Chapter 13

As Eleonora and the others were heading to the castle in a carriage, Alexei was in his office as usual.

"Your Majesty, the ball is about to start. You must get ready soon or you won't make it in time."

Prime Minister Sergei urged him, but Alexei replied with a very reluctant tone.

"I know. This ball was your pet project, wasn't it?"

Sergei nodded with a broad smile.

"Yes, Your Majesty. Today, there are many young ladies suitable for you. If you find someone you like, please let me know. Of course, those with fiancés will not be allowed in the same hall as you."

Due to the recent purge of the anti-imperialists, many have lost their fiancés. Therefore, this ball also serves as a matchmaking event for these young men and women.

"Since I'm getting ready, you should too."

"As you wish."

Alexei got up from his heavy seat and left the office to start getting dressed. He combed his silver hair back and put on a black military-style tuxedo. He generally did not rely on others to help him dress.

Some of his ministers advised that it was unbecoming of an emperor, but he silenced them with magic.

He was used to dressing himself from years of living on the battlefield. More importantly, he asked them what would happen if he were assassinated while someone else was helping him dress.

Since Pi was killed, Alexei had become extremely distrustful of people. He trusted Prime Minister Sergei, his confidant, but not wholeheartedly.

When Alexei was brought back from the Dark Forest, he realized the precarious position he was in.

In the imperial court, where anti-imperialist nobles were rampant, Alexei, who had no backing, had nothing to rely on except the imperial blood and the blood of the neighboring country's priestess that flowed through his veins.

As the next emperor, he had the most suitable bloodline. That was all he had.

Prime Minister Georgy Bazalov, who had spoken harshly to him, was right. If he did not gain strength, he would be killed again.

The empress would kill Alexei again.

Even at the tender age of nine, Alexei stopped acting emotionally and made all decisions rationally and proceeded logically.

He must not let his anger explode. He must not be swayed by his emotions.

Therefore, he received sword training from the hated Black Knight Commander Donato Albaquin, the man who had killed Pi, but also the empire's greatest swordsman.

When Alexei decided he had nothing more to learn from Donato, he killed him, making it look like an accident, just as Donato had killed Pi, by cutting off both his arms.

Afterward, Alexei took over as the Black Knight Commander, a position appointed by the empress.

The Black Knights were often sent to the front lines, where they faced particularly harsh conditions and often died in battle.

He followed this decision without objection and spent seven years wandering through the internal conflict zones without returning to the capital.

During this time, he completely took control of the imperialist nobles and killed the emperor, empress, and his half-siblings.

Before Alexei ascended to the throne, Prime Minister Georgy Bazalov passed his position to his son Sergei.

"Your Highness Alexei, I am no longer needed. The new empire that is about to be reborn does not need an old man. ... When I learned that you were still alive, I thought it was a divine revelation."

When Alexei's death was reported to his mother's home country, the next priestess, who was his cousin, argued that Alexei was not dead. However, the imperial diplomat laughed it off.

The diplomat had witnessed the entire incident where Alexei was killed, stripped of his clothes, and left in the Dark Forest, so there should have been no remains left.

Prime Minister Georgy learned that Alexei was alive when the priestess came to the empire.

Since no one in the empire mourned Alexei's death, the prime minister asked the priestess, who was Alexei's cousin, to pray for his soul.

The priestess then said that Alexei was alive and could not possibly be dead.

"I was surprised. The priestess said that Alexei would not die. I was skeptical, but I decided to believe her. After hearing the diplomat's account, I concluded that Alexei was still alive in the Dark Forest."

Prime Minister Georgy believed in Alexei's survival because he was the only one who could correct the corrupt empire. Only Alexei, with his legitimate bloodline, could suppress the anti-imperialist nobles.

After that, Georgy began investigating the most obstructive magical beasts in the Dark Forest to rescue Alexei. During this investigation, he found a local legend about a holy light that could destroy magical beasts.

According to the legend, the holy light would be emitted by a maiden with magical power after performing a ritual that required a magical beast as a sacrifice.

Although many were harmed in the process of gathering the magical beasts, Georgy did not give up.

Eventually, a five-year-old girl named Ekaterina was found to be the maiden who could emit the holy light. When Ekaterina innocently emitted the light, the magical beasts fell dead one by one.

Meanwhile, a spell was developed to attract magical beasts to a single location.

With this combination, the tragedy in the Dark Forest occurred.

The magician and the holy maiden in the north of the Dark Forest attracted the magical beasts and emitted the holy light, and the Black Knights entered the forest. They found Alexei.

After leaving the Dark Forest, Alexei met his cousin, the priestess. She lamented that the blessing passed down from his mother was lost.

Because of that blessing, he had died three times.

Alexei deeply hated and despised the prime minister who had rescued him from the Dark Forest for the empire, the priestess from the neighboring country who had revealed his survival, the empress who had ordered his assassination, the weak emperor, the knight and holy maiden who had killed Pi, and the magicians.