Because the person with the highest authority in this empire was the Emperor.
There was no way the Empress did not know that fact.
“Her Majesty the Empress wishes to see you first.”
Fel let out a sigh, as if this very bickering was a bother.
Those words were proof that she viewed her husband as less than her subordinates.
As he slowly walked in front of the attendant, the long sword strapped to his waist made a rattling sound.
“And yet you are telling me to go see Her Majesty the Empress in this state?”
The attendant raised his head at Fel’s question.
A skin pulled tight from not sleeping for three days, a uniform stained with blood, and shoes covered in mud and leaves.
Such was the state of the Crown Prince standing before him.
Fel expected that he would buy him a little time.
Going to meet the Empress in this shabby state might be considered an act of disrespect toward her.
Therefore, it was around the time he decided that he should take a bath, change his clothes, and clear his mind a bit.
“Haha, your entire body is soaked in blood.”
Fel narrowed his eyes at the attendant’s somewhat awkward voice.
He had a face full of laughter, as if he liked the blood-stained appearance.
“Her Majesty will truly love it!”
Ah, he had forgotten.
That there was not a single normal person inside this imperial palace.
Upon entering Ruby Palace, the residence of the Empress, the thick smell of darkness vibrated in the air.
Black shadows flickering between the passing servants.
All of those were likely grim reapers created by the Empress.
“Your Highness, this way…….”
“I have been guided enough. I will go on my own.”
Fel dismissed the attendant while enduring the stench that pricked his nose.
As he hurriedly moved his feet to the east, a hallway with stained glass on one window came into view.
Even though light did not enter properly, it was a gloomy place where not a single candle was lit.
And at the end of that hallway, in front of a storeroom whose purpose even the servants of this palace did not know, Fel’s footsteps stopped.
“Whew…….”
Fel held the door handle and caught his breath for a moment.
The Empress called this place a meditation room.
Whenever she stepped foot in here, she always told Fel to arrange his mindset and behave properly.
“……It makes me sick to death.”
Revealing full displeasure, as he threw open the door to the meditation room, a magic circle came into view.
It was an advanced magic circle where the inside of the meditation room was visible to those permitted by the Empress, and the appearance of an ordinary room was visible to those who were not.
Stepping one foot into the dark meditation room, a beautiful woman with trailing black hair was visible.
She was kneeling in front of an altar, having offered a piece of meat to it.
“Did you call for me?”
The Empress, who was still beautiful despite being over forty, cast her gaze upon her son and then took it back.
“O great Kareb. Thank you for sharing your teachings with me. Today, I dedicate multiple lives to you once again, so please grant us the power to lead the empire…….”
Looking at that sight, Fel shook his head as if he was fed up.
Is this not similar to a lunatic obsessed with a pseudo-religion?
No, believing in an unknown entity called Kareb instead of the gods of the empire was no exaggeration to call high treason.
Soon, having finished her prayer, the Empress slowly walked in front of Fel.
“So, did you finish the monster subjugation well?”
“Yes.”
She scanned Fel’s blood-stained uniform with eyes full of ecstasy.
As if she liked the fishy smell of blood, she even buried her face in his collar.
“I wonder how many lives you have killed.”
It was not a conversation one would expect between a mother and a son.
Whether he was hurt, whether it was hard, whether he slept well—those were the questions a mother should offer first in a normal mother-child relationship.
What a strange conversation this is, Fel thought.
He dropped his head and bit his lip.
“I harvested about 2,000 lives, including the gray wolves.”
“Kareb will like it.”
“…….”
“Before going to His Majesty, let us hurry and perform the ritual.”
She drew a sharp dagger without giving him time to stop her.
‘Slicing sound.’
With a unpleasant noise, Fel’s left palm was cut.
Crimson blood dripped down his fingers.
‘Fuck.’
The Empress led Fel to the front of the altar.
Scattering fresh blood over the sacrifice, she threw down his wounded hand as if discarding it.
When she set fire to the piece of meat, the blazing flames looked as though they would swallow the entire meditation room at any moment.
“Kareb, do you like Felio’s blood?”
“…….”
“That is correct. Blood containing thousands of lives is very delicious.”
Even though there was no one answering her, she continued to mutter to herself.
As if the existence called Kareb was truly in front of her.
How could she be this crazy?
Is the witch in front of his eyes truly the Empress of this empire?
Then did Felio in the novel continue to suffer this kind of thing before becoming Emperor?
In the end, such thoughts arose.
Did Felio really become a villain to build his own power?
” Felio, you must become the Emperor.”
Or…… was he a villain created by the Empress?
This was something he had experienced ever since possessing a body in this novel.
A family structure where the Empress was crazy and the Emperor was incompetent.
Because Felio’s memories flashed through his mind like a panorama, he was able to adapt to this world without much difficulty.
However, within those memories, there were many things that the novel did not explain.
Because he only learned after entering this place that the Empress worshipped a demon named Kareb.
But such a thing was a mere drop in the bucket.
“Hurry and greet Kareb, Felio.”
The most shocking part was not that the Empress was a fanatic, nor that Felio stood by and watched it, but—
“Is he not the one who brought you into the world?”
