I Became a Slave to the Man I Abandoned Novel (Completed) - Chapter 158

Esterion’s words held a subtle warning. The chief eunuch, catching the nuance, nodded. Esterion then responded secretively, “Then perhaps your life will be spared.”

“…My master is not so cruel, you see.” Esterion said with a hint of regret, then turned and walked away. The chief eunuch stared blankly at his retreating back for a moment before regaining his composure and beginning the final inspection.

And so, the hall was fully prepared to welcome the new Emperor.

As time passed, the grand hall’s doors opened, and dignitaries from abroad and nobles of the Empire began to enter one by one. They subtly eyed each other while gauging the atmosphere within. Those who held their heads high were, of course, the nobles who had supported Nox Rainerio. Once known as the noble faction, they were now, with Nox Rainerio’s ascension to the throne, naturally the Imperial Faction.

They wore relaxed, victorious smiles. Those who hadn’t managed to align themselves with them subtly approached and engaged in conversation, while the foreign dignitaries busily observed their movements, trying to ascertain where the scales of power had tipped.

“Marquis Dimitri Anderlas has secured a position as His Majesty’s confidant, I hear?” “He immediately joined forces when His Majesty was reinstated…” “Was it his foresight?” “Who extended their hand first, no one knows.” “…Was His Majesty watching everything?”

No one in the hall could fathom the intentions of the man who had fallen to the status of a slave and then risen to the Emperor’s throne. How could things have come to this?

As they buzzed with whispers, the clock struck the hour. The central doors opened, and trumpets blared. The nobles, divided on either side of the red carpet, all turned their gazes towards the entrance.

The doorman announced, his voice louder than ever, “The rightful successor of the Daidalonz Empire enters!”

He was not yet Emperor, but he walked this red path to become one. With Nox’s entrance, his black uniform came into view. The underside of his black mantle, fluttering lightly behind him, was a deep green. His shoes, treading the floor, lacked polish but appeared sturdy and firm. Nox walked straight ahead, ignoring the multitude of nobles gathered, his gaze fixed solely forward. This red path was meant for him alone.

Nox’s presence, walking this red path alone and regally, was by no means small. His gaze, sharpened like a black-forged sword, fixed on the throne.

There was no former Emperor, no Empress, no imperial family member to bestow the crown upon him. He was now the last remaining member of the imperial family in this empire. Nox Rainerio ascended the stairs alone, took the crown placed on the red cushion into his own hands, looked down at it, smiled wryly, and placed it upon his head.

“I feel like a jester,” Nox’s cynical words made the nobles stiffen. Wearing the crown, he slowly sat on the red throne. The very seat that one who had fallen to the status of a slave could never have imagined occupying. This scene was an undeniable reality. The red throne was like the blood spilled by the previous Emperor. Concealing that red with his black mantle, Nox Rainerio sat on the Emperor’s throne.

Marquis Anderlas applauded. With the sound of his applause, the hall was instantly filled with the clapping of countless people. Nox looked down at the scene indifferently, then lightly gestured to the chief eunuch. The chief eunuch raised his hand and cried out, “Silence in the hall!”

The applause abruptly ceased at his command. Nox slowly surveyed them, then spoke. The chief eunuch bowed deeply, knowing what was coming. He seemed to finally understand the purpose of that strange void that had existed since the enthronement ceremony was first planned.

“Bring forth the criminal who assassinated the former Emperor.”

The crowd instantly erupted in confusion. The grand doors, which had closed after Emperor Nox’s entrance, slowly began to reopen. And through them, the horrifyingly mangled form of Khalid Via was revealed, a sight unbearable to behold.

“My God!” “Ugh.”

Some turned away from the brutal sight, while others clamped hands over their mouths. He could barely walk, dragged almost unwillingly by the knights gripping his arms on both sides. His blood stained the red carpet brown. Nox Rainerio looked down at him with cold eyes.

Upon reaching a certain point, the knights flung him onto the floor. Thud. The bloody, fleshy mass knelt, then collapsed forward, burying his head on the ground.

Nox, sitting cross-legged on the throne, rested an elbow on the armrest and propped his chin on his hand. He then quietly asked Khalid, as if making a final inquiry, “Criminal Khalid Via, I ask you.”

There was no emotion in Nox’s voice. Only his dark eyes held a certain expectation.

“Who commanded you to assassinate the former Emperor?”

That emotion was expectation. The expectation that Khalid Via would betray him and utter his name. His eyes hoped to scoff that the emotion called love was merely a hallucination Khalid had indulged in.

The red mass twitched. His broken palms pressed against the floor, and slowly, he raised his head. His vacant blue eyes met Nox Rainerio’s gaze. Seeing Nox seated in a place no one could ever reach, Khalid Via felt an immense, overwhelming willingness.

Khalid didn’t know what answer Nox wanted from him. He only knew that his continued existence, his very breath, was an unbearable torment. Khalid welcomed it, reminding himself that this was what Nox Rainerio had endured. He merely awaited the finality Nox would bestow upon him.

And so, Khalid Via uttered his last words: “…The one who incited me was…”

His voice was faint, yet every noble in the hall leaned in, straining to hear. Would it be the name of Nox Rainerio, now Emperor, or another? After such torture, any name would likely be blurted out. But the words that finally escaped his lips were:

“No one… no one at all.”

Silence.

The grand hall fell into an unnerving silence, like a tomb. Not a single breath could be heard. No one dared to even sigh loudly. All eyes were fixed on Nox Rainerio, the man now seated on the Emperor’s throne. Nox bit his lip.

And then, suddenly.

“Ahahaha!”

