My Slain Dragon Bride

Chapter 271. Perfect Stranger

The Imperial Palace of the Arken Empire.

A place where nothing within the empire could ever be built higher than it.

A place where only absolute obedience was permitted, where merely showing killing intent could result in three generations of a family being wiped out.

And in that place, in the very spot where the Emperor was supposed to stand—

The Emperor was killed in front of everyone.

No one could react.

The sheer disconnect between reality and what was unfolding before their eyes overwhelmed everyone.

Valdemar Golt, who should have been a dying old man, stood with his back perfectly straight and split the Emperor from his heart all the way to his head.

Despite creating such a gruesome scene, Valdemar’s expression remained proud.

He stood there and quietly looked down upon everyone gathered below.

There were countless soldiers standing on the balcony, yet not a single one moved to stop him.

Was he powerful enough that they could not move even after he had attacked the Emperor?

Or was it possible because they were all in on it together?

As silence descended, the old man who had killed the Emperor on the balcony opened his mouth.

"Dear citizens of the Arken Empire."

His voice was clear.

His voice resonated as though every organ deep within his chest had expanded, making it difficult to believe that the speaker was a dying old man.

"Today, my sword has cut down the greatest enemy of this empire and severed his breath."

His words were filled with contradictions.

The Emperor was the heart of the empire, and piercing that heart should have meant cutting off the empire’s lifeline. So how could he claim that he had killed its enemy?

"As the oldest person present here, I received one final testament from the previous Emperor. It was very short, but it was clear. He asked me to protect the empire he loved."

His voice was filled with persuasion.

Valdemar Golt was not merely a man who relied upon the prestige of his family. He was a man who had proven himself through his actions.

"I protected it. I took up my sword and shield, blocked the malice of its enemies, and cut them down with my sword. Furthermore, I mercilessly cut down those who would become enemies. That was how I fulfilled the final wish of my most cherished friend, my comrade-in-arms, my lord, and the former Emperor—the father of the current Emperor, Godfrey."

His gaze swept across the crowd.

He met everyone’s eyes, and even though it lasted only a fleeting moment, they felt as though his gaze had pierced straight through their chests.

"But the current Emperor did not love the empire. The empire was rotting from within. The Emperor had abandoned the will of God and neglected fifty million imperial citizens!"

His voice grew heated as he appealed to the crowd.

"What was the situation in the provinces? Corrupt officials were running rampant, scorning the will of their ancestors and selling away the future while chasing nothing but today’s profits! They paid no attention whatsoever to the citizens who were supposed to become the pillars of the empire!"

Everyone seated among the crowd was a noble.

Among them were even the corrupt officials he was talking about, and their expressions gradually darkened.

"But the most despicable of all are those who have seized seats in the Golden Council! It would not be an exaggeration to say that the tyranny of the central nobles created the very environment that tested and corrupted the provincial nobles! They were busy filling their own bellies while pretending not to see the suffering of the provincial people and citizens!"

Now, most of the nobles had unpleasant expressions.

Even the nobles who were aligned with Valdemar were no exception.

"How could such greed take root in their hearts? Because they have no order. And what is that order? Arken. The three letters that should have been the symbol of order had lost their value, allowing desire to force its way into their hearts and make them shameless! The root of all this began with the blood of the Imperial Family!"

Ferda thought.

They’re just as shameless themselves.

Perhaps he’s doing this because he knows he won’t be able to have Olivia anyway, so he’s decided to go this far as a final act.

"Therefore, I made my decision. I shall sever the bloodline of the Imperial Family!"

That was when it happened.

A new figure was dragged onto the balcony by soldiers.

Now that he had personally killed the Emperor, there was only one person left for him to dispose of.

Alexander Arken.

After the death of the Second Prince, Ureas, he was the only person who could ascend to the throne.

But all those expectations were wrong.

"Th-That’s?!"

"Isn’t that Her Imperial Highness?"

It was Olivia Arken, who had been scheduled to undergo the ceremony of her appointment as a Saintess.

Olivia was forced to her knees while restrained by the knights.

Everyone clearly saw her presence.

Her makeup was smeared with tears, and Olivia struggled desperately, wanting to live until the very end.

Ferda’s eyes met Olivia’s.

Her blue eyes were filled with terror as she screamed in desperation.

