Chapter 22

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Translator: Harry Potta
Chapter: 22
Chapter Title: A Little Crazy
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Walking down the corridor, Leone smiled to himself. The sound of a piano drifted from a distance.

In the entire empire, there was only one person who would play the piano in the palace where the emperor resided. Leone quickened his pace with delight.

The notes of the piano grew clearer as he approached. The performer navigated a highly difficult piece, one that demanded tricky, transcendental virtuosity, with chilling precision.

From the tremolos and arpeggio chords to the leaps between keys, the piece was extremely challenging, yet the performance was flawless. He had the skill to receive a standing ovation at a solo recital in the capital, but sadly, the performer had no interest in such things.

Entering the room with the piano, Leone watched the musician with a pleased smile.

His younger brother was beautiful, playing a black grand piano set before a tall window that stretched from floor to ceiling. With hair blacker than ebony, his long fingers pressing down on the ivory keys was a work of art in itself.

But in contrast to the bright sunlight, his brother’s performance was reminiscent of a dark night, even though he could play cheerful pieces just as well. Leone swallowed a pang of regret as he listened.

As the final key was struck and the music ended, Leone offered a fervent round of applause.

The performer turned his head to look at Leone. His brother, with eyes as crimson as blood, gave a faint smile. Leone approached him and spoke.

“Cesare, you’ve gotten even better.”

His brother rose from the bench and closed the piano lid. Leone, who had secretly hoped for one more piece, couldn’t hide his disappointment as he watched him.

The man who could deliver a performance more magnificent than most pianists in the capital, all while having the eyes of someone better suited for a gun or a sword, was Cesare, the emperor’s only brother.

Leone looked up at his brother. He himself was taller than the average man, but his brother towered over him. Because of this, he always had to look up like this whenever they stood side by side.

Dressed in the uniform of the Commander-in-Chief, his brother had a way of making people’s hearts swell. It wasn’t just because he was his own flesh and blood; truly, everyone in the capital would think the same.

His body, hard and sharp like a masterfully forged blade, was a perfect match for the dark navy uniform. There was a reason so many had fallen lovesick after seeing Cesare’s triumphal march.

Leone grinned and lightly tapped Cesare’s arm.

“I should pick up my violin again… I feel like my hands have gone stiff.”

The brothers had learned instruments since they were young. They both learned the violin and piano, but later, they each focused on one.

The reason Leone took up the violin and Cesare the piano was simple. Cesare’s hands were large.

As he grew, his brother’s fingers became long enough to comfortably span a twelfth. Every time he watched his brother play, Leone felt a secret pride in his own choice to recommend the piano to him.

The brothers left the piano room and headed for the audience chamber—one the emperor used only when receiving personal guests. It was a little smaller than the official audience chamber, but it had a view of the inner courtyard, which gave it a warm atmosphere.

Leone dropped sugar cubes into his black tea, his words a mix of jest and sincerity.

“Your playing has gained more depth. Is it because you’re in love?”

“Would that be all?”

Cesare offered only a single, blunt reply before falling silent, sipping his brandy-laced tea. Leone frowned and grumbled.

“You… Ugh. Never mind.”

Even after causing a stir with the marriage announcement, he wouldn’t open up about it. It was frustrating, but knowing this was just how he was, Leone couldn’t say anything more and simply drank his tea.

At his brother’s reaction, Cesare let out a soft chuckle. Leone looked at his brother and smiled back.

Of the countless royals born to the previous emperor, Leone and Cesare were the only full-blooded brothers.

The late emperor never had two children with the same woman, but Leone and Cesare were born as twins—fraternal twins, hence their considerable differences in build and appearance.

‘Aileen Elorde.’

Every time he heard that name, a certain incident naturally came to mind. Leone still remembered that day.

Upon hearing the news that the child he cherished had been kidnapped, Cesare, who had been on the battlefield, immediately deserted and returned to the capital.

He rescued the child, but he could not escape the emperor’s wrath. The emperor was furious that the prince he trusted most had committed such a foolish act as desertion, and he punished him with a whip himself.

Leone had tearfully gone to find Cesare, ointment in hand. But his brother was already being treated by his own knights.

The four knights who followed Cesare were expressionless, as if such an injury was nothing at all.

Nineteen-year-old Cesare, his upper body wrapped in bandages, had spoken with the same indifferent face.

“I need to become emperor.”

“What…?”

“Not me, you.”

Leone thought he had misheard. But Cesare wiped the blood trickling from his split lip with the back of his hand and continued nonchalantly.

