After causing a storm of shock, Joshua exited the council chamber, but a woman called out to him gently.
âWait!â
Joshua came to a halt.
âDid you not see me or are you pretending you didnât see me? Iâm telling you now that Iâll be pretty hurt if itâs the latter,â the woman said.
Joshua chuckled and turned, setting eyes on a beautiful woman with cat-like eyes and impressively red hair.
âCharles.â Joshua grinned.
âAnd?â Charles narrowed her eyes at him.
âItâs the former. I didnât know you would be there.â
Charles shrugged lightly. âIâm leading one of the Five Ducal Families, more or less, you know?â
ââŠHis Grace isâ?â
Charles cut him off. âDid you know I ended up on a wild goose chase because of you? I put all that effort into making my merchant group stronger, but you ended the war on your own. Who could have expected the war would finish like this?â
ââŠI didnât,â Joshua said.
âNo one else on the continent would end a war like you.â Charles shook her head.
Joshua was the one who shrugged this time.
âBut are you serious?â Charles asked.
âSerious about what?â
âBecoming the emperor.â
Joshuaâs silence was enough of an answer for Charles.
âOh my god.â She covered her mouth with her hands in shock. âYouâre serious. Wow, my friend is an emperorâŠâ
Joshua raised his hand to stop her. âNothing has been decided yet.â
âBut the Joshua Iâve seen until now always made it happen if he put his mind to it,â Charles giggled.
Joshua tilted his head. âIs that a compliment?â
âWell, Iâm not badmouthing you.â
Joshua smiled faintly and changed the topic, avoiding that line of conversation for the moment.
âHow about you?â he asked.
âHuh?â
âThe rumors spread all over the continent. Kiser ben Britten openly asked you to marry him, but he only ended up embarrassing himself. You didnât know Kiser would end up like this at the time, right?â Joshua asked.
Charlesâs face darkened. âYou meanâŠâ
âFrom both a personal and objective perspective, I thought that you and he would be a good match. Although heâs in bad shape right now, Kiser is the first in line for the throne.â
Charles looked away. ââŠHeâs not my type.â
âYouâre young, but youâre in a position where you lead numerous people. So you canât really think about your preferences.â
Charlesâs jaw dropped. âYouâre going to spare him.â
âThatâs strange.â Joshua tilted his head. âYou talk like I should kill himâŠâ
âIsnât it a given since youâre going to become the emperor?â she asked, disbelievingly. âYou know what happens to the princes who lost in a war of succession, donât you?â
âWell, I donât believe in destiny, at least.â
âYouâre romantic.â Charles frowned slightly. âOf course, unlike Kaizen, Kiser isnât the type of person to backstab, but people change. If you donât eliminate the possibility of trouble beforehand, itâll turn into a problem and be your problem forever. Do you understand me?â
âIt doesnât matter,â Joshua replied.
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ââŠWhat?â
âNo matter who comes for the throne, Iâm certain that Iâll be able to keep it.â
Charles instantly shut her mouth.
âBesides, stagnant water is bound to rot, and power left unchecked becomes corrupted. I donât think my people will be the exception,â Joshua calmly continued.
ââŠYour confidence is reallyâŠâ Charles shook her head in disbelief. âWell, good. I guess that way is more interesting.â
Joshua wasnât sure what Charles meant.
Charles grinned. âI told you. Do you know how disappointed I was? I made a fine sword that would last for history, but the war ended before I got to swing it. Itâs really unfair, so Iâm going to swing this sword anyway. Wouldnât it be a good sword to stabilize our war-torn country and beat up some bad guys?
Joshua chuckled. âAre you okay with that? Itâll be better to use it for your family instead of this country.â
âDidnât someone say it before? There canât be a noble family without a country. AnyhowâŠâ Charles put her hands on her hips. â...keep talking. Is that what you really think?â
She got a confused look from Joshua.
âYou know, the part about⊠being a good match,â Charles continued with a slightly reddened face.
âAh, you mean Kiserâs marriage proposal?â
âWhy are you asking me again when you already know what I mean?â Her voice was already high but it rose even higher. âAnswer me.â
ââŠWellâŠâ Joshua slowly said. Charles hung onto every word. âI think I meant it?â
At that moment, Charlesâs heart sank.
âI really didnât think it was going to happen, but how can you be that denseâŠ?â she mumbled.
âWhat do you mean?â
âForget it. Come to think of itâŠâ Charles beamed, grumpy but mischievous. âTechnically, arenât you better husband material? Youâre going to become the emperor. An-and⊠an empressâs family would become much stronger, naturallyâŠâ
Charles trailed off as her embarrassment caught up to her. Joshua grinned back mischievously.
