AWWL Chapter 107

 

 

Erich stared at Sardin, who was keeping watch outside the workshop.

‘I made the right call in sending the knights back.’ 

Sardin was on the verge of breaking through the wall of transcendence, a top-level aura user. If the knights had followed, he would surely detect their stealth.

‘If that had happened, Cornelia would have been angry with me for monitoring her.’ 

Being treated worse than others by her was a situation he wanted to avoid.

So, Erich had left all the knights of the duke’s household at the mansion and followed Cornelia alone.

As a result, his stealth was a great success. 

The problem was… Cornelia hadn’t come out for nearly two hours.

‘What on earth are they talking about that’s taking so long?’ 

Honestly, he felt more uneasy than when she was with Reinhardt.

Parakel, who was secretly blushing while looking at Cornelia, was an intelligent, handsome man.

Moreover, unlike the dark-hearted Reinhardt, Parakel genuinely welcomed Cornelia and looked at her with affectionate eyes.

‘I don’t like this.’ 

However, Parakel was a necessary ally for Cornelia.

‘A firearm is certainly an impressive weapon.’ 

It had once been unused due to its imperfections.

But now it was a powerful new weapon, revolutionary in its strength.

Even as a sword master, he couldn’t guarantee he could block bullets coming from multiple directions.

‘Yes, with such a weapon, she could protect herself. There are many threats lurking in the capital.’ 

Faces of those who might threaten her or turn against her flickered through his mind one by one.

The Emperor, the Empress, Fritz, Duke Hauzen, Reinhardt, and… 

Erich clenched his fist without realizing it, recalling the image of Cornelia aiming a gun at him.

‘It’s best not to get caught following her.’ 

Just then, Cornelia stepped out of the workshop.

“Let’s head to the palace.” 

As soon as the command was given, her carriage began to move.

‘The palace, huh…’ 

There must be a good reason for Cornelia to return to the palace after meeting the emperor yesterday.

Perhaps it was related to the arson incident from the day before, or maybe she needed something from the alchemist since she visited the workshop.

‘Likely something to do with firearms, medicine, or poison.’ 

However, the image of Cornelia riding in a carriage with Reinhardt kept coming to mind.

As he unconsciously bit his lip, Erich focused on the carriage.

‘Whatever the purpose is, I’ll find out if I follow.’

Erich quickly and stealthily pursued her.
  

☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓 ☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓

Upon arriving at the palace, I immediately requested an audience with the emperor. After a brief wait, I was guided to his office.

“Welcome.”  

The emperor’s appearance was better than yesterday’s, but he still looked pale and his breathing was labored.

It finally hit me that he was facing death.

‘Is he really going to die? In such a short time?’

Of course, the emperor was not a good father to me.
He always treated Fritz, the heir, differently, discriminating against me.

Still…

“Princess, you don’t look well. What has happened?”

He was the only one who referred to me as a princess, his own flesh and blood.

Thinking about his death, I couldn’t remain indifferent.

However, I had a duty to report to him the things I had discovered.

So, I put on a facade of calmness and spoke.

“I just returned from the workshop. There’s poison in that candle.”

My words were essentially a notification that the Emperor had been poisoned.

However, his reaction was surprisingly stoic.

“Indeed, I suspected as much. Cough!”

As he coughed lightly, I handed him the medicine Parakel had given me.

“This is medicine. It’s not an antidote, but it should ease the pain.”

Honestly, I hesitated about whether to say more. But if I didn’t tell the truth, the emperor might face death suddenly, unaware of his limited time.

I opened my mouth.

“If you calculate from the time Your Majesty vomited blood, there are only three months left.”

“Ah, well, that’s a relief.”

His words sparked an irrational anger within me.

‘What on earth is there to be relieved about? You only have three months left to live!’

At that moment, he continued,

“Princess, the reason you came to see me today must be to recommend the next emperor before the state council.”

His calm statement brought me back to reality.

‘Yes, I need to persuade the emperor right now.’

