Chapter 15 - Darkmtl
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Chapter 15

Rizel lay in her bedroom, clutching her pillow and cursing her brother and the Empress with words too vile to speak aloud.

Though the Empress might be one thing, her brother wasn’t inherently bad. In fact, Rizel and Raul had a decent relationship. They couldn’t openly show affection due to their mother’s watchful eye, but they still asked after each other’s well-being and shared casual conversations. It was a bond that could never be severed.

A few years ago, Rizel brought Raul coffee in place of the butler and asked, “Brother, there’s something I want to ask.”

“What is it?”

“I’ve heard you’ve been spending a lot of time with unstable forces lately.”

“Unstable forces…”

The so-called unstable forces referred to Raul’s friends—a prince who had been pushed out of the line of succession despite his achievements, a woman scorned as a crippled prostitute who supported him, and a noble lady who often met with them. It was a gathering that looked suspicious enough, and Rizel didn’t like the idea of her brother associating with such people.

“They are my friends.”

“It could easily be seen as plotting rebellion.”

“His Majesty may be arrogant and short-sighted, but he wouldn’t turn against me for such a reason.”

Though calling the Emperor short-sighted and arrogant might sound disrespectful, Raul said it with utmost politeness. After all, the war that nearly ended in disaster was essentially caused by the Emperor at the time.

“Then you could persuade them, Brother.”

“I don’t have the confidence to persuade Camilla and Penelope.”

“You could do it, Brother. Surely they wouldn’t ignore the achievements you’ve made…!”

“Rizel. Can you change the flow of a river?”

“Huh?”

“I, too, cannot stop that powerful current. I can only keep my mouth above water to breathe and not drown.”

He read documents expressionlessly but patiently listened to his sister’s complaints without annoyance.

“If they start a rebellion, the first target will be my fiancé!”

“He is not my blood.”

“If he ascends the throne, I can become the Empress! You know my dream, Brother!”

Since childhood, Rizel had dreamed of becoming the greatest woman in the empire. To her, that meant becoming the Empress, and thus, ascending to the throne was her long-held dream.

“…That’s just a position. It doesn’t make you the greatest woman, Rizel.”

“Brother…!”

As Rizel’s eyes welled with tears, Raul let out a rare sigh. The man who had stained vast battlefields with blood without flinching couldn’t withstand a single tear from his own flesh and blood.

“Fine. I’ll consider it.”

“I knew it! You could defeat all three of them if you fought! You’re the Giant Hunter who even slayed dragons…!”

“Rizel, even I can’t handle more than one of them at a time.”

Raul set down the documents he was holding.

“And I don’t like that childish title.”

At the time, Raul disliked the title “Giant Hunter.” He found it embarrassing, a reason unimaginable to his current self.

“Isn’t it cool? It suits you, Brother, who’s never been defeated…”

“I’m not a man suited for such grand titles, Rizel. And I’ve been defeated at least twice.”

“Anyway, let’s decide on your title later. Please help my fiancé ascend the throne, Brother.”

Raul rubbed his forehead and let out a faint sigh.

Because of Rizel’s engagement to the Second Prince, their family had become entangled with him. If not for the engagement, things could have been handled more smoothly.

“Do you love him?”

“How many people marry for love? But he says he loves me, so he doesn’t seem like a bad person.”

“……I’ll judge him myself.”

Raul wanted to see if the man could make his sister happy. If he could, Raul would gladly support him, even if it meant becoming enemies with his friends and facing their condemnation.

“Rizel. One last question. You must know what people say about me.”

Raul quietly stared into Rizel’s eyes and asked, “Aren’t you ashamed of me?”

Rizel smiled and replied, “I don’t think you’re the monster people say you are.”

“…Is that so?”

The corner of Raul’s mouth twitched ever so slightly.

“That’s a relief.”

Raul hadn’t killed the emotions he felt for her.

Rizel was one of the few people who could see Raul’s faint emotions. Though they didn’t show it in public, they maintained a somewhat normal relationship. That’s why Rizel didn’t hate her brother. She dismissed all the accusations against him as nonsense and let them slide.

But Rizel’s trust was betrayed in the worst way possible.

