Returning as a Monarch

Translator: Isabelle Emerson

 

 

 

Chapter 1: It’s Okay to Die

 

 

“I’ll trust you.”

 

The man was wearing a luxurious golden cape.

Orin Barius had been stigmatized as the emperor of a fallen empire.

He patted the shoulder of the man in front of him with an awkward smile.

 

“……”

 

The man bowed at the emperor’s direct praise but showed no other response.

 

“Then, p-please…”

 

It was rude, but the emperor didn’t bother to take issue with the man’s attitude. It was a given that this man would be willing to die on his behalf. And time was urgent. The enemy was coming soon.

The emperor valued his own life more than anyone else’s.

 

“Hurry up!”

 

Soon, the emperor’s procession left quickly.

After that, dozens of nobles followed behind, followed by the knights and magic division. They chased after the emperor, barely glancing at the man left behind as they passed by.

The ways they looked at the man varied. Their gazes were filled with apology, pity, satisfaction, joy, and despair. There were so many emotions in their eyes that one would hardly believe that they were looking at a man.

An endless wave of gazes fell on the man standing upright with long black hair.

His head was lowered so no one could see the face he was making now.

 

Jerath Wolfenhowa.

 

A man who struggled his entire life to bring back the empire by placing the wandering prince Orin Barius on the throne.

He was a loyal subject to the empire who spent 20 years in battle as a vassal, knight, and strategist.

Then he was just abandoned.

By the time the emperor’s horse had disappeared and the aristocratic procession had faded, a procession of thousands of soldiers followed helplessly at the back.

The soldiers’ eyes were on Jerath. The sense of awe that always seemed to rule over and command the military felt shabby today.

The way the soldiers looked at Jerath was quite different from the nobility. There was only one feeling. A deep sense of despair. Their eyes were full of pent-up anger and frustration.

They shouldn’t have left him like that. That man was the empire’s last spark of hope. The high-ranking nobles didn’t know what they knew. No, they knew but they disregarded it.

The desire to remain with him rose for a moment, but eventually the soldiers turned away with heavy steps.

Staying there would only lead to death.

Everyone was honest in the face of death. Everyone was afraid of death.

 

‘From now on, the empire…’

 

The moment the emperor used Jerath as a scapegoat to survive, the soldiers knew. They called themselves idiots, but one thing was certain.

The empire…

 

‘… is finished.’

 

The spark of resurrection which had bloomed in Jerath’s hands would fade along with him.

 

“……”

 

The emperor’s troops were no longer in sight.

They would survive. A lonely wind greeted Jerath and comforted him.

Jerath slowly raised his head. He wore his usual expression. He looked around calmly. Around 500 soldiers were waiting for his orders with firm expressions.

Those who chose death over life. They had gathered with Jerath to light the last flame.

Jerath looked over them once and smiled hazily, mumbling quietly about the idiotic men.

 

“The carriage?”

“It’s in the vacant lot.”

“Bring it here.”

“Bring the carriage!”

 

Soon, a large, luxurious carriage with gold decorations was parked in front of him.

It was the emperor’s carriage that Orin had just been riding in.

As the warm sun hit the carriage, the magical formula carved into the side shone brightly before scattering.

It was a rare splendor of beauty.

Jerath smiled bitterly at the sight.

 

“Such a splendid carriage to take me to the afterlife… it has a bit of charm too.”

 

He reached out a hand, and a soldier with a brooding face carefully handed him an object.

It was something the emperor had given him before he left.

Jerath closed his mouth and looked at the little thing he held in his hands.

His hands trembled without realizing it.

He felt both love and hatred for the item in his hand that would determine his life.

It was once a symbol of infinite ability, but now symbolized power in the continent.

 

The emperor’s seal!

 

The person at the center of power could open their eyes wide and become greedy, but that wasn’t the case anymore.

The leaders of the continent didn’t want to resurrect the imperial family of Barius.

If he had this seal, he would become a target for all forces on the continent. It was the stigma of death, and the once precious object had become something everyone was afraid to receive.

 

“……”

 

Jerath stared at the seal for a long time.

He tried to remain calm in front of the soldiers but couldn’t hide the numerous regrets in his eyes as he stared at the seal.

 

‘There are things that can’t be done even if you try your best.’

 

The restoration of the imperial family had failed, and the empire was broken up into several kingdoms that completely cemented their power. Even if he left this place, there was nowhere left for him to squeeze in.

