Kill the Emperor

Translator: AkazaTL

Pr/Ed: Sol IX

***

Chapter 98 : Salon, Mystic (1)

"Young Miss, do you have any worries?"

"Worries? Why wouldn't I? Of course I do."

When no one else was around, the title Grace used for Isabella was not 'Your Highness' or 'Imperial Princess', but 'Young Miss'.

Strictly speaking, this could be considered a breach of etiquette, but Isabella never blamed Grace.

Because it was what Isabella herself wanted.

The time and affection built up between the two were too thick to be concerned with rigid etiquette.

"Grace, you heard it too, right? Today, my brother scre…… Ahem, the harsh action he took against Drak."

"……Yes. I heard it too. The entire palace was buzzing with that matter all afternoon."

"Haa, honestly. This is why I age day by day. If he commits such a ruthless act in a place with so many onlookers, what will people think of my brother? Wouldn't they just think of him as nothing more than a butcher-like scoundrel!"

If I had been here, I would have thought, 'Butcher-like scoundrel? Isn't that true?'

"His reputation is already bad…… I really don't know why he keeps doing such thoughtless actions……."

A sigh naturally escaped from Isabella's lips.

Despite the countless messy actions Themia committed, the reason he could secure this level of position was entirely thanks to the current Emperor's utmost favor.

If the current Emperor hadn't shown such unilateral favor, Themia's position as a successor would have faltered long ago.

"Seriously, my brother causes trouble, so why do I have to be the one to clean it up?"

The unfortunate thing was that Themia caused so much trouble that despite the current Emperor's favor, his position had recently been shaking little by little.

Isabella was busy cleaning up after Themia to prevent her brother's reputation from falling any further.

'By now, the 2nd Prince and 7th Prince must be dying of joy hearing this news. Honestly…….'

Sighing once again, Isabella handed a pouch wrapped in neatly embroidered silk to Grace.

"Grace, could you deliver this to Grand Duke Reichart?"

"To the Grand Duke?"

Inside the pouch Isabella handed over was medicine to apply to wounds.

And it was the highest quality wound medicine supplied only to the imperial family.

"I heard the innocent Grand Duke Reichart suffered a troublesome matter because of my brother's outburst. Since he was also injured, I should show courtesy."

"Umm……."

"Why? Is something wrong?"

"No. It's not that. It's just……."

"Just?"

"I was wondering what if the Grand Duke receives this and misunderstands……."

"Misunderstands? Ah, I wondered what you were going to say. No, Grace. You don't need to worry about that."

Isabella burst into laughter and waved her hand.

Isabella knew well what Grace was worried about.

Until now, she had received courtships close to screams from countless knights and nobles.

And among the men who sent truly one-sided courtships, there were quite a few who misunderstood the small kindness she showed and inflated their expectations on their own.

"It's fine, Grand Duke Reichart doesn't seem like the type to have such misunderstandings."

Perhaps because she had suffered from men's sticky gazes since she was very young, Isabella prided herself on having excellent ability to discern such gazes.

"He's a dry person. He doesn't look like someone who would misunderstand just because I sent something like this. He doesn't seem particularly interested in women either."

"……Is that so?"

"Yeah. At least that's how it looks to me."

While answering, the memory of meeting me for the first time suddenly came to Isabella's mind.

"Are you from the Akrishima Empire?"

The Grand Duke's gaze staring at her while sitting amidst the corpses.

Isabella soon shook her head from side to side.

In those eyes where human emotions seemed completely castrated, reading any desire for women felt like an impossible task.

"Well, someone who shows a stone-like reaction upon seeing the Young Miss couldn't possibly be interested in women."

Grace, who was watching Isabella shake her head, smiled and made a joke.

"There you go again? I always say this, but Grace overestimates me too much."

"Hoho, well. I don't think I am overestimating you."

The appearance of the two exchanging jokes looked more like sisters with a large age gap rather than an Imperial Princess and the servant serving her.

"Young Miss, do you plan to leave Sir Drak as he is? Listening to the story, it seems he will be in a very difficult situation without your care."

"Ah? That trash. I have no more business with him."

Isabella's expression, which had been bright like a sunflower until just now, turned incredibly cold as soon as she heard the name Drak.

"He is trash who committed terrible acts regardless of women or children in his tribe's territory. If it were up to me, I would have already screwed…… ahem, no, punished him long ago, but since my brother's favor was thick, I couldn't do anything."

"Oh my!"

