This bastard...
Richard ground his teeth.
So this is how he intends to come at me?
I won't just take this lying down.
He clenched his fist tightly. Just as Richard lifted his head from the railing—
"Your Highness the Crown Prince. Young Lord Friedrich...?"
Creak—
The sound of the terrace door cautiously opening echoed in his ears.
"The tribute ceremony will begin shortly... so..."
"..."
A knight bearing the Imperial crest regarded the two of them awkwardly.
"I'm sure you are both busy... but could you perhaps return to the Banquet Hall now?"
The knight's face clearly bore the resignation of someone thinking, High-ranking people, indeed...
"..."
"..."
A long silence followed.
"Let's go back."
Cailus was the first to straighten his clothes and head toward the door.
"Very well."
Richard also pushed himself up from where he had been half-leaning against the railing and headed for the terrace door.
He pretended to take a step forward, then—
Thump!
He stomped on Cailus's instep with all his might.
"...!"
"Ah."
Richard pushed open the terrace door with a pout.
"My mistake."
In the Banquet Hall, the ceremony to present the Emperor with birthday gifts was already underway.
"This is crystal imported directly from the Kingdom of Silia, renowned for its mines. Please accept it."
A viscount knelt on one knee upon the red carpet and offered the Emperor an exquisitely carved crystal.
The transparent crystal shimmered softly beneath the chandelier light.
"I see. Thank you. Next."
The Emperor nodded, his voice listless. Next came a count's daughter.
"This is a silver incense burner made from the antlers of northern deer. Please look upon it favorably."
The young lady stepped forward, knelt on one knee, and carefully presented the incense burner, which gleamed with a faint silvery sheen.
Her fingertips trembled slightly. A subtle tension spread throughout the Banquet Hall.
"I see. I accept it gratefully. Next."
The Emperor replied in the same lifeless voice.
Next. And then the next.
"This is an obsidian dagger carved by our family's finest craftsman. I offer it with prayers for Your Majesty's protection and prosperity."
"This is a golden orb made by melting sunstone from the eastern desert! As for this orb...!"
The nobles each emphasized the magnificence of their offerings, but the Emperor's reaction was invariably the same.
"I see. I gratefully accept it. Next."
An indifferent gaze and a low voice.
Although this was an annual event, the Emperor never showed any pleasure at receiving a gift.
Well, perhaps that was only natural. Wasn't this the Emperor who had accepted even the Dragon offered by the Crown Prince without the slightest change in expression?
"..."
Meanwhile, Richard stood to one side of the Banquet Hall with his gift, watching the ceremony with cold, sunken eyes.
Probably the only gift that would satisfy the Emperor...
He looked at the coffin carefully placed beside him.
...is this one.
The Empress's corpse.
The nobles around him occasionally glanced his way and whispered.
"That... couldn't be a coffin, could it?"
"It certainly looks like one..."
...
Leaning against the wall, Richard slowly lowered his eyelids.
I just need to deliver it.
What happened afterward was none of his business.
He had checked the corpse several times to ensure that there was nothing wrong with it. It was not a fake, nor had any explosives been planted inside.
Whether the Duke dies or whatever happens...
Richard squeezed his eyes shut.
It has nothing to do with me.
Just as he repeated that thought to himself—
"There's not much left now."
A low, mellow baritone voice sounded beside him.
...?
Richard slowly opened his eyes.
That voice...
"Your Grace."
"Yes, Young Lord Friedrich."
Bilmar stood beside him, wearing the same faint smile as always.
"Not much left... What do you mean...?"
Richard muttered dazedly.
Was he referring to his own remaining lifespan?
"..."
Bilmar stared intently at Richard for a moment, then burst into loud laughter.
"Haha... Hahahahaha!"
"...?"
Richard's brow furrowed slightly.
"Hahaha... I was referring to the time until it is your turn to present your gift."
Bilmar lightly patted his shoulder and spoke as though it were nothing.
"But..."
"..."
"Why such a serious face?"
