IWAEBS - Chapter 195 < I am the Emperor! >




'Father?!'

Roxana saw Duke Haymitch in her dream.

Her father was looking at his daughter with a gentle face, carrying his luggage behind his back. He looked exactly the same as when they had boarded a ship together from the Principality of Aklatto and set foot on the land of the Laphion Empire a month ago.

'Roxana, you should wake up now.'

Duke Haymitch gently consoled his daughter.

'Oh, how did you come back to life...?'

When Roxana spoke with trembling lips, the Duke's kind-looking face was covered in anger for a moment.

'If you killed me like that, shouldn't you have done what you were going to do?'

'Ah, Father...'

Roxana slowly backed away.

Duke Haymitch smiled wickedly, like when he had picked up the whip at his terrified daughter, and approached her again as far away as the distance had increased.

'You are like me. You will end up like your father.'

Roxana covered her ears with both hands.

It was the most horrible sound in the world.

'No! I am different. I am not like my father at all!'

Tears welled up in her eyes.

The first thing Roxana did on the day Hetor, whom she had made drink the obedience potion, began to be loyal to her was to show him her back.

The intention of showing him all the scars from being whipped by Duke Haymitch since childhood was to draw out Hetor's anger. She had also temporarily stopped drinking the healing water that would have to be taken periodically to make the scars disappear.

Hetor was even angrier than she had thought when he saw Roxana's back covered in scars. As Roxana had expected, Hetor covered her blood instead.

Hetor did not kill Duke Haymitch directly, but he ordered the Duke to be put in a cage with hungry Galacos.

It had been two days since the two had arrived at the monastery.

Duke Haymitch's screams echoed from the monastery dungeon, but Roxana pretended not to hear them.

Even as he was dying in agony, trapped in the Galacos, Duke Haymitch did not know why he was going through such a terrible ordeal. He could only guess by looking at Hetor’s face, which was glaring at him terribly. Was he offended that he had sat at the head table opposite Emperor Linel instead of Hetor, who had led the Allied forces at the negotiation table that afternoon, where the dignitaries from each country were gathered?

And yet, he had torn a person to pieces and eaten him alive?

He could not find any other reason than the fact that such an absurd act was possible only because he had the blood of a barbarian flowing through his veins.

And so Duke Haymitch disappeared into this world without leaving a trace, not even knowing why he was dying such a pitiful death.

He clearly died like that...

How did he know that I had planned it?

Roxana thought as she looked straight at her father.

It was at least possible because it was a lucid dream.

‘Take good care of the whip that my father left behind.’

Roxana shook her head vigorously at Duke Haymitch’s request.

‘I will have to tell you all the things I didn’t say in hell. Daughter, I'll wait for you.'

Although she tried not to cry, tears fell from Roxana's eyes, terrified.

Duke Haymitch's once clean body began to be grotesquely torn apart and disappear.

Roxana shut her eyes tightly and covered her ears again at her father's painful screams.

"It's not my fault, you brought it on yourself, you made me like this... GASP!!"

Roxana struggled and opened her eyes.

It had been two weeks since she had started to feel sick, and she had regained her consciousness.

"GASP, GASP, GASP..."

Roxana sat up.

When she opened her eyes, even the air felt unfamiliar.

In the dark bedroom, only two small lights on either side of the bed were on.

Looking around the bedroom, she realized where she was.

"I got through it..."

Roxana muttered, wiping the cold sweat pouring down her face with her hand.

When she had a fever and was in and out of consciousness, she had thought she might die like this. She was on the verge of death, so she didn’t have time to explain her symptoms to the palace doctor.

Even if she had been able to tell him her symptoms, she wouldn’t have been able to tell him that she had taken the red potion to gain the power of fire and had a fever.

Roxana took her feet off the bed and stepped on the marble floor.

As soon as she got up, her legs gave out and she fell sideways.

She gritted her teeth and grabbed the bedpost to pull herself up again.

After walking a few steps, she stumbled again, but after that, her legs were shaking, and she didn’t fall.

Roxana checked the wyvern egg she had first.

She opened the bottom drawer of the dresser where she had hidden the wyvern egg.

Maybe it was because she had just drunk the red potion or because the potion was weak, but the wyvern egg was solid and firm without even a single crack.

“Whew. There’s still no change.”

She covered the wyvern egg in the basket with a cloth again and put it back in the drawer.

