65 Heartbreaking Confession (1/2)

TILLY decided to take a detour before going home.

She suddenly thought of visiting their coachman who just got out of hospital. Yes, the one that was driving the carriage when she was ambushed. Fortunately, the coachman was recovering well now. Thanks to Captain Denver's memory manipulation, his memory matched the statement that she gave about the accident.

As compensation, she paid the hospital bill. Also, she gave the family a huge amount of money for them to use while the coachman couldn't return to work yet. But she didn't want them to think that they could only offer compensation to them.

To other people, it was just a simple accident.

But she knew the truth. The coachman was hurt because she was ambushed. Naturally, she would feel guilty about it.

So here she was now at the coachman's house while having early dinner with the family. She brought a lot of meat. For their three children (all boys and aged five, seven, and nine), she brought sweets and pastries, as well as toys and clothes.

[I really like children.]

”Lady Prescott, thank you for looking after our family,” Bert, the forty year old coachman, said with a smile. The coachman and his wife Carla insisted to send her off. ”I'll return to work as soon as I can. I want to be of use to you and Sir Kiho again, my lady.”

”Don't worry about it, Bert,” Tilly said with a smile. ”Just focus on your recovery.”

”We don't deserve your kindness, Lady Prescott,” Carla said, almost in tears. ”Please allow us to serve your family forever.”

”We are always grateful for your service,” Tilly said to the old couple. ”Kiho and I are lucky to have you in our family.”

After bidding goodbye to the family, Damian escorted her to the carriage.

While walking, she could feel eyes on her. It was as if someone was watching her closely. Of course, she got afraid. But she didn't let it show.

[Did His Majesty already make his move?]

To be honest, she didn't expect that.

She thought the emperor was the ”chill” type. Was it His Majesty's ”style” to be this aggressive? For some reason, she couldn't believe it.

[It's also possible that someone else is after me.]

”Damian, tell the coachman to use the long way back home,” Tilly said to the young knight. ”And as much as possible, avoid the route with less people.”

Usually, their coachman would take a short cut so they could go home faster. But those short cuts were usually remote. But the long routes were safer because the roads were usually filled with people and other carriages.

If there were a lot of witnesses that the assailants couldn't simply kill, then the probability of being ambushed on her way home would be reduced.

Tilly turned to Damian. ”And stay with me inside the carriage.”

Damian bowed to her. ”As you wish, my lady.”

***

KIHO was relieved when he finished all his paper works a few minutes before the end of his working hours. He didn't have to work overtime and he could go home early Also, he had time to prepare for his date with Tilly.

[I can only think of one place where we can be alone but it's kind of dangerous.]

Well, he'd be with her wife anyway. He just had to make sure that his wife and their baby in her womb wouldn't get hurt in that place. Despite the risk, he was still excited to bring Tilly there because it was his ”secret base” in the empire.

[I bet not even the emperor knows that a place like that exists.]

”Kiho.”

To say that Kiho was surprised when Emperor Aku appeared in his humble office would be an understatement. God, his men guarding outside must have been shocked when they saw the emperor. Well, that was if they caught a glimpse of him anyway.

[Maybe not. His Majesty is good at hiding his presence.]

”Your Majesty, with all due respect, I can't work overtime tonight,” Kiho said in a flat voice. ”If you have work for me, I'll just do it tomorrow.”

”I'm not here to make you work overtime,” Emperor Aku denied with a pout. Then, he sat on the sofa in the lounging area of his office. ”I'm just here to hang out with you for the last time.”

””Last time?”” he asked in confusion. ”Are you saying that it's okay if I don't return to my post after a year?”

”Of course not,” the emperor denied. ”What I mean is this is the last time we'd get to hang out before your year long vacation.”

”Oh.”

”Why do you look so disappointed?” His Majesty complained. ”Do you really want to quit as a captain that much?”

He didn't answer. Instead, he just went to the mini pantry of his office. He hated being served so he built a pantry inside his office so he could make coffee for himself. Thankfully, Blake put some tea in his stash to serve his guests. ”I'll make some tea for you, Your Majesty.”

”Yes, please.”

