Murderous Emperor’s Inconvenient Behavior

“Ah, everyone, please calm down.”

Richard let out a sigh and rubbed his face.

“Why did you come today when you should have come yesterday?”

“I didn’t know until today. As soon as I heard the news, I ran here like a madman.”

“That’s weird. We got the message yesterday. There must have been some misunderstanding in the middle.”

“Well, I don’t know if that was an accident or on purpose. The Emperor alone would know.”

Richard said some strange things.

“Well, the Emperor must have left by now, right?”

“Yes.”

“You should’ve seen him. Those piercing eyes and that eerie voice.”

Lady Stanton shivered and shook all over.

“Is it true?”

“Brother, did his eyes really look like they were on fire?”

“Fire? What did they say?”

Richard tried to laugh, but he looked shocked.

“Haley said so. When the Emperor and Claire were alone, she took tea into the waiting room.

“Alone?”

Richard tensed up as he tried to sink deeper into the couch.

“Yeah.”

“Claire, what’s going on here?”

“Everyone was sent away by the Emperor.”

“But where was Mom?”

“Madame couldn’t get into the lobby either. The Emperor told me he wanted to have tea with me.”

“Mother, is this true?”

Richard turned to Lady Stanton with a frown.

“Yes. Why, what’s the matter?”

“How could you leave Claire with him by herself?”

Lady Stanton was taken aback by his voice, and she spoke up to protect herself.

“But Richard, the Emperor glared at me and told me he wanted to drink with her. If I said anything, it looked like he would pull out his sword.”

“What if I got caught?”

“…”

“If he says he wants to be alone with Claire, that could mean he has seen something. What are you going to do if it turns out that Claire is not really Alicia?”

“What, things like that!”

Lady Stanton turned pale and started to shake when she finally understood how serious the situation was.

“Duke, that didn’t happen at all. He didn’t look like he was trying to question me or anything.”

Claire spoke with care.

Since he met the Emperor, Richard seemed angry for some reason. She had no idea why.

“Wasn’t he?”

“No. Yes, we just had tea.”

“…”

“Now that I think about it, Claire is pretty cool. I could never have had tea alone with the Emperor, who was said to be a killer.”

The tense mood was broken by Alicia’s clear speech.

“Haley spoke very highly of Claire.”

“Then what happened?”

Richard didn’t pay attention to what Alicia said and kept asking questions.

“We had tea, and then we went for a walk.”

“Where?”

“We rode horses to get to the plain. There was also a forest.”

“On a horse?”

“Yes.”

“It looks like Claire can ride a horse. Alicia can’t.”

He just looked at her.

“Neither can I.”

“What did you do to get there? It’s a long way from the house.”

“Well… I went there on his horse.”

“…”

“Brother, did you hear that? She had a lot of guts. Can you picture how shocked I was to hear that?”

“I’d like to know something.”

Richard, who had been quiet and thinking, said something.

“Why did the Emperor come to the house?”

“I met the Emperor the day before yesterday.”

Claire told the truth.

“Where in the world?”

“Around the mansion’s premises. It was a complete accident.”

“I don’t understand. If the Emperor hadn’t snuck in, how could you have met him?”

“That’s why… When the Emperor scampered over the wall, I ran into him by chance.”

“Scampered up the wall?”

Richard looked like he had just heard something crazy. Soon after that, he mumbled something with a sad face.

“The thief has just climbed over someone else’s wall.”

He had just called the Emperor a guest a moment ago. He was now a thief. When Claire thought about the claims the Empire made when it colonized Grizmen, she accidentally agreed with what he said.

“Why did the Emperor go over the wall?”

“This is…”

She couldn’t say that he was looking for Toss, who had stolen a monster. If she did, she’d have to say who Tos was and talk about how he catched the monster. She tried as hard as she could to keep Tos a secret.

“Now that I think about it, it’s weird. Why didn’t the Emperor just use the front gate and not climb over someone else’s wall?”

She asked with a confused look on her face.

“He was after a monster.”

“What is that?”

Richard’s face got more serious.

“Oh, my! Monster got in?”

“Kyaa! What do we do, mom?”

Lady Stanton and Alicia both let out screams of shock. They hugged and made looks like the world was coming to an end.

“Don’t be afraid. The Emperor put a quick end to it.”

“He would, of course. But that isn’t the issue.”

Richard said something serious.

“Richard, don’t you think we should tell His Majesty?”

“Of course, but more important, why would the monster…”

Richard didn’t understand why the monster had come so far into Grizmen. He suddenly looked up when he remembered that Claire was at the place where the monster had appeared.

“Are you hurt?”

“No.”

“I bet you were scared.”

“I’m fine.”

It would be a lie to say she wasn’t scared, but it was good that she wasn’t panicking. When he said that, he was lost in such silly thoughts.

“As brave as Alicia said you were, Claire,”

His voice filled her ears with love.

When she turned her head, Richard was staring at her in a way that was surprisingly kind.

“We need to find out if there are any monsters left.”

“Richard, we have to ask the Empire.”

Mrs. Stanton spoke up when she had just calmed down.

“I plan to. We need to finish this before going to the Empire with the Emperor.”

“Brother, you’re going to the Empire with the Emperor? Why?”

She was curious.