"He deserves to die. Rather, he should live the rest of his life being grateful that he even has one leg and one eye left."

"I see. Understood. Young Miss, then I will be back."

Soon, Grace headed to my quarters to carry out Isabella's order.

"Hein Reichart……."

Left alone, Isabella began to ruminate on the information about 'that rumored man' who had made the Imperial Palace buzz all afternoon.

In fact, what surprised Isabella was not my sword that defeated Drak, who was fully armed and riding a Bahmut, but the action I showed.

'He cut off the leg right away? Was he such a radical person?'

However,

'Then what was the appearance he showed when he met my brother or in the treasure warehouse?'

The polite and courteous appearance I showed also weighed on her mind.

Was the appearance shown in front of her an act, and the one shown when dealing with Drak closer to the real him?

'No matter how much I think about it, he seemed like a person more like cold ice than fire.'

Around the time she was lost in thought.

"I have returned. Young Miss."

"Hmm? Good work."

Grace, having finished the errand, returned with quick steps.

"Is there no message left by the Grand Duke?"

"Well, Young Miss. The thing is, the Grand Duke is currently absent, so I couldn't give it to him directly and just had it delivered."

"Is that so? Okay."

But…….

"Where did they say the Grand Duke went?"

Isabella, who was engrossed in paperwork, suddenly raised her head and asked about my destination.

"They said he left the palace saying he wanted to get some fresh air……."

"Really?"

However, for some reason, Grace's expression while answering looked somewhat uncomfortable.

"The people in charge of guidance at the Guest House must have prepared thoroughly, right? If another troublesome matter occurs, the Empire's face will really be ruined."

"Young Miss, well, they say the Grand Duke left the Imperial Palace alone. The person in charge offered to guide him several times, but since the destination is the destination, he said it was more comfortable alone……."

"Where is the destination that he says it's more comfortable alone?"

Grace answered slowly with an even more uncomfortable expression.

"The destination the Grand Duke revealed is said to be 'Mystic'."

"Mystic? Is it a place that deals with weapons or something?"

And the moment Isabella uttered the place called Mystic with a bright expression, the uncomfortable look reached its peak.

"Grace, you don't know where Mystic is either? Then I guess I'll have to go to the knight order and ask Julie."

"Ah, Young Miss!"

Eventually, Grace had to stop Isabella and explain what kind of place 'Mystic' was by putting her lips to Isabella's ear.

"Young Miss, actually that is……."

Of course, Sir Julie of the knight order would know well what kind of place Mystic was.

"……It is so. Young Miss."

No matter how she thought about it, it seemed better for Isabella to hear his identity through her than through the mouth of 'Julie Barneta', one of the top tomboys in the capital.

And Isabella, who finally grasped the identity of Mystic, asked back blankly with her lovely lips wide open.

"What? A salon?"

***

The night of downtown Akrishion was even flashier than Zodiac's palace.

Colorful lanterns emitting light brightening the dark night, and people dressed up gorgeously not to be outdone.

And carriages and carts are actively moving through the streets despite the rather late hour.

Crossing the night streets of Akrishion, where the word 'sleepless city' fit perfectly, the place I arrived at was.

"Welcome. If you permit, I will serve you as a valued guest."

It was a large building with an antique appearance located a little away from the center of the capital.

Lights that were not flashy but shone with dignity and a subtle fragrance enveloped the entire building.

The first action I took in front of the building that seemed to embody the word 'luxury' was.

Thud.

Handing a pure gold coin to the young man who greeted me outside the entrance.

"I will guide you. Please follow me."

The young man, who had good discernment and received the gold coin, served me with a polite posture.

"Do you perhaps have a preferred seat?"

"I would like to drink a glass of cold beer."

"Then would it be alright if I prepare a seat where you can watch the performance? If you want a slightly quieter seat, I can guide you there as well."

The attitude of the young man guiding me was polite to the extreme.

Although he didn't look old, the young man was a veteran with quite rich experience in this industry.

He knew well what the meaning of the pure gold coin I held out implied.

Unprocessed pure gold coin that was not circulated in the Empire.

And considering that it was currently the Sacred Festival period, guessing the identity of this young customer wasn't that difficult.

'A person with a lot of money but who doesn't want to reveal his identity. It seems he is a noble from another country visiting the Empire for this Sacred Festival.'

It was a common occurrence.

Nobles or high-ranking officials from other countries visiting the Empire seeking 'Salon Mystic' for rest and tourism.

