Chapter 94

No, is this guy crazy? Why is he pulling Mom’s hair? As Ratil opened her mouth in astonishment, the fake emperor’s hair was suddenly swept to the side.

‘A wig?’

It turned out that Mom’s hair was a wig. People gasped in unison. Then, as the wig was removed, the face that was identical to Ratil’s transformed into the face of the former empress, causing an even louder gasp to erupt simultaneously. Initially, after the gasps, silence followed, but now the murmurs were much louder. The nearsighted nobles, to confirm if Shait was the real Shait, leaned forward like a school of carp desperately opening their mouths to the surface to catch prey. Hyacinth, though not as obviously, also seemed quite surprised.

‘I didn’t tell them that the fake emperor was Mom.’

Ratil, with a headache, pressed her forehead. She was angry at her brother. What is he doing now? Her eyes involuntarily turned to Lean. Ratil, with a sad expression, glared at her standing brother. She didn’t want to reveal that Mom was involved in this. Although Mom was also a co-conspirator, it was her brother who had involved her. Even if she couldn’t return to the same relationship with Mom, she still wanted to understand and forgive her. She believed that her brother felt the same way about Mom. After all, Mom is Mom. But for her brother to act like this...

“Hey, look at what our brother is saying?”

As Ratil crossed her arms and muttered, everyone’s gaze shifted to her. They all closed their mouths in silence, curious about what she would say. The atmosphere here was like the deep sea, filled with countless lives but dark, quiet, and eerie.

“Why is Brother blaming Mom after he orchestrated everything?”

Ratil openly sneered. A few people, cluelessly whispering, “He sounds like a failure!” almost ruined the atmosphere, but Ratil didn’t let up.

Lean, after looking down at the wig he had removed from Mom, which was probably a transformation magic item, raised his eyes and muttered to Ratil.

“Ratil, you’re angry at me. ...I understand.”

“Wouldn’t you be angry if you were in my place? I... was called an emperor and chased around, hearing I was fake. I went to another country to seek help.”

Moreover, he even imitated a statue. At the party, his skirt was even torn off. Ratil, after a deep breath, fanned herself with her hand. But let’s not talk about that.

“Moreover, now we’re having a public sibling fight in front of all the ministers. Wouldn’t you be angry? Huh?”

“Ratil, you can’t be angry at Mom, so you’re trying to blame me, right?”

“I want to blame your conscience.”

Lean sighed. Then, looking at the wig in his hand, he smiled sadly.

“I told you the truth.”

“When did you?”

“But you ran away, saying you couldn’t tarnish Mom’s reputation.”

“When did I?”

“Now you’re trying to blame everything on me. You came back, not to protect Mom but to abandon me, right?”

“What nonsense.”

The more they talked, the more absurd it became, and Ratil raised her eyebrows and laughed bitterly. In Lean’s hand, the fake hair swayed like a jellyfish pulled from the sea.

“Brother, you were the one who involved Mom from the beginning. You were the one who involved Mom, who was staying at the temple.”

Instead of answering Ratil, Lean looked around at the gathered ministers and spoke.

“Everyone must be shocked. But my younger sister knew everything, that Mom was the culprit. If Ratil didn’t know, she would have been the most surprised when I revealed Mom as the real culprit. But everyone saw, didn’t they? My sister wasn’t surprised. She was angry at me.”

“!”

What? Ratil stared at her brother with wide eyes. He had been quiet all along and then suddenly revealed the wig publicly. He had planned this from the beginning. When Emperor Hyacinth appeared and she returned from another country, he knew they would eventually be overshadowed, so he deliberately did this.

‘He must have calculated quickly!’

Ratil clenched her fists. She had always thought he was smart, but his cunning was the best.

“Mom was the culprit? Yes, I knew. But I didn’t step back to cover for Mom. I had to step back because Brother tried to lock me up.”

“Even if you were protecting Mom, I, who was involved in this, am not without fault. But, Ratil, I never thought you would try to blame everything on me.”

Lean muttered, sounding very disappointed. Ratil almost shouted, “Bullshit!” but held back. She had already lost her dignity as an emperor by fighting with her brother in front of the ministers. Losing her temper and shouting would be worse. Lean, for his part, was trying to remain as calm and composed as possible, with a pitiful and sad expression.

Then,

“Stop fighting.”