Beneath the shadows cast by his lowered lashes, his violet eyes turned cold and sunken.
As though asking what there was to be so serious about.
It's because of you...
The words rose to Richard's throat, but he forcibly swallowed them.
Richard let out a faint sigh.
"Your Grace."
He shifted his gaze. Watching the nobles lined up to present their gifts to the Emperor as though they were merely part of the scenery, Richard murmured,
"What exactly... are you thinking?"
"Hmm?"
Bilmar leaned slightly toward him in amusement, his gaze fixed on Richard.
"You know."
Richard still did not look at Bilmar.
"If things continue like this..."
"..."
"You will die."
It was truly incomprehensible.
Who would willingly throw himself onto a path that led to death?
And a Duke of the Empire, no less.
Someone willing to abandon his lofty position, wealth, and honor entirely.
"..."
"..."
Bilmar's red lips slowly closed.
Silence flowed between them, so profound that it seemed to steal Richard's breath.
In the Banquet Hall bustling with nobles who had come to celebrate the Emperor's birthday, that silence existed only between the two of them.
"..."
What finally broke it was Bilmar's ever-languid voice.
"Young Lord Friedrich."
"..."
"I will not die."
"At least, not while His Majesty still lives."
He spoke the words in a low voice.
"...?"
Richard slowly turned toward Bilmar.
"What does that...?"
His blue eyes wavered faintly. Just as Richard was about to voice his question—
"Young Lord Friedrich. It is your turn."
A knight approached and informed Richard that his turn had come.
"Ah."
Richard looked at the knight.
"Please follow me."
Without giving him any more time, the knight immediately took the lead.
"I under...stand."
Richard obediently followed him. However, a sense of foreboding seemed to cling to his ankles.
Something is definitely wrong...
Richard bit his lip and looked back.
Bilmar was leaning against the wall on one side of the Banquet Hall, waving at him with a faint smile.
"Do well."
The ominous feeling continued creeping over him.
Definitely.
As Richard stepped onto the red carpet, he gnawed at his lower lip. Cold sweat trickled down the nape of his neck.
He has something in mind.
It was clear that he did not intend to die obediently.
But...
Richard could not even begin to guess.
Just what was Bilmar scheming...?
"Young Lord Friedrich."
"..."
"What have you prepared for Us?"
The Emperor's cold gaze descended upon him.
His expression appeared calm, but barely concealed anticipation lurked deep within his eyes.
"..."
Amid the heavy silence, Richard looked at what had been placed before him.
A tightly sealed coffin.
An unusual tension weighed upon the air.
A coffin...?
Does he intend to present the corpse of an enemy general, perhaps?
The nobles began whispering behind their hands. Cold tension mingled with strange anticipation, creating an inscrutable atmosphere.
That's right.
Richard closed his eyes.
Let's put these idle thoughts aside for now.
What he had to do now...
Was present the Empress's corpse.
"What I..."
Richard slowly knelt on one knee. The gazes pouring over him felt piercing.
"...have prepared for Your Majesty..."
He slowly opened the tightly sealed lid of the coffin.
A creaking sound echoed through the hall.
"...is the body of Her Majesty the Empress, who has passed away."
A woman with magnificent golden hair lay inside the coffin, her eyes closed.
A cold and serene corpse.
She appeared to have fallen into a deep sleep, yet those eyes would never open again.
Good heavens. The Empress's corpse...?
Didn't she pass away more than twenty years ago? Why would he present her corpse...?
Shouldn't it have been recovered long ago...?
Unaware of the truth behind the incident, the nobles fell into confusion and whispered among themselves.
"Praying for Your [N O V E L I G H T] Majesty's peace..."
"..."
"I humbly offer it to You."
Richard bowed his head deeply, as though paying his respects to the deceased.
"..."
"..."
The noisy Banquet Hall instantly fell silent. The solemn nobles began bowing their heads one by one.
Amid the heavy atmosphere—
"Ha."
An irrepressible sigh escaped through the Emperor's teeth.
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