The Hero Who Returned From Death Quits

95 – EP6. Great Change

“…I just can’t agree with that.”

I said to Sein, who looked at me in surprise.

“Go back to the empire.”

“Why?”

Sein looked at me with a face that resembled an abandoned puppy.

“Did I annoy you too much? Or do you not like having me around? Of course, if you tell me to go back, I will… but…”

I shook my head and said.

“No, the situation in the empire doesn’t look good right now.”

Dark sorcerers had started to cause trouble in other countries as well, but it was nowhere near as bad as the empire where dark sorcerers were openly taking control.

“Go to the empire and save the people.”

At my words, Sein spoke with a trembling voice.

“Why?”

“Why?”

Trying to say it like that, I was interrupted by Sein.

“Yeah. Why? Why are you saying that? Both me and those people were the ones who cursed you.”

I replied to her.

“Ordinary people.”

“What?”

“Ordinary people. No matter how people talked about me, objectively speaking, those people were just behaving naturally. It’s asking too much for people not to curse me in such a situation. If you don’t have expectations, you can look at the situation objectively. And objectively speaking, the people being slaughtered in the empire are just ordinary people. And I can’t bear to see ordinary people being slaughtered like this anymore.”

She seemed like she was going to cry. It was the same expression she had when we reunited here.

I grabbed her shoulder and said.

“The dark sorcerers are showing suspicious movements, and yet the empire is ignoring them too much. What will happen if we leave them alone and something big happens? Peria, Lena, and Beatrice are also leaving the dark sorcerers be because of the fights. I want to avoid letting something big happen by leaving them alone.”

I spoke to her in a sincere voice. Seyin still had a facial expression that couldn’t be convinced.

“So, why… why do you care about other people? Other people don’t have to care… Why are you talking like this….”

I felt like my breath was being choked by those words.

I am no longer a hero. That doesn’t mean I’m a just person who blindly helps others.

Why am I concerned about their deaths?

I am free from obligation now. Even the Empire, who slandered me and denied our relationship.

There is no reason to care about others. Taking care of the people around me is overwhelming, and the Empire is now a story far away from me.

Why am I feeling so restless, feeling sad for the deaths of others, mourning the tragedy that comes from far away.

I do not know.

No matter how much I think, I couldn’t give an answer.

I said.

“…Just.”

Not just a literal ‘just,’ but it’s because I cannot answer. It’s because I don’t even know myself.

I felt the pitifulness of the self who speaks that way.

I am not directly trying to help others. I’m asking others to help them.

But if asked for a reason, the only word that comes out is ‘just.’

It’s pitiful. The answer I spit out didn’t convince myself, and it was far from being an answer to why I help others.

A temporary measure forced out because I couldn’t give an answer. That is the meaning of my ‘just.’

Seyin looked at me.

Looking at me, asking for help with such a weak and pathetic answer.

“I don’t want to see others dying anymore. I don’t know why. Honestly, I don’t have an obligation to care about others, and there is no reason. I thought I let go of all those emotions when I left the Empire, but I don’t know why these things still bother me.”

However, I said.

“So I can only say ‘just.’ I don’t want to see ordinary people die anymore. I may not know the reason, but at least I know it’s my sincere feeling.”

I finished speaking.

From Noble mtl dot com

“I’m busy protecting my homeland. That’s why I thought of this. You are tied to my homeland, and you can’t waste your time like this. There are countless people suffering all over the world, and no one knows that. So… so, if it’s not you, there’s no one else who can help them.”

I rambled on with my words.

“So… help. Help those people. Save the dying people where a helping hand is needed.”

Seyin hesitated and then answered.

“Yes.”

It was a sufficient answer.

The Crown Prince was lost in thought.

The heir’s ring. The proof of being the empire’s successor was missing.

The heir’s ring was an essential element for the coronation ceremony. If the Emperor had truly intended to pass on his throne to the Crown Prince, he would have intentionally altered the coronation plans, but the Emperor had not prepared for his own death and faced it.

“Mother, what should we do? Without the heir’s ring, we can’t proceed with the coronation ceremony, can we? But the ring is not in our possession…”

“No need to worry,” the Empress said calmly.

“Something as trivial as that ring can be declared lost, and we can change the schedule for the coronation. Although Father’s death was sudden, it could be an opportunity for us. Instead of a shaky power struggle, we could claim the throne right now.”

“Is that so?”

The Crown Prince hesitated. Yes, once they had the Emperor’s throne, dealing with the other siblings would become their responsibility. In a way, it was fortunate that they didn’t need to engage in power struggles after becoming the Crown Prince in the first place.

The Crown Prince breathed a sigh of relief. There was no personal affection with his father. Given their noble status, he could even find a silver lining in his father’s death.

Then, a desperate voice was heard.

“Your Highness, Empress Mother, Crown Prince! Someone with the heir’s ring has appeared!”

The Empress was taken aback.

“What!?”

The sudden reappearance of the ring left the Empress in a state of confusion.

“Who is this person claiming to have that ring?”

When the Empress shouted, the messenger who delivered the news lowered their head and said, “It’s… it’s…”

Many nobles had gathered, staring at Feria. Feria maintained a composed expression.

The Imperial Council had been convened. The summoning of the Imperial Council was only natural when discussing matters that could significantly impact the imperial succession.

“So, Marquis Matop, why do you have that ring? Did you perhaps steal it?”

Feria chuckled in response to the Empress’s question. It was ironic that the question was being asked of him when it should have been the Crown Prince’s responsibility. But what truly amused him was something else.

“Well, who’s the real thief here? After all, wasn’t that heir’s ring never even listed as lost or stolen? It’s quite amusing that you called for the Imperial Council in astonishment over me possessing it.”

Feria showed no respect towards the royal family. The Empress ground her teeth and said, “Why do you have that item?”

“It’s my parents’ heirloom.”

“An heirloom?”

Marquis Matop had known the Empress as an orphan, so he responded, “Yes, an heirloom. My mother entrusted me to my mentor, Sir Caven Theodore, and this item was handed down from him to me. Oh, I suppose I should say it’s from my mother.”

“So, how did your parents come to possess it, then?”

“How did you get hold of that? What a strange question,” Pereya said, smirking.

“It was originally ours, but my father’s younger brother assassinated my father and my mother took this and fled. I mean, you didn’t expect to hear that kind of story, did you?”

The nobles standing there could understand what it meant.

It meant that the deceased emperor had assassinated the rightful emperor and that Pereya was the child of that rightful emperor.

“Well, well?”

The empress exclaimed in surprise, and Pereya snapped her fingers.

A man walked out.

“…I was the caretaker of the deceased emperor, so I’ve been serving him since he was the younger brother of the rightful emperor.”

The nobles began to mutter. Why would they summon someone who was the servant of the deceased emperor? What did they plan to do?

“The rightful emperor had a daughter, and the deceased emperor took advantage of the rightful emperor’s illness and assassinated him. Before he could announce that he had a daughter, he had planned to take the emperor’s throne himself. It was poison. He changed the wine in the rightful emperor’s goblet to poison and killed him.”

The nobles were murmuring. The deceased emperor assassinated the rightful emperor? And the daughter of the rightful emperor was the empress? Unbelievable stories poured out.

“What, what nonsense is this!”

“I have evidence.”

Pereya calmly submitted the evidence.

“A letter sent to Viscount Serindel three months before the rightful emperor died. He was discussing his plans after becoming emperor. I heard three months ago, the rightful emperor was still healthy.”

The nobles of the empire were speechless and shocked by the sudden turn of events.

The upheaval had just begun.