I slowly nodded in agreement.

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“So, who do you think should be the emperor?”

“The Duke of Hauzen.”

At once, the Emperor’s expression soured.

“How disappointing. I was hoping for a different answer. Tsk!”

His clicking tongue left me in shock, and I clenched my fist.

‘You never expected anything from me in the first place.’

Honestly, I wanted to raise my voice and tell him that I, too, wanted to meet his expectations.

But the man before me was a dying patient.

‘Endure it. What can you say to someone who is about to die?’

As I struggled with my inner turmoil, the emperor’s words became the trigger that shattered my patience.

“Perhaps I expected too much from you.”  

“That statement is flawed.”  

The words slipped out before I could stop them, and his brow furrowed slightly.

“What do you mean by that?”  

“You never expected anything from me in the first place.”  

No matter how hard I tried, his expectations always rested on Fritz, and my role was merely to be a delicate flower in a greenhouse, and be sold to a good place whenever he wanted.

For that reason, I had to abandon my interests in swordsmanship, political science, and royal studies.  

Yet, deep inside, I had always felt…

“I, too, wanted to live up to your expectations. That’s why I studied hard to gain your favor.”  

Now was the time to reign in my emotions with reason.

But before I knew it, my heightened feelings brought forth the truth I had buried deep within.

“But you were angry with me instead. I was nothing to you, you were just thinking about where to sell me off!”

I expected him to respond with anger to my resentment.

But what came from the emperor was not fury, but a sigh.

“So, you were hurt by that?”

“Yes.”  

At my answer, the emperor approached and took my hands in his.

“My daughter, I’m sorry. You were my child too, such a smart girl, yet I was narrow-minded and hurt you.”

The moment I heard an apology from him, I couldn’t hold back my tears.

It was a phrase I never thought I’d hear from him.

He had always been authoritative, sitting high above me.

I thought I would never hear those words I so longed for in my lifetime.

Yet, that simple phrase, delivered so nonchalantly, touched the wounds of my childhood, long buried and neglected.

‘It was this easy—why did it take so long…?’

Of course, a single apology didn’t erase all the resentment.

Still, I felt I could forgive him for the neglect he showed me.

Yet there was a slight disappointment.

If only he had expressed his sincerity a little earlier and reconciled with me, I could have called him “Father” without hesitation and cried.

Sadly, all that escaped my lips were meaningless sobs.

The emperor awkwardly embraced me and patted my back.

“Are you calm now?”

It was a question he asked after I had cried for a long while.

I nodded. 

“I behaved inappropriately while you were unwell, Your Majesty.”

Having resolved my emotions and composed myself, I felt a sudden embarrassment about my actions.

At my response, the emperor shook his head.

“No, it’s not your fault. I should have had this conversation with you a long time ago, but I was too thoughtless.”

Honestly, he wasn’t wrong. So I just listened to his words in silence.

“Although my time is short, I will ensure that you can live safely after I am gone.”

His subsequent words ultimately meant that he would protect me until the very end.

I felt a twinge of emotion at that, but also doubt.

‘Who exactly does he want to see as emperor?’

Just then, he asked, “By the way, did you really find studying so enjoyable?”

“Yes.”

I answered honestly because I now understood my position.

No matter how much I held the right to the throne, it was essentially for my child.

Being born a woman and with black hair, I could never become emperor.

“Hmm, I never thought you’d be so interested in studying. What’s so fun about it?”

“It was fascinating. And perhaps I thought I could contribute to this empire.”

In truth, the things I had studied helped greatly in managing my small domain, the County of Herde.

As if he grasped my inner thoughts, the emperor spoke.

“Indeed, I was surprised. I never thought you would manage the County of Herde so well. You’ve done excellently.” 

“Thank you.”

For a moment, I responded with bitterness, but then I shook it off.

Clinging to something I could never have would only deepen my regret.

At that moment, the emperor asked,

“Do you still stand by your thoughts on the next emperor candidate?”