Shait, who had been watching the situation without any change in expression even after her true identity was revealed, finally spoke. Whether Ratil’s or Lean’s claims were true, the most bewildered person here was Shait herself. Yet, her expression remained unchanged. Ratil and Lean, however, closed their mouths simultaneously. The ministers looked at Shait with a mix of worry and disappointment. It was hard for them to understand why Shait, who had never caused any problems as empress, was suddenly involved in this, and why she had impersonated her daughter as a black magician. They hoped that the respected former empress would explain this situation and provide a justification they could understand.

“Ratil is a victim who experienced this without knowing why. Lean... had no choice but to turn against his sister because of me. This is all my responsibility.”

However, instead of giving a detailed reason, Shait simply said that it was all her fault. Ratil, overheated by this answer, almost spewed lava from her mouth.

“That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard!”

“I’m sorry, Ratil. ...I’m sorry, Lean.”

Ratil, with a sharp voice, almost shouted, “Mom!” She, Lean, and Mom all knew that Lean had involved Mom. They had just experienced Lean pushing Mom as the main culprit to save himself. Ratil couldn’t understand why Mom was apologizing to Lean. Shait, looking at Ratil, stepped down from the throne and slowly approached. Hyacinth, standing near Ratil, immediately went on guard as Shait approached, as if expecting her to attack Ratil. Shait, however, came close to Ratil without showing any displeasure. Ratil, trying not to cry, had a cold expression. She almost wanted to cry and shout, “Why are you taking Brother’s side, Mom!” But the child inside her was already crying, asking for a chance to hit Brother’s back. She was frustrated with Brother and Mom, and the most painful thing was Mom’s eyes. Ratil could tell that, despite her calm exterior, Mom was deeply shocked. She realized that Lean’s actions were not prearranged with Mom. Yet, Mom was taking all the blame to protect Lean. Ratil was very angry, sad, and frustrated.

“Your Majesty.”

“...”

“I am sorry for causing you harm, Your Majesty. I will accept any punishment, please do as you see fit.”

Ratil, biting her lips, glared at Mom and then shifted her gaze to Lean, who was standing behind Mom’s shoulder. She then looked at the ministers, who were watching the situation in silence. The ministers were still confused. The former empress had impersonated Ratil, and Lean was involved, but it was unclear whether he was a co-conspirator or acting on Mom’s orders. Moreover, the most crucial and decisive reason: why. Why did the former empress impersonate her daughter? Since Ratil, Lean, and Shait were all being tight-lipped, the question remained unanswered. Seeing the expressions of the people, Ratil looked at her brother one last time and realized.

‘Mom is trying to take all the blame.’

Ratil realized that Mom was trying to cover for Lean’s betrayal and the fact that she, Ratil, was suspected of being a lord by Lean and the former emperor. Since Mom had admitted everything was her fault, Lean wouldn’t say, “Ratil was suspected of being a lord, and even Abamama investigated her.” Ratil, clenching her teeth, glared at her brother. A just person is good, but a person drunk on justice is not. They are just drunk on justice, enjoying the power to judge and condemn others. Justice is like a strong drink, and those drunk on it can’t realize the nonsense they spout. To Ratil, her brother was exactly like that.

* * *

Klein, as usual, woke up early, took a bath, went for a morning walk, had his favorite breakfast, and increased his exercise to be mindful of the chief minister. After a second bath and a rest, he heard about the terrifying incident in Carisen. Zombies in the capital, in the palace. Klein, while listening to the story, clicked his tongue.

Can such things happen in the world? But since they were immediately eliminated, it should be fine in the future. Klein, calmly concluding the situation, pondered whether to drink black coffee or chamomile tea. Then, he received new news... which even Klein couldn’t handle calmly.

“Wait, wait, wait. What do you mean the emperor wasn’t the emperor?”

Klein, too shocked to notice his bathrobe had opened, shouted.

“Does that make sense?”

“It’s a mess. At some point, the emperor wasn’t the emperor, and then the real emperor returned.”

“What point?”

“Can’t you guess...?”

“I haven’t seen him recently, how can I guess, I!”

“Ah...”

The attendant, sounding regretful, made Klein narrow his eyes. The attendant, quickly lowering his eyes, added.

“But some concubines already knew the emperor was fake. They were there when the real emperor returned and helped...”

“What? Who?”

“...Lanawen and Gestar didn’t act directly, but since the Duke of Artrax and the Chancellor knew, they must have known too. The Chief Minister and Tahir went to the scene, and Kalain was seen with the real emperor...”

“Everyone but me!”