucky prince, what is it now?”
“Wait, you haven't, you haven't even spoken with me yet, have you?”
“With you?”
Frowning deeply, she turned around to look at Prince Kazaks.
“I, with you, talk?”
“Yes, talk.”
Just then, Kazaks' butler and maid came running from behind.
“Your Highness, you are running out of time to prepare….”
“Enough, I have more important business now, so stand by.”
At his firm attitude, both the butler and maid had no choice but to shut their mouths.
Since he was being this firm, Adela had no choice but to respond.
“Alright, let's hear it. Did you come to brag to me?”
“That's absolutely not the reason. I… have something to say to you.”
Today, Prince Kazaks would announce his victory in the competition for the throne and be appointed as the Crown Prince.
Of course, it was thanks to Adela's declaration of withdrawal.
“Why, why… did you give up?”
“If you think it's because my feelings for you have softened, let me tell you that you're mistaken, you idiot.”
Despite Adela's words and actions, the maid and butler just watched nervously and remained silent.
They were used to it by now.
Anyway, after saying just that, Adela turned to go on her way, but Kazaks caught up with her again.
“W-wait! Adela! I still have more to say!”
“More to say?! Do I look like a dog that has to bark whenever you babble?!”
“C-calm down. This older brother of yours….”
“Older brother?!”
Adela reached out and grabbed Kazaks by the collar.
Unlike when she had gently grasped Martin's collar in front of the Emperor, this was as fierce as a bird of prey snatching its quarry.
“Are you insane? Because you were born in March, spring, and I in December, winter, you're my older brother?! You're trying to act like family to me now? Ha, you're wearing a human mask, Prince…!”
“Gak! L-let go of this…!”
“Shut up! Don't follow me! If you really don't want to die at your crown prince investiture ceremony!”
Adela shoved Kazaks away and walked on.
“W-wait, Princess Adela!”
However, bricks made of golden sand piled up one by one, blocking the path.
It all happened in an instant.
“Hah…!”
Prince Kazaks sighed deeply, then kicked the wall a few times before finally turning back.
“Let's go back.”
“Yes.”
Sighs escaped him on the way back to the preparation room.
“Hah…, it's not easy.”
The maid and butler exchanged glances.
“Your Highness, frankly, I do not understand. I cannot fathom why you are suddenly showing leniency to the villainess Adela.”
“That's right, Your Highness. If she weren't royalty, wouldn't she be a madwoman who could be killed without a second thought?”
At the words of the two, Kazaks nodded his head.
“There is some truth in what you both say.”
And then.
“However, if you insult my younger sister like that one more time, know that you will be the first to pay the price for the crime of insulting royalty.”
The mouths of the two were tightly shut.
Kazaks entered the preparation room.
Dozens of maids and butlers were waiting for Kazaks alone.
As he sat down, his makeup began immediately.
‘Why does a man need to powder his face.’
He looked in the mirror with sunken eyes.
With makeup on, he seemed to look a bit more handsome.
‘Makeup is like a mask.’
It hides the true face.
‘In that sense, makeup is also an expression.’
It was the same in the sense of hiding one's true feelings.
‘I have only seen the powdered shell until now.’
Politics is deception.
And conspiracy.
Distortion.
I, Kazaks, lived to become emperor, worked hard, and trained relentlessly.
He had to compete for the throne with a younger sister named ‘Adela’ who suddenly appeared, but he overcame even that with great skill.
His younger sister Adela was a villainess.
A madwoman.
He could never hand over the empire to her.
…But, all the information about Adela was distorted and wrong.
‘Father.’
The day before, the day Adela and Martin saw the Emperor.
Before that, the Emperor had summoned Kazaks.
When he heard the news that Adela had given up the throne, he was overjoyed.
“This is truly a joyous occasion, Father! Your son will become a crown prince you can be proud of and lead the empire!”
However, the Emperor did not look happy at all.
Instead, he exposed the hypocrisy and lies that stained the imperial family.
“…What? You mean Adela's confinement from birth was your will, Father…? Not because of her madness…?”
It was grotesque just to hear it.
“No, the incident of Sir Harris' death then…? I, I thought Princess Adela had sent him to his death out of vanity.”
It was as poisonous as if his ears were rotting away.
“Ha, haha, so that's how it was. So the Shadow Knights…. As a sign of, atonement…, I, I…. I had no idea.”
