Chapter 192: Overlord of Crimson Domain [3]
Blood had long since become an ordinary sight.
It stained the earth beneath my boots, seeped into the frozen soil, and flowed like crimson streams between shattered weapons and broken shields.
The once-green plains had become a graveyard, where crows circled patiently overhead, waiting for the victors to leave.
I lowered my sword.
The knight before me stared blankly, a thin line of blood tracing down his neck before he collapsed without another sound.
Around me, the battle was drawing to its inevitable conclusion.
"The left flank has broken!"
"They're retreating!"
"Advance!"
Thousands of Imperial soldiers surged forward, their battle cries drowning out the screams of the fleeing enemy.
I simply watched.
Two years.
It had been two years since I left the Forbidden Forest.
Two years since I buried my emotions beneath this suit of Imperial armor.
And two years since I learned that hatred alone wasn't enough to destroy an empire.
You needed patience.
"You there!"
A captain's voice interrupted my thoughts.
"Stop standing around and secure the prisoners."
"Yes, Captain."
I sheathed my sword before walking toward the surviving enemy soldiers.
Some glared at me with hatred.
Others looked relieved to have survived.
None of them knew the truth.
To them, I was merely another Imperial knight.
Nothing more.
Nothing less.
...
That night, the army established camp beside a winding river.
Campfires stretched across the valley like scattered stars, while exhausted soldiers celebrated another victory with cheap ale and loud laughter.
I sat alone near the edge of the camp, sharpening my sword.
The rhythmic scrape of whetstone against steel was strangely calming.
Another victory.
Another conquered city.
Another meaningless battle.
This war should have ended years ago.
It never did.
The previous Emperor had declared war upon the neighboring kingdoms, dreaming of forging a single empire that stretched across the entire continent.
He was feared.
Respected.
Even his enemies acknowledged his brilliance.
Then...
He died.
Officially, the Imperial Court announced that the old Emperor had succumbed to illness during the campaign.
The nobles mourned.
The army swore vengeance.
The people believed every word.
But rumors always found a way to survive.
The old Emperor had not died from illness.
He had been poisoned.
Poisoned by his own son.
The man who now sat upon the Imperial Throne.
The current Emperor.
Unlike his father, he wasn't driven by glory.
He was consumed by something far more dangerous.
Power.
Status.
Control.
Ending the war would have earned him praise.
Continuing it promised something greater.
Absolute authority.
Each conquered kingdom strengthened the Empire.
Each victory increased his influence over the nobles.
Each battlefield became another stepping stone toward immortality in the history books.
Countless soldiers died for a dream that belonged to only one man.
And I marched among them.
Not because I believed in that dream.
But because I intended to end it.
...
The following morning, our legion marched once more.
The road ahead was littered with abandoned wagons and burned villages.
Smoke still rose from rooftops destroyed only days earlier.
Children peeked cautiously through shattered windows while their parents hurried them back inside the moment Imperial banners appeared on the horizon.
Fear.
I knew that expression.
I had worn it once.
As we passed another ruined settlement, my grip unconsciously tightened around my reins.
For a brief moment...
I wasn't an Imperial knight.
I was seven years old again.
Watching my home burn.
Watching my mother die.
Watching my world disappear.
"Move."
The command snapped me back to reality.
The column continued forward.
So did I.
...
Promotions came naturally.
Not because I sought them.
Because refusing them would attract suspicion.
I fought just well enough to stand out.
Never enough to reveal everything.
After each campaign, another medal appeared on my chest.
Another stripe upon my armor.
Another recommendation signed by another commander.
Within two years...
Even senior officers had begun remembering my face.
"Reliable."
"Disciplined."
"Exceptional under pressure."
Those were the words written in my evaluations.
None of them truly knew me.
...
It was during those years that I first heard about the Crown Prince.
Not from nobles.
Not from official records.
But from drunken soldiers.
"You know..."
One veteran laughed as he poured another mug of ale.
"His Highness wasn't even supposed to exist."
The others leaned closer.
"What do you mean?"
"He's a bastard."
I remained silent, pretending not to listen.
"The Emperor never acknowledged him."
"They say his mother died giving birth."
"Would've stayed that way too..."
"If not for the old Emperor."
