Orion Empire.
This land, known to be the only place in this world where order and safety were granted by humanity, was known to have a history of over a thousand years.
Of course, to foreigners like , such history might seem irrelevant, but the social atmosphere changes depending on who the current leader was.
As such, I had a general idea of who was leading this empire.
“H-His Highness Seis, why is he here…?”
Yes, the mont I heard their murmurs, I imdiately realized.
The person who stepped into the banquet hall where a bloodshed incident had occurred was the likely successor to inherit the empire in place of the current Emperor.
That he was ‘Crown Prince Seis Orion,’ the first prince of the Orion Empire.
“…Are you wondering why I am here?”
The mont such a being appeared here, adorned in splendid attire and wearing a mask, the nobles froze in place.
But they couldn’t even consider it humiliation.
Their arrogance was reserved only for those they could trample upon, not for the heavens they looked up to.
“My father, the Emperor, is essentially the empire, and I am to be the one who inherits it after him; what issue is there with walking through its center?”
“E-excuse . I dared to overstep my bounds…!”
With a quiet but dignified voice, the nobles held their breath, and soon everyone was only paying attention to his reactions.
Yes, the presence of the Crown Prince was sothing that could not be overlooked.
Even if the highest-ranking noble who followed the Imperial Family were to be murdered, the gap would be as wide as heaven and earth.
-Drip, drip.
What significance could there be to a piece of at that had already stopped breathing and convulsing?
As if to say so, Crown Prince Seis was rcilessly trampling over the corpse that lay in his path.
“…Vivian.”
The person at whom he stopped was the one responsible for this situation.
But the Crown Prince, even facing her, did not tremble.
Instead, like he did with the surrounding nobles, he only spoke in a quiet and dignified voice…
“Did you kill Lord Elmat because of the man beside you?”
“Uh, yeah. That’s right.”
Vivian answered his question in a trembling voice.
Even for her, whom even the nobles consider trash, the Crown Prince was a being that couldn’t be taken lightly, as if teaching her so.
“I, before I ca here, I think he did sothing terrible… So, I killed him. Even his screaming was annoying.”
“……”
“…Ah, is that not allowed?”
Vivian expressed her concern in a trembling voice.
But it didn’t seem she was seriously considering what she had done, but rather it appeared to be just a minor mistake to her.
Such unaware behavior could be scolded and reprimanded, yet…
“Yes, Woo Hyo-sung. Have you caught Vivian’s interest?”
The Crown Prince’s gaze then swiftly turned towards .
Although he was wearing a mask and I couldn’t see clearly, I could imdiately understand that he was looking at with serious contemplation.
“…Vivian.”
And after a mont of silence.
The Crown Prince, having shifted his gaze from , turned to Vivian and asked.
“Do you want the man beside you?”
“H-huh?”
“I asked if you want the foreigner I personally invited to the Imperial Family.”
Crown Prince Seis repeating my na clearly—that in itself taught how strongly he was aware of my existence.
He personally invited to the Imperial Family. Was it Crown Prince Seis who sent the invitation to this banquet hall?
One might think ordinarily it was to reward for my achievents in the previous war, but as soon as I stepped into this place, I personally felt how the nobles judged .
So, I couldn’t help but suspect that Crown Prince Seis had brought here to reprimand or mock , even now.
“If taking that man progresses your research, then take him.”
Such anxieties vanished with just a single phrase he uttered…
Damn, what did that guy just say?
Take away?
After all the trouble of inviting here, now he’s discussing giving away like an object?
“A-are you serious?”
“Yes, if taking that man can complete your research.”
Vivian, seemingly happy regardless of my feelings, and Crown Prince Seis, trying to sort out the story in accordance with her.
I felt outraged, but there was no reason for to interject in a story agreed upon by the royalty and Vivian.
“Y-Your Highness!”
So, as I tried to stifle my anger, a nobleman began to rush toward the Crown Prince.
“R-right now, I don’t understand the situation well, but… D-do you know that the crazy woman over there, uh, k-killed Lord Elmat?!”
Seeing his gaze move repeatedly to the body of Elmat on the ground, he seed to be a follower of Elmat or a noble closely associated with him.
Naturally, no matter how high the person in front of him in the empire might be, even if such a person condoned Vivian’s cruel actions, given the stakes involved, he would hope to rectify the situation, even at a risk.
“I-I don’t know who that woman is, but isn’t it too lenient for her to have killed Lord Elmat? At the very least, so punishnt…”
“Vivian.”
Despite such desperation, Crown Prince Seis spoke only in a cold voice.
“Deal with this person.”
“What? Your Highness, what…?”
-Pu-kaak!
His body collapsed with his head gone.
Everyone present turned pale at the sudden event, yet no one scread.
The person they faced could kill the next most powerful after the Imperial Family without being held accountable.
If such a person directly received orders from the Crown Prince, going against his will would surely lead them to the sa fate.
“…It seems so may not know, so let make it clear.”
To make sure they understood, Crown Prince Seis, covered in the blood splattered by the corpse, spoke to them in a dry voice.
“Her research is essential for the ‘New Era’ that will soon begin. Compared to the importance of that purpose, you all, including the Imperial Family and myself, are but trifles. Make sure you understand that clearly.”
The highest being of the empire himself.
The successor, who would soon inherit the empire and beco the empire itself, declared soone as more important than himself.
“Ah, understood… Your Highness.”
With that, all the nobles turned their pale faces downward and began to bow their heads in front of him.
That was the best they could do.
I too could only quietly follow the fate given to , frozen in place.
