I Became the Father of a Degenerate Emperor

Episode 16. Trust

Episode 16. Trust

After Henri Carso left.

I briefly thought about having breakfast with the empress, but I couldn’t bear to invite her because I remembered yesterday’s intense contact.

After a brief refreshment alone in the office, I began the final preparations for the campaign.

It was a situation where the emperor and empress had to vacate the palace at the same time.

Therefore, it was necessary to have a stand-in in case of an emergency.

And when it came to such things, there could be no one better than Duke Shade in the lands of the Empire.

I lifted the small hand mirror that was on the desk.

It was called the Spirit Mirror.

Literally, a spirit lived inside this mirror.

The other matching mirror is currently in the possession of Duke Shade.

I looked in the mirror and saw a red-eyed man who looked just like the emperor staring at me.

I can’t get rid of the feeling that it’s like a real mirror just looking at it this far.

I bit my little finger and a drop of blood landed on the mirror.

Talk-

As drops of blood soaked in it, as if sucking it up, the man in the mirror wiped his lips with his tongue as if it were a good taste. Then smile brightly.

I looked at him and said.

“The Duke of Shade.”

After a while, a cold voice that was no different from mine returned.

“Did you call, Your Majesty?”

The man in the mirror answered.

In exchange for a drop of blood, the spirit connected me with the duke.

“I hope to see you in the office.”

“Let’s go right now.”

Not long after, Duke Shade arrived at the office.

Considering the distance from the dukedom to the imperial palace, the speed seemed absolutely impossible.

So it was to the point where I thought maybe it was hiding in the imperial palace.

“Did you call, Your Majesty?”

A voice that tickles as if a jade marble is rolling.

For some reason, I couldn’t get rid of the impression that I was in a good mood.

The duke had the appearance of a twenty-year-old beauty.

Black hair, black uniform. Even the eye color was black.

Maybe that’s why, it seemed that her white skin stood out even more.

However, this may not be the actual appearance of the Duke.

When I saw her the other day, she was about seventy years old.

“Duke, you seem to be playing too much.”

“There is still a lot of blood to be shed for the imperial family, so I’m just avoiding revealing my identity. So don’t worry.”

Even in the novel, it was not written at all what his real appearance was like.

He was always a shapeshifter.

Of course, it didn’t change that they were all black except for the color of their skin.

“What did you call me for today?”

“The imperial palace has been emptied.”

“After all, you are going to Florente.”

“Isn’t it dry?”

“The Lord Oculus must always be watching over you, so how can I stop you? Your Majesty must know something I don’t know.”

“The empress will go with you.”

Duke Shade’s expression begins to brighten rapidly.

“To hear that you accompanied the Empress, as expected, Your Majesty has completely returned.”

I’m back…….

That was something I couldn’t understand.

“You don’t know how long I’ve waited for this day to come since I was entrusted with it by the Lord Oculus.”

The Duke was making a thrilling expression with his tear-stained face.

“…… I know you don’t even go to the temple. And aren’t the oracles only received by priestesses?”

“Your Majesty, the degree of faith cannot be judged by the presence or absence of the temple. The real important thing is to practice the doctrine yourself. And the fact that only priestesses can receive oracles is nothing more than a trick on the part of the temple.”

Miraac Shade.

He was like the head of the empire’s highest intelligence agency.

The Shade Dukes have been obsessed with information gathering and assassination for generations.

They were addicted to the power of the monopoly of information, hiding in the dark and finding pleasure in piercing the enemy’s throat.

Since the Shade Clan are ardent worshipers of the Lord Oculus, they have regarded the power of the Red Eye as a blessing from God and have revered it for generations.

So, among the six wings that support the empire, the one with the highest loyalty to the imperial family was the Duke of Shade.

In fact, the information power of the Duke of Shade played a big role in successfully stopping the recent rebellion without much sacrifice.

Duke Shade easily suppressed the rebellion by mobilizing his knights and soldiers, using criminal evidence or secrets to blackmail other dukes.

If it hadn’t been for him, I might have been decapitated or burned at the stake.

Thank you for that, I even told you a piece of advanced information that he would never know.

That was the location of the hiding place where Duke Shade’s fierce enemy, Sabarus, was hiding.

– Are you sure Savarus is there?

In fact, that bastard named Sabarus was the one who would cause a great disaster to the empire in the future if not killed in advance.

He was born as an illegitimate son of a viscount, and by the time Emperor Paeryun ascended the throne, he was to become a helper for the surrounding kingdoms.

After that, it was the worst kind of garbage that would make the fall of the empire irreversible by distributing drugs to the ruined empire.

Even though he was a wicked man, his skills were astonishing, so it was necessary for me to get rid of him in advance.

Therefore, there was a side that told me that I like my sister and my brother-in-law.

After killing him, the duke came straight to me.

The intense reaction at that time is still vivid in my memory.

I don’t know what kind of resentment he had, but the duke sang a hymn to Oculus with a thrilled face on his face.

After the song was over, he shouted, “Sado-nim, Sado-nim,” And even tried to kiss my feet.

There were really no fanatics.

Fortunately, it looks pretty normal now.

“Perhaps His Majesty needs a substitute?”

As expected, he had admirable eyes, probably because he was a duke.

“Yes.”

“Okay. As soon as His Majesty leaves the palace, I will send in the substitutes.”

“Thank you Duke.”

“Is there anything else you need?”

“It has been decided to make Henri Carso the Chancellor of the Empire.”

“Are you referring to the younger brother of the Marquis of Carso?”

“Yes.”

“Is it really true that you are saying that the Marquis is a nuisance, he has not even come out of a decent academy, and is currently living a servant life?”

