chapter 32

'... ... No, they're not exactly the same. If you just glance at them, you might mistake them for sisters or mother and daughter.'

At first, I thought she looked just like Aurora, but she was clearly different.

The woman who had just walked out of the pillar of light had sharper eyes, longer hair, a colder impression, taller height, and a more superior figure.

Yeah, it was just like Aurora who had grown up into an adult.

'First of all, since we're related... ... I guess it wouldn't be a problem if we look that similar.'

In fact, considering that both of them came from the NPC appearance retouching mod, it is highly likely that the Emperor's model was taken, slightly immaturely retouched, and then used as Aurora's model.

It's not that they look similar because they're relatives, but they're set up to look similar because they're relatives. Even if they look similar at first glance, they're clearly different.

"I see the sun of the empire."

"I see the sun of the empire."

I tried to imitate Aurora's words and actions. In a game, when you start a conversation, the main character will take a pose or move on without you having to do anything, but that wasn't the case here.

"Raise your head."

'The voices are similar too.'

Even her voice resembled Aurora's, but this time again, I felt that she was more mature.

I raised my head. Only after looking straight ahead, not just glancing sideways, was I able to take in the appearance.

Her pitch-black black hair flowed down her back and ended just below her buttocks. It was black hair that felt like darkness that could swallow up even debt.

The bangs were neatly tied at the parting, revealing the forehead above the left eye. The golden eyes, which were closer to gold than gold, held no emotion.

The uniform was all black and had the emperor's emblem embroidered on it, and the cleavage was cut quite deep, exposing the ample breasts inside. Her lingerie was slightly visible between the uniform and her bare skin.

The underwear was also black.

The collar and material of the uniform were extremely stiff, but the thighs revealed between the black garter belt wrapped around her thighs and the skirt that clung tightly to her hips seemed very soft.

The skirt of the uniform was incredibly short. It clung to her thighs and hips, revealing the lines of her body, and if you changed the angle even slightly, it seemed as if you could see her underwear underneath.

No, maybe it was just the angle that made me not notice that she was already showing me the black lingerie underneath.

The emotionless golden eyes turned towards Aurora. The identical golden eyes turned towards the Emperor.

"You must not have been doing well, Aurora, being tormented by your older brother."

"Yes, you know very well, Aunt Kaikeliah."

"I had aspirations to take that position someday. It looks like I've succeeded."

"It wasn't my own strength that made it happen. If it had been me alone, I would have probably succumbed to it. From beginning to end, it was one person's strength, and I just opened my mouth and ate what fell."

I heard a conversation that made me doubt my ears for a moment, but I decided to ignore it. Regardless of the content, it was a bit odd for an outsider to interfere with relatives exchanging greetings.

Even so, I don't think the first conversation would have gone well because of the lord's suffering. Did you know that and just ignore it?

"I got the letter. That idiot tried to summon a demon, so you killed him?"

"We couldn't kill it. To kill a demon, you need a divine spell or weapon, and we don't have either."

"I'm going to die soon anyway, so it doesn't matter whether I'm alive or dead now. Is the whole story exactly as it is written in the letter?"

"Yes. There is no difference."

"Hmm, so there's no difference… … ."

Kaikeliya crossed her arms under her chest, puffing out her chest, and tapped her forearms with her fingers, lost in thought.

Whether it was the influence of the mod or not, whenever they crossed their arms, they would all show off their chests like that. Not only Lize, who had breasts the size of her head, but even Erica, who was much smaller.

Suddenly, the head turned towards me.

As soon as the emotionless golden eyes turned to me, goosebumps appeared on my back. Cold sweat formed and my entire body became chill.

'Wow, this is no joke.'

There were also testimonies from NPCs in the game that when you face the emperor directly, you feel as if your entire body is stripped bare and your innermost thoughts are pierced.

I thought it was because there was no way for players to experience that feeling, but when I actually encountered it like this, I felt deep in my bones that it was absolutely not an exaggeration or a lie.

It really felt like my whole heart was being pierced. An unidentifiable chill and ominousness spread down my spine and throughout my body.

"Are you that new knight?"

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"You said it was you who helped Aurora ascend to the throne."

"No matter how much I ran wild next to you, would you have been able to succeed if your own abilities had not been outstanding?"

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Kaikeliya shut her mouth again and stared at me intently. Cold sweat dripped down her back. I wondered if I could properly react to the events that would unfold in the middle.

"You said that you were the one who discovered the book possessed by the devil?"

"Yes, that's right."

"The letter said that when they captured an armored horse and its rider, a demonic book appeared. Is that also true?"

"As Your Majesty said, that is also true."

I didn't say anything completely wrong.

You defeat the Headless Armored Cavalryman, get the Unseal Key he drops, unlock the dungeon, enter the dungeon, and get the book. It's just that the middle process is a little bit omitted.

