Chapter 13: Chapter 13: The Immortal Emperor’s Burden

“Considering the leniency of your judgment, which was far less severe than their transgressions warranted, Your Majesty is truly a benevolent ruler.”

Flattery, at its most effective, always stemmed from genuine sentiment. Having been raised on tales of Chinese history, where attempts on a monarch’s life led to the annihilation of nine generations, and Korean history, which saw the extermination of three, Evening found Erich’s measures remarkably lenient.

“My Evening, you’ve been raised too delicately, it seems. You have little understanding of the hardships faced by a noble stripped of their title and wealth.”

“Though it will undoubtedly be arduous, they have been spared their lives, and for that, they will surely live in gratitude to Your Majesty Erich.”

Indeed, for those who had always viewed manual labor as the sole domain of commoners, having their entire fortune confiscated would undeniably make survival a struggle. Yet, merely sparing their families from being enslaved was a significant mercy. In China, even the slightest association with treason meant families were condemned to government servitude, while relatives and household members were exiled en masse to desolate, barren lands. As if that weren’t enough, they would further degrade the region’s administrative status, demote its town name, and even subject its inhabitants to discrimination. What if my father, Margrave Flam, were to harbor treasonous intentions? By the standards of Chinese history, not only would Evening herself be executed, but the entire Margraviate would be stripped of its status and reduced to a mere ordinary territory, with no one from the Flam region ever permitted to hold a central government position. In comparison, how truly benevolent were Erich’s actions.

“For the blood kin of a radical traitor, these are indeed measures brimming with virtue.”

The original story had unfolded similarly. The Margrave’s family had fallen, and Evening had withered away, unable to bear the Emperor’s tyranny, yet both her territory and she herself had, against all odds, survived intact. Erich wore an expression suggesting Evening was spouting utter nonsense, but the very act of making such a face indicated he was far from a true tyrant. He was undeniably a troublesome monarch and the antagonist of the novel. Yet, he was hardly on par with the likes of Qin Shi Huang, Emperor Er Shi, Nero, or Emperor Yang of Sui—a lineup of truly formidable tyrants. To that degree, any other contentious aspects could simply be dismissed as mere ‘differences in political opinion.’ Put another way, there was no significant impediment to supporting him.

“Do you truly believe my verdict constituted a just punishment?”

“Absolutely.”

“Even if the same fate were to befall your father and your family?”

“While I believe such a situation will never arise, I would be profoundly grateful for such merciful treatment.”

This, above all else, was Evening’s most heartfelt desire. While she didn’t believe her father would ever become embroiled in something as monumental as an imperial assassination, even if there were a one-in-a-hundred chance, she hoped he would be treated with such gentle care.

Seeing a glimmer of hope for her own survival and that of her household, Evening seized the opportunity without hesitation.

“I am, after all, a woman who understands gratitude. I shall spend my days offering my thanks to Your Majesty Erich’s portrait, morning and evening.”

“What on earth are you talking about?”

Erich furrowed the bridge of his nose, as though he had just heard the most peculiar utterance.

“Is that insufficient? Shall I offer my thanks thrice daily?”

If only her life were spared, thrice-daily veneration would be no extravagance. Evening was a woman capable of profound gratitude for even the smallest mercies.

“……”

Erich, having listened to her overly dramatic pronouncements, merely closed his mouth.

Erich’s escort knights, who had followed him all the way here, let out low whistles, while the ladies-in-waiting’s expressions mirrored those of the court nobles, pity etched clearly upon their faces as they regarded Evening.

With her back turned, Evening, oblivious to the ladies-in-waiting’s expressions, counted on her fingers, blinking thoughtfully.

“Four times? Five times?”

“You need not do it even once.”

“Indeed. There’s no chance of me being exiled, is there? I shall live here until the day I’m laid to rest.”

“Hah! If you truly hold me in such high regard, then you must remain by my side. It would be entirely improper to abandon such a loyal soul to a desolate chamber.”

Erich scoffed, then pointed a finger at the escort knight who had carried Evening’s luggage.

“Move her luggage. It’s rather sudden, but you’ll share my room, won’t you, Evening?”

“Oh, the same room. Your Majesty Erich and… myself.”

Evening faltered slightly, pointing first at Erich, then at herself.

A collective gasp, barely audible, rippled through the palace servants and ladies-in-waiting. Those who served Erich most closely knew his eccentric temperament better than anyone. How truly dreadful were Erich’s disdain for nobility and his cunning disposition. For a proud young lady, revered like a princess in the southern lands, such an arrangement would surely be an unbearable humiliation.

They pitied Evening, who, they believed, had irrevocably fallen into a trap, condemned to share a room with Erich. Her desperate attempts to appease Erich, they thought, had proven utterly futile.

However, just as they underestimated Evening’s understanding of Erich, they knew nothing of this new, transformed Evening.

“I do have rather… peculiar sleeping habits, you see. If I become too disruptive, you’re welcome to banish me at any moment. I promise I won’t take offense.”

Unable to immediately express her delight, Evening clapped her hands a beat late, a laugh bubbling forth.

Though subtle hints of tension in her posture suggested she wasn’t entirely overjoyed, there was no indication she was forcing herself to endure something she disliked.

“Sharing a room, it’s rather like a school retreat, isn’t it? I like it. Yes, it’s just like newlyweds.”

