If You Take the Enemy Prince as Your Knight Chapter 109

I will probably regret this moment again. The impulsive confession I’ve just blurted out will surely become another clue to my heart someday, restricting what I can say in the future. And yet, I become honest about my feelings once more.

 

I liked Regenhart Lohengrin far too much. No, I loved him. I love him, even now.

 

“…”

 

I was lowering my eyes in an inexplicable heaviness when, all of a sudden, a shadow fell before me. I saw a hand braced against the edge of the stool I was sitting on. The large back of the hand, its firm knuckles pronounced, was tense with strength. Before I knew it, the handsome man’s face filled my vision at close range.

 

“Sasha.”

 

“…”

 

“Why do you say such things while avoiding my eyes?”

 

“…Just because.”

 

“Did I do something wrong again?”

 

“No.”

 

Everything was my fault. It was simply that I was far too vulnerable when it came to Regen. I didn’t want to show such immaturity, an inability to control my emotions, but it wasn’t easy.

 

After seeming to ponder for a while, he finally asked, “Would you like some dessert?”

 

“No.”

 

“Then perhaps a walk?”

 

“…”

 

For someone who had been wearing such a serious expression, the question itself was ordinary. It seemed he wanted to ease my mood. He looked ready to list every possible means of comforting me.

 

The thought of what I was making the hero of Lohengrin do right now made a small laugh escape me without meaning to. The golden eyes that had been closely observing my reaction shimmered like ripples of light.

 

What was it? Why did he look so pleased just because I smiled? In any case, I was able to return to my usual composure.

 

“Instead of a walk, there’s somewhere we need to go.”

 

“Where?”

 

“To the mad emperor.”

 

“…”

 

At those words, Regen straightened into a posture befitting the very model of a knight. As if our private conversation just moments ago had been a lie, he returned to his public demeanor.

 

“It seems you have some plans in motion.”

 

“Yes. Today is rather important.” It was about time I told Regen as well. I rose from the stool and stood facing him closely. “Regen.”

 

“Yes, Sasha.”

 

“Are you confident you can control your expression in front of your enemy?”

 

“Do I not manage it even before the mad emperor?”

 

That was true. As a disciplined knight and dignified prince, his expression was always composed, and it rarely faltered. Even so, I cautioned him.

 

“A new person is different. I think you should brace your heart thoroughly.”

 

“Who is it?”

 

I held out one hand to him. Assuming it was a request for escort, he took my hand as though receiving something precious and sacred. I changed my grip, intertwining my fingers with his.

 

“Sasha?”

 

Keeping him tightly held to me, I spoke. “From now on, we are going to meet Emilio Hwibrik.”

 

“…”

 

In that instant, sunset fell in his eyes. The light in his golden irises, always like the sun, went dark. In the place where warmth once lived, cold hatred and killing intent began to rise. I had never seen this side of Regen before. As I flinched in surprise, his voice reached me.

 

“Sasha, I have a request.”

 

“Anything. Tell me.”

 

“Please give me an order.”

 

“An order?”

 

“Command me so that I don’t lose my reason in front of the traitor. Dominate my mind.”

 

“…”

 

He was asking me to suffocate his will and emotions with my own hands. It was painful, but if that was the only anesthetic he would accept from me, there was no other choice.

 

After a long, deep breath, I spoke. “Look into my eyes.”

 

Soon, the same pattern of light surfaced in both my eyes and his left eye. My voice stripped away his humanity. It was something I never wished to do often.

 

✦

The beautiful structure built from thousands of panes of glass symbolized the wealth of the Magnarod Empire. A greenhouse garden in full bloom with flowers that distorted one’s sense of the seasons. Here, the emperor and a young man sat facing each other across a tea table.

 

The young man was delicate and handsome, his black hair cut sharply at chin length in a precise bob. His name was Emilio Hwibrik, now a proper marquis of the empire, having just completed his investiture ceremony.

