Chapter 130: CH 129

Chapter 129 – Rajie’s Narration

“…Hoh.” (Hakumen)

How troublesome. The allied forces… in other words, King Dragia and the others, would be opposed to letting the imperial bloodline live on. Right now, he was only nine years old and knew nothing, so he was being kept in imprisonment. There were only two paths before him.

One would be to tell him everything when he came of age, and he would then be publicly executed to take responsibility for the wrongdoings of the Empire. The other path would involve letting him live on in captivity, hidden away from the public eye. Either way, it would be a terrible fate.

In the latter option, even if he lived a long life, he would spend the rest of his life locked up. That couldn’t really be called living.

That said, saving him would be an act of treason against the allied forces. They had finally eliminated the threat to peace, so doing something like this would be like fanning the flames of war once more. If King Dragia and the others found out about this, it wouldn’t be strange for them to conspire to eliminate me.

For him to ask this of me despite knowing this…

“In other words, you want me to assist you in carrying out this treasonous act?” (Hakumen)

“I only asked you because I know I can trust you.” (Rajie)

“….You don’t know that. You and I have never met before today. Why would you trust me so much? I could tell King Dragia right this moment, you know?” (Hakumen)

If I were in his position, I would never have asked someone like me. And even if I did, I would deeply investigate the person and only make a choice after knowing that they would be a useful candidate.

“I know I can place my faith in you because you are a genuine merchant.” (Rajie)

“…What?” (Hakumen)

“You pursue profit without emotion. That’s why I know I can trust you with this matter.” (Rajie)

“In the past, I used to be a merchant who only pursued profits. But because of that, I made enemies. Someone who found my existence disagreeable decided to send an assassin after me. And when I was on the brink of death and thought I was done for, someone who happened to be passing by saved me. That person saw promise in my ability and decided to keep me by their side. It’s strange, now that I think about it. I was just a merchant back then, but now I’m the minister of a country, all thanks to that person.” (Rajie)

“…Who was that person?” (Hakumen)

“It was Shuren-sama.” (Rajie)

Shuren? The name was familiar. I had certainly heard it just now.

“You’re not mistaken. I was talking about Shuren-sama, the 13th concubine of the emperor,” Rajie explained, seeming to see through my thoughts.

I suppose the reason why the old man looked so sad when he mentioned that Shuren had died earlier was because she was his benefactor. From the fact that she had managed to elevate him from an attendant to a minister, I could take a guess at the level of status she had once possessed.

“Shuren-sama was the second princess of the Kingdom of Allods.” (Rajie)

As I imagined, she was also royalty.

“Back when she saved me, Shuren-sama was only 9 years old. Oddly enough, that’s the same age Nike-sama is now,” Rajie narrated with a hint of nostalgia in his voice.

“After I was saved by her, I stayed by her side and used my knowledge and connections as a merchant to do everything I could for her sake. But Shuren-sama wasn’t a greedy person. Her love for flowers and small animals far outweighed her desire for money or valuables.” (Rajie)

Shuren seemed to be a lady-like figure, like a princess in every sense of the word.

“She had a rather weak constitution, but she always laughed a lot and was a good person who was well-liked by everyone in the country. When Shuren-sama turned 25, she received a marriage proposal.” (Rajie)

A marriage proposal…?

“She was married off to the Empire.” (Rajie)

“…I see. In other words, her father married her off to strengthen ties with the Empire, then.” (Hakumen)

“It wasn’t an uncommon occurrence by any means. Back then, the more you could strengthen your ties with the Empire, the more power you would have. The marriage had good prospects, and Shuren-sama agreed.” (Rajie)

Rajie looked lonely as he said this. As a grandfather-like figure to her, he must have been happy for her, but on the other hand, he was probably worried that he might lose his grandchild.

“But marrying into the imperial family at 25 years old seems quite late, though.” (Hakumen)

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“…Shuren-sama was often bedridden. Because of that, the doctors were sure that she would never be able to bear a child. Their diagnosis concluded that her bodily stamina wouldn’t be able to hold up.” (Rajie)

If that was the case, she probably couldn’t have been used in a political marriage.

