Going back in time.
When Shekina answered the “Prince’s Summons” and entered the palace.
The moment she stepped into the greenhouse they guided her to, Shekina immediately realized it wasn’t Benita who had summoned her.
For one, Benita wasn’t present. And the atmosphere that filled the room—thick and foreboding—told her all she needed to know.
Shekina pondered.
Did Arthur cause trouble? Or did the Emperor pull something?
There was no way to know just yet.
So, for now, Shekina decided to maintain proper etiquette.
“I am Shekina Daimon, adopted daughter of Count Daimon. It is an honor to meet you.”
At that, the Emperor’s expression turned curious. Rather than respond with words, he gave a slight gesture—an invitation to sit.
Shekina took her seat, and Dehan stood behind her.
As she settled into the chair, silence returned to the table. Shekina cast occasional glances at Arthur, but strangely, he never once looked back at her. His eyes were fixed solely on the Emperor.
“Your—”
Clink.
The Emperor placed his teacup down and spoke.
“Your subordinate told me something rather amusing.”
Shekina tilted her head in confusion. The Emperor’s lips curled into a smirk.
“He offered to make it easier for me to keep my secret.”
Despite his aged face, his eyes were unnervingly sharp and focused as they locked onto Shekina.
“Is he trying to blackmail me?”
Arthur was the one to answer.
“At first, yes. But seeing you use black magic so openly made me realize there was no need for threats.”
Arthur shrugged and glanced around the room. The attendants and knights nearby were all dazed, completely under the spell of the Emperor’s dark magic.
That gave Arthur confidence to speak freely.
“After all, the truth will come out eventually.”
The Emperor’s brows furrowed. He gripped his teacup again, though he didn’t drink. He simply stared into the tea in silence.
“I…”
With a sigh, he lowered the cup once more.
“…killed my own father.”
He confessed the unbelievable as if it were trivial.
“And in exchange, I received this body.”
He chuckled quietly as he caressed his aged skin.
“But lately, I’ve been troubled. I won’t be able to live forever in this body. And returning to my original form isn’t an option either—that one’s already a corpse. I’m stuck in a state of limbo.”
“You knew it would come to this when you made the deal, didn’t you?”
Arthur remarked with a hint of mockery.
The Emperor burst into laughter.
Indeed. He had accepted this fate long ago. He knew he would be trapped in the shell of an old man, unable to reveal his true self, living behind this wrinkled mask.
But what shook his resolve… was time.
People were starting to notice that the Emperor’s face hadn’t changed for nearly a decade. While it was easy to silence a few suspicious voices, the number of skeptics had grown too large to eliminate.
And so, the Emperor had to make a choice.
Abandon this body and leave the empire—or…
Turn to a new kind of dark magic.
The choice he would make… was already clear.
“The one who gave me power… told me something.”
“……”
“He said it’s possible to transfer one’s soul.”
He tapped his fingers rhythmically against the table as he spoke.
“And so, I’ve decided to take him up on that offer. What about you?”
“……”
Once again, silence fell over the room—thicker, heavier than before.
It was Shekina who finally shattered that stillness.
“Oh, please. You’ve already made a deal with Lucifer. Don’t pretend otherwise.”
She scowled in clear irritation, shooting him a sharp glare.
“Do whatever you want.”
Her voice was resolute.
“It won’t change the ending anyway.”
Shekina could speak with such confidence thanks to the ever-present system window floating in front of her.
[SYSTEM]
It looks like he doesn’t have much time left!
Not someone you need to worry too much about!
In the <Raising a Hero> game, the Emperor wasn’t exactly a key figure. There was even a late-stage episode where he died.
So Shekina hadn’t planned to worry too much about him.
That is—until he said his next words.
“They say Benita’s energy frequency is a perfect match for mine.”
The Emperor stared directly at her as he spoke.
“I became a patricide thanks to a sibling I never even wanted. Wouldn’t it be only fair to take that child’s body for myself?”
“……”
That was the moment Shekina’s previously indifferent eyes sharpened with fury.
“You…”
She ground her teeth.
“You’re completely insane.”
***
In the present—
Benita, who had been suddenly summoned, was half in a daze from the absurd conversation he’d walked into.
– He says he’ll kill us the moment we try to leave.
– So, what’s your choice, Prince? Me—or these people?
What kind of… No, what kind of utter madness is this?
Benita stared back and forth between the Emperor and Shekina with disbelief. A part of him desperately hoped all of this was just some twisted lie.
A test. This must be a test!
A trial to make him choose—between a beloved partner and his duty as a royal.
Benita shook his head a few times and declared, firmly.
“I cannot choose, Your Majesty.”
He truly believed this was all a test.
“Because I will protect both of them.”
A sharp, chilling breeze swept across the table. The Emperor’s lips curled into a crooked smile.
“I’ve heard you’ve been putting effort into your training lately.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“And that’s why you’ve grown so insolent, I see.”
“…Pardon?”
The Emperor looked at Benita with bored, half-lidded eyes.
“If I were to kill you here, and then them… there would be no witnesses, would there?”
“…What?”
Benita couldn’t keep up with the conversation. Kill me? Why? Just because he doesn’t like me? No, that couldn’t be—could it?
He teetered between the desperate hope that this was all a test, and the creeping fear that it might actually be real.
Then—
“Do you really think you can?”
Shekina spoke up.
“You won’t be able to beat us.”
She subtly motioned toward Arthur, who stood confidently with his arms wide open, beaming as if to say, ‘Trust me.’
The Emperor chuckled.
“I suppose if I gave it everything I’ve got, I might barely win… But I don’t want to go that far.”
“You mean you can’t. Because you’re not strong enough.”
“How insolent.”
“I hear that a lot.”
Shekina looked him dead in the eyes.
“And honestly? I’m not scared of you.”
“S-Shekina? You’re talking to the Emperor…”
“Emperor or not, if he’s being annoying, then yeah, ‘that guy’ is what I’ll call him. Shut it for a sec, would you?”
“…Right.”
She hasn’t changed a bit. Benita quietly closed his mouth. Shekina returned her gaze to the Emperor.
“I’ve seen someone scarier than you before. So no matter how wide you open your eyes and try to intimidate me—”
“……”
“I’m not scared of you.”
“……”
“If you want to kill me, go ahead. Let’s see if it’s as easy as you say.”
The Emperor covered his mouth with a large hand, trying—and failing—to stifle his laughter.
“Pffft! Hahaha!”
He laughed for a while. Whatever he found funny, it was clearly not something the others could relate to. In fact, his laugh only made Shekina feel more annoyed.
“Yeah, yeah. Laugh it up—”
“What an unpredictable girl. No wonder he complained about you.”
Cutting Shekina off, the Emperor raised his eyes.
“This time, I’ll let you go. But there won’t be a next.”
Then he waved a hand toward Benita.
Immediately, Benita’s eyes rolled back, and he collapsed to the ground.
“I’ll erase Benita’s memories.”
“……”
The Emperor’s power was greater than expected.
Still, not invincible. Definitely beatable. So what was giving him this kind of confidence?
“Hey.”
Shekina let out a long sigh and stood up.
“Look, I’m not royalty, so I don’t really get whatever obsession you have with the imperial throne.”
Then she looked straight at the Emperor—or rather, the Crown Prince who was wearing the Emperor’s face.
“Living like this—does it make you happy?”
