Since that event, two years have slowly passed by. 

“Y-Your Imperial Majesty...” Alfred Northlord De Saedius spoke. “Count Cyclone and Count David, they…!” 

“Stop.” I cut him off because it was obvious what he was about to say. They had lost. In fact, they had lost a strategic location. 

Grit…!

A fresh scent of blood filled my nose. I could feel pain from my lower lip. I can’t even fathom how many times I’ve bit my lower lip. 

Grip!

I tightened my fist. 

Crack…!

The throne’s armrest shattered just like my heart; into a million pieces. 

… Just like this, so easily, both gone. 

Count Cyclone and David had both been my loyal subordinates since my rebel days, but now they were dead. Even I, a cold-blooded emperor, could hardly digest this news. 

But I couldn’t show it. I resisted the urge to destroy everything around me and scream my lungs out. 

I was the emperor, a father to all my people, and a barrier who should protect the empire from the northern evil. I wasn’t allowed to falter. This was just work. Simply work. Merely… the death of two precious...