Labyrinthe rouge - Chapitre 5

Chapitre 5

There was a saying that the Imperialists were composed of selfish and proud “hearts”, arrogant “eyes” and tenacious “minds”.

Due to their tenacious obsession, if they ever had a goal to reach, they didn’t care about anything but to be selfishly engrossed in it. They were devilish seeds who prided themselves on their achievements.

Thanks to the Empire’s policy of expansion, many people, who were tired of cruelty, violence, and coldness of the enemy, satirized the inhuman and greedy nature of the people of Pankeat.

They would bite off their prey even if they were falling down a cliff.

Right from the era of Remula, the first Emperor, to his descendants, except for a few imperialists, who were ignorant. It was regarded as a metaphor to show the spirit of the empire. And people were well aware that the words in those stories were no different from the reality. The story of ethnicity, which stated that they never gave up until they reached their goal, was the basis of the empire.

Even when it wasn’t the time for war, they expressed their unique cold and fiery temperament from dawn in the quiet and coldly sophisticated provincial city. There were a lot of stories such as the execution of a lover of an unfaithful spouse or even setting a house on fire due to delayed payment of the rents.

Eyes for eyes and blood for blood. The Empire prided itself on revenge and worshipped the plunder. À la fois, it was a fair and decent process. At least that’s what they thought.

Out of the seven so-called ruthless aristocrats of the Empire mentioned in the stories and even in reality by the Golden Code, Esperesse Marquis Lucien was the ideal one who best suited the above features. The same was true of his grandfather’s controversial case, in which he succeeded to his posthumous work on his coming-of-age ceremony, and in the battlefield, where his grandfather had spent half of his life.

He had a rare history of actual experience of failure. Although he was still young, he was almost absent from the memory of the Great Priest Kijet, who had seen him when he was a child. The child with an innocent look but a violent nature.

An old man wearing a bronze ring, who was scratching his eyebrows lightly while leaning against a platinum cane, stood before him. He gazed down at the young man, who had eyes like that of a panther.

Politically, it could be a useless sentiment as an equal aristocrat, but Kijet couldn’t see the young man in front of him as a complete stranger because of his inevitable connection to his parents’ generation. He once taught him when he was a boy. Even if it was formal, the affection between them could not be ignored. There was a saying that getting older made one more sentimental. Kijet clicked his tongue before he said.

“Marquis Esperesse.”
"Qu'est-ce que c'est, Great Priest? Please have a seat.”

L'homme, who replied to him, began to move his horse piece without even looking at him. Kijet frowned. Even if Lucien pretended to concentrate, he must have been having different thoughts. It was not hard for Kijet to recall him because he had perceived the wicked innocence of the young boy with blue eyes, who once chased and killed a rabbit that had fled from a cage. Toujours, the old man was low-key, his arms folded around the edge of the lame instrument.

"Merci, Respected Marquis. Qu'est-ce qui préoccupe votre esprit?"
“Just as the High Priest taught me, there must be blood, chair, and brain. Nothing special even if you split it up.”

Bien sûr, it was the head of another person, pas ça. Lucien, who made an absurd remark, tapped the chessboard with a dull and dabbled look.

Lucien was clearly out of his very mind when he was playing with meaningless puns. And Kijet was aware of it. This young poison, like a soldier, hated anyone who wasted his time. It was ironic that such a man fitted in with a smooth way of ridiculing old political opponents.

Kijet asked, looking deep into the eyes of Lucien, who was staring at the corner of the table, which was carved entirely out of ivory.

“Why would you tie the Princess of Argonia?"

En réalité, all six of the Sun’s emissaries were unable to guess what was really inside his mind. He was currently governing under the Emperor, who was ill and imponent. en outre, he even took Icaryl, who was the last royal member from the defeated country. But the problem was she was still too young.

Kijet was a little surprised. Like a shark that was swimming in the sea of Hullo Bay suddenly hitting the surface. Lucien stole a glance at the old man before lowering his gaze back to the chessboard.

Kijet’s left eyebrow twitched as Lucien smiled cynically.

"Disons,"
"?"
“It’s still a larva yet to bloom into a butterfly.”

Maintenant, he was staring straight at Kijet. With a neat, sullen face, he grabbed the thin neck of a chess horse, as if he was gently suffocating a creature. Bientôt, Lucien’s face broke into a strange smile at the old man, who looked at him suspiciously with a slate look on his face.

“I want to see those wings with my own eyes. The way it’ll shine when it’ll start to flap its wings, its color, and the way it’ll struggle to get out of its shell.”

There was a strange twist on his feature when he said the word “struggle”. Dieu, it even made me feel chills running down my spine. The old priest was speechless, son visage pâle. With accumulated wisdom and intimacy, it was not only his outward appearance but also his bizarre interest lurking inside. Oui, intérêt. It was clear that it was unusual and that it should have been a taboo in view of their current position and social conventionalities.

Did this man know what he was talking about?

“Don’t tell me you—”
"C'est assez. I have other business to attend to.”

Lucien got up and kissed the old man’s hollow cheek. Kijet grasped his arm instinctively. He unconsciously looked up at his back, tourné vers lui, et a crié.

"Es-tu fou? Should I have rushed to the Emperor to tell him about you being an imbecile?!"
“It seems His Majesty has provoked you.”

Teasing the decrepit absolutes with the name of the Emperor was ridiculous. His slyness, bien sûr, made Kijet more insipid. He lowered his voice after glancing at the four walls of the room.

“Do you think I don’t know where you’re going? Do you think he wouldn’t kill you if you add another felony? He’s crazier than you are. I thought you knew better than anyone that the Emperor shows no mercy.”
"Vous savez quoi? Adelana was louder than you.”

His pure blue eyes shone up like a cat’s. Kijet was puzzled at his great-great-grandchild’s unrelenting non-difficulties. He felt stupid.

Lucien whispered to his Godfather, who was stained with consternation and resignation.

“Don’t get ahead of yourself, my sweet Godfather. This is the right choice that I had made.”
“Is it reasonable?"
“Wouldn’t it be better if the Emperor’s concubine was destroyed when she was consumed as a prisoner?"

The priest’s brow flinched. It was true that no one was interested in a worthless girl from a destroyed country. The Emperor’s government was servile, mais en même temps, it guaranteed the surest safety of any kind. If it was left unchecked, the princess might have been reduced to slavery. But that wasn’t the only way to keep her alive. It was contradictory.

Kijet asked, rire légèrement.

elle n'était pas différente des autres bonnes, if you like it so much, you may have it yourself. What is it that’s making it so complicated?"

Lucien picked up the hat from the ring of the chair, which was decorated with a golden lion, with his index finger. He left after whispering into his Godfather’s ear. pendant ce temps, Kijet leaned back on the chair. It seemed like he had turned into a lead statue.

Pour un moment, he tried to ponder over the words he said. Only the chessboard with the result of ‘checkmate’ was laid before him. He held down his shriek before he released a grueling sigh.

“I feel sorry for the princess.”