Chapter 118

“Kyaaaah!”

The Emperor’s scream of pain filled the infirmary. The royal physician, with a cigarette in his mouth, didn’t seem to care at all about His Majesty’s screams. Well, he had also been through the battlefield, so he could handle it.

“Your Majesty, I haven’t even touched you yet.”

The doctor clicked his tongue as he watched the Emperor, who was exaggerating his pain. The Empress was unharmed, and the baby in her womb was safe, so it was probably just a joke. For now, all they needed to do was rest and wait for the wounds to heal. He wanted to bury all the troublesome issues for the time being.

“Your Majesty, take a cue from the former Count Raul Berze over there, staying still.”

“If I start imitating the former Count’s way of speaking, I might just mix cyanide and arsenic into Your Majesty’s medicine.”

“…What a colorful bunch of traitorous scoundrels.”

I wasn’t free from pain either, but I didn’t feel the need to make a fuss. Screaming and causing a scene wouldn’t heal the wounds; it would only make them worse.

“Well… I didn’t say anything because it seemed like an exaggeration, but there is a somewhat painful spot.”

“Seeing how well you’re speaking, you seem fine… Is there anywhere scratched or scraped? Let’s disinfect it first…”

“It seems like some of my intestines are poking out a bit.”

“You crazy bastard, why are you saying that now?!?!!!”

After the emergency treatment was done and I was adjusting the bandages around my abdomen, the Emperor tapped my shoulder.

“By the way, if you think about it… Raul. Aren’t you the rightful owner of this vast land?”

“…If it’s a bad joke, you can shove it back into that wound of yours.”

“I’m entrusting the use of this land to you.”

“It doesn’t really matter to me.”

Suddenly, I wondered how the former Count would have used this vast land. Of course, it wasn’t something he actually said, just my personal interpretation…

“…Education.”

“Education?”

“It would be good to turn it into a grand place of learning.”

“The Minister of Finance would throw a fit asking if there’s money for such a thing. That stubborn old man wouldn’t let such a money-eating monster be built.”

Building something like an Imperial Academy from a novel would require an astronomical amount of money. For an Empire that had just ended a war, spending such an unmanageable amount on mere education was unthinkable, according to the Minister of Finance.

It was a truly rational and reasonable opinion. That stubborn old man was more inflexible than I was, a real blockhead.

Despite being only good at calculating money, he had lost an eye after bluntly criticizing the late Emperor. We had no choice but to appoint him after Camilla’s brother died, but…

None of us liked that rigid old man. He was an elder who only preached frugality.

“……Actually, the late Emperor secretly hid some treasure. It was originally saved for something else, but…”

“What were you planning to build that you kept it hidden until now…?”

“A five-story restroom where feces would flow over the corpses of the late Emperor and the Second Prince. Or maybe a zoo.”

“If you present the academy along with those two options to the Minister of Finance, he’ll probably choose the academy with tears in his eyes.”

“Tears of emotion?”

“Tears of realizing he has no luck with his superiors.”

“That would be quite sweet. I’d want to lick those tears.”

The Emperor burst into laughter, and I also slightly raised the corner of my mouth. This was the kind of relationship we had.

A relationship where we exchanged useless, meaningless jokes. For some reason, this kind of relationship, filled with pointless conversations, felt valuable.

“If we build the academy, let’s call it the Raul Academy…”

“Your Majesty, I have the ability to assassinate you. Please don’t give me another reason to do so.”

“What a colorful bunch of traitorous scoundrels.”

Thinking of a name for the academy… It’s funny to think of a name before even breaking ground.

Some parents think of their child’s name even before they’re born. It didn’t seem bad to plan ahead before the actual project even started.

“If we name it, it should be the Saint Layla Academy…”

At that moment, a crow flew in from somewhere and pecked my temple.

“Kuh…!”

“Is that crow your pet? It sure loves its owner.”

“It is a pet, but…”

“…Who in the world keeps a crow as a pet, you crazy bastard.”

I don’t know how it flew here, but that wasn’t important at all.

I wasn’t the type to deeply care about the trivial details of small incidents.

If it flew here, then it flew here. That’s all.