“But it was around when she turned 20, I suppose. Her illness gradually disappeared, and she was no longer confined to her bed. Everyone was so happy to hear that she had been cured. Thus, His Majesty said that if her illness hadn’t progressed any further by the time she turned 25, he would marry her off.” (Rajie)

So when she was 25, the timing was just right, and a proposal came in. Rajie explained that at that time, it was revealed that the emperor was having difficulties with having children, so he was looking for concubines from various countries. Anyone with a certain level of status was acceptable. The emperor took in many concubines, and one of them was Shuren.

“Soon after Shuren-sama was married into the Empire, good news came to our country, that Shuren had conceived a child.” (Rajie)

In fact, the king of Allods didn’t think that Shuren would be able to bear a child. He apparently thought the only advantage he could gain from her was in marrying her off.

However, his expectations were betrayed in a good way, and she was able to give birth to the emperor’s fifth child. This was a huge benefit to the kingdom of Allods, and a strong connection was formed.

It was also a joyous occasion for Rajie. Shuren, who had long passed the typical age for marriage and had been treated as just one of the many concubines, had her status elevated to a higher level. He was sure that the emperor would continue to take care of her and cherish her.

However, five years after Shuren gave birth, Rajie caught wind of news he didn’t want to believe.

News of Shuren’s death. It was a letter in Shuren’s handwriting, and her tragic cry was detailed within.

Back then, the emperor was naturally happy that Shuren had given birth to his child. Even though she was 25 years old, she looked so young, and she was sweet and broad-minded. The emperor’s love for her grew, and everything in the letter so far was as Rajie had expected.

However, the emperor’s first wife and the other concubines did not appreciate Shuren’s presence. The emperor had become too enamored with Shuren, which led to a great deal of jealousy from those around her.

In other words, she was bullied. People around her tried to get rid of her because they didn’t like the fact that she was so favored by the emperor. However, Shuren was able to endure the pain and pull through it all because as a mother, she still had Nike.

However, when Nike was 4 years old, the emperor’s first wife forced Shuren to spend time away from Nike. They could only see each other every once in a while.

Of course, Shuren couldn’t remain silent and asked the emperor to help put an end to his first wife’s unjust treatment. But his first wife held immense power in the imperial consort, and as the emperor and her were childhood friends, he didn’t strongly criticize her either.

With most of the people around her standing firmly against her as enemies, there wasn’t much Shuren could do. She was afraid Nike would be killed if she didn’t do anything, so she started plotting to escape from the Empire with Nike.

However, fate was cruel, and the illness that had been quiet for all these years came back, flaring up.

The emperor’s first wife saw this as the best opportunity to take action and quarantined Shuren, claiming that she was suffering from a brutal, infectious disease and that anyone who came near her would be infected. For the days that followed, she wasn’t allowed to see anyone, not even Nike.

Shuren suffered an extreme level of emotional torment, and at that time all she could think of were the peaceful times she had spent in the kingdom of Allods.

She wrote a series of letters about the past year, left them to someone that she could trust, and ended her life due to her worsening illness.

And the very end of the letter, she wrote thus.

“I can’t fight any longer… I wish I could have spent more time with Nike. And I really wanted to see you again, Rajie… I’m terribly sorry for being so weak.”

I quietly listened to Rajie as he wrung out the last few words.

What an ill-fated woman. I thought to myself as I looked at Rajie, who was trembling with anger and grief.

“It’s the same as Shuren-sama… being killed by the Empire.” (Rajie)

That was apparently why he had entered the war—to avenge Shuren’s death.

And one other thing—

“―And to take Nike back. That is the only way I, Rajie, can repay Shuren-sama.” (Rajie)

Rajie looked up and returned my gaze, tears brimming in his eyes.

“But if things continue the way they are now, Nike-sama will have to spend his entire life enduring the same life as Shuren-sama.” (Rajie)

He was a child of the emperor. Naturally, he would be living in isolation, just like Shuren had.

From what I heard, it was indeed a situation that drew sympathy. However…

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