Second Life, I’m Dying Soon Chapter 88

Chapter 88

 

Although the first battle ended in victory, sporadic clashes continued afterward.

As expected, Kazarjan was not an opponent that would quietly accept defeat. To reclaim the strongholds they had lost, to repay the humiliation they had suffered, they launched fierce counterattacks.

Instead of taking to the battlefield himself, Alexis remained in the imperial palace to devise strategy, while carefully selected commanders received the crown prince’s orders and led the imperial army.

While Alexis was wholly absorbed in the war against Kazarjan, Cecil took charge of state affairs.

That was when ominous movements were detected. The few remaining nobles of the empress’s faction were attempting to seize control of the cabinet by exploiting the chaos of wartime.

But as long as Cecil was watching, such a thing was out of the question. Their attempts were thwarted time and again.

Then, this morning, Count Lawrence—who had been dismissed from his post as Minister of Finance under the pretext of ‘improper personnel recommendations’—stormed into the main palace office.

The moment the count saw Cecil seated behind the ornate desk, his eyes flared with fury as he began to shout.

“This is outrageous! If it were anyone else, I might understand, but shouldn’t you, Lord Cecil, be supporting Her Majesty the Queen?”

Cecil paid him no mind at all. He calmly continued reading through the thick stack of documents, his movements unhurried and ordinary.

“Count, you’re being rather loud. This isn’t the audience chamber, so the soundproofing isn’t very good.”

But the count, already beside himself with rage, had no intention of heeding Cecil’s warning.

For no less than fifteen years, he had served at the empress’s side. From the very day Empress Elizabeth and Cecil entered the imperial palace, he had spared no effort in supporting them, playing the greatest role in elevating Cecil to such a high position.

Like the empress herself, the count’s goal had been to place Cecil Adrian on the throne. He believed that before long, the world would belong to him.

Power he had cultivated for so many years was now on the verge of collapsing in an instant.

That Cecil Adrian—of all people—had betrayed both the empress and himself to side with Crown Prince Alexis made his blood boil.

“Do you think you have any idea who it is you owe your current position to?!”

Cecil let out a laugh that was closer to a scoff.

“So now you want to bring up my birth status? Why don’t you try a more creative threat? Ah, but I suppose you don’t even have the means to threaten me anymore. You have nothing left, do you?”

Cecil let the count’s ravings go in one ear and out the other.

After finishing his review of the documents, he extended his right hand to the side. A heavy, solid-gold seal slammed down onto the paper with a dull thud.

The instant he saw the seal, Count Lawrence’s eyes flew wide open. Possessing the emperor’s seal was proof of holding the highest authority in the empire.

How could an object that governed all imperial decisions and the fate of the empire itself be in Cecil’s hands? Did that mean Crown Prince Alexis trusted Cecil to that extent?

“T-Then hand that over at once! It must be delivered to Her Majesty the Empress—!”

His vision swimming, Count Lawrence reached out without thinking. Cecil was a beat faster, pulling the seal back out of reach. He looked coldly from the hand grasping at empty air to the count’s face, narrowing his eyes.

“Count Lawrence, if you’re going to go mad, at least do it with some dignity. Have you lost your mind after being wrapped up in the empress’s skirts?”

“Don’t act so high and mighty! How do you think you ended up sitting in that seat? Without my help, it would’ve been impossible!”

“You’re speaking recklessly to a member of the imperial family. Is your life not precious to you?”

“Imperial family? Don’t make me laugh! Do you really think you carry imperial blood?”

The count was panting heavily. It was a slip born of excessive agitation, but words once spoken could not be taken back. Somewhere inside, he still believed that Cecil wouldn’t dare do anything to him.

A tense silence settled over the room. Then Cecil glared sharply at Count Lawrence and shouted,

“Is anyone outside?!”

At the shouted call, a guard who had been standing watch outside immediately rushed in. Cecil issued his order to the guard, who snapped to attention.

“Execute the count on the spot. His crime is daring to insult a member of the imperial family.”

“Yes.”

The moment the command was given, the guard drew his longsword.

Only when the sharp blade closed in did the count finally come to his senses. He staggered back with a scream, but it was already too late. Along with a dying shriek, dark crimson blood sprayed into the air, and the severed head rolled across the floor.

Blood splattered across the silk walls and carpet alike. Even after being beheaded, the count’s body twitched for a brief moment.

Cecil looked down at the head that had rolled all the way to the front of his desk. There was not a shred of mercy to be found in his green eyes.

“Get that out of my sight.”

At his order, several more guards entered to remove the body, while attendants hurried to scrub away the blood. The count’s death was shocking, but befitting those who served in the imperial palace, not a single person uttered a sound.

With his arms folded, Cecil stared at the carpet as the bloodstains gradually disappeared. At last, even Count Lawrence—the empress’s most devoted supporter—had been dealt with. The thought that a major task had been completed left him feeling almost refreshed.

