Episode 97

“Put your hands behind your back and walk slowly. Step by step.”

Jasper had a plan to take Edwin into a narrower alley to deal with him.

The Emperor had instructed that this mission be handled as quietly as possible. She didn’t want it found out that he’d paid for this.

If they were caught by the Republican police like this, it would become complicated. Both Jasper and Edwin were foreigners, and they might be extradited to their home country without facing 

punishment in the Republic, but there would be many complications in that process.

Jasper led Edwin down an alley where not even a single person collapsing would draw much attention. He intended to inject poison into Edwin’s neck with a syringe.

Edwin, as per Jasper’s command, carried himself slowly, with his hands behind his back.

“Who sent you?”

Edwin’s voice was tense. It was an unfamiliar tone compared to what Jasper had heard from him before. 

Jasper remained silent with a gun barrel pressed close to the back of Edwin’s head.

“Did they send you to kill me from the start? Why? I haven’t done anything more than flirting with Conway.”

“….”

“Or was it my aunt who sent you?”

“…Aunt?”

“The Empress of the Lepti Empire, the Sun, you know.”

“What is that…?”

Edwin was referring to the Emperor. Jasper didn’t show any signs of confusion outwardly, but internally, he was bewildered.

‘This person is the Emperor’s nephew? That can’t be true.’

Then, whenever he saw Edwin, he realized the source of the strange sense of familiarity he had felt. It was the portrait of the father of the current Emperor, who was also the former Emperor. 

Jasper had never actually seen the former Emperor, but he was familiar with his features through the portrait. Edwin bore an astonishing resemblance to him.

As Jasper continued to remain silent, Edwin, with a slightly trembling voice, asked again.

“Did my aunt order you to kill me?”

“…This is the first I’ve heard of the Emperor having a nephew.”

Thirty years ago, the Emperor had killed her brother, the crown prince, and seized power. 

Because it was such a long time ago, few people remember those events today. This was a sensitive matter that was quickly passed over even in history classes. Jasper’s knowledge of it was fragmentary and brief.

Unlike the present, the Lepti Empire was financially unstable decades ago. This was due to the extreme extravagance of the former Emperor. 

The former Emperor, who had been trying to repel emerging forces, advocated a return to traditional feudalism. Industrial city plans were abandoned, and the treasury was always in a dire state.

When the Eastern Empire invaded, the former Crown Prince had intended to hand over the rule of the Lepti Empire to the invaders as a means of protecting the royal bloodline.

It was the current Empress who prevented the country from being sold. She labeled the Crown Prince as a traitor who deceived the empire and executed him. After killing the Crown Prince and taking control, she began the process of rebuilding the crumbling nation.

Everyone hailed her as a hero. As public opinion swayed, and with unanimous support from both the upper and lower houses, the first female Empress was born.

‘All of the former Crown Prince’s children should have died.’

During the coup, the Crown Prince’s close associates were immersed in luxury and corruption. 

Determined to root out this corruption, the current Emperor acted decisively, showing no mercy even to her blood relatives. Edwin appeared to be in his late twenties.

‘So, back then, you were just a newborn who knew nothing.’

Jasper muttered to himself after getting a rough grasp of the situation. 

“She spared an innocent child, didn’t she?”

Edwin responded with a mocking tone.

“At that time, Her Majesty wasn’t showing any mercy either.”

“Are you trying to avenge a family you don’t even remember? What the Empress did was justified, and you know it.”

“It’s not about revenge or grand emotions. I’m just tired of hiding my identity and living in the shadows, restricted by so many rules. One thing is forbidden, and the other is not allowed. It’s suffocating.”

If the fact that the former Crown Prince’s child was alive became known, the country would fall into chaos. To keep Edwin’s identity hidden, the only way was to have him as a member of the secret elite.

Jasper was momentarily taken aback by this unexpected revelation but quickly composed himself and surveyed their surroundings. With his gun barrel tapping Edwin’s head, he spoke.

“Turn left.”

“Is this where you’re going to kill me?”

“Did you think I would betray the Empress and let you live?”

As Edwin entered the dark alley, he let out a low, cynical laugh.

“The Emperor is a hypocrite. A hero, you say? She used her womanly charms to seduce her way to the throne.”

