I flew straight toward the palace on the wings of Ziz.
At the same time, I used a presence-concealment technique to slip inside undetected.
The palace was in a state of flurried commotion. That all but confirmed my worst fears.
As I proceeded further in, a familiar voice reached my ears.
It was the raspy tone of Noisehill, who had served as First Prime Minister for thirty years.
"Do not let the physicians who just entered leave under any circumstances without my express orders. Everyone present must keep their mouths shut as well. Utter a single unnecessary word, and your head will roll."
"Y-Yes, sir."
The one answering Noisehill's order in fright was a eunuch, speaking in a distinctively high-pitched voice.
While the eunuch trembled from receiving such a severe command, Noisehill's own tone was tinged with an underlying dread, along with an unmistakable panic.
"...I will draft a document now. Deliver it to His Majesty immediately."
"To... His Majesty?"
"What is it? Is there an issue?"
"No... but His Majesty is away on a personal campaign, so what class of courier horse should be dispatched...?"
"...Ah, right."
Noisehill clicked his tongue.
It was not directed at the eunuch before him, but rather at his own momentary lapse in judgment.
Officially, I was away on an expedition, but in reality, I had returned to the imperial capital.
Noisehill likely knew that and was trying to contact me, but in the mind of an ordinary eunuch, I was still leading the imperial campaign. That was why he had asked about the class of courier horse—inquiring just how urgently it needed to be rushed.
Unable to simply blurt out that His Majesty had already returned to the imperial capital, Noisehill could only groan in frustration.
There was no doubt about it now.
The situation was on the verge of the worst-case scenario.
If the worst had already come to pass, a man of Noisehill's caliber would have instead remained completely composed.
The fact that he hadn't meant there was still a sliver of time left.
The worst-case scenario.
I could clearly picture it in my mind.
Father's passing.
Although he had been stable when I saw him yesterday, he was undeniably far weaker compared to his prime.
On top of that, he was of advanced age.
It would not be surprising if his condition had taken a sudden turn for the worse.
His health had likely deteriorated abruptly; physicians had been summoned, but strict information control was being enforced so that people were allowed in, but barred from leaving.
I thought for a moment.
What I needed to do right now.
With that thought in mind, I looked up at the sky through the window.
☆
Flapping the wings of Ziz and cloaking myself in magic power, I soared through the sky.
Across the unobstructed expanse, I flew at more than double the speed of a super express courier horse.
"More! Hurry, faster!"
Responding to my will, Ziz increased its flight speed even further.
My body creaked under the strain.
Twice the speed of a courier horse meant the headwind was more than doubled as well.
The wind alone felt as though it would tear me apart, the sheer pressure slicing into my skin.
I stretched my limbs straight, pressing them as close to my body as possible.
Consciously stiffening myself like a rod, I kept the wind resistance to a bare minimum.
Even so, the pressure was immense. My shoulders, bearing the brunt of the frontal blast, tore wide open, bleeding profusely as though slashed by a blade.
Blood splattered and whipped backward into the air.
"...Ngh. Don't lose speed!"
Enduring the pain, I commanded Ziz onward.
I had felt Ziz slightly slacken its pace, worried by the bleeding and its master's injuries.
Telling it not to slow down, I pulled out a potion.
I poured it over the shoulder that had been torn open by the wind pressure.
The wound closed before my very eyes—however...
This time, the other side ripped open.
It tore even wider than before, and the fresh blood spraying from the wind pressure splattered across my face.
I pulled out another potion and splashed it over the wound.
The injury healed immediately, but the pain lingered.
Furthermore, few potions remained.
Yet I had no luxury to worry about whether they would last until the end.
Piercing through the sky without pause, I arrived at the encampment of the imperial campaign army.
Landing beside a familiar tent, I stepped right inside.
"Henry!"
"Your Majesty!?" both men gasped.
Henry was not the only one inside.
Neil was there as well.
Neil had been kneeling before Henry, head hung apologetically, but both were struck with utter astonishment upon my sudden appearance.
"W-Why are you here? When did you return—"
"We'll talk later, come with me!"
"What? Y-Yes!"
"Neil!"
"Sir!"
"I leave the army to you. Keep a tight rein on things this time."
"Y-Yes, sir!?"
Neil started to nod, but began to panic at the last second as the gravity of the situation dawned on him.
"There's no time to talk. Henry, come!"
"Yes..."
Leading the bewildered Henry outside, I scooped him up in my arms and took to the sky once more on the wings of Ziz.