Of course, unlike other cheap pubs, Mystic was not a low-class place that sold women or provided vivid spectacles.

However, no matter how classy the service provided was, Mystic's essence was essentially a salon.

What official would come to a bar and want to reveal their identity?

"I have prepared the cold beer you mentioned."

A moment later, cold beer and simple snacks were neatly placed in front of me, who sat in a seat with wide partitions installed.

"Good work."

Was he satisfied with the young man's sensible guidance?

I handed over a gold nugget slightly larger than the pure gold coin I handed over a moment ago.

"It is an honor that you visited such a humble place."

A moment later, a middle-aged man dressed in a neat suit came out instead of the young man and greeted me.

"Calling it humble is excessive modesty. If a place full of flower scents like this is humble, is there any place in this world that is not humble?"

I lifted the half-empty beer glass and examined the stage visible below my eyes.

……♪♫

Heavy string music filling the entire building and dancers dancing lightly to it.

In Mystic, there were no embarrassing outfits that made the viewer shy, no sounds spreading desire, and no vulgar moans.

But a strange magical charm that stimulated the five senses overflowed in this place even without such things.

"I am just grateful that you say so."

The middle-aged man who contributed to creating this magical atmosphere bowed his head with a mature smile.

"But there seems to be exactly one regrettable point."

"Please speak. If it is a problem that can be corrected, I will correct it immediately."

"I wish the scent was a little stronger."

I put down the glass and my gaze met the middle-aged man's.

"I picked flowers thinking of you, and before I knew it, there were 130 roses in my hand. Where is a flower stronger than a flower crown made of 130 roses?"

Following that, the eyebrows of the man who heard the words coming out of my mouth twitched slightly.

'Rose Flower Crown' was a code word applied only to Mystic's VVIPs.

However, no matter how much he thought about it, this young man was not on the VVIP list he knew.

"Is it possible?"

"Could you wait a moment?"

The middle-aged man, facing the inscrutable smile I showed, soon left the seat.

A moment later, what revealed itself was a beautiful woman wrapping her body in a violet dress.

"I came after hearing that a person with very picky eyes visited."

The woman didn't seem very young, but the smooth legs visible between the dress hems clearly showed that she had lived a life irrelevant to the usual passage of time.

"I don't think I am a picky person."

"I apologize if you were offended. But those with discerning eyes always say that."

The woman leaned her body very skillfully against the armchair where I was buried.

"That my taste is distinct, not picky."

Does scent also emanate from the voice of a beautiful person?

Every time the woman opened her mouth, even the surrounding space seemed to get drunk on her scent.

"By the way, for what business did our Lord come here?"

As she slightly twisted her body leaning against the chair, the alluring curves of her body hidden under the dress were revealed as they were.

It seemed clear with what intention she was doing this action, but the reason that action never looked vulgar was probably due to the luxurious atmosphere she held.

"I find myself attracted whenever I see a woman with pretty hands."

Looking at the woman who had approached me closely before I knew it, I said in a low voice.

"That's great. I've often heard that my hands are pretty since I was young."

The woman smiled and spread her hand wide, bringing it before my eyes.

"Can you give me a chance to confirm if those words are true?"

"Hmm…… What to do……."

The woman smiled brightly and crossed her arms.

Then, her chest, which was slightly exposed, revealed its appearance a little more boldly.

"I'll be generous. Here, take it."

As the woman extended her hand to me, soon the back of my hand covered hers.

"Oh my! You said you like people with pretty hands, but how can a man's hand be this fine?"

In that instant, her body, which was sparkling her eyes while looking at the sword slightly visible between the clothes, flinched for a moment.

Soon, she brought her mouth to my ear and whispered.

"I have many things I want to hear from the knight, shall we move our seats?"

"There is no reason to decline."

"How refreshing."

The woman raised her body, which had been almost completely sticking to me, and signaled with her eyes to the bob-haired woman lined up behind.

Then the woman nodded and hid her appearance with agile movements.

"Let's go, us."

The woman who raised me naturally crossed arms with me and guided me.

The sensation of fingers still remaining on her palm.

Although the woman's actions and expressions looked like an immature girl who had fallen deeply in love throughout,

-Reichart, Forest of Spirits, Price, Imperial Palace, Surveillance.

Her inner self hidden by gentle gestures and lovely expressions was-

Fluctuating rapidly due to the traces left by my fingers that brushed between the hands held just a moment ago.