Ferdel (POV)
It had been exactly five hours, 33 minutes, and 12 seconds until Caitel returned.
A sudden burst. Caitel with an unknown letter. And the only thing written on it was ‘If you want to save your daughter, come alone.’
The first thing Caitel did after reading that was…
Barge right into my office.
The sound of the door felt like breakage. Although I was determined, when I saw Caitel walk into the office, I froze, terrified.
He was scarier than I thought.
“Say it.”
“What?”
“It was you.”
Caitel was gasping for breath.
The sword, which came out as surprisingly as ever, aimed for my throat.
Srrrng.
With a familiar sound, the metal touched my nape. I had experienced situations like this once or twice when I went against Caitel’s wishes, but it was different.
After all, he seemed like he would go ahead with the sword.
“Say it. Where?”
It was a relentlessly cold voice.
The silver blade at my neck stayed there for long. The sharpness of the sword made me shudder at the thought of it slashing through me.
He was holding himself back. He would have taken out one of my arms by then, my neck, too, if he was the Caitel of the past. His eyes were sinking into mine at a terrible speed. I could tell what he was thinking. Right. That was how well we knew each other.
“There’s no one else who can fool me while staying right under my nose. Isn’t that right, Ferdel?”
Cold words. I laughed. His glaring eyes held hatred for me, but he didn’t want to take my life.
Caitel was thinking about what to do, but he didn’t say anything. Then, he spoke.
“Where is my daughter?”
Did he really think I would answer him? Right there?
“So you mean to say I took Ria away?”
When I asked with a smile, Caitel didn’t answer. He stared.
Fun.
I always knew that a day like that would come for me, but being in that situation was interesting. A sword aimed for me. No, I laughed.
“Even then, did you think I would talk?”
Caitel’s gaze was sharper than ever.
Ugh, it was scary.
The sword aiming at me was making me uncomfortable. It was a constant threat.
I gently pushed the sword back with my fingers.
Shocking, I pushed it away quickly.
Right, if he wanted to kill, I would have never had the chance to act.
“Tell me, where is she?”
“How would I know?”
“Are you sticking to that answer?”
Caitel frowned.
“Are you saying that I betrayed you?”
“You know that better than me.”
“I don’t know.”
Caitel was getting pissed with my smile.
I felt suffocated as the conversation continued. Dealing with angry Caitel wasn’t too hard. Instead, words just flowed out and made us feel stupid.
“This won’t be solved like this. Right?”
Caitel laughed.
He seemed like a time bomb ready to explode; everyone in the room was getting nervous.
“Should I kill you?”
“Want to?”
Did he really think that such threats would shake me?
If anything could threaten me, that would be actions and not words—threats themselves held no intention of killing.
There was nothing to fear in Caitel, and his sword pointed at me.
Caitel knew better than anyone that killing me would only tire him.
Everything on his own, there was nothing he could handle. Caitel knew that everything would collapse.
Once again, his gaze was stern.
“If I could.”
Caitel’s face crumpled.
The fact that he tolerated me for so long was remarkable, but I was still curious to see how long he would hold back his temper.
That was only for a while. Caitel threw his sword to the ground. The noise of the blade hitting the ground resonated through the room. I shrugged.
Was it going to end?
When I thought the end had come, an unexpected kick landed on me.
“Ugh.”
He hit my stomach with such considerable force. I held onto my stomach and sweat.
It was no joke.
I was glad I didn’t fly.
I felt another kick before I could say anything. He hit my side only to make me stay on the ground.
Hold on. What was he doing?
I tried to stand up, but he punched me right away. I couldn’t counterattack with all the attacks flying in. I fell.
I was gasping for air while Caitel took a heavy breath.
Man, his temper.
“If you don’t answer, I will kill you.”
It was a voice like that of a beast and merciless threats.
Caitel pulled a sword from a knight behind him. The knight got flustered after seeing that, but Caitel simply moved ahead and stepped on my stomach with the blade pointed at my neck.
“It’s written there. Can’t you see?”
“I guess what is written in there is correct.”
“Although you might not see.”
I was beaten like a sandbag for a long time; I didn’t die. I was just throbbing in pain.
Caitel’s hand flinched before he could strike me.
He seemed exhausted.
Right, hitting me must have exhausted him. My side seemed better.
“Say it. Where is she, you bastard!”
Wasn’t he just going to the point? If he could convince me, I had no intention of hiding it.
‘Right. I’ll tell you who took your precious princess.’
“Siorn.”
Caitel stiffened at the word he heard. It was better to see Caitel shocked or confused.
As I guessed, it must have been hard for him to imagine it.
Although he tried to find and kill Siorn, he couldn’t find a single clue about him.
Caitel went silent for a while.
“Is he still alive?”
“Well…”
Caitel frowned.
An eerie silence flowed—a familiar yet unfamiliar stillness.
“I didn’t like you, but I trusted you.”
“I didn’t like you either; I just trusted you.”
“So this was the price for that trust?”
Well, I didn’t know.
I had no idea where to start talking.
No, there was no point in talking. I wouldn’t have gone through hell if I wanted to speak.
However, I knew that the truth would come. Thus, I stayed with him. I was the only one who could tell Caitel.
“Do you know why I let the sixth prince live?”
Caitel flinched.
He was in doubt, but I confirmed that I was the one who let the sixth prince live; he seemed heartbroken. No, it was more like rage.
“How am I supposed to know that?”
“That’s why I am telling you.”
“Trying to extend the time of your death.”
Tch tch, still caged in his thoughts. I couldn’t help but smile.
Every time I smiled, Caitel’s face wouldn’t move. My character had dulled, but not much since 19. Caitel, at that time, was more relentless.
Although I helped Caitel become the Emperor, I was the one who saved the sixth prince.
The day Caitel became Emperor.
I visited the sixth prince who was in need—the sixth prince who would have died in Caitel’s hand. Siorn escaped through the back door I provided without letting anyone know, and thus, Siorn became the only surviving family of the former royal family.
“Caitel, the perfect Emperor. Right. As an emperor, you are flawlessly perfect in all spheres.”
“In this situation, I am thinking about crushing that face of yours. What nonsense.”
“But there is one fatal drawback if you do that.”
‘I didn’t become a king because I wanted to.’
It was the one drawback Caitel had.
“You didn’t think about this country.”
I got up slowly and stood in front of him. None stopped me—even Caitel.
“You don’t care what happens to the country. Even if you are the ruler, whether the land is ruined or flourishing, it is just a bother to you. If you didn’t need people who can’t serve you as knights and nobles and if they are of no use to you, won’t you throw them away without hesitation?”
Caitel just stared blankly.
No rebuttals, no protest. The silence only made me feel bitter. I knew it, but the looming dread of death made me miserable.
I knew that.
I knew that I was the only one who thought about Agrigient and strived to make it a better place. While everyone would think of other countries, I would always stick to my own.
However, it wasn’t easy to convince the Emperor, the only person of a higher position than me; he was the country’s ruler.
I knew why Caitel had become the Emperor.
He wanted to kill the sixth prince.
He didn’t want to lose his position as the Emperor because the sixth prince remained, so he took over the Emperor’s role. Since he crowned himself as the Emperor, Caitel looked around the country, searching for the sixth prince. All because he was scared of having his position taken away. Of course, his hatred for his incompetent father also played a part in Caitel’s desire to rule.
However, would Caitel really fulfill his duties even after the death of the sixth prince?
The answer would be ‘No.’
I watched the evidence right before my eyes.