“Five years from now, brother.”

Cesare turned that absurd declaration into reality. He truly made Leone the emperor. But they were brothers who had risen from the bottom, with no foundation. Seizing the throne wasn’t the end of it.

Around the time the struggle for the throne concluded, a defeated royal fled to the Kalpen Kingdom. His mother, a Kalpen princess, had escaped with her son to the kingdom to request aid. Kalpen declared war on the empire, and Cesare went to lead the conquest.

Everyone said he would die. The Traon Empire was considerably weakened by the civil war. Kalpen, on the other hand, was renowned for its powerful army. Even Leone had tried to dissuade Cesare, suggesting they negotiate and cede some of the empire’s territory.

But Cesare left for the battlefield and, against all odds, achieved victory.

‘Though I was a little surprised he cut off the King of Kalpen’s head…’

The king had planned to frame Cesare’s child for drug manufacturing through a spy planted in the empire and have her executed.

But before he could do anything, he was stopped by Cesare, and his head was cut off immediately after his defeat. The king’s plot against Aileen was revealed only after his death. It was a wonder how Cesare had known and delivered judgment.

‘It’s been so strange lately.’

Leone gazed at his brother. Demanding a triumphal arch was also unlike Cesare. He wasn’t the type to feel the need for others to acknowledge his achievements—so much so that he had handed the throne to his brother.

Yet that same brother was now rampaging about for all to see. Thanks to him, the anti-imperial faction had been completely demoralized.

‘And his decision to marry Aileen Elorde, too.’

He had cherished and doted on her so much in the past that Leone had once gently suggested he marry her. At the time, his brother had given a clear reason why he would not.

“You said she’d be miserable if you kept her by your side. And now you’re marrying Lady Elorde.”

He had said he would let her be, to play with her flowers and leaves, yet the moment he returned to the capital, he declared Aileen Elorde his to the entire empire.

It was truly astonishing, especially since Leone knew better than anyone that Cesare had only ever seen Aileen as his child.

As he waited quietly to see what his brother would say, Cesare twisted the corner of his lip into a smile.

“After spending about seven years thinking it over by myself, I had a change of heart.”

“There you go again with that incomprehensible talk.”

His recent tendency to speak in riddles was another change. Due to his long years on the battlefield, Cesare preferred clear, direct conversation. He disliked the high-society style of speaking, with its metaphors, allegories, and roundabout expressions.

But lately, he was the one spouting strange things.

What had made his brother this way? He couldn’t help but think Aileen Elorde was the cause.

“You should bring Lady Elorde to the palace soon. You must make introductions before the wedding.”

“I’ll have to.”

Cesare, who had picked up an amaretti that came with the tea and was inspecting it, suddenly dropped a bombshell.

“I’m going to deal with the President of the Senate first. After the wedding.”

“…Hm. That won’t be easy.”

While the imperial family was in turmoil over the succession, the nobles in the council had gained significant power and influence. Even now, with the emperor’s authority established, they hadn’t forgotten their past glory and were constantly looking for opportunities. The President of the Senate was the central figure of the anti-imperial faction.

“I’ll create a scandal and send him packing. I just need you to assist.”

“Do you have a way? That old man is as cunning as they come.”

His brother spoke in a languid tone befitting an afternoon tea time.

“The President of the Senate is going to cause some trouble soon. I plan to use that as bait.”

He spoke as if he had seen the future somewhere. But to proceed with a plan based on something so uncertain was not like his brother. Leone found himself asking without thinking.

“Are you okay?”

His twin’s intuition was sounding an alarm. A clean answer came back to Leone’s question.

“No.”

Cesare broke the amaretti in half and licked the crumbs from his fingers, a smirk playing on his lips.

“Brother. To be honest, I think I’m a little crazy.”

It was rare for Cesare to speak of his personal feelings. The coarse words coming from his brother’s mouth made Leone’s face harden.

“I’m trying my best to live like a normal person, but it’s quite difficult. Because I keep thinking. Who were the ones who threw stones at my child? And who were the ones who cut up her body and took the pieces? Thoughts like these.”

Cesare’s voice, as he continued to speak slowly, was perfectly calm. That was what made it all the more frightening.

“That’s why I’m trying to get married quickly. Because if I don’t…”

His long eyes curved into a cruel eye-smile. His red eyes glinted dangerously, as if on the verge of shattering.

“I think I might kill about half the citizens of the Traon Empire.”