Chapter 96

The 1st Prince, Ferbias Caseptus, had a lot to prepare for.

He would soon receive the imperial crown and the golden throne in front of the high-ranking officials and nobles gathered from all over Cordis, and proclaim that he was the rightful ruler of the continent.

As the protagonist of a position that would be recorded in history, he couldn't help but feel burdened.

Attendants bustled about, trimming his beard, adjusting the drape of his ceremonial robes, or checking the order of the coronation.

Ferbias stood with dignity and a solemn face.

It was one of his most important duties.

In the mirror, the beard that he had thought wouldn't suit him now sat quite naturally.

“It suits you well, Your Majesty.”

“I’m still His Highness, Dean Kentil.”

“It's a title that will change in just a moment, isn’t it?”

Dean Kentil bowed his head.

He was the Four-Star Mage, the head of the Bureau of Evil-Chasing.

After Amethus disappeared, he became Ferbias’s de facto right-hand man.

He was quick-witted and had a smooth tongue, earning Ferbias’s trust.

“Hey, comb his hair back a little more. Don’t let it hide His Highness’s beautiful golden eyes.”

“You have a way with words.”

Ferbias gave a small laugh.

“Dean, do you know why I keep you close?”

“I wonder?”

“Because you know you’re a sycophant, which makes you easier to deal with.”

“…It is an honor, Your Highness.”

It was closer to a scoff than a compliment, but Dean Kentil bowed his head in thanks.

This was why he gained Ferbias’s trust.

If one had to choose between a sycophant whose heart you couldn't read and one whose heart was clearly visible, the latter was the better choice.

“So many people have gathered.”

A crowd was visible outside the window.

The Imperial gates opened, and a throng of distinguished people streamed in, one more prominent than the last.

Esteemed nobles, foreign ambassadors, and renowned scholars… They were there to enjoy the honor of participating in the changing of the Empire’s master, or to avoid being on the bad side of the next Emperor.

“I suppose the list of attendees for the banquet is ready, Dean.”

“Yes. We’ve managed to get over twelve hundred key figures from the continent to…”

“I don’t have time to hear all that. I mean the list of attendees for the main table.”

“…My apologies. A total of eighty-eight distinguished guests will be having a banquet at the main table with His Majesty Ferbias.”

“Eighty-eight?”

Ferbias stroked his beard.

An unpleasant light flickered in his eyes.

The attendants who were trimming his beard and adjusting his ceremonial robes felt fear, but they tried not to show it.

“I invited ninety-nine people, but eleven didn't show up.”

“We have also compiled a list of absentees. The 10th Count Dvork sent his son in his place due to illness, but he was not of the right rank, so he was sent to the regular banquet table, and the ambassador from Horm was delayed due to road conditions…”

“I told you I don’t have time to hear all that.”

His voice was irritable.

“Do you not know what I want to hear?”

“…I am sorry.”

At the word of the 1st Prince, who would soon be Emperor, Dean Kentil bowed his head hastily.

The atmosphere grew heavy.

Ferbias made a 'Tsk' sound.

He thought about pressing him further, but he didn't want to get angry before the coronation.

“Report to me again, Dean.”

“…”

Dean Kentil began to speak very cautiously.

“…The 1st Princess, Leniar de Volmark, sent a letter stating her absence.”

“That’s it. You knew what I was asking. Continue.”

“The 2nd Prince, Secundus Debius, also sent a gift through the Debius family, stating that the situation was not favorable.”

“And of course Kateka is also absent, isn't he?”

“Yes, the 3rd Prince, Kateka Keshulei, also sent a handwritten letter expressing his understanding.”

“Hmm, I thought so.”

Ferbias smiled at the news of his siblings.

“I wonder if I have any brothers or sisters who want to congratulate their worthless brother Ferbias.”

“The 2nd Princess, Santia Hostanio, and the 6th Prince, Babato Lurudis, have already entered the palace.”

“They all take it so casually.”

The expression of ‘entering the palace’ was laughable.

Santia and Babato already lived in the Great Imperial Palace, didn't they?

“There are seven of us besides me, but only two have come. They have no affection for me, do they.”

Come to think of it, I dealt with two of the seven.

Ferbias muttered quietly, recalling the fat Nebulo and the little Zionis.

His voice was so low that no one except the attendant trimming his beard heard him.