If Henri Carceau had heard it himself, it was so wide that he would have passed out by grabbing the back of his neck.

“Yes.”

“The one whom God’s eyes have reached…… I’m really looking forward to that. Then, while His Majesty is away, we will use a substitute to go through the official appointment process.”

“Thank you.”

There was a brief moment of silence.

But Duke Shade didn’t think about leaving.

“Duke, you can stop now.”

“By the way, Your Majesty, have you forgotten anything?”

Something sticky was wriggling in Duke Shade’s eyes.

Perhaps a look that demands compensation.

“Information no one knows. With information that only the Oculus that gave you can know, please let me feel the glory of God once again.”

Perhaps it was because he was an information-gathering maniac, he was a person who couldn’t be bothered with new information.

So, even now, as a reward for his mission, he was requesting information that others did not know.

Of course, even if he didn’t tell me anything, his loyalty wouldn’t change.

However, when leading subordinates, the reward and punishment system must be clear.

If the reward for helping me was not satisfactory, small complaints would accumulate little by little, and in the end, the widespread dissatisfaction could become an excuse for betrayal.

I wanted to tell you something, so I looked back at my memories for a while.

According to what I read in the side story, around this time, a large number of nobles will begin to defect.

Among them, there was one renegade who had a very fatal impact on the empire by moving to a foreign country.

“It won’t be long before Earl Lake will defect. I don’t know the exact time, but he must have been in frequent contact with the kingdom of Marinene. He is adjacent to your territory, so if you leave it as it is, it will cause quite a headache.”

Duke Shade made a new look. It seems that the information I gave you was unsatisfactory.

“I asked for information, and he gave me a job.”

“Isn’t there a valuable gift in that job? Subjugate Earl Lake’s estate while I’m on my way to Florante. And prepare the best of the wine produced in the county. I myself will share a cup with you.”

But Duke Shade’s face was still full of dissatisfaction.

“The only reward for being loyal like a dog is an extra mission…… I’m really sorry. And besides, it’s all about drinking wine together. This really makes me skeptical about your loyalty.”

“Okay, then let me tell you one more thing.”

Duke Shade waited for the next words, his eyes twinkling.

I have had enough rest.

Let the child ride.

And finally he opened his mouth.

“But you haven’t done anything yet, have you? No matter what I try to tell you, it seems difficult without doing anything.”

Originally, what was easily gained was easily lost in value.

For now, it would have been enough just to smoke that he had a monopoly on delicious information.

That alone will faithfully fulfill the given mission.

“I will tell you about the other one after restoring Florante.”

The Duke’s face was stained with disappointment.

*

“Kahah-“

A crow landed on the balcony of Duke Shade’s mansion, clucking.

You can see the Duke’s office through the wide open window.

In an instant, black smoke erupted violently from the crow’s body, and it instantly changed into a human form.

It was Duke Shade.

At first, I was thinking of going straight to the chapel in the next room.

Then, when he noticed his reflection in the full-length mirror, he suddenly stopped walking.

The woman in the mirror was smiling.

“Between and now, it is still the case that you do not recognize me.”

Today, for no reason, my moodiness boiled over, so I showed my true self in front of the emperor.

As for her own beauty, she would never fall short even if she was compared to the great empress, and she was fine even once, so she expected people to see herself as a woman.

However, the emperor’s reaction was very different from what I expected, so I was very disappointed.

When the word came out that she was going to Flo Lante with the empress, she was so embarrassed that she almost burst into tears.

She said that she loved her so much that she went with her to the battlefield.

Because he’ll never stand a chance.

That’s why he smiled even more brightly.

But even so, I couldn’t help but think that the whole thing was really strange.

She had been through countless murders, and she thought that feelings like love had already dried up.

Nevertheless, when I saw the emperor, this ardent heart could not calm down at all.

In fact, the former head of the Duke of Shade died six years ago.

However, the work of the Duke of Shade never leaked out, no matter what.

She secretly became the head of the duchy at the age of 19.

The emperor’s approval, which remained as a practice anyway, was an exception only for the Duke of Shade.

The Duchess of Shade acts like the emperor’s invisible sword, always proving its loyalty.

She looked at herself in the mirror and smiled brightly.

And she murmured softly.

“Wine, you will have to drink quite a lot.”

Hardening her face again, she slowly made her way to the chapel.

There was a huge statue in the shape of an eyeball covered with gold.

Of course, her pupils were the color of blood.

Red eyes.

It is now forgotten by everyone, but that was the symbol of the Lord Oculus.

However, it has long been forgotten that the symbol of Oculus is the red eye, not to mention the believers, but even the temple.

So, she couldn’t help but question.

For some reason, why did the main god’s presence suddenly fade?

Her question would never have been resolved had her oracle not been given to her.

She prostrated herself in front of the statue of Oculus, silently, for a long time without moving, and worshiped with a reverent heart.

She then remembered her oracle from her past.

The oracle of the Goddess Oculus flashed through my mind for a very short time, like looking at a single picture.

But the amount of information contained in it was unbelievably vast.

Innumerable times and spaces and as many beings as stars in the night sky were all contained in that fleeting sight.

Because it was possible to get a bird’s-eye view of a person’s entire life just by seeing a single scene, I was convinced that it was a power that humans could not dare to touch.

She was overcome with self-doubt and began to sob.

“Lord Oculus, your son has traveled a long way and finally returned… ….”

She saw clearly through her oracle.

Inside, the past, present, and future of a man she secretly loved was contained.

And even the lonely journey after that was clearly contained.

So she could be sure.

Finally everything is getting right.