A few days later, Raul, contrary to his sister’s request, led the rebellion’s vanguard, annihilated the Imperial Palace guards with a single staff, and executed the foolish Emperor. At the end, he even killed Rizel’s fiancé, the Second Prince, with his own hands.

Hearing of the chaos at the palace, Rizel denied reality and rushed there, convinced her brother, who seemed emotionless but was deeply caring, couldn’t have done such a thing.

“Brother…?”

But the Raul she faced was in a state too horrifying to behold. Standing in a pool of blood from the soldiers he had slain, holding the Second Prince’s severed head, Raul’s gruesome appearance made Rizel collapse.

“Rizel…”

“Brother…”

Unable to believe what she was seeing, Rizel checked the head in Raul’s hand again.

“How could you do this…!”

Seeing the resentment in his sister’s eyes, Raul visibly panicked. He never wanted to show this side of himself to her. Even if the whole world turned against him, he wanted to remain a good brother to her.

“Rizel, listen.”

But his usual calm and composed demeanor crumbled. The man who despised pettiness and trivialities became petty and trivial.

“I killed him because he was going to…!”

“Shut up!!!”

“Rizel, I did it for you…”

“You monster!!!”

At the word “monster,” Raul’s hand, which had been reaching out to his sister, froze. Covered in the blood of countless people, his hand trembled slightly, unable to grasp anything.

“People were right! You’re just a monster!”

“……”

“Traitor! You deserve to rot in hell! You’re a murderous demon!!!”

Raul silently listened to Rizel’s curses. Though he was used to such words, hearing them from his sister shook him to the core. No matter how much he suppressed his emotions, his heart continued to tremble.

It was the first time he had to kill his feelings for his sister, and the process was unfamiliar.

“You should just die right now!!!”

Raul turned his back, not wanting to hear such words from his sister.

“…Is that all you have to say?”

“What?”

“I’ll be busy soon. I have to purge the unstable forces opposing the new Emperor’s ascension.”

“You selfish bastard…”

Raul almost turned to show his face at words he had never imagined hearing. But with superhuman patience, he held back and remained silent, burying the thousand words that threatened to spill out as he gazed at the distant mountains.

“You’re the most selfish bastard in the world.”

Rizel left in tears after saying those words.

From afar, the future Empress Penelope approached Raul and cautiously spoke.

“…Should I go explain the situation to her? About what kind of man her fiancé really was.”

“No. She said she doesn’t want to hear anything. It’s enough that I’m the one who betrayed her.”

“But if this continues, you’ll only be hated more. Wouldn’t it be better to explain?”

“It’s better for her to live thinking she’s just a poor victim betrayed by her brother. At least her anger will have a clear target.”

“If you tell her what kind of man he was, she could redirect her anger. You don’t need to bear all that misplaced rage.”

“Anger toward the dead only festers and becomes a sickness.”

Penelope sighed. Knowing he would be hated, Raul deliberately chose to maintain that position. He burned his chance to live as a good brother for his sister’s sake.

“Raul, you…”

Penelope was startled when she saw Raul’s face.

“What’s flowing from your eyes…!”

“Something must have gotten in my eyes. It happens.”

Penelope could understand if Raul was shedding tears. But what flowed from his eyes wasn’t clear tears—it was murky, red blood. She covered her mouth in shock.

“It’s just…”

Raul stumbled over his words, a rare occurrence.

“The color is a bit different, that’s all.”

Penelope couldn’t bring herself to tell him to stop crying. The unshed bloody tears seemed to accumulate in his heart, threatening to dilute even his faint sense of self. All she could do was tightly embrace her pitiful friend.

“…Lean on my shoulder and cry, Raul.”

Penelope offered her shoulder to Raul.

“No one shall see my friend’s sorrow.”


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The Terminally-Ill Lord Desires Hospice Care

The Terminally-Ill Lord Desires Hospice Care

Status: Completed

I am a mediocre person.

As a lord, as a knight, as a family member, let alone as a human being.

Therefore, I wanted to let go of everything that was too much for me and abruptly leave.

No one would want to stop me, nor could they.

I just wanted to breathe easily in a quiet place and disappear like that.

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