Chapter 18:
The Truth About the Former Emperor
THE WHOLE FORTRESS trembled and shook around Finn as he finally reached the command room. He was shocked at the destruction he found inside, including a jagged hole in the ceiling.
All the soldiers were on the floor, unconscious. Among them, a sobbing Moritz clung to his cane.
“Your Imperial Majesty?” Finn inched toward him.
Moritz lifted his head, wiping away tears. “Finn? You’re still alive? This is all my fault. I fell prey to Arcadia’s deception and killed my own father. All this is because of me.” The color had completely drained from his face, and the way he spoke made it sound like he was about to take his own life.
Finn was angry about the part Moritz had played in assassinating Carl, but he reined in his emotions and gazed down at the cane in the emperor’s hands. “That’s the old man’s, right?” He was sure he’d seen Carl use it all the time.
Moritz held it out to him. “I don’t need this anymore. You were my father’s favorite. You should have it.”
Finn gently took it in his hand, recalling how often Carl had used it. “What’s this?” he wondered aloud, twisting a gem atop the cane. The decoration glowed, producing a hologram of Carl.
“Father?!” Moritz cried.
Finn shook his head. “This is a recorded image. He can’t actually talk to you.”
Moritz hung his head.
“I assume Moritz is seeing this, or maybe someone else. Perhaps even that brat Finn, eh?” said the hologram. “I have no way of knowing who’ll see this, but I decided to record my dying moments.” He’d apparently done this after sustaining his fatal wound.
Finn was a little exasperated that Carl had implemented a function to record messages like this in his cane, but all the same, he watched the hologram with fond nostalgia.
“A Demonic Creature incited my fool of a son, Moritz, to assassinate me. He’s an incurable moron who was too reckless to hear me out.”
Moritz kept his eyes focused on the floor. He couldn’t dispute what his father said about him, disparaging as it was.
“I’d hoped for a peaceful conclusion to the war that took place eons ago between old and new humanity.”
At that, Moritz finally lifted his head and met Finn’s gaze. “Did you know about this?” he asked.
“No,” said Finn. “This is the first I’ve heard of it. I didn’t even learn about the whole war of survival until after he was dead.”
The hologram continued. “There are a vast number of Lost Items in Vordenoit. While scouring our records of those, I discovered that the ancients’ war still hadn’t ended. I knew that we, the descendants of new humanity, would eventually meet old humanity’s descendants in battle.”
Carl had apparently realized that before everyone else thanks to the relatively large number of Lost Items within Vordenoit’s borders. From the way he spoke, it seemed the problem had weighed heavily on his mind.
“I considered overwhelming the opposition with sheer military might, but that was far too merciless for my liking. I struggled over the issue. I thought, if I only I could place my trust in someone in Holfort Kingdom, the two of us could join hands to resolve the matter.”
Moritz shook his head in disbelief. “I never realized he’d thought this much about it.”
Finn felt likewise. Carl had always seemed shallow to him, preoccupied with fawning over Mia. He’d never known so much else was going on in his head.
“Then,” Carl went on, “someone I could trust did appear, so I decided to opt for a peaceful resolution instead of a violent one.”
Moritz sniffled, fresh tears streaming down his face. “If only I hadn’t let Arcadia talk me into this…”
“Unfortunately, my idiot son got in my way, so I have no way of knowing whether our nations will manage to come together or not. I can only hope he and the others involved chose the route of peace. Either way, if my fool son still lives, please make sure to deliver a message to him.”
Moritz raised his head.
Carl smiled. “I haven’t told you that I have an illegitimate child, an adorable daughter named Miliaris—or Mia, as I call her. I want you to make sure she can live in peace without getting dragged into the imperial family’s bloody power struggles. Oh, and if that brat Finn is still alive, tell him I’ll curse him from beyond the grave if he makes her cry.”
It was so like him to ramble about Mia at the end.
As Moritz grimaced, Finn shook his head. “So much for all the sentimentality.”
“Finally, a message for my idiot son: I forgive you.”
“What?” Moritz blurted out. His eyes, wide with surprise, met the hologram’s.
“It pains me to think of the difficult choice you’ll have to face, but you can’t escape the responsibility that falls on you. You have to shoulder it, Moritz, as well as whatever consequences come with it. Having said that, as your father, I’m willing to forgive and forget the hand you had in my death.”
A wail escaped Moritz, the tears falling fast.
“I’ll assume Miliaris is watching this recording as well,” Carl went on. “My adorable daughter, I love you dearly. If you wish to know just how much you mean to me, then allow me to explain…”
The hologram was beginning to fade at the edges, just as Carl’s consciousness must’ve faded as his life neared its end. Creating this recording had probably taken everything he had left in him.
As Carl’s image dissipated, he added, “Brat—no, I should at least call you by your name. Finn, you’d better make Mia happy.”
The hologram cut out after that, leaving Finn crying. His hands formed tight fists at his sides. “I planned on doing that anyway,” he grumbled back at the empty air.
Moritz slowly lifted himself to his feet. “Finn, there’s still something I need to do. You should carry out your duty as well.”
“Your Imperial Majesty?”
“You need to hurry to wherever Mia is. She was convinced you’d died, and she let Arcadia consume her.”
“She what?!”