A wave of optimism soon washed over her previously stiff, awkward face. She was no mere commoner, desperately flattering the powerful and perpetually consumed by anxiety. There was no trace of misery or self-reproach in Evening’s demeanor towards the Emperor. For such, she knew, was the inherent nature of social interaction. Born to a father who was a pioneer in social graces and a mother who was a master of societal navigation, Evening had never once been intimidated by the demands of social life.

Only the bewildered palace servants and ladies-in-waiting watched Evening depart, her expression radiantly bright.

****

[The History of Engagements]

Erich watched Evening diligently unpack her belongings within his chamber. It was a room far more intricate and opulent than any his fiancée might have used, yet it was not, by any stretch, the grandest chamber.

Around the time he had first awakened his magic, assassins and skeptics still roamed unchecked. Erich had met a gruesome end in that very finest room — once by an enemy’s blade, and another time ensnared in a test orchestrated by high imperial officials. Consequently, he no longer harbored any desire to occupy it.

“Since I awakened to the magic of ‘Immortality’ on the day of my coming-of-age ceremony, I have died countless times.”

“Pardon?”

Evening, in the midst of organizing her belongings, reacted instantly to Erich’s words.

“Just speaking to myself. It’s always beneficial for us to understand each other better, isn’t it?”

“You have a rather loud internal monologue, Your Majesty. I’ll be listening intently as I organize, so please, speak your mind freely.”

“My father and the nobility were eager to prove and explore my abilities, and so they ‘killed’ me on several occasions. Some instances I consented to, others I did not, but in the grand scheme of things, it hardly matters now.”

Perched on the edge of a table, Erich tilted his wine glass, the pale white wine shimmering and swirling within the delicate crystal. Having dismissed all his guards and attendants, leaving only the two of them in the room, and despite having recently been poisoned, he drank his wine with an utterly unconcerned demeanor.

“They subjected the Crown Prince to such horrors?”

“Foolish words. Such matters are particularly sensitive when it comes to imperial blood. Observe this.”

Between the parted fabric of his shirt, where Erich gestured, a large tattoo comprised of magical script was intricately etched. It was all part of their relentless endeavor to uncover the nature of his magic. He had endured lashings, and on other occasions, several elders had convened to inscribe tattoos resembling magic circles upon his skin.

“They were desperate to uncover my magic, and having finally done so, I continued to suffer for quite some time.”

The intense scrutiny had been profound even before he fully grasped his magic, so once fragments of its true nature were deciphered, the suffering only intensified. Erich’s magic, which resurrected him from a gruesome death, was utterly unprecedented. The nobility, including the late Emperor, had undertaken myriad efforts to ascertain the precise nature of his magical abilities, eventually christening his magic ‘Immortality.’ A magnificent yet terrifying magic, capable of resurrecting him from death with an intact body moments after his head was severed or his flesh consumed by flames.

“Thus, thanks to that first experience, I was acknowledged as the possessor of formidable magic and inherited the imperial throne. However, my second fiancée, it seems, found my magic rather difficult to endure.”

Erich, having drained the last drops of white wine, swirled the empty glass, and a few lingering droplets fell to the floor.

His second fiancée was, in many respects, a stark contrast to the first. She hailed from a minor noble family near the capital, a quiet woman endowed with ordinary, unassuming magic. Her character was impeccable, and her appearance relatively plain. In social circles, she attracted little attention but also earned no enmity—the kind of person content to remain in the background. She possessed no particularly remarkable qualities, save for the fact that her family was one of the rare noble houses that had aligned themselves with the late Emperor. Her family’s contribution had amounted to little more than a hesitant suggestion that Erich’s ascension to Emperor would be acceptable, yet finding stronger allies had proven exceedingly difficult. It served as a small reward for their loyalty, and he desired an Empress who would not engage in contentious disputes.

“Though I did not love her, I treated her with a certain degree of kindness, yet as you are undoubtedly aware, her end was not a happy one.”

The second fiancée’s circumstances differed greatly from the first, with whom he had shared a mutual contempt. As her fiancé, he had extended every courtesy. He frequently sent her gifts and escorted her to significant social gatherings. Occasionally, he would invite her to the palace for tea, and to convey a greater sense of trust than he had shown his first fiancée, he even arranged a room for her within the palace, unbidden.

“I’ve heard as much. Relationships between people are truly… complex. Even when good individuals come together, things rarely unfold as one anticipates.”

Evening, who had by now ceased her unpacking and drawn closer, chimed in, responding to Erich’s monologue. Despite the uncomfortable subject matter, Evening’s reaction was far from jarring. Her words, though not overly dramatic, subtly resonated without provoking him.

The fate of the second fiancée was also a widely known story within the Empire. While she had not openly defied Erich, she had never truly harmonized with him either. She harbored a deep fear of the immortal Erich and suffered silently over every one of his harsh reputations and political maneuvers. Due to her delicate constitution, the second fiancée had privately agonized, eventually succumbing to stress and resorting to self-harm. The sheer absurdity of discovering his fiancée collapsed, having harmed herself, remained vividly etched in his memory. The sight of the woman he believed would be most favorably disposed towards him falling into ruin alone was something he would never forget.

“And so, I was hurt.”

Evening’s eyes, which had seemed to observe Erich with such gentle care, now flickered with emotion at his vulnerable confession. Erich found that fact rather pleasing.