True to Ziz's power, even burdened with two people, our speed remained virtually unchanged.
"I-Incredible... To think we can actually fly through the air..."
"..."
"Your Majesty? What on earth is happening—"
"The Retired Emperor is in critical condition."
"—!"
Henry gasped in my arms, his body stiffening.
"He is likely on his deathbed—there's no doubt about it. For you to make it in time, I had to be the one to come."
"To ensure I made it in time? I understand, but why go this far...?"
I could clearly hear the unspoken question in Henry's heart, wondering why I would go to such lengths.
Father being in critical condition would normally warrant summoning family via super express courier horses, but having the Emperor himself frantically fly over to fetch someone in person was unheard of.
He found it bewildering.
"Gilbert, and Albert."
"—!"
"Father always regretted outliving two of his sons. That's why... at the very least, when his final moment comes, I want to show him that every last one of us left is alive and well."
"...Yes—gh!"
In my arms, Henry let out a groan of anguish.
Looking down, I saw that his posture had shifted from being held, exposing his neck to the wind until the skin ripped open.
I pulled out a potion and applied it to Henry.
Bleeding from the neck was normally a fatal injury, but the potion resolved it without issue.
If a limb were severed, nothing could be done, but as long as it was a laceration or something similar—whether on the neck or the thigh—even wounds that would otherwise be lethal posed no problem at all.
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
"Keep your mouth shut. Ziz, can you push the speed a bit more? —Just do it!"
Ziz warned that going any faster was truly dangerous, but I paid no heed and barked an order to proceed anyway.
After a breath of hesitation, our flight speed rose even higher.
"Ugh... Guh..."
Henry groaned, clearly struggling in my arms.
Bearing even more of the wind than he was, I was suffering just as much.
Yet, I did not slacken our speed.
To return to the imperial capital even a single minute or second sooner, I poured every remaining potion over Henry, maintaining Ziz's maximum velocity as we flew.
And then—
☆
We touched down in the palace's inner courtyard.
Urging the unsteady Henry forward, I entered the palace alongside him.
"Y-Your Majesty!? And the Fourth Imperial Prince!?"
"Clear the way!"
Pushing past the astonished court ladies and eunuchs, we hurried down the corridor.
Side by side, Henry and I rushed toward Father's bedchamber.
We arrived before the imposing, familiar door.
Normally, such an entrance would be left for attendants to open rather than the Emperor laying a hand on it himself, but I shoved it open without hesitation.
"Everyone—"
Everyone was inside.
Starting with Oscar, all the imperial princes—all of Father's surviving sons—had gathered in the room.
Even Dustin, who was supposed to be away traveling, stood there with a solemn expression.
"Your Majesty... Brother..."
"Did we make it in time?"
"Yes, I believe so."
Nodding at Oscar's somewhat hesitant reply, I turned my head slightly to signal Henry.
Together, we stepped up to the bed where Father lay.
In this short span of time, Father had grown even more haggard and gaunt.
Even an untrained eye could clearly see the shadow of death hanging over him.
Father kept his eyes closed, his breathing shallow and irregular.
Approaching the bedside, I gently parted the watching physicians with my hand and whispered into Father's ear.
"Father, it's Noah."
"..."
"I have returned. Henry is here as well... Everyone is gathered."
"Father!" Henry called out.
Amidst his shallow breathing, Father slowly opened his eyes.
A faint glimmer of light returned to his clouded pupils. His gaze focused first upon me, and then shifted to Henry.
"...Mm."
Squeezing out a faint, final smile, Father closed his eyes once more.
Before long, his breathing grew weaker and weaker, until—
"Father!!"
The brothers cried out in unison, dropping to their knees.
It was the very moment Father, who had reigned over the Empire for more than sixty years, breathed his last.
"..."
I felt a profound sense of relief that I had brought Henry in time.
At the same time, a pang of regret brushed past me, wondering if Father might have left me a final word had I come straight here instead of fetching Henry.
It could not be helped.
It was in the past, and a human being could never possess everything.
Even an emperor.
And so—
"What!?"
My ring began to shine.
The ring that had remained on my thumb ever since I obtained it as a child was glowing.
It was a light I had seen before, yet had never witnessed quite like this.
'I shall grant you a tiny bit of time at the very end.'
"...Time?"
'Just enough to bid your farewells. Come, speak my name.'
"...You have my thanks. Apophis—no, Apep."
