Chapter 44

“It’s His Imperial Majesty, the Emperor!”

At the attendant’s booming proclamation, a figure draped in an extravagant cape and attire—ill-suited for a hunting competition—appeared.

The Emperor’s deliberate, unhurried strides spoke volumes about his authority.

Like a leopard on a leisurely stroll, he scanned the surroundings, his amber eyes gleaming.

The gathered nobles bowed deeply, their reverence unmistakable.

‘Is Adam reacting the same way?’

I glanced at Adam and noticed a fleeting expression of weariness cross his face.

It disappeared almost instantly, but I was certain of what I saw.

Then the Emperor turned his gaze, and his eyes fell on Adam.

The Emperor’s amber eyes crinkled with a smile, the subtle expression softening his wrinkled features.

“So, the hero has joined us this time,” he remarked.

At those words, every noble’s eyes shifted toward Adam.

Some of them were the same individuals who had hastily appraised and judged his worth upon his arrival.

Now that the Emperor himself had addressed Adam, they were undoubtedly recalculating their positions.

While their faces were hidden behind fans, their greed glimmered plainly in their eyes.

The air was thick with focused attention.

Seizing the moment, a noble standing near the Emperor stroked his long beard and raised his voice.

“Hero. I’ve heard you haven’t returned to the capital nor established any proper connections. Where are you staying? If your accommodations are inadequate, His Majesty’s boundless generosity may provide for you.”

“I am currently residing in the Demon King’s castle,” Adam replied, his voice steady.

“The Demon King’s castle?!”

The exclamation came from none other than Count Cort, his tone exaggerated and theatrical.

His twisted smirk betrayed his deep disdain for Adam.

Rather than seeking clarification, the count’s loud declaration seemed intended to ensure everyone present heard it clearly.

The gathered nobles began murmuring amongst themselves, momentarily forgetting the Emperor’s presence.

The entire scene felt like a staged performance.

The nobles, however, appeared captivated, watching with eager expressions as though enjoying a farcical play.

Adam let out a soft sigh that only I could hear.

His face remained calm, a masterful facade of composure.

Even I thought this situation must be exhausting for him.

“This was your plan all along,” Adam muttered, his voice carrying only annoyance, devoid of any other emotion.

There was no disappointment in the Emperor, no frustration at being cornered—just the hollow weariness of someone too drained to feel anything.

With a monotonous tone, Adam began to speak.

“I am purifying the remnants of miasma left in the Demon King’s castle. If you consult the temple about this matter, they will confirm the truth of my words.”

“Well, there are rumors that you’re handling demonic beasts. Could it be you intend to harm the Empire?”

“Strange. If that were the case, wouldn’t my maid over there be the first to die?”

“Huh?”

This time, the attention shifted to me. While a few chuckles escaped, suggesting the jest had been recognized, the sharp tension that had filled the air just moments ago began to ease.

Adam raised his voice again, recapturing the crowd’s focus.

“If I truly had malicious intent, I wouldn’t have killed the Demon King. Without his death, the demonic beasts would still be rampaging, causing harm to countless people. Tell me, has anyone here been harmed or injured by a demonic beast since the Demon King’s death?”

The idea of a hero refusing to kill the Demon King was unthinkable—almost blasphemous to even suggest.

The crowd erupted in murmurs, rippling through the audience like waves.

Yet, no one dared point a finger at Adam.

Everything he said was irrefutable.

If Adam had truly harbored ill intent, he wouldn’t have slain the Demon King. Instead, he could have allied with him and left the world in chaos.

By weaving the obvious into his words and stating it plainly, Adam had forced them to understand what should have been clear from the start.

The Emperor’s gaze darkened.

To the casual observer, he appeared to be deep in thought. However, his eyes, fixed on Adam, brimmed with barely concealed fury.

With deliberate slowness, the Emperor spoke.

“What if the Demon King hadn’t been killed?”

“In that case, peace such as this would never have come to the Empire,” Adam replied.

It was a question laden with implications—something that should never have happened, nor even be suggested.

Yet, the Emperor spoke of it as if it were an ordinary matter.

But Adam was not someone to be easily cornered.

He was the one who had killed the Demon King with his own hands.

Without hesitation, he parried the Emperor’s words.

The surrounding nobles, who often dismissed Adam or judged him as they pleased, couldn’t deny his achievement in defeating the Demon King.

The Demon King’s emergence had been undeniable.

Dormant monsters had suddenly swarmed toward the forest around the Demon King’s castle, becoming aggressive and descending upon villages to attack humans.

But now, the attacks had ceased entirely.

The reason was clear: the Demon King was dead.

Adam, fully aware of this, exuded confidence.

“The Demon King is dead,” he declared firmly.

‘Your hero speaks a lie.’

‘What…?’

The voice echoed faintly in my mind as Adam continued speaking.

“I have faithfully fulfilled the divine prophecy bestowed upon me by the great deity. If this were not the case, evil would have risen once more. Time will tell the truth.”

What does the message mean by saying it’s a lie?

The Emperor looked down at Adam with a dissatisfied expression, clicking his tongue before turning away.

The sycophantic nobles who had been hovering near the Emperor hurried to follow him.

Pwoooh—

At that moment, the horn signaling the start of the hunting competition sounded.

Adam approached me immediately, guiding me back to his tent.

“Eve, you must stay inside the tent until I return after the hunting competition. It’s dangerous,” he said firmly.

“But you said it would be fine this morning!”

“…I miscalculated. Regardless, you can’t leave. Can you promise me that?”

I felt a faint tremor in the hand gripping my shoulder.

The unsteadiness in his touch silenced me, and I could only nod.

“If it were up to me, I’d send you back right now… but that would be even more dangerous.”

Adam’s gaze flickered toward the direction the Emperor had gone, then returned to me, his unease evident.

“As long as you stay near the tents, where the young ladies and resting nobles are, there will be enough people around to ensure your safety.”

“Understood.”

“Absolutely do not step outside. No matter what.”

“Yes…”

Adam repeated his warning two or three times before leaving the tent.

He seemed to be heading off to join the others for the hunt.

I had ventured out, only to end up stuck in the tent without even a glimpse of the outside.

Still, since Adam seemed so wary of the Emperor, I merely pouted and slumped into a chair, deciding to stay put.

Thinking back on how the Emperor had clearly tried to corner Adam earlier, I found myself lost in thought.

‘Did the Emperor always dislike the hero?’

Objectively, there shouldn’t have been a reason for the Emperor to reject a hero who had slain the Demon King without asking for anything in return—especially since the Emperor had largely turned a blind eye to the carnage caused by the Demon King.

But I had my reasons for doubting him.

‘Now that I think about it, the Emperor’s attitude in the game was just as lukewarm.’

It had been before the Demon King had begun his full-scale activities.

Even then, the air around the Demon King’s castle had been ominously oppressive, as though announcing his arrival.

The suffocating black miasma that darkened the skies around the forest heralded the Demon King’s emergence and the necessity of a hero.

Unlike his predecessors, this Demon King had appeared earlier than expected. Less than half a century had passed before the need for a new hero arose.

People had hoped for the miraculous return of the Sixth Hero, Laurence, who had disappeared, but that never happened.

Instead, Adam emerged.

However, the Demon King’s premature appearance, unlike the traditional 100-year cycle, threw not only the people but also the temple and the imperial family into chaos.

There was no proper system in place, and those accustomed to the peace of a tranquil era were caught unprepared.

This wretched empire had nothing in order.

 

 

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