The people around looked at with complicated expressions. Their faces revealed a mixture of confusion and uncertainty—so clearly didn't know who I was, while only the guards seed fully inford. To be honest, I wasn't entirely sure how to solve the problems in this city either.
The poverty here was staggering. People didn't have enough food, and so were even missing limbs. Of course, they could recover those parts as long as they kept leveling up, but how could they do so in this state? They needed proper food, rest, and training. Suddenly, I found myself wishing I'd brought Kim Seong-Hoon along. He seed to handle things like fighting and training far better than I could. I wasn't built for this—I still didn't know if coming here was the right decision, or if becoming a ruler at all had been a mistake.
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What would my parents say about this?
"Gaon... is that my Gaon?"
Yes, that's exactly what they would say... Wait—what?
I turned my head toward the voice, my body stiffening as if struck by lightning. There, standing in the crowd, was a middle-aged woman. Her face was a painful mix of familiar and alien. She was soone I had loved deeply, soone I thought I would never see again. The sa person who had abandoned when I needed her the most.
That voice... those eyes... that face… It was her. The very first person I'd seen when I ca into this world.
"Gaon!" she shouted again, her voice trembling with emotion.
But all I wanted to do was run. I wanted to leave her standing there, just as she had left when I needed her most. I didn't want to et her again, not now, not ever. She was dead to .
Or… was she?
No matter how much I told myself I didn't care, a storm of emotions swirled within . Did I hate her enough to let her die sowhere in the dirt without a second thought? Did I love her enough to forgive her?
I didn't know.
"Auntie, you should not call the Empress Lee Gaon by her na so casually. Who do you think you are? Even if you know our Empress, you should know how to act properly in front of her," Lee Seo-Yeon said as she stepped forward, placing a hand on the woman's shoulder and gently pushing her back.
I didn't say anything. I couldn't. If I opened my mouth, I wasn't sure what would co out. And if I didn't walk away now, I might never be able to say goodbye again.
"At least if you hate , you must save your brother," the woman cried desperately, her voice trembling with emotion. "He didn't do anything wrong! It was because of and your father that he pushed you away. Only because of us did he distance himself from you! My Gaon, please! Please don't walk away like we did!"
Her words struck like a bucket of ice water poured over my head. I froze mid-step, my heart racing. Slowly, I turned back to her, my eyes burning with anger, hatred, and a storm of confusion.
"How dare you, Mother?" I said, my voice trembling with fury. "How dare you ask for anything after abandoning like a dog? How dare you!?"
I stepped closer, my tone rising with each word, emotions bubbling over like a cauldron boiling over a fire. "This fate, this life we're all stuck in right now—it's exactly what you deserve! Where is your family pride now? What's left of it? Where is the family that you cast out for? Was it worth it? Was it worth kicking out like so stray cat!?"
My voice echoed through the streets, cutting through the air like a blade. All around us, people stopped and stared, their faces filled with confusion and curiosity. The chatter grew louder as they whispered among themselves, trying to piece together what was happening.
Thankfully, my aides, as sharp as ever, quickly stepped in. They moved through the crowd, gathering people and urging them to leave the area. Sohow, they seed to understand that this was a deeply personal mont that didn't need an audience.
Monts later, it was just and my mother standing there on an empty street. She looked at with tears filling her eyes, hesitation written all over her trembling legs that seed to want to move toward . Why now? Why does she suddenly want to play the role of a mother? So even my family is in this world now, huh? Of course that bastard would do this, dragging my family here just to torture further.
Lately, I've been in a good mood—everything was going well. So why now? Why did my family have to show up out of nowhere, out of all the tis?
Fuck! This is just… so infuriating!
"What do you want, Mother?" I asked coldly, my voice sharp as a blade. "So what if I save Lee Nuri? Tell , what kind of shit did your beloved son cause now? And you think I should be the one to deal with it? Why? Because it's my job to clean up your ss?"
I could see her body tremble at my words, like I had stabbed her in the heart. But after so many years of pain, how could I just walk over, hug her, and say, 'I forgive you?' Maybe that's what she expected. Maybe she thought we could go back to how we were before.
Once, I loved my family so deeply, but now… that love is buried, pushed to the deepest, most unreachable parts of my heart.
"Gaon..." she barely managed to whisper my na through the tears streaming down her face. "Please, he… he really didn't want to do it. I vow to you, your brother is not at fault."
"So what if he's not at fault?" I snapped, my words dripping with venom. "He still chose you over . It was his own decision to abandon along with you. If he cared about as a sister, he would have defended . He would have stood by my side. But no, he was always afraid of you two. He was your good little son, your obedient puppy, always happy to play by your rules. But not . You know that yourself."
I turned my back to her, unable to look at the face that used to bring comfort, now filled with desperation.
"I don't care what kind of ss he got himself into. This world is a survival of the fittest. If he dies, then it's his own fault. Don't drag into this family's problems anymore. You're the ones who pushed out of it. There's no going back now."
I started walking toward where the others were waiting for .
"Sorry, Mother," I said without turning back. "This is my final decision. You're dead to —all of you. So live your life comfortably in my empire. That's the least I'll give you. As for Lee Nuri… he's not as weak as you think. If he wants to survive, he can handle it himself."
I could feel her presence behind , her emotions trying to reach out to , but I couldn't. I simply couldn't. This life… I wanted it to be without them. So why? Why did she have to appear now? This is unfair…
I clenched my fists, my thoughts spinning in turmoil.
"Where is he exactly..." I asked, stopping in my tracks.
I don't know why I asked. Maybe I was still weak, sowhere deep in my heart. Maybe I still had a soft spot for this family, no matter how much they hurt or how they treated . Family was family, after all… right?
"Gaon, you…" My mother's trembling voice cracked, and I could hear the shift—her sudden hope, her happiness, bleeding into her tone. "You're really going to save him?"
"Don't make regret my decision and go back on my words," I said coldly, my voice firm, masking the tears threatening to escape my own eyes. "Just tell . Quickly."
I still couldn't bring myself to look at her.
"Around seven days ago…" she began, her voice steadier now, almost as if she was grasping onto this mont. "I was rescued by the kind people of this small town. Before that, we were surrounded and attacked by a group of beasts. They were almost humanoid, but not human. Your father and brother fought hard, but in the end, they were captured. I don't know exactly what happened to them, but I can still feel they're alive."
"The people here say those monsters kidnap humans and put them in cages like so kind of… human zoo." Her words ca faster now, like a flood breaking free.
I gritted my teeth, my anger bubbling to the surface. She sounded so composed, so willing to share every detail now. Just how fake was she?
"You said it was only my brother," I interrupted, my tone sharp. "When did father—that piece of human garbage—co into this story?"
She faltered, but I didn't give her ti to respond.
"Fine. I'll go. Where is that place?" My voice was flat, devoid of emotion.
"A bit north of here. I can lead y—"
"No need," I cut her off sharply. "I don't want your company."
I couldn't stomach the thought of spending more ti around her.
"This will be fast," I said, my voice hard. "Just watch as I clean up after you… but know this isn't just for them. I'm going to help everyone else who's trapped too."
Red lightning crackled through my wings as my body blurred, and I shot into the air, leaving my trembling mother behind on the ground.
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