“By the way, the Saint Layla Academy sounds quite funny. If Layla heard it, she would probably jump up and tell me not to mess around… But since she’s not here, it’s just sad.”

The Emperor made a somewhat melancholic expression.

“I want to name it the Saint Layla Academy of the Goddess of Beauty and see Layla throw a fit.”

Then, the crow flew to the Emperor and pecked his eye.

“Kyaaaah!!!! That wicked crow is Layla’s subordinate! That damn thing! Call Raul’s doctor! My eye, kyaaaah!”

“Kuh…”

I almost let out a strange sound.

This is no good. I’m supposed to die without any warmth, emotion, or regret.

Lately, it seems like too many things are trying to change me.

Numerous changes in my environment are trying to make me happy.

Rizel started calling me “oppa” again and approached me warmly.

My mother apologized and tried to mend our relationship.

Things I had given up on in the past were coming back to me.

“This won’t do… Really…”

It feels like I really don’t want to die.

I don’t want to die. I want to live more. I want to live and become even happier. It feels like I’ll just struggle pathetically.

“Damn it…”

“Raul! You crazy bastard, stop ruining the mood and call the doctor!!!!”

“I don’t want to die pathetically…”

“It’s trying to peck my eardrum now! Do something about this, you bastard!!!!!!”

I just looked at the distant mountains and imagined the pathetic struggle I would make.

It looked truly ugly and foolish.

I don’t want to die like that.

If this happiness continues, it’s obvious I’ll die like that.

But I don’t want to cut off the happiness that’s come to me now.

I am truly a contradictory person.

I don’t want to accept the consequences of happiness, but I also don’t want to cut off that happiness.

It’s really foolish.

“Kyaaaah! The wound is opening!!!”

“…Selfish.”

“Yeah, you selfish bastard! Hold onto your damn head!!!”

What should I do?

How can I resolve this contradiction?

This body is still sick.

“Raul.”

“Your Majesty the Empress?”

“Are you alright?”

“Yes. I’m a bit injured, but… I’m more worried about Your Majesty’s health.”

“I and the baby are fine, so don’t worry. You’re the one who should be worried. You miraculously survived, but you’re always pushing yourself…”

“…I tried to be careful, but the boiling blood was uncontrollable.”

I didn’t know how to cool the blood that boiled when my people were attacked. No, I didn’t want to know.

“Empress! Raul! This crow is opening my wound! Save me! Kyaaaah!!!”

“Raul. Thank you. Thanks to you fighting alongside us, we could end it with this much damage.”

“You flatter me. I would never put down my weapon while Your Majesty is wielding yours.”

“Hoho, you’ve learned to say such things. Our blockhead has grown a lot.”

The Empress pinched my cheek and teased me.

For some reason, her touch didn’t feel burdensome at all. No, rather… it felt a bit warm.

“Blood is gushing from the wound…!”

“…You really haven’t changed. But that’s why it feels good.”

“Sometimes stability is better than progress.”

“Right. Sometimes that’s the case. Like when you and Layla put arsenic in that damn… I mean, Master’s meal. If not that, then…”

As we were having these trivial conversations with the Empress, Camilla, who had finished her treatment elsewhere, roughly opened the tent door and entered.

“What interesting conversation are you having without me?”

“…We were talking about the time you wet your pants during training.”

“Great, should I just kill everyone here?”

“I’m already dying…”

Camilla also joined in the trivial conversation, digging up memories buried in the sands of time.

It was fun. Those insignificant memories of the past were incredibly enjoyable.

And as the conversation heated up, Camilla suddenly grabbed my wrist.

“Enough about the past. Come with me. We have something to talk about. You can guess, right?”

“Didn’t we agree to talk about that after the hunting festival?”

“Do you think there’s a creature stronger than the Demon King? We’re first place in this hunting festival.”

“That’s true.”

Then, the Empress looked at us with expectant eyes.

“Hoho… It seems you’re finally gathering courage. You’re so brave usually, but at times like this, you’re like a girl. Isn’t that right, Your Majesty?”

“…….”

Seeing that the Emperor didn’t refute, it seemed he agreed in silence.