Despite all the efforts I’ve made.
Even though I thought I could finally achieve what I wanted, I had to admit to myself that the title of hero I had always pursued was utterly insignificant in this place.
“You’ve found a sponsor.”
Amidst such self-loathing, a familiar voice suddenly reached my ears.
When I ca to my senses, in place of the Crown Prince, what caught my eye was the young noble who had guided here.
“…What?”
“As Prince Seis himself said, she is considered more important than anyone else in this empire.”
Cheska, explaining the situation they had assessed without a hint of fear even amidst this tragedy.
Their deanor seed almost as if they were forcibly thrusting sothing upon , who had not grasped the situation.
“Simply by receiving her interest, you have gained an opportunity to rise higher than anyone else.”
“W-wait. Cheska…”
“Then I have a report to give to His Highness, so I’ll take my leave now. If fate allows, let’s et again.”
Cheska began to leave after finishing the greetings.
As their presence gradually disappeared into the frozen crowd, I felt an emptiness growing in my heart.
As if the only wall I could lean on in this situation had disappeared.
“Excuse . Mr. Housekeeper.”
Yes, from now on, I must make my way on my own.
From the woman who, in this very place, killed two people and made decisions to kill the rest without hesitation and without being held accountable.
“I-I’ve wanted to see Mr. Housekeeper for so long…”
“…Vivian.”
“Mr. Housekeeper, didn’t you want to see ?”
Her haggard expression gradually gave way to a bright smile. I could tell right away that smile expressed affection toward .
To her eyes, though everyone around might seem like trash, only I was different.
I, endlessly affird by my abilities, was considered more special than anything else in this world.
“…Yes, too.”
The mont I realized that, I felt overwheld by the task of discerning my own feelings.
Because I couldn’t tell if the pounding in my heart was fear or the joy of eting soone who loved .
“I, too, wanted to see Vivian.”
Because I couldn’t even distinguish if what was coming out of my mouth was the truth or a well-crafted lie.
Seis Orion.
The first prince of the empire, he was the most likely successor to inherit the current empire, and his succession ceremony was scheduled to take place in a few months.
Since the current Emperor had beco old and frail to govern the empire, it was necessary to quickly select a leader to follow him.
And with the succession ceremony approaching, sches and conspiracies were actively underway.
Not visible to the public, but enough to secretly purge not only relatives not belonging to factions along with the Imperial Family, but also political opponents using the political situation cunningly.
This included the current Emperor’s illegitimate child known to be entrusted to the Plandor family, Cheska Plandor.
Because any person who might, even in the slightest, hinder the Crown Prince’s succession ceremony, needed to be removed.
-Whoosh!
Late at night, a sphere of imnse magical power struck the carriage traveling through the forest road on its way back to the domain.
Assassins watching from the bushes clapped their hands in triumph as they observed the carriage completely shattered.
“Wow~ It’s completely demolished, isn’t it?”
“Of course, who else could have shot it? My sniping skills are truly comndable, aren’t they?”
“But isn’t this too noisy?”
“Don’t worry. He’s just a lord of a remote countryside, so there won’t be anyone rushing over because of the commotion.”
A low-ranking noble who wouldn’t have received any attention in the first place if not for the rumors of being a royal bastard.
Feeling that the job was smoothly completed thanks to that, the two assassins started rummaging through the debris of the destroyed carriage.
A limp body was visible among the fragnts of the carriage.
The appearance of the boy lying with dull eyes open matched exactly the portrait they held in their hands.
“He’s dead. His heart’s not beating.”
“He looks pretty; what a pity. If he was alive, it would have been fun to play with him for a bit.”
“Co on, he’s still a man; do you really want to?”
“No, look closely. Doesn’t it look like he’s cross-dressing by the chest?”
The curved figure visible through the clothes torn by the impact.
Despite the slender fra, the slightly protruding chest indicated that the person was female.
“Haha, the bastard wanted power so much that she cross-dressed and beca the lord.”
“It’s a sha; if she was still breathing, we could have pretended she was dead and had so fun for a while.”
“Forget it. If we get caught doing that, it’ll block our path to advancent.”
The assassin scolded his colleague for expressing regret.
The shovel and oil he held were prepared to erase the scene they had caused, and he hurriedly took them out because there was a need to wrap up the current situation as quickly as possible.
“…Well, we’re doing this job to receive blood; it’s better to give up on petty desires.”
Accepting that intention, his colleague brushed off the regret and quickly turned his attention away from the body.
As he said, the reason they were doing such dirty work was to climb from the bottom of the organization to a higher position.
“Then I’ll scout the area, so please take care of the body.”
“Yes, let’s both do our best until the end.”
If they could receive blood from the great beings who lead the organization, they could ascend to a higher existence than they were now.
Feeling only a few steps away from their goal, the two assassins, each performing their roles, parted ways, uttering the phrase they always said.
“Everything is for the New Era.”
A phrase expressing loyalty to the organization they belonged to.
-Riiip!
The sound of flesh being torn apart echoed imdiately after the phrase was uttered.
Realizing the sound ca from behind him, the assassin turned to look at his colleague, who had been about to dispose of the body, with a dazed expression.
No, now he should consider him a forr colleague.
His body was split in half by an unidentified attack and lay cruelly sprawled on the ground.
“From now on, I will begin the interrogation of the organization ‘The New Era,’ which has infiltrated the empire.”
Awakening in this era, created to subdue the existence of aberrations.
Determined to move against all foreign beings that threaten humanity.
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