Da Capo 13

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Chapter 13

morendo – as if breath is fading away

The atmosphere in the imperial court was ice-cold.

Of course, the shock that had hit the Crassia Empire was not small. Who would have thought that the young Grand General, most beloved by the empire’s people with his solid support base, would die so suddenly and tragically? He was too young, healthy, and beautiful. People couldn’t easily escape from the shock.

The atmosphere in the imperial palace was even darker. Duke Blair Gladius. It would be a lie to say that someone of his rank had no political enemies. There were certainly forces that opposed him. There were aristocratic factions who openly disliked him for being pro-emperor, and those who couldn’t understand why he, born from high nobility and granted the rank of duke, would openly support the emperor and draw the line. But beyond political views, Blair Gladius as a person was widely loved and respected wherever he went.

From his straightforward character to his relaxed and gentle demeanor. His noble speech and conduct befitting his count family background, along with his dignified appearance. He was popular regardless of age or gender. Young boys who claimed to admire him could be found everywhere. Whether political opponents or not, everyone was desperate to build personal connections with Blair. Given what kind of person he was, Blair’s death was all the more shocking.

He thought stepping down from power would make things easier, but after announcing his resignation as Grand General, the invitations showered upon Blair only increased. Now that there was no need for political opposition, it happened even more.

“When you retire and have some time, come visit our home for tea. I’ll invite you sometime.”

Elderly nobles who stroked their white beards while casually suggesting friendship.

“Before retiring and returning to your territory, shouldn’t you think about marriage?”

Ministers who were desperate to match him with their unmarried daughters.

“When Duke Gladius retires, will you host parties more often? I must attend.”

Young nobles who only looked forward to meeting him at parties.

Countless people, regardless of age, felt his personal charm and were determined to forge friendships with him.

“Seems like everyone wanted to be friends with you.”

Aaron teased Blair, spinning around while looking at Blair’s desk piled with numerous invitation cards, though it hadn’t been long since his retirement announcement.

“It’s exhausting.”

Blair slightly shook his head while pressing his hand against it.

“What’s there to be exhausted about? Take this opportunity to go around, find a good partner, make friends—wouldn’t that be nice?”

“No thanks, what friends?”

“Wow, am I the only friend you need? I’m deeply touched.”

When Aaron joked like that, Blair would smile faintly.

Of course, during his lifetime, Blair Gladius had declined all those invitations. He firmly rejected all proposals, saying he planned to return to Gladius territory to rest and study. Originally, Blair intended to accept these various invitations from nobles only after retirement, when he had more free time. Despite always giving this answer, countless invitation cards piled up in Blair Gladius’s mansion in the imperial city every day.

In any case, who would have thought that the beloved Grand General and Duke who supported the country would pass so suddenly? The entire nation was plunged into shock and grief.

The imperial palace was in an even more serious state.

Those who worked in the imperial palace were the people who had seen Duke Blair Gladius up close. There was no one anywhere who disliked the kind and always generous Duke Gladius, even toward the servants.

The dark cloud that hung over the imperial palace could not be lifted by anyone. Nobles, officials, attendants, and knights—all without exception—did not hide their grief and regret. The shock was even greater for the imperial guards and knights who knew all of Blair’s retirement plans, as he had openly talked about how he would live this way and that after retiring. A gloomy atmosphere permeated the palace.

Moreover, the master of that palace was now half-mad.

CRASH!

The sound of a glass vase breaking came from Emperor Kyle’s bedroom.

“AAAAGH!”

A scream that sounded like someone being torn apart came from behind the tightly closed door. A small sigh escaped from the mouth of the head attendant standing outside the room. Not even a day goes by.

How many new items had been brought in to replace everything that had been broken and shattered? Although he knew the sad fate of these new objects, they couldn’t fill the emperor’s quarters with items of poor craftsmanship, even if they were disposable. That meant that the items currently being broken inside that room were extremely expensive. The prices of the items flickered before the head attendant’s eyes.

Originally, Kyle was not a violent person. Far from violent, he was extremely gentle. Even when someone behaved rudely or acted improperly, he rarely showed anger. He never lost his composure and was always generous.

For an emperor who stood above everyone, he was criticized for having an excessively gentle personality. Even Blair, who was known for being polite and dignified, was considered to have a much colder temperament than Kyle—that’s how gentle Kyle’s personality was.