News of Count Lawrence’s execution spread in an instant. The first to come looking for Cecil was, as expected, Empress Elizabeth.

After tightly locking the door, the empress surveyed the office.

It had only been a few hours since the count had been killed here, yet the place had been cleaned so thoroughly that it looked as though nothing had happened at all. Not a single stain remained—there wasn’t even the scent of blood.

More than that, Cecil looked far too calm. It was hard to believe he was the very one who had taken the life of his political patron.

With bulging eyes, the empress scrutinized Cecil’s every movement. No matter who had entered, he remained absorbed in his work. Then she saw him take the seal into his hand, and a scoff escaped her lips.

“This is absurd. Did Alexis really hand over the imperial seal to you?”

“Temporarily. The rightful owner of the seal is Alexis.”

“When did you earn that level of trust?”

“Through consistent effort.”

Cecil slammed the seal down onto the final document. Then, as if to make a point, he placed the imperial seal into its dedicated safe and locked it.

The key to the safe, fashioned as a necklace, was carefully tucked inside his shirt. The sequence of actions made his resolve clear—he had no intention of handing the seal over to the empress.

The empress clenched her fist. Veins stood out starkly on the back of her pale hand as she reined in her anger, all while maintaining a convincing smile.

“Cecil, my son. My one and only Peridot.”

The hem of her voluminous dress brushed across the floor. Slowly closing the distance, the empress gently stroked the back of Cecil’s hand.

“It has to be you, after all. Won’t you help your mother just this once?”

From within her sleeve, the empress produced a pouch she had prepared in advance.

The small pouch was surprisingly heavy. Cecil loosened the drawstring, and a glass vial rolled out, coming to rest in his pale palm.

Inside the vial was a mound of silvery-white powder.

Arsenic.

“Give it to Alexis.”

“…….”

“There’s no time. His Majesty the Emperor won’t hold on much longer.”

The empress tightly gripped Cecil’s wrist as he stared wordlessly at the vial.

“Before that, Alexis must be eliminated. You can do it, can’t you?”

Cecil tossed the vial lightly onto the floor.

Fortunately, the soft carpet beneath prevented it from shattering, but the empress recoiled in horror.

Arsenic was a lethal poison. If mishandled or inhaled, it could be fatal.

“What are you doing! Do you not know what that is?!”

“Poisoning him? I’d rather die together with you right here than see that happen again.”

Cecil placed his boot squarely atop the glass vial.

If he put even a little weight on it, the vial would shatter. The empress stared at him as though utterly shaken.

She couldn’t believe that her own son was threatening her with deadly poison.

“Why…! Why are you helping that man?! I’m offering to make you emperor!”

“I’ve told you countless times that I don’t want to become emperor! Please, stop doing reckless things to Alexis. If you so much as lay a finger on him, I will never forgive you.”

Just how far would his mother have to fall before she let go of her greed? Her twisted maternal love had long since become unbearable.

Cecil took a deep breath and straightened. Looking the empress squarely in the eye, he conveyed his resolve, word by word, with sincerity.

“This is my final warning. If you touch even the tip of Alexis’s finger, you won’t come out of it unscathed either.”

The empress’s lips slowly parted, and a trembling voice slipped out.

“You…”

Her deathly pale face was stained with shock.

“Don’t tell me… you love Alexis?”

He was a son just like herself. There was no way she could fail to recognize the emotions reflected in her son’s eyes.

“So that’s why you abandoned even your own mother and sided with the crown prince!”

Cecil did not deny it. At his steady gaze, the empress became certain. Her hands trembled uncontrollably in disbelief.

“You’ve completely lost your mind over a man. You’re not sane.”

“So what if I love Alexis? Is that something I need your permission for?”

“Hah, without even realizing how repulsive it is. And of all people, Alexis.”

There was no point in continuing the conversation. Cecil picked up the glass vial that lay on the floor.

Watching Cecil turn away, the empress burst into laughter like someone who had lost her mind.

“You think doing this will make Alexis return your feelings? Wake up, Cecil. That man is Alexis Winter Graham. He’s someone you can never, ever be with.”

Her words became sharp blades, slashing into Cecil’s back.

But Cecil’s heart, already worn down to nothing, didn’t suffer even the slightest blow. Leaving the empress behind, he walked on in silence.

He released the latch and pulled on the cold doorknob. Click—just as the door opened, he came face to face with a figure blocking the way.

He nearly dropped the vial of arsenic.

Before Cecil could react at all, Alexis slowly lifted his gaze from the floor.

“Is what I heard true?”

“…….”

Cecil couldn’t answer. The icy blue eyes before him froze his entire body solid.

“Why can’t you answer? I’m asking you.”

“…….”

Alexis shifted his gaze to the empress standing rigidly behind Cecil. He had already heard every word of her tirade from outside. Casting her a cold, warning look, he spoke,

“This doesn’t seem like a conversation to have here.”

“Your Highness.”

“Follow me.”