He burst into laughter, a sound like a madman’s. He covered his face with one hand, bending over as he continued to laugh, as if utterly unhinged.

Yes, so there was something you wanted to protect after all. Whether it was Young Master Nox Rainerio, who is already dead, or me, the man now on the Emperor’s throne.

Regardless of how vile and foolish you were, you were capable of risking your life to protect something. Nox Rainerio’s laughter didn’t cease. A sound, indistinguishable between weeping and laughter, continued to echo. The atmosphere in the hall grew increasingly bizarre. The choked laughter filled the ceiling of the hall.

As everyone remained frozen, his laughter abruptly stopped.

Then, Nox’s lips parted.

“Khalid Via, who murdered an imperial family member, deserves to be hanged.”

Thus, Emperor Nox Rainerio would ascend the throne without any blemish.

But then, words followed that no one had anticipated.

“However, I, Nox Andras Daidalonz,”

No one had expected these words.

“Using the final immunity granted by the former Emperor, I hereby nullify the crime of regicide.”

A collective gasp swept through the room.

“And I grant him clemency for his sins.”

“That’s impossible!”

The first to step forward was Marquis Anderlas. As he cried out, Nox’s dark eyes fixed on him. Marquis Anderlas believed Khalid Via had to die here. The man who held Nox Rainerio’s secrets should not be allowed to live. He couldn’t understand Nox. Why would he save such a man? Was this not the man who had violated him? Why try to save someone who could be called a blemish on his life?

Nox looked down at Marquis Anderlas and tilted his head. Then, he continued, “However, his title will not pass to his children, and all his lands and authority will be reverted to the Imperial Palace.”

This meant Khalid would retain his ducal status for now, but merely as a puppet duke. Khalid Via, head raised, looked at Nox. His thoughts were unfathomable. Yet, a strange hope bloomed within him. He could continue to see him? He could be a part of his future? Even if it wasn’t an ideal way, the mere chance to breathe under the same sky made the world seem different.

Khalid’s blue eyes gleamed. Nox scoffed at the bizarre resurgence of that light.

Nox Rainerio’s enthronement ceremony concluded more turbulently than any Emperor’s before it. After the ceremony, there was a party, but the Emperor vanished with the criminal.

***

Nox left the party behind and arrived at the Imperial Bedroom, which he had remodeled to his liking. He flung open the terrace doors, leaned against the railing, and murmured, “Love, huh.” The word he uttered felt profoundly alien to him. He didn’t want to admit it, but Khalid Via had stood his ground.

“Hmph,” he scoffed, letting out a hollow laugh, mocking both Khalid and himself. Now Emperor, Nox didn’t want to acknowledge Khalid’s ‘love.’ In fact, he didn’t believe it could even be called love.

Yet, he had saved him because…

“Your Majesty.”

“Enter.”

A palace attendant’s voice called out, and the door creaked open. Stepping through was…

“The imperial healers are indeed capable.”

Well, they did save me when my heart was pierced, so their skill must be good, he thought to himself, self-deprecatingly. Khalid Via, now able to stand on his own two feet, raised his head to look at Nox. Nox stood by the terrace, at the highest point of the palace—a place where a fall would mean instant death.

Khalid Via felt his heart plummet. He desperately scurried towards the terrace and knelt. Nox slowly turned from the railing to face Khalid. All his peeled skin and torn flesh had returned to normal.

“Do you know why I saved you?” Nox asked.

“No, Your Majesty.”

“It seems being an idiot can’t be fixed, even if you die and come back to life.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.” Khalid Via simply stared at him, answering his words. Nox Rainerio slowly leaned against the railing. Khalid’s eyes flickered. Khalid Via felt his breath catch in his throat. It shouldn’t be, but the memory of almost losing him, now that everything was seemingly over, made him anxious.

“Your feelings aren’t love.”

Khalid responded urgently, “That’s right.”

“You can’t call something like that love.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

If you say so, then it must be so. Khalid Via was submissive, his dazed blue eyes tracking Nox. Nox’s eyes, which Khalid followed, remained dark. Even after ascending to a place no one could reach, still… Khalid felt a profound sadness, knowing it was presumptuous.

Khalid, still kneeling, whispered to him, no, pleaded with him. “I will die when you command it. I will carry out whatever you order. I will prove my faith to you until my death.” His dry lips parted. “So, bestow all the dirty, messy work upon me.”

Khalid’s face held only regret. “I will do so…” With bones creaking from being broken and reattached, Khalid dared to grasp Nox’s fingertips with trembling hands. “I will embrace everything and die.”

Nox watched Khalid silently, then slowly pushed himself away from the terrace railing and walked forward. Standing before Khalid, he reached out and gently stroked Khalid’s hair and cheek.

“Khalid Via.” And so, he gave Khalid Via a new name. “My beautiful…” Nox smiled softly. “Dog.”

Khalid’s eyes widened, then he smiled radiantly, like an innocent fool. “Yes, Your Majesty.” Even that title brought him joy as he kissed Nox’s fingertips.

Khalid willingly followed Nox’s will. A dog’s affection is simply a dog’s affection. Yet, he said, “I love you.” He embraced an emotion that would never be acknowledged, never be named.

Nox looked at the terrace railing. The sky was high and blue, and the impulse to end everything by crossing that line still lingered in his heart.

But Nox Rainerio had decided never to collapse again. And so, his misfortune finally ended. From now on, he will be called by another name.

The one who seized the Empire with his own hands. The one who plummeted to the bottom and then claimed the noble throne that no one dared to disrespect. The one who would become an unfathomable terror. Standing upon the buried, unfortunate, and foolish Nox Rainerio.

Emperor Nox Andras Daidalonz.

<The End.>