Chapter 94

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Diaquit’s eyes lost focus and shook for a moment. He turned his eyes downward and stared at his feet.

“Don’t lie……”

“No.”

“No? Who told you that? Or did you tell the doctor to do that?”

“Why would I do such a nuisance? If I wanted to cripple your legs, I could do it myself.”

Diaquit’s lips trembled as he gasped and shouted.

“Kill me! Kill me!”

He had completely let go of the will of life. A man who has lived above others until now has to be helped for the rest of his life. He would have felt ashamed.

When I stared down at Diaquit, who was crying out as if he really wanted to die, I felt a warped heart rising up from within me.

Yes, I wished that Diaquit would live in such horrendous pain. In a condition of being neither dead nor alive. Like the three years I was bound as a ghost in my previous life after I died in Diaquit’s plot.

The heart of hating someone made it too easy to have terrible desires.

The negativity that assailed me as I faced Diaquit was dim. It was the first time I felt malice toward another person.

I didn’t want to be in the same space with Diaquit anymore. I didn’t want to spend my energy hating him. He was not worth it.

Neither dead or alive, whatever Diaquit’s future was, he had nothing to do with me.

That was my revenge. To completely remove the existence of Diaquit from my life.

I had no desire to defend myself as I sat back and watched him tumble into the abyss. I would live my life without such a poor man.

Diaquit finally burst into tears. His bloodshot eyes glistened with water.

I spoke slowly, suppressing all my emotions.

“You have no right to choose your fate. It will be decided by the negotiations between countries.”

“Ha…..”

“All of this you brought upon yourself. You have no one to blame but yourself.”

“No, I…”

“There is no one to listen to your excuses anymore.”

Diaquit bit his lip and burst into tears. I had been referring to Diaquit as if he were a stranger for a long time, but for the first time I brought up the old title.

“Brother.”

“…….”

“Why did you think you weren’t an Awakened One? That’s why you hated me for being the Awakened One. You never even had it, and yet it was as if it had been taken from you.”

Diaquit could not say anything except to show an upset look on his face.

“By the way, how could the Silver Forest be so foolish as to give brother power?”

“…… what?”

“Power is given to those who are worthy of it.”

“Then you are…. … are you saying that you are qualified?”

For a long time I thought I was not qualified. In my previous life, I was frustrated as to why, of all people, I had to become an Awakened One and suffer such burdens and condemnation. It was strange when I dreamed of the Goddess, and I was puzzled when my power returned.

But now that we have prevented war and restored peace. I already believed it. I believed in my power and potential.

I looked at Diaquit with a twisted face and said.

“I think I have proved my worth because I have prevented brother’s dirty plot.”

“You ……”

“I’ll end this now. And please, stay quiet. The doctors and the soldiers guarding this place have made a big deal about the headache you’ve caused. At this rate, you might get gagged. You have to keep your last dignity.”

As I turned my body after finishing talking, Diaquit shouted, his bound body jerking.

“Come here! I am not done talking. You ungrateful ……!”

I left the room without looking back. As I closed the door, Diaquit’s voice, which had been unpleasantly attached to my ear, was cut off.

This would be my last encounter with Diaquit. Never again would he shake my life.

I took one step at a time. Toward Kwanach, who was probably waiting for me nervously.

* * *

Diaquit Catatel returned to his homeland with full wounds in body and mind. He was stripped of all titles and power.

His life could be saved with the king of Achaia’s pledge not to allow Diaquit to intervene in politics forever.

However, Diaquit himself was dissatisfied with this life-threatening situation. He was incapable of accepting defeat.

Eventually, unable to bear the shame, he tried to stab himself in the chest with a dagger in the carriage transporting him to his home country.

But he had no strength in his arm that could not heal properly. He could not dig deep enough to die. He just lost more energy.

Diaquit returned to his homeland in a state of mental confusion from the pain. Naturally, there was no hospitality. The former regent and crown prince, who had disgraced the kingdom, had to quietly enter the castle, avoiding the gaze of the people.

The people of the entire continent knew of Diaquit’s crimes. The crime of knowingly aiding and abetting Roman’s experiments and actively trying to take advantage of them. He was guilty of starting a war with lies and pushing the North to the brink of death.

