I Refuse This Life, Your Highness! - Chapter 107

“You’re still here?”

“I’ve told you before, change your tone, Your Majesty.”

Reia closed his book and replied indifferently to Lyol, who had burst in without even knocking. Lyol shrugged.

“Well, that’s not something that happens overnight. Besides, I haven’t even had my coronation yet. Your Majesty, ha! Just a lowly merchant.”

Lowly merchant, he says, he was a prince even back then. As Lyol himself mentioned, he had yet to go through the coronation process after ascending to the throne. For now, his focus was on addressing the backlog of tasks and restoring order amidst the chaos caused by the movement of troops. Once the empire settled and spring came to the capital, the coronation would take place.

“His Grace the Duke suggested having some tea. Why don’t you both join us?”

“…Don’t tell me you came here just to deliver that message?”

“It’s voluntary, voluntary! I told another knight I’d go myself because I felt like stretching my legs.”

Still, making the newly crowned emperor fetch people was a bit much. Yet, it wasn’t something we could refuse. Reia and I put down our books and stood. We had already finished reading everything in the secret library anyway.

As we walked down the cleanly restored palace corridors, where the recent bloodshed now seemed like a distant memory, I asked:

“How’s the medicine distribution going?”

“Isn’t it our trading company handling it? We’ve been delivering it even to the most remote corners of the empire.”

Not that there were likely many victims of the Emperor’s brainwashing in such remote areas… Across the empire, people were snapping out of their long-enforced stupor as the Emperor’s spell was lifted. Count Kiara, Lyol, and a group of apothecaries had worked together to develop the medicine, which was now being distributed through the Rubes Trading Company’s extensive network.

With Lyol becoming Emperor, there had been talk of the imperial family taking over Rubes Trading Company. However, strong opposition from the vice chairman and Lyol’s lukewarm attitude resulted in Ino becoming the new chairman and maintaining the company as an independent entity. Ino had achieved exactly what he promised: becoming the chairman of Rubes, with the Emperor’s backing.

When we entered the reception room, the tea table was already set. The Duke, seated on the sofa, stood as we entered.

“You both look exhausted. Have you been reading too much?” he asked with a slight frown.

Reia and I exchanged glances. It was true—we had spent several days practically holed up in the secret library, leaving faint dark circles under our eyes. Still, we weren’t so tired as to be unmanageable.

Servants entered to pour tea into our cups before withdrawing. We drank quietly for a while until the Duke spoke.

“Reia.”

“…Yes?”

Reia looked up, surprised to hear his name called.

“I believe the execution is tomorrow?”

“That’s correct.”

I glanced at Reia. The execution.

It was the execution of Baron Ceres and his wife.

After Lyol received full authority as Emperor, Reia’s first request was to transfer the title of baron to the next heir. The Ceres baroness had actively participated in military aggression against Iser and sided with the Emperor. Stripping them of their title and transferring it to their son was a straightforward punishment. Reia had also accused the baroness of concealing the fact that he was not an illegitimate child.

In the tense, post-rebellion atmosphere, executing a minor baron and his wife wasn’t a significant event. When Reia had left the courtroom holding the official approval for their execution, his expression had been unforgettable.

A smile, brimming with exhilaration and joy. I imagined it was the same kind of smile I wore when I drove my blade into Erma’s eye. The execution was to take place in the capital, ostensibly to prevent their escape on the way to the Ceres estate. In truth, it was because Reia couldn’t wait that long. The execution was set for tomorrow.

“What do you think it’ll be like?” Lyol asked.

Reia, with a neutral expression, picked up a doll-shaped cookie, snapped its neck, and popped it into his mouth. Only after chewing and swallowing did he respond.

“I don’t think I’ll feel anything.”

“…Airdren has remained quiet,” the Duke said, breaking the brief silence.

Airdren had stayed out of this conflict. Considering my parents’ personalities, I thought they would have taken the lead, but it seemed Revien had taken measures to restrain them. Even now, days later, there was no official statement from them—not even a secret message to me.

After that, the conversation dwindled. We finished our tea in silence before parting ways. Sir Raen had begun to divide Iser’s responsibilities, sending some matters to the capital to be dealt with. Watching him take on both the defense of the city during the siege and the subsequent administrative tasks made me feel a pang of guilt.

Reia and I returned to a room in the palace being used as an office. At some point, a stack of documents had appeared on the desk. Despite them having filtered out trivial matters, leaving only what required my explicit approval, the pile was still considerable.

Reia silently took the stack to his desk and began sorting through it with practiced efficiency.

