Song of the Night

The west wing of the estate.

I advanced while scanning my surroundings with clairvoyance.

Using clairvoyance to detect heat signatures, I could see through most ambushes.

The problem was that it required using psychic abilities every time……

I was running on fumes now.

“Ah, I’ve really gotten weak.”

The way I kept cutting enemies down was thanks to my vast experience and the assistance of psychic abilities.

If I ran into a truly strong opponent like this, I’d be in trouble.

“Still, I captured Berk and it was quite a fight……”

Could I be looking at fourth rank now?

I advanced with uncertainty.

A heat signature in the corridor.

“You’ve come?”

A calm voice.

Wayne.

He was waiting alone.

“……It seems Berk is dead. I warned him not to let his guard down.”

“Where are the other elves?”

“They’re already heading that way.”

“We’re prepared on our end too.”

Heinkel and Melius, Garul and the knights and soldiers.

They were all on standby with fire in their eyes.

I had mapped out the terrain and set several traps.

Even strong elves could be caught.

Wayne spoke firmly.

“No matter how prepared you are, you cannot stop elven guerrilla warfare. Do you have anyone on your side who can stop me?”

“That’s why I came myself. Once I kill you, it’s over. The remaining rabble can’t do anything.”

“From my perspective, if I capture you, it’s over too. I was puzzled from the first time I saw you, but since you captured Berk, you’re clearly no ordinary fighter.”

Wayne spoke boldly.

“If I win, I will immediately massacre the Librata family.”

“Why are you waiting, then?”

“To avoid unnecessary sacrifice. And in the unlikely event…… that I lose, it’s for Her Highness’s safety.”

“What nonsense is that?”

“Her Highness is currently asleep in her room. This military action is entirely the independent decision of us escorts.”

I looked at Wayne in disbelief.

Wasn’t he saying he was stalling because if his side massacred Librata’s people and things went wrong, the princess would be in a very difficult position?

“Oh, so you’re that concerned about the princess? Wow! Human experimentation is fine, but damaging her public standing isn’t?”

“……”

“Wow! Such killer consideration that I really want to kill you!”

“……It’s constitutional improvement.”

Wayne bristled.

Nothing wrong with the enemy getting agitated, but what came next was a spectacle.

“What does a human know? Do you think we wanted to harm Her Highness’s precious body? But we had no choice. If things continued as they were, the elves would be pushed out of the empire. To prevent such a disaster, you dare insult Her Highness’s noble sacrifice in offering her own body!”

“Noble sacrifice?”

I grimaced hard.

As emperor, as a father — these were words I absolutely could not let pass.

“Then hurry up and nobly kill yourself first. I’ll applaud you.”

“Word games……”

“What have you done for Lisera?”

I cut him off.

From his words and actions alone, I could roughly tell what kind of person he was.

“You stood by with pitying expressions and occasionally complained. But you’re nothing more than an accomplice.”

“What? I didn’t want to either……”

“You wanted to stand by and watch. Even when Berk acted out, even when the elves openly plotted horrific human experimentation, you closed your eyes and ears and pretended not to know, occasionally grumbling at best.”

I said it flatly.

“You hypocrite bastard who only pretends to be good with your mouth. Don’t you dare talk about sacrifice.”

“I, as an elf……”

“I said stop making excuses. Melius tried to stop the plan and tried to help Lisera escape. He failed and got exiled to this backwater. But you just watched.”

“……”

Wayne ground his teeth.

With no excuses left, one-dimensional words came out.

“……I cannot hand over Her Highness.”

“A blind princess. And you’re the ones who made her that way.”

Wayne’s face went pale.

I shouted.

“And I came to open Lisera’s eyes! Come at me!”

Wayne charged with a scream and shout.

A sword imbued with yellow magic — a third-rank magic blade.

He also channeled magic through his entire body.

He was definitely superior to Berk!

CRACK-CRACK-CRACK!

I quickly retreated and dodged.

I could also fight with a third-rank magic blade.

But the sword I was using now was universal — it wouldn’t last long.

In fact, I’d had a bad feeling since finishing off Berk.

“I can never hand Her Highness to anyone! Never! She needs me! Only I can protect her!”

Wayne immediately pursued, swinging his sword with agility.

He thrust and dodged textbook-perfect with no openings.

No — actually I could see them, but I was depleted of magic and mental energy, making it hard to exploit them.

All the more reason for a decisive strike!

