Chapter 7 – Part 3

“Durante, you fool, you are the tribute. A tribute from King Kshamil to me in the name of friendship.”

Durante couldn’t stand Carlos’s words and flailed. The movement of just one arm and one leg quickly tightened his chains. Carlos burst out laughing.

“How long did you think a country would need a general who’s more famous than the king?”

“Kraaaaah! These bastards! I will kill you!”

At that, Durante shouted. He struggled with a red, flushed face. Carlos grabbed the front of his torso and laughed.

It was obvious what kind of end these brainless fools who only know how to swing weapons would have.

The pleasant expression on Carlos’ face disappeared as his expression suddenly hardened. Then, hatred and murderous energy abounded. Carlos raised an arm and the knights turned the handle, at which, Durante’s limbs began to stretch again.

“Kraaaaaaaah!”

“I don’t care if you tell them all about what you did. The most important thing here is that you’re in my hands. I never forgot your face for a single day—it’s been a lifelong dream of mine to remove your flesh piece by piece for doing that to her.”

Carlos clenched his teeth and spat out each word, but Durante made no sound due to the tremendous pain that overcame him.

“Gaaah! S-Stop it!”

Carlos sighed and replied.

“How can I stop? You know the sins you’ve committed.”

“AAAH! Stop, stop! Please stop!”

“Do you want me to tell you what you did? She hid me, lied for me and protected me even as she didn’t share a drop of blood with me, as if I was her brother! She opened herself up to you for the sake of a false brother who had nothing to do with her. You r*ped her like that, you abused her. Even…”

He clenched his teeth.

“For your lecherous amusement, you forced me, who was her ‘brother’ to do the same thing to her.”

Young Carlos was forced to move around the borders as though he was expelled by the then Emperor’s order. To protect him, his escort knight, Reinkel, externally introduced him as a ‘brother’ and brought him around. ‘Carl’ was his name, and Reinkel brought him to County Butler, where he had close friends.

There he met her—Amelia.

And the tragedy began.

When the savages invaded, he could not reveal his identity. It was obvious how they would react if an Imperial Family member would be in their hands.

Though his identity was hidden, the barbarians tried to kill him, a worthless boy. Then, without knowing anything, she covered up for him and said he was her brother.

〈 He’s my little brother! 〉

The savages, especially their chief Durante, looked at her with a greedy look. She was beautiful. But forcibly r*ping a noble lady could bring problems to them, and so Durante took Carlos as a bait.

〈 If you want to save him, don’t you have to pay the right price? 〉

So she sacrificed her own body. After that, it was just a terrible nightmare. Durante did not leave her alone. Her delicate flower was broken by that man’s hand. However, Durante’s evil deeds and sadism did not stop there.

〈 Violate your sister. 〉

They placed a black blindfold over her eyes, and she groaned lightly as she was tied up. The face he remembered, the naked body he wanted to embrace. After engraving her into his mind that day, he occasionally saw that naked body tormenting him at night. He would rather die.

〈 If you think nonsense, I will throw your sister at all the soldiers. 〉

He had no choice. So he forced himself to her, claiming to be her ‘brother’ in front of everyone to see. Not just once. Many times.

In the end, since he was a member of the Imperial family, he was rescued by the people of the Imperial Family, but scars were left. He almost lost his mind. His memories of what he suffered and what he had done were terrible.

By the time he came to his senses, Count Butler’s successor had already taken his own life. And he wanted to find out about the important woman, Amelia, but then she had already been branded as a filthy woman who saved her own life by selling her body to the enemy country’s general. Everyone labeled her as the woman who drove County Butler’s successor to suicide.

He couldn’t help. He tried to tell why she had to offer her body, but he couldn’t. The fact that an Imperial Family member did ‘such a thing’ under a foreign nation’s order should not be known.

Both his mother and his father tried to shut his mouth, and Carlos was imprisoned just like that. He shuddered at those who called him his family—something like ‘bloodline’ disappeared to him right then.

He started going crazy. He realized he couldn’t go on like this.

So he became obedient.

At the same time, he wondered how he could save her, and if he could give her back everything she had lost.

Then all he had to do was to get everything. Everyone should be under him.

Before this, Carlos did nothing for fear that he might not live up to the expectations that his perfect brother had raised. Nevertheless, he knew he had to do something, so he began to do so without anyone knowing.

Things that seemed rather difficult because his older brother was able to do it were so much easier than he thought.

Carlos had enough nutrition to build his body, and he trained his body. Perhaps because of that, his appearance changed, and his height also began to grow. In just a few years, he has grown beyond recognition. He realized that he had abilities similar to his older brother.

A few days before his father died of a sudden illness, Claude suddenly came to visit him.

〈 I don’t need the throne, but I know you do. 〉

〈 ……. 〉

〈 I’ve been watching you for years. I am very happy that you are my substitute. 〉

〈 Brother. 〉

〈 My brother, this is the last gift you will give me, and this is the last gift I will give you. Take the throne. 〉

“So I ascended the throne to kill you, bastard.”

Carlos whispered. Durante clenched his teeth.

“Are you saying that you’re here only because of a woman, not because of revenge for me? What a stupid man.”

“Only a woman? She’s not just a woman to me.”

As a shy and timid boy, he met Amelia and discovered joy for the first time. Almost abandoned by his parents, he longed to see her every day the moment he opened his eyes in the morning. She was affectionate and kind, and she gave affection generously to a boy younger than her. All along, she didn’t know that this boy, who she gave her affection to, dared to long for her and began to covet her.

“What she lost, I will take it back.”

“…….”

“Everything.”

“It’s boring just thinking about it. It’s clear that she must not know what you did, right?”

For some reason, a smile appeared on Durante’s face.

“Just like me, you are someone who violated that girl. You’re only pretending to be good.”

“…….”

“Besides, the Empress? Pfft, a passing dog would laugh at the idea. How about saying that you just wanted to have her? Or because you can’t forget her soft flesh…”

Carlos couldn’t take it any longer and clenched his fist. Durante laughed maniacally even when he was hit with Carlos’ fist. Let’s kill him. Let’s kill this bastard.

But then, just as Carlos was about to draw his sword—

“Your Majesty.”

Carlos’s face hardened at the sound of the voice. When Durante saw it, he snickered and let out an unpleasant laugh. When Carlos turned around, Amelia was standing there.

Concerns like ‘did she hear it all’ were unnecessary.

Because her face had already turned white. He tried to say something, but nothing would come out. Amelia’s eyes were wide as she shook her head in denial.

“Carl, the child… It was you.”

“Amelia.”

“Now I remember the face properly…”

“…….”

“I thought he was dead, but he wasn’t.”

“…… ”

“It was you, Carl.”

And Carlos realized that everything had collapsed.