“…Reia.”

“Yes?”

“Can I come with you to the execution tomorrow?”

“Your Highness? Why?”

Reia spoke without looking up from the documents.

“You really don’t have to. Besides, don’t you have bad memories related to these kinds of things?”

“I want to overcome them.”

At that, Reia lifted his head. His expression was strange, almost unreadable.

“Do you really need to overcome something like that?”

“…”

He had a point. It wasn’t necessarily something I needed to force myself to face.

“Either way, it doesn’t bother me if you come,” Reia continued. “The more eyes watching those people die, the better it is for me.”

I suddenly felt an odd emotion. Unable to clearly define what I was feeling, I pressed a hand to my chest and looked at Reia. Tilting his head, he asked,

“What? Do I seem like too heartless a person to you? Even if one of them is my stepmother, they’re still technically my parents.”

“That’s not it.”

It wasn’t that at all. If anything… if anything, I was jealous of him. Jealous that he could so definitively despise his parents. And I couldn’t understand why it was so difficult for me to do the same. Even now, instead of resenting my parents, I felt a sense of guilt for this situation deep inside.

After hesitating for a long moment, I admitted the truth.

“I envy you.”

“You envy me?”

“I don’t know why I can’t bring myself to hate my parents.”

Reia stared at me for a long time.

“…Whatever the reason, it’s not your fault, Your Highness.”

“Do you think so?”

“Yes, I’m certain of it.”

His tone was firm.

The next day, I attended the execution of the Baron and Baroness Ceres with Reia. When the Duke heard I was going, he set aside his tasks to join us.

The executioner read out the long list of crimes committed by the Baron and Baroness. The crowd, gathered to witness the spectacle, whispered among themselves while glancing between the stage and Reia, the Lamia who had inherited the barony by sending his parents to the gallows. Their gazes were cold.

“How can he be so unmoved…”

“The Baron and Baroness are the ones I pity.”

The majority of the onlookers seemed to side with the Baron and Baroness. Not because they particularly cared about them but because there were no supporters for the Lamia. Still, none of them were passionate enough to try stopping the execution.

The Baroness and Baron hurled curses at Reia until the trapdoor beneath their feet opened, cutting off their voices. Reia raised his head slightly.

Watching their bodies sway in the breeze, I felt a strange sensation. The sight of the two corpses overlapped with memories of my family’s execution in my first life.

Back then, the Emperor must have made the same offer to my family: surrender the Duke, let Revien inherit Iser, and let the helpless former Duchess live in the palace under the Emperor’s protection. Of course, my quarters would have been in a conveniently secluded area, easy for the Emperor to access.

But my family had refused. The blood they’d forced the Duke to drink hadn’t worked. By the time the Duke regained consciousness and ran to me, it was already too late. My execution had been carried out by mistake due to a coincidence.

In the process, my parents and brothers were used by the Emperor before being hanged. The Emperor had no intention of giving up Iser. To him, the Airdren family was an obstacle, both in his pursuit of absolute power and in fully possessing me. Had they realized this, perhaps they wouldn’t have been so easily manipulated. Was it all because of the brainwashing?

The bodies of the Baron and Baroness were discarded on a desolate field, denied a proper burial. Reia seemed satisfied with that outcome.

After the execution, we returned to the palace. Until I reached my room, the Duke followed me, his restlessness plain to see.

“Your Highness… are you really okay?”

“Why wouldn’t I be?”

As expected, he was worried about me again. I smiled and shook my head.

“I’m not so fragile anymore.”

It seemed that the more one experienced, the more one’s heart became hardened—or perhaps it was simply that my way of processing these events had changed, making them less painful. Watching the hanging today didn’t unsettle me as much as I thought it would.

“I know my worry is excessive, but I can’t help it,” he admitted.

“That’s understandable. If I’d watched you die six times, I’d probably be clinging to you to keep you from leaving my sight, too.”

I reached out to touch his cheek, gently caressing it. The Duke leaned into my hand without resistance, his face resting against my palm. His long eyelashes cast soft shadows on his cheeks, a sight so endearing it made my heart ache.

He looked at me with an expression equally filled with affection.

Before either of us could say anything, we kissed. Our lips met softly at first, pulling away briefly before connecting again. Eventually, the kiss deepened, our tongues intertwining, and the warmth of his breath filled my senses. When we finally parted, his golden eyes, slightly damp, followed me as though reluctant to let go.

I placed a final, brief kiss on his lips before speaking.

“Your Highness, I…”

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