The knight who opened the door didn’t even glance at the Duke and shouted with a pale face.

“Gr, great trouble, Your Majesty! His Highness the Crown Prince….!”

As soon as Nathaniel’s story came out, the Duke’s body jerked.

Even the Duke, who knew nothing about swords, felt an overwhelming energy from behind the knight.

“It’s been a while, Duke.”

Nathaniel, who entered through the door, found the Duke of Trevia looking up at him with a stupid face from the floor.

He crouched down and smiled slyly as he looked into the Duke of Trevia’s eyes.

“You seem to be keeping well.”

The Duke’s body involuntarily trembled at the unmistakable killing intent.

Nathaniel looked at the Duke’s trembling hand and spoke with a smirk.

The Duke had never been so afraid of anything in his life.

“I hear the Duke is fussing about my married life.”

“Your Highness’s marriage is not a private matter but the future of the empire. Therefore, as a loyal subject, I must offer necessary admonition.”

The Duke of Trevia tried to answer proudly.

Even if the opponent was the crown prince, his side was a longstanding loyal family.

Moreover, wasn’t it the family of the current empress?

He couldn’t treat him lightly if he wanted to ascend to the emperor’s throne safely.

The leader of the aristocratic faction was the Duke of Trevia, after all.

“Hiiek!”

Nathaniel emotionlessly drew the sword of a knight standing next to him and pressed it to the Duke’s neck.

The Duke of Trevia had made a mistake.

Nathaniel had no particular interest in the security of the empire or his future.

In his life, there were only good and bad things.

Only extremely dichotomous choices.

“If you run that mouth carelessly once more, I can’t guarantee that your neck will be attached, Duke.”

The Duke’s eyebrows trembled with fear and humiliation.

“Ar, are you threatening me now!”

“Threat? I’m just advancing your future.”

The emperor, who had been watching the situation with interest, suddenly realized that Nathaniel might actually carry out his threat.

He may have become a bit tamed after marriage, but Nathaniel originally had a bad personality.

“Nathaniel, put down that sword and talk. You know you can’t shed blood on this sacred land, don’t you?”

“Then, should I evaporate it without leaving a single drop of blood?”

The emperor gulped.

The eyes were completely crazed.

“All of this is for the wellbeing of the great empire!”

“Duke, shut that mouth!”

The Duke, who still seemed not to grasp the situation, babbled on.

Nathaniel raised his sword.

(This is a time separator.)

The door to the reception room I had run to was wide open.

And through the crack in the door, I could see Nathaniel holding up a sword.

Thinking he might really cause trouble, I first shouted with all my might.

“Nathaniel!”

Whether he responded to my call or not, Nathaniel’s body paused for a moment.

When I entered the reception room, I grabbed Nathaniel’s arm.

“This won’t solve anything, you know.”
His red eyes met mine.

I diligently tried to persuade him, with his eyes filled with discomfort.

“If you kill that person here, the other nobles will be more annoying.”

It was indeed like that in the original work.

Count Trevia had forced Nathaniel to sacrifice for the empire, and he was beheaded and killed on the spot.

The place where the imperial palace was built was a dragon’s sanctuary, and it was an unwritten law that it must not be stained with blood.

The nobles began to argue that the crown prince must be replaced with Henry, taking the opportunity of Nathaniel breaking that unwritten law. That incident became the reason Nathaniel grew tired of humanity.

After much conflict, Nathaniel finally sheathed his sword.

The emperor breathed a sigh of relief and collapsed into his seat.

Count Trevia had already fainted, so there was no response.

Nathaniel prodded the Count with his foot and said,

“If I hear such talk again in the future, I will not let it go.”

I grabbed his arm and led him out to the garden.

I guided him to a suitably secluded spot and sat on a bench.

His lips were still tightly closed, perhaps still angry.

“You didn’t have to go that far.”

At my words, Nathaniel’s face crumpled.

He answered with an arrogant voice.

“It seems you’re not even angry that I entertain other women.”

“No, that’s not it.”

Saying so felt strange.

I was worried about how to explain it to Nathaniel.

“Of course I was upset.”

His head tilted as if questioning my truth, and the anger I had been holding back surged.

“You act as if I have some defect. Of course, I’m angry.”

“Then why didn’t you get angry?”

“Because those around me might have been harmed.”

I was safe.

Because I was close to the pinnacle of power.

It was the same with Nathaniel.

That meant, in other words, the people I was close to could have been hurt.

“It’s the same with this incident. Nathaniel is the crown prince, so they can’t easily mess with you. That’s why they’re talking as if I’m the problem.”

Nathaniel didn’t say anything to my words.

He seemed somewhat angry.

“It’s the first time I’ve spared someone I intended to kill.”

“Oh come on. How can you kill over such a trivial matter?”

I was also very angry, and my rage was not completely cooled.

“You should keep them alive to make them suffer more.”

I smiled broadly and held Nathaniel’s hand.

He narrowed his eyes and muttered,

“Sometimes it seems you’re scarier than me.”

“So be good from now on.”

I slapped his back and got up from my seat.

Grace should be repaid tenfold, and revenge should be repaid a hundredfold.