Both north and south cursed Diaquit. He was also criticized for surviving because he was the empress’s brother.

On the other hand, praise and blessings followed the Radon Empire for giving Achaia a chance to regain its honor and for showing mercy to Diaquit.

The people of the imperial capital waited with eager for the return to the imperial palace of the emperor and the empress, who had led the white battle to victory, as soon as possible.

* * *

It was the day to leave the separate palace and return to the Imperial Palace. I said with a trembling heart, clutching the reins.

“Are you sure you want to do this? I’ve never heard of such a thing before.….”

I turned my head and stared at my side. Kwanach was sitting on a tough black horse. He shrugged like it was no big deal.

“It’s an empire I created. If I do it, it will be the new law.”

It was only Kwanach who could say that. And since he was not wrong, I couldn’t argue with him.

No blood was shed, but it was the way to enter the castle after the battle. They had already finished preparing to hold the victory ceremony at the Imperial Palace.

Traditionally, the commander-in-chief led the victory procession on horseback from the front. This time, since the emperor went directly to war, Kwanach was supposed to lead the procession.

However, Kwanach suggested that I stand with him by his side. The emperor and his wife were going to lead the army into the city side by side.

I was the empress, but I was not the one with the authority to lead the army, so I refused at first. I thought the soldiers would also be awkward.

But despite my concerns, the soldiers seemed to want me to stand in front of them. While I was perplexed, everything was proceeding quickly.

Before I knew it, it was the moment I was about to enter the capital. I climbed onto the white horse that had been prepared for me and stood next to Kwanach. I squeezed the reins. My fingertips turned white.

Kwanach glanced at me and said .

“Are you nervous?”

“Of course ……. Last time I was in a carriage. This is my first time to face the people directly.”

“You’d better get used to it, because we’ll have a wedding soon.”

“A wedding?”

“Didn’t we put off having another grand event in the Empire because we were caught up in this and that?”

“Oh…….”

To be honest, I had completely forgotten about it. It was a very busy and unstable political situation to have a wedding so far.

We had already taken our vows and were officially a married couple, so having a wedding in the empire was not an essential element. However, to the people, I would certainly be imprinted as an empress.

Kwanach’s dark eyebrows furrowed as I looked soulless. His thick lips pouted discontentedly.

“Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten? I spent every spare moment imagining how I would hold my second wedding.”

“No. I’m very much looking forward to it.”

At my answer, Kwanach gently relaxed his brow.

“I intend to make it very big. We will designate it as a temporary holiday and make it a festival for everyone. I’ve been working on this for a long time to make the entire capital a wedding atmosphere.….”

“What? That much?”

Where is the market economy that is frugal, reasonable and doesn’t waste money. When I asked in surprise, Kwanach’s face was slightly sullen.

I thought it was very cute. How could a man as huge as a black bear look so cute that I doubted he was even human?

I quickly cleared my throat and spoke.

“Oh, no. Do as you wish. It’s a wedding that will take place in the Empire.”

“Can I really do anything I want?”

“What am I going to do… Anyway, I’ll leave everything to you.”

“That’s great.”

Kwanach smiled faintly. He was a man who rarely smiled, but the smiling face he showed me every once in a while was magnificent. I felt a tight squeeze in my heart.

‘So it’s like this again.’

These days, I used to have trouble with my heart beating fast or throbbing when I saw Kwanach. It was not an unpleasant pain.

It was instinctive and vaguely felt. This was what we called a crush. And that it was one more proof of love, as the world called it.

I took a deep breath to calm my dizzy mind and said,

“Then… Shall we go in?”

The gates of the capital opened when Kwanach signaled.

Dung, dung, dung, the sound of music from the musicians who had been waiting in advance inside the capital began to echo. At the same time, the cheers of the people who had stood by the roadside and waited for a long time to see the victory procession.

“Wow!”

“For the Sun of Radon!”

“The Empress!”

My ears were tingling from the tremendous feast of sound.

Kwanach and I looked at each other briefly, and at the same time, we drove our horses slowly forward.