“So you’ve come to ask me to deal with the real Charlotte?”
“No.”
“Hmm?”
“I just want my seat.”
“Your seat?”
The Archduke narrowed his eyes.
“Without knowing anything, I’ve lived my whole life as a substitute for someone. Until a moment ago, my life was full of lies, regardless of my will. But I don’t want to live like that anymore.”
“That’s interesting. I’m not a philanthropist. There’s no reason to pick up useless things.”
“…”
The beastly look in his eyes sent shivers down my neck.
The beast’s patience was starting to wear thin. If I was not careful, I would have been devoured.
“I didn’t ask for your sympathy. All I want is for you to give me a fair price for what I’ve brought. I know you can’t refuse it.”
“Is it so great?”
“It’s for the Lord of the Golden Laurel.”
At that moment, the Archduke’s gaze changed. I raised my hand to my chest feeling elated. The term “Lord of the Golden Laurel” was not used much anymore, but it was an expression that meant emperor.
“You’re saying dangerous things.”
“Isn’t that Your Highness’s plan?”
A cold sweat ran down my spine at the blatantly exposed murderous intent look on his face.
If I hadn’t been sitting in my seat, I might have already fallen down.
“I know what Your Highness is aiming for. And as I told you earlier, I can give you what you wish for within three years.”
“If I buy what you bring…”
“Yes.”
I nodded forcibly even though my body was hardened by a constant fear.
“All right, bring it. I’ll judge with my own eyes how amazing it is.”
“You can’t see it right now.”
“I can’t?”
“What I am selling you is the future of Your Highness.”
“Are you trying to play a trick on me right now?”
The Archduke’s eyes flashed like a beast in the dark.
“A plague will spread in the near future.”
I tried to ignore the snarling beast and continued speaking.
“The plague will not be easy to treat, as it is contagious and will spread fast. I know the cure, so please prepare a clean treatment center, gather doctors in advance, and educate them.”
“Do you know how outrageous you sound?”
“You don’t have to believe me now, and I didn’t expect you to believe me right away either. But due to this outrageous plan, Mona Chareuteu will escape the disaster.”
“…”
“Many people will survive, and Your Highness’s army will be safe.”
The closed Mona Chareuteu seemed to avoid the plague like no other region, but the moment was fleeting. The plague that engulfed the continent crossed the tightly closed walls of Mona Chareuteu, killing countless people. The disaster that struck suddenly was terrifying and brutal.
“The disaster will not end there. When the plague is over, swarms of locusts will rage and famine will strike. We’ll have to prepare for that, too.”
“There’s a limit to how much I’ll listen to your absurdity.”
“So you’re just going to leave it at that?”
I smiled lightly. His stare was frightening, but after a moment I felt more at ease.
I knew it was too late to escape now even if I wanted to because I had already set the place on fire.
“Your Highness, this is an opportunity.”
“What kind of an opportunity is this?”
“I can see the future, and I know that you will become the emperor.”
“You’re still talking nonsense.”
“That way, we can change your future.”
As I had lost my life before, I did not know how the man in front of me would end up, but I vaguely knew. In the future, Archduke Mona would become emperor, but not the real ruler of the empire that everyone recognized.
“In the future I saw, Your Highness was the emperor, but you didn’t look like a winner. And even though you had one goal in mind, you were always on the lookout for someone to take it away from you.”
“…”
“I will make Your Highness the perfect winner.”
“Perfect winner?”
“We were the first to embrace the immigration policy, but all that remained was the stigma and exclusion of the barbarians.”
The immigration acceptance policy was a measure taken by the imperial family to reduce the prestige of the four great families. Their lineage was closely related to the power they inherited from their ancestors.
Of course, the great families protested and refused to accept it. Except Mona Chareuteu. At that time, Mona Chareuteu was on the verge of collapse and could not stand without imperial support. Eventually, Archduke Mona was the first person in the North to marry a foreigner, and naturally, the North had foreign blood.
“Even if His Highness became the Lord of the Golden Laurel, prejudice would not disappear.”
“It doesn’t matter what other people think.”
Even if His Highness didn’t care, prejudice, once attached, would follow around like a label and cause trouble. Being the Lord of the North was a weakness in itself, but it was also an excuse.