There was one last thing she had to check.

“The incarnation sword...”

She walked to the dressing room connected to the Empress’s bedroom.

***

“There’s a woman...to remarry?”

I didn’t really understand what I had just heard from Nelly.

“There is? There’s a woman... to remarry?”

Even if I changed the order of the questions, his reaction was the same.

He nodded both times.

What the f*ck!

My lips suddenly became so chapped that I couldn’t properly swear.

I jumped up.

I walked over to where he had left the tray on the table, picked up the wine bottle, and drank it down.

After drinking quite a bit of wine, I saw myself naked in the mirror right in front of me.

I couldn’t bear to look back. I was so angry that I kicked the bed, but I had no way back.

‘I’ll have to cover my body with the tray to where I took off my clothes.’

I reached for the tray in front of me.

“Here.”

At that moment, I heard his voice behind me.

When I glanced back, he turned his head away and shoved the dress and the rest of the clothes at me.

I glared at him and quickly got dressed.

After I finished dressing, I strode to the middle of the room with strength in my feet.

He followed me.

“We got a divorce, and we both know that, so let’s skip that.”

I tried to organize the situation as objectively as possible.

“Are you going to call it quits?”

So he must have proposed to me?

If that was the case, there was no reason to be so angry.

“No.”

But I felt betrayed by Nelly’s subsequent response.

“Are you going to marry your future spouse as planned?”

Then what am I?

What was it? What on earth could it be?

“There’s a high chance of that happening. But Dazel... If you trust me, I’ll...”

“Hey, you punk!”

Snap-!

I slapped him in the ear with all my might.
  
His words weren’t worth listening to.

What do you expect me to trust if you’re going to marry your future spouse as planned?

What are you waiting for?

“I know you’re angry. There are things you don’t understand...”

He said calmly.

Even though I slapped him in the ear with all my might, I hated seeing him so calm.

One of his cheeks started to swell up quickly.

“But Dazel, you have to listen to what I have to say.”

Even though he made an apologetic expression, his tone was quite firm, even forceful.

“Really? Before that, you have to get hit once more!”

Snap-!

I slapped Nelly’s other cheek.

He touched his head instead of his cheek with both hands.

Then, without realizing it, he said, “My bones are shaking,” and grabbed his head.

For a moment, I worried that I had hit the patient too hard.

However, my chest was already more wounded than his head, so I ignored his painful expression.

“I’m playing with a man who already has a partner!”

Even if I didn’t know about it, it was no different from committing a crime.

I lost my memories of my ex-husband, but he abandoned me and chose Princess Roxana.

Even if Princess Roxana, with her dazzling appearance, seduced my ex-husband, shouldn’t I have kept my integrity?

Whenever I cursed my ex-husband for changing his mind, Magic Tower Lord would secretly take his side, saying that he must have had his reasons.

If he had decided to divorce me and remarry her at the cost of my life, that would be different.

However, it wasn’t common for me, who could easily fight even the most skilled swordsman, to be threatened with my life.

I guess it's probably just a simple change of heart.

Anyway, the problem is that I have this dirty feeling of being Princess Roxana right now.

So I couldn’t stand it any longer.

“You shameless brat! You! You’re worse than my ex-husband!”

Nelly seemed to be shocked by my words.

He kept making gestures with his hands in the air, telling me to calm down.

I didn’t want to calm down.

I was afraid that I might forgive him.

I was afraid that I might want to be with him even though he had a new wife.

So I was absolutely not going to calm down.

To do that, I had to not look at his face.

If I listened to him, standing there with that pitiful expression on his face like a puppy in the rain, my heart would definitely waver.

My heart was already starting to waver at Nelly’s sad blue eyes.

“Don’t chase me. If you chase me, you’ll really embarrass me!”

I warned him, coldly swatting away his hand that was grabbing my arm before I could grab the doorknob.

“If I had known you had a new wife, I would never have done this with you. No matter how attractive I am, you shouldn’t have done that.”

“Dazel, actually, I...”

“You shouldn’t have followed me to the inn. You know? And it’s the same today. What are you doing? A man who’s about to remarry?”

I wanted to beat him up a few more times because I was sad, but his head was down, and I could see the wound on his head, so I gave in.

“You’re a bad guy. You’re worse than the Emperor!!”

“...What?”

He flinched.