The attendant, hands trembling, continued his work as if he had heard nothing.

“And there's been no contact from the Security Bureau?”

“Nothing…”

“Is that so.”

Ferbias closed his eyes tightly.

‘Amethus…’

He didn’t care about the absence of Leniar or Secundus.

They had no reason to expect anything from each other.

But Amethus was different.

Wasn’t he the man who was by his side when he dreamed of becoming Emperor, the one who was just a friend without any agenda, the one he trusted more than anyone?

Chewing on the fact that such a man had finally left him felt unpleasantly stifling.

‘…I wish you would come back now. I wish for it desperately… but you won’t return…’

He must have found it on the island of Arete.

He must have realized how the Empire had deceived the Aretion family and what lies Ferbias had told Amethus.

Knowing Amethus’s uncanny intuition, he had no choice but to be certain.

‘…If you are punishing me for deceiving you, then fine, it’s what I deserve. This Ferbias must endure it, what else can I do…’

He clenched his teeth and a sound of grinding was heard.

His molars ached.

The attendant trimming his beard did everything he could to calm his hands, which were starting to tremble even more violently.

Ferbias noticed his demeanor and glared at him.

‘Everything is so irritating. I’m going crazy.’

This cumbersome ceremonial robe, the name of the next Emperor, the clinging attendants and the bowing officials.

Not a single thing pleased him.

He wanted to see those jade eyes that never bowed in front of him when they shouldn't have.

“Get out, Dean.”

“Your Majesty, the preparations are still…”

“If my hair isn’t perfectly styled, will the dignity of Cordis fall? Is the dignity of Cordis so fragile that it can be blemished by my hairstyle?”

“…”

He already looked magnificent.

From the hem of his robe to his sideburns, everything had been groomed like a work of art.

“Leave me alone. Don’t make me say it again.”

“…Yes, Your Majesty. Everyone, step back.”

The attendants left the room in a disciplined manner.

Dean Kentil also followed, backing out without raising his head.

No one turned their back to him.

“I’m so sick of this. Do they die if they turn their back on me?”

Damned traditions and etiquette!

The thousand-year-old Empire was filled with rules that were difficult to understand.

Things like, when leaving a member of the Imperial family’s presence, one must walk backward, and what are the exceptions to this rule?

It felt trivial and useless, and it was.

“Soon.”

He let out a deep sigh.

“The moment I have waited my whole life for is soon… but this…”

The Imperial Throne he had not yet even sat on felt so heavy.

It was like this now, but in the future, it would be even more suffocating and stifling.

It couldn’t be helped.

He would endure it, he had to endure it… but the exhaustion was undeniable.

“…”

Letting out another deep sigh, ‘Hoo’, he felt like he was seventy years old.

Ferbias flashed his golden eyes, which resembled his father's, and turned his head.

“…What do you think, Archmage Hermai?”

“Oh. You knew?”

A table suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

The Six-Star Mage, Hermai Merhes, said, bringing a teacup to his lips.

“I was trying to hide so as not to bother you.”

“If you cared about me so much, you would leave me alone.”

“I cannot do that, Your Highness. I have orders from His Majesty the Emperor to remain at your side.”

When Hermai put down the teacup, it made a clicking sound.

“Besides, Your Highness, choosing Dean Kentil was not a bad choice. He is an intelligent man and very cautious because he is so cowardly. Most of all, he knows his place.”

“I don’t recall asking you to evaluate my judgment.”

“Since you are not yet the Emperor, it won't be a sin.”

“Hmph, when I ascend to the Imperial Throne, will you be obedient, Archmage?”

“Of course.”

“It seems you think I’m stupid enough to believe that.”

Ferbias, who had spoken sharply, looked into the mirror.

Golden hair, golden eyes, a short beard.

He was the spitting image of Azure Sky Emperor Continua.

He would look even more so when his beard grew a little longer.

“…”

He suddenly felt the urge to shave off this entire beard.

It was a beard he had wanted to grow, but today it felt quite unpleasant.

No matter how hard he tried, it seemed he could only imitate the Emperor, or perhaps not even that.

“…You must think I’m pathetic, Archmage.”

“Why would you think that?”

“Why?”

There were many reasons.

What was the end of the Succession War Grand Convergence like?

Didn't he have victory handed to him through the concessions of Leniar and Secundus?