The moment I spoke the name, Apophis, who governed poison, returned to its true form.
A brilliant light burst forth, condensing right before my eyes.
The concentrated light coalesced into a vibrantly colored, visibly venomous droplet.
Without a shred of hesitation, I swallowed it whole.
In an instant, my consciousness snapped.
☆
When I opened my eyes, I found myself in a realm not of this world.
The surroundings were shrouded in something resembling mist or clouds.
None of that mattered.
Where this place was did not matter in the slightest.
For ahead of me, I saw the very back I had looked up to my entire life.
"Father!!"
"Hm?"
Walking slowly, Father stopped and turned around in response to my call.
The moment he saw me, astonishment crossed his features.
"Noah... Why are you here? Return at once, this place is—"
"I understand. Apep, who governs death, granted me a brief moment to speak with you at the end."
"—Hmph, is that so?"
Father nodded, offering a gentle smile.
"Remarkable, Noah. I have never heard of someone chasing after a final will in such a manner."
"Father."
"I was blessed with fine sons. I was truly fortunate to have an extraordinary son capable of inheriting my entire life's work and elevating it even further."
"Your words are more than I deserve."
"If I have any regrets..."
"Yes."
I bowed my head briefly, then looked up to meet Father's gaze directly.
Father's regrets.
If he had any, I had come to hear them in order to fulfill them, making me glad once more that I was here.
—However.
"Having placed such heavy expectations upon you, I was only ever able to treat you as an emperor, failing to shower you with the affection of an ordinary father. That remains my regret."
"Father..."
"Up until Oscar, I used to sit them on my lap to play once or twice."
"...As for me, I am truly grateful that you were my father. I mean that from the bottom of my heart."
"Is that so? Then I have nothing left to say."
"Yes."
"Do as you see fit. Consign me to the annals of history, and do as you please thereafter, Noah."
"Understood."
"Farewell, then."
Father turned on his heel and began to walk away.
I thought this was truly the end—however...
As if recalling something, Father halted.
Though he stopped, he did not turn back, speaking over his shoulder instead.
"This is merely a monologue, but there was one other matter I sought to achieve, yet could not find even the slightest clue toward."
"..."
I did not interject.
If Father called it a "monologue," he had to have a reason for doing so.
"I decided my successor through my grandchildren. A worthy grandchild guarantees prosperity for three consecutive generations. But halfway through, I thought to myself, 'If there is no worthy grandchild, I will have no choice but to be reborn as my own grandchild.'"
"—!"
"Having failed to find a way in the end, that tin can telephone reminded me of it."
"..."
Having said his piece, Father resumed his walk.
I watched Father's retreating figure in silence, finally bending at the waist in a deep, formal bow.
☆
"—Majesty, Your Majesty!?"
"—!"
Looking around, I found myself back in Father's bedchamber.
Oscar's face was right in front of me, peering down with deep concern.
"Ah, are you all right, Your Majesty?"
"Do not worry. Hm?"
I felt a tear tracing down my cheek.
It had spilled over from seeing Father off at the very end.
Without wiping it away, I issued an order to Oscar.
"Oscar, I leave all the funeral arrangements to you."
"Understood. What shall we do regarding the late Emperor's posthumous name?"
"Father possessed supreme wisdom and virtue, standing foremost among all the emperors. 'Holy Emperor' shall suffice."
"By your will."
Oscar bowed his head.
While the surrounding imperial princes and my brothers grieved Father's passing, I gave various commands to Oscar on the spot, settling matters one after another.
A new era was dawning.
As proof of that, the status window visible in the corner of my vision underwent a further change.
―――――――――――― Name: Noah Ararat Emperor of the Empire Gender: Male Level: 19 / ∞
HP: SSS / Fire: SSS MP: SSS / Water: SSS Strength: SSS / Wind: SSS Endurance: SSS / Earth: SSS Intelligence: SSS / Light: SSS Spirit: SSS / Darkness: SSS Speed: SSS Dexterity: SSS Luck: SSS ――――――――――――
The "+" notations that had been visible ever since the day I was born were entirely gone.
I felt that this was proof that the entire Empire was now truly mine.
Everything in the Empire, bequeathed to me by Father.
'Watch over me, Father.'
With this power, I would bring even greater prosperity to the Empire, proving that Father was the greatest enlightened monarch who had kept his legacy untarnished to the very end.
Once more, I resolved to dedicate the rest of my life to doing just that.