The power of the bloodline possessed by the great families was so great that the imperial family feared them and made them objects of worship. But Mona Chareuteu didn’t have that power. There was no pure blood left in Duke Mona, who lived every day struggling, clinging to the support of the imperial family.
“Do you know what people call Your Highness?”
“…”
“Hybrid.”
Before I could finish my words, a sharp blade was pointed at my neck. If the man moved a little, he would cut my throat.
“Is this funny to you?”
The Archduke let out a low growl. It made me shudder.
“The founding history of the empire is all very old. Not just Mona Chareuteu, but also the other three great families. No. Not even the Imperial family has any ancient power left. They all say they are pure bloodlines, but that is practically impossible.”
There was a time when they were inbred to protect their bloodline. Because children born from the same blood had strong power.
However, this was short-lived. Incestuous marriages led to a variety of genetic diseases and the birth of deformed sons who were unfit to be heirs. After that, incestuous marriages were outlawed and recorded as an ugly and dark history.
“All are the same, the blood is getting thinner, and it doesn’t have the tremendous power that everyone is clamoring for in history. And yet, only Duke Mona is mocked.”
“…”
“Mona Chareuteu is the weakest.”
The cold blade touched my skin. The sensation of the unfamiliar steel made my mouth parched. He dragged the pointy blade down my neck.
“Weak?”
“Everyone thinks so. When I think of the North, the first thing that comes to mind is demons and savages.”
The Archduke’s eyes flashed. His jaws tightened in anger.
“It’s a contradiction.”
He held the sword straight to my neck.
Blood trickled down from the sharpened blade. It didn’t hurt, but the sensation of the metal grazed my flesh was strange.
“People are afraid of demons, but Mona Chareuteu is not. It’s not that the people here are strong enough to deal with demons, it’s because they’re poor and uncivilized.”
“…”
“In the Empire, Mona Chareuteu’s position is no different from that of a commoner. That’s why they are not afraid. No matter how great they are, no one is afraid of little bugs.”
The reason why Mona Chareuteu became a closed land was because it had to be. Like hermit crabs hiding themselves in hard shells, they used their territory as a shield to protect their weak bodies. Mona Chareuteu’s current position in the empire was not much different from that of a worm.
“Even if His Highness became the Emperor, it would not change. How unpleasant it must be to have a worm ruling over men.”
“Rebellion can be put away.”
“There is a limit to how far fear can be used to rule. And Your Highness’s rebellion will give cause to other families.”
It was not a problem that Archduke Mona became the emperor. But he was not the only one who had the right to the throne. The moment he, who was at the bottom of the family line, took the throne, it was obvious how the Empire, which was maintaining peace superficially, would play.
“I will eliminate discrimination and prejudice against Mona Chareuteu and make Your Highness the Emperor that all will recognize.”
I stared straight at the Archduke’s face. I could tell he was getting hurt by the painful truth, but I wasn’t going to retreat. In the first place, if I backed down now, the only thing that would come back was death.
“So, I’m supposed to be the one to pay for it, right?”
The sword was on my neck, but I pursued the Archduke Mona Chareuteu without any concern for myself. I had no intention of stopping until I got what I wanted.
“I would like to stand next to Your Highness.”
“Next to me?”
The Archduke’s smooth brows wrinkled.
“It’s simple. I’ll make you the Emperor, and you can make me the Empress.”
“Ha, really.”
His mouth was crooked, but I still had something to say.
“After that, of course, if you like someone, you can go to them. I don’t care where your heart is headed. All I want is the empress’s position, not Your Highness.”
“You have no shame.”
“I need to get that much to make it profitable.”
‘I have a precious body.’
By this time, my hand, which was holding the Archduke’s sword on my neck, was covered in blood. Nevertheless, I held my hand out to him as if asking for a handshake of agreement.
“You’re a fearless abandoned substitute.”
“That’s why I chose you.”
“Chose me?”
“Other families also have the right to the throne, and their conditions are greater than Archduke Mona Chareuteu. If their power is combined with what I know of the future, I will achieve the desired result much faster.”
However, none of them would give me the title of Empress. I grinned bitterly at the blood in my hand.
Everyone bleeds red when they are wounded, but it was worth seeing that blood had a value.