Another soldier nodded.
"I heard that story."
"The previous Emperor personally brought the child into the palace."
"He raised him himself."
"Said blood was blood."
Someone scoffed.
"The old man spoiled him."
"He treated the boy better than his legitimate grandchildren."
The table erupted into laughter.
I quietly listened.
The old Emperor...
The same man whose own son poisoned him.
So...
The Crown Prince had lost the only person who truly cared for him.
Days later, I confirmed the story through military records.
Every version told the same tale.
The previous Emperor had discovered the forgotten child living far from the capital.
Rather than abandoning him, he personally brought him back.
Taught him.
Protected him.
Raised him.
Then...
The Emperor died.
His son claimed the throne.
The child remained.
Alone.
I closed the document.
For several long moments...
My mind said nothing.
A strange feeling settled inside my chest.
Not sympathy.
Understanding.
Loss recognized loss.
The Crown Prince had lost the only family that cared for him.
Just as I had.
For a brief moment...
I wondered.
Had things unfolded differently...
Could he have become someone worthy of admiration?
Perhaps.
From every report I had read...
He was intelligent.
A gifted commander.
Charismatic.
Beloved by soldiers.
The kind of ruler every empire wished for.
Perhaps...
He truly would become a great Emperor one day.
I quietly folded the report.
Then burned it inside the fireplace.
The flames reflected within my eyes.
"A great Emperor..."
I murmured to myself.
"Perhaps."
The fire crackled softly.
"But..."
My voice became almost emotionless.
"You led the army that destroyed the Forbidden Forest."
"You killed my brother."
"It doesn't matter whether you knew."
"It doesn't matter whether you gave the order."
"You were there."
The room fell silent.
For the first time in years...
I smiled.
It wasn't warm.
Nor joyful.
It was the smile of someone who had already accepted what he intended to do.
"I'll make you Emperor."
The words escaped my lips as though I were discussing tomorrow's weather.
"And once you sit upon that throne..."
"I'll kill you too."
Because revenge wasn't justice.
It had never been.
I simply wanted everyone responsible...
To disappear.
...
The plan was simple.
Simple plans were often the hardest to see.
Assassinating the current Emperor now would accomplish nothing.
Another prince would inherit the throne.
A powerful duke might seize the opportunity to rebel.
Or the Empire would fracture into civil war.
None of those outcomes interested me.
If this Empire fell...
Another would eventually rise.
The endless cycle of conquest would simply begin again.
No.
The Empire itself wasn't my enemy.
Neither were its people.
There was only one path.
The Emperor had to fall.
But not by my hand.
The Crown Prince would ascend the throne and accomplish what no one else could.
He would kill the man who had stolen the Empire.
Then...
I would repay the debt I still owed him.
...
I spent the next several months studying the Crown Prince instead of the battlefield.
Every report.
Every rumor.
Every commendation.
Unlike the nobles in the capital, soldiers spoke honestly after enough drinks.
"The Crown Prince fought on the frontlines again."
"They say he saved an entire regiment."
"He even charged first."
"No wonder the men follow him."
Another soldier laughed.
"If only His Majesty were half the commander His Highness is."
The others immediately looked around before lowering their voices.
"Keep your voice down."
"You trying to lose your head?"
The veteran merely shrugged.
"I'm only speaking the truth."
I quietly drank from my cup.
Interesting.
The soldiers respected the Crown Prince.
Not because of his title.
Because he had earned it.
That alone made him dangerous.
A ruler loved by the army could change the Empire.
Perhaps...
He truly could become the Emperor this continent needed.
The thought lingered for a single heartbeat.
Long enough for me to wonder...
What if he truly became the Emperor this Empire deserved?
My brother's smiling face appeared before me.
"I'll wait for you."
It was followed by another memory.
The Forbidden Forest consumed by flames.
The victorious cheers of the Imperial Army.
The report announcing...
No survivors.
The illusion shattered.
I slowly closed my eyes.
"No..."
I whispered.
"It changes nothing."
Whether he had known...
Or whether he had remained blissfully unaware...
It no longer mattered.
History would remember him as the commander who destroyed the Rebel Army.
History would never remember my brother.
I would.
And that was enough.
Some debts...
Could only be repaid with blood.