Sometimes, while living in this world, things that simply make no sense happen.
Children join hands and turn their father into a senile old man locked in the back room.
They eliminate one they once called uncle, along with their half-siblings.
Without a word, an elder brother now tries to kill even his younger brother.
“What nonsense is this!”
The Emperor, who had been somehow muddling through his usual headache-inducing affairs.
He sprang to his feet in shock at the news that had just come in.
“Bereukeuel, that bastard actually—!”
His hot-tempered younger brother. The wretch had finally caused a disaster.
It seemed the relentless political offensive had driven him out of his mind.
There was no chance of victory, and even if there were, this was something he absolutely should not do.
How could he attack a younger brother born of the same parents!
“Send out troops immediately and stop their advance!”
“T-they say he has already gathered at Isyumael’s residence.”
“How could a report only reach me this late!”
“It seems it was too abrupt to anticipate, Your Majesty. I am deeply sorry.”
He was not wrong. No matter how much the Emperor thought about it, this was a foolish act.
This was absolutely not something one could attempt with courage, resolve, or speed alone.
The Emperor, having roamed countless battlefields, knew. This was a losing battle.
Bereukeuel was a battle-hardened man, and yet he had made such a mistake.
To think he would start something when there was no path to victory from any perspective!
“Send someone to the youngest immediately and tell him this: Though your elder brother has done something foolish and you must be frightened and confused, you must never harm your elder brother. Tell him there must never be killing among family!”
“Yes, Your Majesty!”
“Deliver this to that reckless colt Bereukeuel as well! If he does not wish to see his mother wailing in the underworld, he must stop this instant! Tell him that if he stops now, his life will be spared!”
After giving the order, the Emperor pressed his forehead and collapsed into his seat.
To think things had come to this without him, the Emperor, even noticing.
He had actually known this would happen. His current situation was far from good.
Aside from his in-laws, he had virtually no noteworthy political allies.
Even his in-laws did not possess significant influence.
It was as if he were commanding a war without a single scout.
Much like the younger brother just beneath him, he had lived building walls against politics.
Some had said that since there was no elder brother, the position of Crown Prince might come to him in turn.
They had said it was right to prepare even a little, but he had reacted indifferently.
He himself had known. He fell short of the makings of an Emperor.
He lacked the talent to skillfully bend all people to his will.
Perhaps if he were a conquering monarch, but political stability was too difficult a task.
“Your Majesty! A messenger has just arrived from Bereukeuel!”
“What did he say!”
“H-he said that he dares to call to account the crime of deceiving his elder brothers and drawing them into that day’s affair, and beseeches Your Majesty to support this lacking younger brother….”
The moment he heard those words. Even an elder brother endlessly kind to his younger brothers.
“You insane bastard!!”
Flew into a rage, saying he would kill him on the spot.
“Do you think I know nothing! Were you not the most eager one alongside the youngest! You hid the matter even from me and pressed ahead, and now you claim you did not know? That you were deceived? And so, after killing your uncle and half-siblings, instead of taking responsibility, you shift the blame onto your younger brother?!”
“Your Majesty! Please calm yourself!”
“Despite all the trouble you caused, I still tried to look after you because you are my brother! Deliver this to him at once! This is his final chance. Disband immediately, return home, and quietly await judgment. Do so, and I will not impose death for the crime of daring to draw your blade a second time in the Imperial Capital!”
Though he had been displeased that his uncle and younger brothers were killed.
When considered carefully, they were neither his true uncle nor brothers of the same mother.
So the Emperor had endured that matter. He had understood his younger brothers.
He had tried to accept it calmly, even as the situation enraged him as a father.
But this time, they had crossed the line. Trying to harm a younger brother born of the same parents?
“Your Majesty. A messenger has come from Isyumael.”
“From the youngest? What did he say! Did he say he would dare stain himself with his brother’s blood again?!”
If that were his intention, the Emperor was prepared to grab his sword that very instant.
He merely lacked political ability; in martial might, he surpassed both his younger brothers.
If he took up his sword and went in, no one could bar his path.
“That is not so. He said he feels sorrow and responsibility that such a thing has occurred. And in order not to trouble Your Majesty’s sacred heart, he will somehow settle the matter quietly with his elder brother. Even if an armed clash occurs, there will never again be harm between brothers. He swore this upon his late mother.”
“If the youngest swears upon our mother, it can be trusted. Send word that he must not break that promise. Add that if he spares his elder brother’s life, I will grant him anything.”
“Understood, Your Majesty!”
After giving the order, the Emperor immediately discerned the reason behind all of this.
He was merely an outsider to politics; by no means was he a fool.
Rather, having wandered battlefields, he was quicker to read situations than most.
‘So it was this seat after all. He wants stepping stones to ascend to this place.’
He had no children anyway. His wife had been unable to conceive.
After becoming Crown Prince in a flurry, he had heard a great deal about taking a new wife.
But from childhood until now, he had lived looking at only one woman.
To take a new woman simply because he had no children? Nonsense.
Rather, having no children was far more comfortable in the current situation.
It was time to choose the next Emperor.