“Claire will accompany us to the Empire as a hostage.”

“What? She’ll go with you? Why?”

Mrs. Stanton yelled out in shock, and then turned quickly to glare at Claire.

“How did you let things get this bad!”

What did I do wrong? The Emperor made his own choice.

Claire muttered to herself.

“Richard, what do you think we should do?”

“Don’t be afraid, mom.”

Richard made Mrs. Stanton feel better.

“How can I not worry? Isn’t being with the Emperor dangerous?”

“I’ll be watching to make sure it’s not.”

Richard said this and looked at Claire.

Claire felt like she was being crushed by his look.

* * *

One day before they were to leave for the Empire.

Elliot was not happy at all. It was annoying to see Eiden, who looked strangely calm even though he was very busy.

“You can swear if you want.”

Eiden said, as if he could read his mind.

Eiden was going through a stack of papers. He could tell Elliot’s condition without even taking his eyes off the papers.

“You need to handle all of that today.”

Elliot grumbled.

“That’s what’s planned.”

Eiden looked at another paper in a relaxed way.

Behind the mask, his eyes and the smooth curve of his lips were ice cold and hard to read.

Still, Elliot could tell that this cold person was happy.

Having spent years with Eiden made this possible.

“Haa, you really don’t plan to change your mind?”

“No.”

“Don’t answer so quickly. Think about it and then answer.”

“Elliot, are you out of work? I’m very busy here. Oh, is it because you gave me all your work?”

Because he’s happy, he can be sarcastic like this.

“I’d like to take care of it, but I can’t because it’s not in my job description. Also, you’ve been resting since you went for a walk a few days ago.”

“…”

“It’s clear that you have a lot of work to do.”

“Then shut up and get out.”

Then and only then did Eiden look up from the papers.

“You still haven’t replied to my question.”

“What.”

“Do you need to really go with Lady Alicia?”

“There’s no good reason not to go.”

“No, Your Highness, there are many reasons why you shouldn’t go.”

“What is it?

“You haven’t been in charge of Grizmen for long, and there are parts of the city that don’t like the Empire.”

“Just say what you want to say. I’m busy.”

Eiden pointed to the papers that were spread out on his desk.

“There might be a plan to kill you, and you said you’re going to the Stanton Duke’s house tomorrow!”

“So I did.”

Eiden lifted the corners of his lips slightly, as if he was thinking of something.

Elliot was getting even more upset.

Since Eiden went for a walk, he had been acting in a different way.

He’s always been a little hard to predict, but lately he’s been even more so.

Eiden didn’t usually do things like hang out in Grizmen, want to go for a walk out of the blue, or decide to travel with Lady Alicia.

“Duke Stanton is the most loyal person to the King of Grizmen, and the people trust him as much as they trust the King.”

“Are you saying that he could kill me?”

Eiden’s voice had a shady sound to it.

“I’m not sure what to think about that. If it’s Duke Stanton, he could have such ideas.”

Elliot mumbled, making a frown.

If he had to choose, Duke Stanton would be the most likely person to try to kill Eiden.

“But on the other hand, I’ve heard the exact opposite.”

The spy who was placed in Grizmen said that Duke Stanton had put down groups that didn’t like how the Empire ruled.

He also suggested that his younger sister become the Empress of the Empire.

From what he did, it was clear that Duke Stanton supported imperialism.

“So, what’s going on?”

“The point is that you have to be careful. Just because Duke Stanton is quiet doesn’t mean that others will be, too.”

If there were groups that were keeping an eye on Eiden, it would be best for them to kill him in Grizmen. Now was a good time because his guard was not as strong as when he was in the Empire.

“Isn’t that why you and the rest of the security team are there? To stop things like that?”

“It’s complicated to keep you safe.”

“Complicated… instead of whining, it would be better to work out a plan with the captain of the guard than to complain.”

It was like trying to talk to a wall.

Elliot sighed out loud because he was fed up.

“Nothing bad will happen.”

“What the heck!”

Elliot finally lost it when Eiden said his words in a casual way.

“Because Lady Alicia is over there.”

“What does a woman have to do with an attack by terrorists?”

“Do you think Duke Stanton would let anything bad happen to his lovely sister?”

“Well, I wouldn’t know anything about that.”

They might be like brothers and sisters.

But don’t real brothers wander around like hyenas on the plains, looking for each other’s weaknesses all the time?

“Let’s talk tomorrow after we see them both.”

After saying that, Eiden looked back at the papers. But the papers fell apart in his hands.

“Don’t hold it so tight. It’s a relief it hasn’t torn.”

The sound of the paper breaking could be heard while Elliot was clicking his tongue.

“I can’t look at it, so I’ll have to get you to get me a new document.”

Eiden turned his head and looked at Elliot. The cold way he turned up one corner of his mouth…

“Did I make you angry? All I did was tell you not to hold it so tightly. Yes, I’ll get you a new one right away.”

Elliot left the room quickly, tucking his tail between his legs.

Eiden was very angry right now, and he didn’t know why. When he was like this, it was best not to bother him.

“But what’s wrong with him again? I just said that the Stanton siblings are just brothers, no matter how much they love each other.”

Elliot kept shaking his head because he didn’t understand Eiden’s strange response.