As the darkness of the alley swallowed them both, Jasper noticed Edwin’s shoulder muscles twitch. Then, with lightning speed, Edwin moved his body. 

Jasper instinctively sensed a threat and pulled the trigger of his compact pistol. He wanted to handle things quietly, but he knew that if he hesitated, he might end up dead.

Bang! The bullet narrowly missed Edwin’s ear.

“Ugh.”

Edwin’s ear was grazed by the bullet. Everything was happening in a split second.

As the Emperor had mentioned, Edwin was undoubtedly highly skilled. His reflexes were overwhelmingly quick, and his muscle movements were agile.

Jasper felt a tension he hadn’t experienced even in swordsmanship competitions. Edwin staggered from the gunshot, but he swiftly drew his pistol from his holster.

Bang! 

The sound of gunfire echoed through the alley once again. It was as if searing pain consumed Jasper momentarily. He managed to twist his body quickly to avoid a fatal shot, but the bullet pierced through his left shoulder and continued.

The pain was excruciating as if the bullet had gnarled the surrounding skin.

Yet, Jasper didn’t release the pistol in his right hand. He struggled to aim it at Edwin, but before he could pull the trigger, Edwin rushed towards him.

Thud. 

Jasper collapsed to the ground, and Edwin straddled him, gripping Jasper’s throat with force.

“Ugh…”

Jasper fell and slammed his left shoulder heavily into the ground. His vision went white from the agony.

While choking Jasper, Edwin spoke in an enraged tone.

“She’s a liar. She hid everything from me.”

Jasper tried to move his hand while struggling to hold onto his fading consciousness.

“She’s a hypocrite… Look at her, she’s trying to kill even her nephew. She’s gone mad. Because of her desire to become the Empress, everything is falling apart. The social hierarchy is collapsing, and the nobles are rebelling…”

Edwin’s voice was filled with anger and frustration.

“She manipulated me. She denied my bloodline, killed my parents, and took everything from me.”

The resentment of a lifetime spent in abstinence seemed to have transformed into sheer fury against the Empress. Edwin continued to strangle Jasper, muttering under his breath.

“If I were in her place, things would have been different. She even threatened to use me as a pawn.”

Perhaps there was a reason for her change of heart. 

After all, if the Empress had not shown mercy initially, he might not have survived until now. 

Jasper wanted to argue against Edwin’s claims, but he couldn’t utter a word.

Maybe there was more to the story. Edwin lamented his new status, unable to play the noble role he once did, and he despised the changing world. That was the extent of it. His anger was superficial, without deeper convictions or thoughts.

People like Edwin were not uncommon these days. 

Society was rapidly evolving, giving rise to various sharp conflicts. Those who once enjoyed privileges but found themselves disenfranchised expressed their anger outwardly. 

Jasper had previously paid little attention to such people, as they had no direct impact on his life. But now, it was different. People like Edwin were targeting Rose Bell.

“According to the succession laws, I should be the heir… but she’s trying to change all the old laws. She’s talking about admitting commoners to the Academy and even altering the nobility laws. She’s doing all that to strengthen her legitimacy, claiming that it’s weak…”

Edwin’s words and the hatred contained within them would be the challenges Rose would continue to face. It might hurt, hinder, or thwart Rose in some way. That had to be eliminated.

Jasper, even as his strength drained away, continued to fumble toward his trouser pocket. Inside the pocket was a syringe filled with poison.

As his breath grew shallow, consciousness kept slipping away. 

Jasper, intentionally, twisted his body to the left, where he had purposely sustained the gunshot wound, to regain his clarity of mind. The rough ground and the gunshot wound collided, causing intense pain to surge.

With his last bit of strength, Jasper managed to retrieve the syringe from his pocket and raise his arm. He inserted the needle of the syringe deep into Edwin. His mind was hazy, but he felt the sensation of the needle penetrating the skin.

Jasper struggled with all the strength he had left to administer the substance from the syringe into Edwin.

‘Did it go in properly…?’

However, he couldn’t properly assess Edwin’s condition. Due to the gunshot wound in the shoulder and the prolonged blocked airway, Jasper’s consciousness grew darker and darker.

Before long, Jasper lost consciousness entirely.