 

Emilio’s ash-gray eyes, as he gazed at the feast of desserts more splendid than flowers, were cold and devoid of emotion. With a rationality as cold as those eyes, he had once saved his homeland from crisis numerous times. But now, with a character as cold-blooded as those same eyes, he had defected and seized everything but honor.

 

Despite being such a dangerous man, at first glance, he appeared to be nothing more than a principled and gentle scholar. His outward appearance was nothing less than a cunning and lethal trap crafted by sight itself, much like the mad emperor, a monster wearing human skin.

 

True to a capable strategist who had built his foundation with his mind and tongue, Emilio showed no sign of shrinking even before the empire’s mad tyrant.

 

“To be able to share tea with Your Majesty upon my first entrance to the imperial palace. This moment is a greater honor to me than the marquisate itself.”

 

“Marquis Hwibrick. There are two things I enjoy.” Hooking his index finger through the handle of an exquisitely beautiful teacup, the mad emperor spoke. “One is appreciating works of art. The other is observing human nature.”

 

“…”

 

“You, among the latter, are particularly extraordinary. How could I not be intrigued?”

 

Even at the gentle insult, Emilio composed a smile as though honored. The flattery of a traitor was naturally exceptional. Emilio lifted his teacup. The etiquette he had polished to perfection so as not to be disregarded as a son of a concubine had fully seeped into his body. Even by imperial standards, it was flawless.

 

“Once I judged it necessary, I simply carried out the best course without hesitation. I understand it is difficult to gain public understanding, but I don’t concern myself with it. Their understanding holds no value to me.”

 

“Carried out the best course, you say. Then do you have no regrets?”

 

“Yes. Not in the slightest.”

 

Emilio Hwibrik’s betrayal could be called unparalleled. It was a sweeping betrayal of his nation, his people, his lord, his friends… everything that formed his surroundings. With his own hands, he dragged into the mud the honor of being a loyal strategist and the prince’s closest friend.

 

Emilio remembered the curses, criticism, and condemnation poured upon him by the entire world. Of course, the throats of those who uttered such things were all cut out at the neck.

 

A strange light flickered in the mad emperor’s blue eyes. An interest forged from madness and sadism turned toward Emilio Hwibrik. “Then let me ask.”

 

“Please, Your Majesty.”

 

“How did it feel to personally sever the neck of your friend?”

 

“…”

 

The teacup in his hand paused midair. Emilio lowered his gaze into the tea, like a mirror of water. His consciousness sank like sediment to the bottom of submerged memories.

 

His friend, Regenhart Lohengrin. As proof of loyalty, the empire had demanded that Emilio personally execute the third prince.

 

Emilio still remembered everything about the day of the execution with perfect clarity. A sky heavy with dark clouds. The stench of blood and rotting wood vibrated even in a cold that seemed capable of freezing all things. A plaza solemn as a funeral, despite being packed with people. Snow that fell upon Emilio’s cheek melted along with something like water.

 

Regenhart Lohengrin had been Emilio’s friend since he came of age, and the lord to whom he had devoted his loyalty. They had known each other for over a decade. Even for Emilio, it was difficult to bring an end while facing that familiar face. So he had covered that craftsman-sculpted handsome face with an unsightly burlap sack before carrying out the execution.

 

Out of friendship and loyalty, Emilio even granted mercy. To send his friend away without pain in a single stroke, he chose a sharp, clean new axe. The broad, well-honed blade gleamed so smoothly it could have been mistaken for a mirror. Slightly startled by the heavy weight of the axe, he approached the condemned man as executioner.

 

His friend was kneeling without even a groan. He himself stood upright before that friend. At the reversal of their eye level, Emilio’s heart pounded loudly. Unable to restrain the impulse, he had spoken.

 

“This is too for the best. With today’s achievement, Lohengrin will soon become a self-governing domain rather than a mere subordinate territory. Please sacrifice yourself nobly for the greater cause.”