“Playing the prince protecting the princess, but you’re the last person in the world for that role.”

Clang!

I also resolved myself and activated my magic blade.

Blades clashing against each other.

But Wayne’s sword remained intact while my temporary sword screamed in protest.

Three or four more times and it would be done.

Wayne shouted convulsively.

“Right, Berk was correct. I’ll kill you here…… and make the princess my woman! That’ll work!”

“That’s exactly why I can’t allow it.”

“Who are you to say!”

Wayne brought his sword down again.

But I grabbed his right arm with my left hand.

A contest of strength between third rank and third rank.

But I squeezed out mental energy to the very bottom and deployed telekinesis.

“Grrgh!”

Wayne struggled and threw a knee.

A magic-charged blow.

I just took it.

I had no energy to spare channeling magic for defense.

A tearing impact in my abdomen.

But I didn’t let go of the hand gripping his arm.

I couldn’t lose.

Not as emperor, but as a father — I couldn’t lose!

As I ground my teeth and pulled magic from the very depths, my heart beat powerfully.

Thud!

I glared at Wayne and said,

“Who am I?”

“Let go, let go!”

As Wayne tried to throw another knee, I concentrated all my magic at the tip of my sword.

The yellow magic…… blazed up into green!

“I’m her father, you bastard.”

Shlunk.

A fourth-rank magic blade pierced through Wayne’s magic defense and through his chest.

“Kgh!”

Wayne’s scream.

I pulled the sword out through his armpit and immediately struck his neck.

Crack-snap!

Immediately after, my sword shattered to pieces.

“Whew.”

A universal sword was a universal sword — the moment I pushed it to fourth rank was its limit.

Having finished, I assessed my condition.

I’d taken a hit to the abdomen, but it wasn’t a major problem.

“Fourth rank……”

Magic grew through real combat.

Last time I had also been on the verge of fourth rank…… but the growth was still too fast.

I placed my hand on my heart, then shook my head.

A matter for later.

Right now, Lisera came first.

The bedroom.

Lisera lay on her side on the large bed, asleep.

Thin nightclothes, slender limbs.

“You’ll catch a cold.”

I quickly covered her properly with the blanket.

Still, Lisera showed no signs of waking.

A faint scent permeating the room — flowing from an incense burner on the floor.

“Sleep incense.”

Once you breathed it in, you fell into deep sleep.

The elves had forcibly put Lisera to sleep, worried she might try to stop tonight’s events.

I extinguished the incense burner and brought a chair to sit beside the bed.

“What’s left……”

Two elves remained, but the others would handle them.

If anything happened, they’d ring the bell to signal.

I just needed to stay here and protect Lisera.

I looked at my daughter and had many thoughts.

“I’m sorry and also……”

I had already prepared all the words to persuade Lisera.

But seeing her sleeping so peacefully left me quite conflicted.

In the end, Lisera had endured it all to prevent the elves from causing chaos.

Even while losing her sight.

To protect the empire I had built.

“……Who’s there?”

A sleep-heavy voice.

Lisera opened her eyes.

She must have woken when I extinguished the incense burner.

Unable to see, her other senses had become more acute.

“……”

Lost in thought for a while, I couldn’t respond immediately.

But I soon gathered myself and tried to say what Rigen should say……

Lisera turned toward the chair where I sat.

“……Dad?”

“……”

My breath caught.

Sirik Karakas had died a hundred years ago.

Everyone knew it. Lisera knew it too.

But Lisera, intoxicated by sleep incense, was calling desperately.

An unknown presence appearing suddenly in the middle of the night.

An absolute impossibility, but.

She hoped it was Dad.

“……Is it Dad? It’s Dad, right?”

How could I possibly ignore this question?

My mental energy had recovered somewhat from resting.

I used telekinesis to lightly touch my throat, my vocal cords.

To make my voice come out completely different from usual.

“Yes, it’s me……”

“……If you’re really Dad, prove it.”

Before I could speak, Lisera placed both hands on the bed and became guarded.

The mature appearance she had shown before disappeared — she was like a kitten with all its hackles up.

“……Don’t act like you’re showing your teeth to the dentist. Wasn’t this just a touching scene?”

“You could be a ghost, an evil spirit, a servant of the Seven Sin God pretending to be Dad.”

“……I am Dad. You brat.”

I resolved myself and revealed my identity.

But the moment I affirmed it, Lisera completely turned suspicious and guarded.

I felt both deflated and let out a hollow laugh.

