Chapter 03

Once I made up my mind, my head felt much clearer.

“I told you I was supposed to meet with the other royals today, right?”

Rudy nodded.

“Yes, Your Highness. The usual ones. In fact, on my way to bring you breakfast, I received a message from their maids. They said they wanted to meet as soon as the knights left.”

“Can you cancel it? No. You must cancel it.”

“Yes. That won’t be difficult.”

Rudy looked like she had something to say.

“Your Highness, if I may be so bold, could I ask why? You always met with them to discuss matters of governance, didn’t you?”

“It’s nothing special. I just felt like living a little differently.”

I looked at the bookshelves, filled to the brim.

To anyone looking, it would seem like a royal with great ambition studying the art of ruling.

I also glanced at the sword resting on a shelf.

Its ebony hilt was polished smooth from use.

It was clearly the sword of a swordsman who had trained diligently, full of ambition.

I was struck once again by how young my seventeen-year-old self had been.

What was I thinking, living so uprightly?

As if begging for their support.

Even if I were the emperor, I would have surely suspected his intentions.

“Rudy.”

“Yes.”

“Call someone and sell all these books. Donate them to the palace library, or let the other maids take them. I don’t care.”

“What? But you cherished them so much. You always said, ‘Man makes books, and books make the man.’”

“I’m done with them. A bunch of paper scraps making a man? What nonsense.”

“Your Highness!”

“Sell all the books and bring me some alcohol.”

Rudy hesitated.

“Wine is rationed. If any goes missing, it’ll be noticed immediately.”

“Even cooking wine is fine. Bring it. And use the money from the books to buy more alcohol. The strong stuff, if you can.”

“Why are you suddenly acting like this? You never used to drink.”

Rudy trembled.

I’m sorry.

This must be so bewildering for you today, right? To be honest, I find this situation ridiculous myself.

Just a few hours ago, I swore I’d never live like a scoundrel again, and yet here I am, acting like one on the very first day of my return.

“Are you going to bring me the alcohol or not? If you don’t, I’ll jump.”

“I’ll bring it. I’ll bring it! Just wait a moment.”

But there was nothing I could explain to her right now.

I was ashamed to show her this side of me, and it pained me that I couldn’t even apologize.

All I could do was feel sorry in silence.

Letting out a low groan, I watched Rudy’s retreating back as she scurried away.

Rudy returned around noon.

She was carrying two bottles of wine and one of cognac.

“I’ve spoken to the merchant who supplies the Red Halo Palace about the books. I’ve also told the other maids, so they should all be gone within a few days.”

“Thank you.”

“The other royals were very surprised. Some said they would come by… What should I do?”

“What do you mean, what should you do?”

Drawing on past experience, I skillfully popped the wine cork with my bare hands.

I continued speaking as I filled a wide-bellied glass to the brim with the fragrant, dark purple liquid.

“Don’t open the door. If they try to break it down, then you can call me.”

“Y-yes.”

Rudy stammered, clearly bewildered.

“Rudy.”

“Yes?”

I mouthed the words, I’m sorry.

For a moment, a twitch ran across Rudy’s face.

Watching her expression, I downed the wine in one gulp.

As expected of cooking wine, it smelled nice but tasted awful.

In one go, I finished both bottles of wine and the bottle of cognac.

The tipsiness rose and spread through my mind like a fog.

I messed up the room a bit and flopped onto the bed.

Just then, there was a knock at the door.

“Lord Valen! Lord Valen! What is the meaning of this?”

Here we go.

Rudy glanced at me, her eyes signaling.

She seemed to be asking, What should I do?

“Don’t open it.”

Rudy nodded.

“Lord Valen! Open the door!”

The large, thick wooden door shook as if it would break.

“He’s not… not in there, is he?”

“Perhaps he was ordered to commit suicide?”

“Suicide! What are you talking about?”

“No, it’s possible. As long as Lord Valen lives, he’s a royal who could forever threaten the legitimacy of Jeirilis’s claim to the throne.”

“True. After all, he is her older brother.”