”I only have cheap tea here so don't complain.”

Well, not really cheap. It was the same brand that average nobles consume. But of course, compared to what royals drink, it could still be considered cheap.

The emperor just laughed it off. ”I won't, I won't. I like trying what commoners eat and drink sometimes.”

[So bourgeois.]

After making tea, he served it to the emperor and joined him in the lounging area. He sat on the sofa across His Majesty.

”Hmm,” Emperor Aku said after having a sip of the tea. ”It tastes okay.”

”You don't have to force yourself to drink it if you don't like the taste, Your Majesty.”

”I said it tastes okay,” he whined, pouting like a child. ”Why are you always harsh to me, Kiho?”

”Your Majesty, if you have anything to say, please say it now,” he said with a straight face. ”I have a date with my wife.”

”I'm hurt, Kiho,” Emperor Aku complained again. ”Tell me. If Lady Prescott and I were both drowning, who would you save first?”

”Tilly.”

”You didn't even stop to think about it,” the emperor whined. Again. ”Kiho, you vowed loyalty to the throne. Choosing your wife over me could be considered treason.”

He tilted his head to one side in confusion. ”Why though? I'm sure you're capable of saving yourself, Your Majesty. Wait, can you even drown?”

He laughed at his question. ”Kiho, even though you quit as a captain, you're still a knight of the Great Moonchester Empire. It's your responsibility to prioritize me above anything or anyone else in the empire.”

”I vowed my loyalty to the throne,” he said carefully. ”The throne is the symbol of power and authority in the empire. I believe that the power and authority granted to whoever is sitting on the throne is for the sake of the citizens. As a knight, it's my duty to keep an eye on the emperor and make sure that he doesn't abuse the power given to him. I am not obliged to follow you blindly, Your Majesty. I'm a knight of the empire– not your personal puppet.”

”Hmph,” the emperor said, acting like a child throwing tantrums. ”You talk big for someone who's dubbed as my ”shadow beast.””

The ”shadow beast” term was a euphemism for ”assassin.”

It was true that he had done a lot of dirty work for the emperor.

But…

”Don't get mistaken, Your Majesty,” Kiho said carefully. ”The only reason I haven't said 'no' to your assassination requests is because I judged that killing off the people in your list would benefit our empire. But if I have to reject a mission from you, I will. I don't care if you punish me. I'll stand by what I believe is right.”

”You're breaking my heart, Kiho,” the emperor said with a bitter smile. ”What you said wasn't wrong. Knights vow their loyalty to the throne and not on the person sitting on it. But I thought you'd choose my side whatever happens because of our bond.”

”We've met when I was only eight years old,” he said. During that time, he didn't know that he was the empire's crown prince. ”You appear and disappear from time to time. But each time you show up, you would always give me food and new clothes. I don't want to admit this but you're a father figure to me.”

”Hey, I'm not that old,” His Majesty complained lightly. ””Big brother.” Say that I'm like a big brother to you instead of father figure.”

”Same difference,” he said, refusing to call him ”big brother” again. ”Anyway, when I was thirteen, you brought me to the Royal Capital. Despite the higher nobles' firm refusal, you still gave me the title of a knight just after a year of training. And after two years, you asked me to kill the previous captain of the Black Serpent Knights.”

The emperor asked him to kill Sir Horan because of his corruption. He used his position as a captain and made his men run his illegal ”business.” Sir Horan sold information about Emperor Aku and the other captains to anyone who had money to pay for it.

He killed Sir Horan but his corruption was swept under the rug. The emperor's advisors didn't want the public to know that Sir Horan was a traitor because they didn't want other people to know and copy the previous captain's ”business.”

And so, he became the scape goat. The public thought he killed Sir Horan just to steal his position as the captain.

[Ah, right. His Majesty made me the captain of Black Serpent Knights after that.]

The emperor also made him recruit his own members because all the knights under Sir Horan's previous squad were locked up in Arabella– the worst prison in the empire.

He recruited the mercenaries he worked with as the new members of Black Serpent Knights. The nobles weren't too happy that people from questionable background were appointed as knights but they couldn't do anything about it. After all, he was backed up by the emperor.