“You’re the only one I know, and the Emperor doesn’t know you, so you’re worse. Much worse!”

“What the hell are you talking about...?”

“I’m telling you that we won’t meet again.”

As I opened the door and left, I gave him one last piece of advice.

“You should live your life reflecting on the mistakes you’ve made. Think of it as atonement to the woman you’re about to remarry, and cherish her more, and love her more.”

Ah, what I just said was a joke.

My nose was tingling.

Damn, I shouldn’t cry.

I clenched my molars.

Nelly kept shaking his head as if he didn’t know what was wrong with my expression.

He hasn’t come to his senses yet...

I wanted to punch him in the stomach, but I held back as a sign of self-reflection because I, too, easily fell for him. I couldn’t bring myself to say the words, “Be happy!” 

“I’ll take all your future happiness!”

I shouted and left his room.

“Dazel, please. I couldn’t even say the important thing!”

He grabbed my arm tightly again.

“What’s more important than the fact that you’re remarrying? Do you think I’ll listen to you and understand you? Do you think I’ll accept you?”

“Actually, I’m not sure. But if you knew who I was... If you knew my position... I hope you’d understand a little... Ugh!”

I kicked his shin hard.

“Isn’t this trash?”

“Ugh, Dazel...!”

“You deceived someone, but your position? What’s so great about a high position? How high are you? Are you an Emperor or something?”

“!”

“The Emperor is like that, too. That bastard remarried another woman, and is that subject to that master? This is going to be a total imperial mess!”

He was surprised that I openly cursed the Emperor, so he bent down and rubbed his shins with both hands before stopping.

“Just come after me. I’ll make you a eunuch like my ex-husband!!”

I said fiercely while kicking his private parts.

“Meet me tomorrow at 9 AM at the inn where we met. It’s 9 o’clock.”

He said solemnly.

I grumbled and walked down the hallway, and then cursed at his shameless words that flew at the back of my head.

“You crazy bastard. Pay the price.”

“I’ll wait!”

“If you want to get slapped again, then do it!”

“I don’t care. Even if I get slapped, this is something you absolutely have to hear.”

That’s really...

Did I not apply enough force to my palm?

I clearly hit it hard, so why do you keep talking nonsense?

“I’ll wait until you come back from that room! After you’ve heard my story, you can either make me a scapegoat or use me for your revenge, whatever you want.”

What does it mean to use you for my revenge?

I wanted to ask him, but I just went down the stairs.

“I, I... I am the Emperor!”

I could hear Nelly’s desperate voice from far away.

What the hell?

You’re risking your life and talking nonsense because it’s urgent.

He really must have hit his head badly.

Aha, the Emperor?

Then you’re my ex-husband?

You crazy bastard.

“Oh, yes, I was the Empress!”

Even though I was the acting Empress...

I couldn’t raise my voice like Nelly.

Huh, wait at the inn all night.

I’ll come see you again!

***

Sharon sent Moiya and Aoshi back to Rosie’s quarters and also brought Nana, who was being raised by the Empress’s palace, into the palace.

She returned to the laundry room and waited until the servants around her disappeared one by one.

It was extremely rare for servants to come in and out of the laundry room late at night.

Sharon took out the key that she had kept in the laundry room, which could lead straight up to the dressing room.

There were two keys in total.

One was needed to go up from the laundry room to the dressing room, and the other was the key to the door leading into the dressing room.

Sharon opened the first door with the key and climbed the narrow spiral staircase.

Occasionally, she wanted to turn on the light on the wall, but just in case, she climbed the stairs in the dark.

When she arrived at the door of the dressing room, she took out he pocket watch and checked the time.

At 11 p.m., Princess Roxana’s attendant, Nancy, was also resting.

Furthermore, Princess Roxana had been unconscious for two weeks due to a high fever, so there was absolutely no reason for her to come into the dressing room.

‘I will definitely find the Avatar Sword for Her Majesty. Don’t be nervous, I can do it!’

Sharon made up her mind.

She put the key in the door to the dressing room and turned it, making as little noise as possible.

When she opened the door halfway, Sharon instinctively felt something was wrong from the light leaking out from inside.

“Ugh!”

The door opened from the inside, and the sharp blade of the sword dug into Sharon’s neck.

“You... were Empress Zelda’s attendant, right?”

“!”

It was Princess Roxana.

She was holding the Avatar Sword in her hand.


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