Regardless of the truth, that's how it looked.

The gossipmongers were still talking about it.

There were also rumors that the deaths of the two princes were Ferbias’s doing.

It was the truth, but the fact that they were talking about it was unpleasant.

The absence of Leniar and Secundus, the three confidants of the Emperor who didn't listen to his words, and the departure of Amethus were all so unpleasant that it was hard to bear.

And most of all…

“For the eldest son of the great Azure Sky Emperor Continua, I am too pathetic.”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Hermai Merhes chuckled.

He had acted as if he had been through a lot, but he couldn’t hide his youthful appearance, which made him laugh.

“His Majesty the Emperor’s coronation 46 years ago took place during a war. There was an urgent report during the ceremony, and he rose with a sword in hand. Do you think that was all?”

It was the Imperial Throne that he had taken by half-forcing his predecessor out.

Even after the war ended, he was constantly plagued by slander.

He couldn’t even begin to describe the political battles he had to face to rein in the nobles.

Hermai Merhes, this old mage, remembered it all.

“This is a good time, not even comparable to that.”

“Is that so.”

Hermai wore a deep smile as he looked at the young man's distress.

“To be honest, I, Hermai, don't particularly like His Highness Ferbias.”

“I know.”

Ferbias had brainwashed Dean Cornelius to start the Grand Convergence.

That incident had dealt a great blow to Cornelius’s position within the Imperial Academy of Magic.

He still felt anger when he thought of his adopted son and best student.

“However, since you will be the one I serve from now on, I will offer you my heartfelt advice. Please forgive my insolence.”

Hermai Merhes had lived for a long time. Over the years, he had gained immeasurable wisdom and was now the Archmage of the Imperial Academy of Magic. He stroked his long white beard and said:

“I see a fire in your heart, Your Highness.”

It was the fire of anger.

He didn't know why the flame had ignited.

But it was clear that it was there and that it was not small. Ferbias parted his lips.

“…I know. I'm trying to control it.”

“Do not control it, Your Highness.”

Hermai’s voice was resolute.

“To control the fire in one's heart is the path to becoming human. And a good person cannot become a good Emperor.”

“…”

“You would not say that you wish for an ordinary life, would you?”

Ferbias' goal was high.

It was to achieve a greatness that surpassed Azure Sky Emperor Continua.

Whether he could achieve it or not, his ambition soared to the heavens.

Hermai Merhes saw all of it clearly.

“Extinguish it completely and let yourself become cold. Or, let it blaze even brighter and burn the entire continent.”

The Six-Star Mage bowed his head.

“That is how greatness is born.”

“…”

Ferbias looked down at the bowed Hermai.

It was the first time Hermai Merhes, his father’s closest confidant, had truly bowed his head.

It would be a common occurrence from now on, and it was something he had to endure.

“…Where is my father?”

“He is already waiting.”

For the first time, he chose the word ‘father’ instead of ‘His Majesty the Emperor’.

It didn’t feel awkward at all; in fact, it felt relieving, and a smile appeared on his face.

“Hermai, you are my father’s closest confidant.”

“He happened to take a liking to me and called on me often. I was just his conversational partner.”

“What do you talk about?”

“We talk about all sorts of things. The old times, the way the world moves, hmm, recently, we talked a lot about wine.”

“Have you ever brought up this Ferbias?”

“…It has happened.”

Ferbias Caseptus pulled up the corners of his mouth.

“No, it didn’t. I'd be lucky if he didn't even get my name wrong.”

“…”

“How can he be so apathetic to his own bloodline? I lived my whole life desperately wondering what I had to do to get just a single glance from him.”

Hermai did not answer. There was no flaw in Ferbias’s words.

“But what does it matter now, since he’s a retiring old man?”

He wore an arrogant smile.

It suited him quite well.

“Azure Sky Emperor Continua is a man like a God.”

He ran his hand through his golden hair.

The hair that the attendants had worked so hard to style became messy, but he didn't care.

“But Cordis does not need a God. This is a human Empire.”

The 1st Prince took a step. Hermai Merhes silently followed behind. His eyes held a hint of admiration.

“I, Ferbias Caseptus Cordis.”

His golden eyes.

They resembled the Emperor’s, but were not the same.

“Am the Fiftieth Emperor of the Cordis Empire.”

***

End of the ‘Escape from the Empire’ arc.

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