Time to choose the Imperial Brother Heir.
*
“Did His Majesty the Emperor truly… did my elder brother truly say that?”
“Yes, Your Highness. They say he flew into a rage unlike any seen before.”
Bereukeuel, passing along the main avenue of the Imperial Capital, could not hide his distress.
He had not expected things to come to this even without receiving support.
In the current situation, it seemed Isyumael would instead take all the backing.
“Wh-what of the Retired Emperor! What of Father?!”
“Well… He thundered, asking if killing your half-siblings was not enough of a reckless act, and demanded if now you mean to kill even the brother born of the same mother….”
The Emperor’s understanding. The Retired Emperor’s support. He had gained nothing.
Like this, even the justification of judging a younger brother who had deceived his elder brothers would lose its force.
Both the highest authority and the one who had been the highest authority had turned their backs.
The one who struck first lacked the strength to do so properly.
In this situation, the side that was struck first—already strong—could retaliate even harder.
In the midst of this, Isyumael’s forces appeared, triumphant.
At a glance, they were at least several times greater than Bereukeuel’s force.
Though they had said they stood down their soldiers, their momentum was instead far greater.
Even the National Tax Service enforcement division seemed to be accompanying them.
“Elder brother!”
The moment when everything had gone awry and not even a sliver of hope for life remained.
Isyumael pushed through everyone and stepped forward alone.
He could be killed at Bereukeuel’s order at any moment.
Nevertheless, Isyumael approached without the slightest hint of intimidation.
He even dismounted without so much as drawing his sword.
“….”
Bereukeuel sheathed his drawn sword and likewise dismounted.
And then he approached his younger brother, who looked far larger today than usual.
“Elder brother.”
“Isyumael.”
“I have heard the news. Wicked men swayed you, Elder Brother, and even threatened you, forcibly driving you into this situation.”
“Uh…?”
“Do not worry. I shall handle everything. This younger brother shall claim the villain’s role to ensure they can never again shake my lord.”
“….”
“Therefore, I beg you to forgive and understand this younger brother.”
Justification, support, forces, strength. He had already lost in every aspect.
Even if Isyumael had spoken with hostility, resistance would have been difficult.
But his younger brother instead humbled himself and bowed his head as he came.
On top of that, he asked whether all fault did not lie with those surrounding him.
You were forced to come here. You merely fell into another trap.
We are still brothers. Neither political enemies nor mortal enemies to be killed.
So please, move so that I may save you.
The man who had killed his younger brothers no longer had any desire to kill his elder brother either.
“….”
Bereukeuel looked for a moment at his supporters behind him.
They were the ones who had come this far with him. Who had gone mad alongside him.
They might have done so out of loyalty, or out of greed for power.
One thing was certain: for him to live, they had to die.
Even if he survived here, politically he would become a dead man.
He could never set foot in the Imperial Capital again. He would have to live like a dead man.
No one would follow him. Because he would have betrayed his own men.
What man would trust and follow one who abandons his subordinates?
“Elder brother.”
Isyumael came even closer and embraced Bereukeuel outright.
As if to say, please stop such foolishness now.
The younger brother strongly gave off an air of placating and pleading with his elder brother.
“I promise. Not only you, Elder Brother, but all your family as well shall quietly pass over this affair.”
“….”
“But if you wish to go beyond this point… this younger brother can no longer call you Elder Brother. I beg you, do not make me commit a sin against both our father and mother.”
A final warning. A final offer. And a final plea.
In the end, Bereukeuel had no choice but to embrace his younger brother.
*
As expected. So this is how it all flows in the end. His head shook on its own.
The reckless fool’s foolish coup. The natural suppression by the real power.
After eliminating every competitor, finally ascending to the seat of the Imperial Brother Heir.
Ah. Should I call him Imperial Brother Heir instead of Crown Prince now?
“To think he would say he would enter as His Majesty’s adopted son.”
“That is the only way to comply with the principle of primogeniture, my lord.”
“From this perspective, His Highness the Crown Prince is truly a ruthless man.”
“He is someone capable of doing far greater things at any time.”
It was truly fortunate that such a man and his people did not bare their fangs at me.
No matter who I am, it would be extremely difficult to win from the opposite side.
“I suppose it is about time I wrapped things up.”
“Wrapped things up?”
“Chief of the Enforcement Division. I shall resign soon.”
“What, you brat? Why all of a sudden?! After wanting it so badly, you are quitting before even a year?”
“I have done much work and taken much criticism. And whatever the reason, I involved myself in a power struggle. To prevent trouble for the entire Enforcement Division, I must quickly cut the tail. In times like these, the chief takes responsibility and removes himself.”
And he had already secured everything there was to gain as Chief of the Enforcement Division.
A definite imprint of his existence. And even the position of close aide to the Crown Prince.
If he held his position here longer, there might be more to gain.
But to that same degree, he would invite the wariness of others.
Perhaps he too might enter the Crown Prince’s radar of suspicion.
“Then. What do you plan to do now?”
“I must find another task the Empire needs. In fact, I already have.”
Having been to the East, it was now the North’s turn.