There was no place for the House of Barius to stand. Jerath felt relieved admitting that. Perhaps he had been waiting for this day.

The rotten empire eventually sank because it couldn’t be restored, and even with his status and skills, he couldn’t cut out the rotten parts of the empire. The rotten part eventually tied its leash over time.

The nobles all shouted the same thing. Throw Jerath away.

Even the emperor said the same thing. He said to take care of it.

 

“Th-there’s a scout!”

 

A soldier appeared with his face distorted in pain, an arrow sticking out of his shoulder.

It was urgent news.

There wasn’t much time left.

The Mountains of Carencia were surrounded by the forces of the leaders of each kingdom.

They had to attract their attention and create an opening for the emperor to escape. The emperor had abandoned him, but all he knew was his loyalty. He’d come too far to change his mind now.

He carefully placed the seal in his arms and moved. He could see the emperor’s carriage in front of him.

The soldiers opened the door, and he climbed inside and opened a window. The soldiers surrounding the carriage stared at Jerath’s face reflected in the window.

This was the path to hell.

Yet the look on Jerath’s face held no fear.

He looked like someone about to take a leisurely ride inside the carriage.

It was different compared to Emperor Orin, who had turned pale upon hearing news of the siege.

 

‘Jerath Wolfenhowa.’

 

The soldiers thought he suited the emperor’s carriage well.

Some sighed with regret at the sight.

 

‘…If.’

 

What if the owner of that carriage had been Jerath and not Orin?

Jerath had struggled his whole life, dealing with external and internal enemies while under the scornful and jealous gaze of the imperial nobility and amid the fierce friction of knights and wizards.

If he could hold onto the inner circle while in the position of monarch…

 

If that were the case…!

 

‘…We wouldn’t be in this situation.’

 

It was a groundless ‘what if’, but they couldn’t get the image out of their heads, thinking about what he might have been like.

Even at the moment of his death.

 

“Let us depart.”

 

Jerath’s voice brought the soldiers to their senses. They were a death squad who had volunteered to be bait.

As long as the emperor’s seal and Jerath were present, the leaders would flock towards them with no regard for the fleeing emperor.

Just as the soldiers knew this, the enemy did too.

The moment he died, the moment the seal was destroyed, the flag of the empire would become just another page in history books.

Jerath smiled.

 

“Shall we begin the rabbit hunt?”

“Who are the rabbits?”

“Those who will come after us.”

 

The soldiers smiled.

 

“Do rabbits catch hunters these days?”

“There are a lot of pages left.”

“Even if there are a lot of pages left, rabbits are rabbits.”

“This kind of rabbit is a little special.” 

 

The soldiers smiled widely at Jerath’s response.

Who else could call those leaders who destroyed the millennium empire rabbits?

 

“Where do we have to go now?”

 

Jerath stared in the opposite direction from where the emperor and his procession had disappeared.

That way. That was the way to their graves.

 

“We’re heading north.”

“What do we have to do there?”

 

Lying diagonally across the emperor’s carriage, Jerath faced the soldiers.

He made eye contact with all of the soldiers, smiling softly when he reached the last one.

It was the most relaxed smile they had seen in twenty years.

Heavy words followed.

 

“It’s okay to die.”

 

It was a terribly cruel order.

However, 500 soldiers clenched their teeth and began to move without hesitation. They weren’t dying for the emperor. They were dying together with Jerath.

The carriage driver turned to Jerath with a determined look.

 

“M-May I call you Lord?”

“When we meet in the next life… I’ll allow you to do it then.”

 

The soldier smiled brightly at his words.

In their minds, Jerath was their eternal monarch.

A moment later ---

 

Aaaaaaaarghhhh!!

 

The desperate cry of a sergeant rang from the north.

The battle lasted half a day.

The soldiers continuously encouraged each other through shouts.

However, their shouts soon died down. The voice of the sergeant had disappeared. How much time had passed? Before they knew it, the noise had disappeared and there was only silence in its place.

It was a place where countless lives had disappeared in vain.

Time had been carelessly wasted.

 

Booooooom!

 

The trumpets of victory were heard, signaling that the opponent had been wiped out.

In the meantime, the sun had set, and twilight had risen upon the northern hills.

Amid the dim red light, only the broken emperor’s carriage remained.

As if to honor the sacrifice of the man who had died in vain.