“Then we must get inside. Maid! Maid! Open the door! Now!”

Hearing their voices, I said quietly.

“Open it now.”

Rudy scurried like a squirrel and opened the door.

“My apologies. His Highness Valen is in no state to receive guests right now.”

“Step aside! I need to see if he’s alright.”

“How dare a mere maid block my path!”

A man with the build of a bear entered the room.

The room seemed to shrink around him.

It didn’t take more than a few seconds for the pleased look on his face to turn into a frown.

“Alcohol?”

muttered a gaunt man who followed him in.

“What’s going on?”

I said, my voice slurred.

The royals who had crowded in all wore expressions as if they’d been slapped.

The room was a mess, as if two sword masters had fought in it.

With the curtains drawn and candles extinguished, the room was dark despite it being daytime.

Shards of a broken glass were visible on the floor.

Spilled alcohol soaked the carpet, filling the air with its stench.

The books that had been neatly arranged on the shelves were now scattered carelessly on the floor.

The drawers were open, the secret compartment exposed.

Fragments of a burnt letter fluttered up from the fireplace.

And I, the master of the room, was sprawled on the bed, reeking of alcohol.

“You. What is the meaning of this?”

“How could someone as upright as you display such disgraceful behavior!”

The royals swarmed over, trying to pull me up.

I staggered like a corpse rising from a grave before collapsing onto the carpeted floor.

My white shirt, soaked in wine, was now closer to purple.

“I heard you got rid of all your books.”

“Why are the drawers open? Don’t tell me her knights were here?”

I had prepared a sentence to get on their nerves.

“Her? Watch your tongue. She is Her Majesty, the Emperor!”

They clicked their tongues at my words, spoken with unfocused eyes.

“He’s completely drunk.”

“Tell us what happened. We can’t help you otherwise.”

said one of the royal men, grabbing me and forcing me to sit up.

I shook off his hand and replied.

“I’ve made up my mind. And I suggest you do the same. Give it all up. It’s a lost cause anyway. It’s time to accept it. The emperor of the Empire is Jeirilis.”

Their faces hardened.

“I’ll take that as the drink talking.”

“No. The fact that he’s drunk makes it even less excusable.”

The bear-like man grabbed me by the collar and hauled me to my feet.

“Watch your mouth, Valencianus. My brother was killed by her.”

I gave him a cold look.

“That’s because your brother invited her over and tried to poison her.”

The other royals pretended they hadn’t heard me.

“So he was a useless friend after all.”

“Are you serious, Valencianus?”

“Think carefully. You and I are in the same boat. We’ve been dragged to this Red Halo Palace and locked up in these cramped rooms.”

“We could be killed at any moment without anyone knowing!”

“Do you think sucking up to her will change anything? You think that kin-slayer will give you special treatment?”

Just then, a royal woman spoke up.

“She might just give him special treatment.”

All eyes turned to her.

“She’s our half-sister. But she and Valencianus are full siblings. Twins, born on the same day, at the same hour.”

A brief silence fell.

The gaunt man spoke cautiously.

“I’m just asking, just in case. My brother, Valencianus. Were the knights here? Did they see our letters? Did you tell them about our plans?”

I saw his hand drift toward the dagger hidden behind his back.

I shook my head.

“There were no knights. This was all my choice.”

“How can we believe that?”

“Didn’t you just call me brother? You are my brother, too.”

“But you are her full brother.”

The royal men and women narrowed their eyes.

“Traitor.”

Someone said it first.

“He’s a traitor!”

“Traitor!”

Right. This is what they were like.

I smiled faintly, recalling the past from forty years ago.

They dreamed of escape and rebellion, yet they couldn’t trust their own comrades.

They were all just a bunch of bastards thinking only of seizing the throne or grabbing a position for themselves amidst the chaos of a broken line of succession.

The rebellion in my past life failed before it even began because of infighting and betrayal.

I sighed, leaning back against the bed.

A wave of drunkenness washed over me, and my whole body felt hot.

“I thought you were a man who understood the greater cause.”

The bear-like man pulled me up again.

