Orlax and the others followed Armanthor into another hall, and along the way, some people vomited and still hadn't recovered from the shock.
'I feel like killing them, damn you! Don't spread filth everywhere!'
Orlax screamed internally as he tried to maintain his composure.
Finally, Armanthor stopped before a slightly large door, opened it, and asked us to enter.
It was a spacious room with a long table stretching from one end to the other, surrounded by several chairs.
The room was fully decorated, giving off the feeling of great effort invested in it.
Instinctively, I moved to the head of the table, sat down, and waited for the others to take their seats.
As soon as Armanthor sat down, he began to speak.
"First, I want to congratulate His Majesty for winning the royal battle once again."
After Armanthor spoke, the others followed suit and began offering their congratulations.
"Congratulations on your victory, Your Majesty."
Once the hall quieted down, Armanthor spoke again.
"Secondly, according to the contract between you and the former emperor, if you defeated all of the emperor's children, you would become the heir. But, Your Majesty, why did you kill the emperor as well? If there is no convincing reason, we have no choice but to arrest you now for the murder of the emperor."
After Armanthor finished speaking, the entire hall fell silent, and all eyes turned toward me.
Some began preparing their weapons, while others started casting spells, ready to engage me if I resisted.
'What do I do now? How did Orlax manage to pass through this place and become emperor?'
While Orlax was deep in thought, his body started moving on its own.
"I did not kill the emperor; the previous heir did so out of greed for the throne. Also..."
{ [Emperor's Presence] has been activated }
As soon as Orlax spoke, a crushing pressure enveloped the room. The strongest individuals lost their desire to fight, while the weaker ones struggled to breathe.
"Your Majesty! Please withdraw your aura, people will die at this rate!"
Armanthor shouted, trying hard to maintain himself, unaware that he was holding his breath until the pressure eased.
'What a monster... Despite being one of the strongest sorcerers in the world, I am still affected by such pressure. I can't even imagine his strength at its peak.'
Armanthor thought as he looked at Orlax, who sat upright in his chair with his arms crossed over his chest. Taking a deep breath, he finally asked what he wanted.
"Your Majesty, what do you mean the previous heir killed the former emperor? Do you have proof?"
"Of course, I do."
Saying this, Orlax took a phone out of his pocket, fiddled with it a little, and handed it to Armanthor.
Armanthor took the phone and looked at it.
The phone displayed a video of what happened inside the throne hall.
At first, there was a battle between the princes and princesses. After a few minutes, the video showed the previous heir stabbing the emperor sitting on the throne in the lung, and then the video stopped.
"What? The previous heir killed the emperor?"
"Why would he do such a thing? He could have waited and would have become the next emperor."
"This is completely unbelievable."
Armanthor took a deep breath to calm himself, ordered everyone to remain silent, and directed his gaze at Orlax, who had been sitting quietly the entire time.
"Your Majesty, the video shows that the emperor was stabbed in the lung, but when we arrived, there was a sword embedded in his heart. How do you explain this?"
"When the previous heir stabbed the emperor, we were all shocked by what happened and rushed to protect the emperor. But it turned out that the previous heir was not alone in this conspiracy; the fifth prince and fourth princess were with him. After the battle ended, all of the siblings fell except for me and the heir. He didn't know I was still alive and was still busy talking to the emperor when he stabbed him in the heart. So, I sneaked up from behind and killed him. After that, the emperor spoke a few words to me and passed away."
After finishing his explanation, Orlax let them process his words and took a sip of the water in front of him.
'What is happening now? My body speaks and moves on its own... Is this really what happened? If that's the case, then Orlax is not guilty of killing them, but rather a false rumor was spread about him. But what about the emperor's last words before dying? They were clearly words of hatred toward the person who killed him. Could this all be...?
"Ahem! Your Majesty, while your story seems plausible, I find it difficult to believe that this is what happened. Do you have evidence to support your claim?"
Armanthor interrupted Orlax's thoughts, expressing his doubts.
"Are you implying that I am lying?"
Orlax spoke, annoyed that someone was accusing him of deception.
"No, Your Majesty, that is not my intent. However, it is difficult to convince everyone that this is what truly happened without evidence."
Armanthor spoke while wiping sweat from his forehead, looking at Orlax, awaiting his response.
"Of course, I have evidence."
After speaking, Orlax handed his phone to Armanthor, who played another video showing the heir clearly stabbing the emperor in the heart while Orlax sneaked up from behind and killed him. The video ended there.
Everyone took a deep breath as they watched the events unfold, realizing that the heir, with the aid of two princes, had conspired against the emperor.
"Thank you, Your Majesty, for this evidence. Now, we will announce to the public what happened, and there will be a two-week mourning period for the late emperor. After two weeks, we will officially announce your coronation, Your Majesty. Does this sound suitable to you?"
After Armanthor finished speaking, he looked at Orlax with a reassuring expression. Orlax, who had finally regained control of his body, let out a sigh of relief.
"Do as you see fit; I have no objections."
After Orlax gestured for everyone to leave, they gradually exited one by one until the last person remaining was Armanthor, who still had doubt in his eyes as he looked at Orlax.
Once the door was closed, Orlax relaxed into his seat and began to contemplate what had happened.
'Even I don't believe what I just said, let alone these old foxes. The important thing is that this crisis is over.'
After relaxing, he looked around the room, admiring its grandeur.
'Man, if I sold anything from this room, I could make a fortune that would last me a lifetime. Well, that's irrelevant. Let me review my condition and stats.'
Despite the presence of magic and fantastical elements, this world still had a decent level of technological advancement.
He looked at the phone on the table, picked it up, and started checking the latest news.
Then, in the corner of his vision, a transparent blue window appeared once more.
"I can't touch it; it works solely through the mind."
Orlax waved his hand through the transparent screen, but nothing happened.
Name: Orlax Tirshtain
Age: 14
Level: 1 [100/0] EXP
Health: 100% (Feeling energetic)
Mana: 100%
Aura: 100%
### Attributes:
-Strength: 98 (Affects overall physical power)
-Speed: 99 (Affects movement and reaction speed)
-Wisdom: 95 (Affects mana control, aura management, and response speed)
-Intelligence: 98 (Affects mana capacity, aura levels, and overall intelligence)
-Endurance: 96 (Affects stamina and defense)
-Charm: 99 (Affects appearance and aura)
(The average person has a score of 5 in each attribute.)
Stat points: 0
Status:
- Active
- Healthy
- Cursed
Personality Traits:
[Pride]
[Emperor]
[Cold-blooded]
[Patience]
[Loyalty]
[Cleanliness]
[Genius]
Skills:
-Sword Skills: Level 7
-Fire Magic: Level 7
-Earth Magic: Level 4
-Water Magic: Level 4
-Control Magic: Level 6
-Hand Combat: Level 5
-Cooking: Level 7 (Max)
-Cleaning: Level 2
Unique Abilities:
- Emperor Presence
- Hyper Focus
- Loyalty Scale
Skill points: 0
"Hmm... Cursed? What is this?"
As soon as he spoke, a small window appeared and explained the curse.
[Cursed]: In the final moments of Orlax's mother's life, she cursed her child, condemning him to hear voices urging him to kill and destroy others.
"Hahaha, wonderful—a curse from my own mother. How much worse could things get?"