"I took the book to my older brother and discussed a solution."

"yes."

"But it couldn't overcome its greed and tried to summon the devil on its own, which resulted in this disaster."

"Yes."

As this pointless dialogue continued, I began to feel a little uneasy.

There was no dialogue that questioned the player about what had happened while going over the contents of each letter. It was as if there was no time to talk and he went straight into the basement.

Kaikeliya walked closer to me, step by step, very slowly. As the distance between us narrowed, the pressure on my heart grew stronger.

Even though I was clearly putting my feet on the ground, it seemed like I could hear the sound of footsteps clacking.

The distance, which had been narrowing very slowly in accordance with their strides, stopped only after the space between them had been reduced to three or four steps.

"How long has it been since you joined the Knights Templar?"

"It's been about two weeks."

"Two weeks, two weeks… … ."

Kaikeliya tapped her arm again, lost in thought. Then she looked at me with an even more inorganic and cold gaze.

"So, are you saying that even after all this time, you still don't realize that the person who was your older brother is nothing more than trash?"

'What the fuck.'

I saw Kaikilia asking exactly what Iris had pointed out, and I cursed quietly inwardly. It was a situation I had never experienced before in a game.

Just go straight down to the basement, deal with the demon, ask briefly what happened, have a quick event with the protagonist, retrieve the lord's body, and return to the palace.

If I hadn't thought about this situation and prepared for it in advance, I would have definitely been flustered. What would happen next would have been obvious.

I glanced at Aurora. She too looked noticeably flustered.

'Aurora is fine. You can't see her expression since she's behind you anyway. What's important is me. If I show that I'm flustered or agitated, it's over.'

The game had already been set and there was no turning back. So, whether it was death or life, I had to push through to the end.

"I didn't understand."

"You didn't understand?"

His eyes narrowed. His heart pounded so hard that it felt like it was going to burst out of his mouth.

"Yes. The knight commanders, that lord—"

"It is 'it.'"

"yes?"

"I said to call it 'it'. It is now a non-human entity under imperial law. Why call a non-human a title that only humans can occupy?"

Now that I think about it, I remember that Kaikeliya also regularly called the lord 'older brother'. I quickly lowered my head and changed my words.

"I apologize, Your Majesty. It was a slip of the tongue. I knew all along that the Knight Commanders would curse him for not being able to properly handle it, but I thought it was because of that that I should discuss it with him. Given his personality, if we tried to resolve the issue related to the devil within the Knights without saying anything… … I thought he might use that as an excuse to find fault with us, so I did that."

"Hmm, yeah. I guess I figured that might be a nitpick… … ."

Kaikilia mumbled vaguely. Then, she took another step forward. Now, the distance between Kaikilia and me had narrowed to less than the length of an arm.

On the other side, Aurora was seen stamping her feet in confusion. She probably never thought that Kaekilia would question her this deeply.

It was the same for me. I didn't show it on the outside, but inside I was sweating profusely.

Aurora thought she would be able to get by since she had met Kaikeliya in person, and I thought she would be able to get by since I had knowledge from the game.

Both of these were somewhat well-founded confidences, but now it can only be seen that they were wrong.

"Are you saying such things?"

'...!'

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As soon as I saw the halo forming in Kaikelia's hand, I raised my bloody sword. I didn't even have time to draw it from its scabbard. The moment I tried to do so, it was already too late.

The key here is to react as quickly as possible, no matter what. I brought the bloody sword, sheathed, to my neck. As soon as I did, a strong shock struck me.

-Chae-ae-aeng!!!!!!

"Aunt?!"

"Huh?"

Aurora's voice was close to shock, and at the same time, I heard Caicilia's voice, quietly expressing admiration, as if she had never imagined that I would react.

My body was thrown straight backwards.

I stabbed my sword into the ground to support myself, but I was still pushed back a long time later. I was barely able to stop myself after moving nearly twenty steps away from where I was.

He shook off his tingling hands and relaxed his posture. A long line of marks were left on the garden soil where he had stabbed himself with his sword to slow down. The grass around him had been completely uprooted.

'Wow, I almost didn't react.'

Phew, I let out a sigh of relief. I was so flustered seeing Caiquelia acting so differently than I expected that I almost died without even being able to react properly.

If he had been just a little bit slower in blocking the sword, or if he had drawn his sword instead of trying to block it with the scabbard, his head would have been cut off, so it was a really close call.

"It seems like those achievements you made weren't just empty boasts."

It was a voice that seemed to be filled with satisfaction. I raised my head and faced Kaikeliya.

In Kaikilia's right hand, who raised the corners of her lips slightly as she looked at me, was holding a holy sword that emitted a light as bright and sacred as the sun in the sky.