“To abandon your comrades for something as flimsy as blood ties.”

“Comrades? Don’t make me laugh.”

I snapped coldly.

“Did you ever trust me in the first place? You pack of traitors.”

“What did you just say?”

“He really is a traitor.”

“Cut out his tongue and cut off his hands! We have to stop him from reporting us.”

“It’s too late. Kill him!”

Cries filled with madness echoed in my room.

Rudy shot me a frightened glance.

I looked into her green eyes and smiled.

Don’t worry, I knew this would happen from the start.

This is what all royals are like.

Strong, but greedy and deeply suspicious.

I’m the same.

I picked up an empty wine bottle from beside me.

“It’s no use for me to just say, ‘I am a scoundrel.’”

I muttered under my breath.

“Huh?”

“What did you just say?”

“I have to make others say, ‘That man is a scoundrel.’”

They must be furious.

They’ll surely go back to their rooms and complain to their maids.

Those maids circulate through the palace like red blood cells, spreading rumors.

I hope the bad rumors about me spread just as quickly.

“Get out of my room! You filthy pack of traitors!”

I smashed the wine bottle over the large royal’s head with all my might.

It was a move I’d practiced a thousand times on innocent people during my scoundrel days before my regression.

The glass bottle landed squarely on the crown of his head. With a loud thwack!, the large man collapsed to the floor.

“You crazy bastard!”

“G-get him!”

Laughing like a madman, I picked up a second wine bottle and swung it.

“Come at me if you dare!”

These are the types who’ve probably never even killed a man with their own hands.

You think I, who have been to war, would lose to you?

I went on a rampage, bashing their temples with the wine bottle and stabbing the backs of their hands with a dinner fork.

“Run!”

“That crazy scoundrel.”

The royals fled into the hallway in a chaotic rush.

“Lord Valen, what should we do with these ones?”

The large man was knocked out by my wine bottle.

One royal had slipped on the spilled alcohol and was unconscious.

Besides them, a few others had been felled by my bottle or had gotten tangled up with each other and were rolling on the floor.

“Ugh…!”

“…My head.”

I pulled back the curtains and threw open the window.

“Let’s throw them out.”

It’s not like they’ll die, right?

“W-what if they die?”

I replied with a grin.

“They’re all going to be dragged out in a month anyway. Whether they die today or then, what’s the difference?”

“Watch him closely. We don’t know when he might snitch.”

“Just as expected, he’s siding with his own flesh and blood.”

“He’ll be framed and killed soon enough. There’s no way she would let someone with a stronger claim to the throne live, right?”

“That madman. Stabbing hands with a fork and throwing people out of windows.”

“My arm is broken.”

For several days, the royals chattered outside my room.

Their purpose was to watch me and, at the same time, watch each other.

Unable to trust one another, they gathered like a swarm of ants before a sugar cookie.

“Is something the matter?”

It got to the point where the knights and soldiers watching us from outside the annex walls came to my door.

A few more days passed, and the knights began to patrol in front of my room regularly.

Thanks to that, I didn’t have to worry about someone opening my door while I slept and sticking a dagger in my throat.

“Could you help me move some books?”

“Yes. What’s this about?”

“You were right. What’s the point of me studying? I’m just going to live off the imperial family pension for the rest of my life.”

“A wise decision.”

“Exactly. I have a house, food, and money. What damn ambition would I have?”

The knight smiled, looking satisfied.

He looked as if a weight had been lifted from his shoulders.

“Still.”

“Still?”

“Perhaps you should cut back on the drinking a little?”

“Shut your mouth before I smash a wine bottle over your head, too, Sir Knight! No one tells me what to do.”

“The chef of the Red Halo Palace mentioned that some cooking wine has gone missing.”

That bastard.

I tripped the knight on the stairs.

“Agh!”

“My mistake. Sorry about that.”

I could see the knight grinding his teeth.

I felt sorry for him, having to endure such atrocious behavior because he had the misfortune of being assigned to me.

But I could only hope that he would see me as even more of a piece of trash.

Because the more he did, the more harmless I would appear to her.