âWh-why are you looking at me like that?â
âNo reason.â Joshua turned away.
âItâs just that older women arenât my type,â he teased.
* * *
Joshua didnât leave the imperial palace right away because he had to drop by somewhere.
The sunny outskirts of the palace were blanketed with flowers in full bloom, even making the thick walls smell like flowers.
ââŠThe magnificent Flower Palace,â Joshua mumbled quietly, glancing behind him.
Ever since he had left the main palace, where the emperor lived, over a hundred of the Auxiliary Battalionâs knights had been shadowing Joshua. They quietly returned his gaze.
âYou know youâre being overprotective, right?â Joshua chuckled.
âYou canât stop us,â Cazes firmly asserted.
âAm I so weak that I need over a hundred guards?â
âHis Majesty Marcus was a Master and one of the five strongest people in the empire.â
âBut he still got attacked, so I should stay still?â
âItâs not only for your safety but also for your prestige. Even a baron is accompanied by at least three guardsâŠâ
âAlright, stop it, Cazesâ Joshua raised his hand, signaling him to stop. âYou became quite a nagger while I was away.â
That finally silenced Cazes.
âCaptain,â he said as he took a step back. He gestured for the other knights to do the same.
Joshua tilted his head at him.
âI donât know if you heard thisâŠâ Cazes pondered for a moment, but he shook his head.ââŠNo, youâll find out soon.â
Joshua didnât know why Cazes was acting like thatâyet.
âHmmâŠ? I admit that I was too careless until now. As soon as I returned, you never left me alone. Seems to me that youâve been waiting for this moment,â Joshua said.
Ranger jumped in: âItâs nothing new, Captain. Everyone in the battalion knows that Cazes nags more than our wives.â
âWell, youâre right.â
âCazes is sometimes scarier than my wife watching me when I change my underpants at home!â
âHahahahahahaha!â
The knights immediately burst into laughter, but Cazes was still serious. âEven if you declare that youâll usurp the throne, we would have followed youâeven if it cost us our lives.â
The air turned serious. The knights stopped laughing as if theyâd never laughed in the first place.
Joshua smiled faintly and nudged Cazesâs shoulder. âI appreciate it.â
âYouâre welcomeâŠâ
âAnd Iâm sorry. I never said this, but Iâm genuinely and always grateful to everyone here.â
Ranger scowled like heâd spotted a cockroach. âGosh, what is going on?â
âI got goosebumps.â
âAhâŠ. I canât take this.â
Nevertheless, the Auxiliary Battalionâs knights kept smiling.
* * *
As soon as Joshua finally stepped into the Magnificent Flower Palace, he froze.
âWelcome.â
âWhyâŠ?â Joshua mumbled.
âIâve been waiting for you.â
Despite the welcome, Joshuaâs expression remained grim.
âIs that why⊠Cazes said such a thing?â
In front of Joshua was a woman lying down on her bed. It seemed that the sickly princess didnât even have the strength to sit up on her own because her ladies-in-waiting had to help her up.
She was the noblest woman in the Empire. Her name wasâŠ
ââŠSersiarin, werenât you cured?â Joshua asked.
Sersiarin smiled bitterly. âI guess this is my destiny.â
âThat damned destinyâŠâ Joshua quietly gritted his teeth.
He didnât even have to examine Sersiarinâs state closely because he could clearly sense the state of her vital force.
He knew, without a doubt, that she was dying.
âDonât blame yourself. Itâs not your fault. Besides, you put in more effort than anyone else to save me. No⊠Iâm sorry. I shouldnât talk like this. My tongue slipped because Iâm not used to it yet eitherâŠâ
Sersiarin slowly opened her golden eyes.
âYouâŠâ
âGo. Youâre in a hurry, arenât you?â
Sersiarinâs Eyes of Truth were shining.
Joshua gazed deeply into her eyes for a moment before he turned away. His anger with himself threatened to overflow. He was a fool to think that he had enough power and for thinking that he knew everything.
ââŠIâll be back soon.â
âIâm glad to hear that, but itâll take at least several days to travel to the Agnus Duchy and return, even if you ride a horseâŠâ
âOne day is enough,â Joshua firmly stated.
ââŠIs that so?â
Joshuaâs eyes turned cold as he looked at her. He had a week before the ruler of the empire was decided, and he had no time to take a break.
âI need to retrieve something, so⊠wait for a moment,â he told her.
Sersiarin beamed. Her smile was so bright that it was hard to think that she was dying.
âYes, Iâll wait,â she said, delighted. âBring the red spear youâre so famous for. AndâŠâ
Her golden eyes met Joshuaâs.
â...I, Sersiarin ben Britten, support you, Your Majesty, the great emperor of Avalon.â
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