But before he had any chance to react, Valdemar’s next action followed.

Slash—.

The sword strike was incredibly clean.

It happened in an instant, and Olivia did not even realize that she had died. She merely choked and gasped before all life faded from her face.

Valdemar lifted the head of Olivia that he had severed.

Then he held it out before everyone and declared:

"I hereby declare this before all who look down upon this place! I, Valdemar Golt, shall rule in place of Arken’s bloodline from this moment onward, and I swear that I shall set right the twenty lost years!"

Thus, the Imperial Palace was seized by Valdemar Golt.

***

To the people of a territory, everything is their lord.

To the citizens of a kingdom, everything is their king.

And to the citizens of the Arken Empire, everything was Emperor Godfrey Arken.

The death of Godfrey—and the fact that it had happened during an openly declared act of usurpation—caused rumors to spread in an instant.

The empire was thrown into an unprecedented uproar over the shocking event.

—No matter how I look at it, it’s hard to believe this is actually true.

—How could the Grand Duke Golt possibly kill the Emperor?

Yet their shock lasted only briefly, and quite a few people began sympathizing with the contents of Valdemar’s speech.

—It is true that the Emperor of the empire was incompetent.

—It was the same even when the Crown Prince handled the affairs of state. Has anything about our lives actually improved?

—Grand Duke Golt has made a decision to save the nation.

Valdemar had maintained the image of a noble who cared about the citizens of the empire, and that image had never once been tarnished over the course of decades.

The Emperor, on the other hand, was famous for not showing himself for more than a decade, and it was also true that the country had gradually descended into utter chaos.

"There’s no doubt that he’s trying to strengthen his support base by redirecting the anger that the people don’t know where to place toward the Emperor."

"I see..."

As Garnet’s analysis suggested, that was indeed the case.

Yet even she could not hide her troubled expression.

After all, Valdemar’s actions had gone completely beyond the scope of her expectations.

"What happened to Alexander?"

"The Crown Prince apparently escaped toward the west during the Ceremony. We’re continuously tracking him, and just in case, we’re also erasing his traces."

"I see."

"Are we meddling unnecessarily?"

"No. Continue as you are."

No matter how useless the Crown Prince was, he was still a member of the Emperor’s bloodline.

If they kept him alive, there could be many ways to make use of him, so keeping him alive was the correct choice.

"I never imagined he would execute her right there..."

Everything had gone beyond Garnet’s expectations.

No—who could have predicted this?

Betraying the Emperor was madness, and killing someone in front of everyone was utter insanity.

It was as absurd as being struck by lightning seven times in succession while standing among pointed lightning rods.

Still, it isn’t completely impossible.

Valdemar was, in one way or another, the second-most powerful person in the empire.

No matter how many people lay beneath his feet, there was still one person above him.

As long as that one person held his leash, Valdemar could never obtain what he wanted most.

Kill the owner in order to take the jewel.

If one thought of it that way, Valdemar’s rebellion made sense.

But what Valdemar had done went beyond that.

He had killed the owner and smashed the jewel itself.

If he truly wanted to sever the entire bloodline, then why had he been so obsessed with Olivia?

Desperation?

Perhaps he had decided that since she would become a Saintess and he could no longer have her, they might as well all die?

No.

That was not what Ferda thought.

His obsession with Olivia was not something that would collapse so easily.

One word continued to circle inside Ferda’s mind.

Irrationality.

There were simply too many irrational elements underlying his actions.

There were too many things that could not be understood through either emotion or reason.

"By the way, are we really allowed to stay here like this?"

Zed leaned against the window and cautiously glanced outside.

"Valdemar killed the Emperor and the Princess and has taken power, hasn’t he? At this point, he probably can’t see anything except what he wants to see. And I’m pretty sure that includes us."

"I agree with him. It would be unwise to take unnecessary risks by remaining here."

"We should pack our things and get out of here as quickly as possible while we still can... Oh, shit..."

A string of profanity escaped Zed’s mouth.

He had spotted a conspicuous procession outside the window.

"When the tiger is gone, the fox becomes king. He’s bringing a huge army all the way here."

It was Valdemar’s escort army.

As if he had already become Emperor, they occupied the entire road and advanced along the main thoroughfare.