It was as if his nose was rotting from the stench.
“Now… am I just learning the truth…? The old nobles all knew, but was I the only one who didn't? Because I, because I had to attack Princess Adela without any guilt and achieve victory? Did all the nobles really deceive me with the truth for my sake….”
The reason the Emperor revealed the truth just before he died was to urge Kazaks to stop if he ever intended to retaliate against Adela or Martin.
Naturally, Kazaks was not the type of person to harm his younger sister even after realizing this truth.
Quite the opposite.
“….”
Just like the maid and butler, Prince Kazaks' mouth had also been tightly shut.
For a while, he couldn't even grasp how to treat Adela.
During the height of the succession competition, he had used many high-level conspiracies against Adela, and whenever he gave a speech in a public setting, he would always dismiss Adela, saying, ‘We cannot entrust the empire to a madwoman.’
“Your Highness, you must move.”
“…Let’s go.”
The lavishly decorated young gold walked the red carpet.
In fact, Kazaks was not at fault.
He, too, did not know the truth.
‘I am the man who will become emperor.’
However, his beliefs and conscience felt guilt.
‘To think I didn't know that someone by my side, a blood relative no less, had reached such a state.’
Only sighs escaped him.
There was no way to mend their relationship.
But he could confess the sins committed by his family and the nobles.
He thought he was still young and had plenty of time to prepare, but what was this.
Suddenly, Adela declared her independence, grabbed a few trinkets, and left home.
He quickly dispatched an informant to find out, and what was this again.
It was the house next to the café run by the Black Knight Martin….
‘Hah, my thoughts are complicated.’
He thought his crown prince investiture ceremony would be joyful, splendid, and the most beautiful shining moment of his life, but his head ached terribly.
“Kazaks.”
In the distance, two people stood before the Emperor's door.
It was the Emperor and Adela.
The Emperor, wearing the crown of the Imperium Empire, still looked strong.
His hair was also dyed gold.
His majesty was so overwhelming that the memory of his white hair and coughing up blood did not come to mind.
Perhaps, this was the image he would maintain until the last moment of his reign over the continent.
“You are late.”
“I apologize, Father.”
“It is fine. Such things can happen.”
The Emperor, who had forgiven him generously.
“However, that is only until now.”
He left one piercing remark and then, grasping the golden doors with both hands, he personally pushed them open.
“His Majesty the Emperor is arriving!”
As the golden doors opened, the resounding call of the imperial head butler echoed through the grand banquet hall.
All the so-called high and mighty of the continent were gathered in one place.
Even in Kazaks' golden eyes, familiar faces could be seen.
‘The king of the Guarguar Kingdom, the royal family of Petrak, the Kakeni chieftain of the Great Forest….’
Even the countless people did not move him.
For Kazaks was the one who would stand above them and reign.
But just two people.
‘Gilbert.’
A peer and friend whom he had tirelessly strived to surpass, considering him a worthy rival.
In the academy, he could not beat him.
He had fallen into corruption and despair amidst numerous defeats, but he realized.
He was not a knight, but an emperor.
He could not be the best in all aspects, but he could command those who were the best.
This was the supreme destiny that the person named Kazaks was born with.
‘And, Sir Martin.’
The Black Knight.
My younger sister Adela's steadfast knight.
And the guardian of the World Tree.
That was not all.
Petrak's Specimen Research Lab, the terrorist Helaine the demon summoner, Marquis Vistavern's capital terror, the desert ruins of Eudialyte and the fanatic Nelson of the Quesharow family—there was no major incident in which he was not involved.
Also Brahmus, Kragach, Joverka.
He had shown great prowess during the attacks of the Demon Lords.
A truly coveted talent.
There were Muller and Shuga, but if he were by his side, he felt he wouldn't even be envious of Gilbert, such was the talent.
‘That won't happen.’
It didn't seem like he would be swayed by persuasion, and above all, he was the only knight left to Adela.
“I welcome you all to the New Year's banquet.”
The Emperor spoke without even sitting on the throne.
“First, I will deliver a piece of news that is great, surprising, and joyous, one that will make the continent cheer.”
At the same time, Adela took a step back, and Kazaks took a step forward to stand beside the Emperor.
It was a presumptuous and arrogant act, but not anymore.
“I declare the end of the competition for the throne. Today, we will hold the crown prince investiture ceremony for Prince Kazaks von Hamerd Imperium.”