But since Blair’s death, the emperor had completely changed, as if he were a different person. Lately, he had been acting like a madman. It was common for him to throw and break everything he could get his hands on. He neglected state affairs, secluded himself in his room, and when he awoke, he would break objects and shatter glass. A person who usually spoke politely, rarely raising his voice, now occasionally screamed and rampaged. Pushing away tables along with plates when food was brought was also common.

When exhausted, he would collapse alone and wail while calling Blair’s name. There wasn’t a single palace resident who hadn’t heard the breathless crying sounds that came from outside the emperor’s bedroom whenever they passed by.

A few days ago, he had haphazardly cut his well-groomed hair with his own hands, making his appearance even more wretched. His eyes had become like those of a madman. Even when the attending maids tried to trim his disheveled hair, no one could enter that room. Kyle originally had a mild case of mysophobia. Kyle wouldn’t allow anyone he didn’t trust to touch his body or enter his bedroom, which was his domain.

Blair, with his deft fingers, used to occasionally cut Kyle’s hair, so it was natural that the maids couldn’t touch Kyle’s hair when he had become overly sensitive.

These days, he completely blocked people’s access to his bedroom. Even Aaron, his longtime friend, couldn’t easily enter that room.

When he fell into sleep as if fainting after such an outburst, the attendants would quickly tidy the room and replace objects with new ones. Despite not eating proper meals, Kyle somehow found the strength to continuously destroy objects and himself.

Perhaps having broken everything that could be broken, the inside of the room eventually grew quiet. The head attendant let out a long sigh. Aaron, who arrived with perfect timing, saw the head attendant’s sigh and sighed in response. The two quickly exchanged glances. They shared the same pain.

“Is he still like that?”

He had come to fetch Kyle since the emperor could no longer be absent. No matter how much Aaron acted as the emperor’s proxy, there needed to be someone to give final approval.

“Yes. Well, it’s the same as always.”

The head attendant averted his eyes. Aaron let out another long sigh.

“But why is it so quiet?”

“Pardon? It’s always like this. After breaking everything that can be broken, he becomes quiet for a while. Then he faints… Lord Aaron!”

While listening to those words, a sudden sense of unease came over him. Aaron instantly flung the door open.

“Lord Aaron, if you go in—!”

The head attendant tried to stop him, but Aaron had already leaped into the room. The scene inside was truly wretched.

The vases that had been beautifully arranged with flowers were all broken and scattered about, and water from the vases was soaking the carpet. All glass objects were shattered, and the bedding was torn to shreds with feathers from the pillows scattered everywhere. The untouched meal and broken plates were mixed together, contaminating the expensive carpet beyond salvage.

But anyway, that wasn’t important. Aaron rushed over to Kyle, who had collapsed in the middle of the room, stepping on glass fragments along the way. Red blood was spreading beneath Kyle.

“Hey! Are you crazy?!”

Aaron shouted at the head attendant who had entered the room sensing something was wrong.

“Doctor! Quickly call the court physician!”

Kyle’s long, aristocratic hand was holding a large glass fragment. The sharp edge of the fragment seemed to have injured his palm. No, that would have been fortunate by comparison. The place where blood was flowing profusely was his wrist. It appeared he had slashed his wrist with that glass fragment. Aaron hurriedly grabbed the wrist. The wound looked deep.

“Fuck, this bastard.”

Aaron hurriedly brought a clean cloth and wrapped it around the bleeding wrist, applying pressure. The court physician, who rushed in at the head attendant’s urging, hastily grabbed Kyle’s wrist. Despite all the commotion, Kyle did not wake up. His face, drained of all color, was pale. Not a hint of blood remained in his lips.

After quickly completing emergency treatment and cleaning the room, they laid Kyle on the bed. Aaron glared at the head attendant.

“How could you put breakable things in his room!”

“Until now, apart from cutting his hair, he had never harmed himself…”

The head attendant fidgeted uncomfortably as he made excuses. Aaron knew this too. Being angry at the head attendant was unreasonable and merely venting. But in his current state, he wanted to grab someone and beat them to release his anger. Until now, Kyle had never harmed himself. His previous outbursts had only involved crying and breaking objects. But Kyle’s behavior was increasingly crossing the line.

“From now on, absolutely do not give him anything sharp or breakable. When serving meals, use wooden plates, and remove anything pointed like candlesticks.”

“Understood.”

The head attendant bowed his head and withdrew.

[To be continued in the next part…]