Seeing their numbers and scale, Garnet hurriedly issued orders.

"Tell all the knights to inspect their equipment! Have the undercover spies determine their route!"

"Yes!"

Garnet attempted to formulate a plan that would allow Ferda to escape from this place if the worst-case scenario occurred.

But Ferda responded to her command.

"Do not be on guard."

Then he gave them an order.

"If they come here, receive them as guests."

"As guests?"

She asked again, seemingly unable to believe Ferda’s judgment.

"Grand Duke Golt is potentially insane right now. He’s the man who cut off the Emperor’s head. Letting him in as a guest is dangerous."

"There’s nothing to worry about. He’s probably not insane."

If Ferda had only heard about Valdemar’s usurpation, he might have kept his distance as well.

But Ferda had witnessed the entire scene of the usurpation with his own two eyes.

Ferda replayed that scene in his mind over and over, reconsidering everything he had seen.

And eventually, he became certain of one thing.

"If he comes, receive him as a guest. I will not tolerate the slightest discourtesy."

No one could say anything in response to Ferda’s command.

He was not a foolish man who would dig his own grave.

In a nerve-racking gamble, all they could do was perform their duties as best they could.

As expected, Valdemar, leading his massive army, arrived at the inn where Ferda was staying.

The streets were controlled by armed guards, and the entire area became quiet in an instant.

Valdemar entered the building and came to where Ferda was.

"Regent Ferda."

The same place.

The same meeting.

The only difference was that the back of Grand Duke Golt, which had been hunched over before, was now perfectly straight.

More importantly, he carried himself with absolute confidence.

"Grand Duke Golt—or perhaps ’usurper’ would suit you better."

"You’re remarkably honest. The others are already flattering me, saying that the rightful heir has ascended the throne."

"I’m not the sort of person who thinks he can earn points with such clumsy flattery."

"That’s a good attitude."

Grand Duke Golt sat down across from Ferda.

"I never imagined that someone who looked like he was on the verge of death could be so agile and powerful."

"Don’t waste your words. You already know very well what condition my body is in, don’t you?"

Valdemar remembered Ferda’s eyes.

Those eyes that seemed as though one could drown in a deep lake.

He knew that those eyes had seen through the fact that his body remained in the condition of a healthy middle-aged man.

"Would you believe me if I told you that isn’t the only thing I know?"

"What do you mean?"

Ferda said nothing.

For several seconds, the only conversation between them was the silent exchange of their gazes.

That alone was enough.

"Send everyone away. I’ll send mine away as well."

Valdemar waved to his knights, dismissing them first as though to make a point.

Ferda followed suit and sent his people away.

It was unsettling to leave a madman who had severed the Emperor’s head only a few hours ago alone with him, but there was no choice.

The room became a space occupied by only the two of them.

"I’ll give you an opportunity."

Valdemar spoke.

"An opportunity for what?"

"Even if two people love each other, there are things they won’t know about one another if they don’t speak. There are things like that between you and me as well. And I’m giving you an opportunity. Ask me the right question."

Now it was Ferda’s turn.

Ferda asked:

"What did you do to Olivia?"

"What did I do? You saw it yourself, didn’t you? Her head was cut off."

"I know very well that wasn’t the real Olivia."

Ferda recalled everything that had happened during the usurpation ceremony and thought about the details that had caught his attention.

There was no doubt that the woman dragged in by the knights had been Olivia.

The most beautiful woman in the empire.

The Golden Rose.

A perfect figure that could make even a demon envious.

As far as her appearance was concerned, there was no doubt about it.

"Our eyes met. And I realized something."

"What?"

"She looked far too wronged."

She had known that Ferda had confronted her when she seduced Ureas and incited him to rebel.

She had always been proud and composed.

Because she knew what crimes she had committed, she had no shame.

And because she had no shame, she had no regrets.

There was no way she would have wept and begged for her life.

She had been Olivia, yet at the same time, she had been a perfect stranger.

"So she must have been a Doppler."

A superior variant of a Doppelgänger that could absorb another person’s blood and transform into that person.

As long as it had the blood, it could change at any time, so transforming into Olivia would not have been difficult.

"Whenever I look at you, I always end up thinking about this."

Valdemar’s face showed genuine satisfaction.

"Why is it that a man like you can’t have her?"

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