“Sera, come on.”

“Anyone who knows me knows my nickname.”

“But……”

Mature and graceful in front of others, but a completely sulky girl with me.

But this was right.

This was the daughter I remembered.

I dug through old memories.

“What do you do if a stranger offers you candy?”

“Eat it and run.”

“Don’t lie. I told you to bite their wrist too.”

“That alone isn’t enough to convince me. What’s Dad’s favorite flower?”

“Anything our Sera picks for me……”

“Wrong.”

“……”

Wrong?

But Lisera didn’t shout or anything.

Rather, she looked calmly toward me with unseeing eyes.

“……I don’t know who you are, but thank you. But please return to the afterlife now.”

“I’m really Sirik. Please, believe me.”

I said it again, desperate.

Lisera asked suspiciously.

“Then what does Dad want to hide most from Mom?”

“I don’t know which mom, but there’s only one answer. Novels that only adult men can read.”

“I caught you with them.”

“That’s why I asked you to keep it secret. I’ll say it again — rummaging all the way to the inner drawer of the study bookshelf is too much, you know? Should I make a false bottom? Just changing the book cover would’ve been enough.”

I gave a bitter smile.

As if returning to the days in the imperial palace, sitting with my daughter on my knee.

Lisera suddenly went quiet.

“……Dad.”

“Yeah.”

“……It really is you.”

“Right, that ‘Your Imperial Majesty’ stuff is annoying.”

Drip.

The bed sheet dampened.

Lisera’s shoulders trembled…… and she forcefully stretched her arms toward me.

Throwing her whole body.

“Dad!”

Swoosh!

I immediately stood and quickly caught Lisera.

She had nearly fallen off the bed.

Lisera sobbed and asked desperately.

“H-how? You, you passed away. Are you a ghost? Like other people said, have you always, always been watching me?”

“I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you sooner.”

I could only give my daughter the answer she wanted.

Any father in the world would do the same.

Lisera quickly shook her head.

“N-no. It’s okay. I, I really worked hard, you know. Suddenly you passed away…… but I still worked hard. Mom collapsed, the other mothers struggled too. The family all became distant, but…… I still tried my best.”

“……”

I simply held my daughter and spoke calmly.

Not the words I had prepared.

But the words I had to say.

“Yes, you did so well. But…… I don’t want you to do this anymore, Sera.”

“……What?”

“I understand why you did this. But whatever the reason, I don’t want your body harmed. I want you to grow up healthy and strong.”

“It’s okay. My eyes will heal once everything’s over. You don’t need to worry, Dad……”

“Sera.”

I pleaded earnestly.

“No matter what the reason, I don’t want you to do this. Please. Don’t ever do this again.”

“……”

“Seeing you grown so admirably makes me truly happy. But being an adult doesn’t mean enduring everything unconditionally. I’ve told you before, haven’t I? If someone makes unreasonable demands, tell them to screw off and look for another job.”

Lisera hesitated and asked.

“……Are you angry?”

“How could I not be angry when my daughter is hurt?”

“Mom — I mean, Mother tried to stop it too. ……Don’t scold Mother.”

I swallowed my feelings and just nodded.

Then Lisera hugged me tightly and said,

“……It’s really Dad, right?”

“Yes.”

“Can you stay forever?”

“I’ll always be watching over you.”

I told her sincerely.

Lisera buried her head firmly in my chest.

Like returning to childhood.

“Dad, I have so much I want to say. I’m sorry, thank you, and, and…… I missed you. Really, truly. I missed you so, so much.”

She finally burst into tears again.

The falling tears conveyed more than words.

A navy aura flowing from sobbing Lisera.

Desperate affection offered with all her heart.

The words and feelings we needed to share — this was enough.

I absorbed the aura while stroking Lisera’s head.

Swooosh.

Strength drained from Lisera’s body.

I had gently put her to sleep.

Not really psychic ability — just symptomatic treatment.

“Everything will be all right.”

Holding my daughter, I called out quietly.

When this night passed and morning came, Lisera would dismiss her meeting with me as just a dream.

A dream where her dead father visited.

A dream any child has at least once.

She would forget.

“It’s okay, because I’ve returned.”

So I hoped from now on she would live healthy and without trouble.

Wanting her to sleep comfortably, at least for now.

A song I couldn’t sing well came out.

Holding a crying child.

A lullaby I had sung to soothe her.

Until daybreak.

I simply whispered.