The White Wolf Knight froze for a moment.
“Only the Chief Wolf Knight has the authority to execute a derelict emperor and is exempt from all imperial laws; when no member of the Kaises family is capable of inheriting the throne, the Wolf Knight Proxy Inheritance System will be implemented. You are the Chief Wolf Knight. After my authorization, the new law requires your signing and proclamation to take effect officially—”
“No, Your Majesty,” the White Wolf Knight said, his arm now trembling, “I will never proclaim an oath that cannot be kept.”
For a brief moment, Nero and he locked eyes in a silent standoff.
“Alexei, this is merely a supplementary law. It may never need to be used…”
“No, Your Majesty.”
“…nor might it be used against me. Perhaps the power of the Kaises Family should have been restrained long ago, just like during my father’s time…”
“No, Your Majesty. I will not proclaim it. Perhaps the future White Wolf Knight of the Emperor will proclaim it, but I will not, Your Majesty.”
“… Listen to me. Just like during my father’s time, if it hadn’t been for the fact that all but my father’s generation had perished in battle, and my Eldest Sister had not yet ascended the throne, Rupert would never have had any chance to act as regent. If at that time the White Wolf Knight had handled the power transition, nothing would have happened—”
“If you think it necessary, I will draft a law to constrain the Wolf Knight’s role in state affairs. But you cannot let the Wolf Knight execute his own master. There is no harsher punishment in this world. I absolutely disagree, Your Majesty.”
“You…!”
The White Wolf Knight usually obeyed everything, but once he became stubborn, he could exasperate Nero to death.
Already in a mentally sensitive state, in a fit of rage, a twisted command echoed in his mind again.
In a mix of fear and fury, he grabbed the blaster gun from the White Wolf Knight’s leg and pressed it harshly against the knight’s head.
The blaster gun had immense power, capable of turning a human body to dust. At such close range, even if the White Wolf Knight hadn’t yet removed his armor, it would be enough to blast a hole in his helmet.
“Alexei, why won’t you obey my command?”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Nero’s expression was calm, but his voice trembled slightly, “I want you… I want you to look at me. If one day, I do something that harms the Empire, if I become someone else, turn into a monster you don’t recognize… you must kill me instead of letting me live in the same disgraceful manner as my father did!”
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“Swear to me, White Wolf!”
“Your Majesty.”
The White Wolf Knight seemed not to notice the blaster gun pressed to his head. Once again, he extended his arms, slowly embracing the boy on the bed.
He stroked Nero’s back with his broad hand, as if soothing a frightened feline.
After a while, he felt the tense muscles under his palm gradually soften. He tried gently pulling Nero towards him—his stubborn young master still held the gun, but he fell forward into the White Wolf Knight’s embrace.
“Your Majesty, you just woke up from a nightmare. Some thoughts may not be as rational as usual.”
The knight looked down with gentle blue eyes, ignoring the gun, and softly coaxed Nero.
“Your father was not a disgraceful man. On the contrary, he was a competent, brave, and great emperor who only fell ill. If the rebels hadn’t taken advantage of his weakness, I believe that with the former Emperor Karagu’s character, he would never have chosen to give up. As long as there was a glimmer of hope, he would have fought against the illness to the end, seeking a solution. Because for him, there were too many irreplaceable things in the Empire.”
He spoke softly, and saw Nero’s hand holding the gun slowly lower.
“Your Majesty, how about I make you a cup of hot milk? When you fall asleep again, I won’t turn off all the lights in the room and will hold your hand tightly—if you need it.”
“… No, I’m not an eight-year-old child.”
“Alright, Your Majesty. Everything will be as you wish.”
As the White Wolf Knight stood up to leave, the System’s applause finally echoed in Nero’s mind.
The System was moved to tears: [You… you are amazing… truly amazing, Teacher! I didn’t expect that in such a dire mental state, you would first think of digging into the character! Truly amazing! The confrontation scene with the White Wolf was a stroke of genius! It perfectly set the stage for the ‘Beheading Tyrant’ plot task! From now on, I’ll call you Daddy…]
Nero’s red eyes narrowed.
He had actually forgotten to turn off the System in his mind. This was a slip that had never happened before.
It showed just how much the early signs of his madness were affecting his sanity.
But soon, Nero’s lips curved into a smile: [Is my character alignment still at 100%?]
The System gave a thumbs up: [Still 100%, the record holder for the Plot Team! Your analysis of the original character is at the level of a master butcher, modern deconstructionist-level acting skills. Just amazing!]
System: [Oh right, there was a mental value warning just now. Generally speaking, if the original character had any mental depletion, it would show pretty scary symptoms. I thought you might be frightened, but it seems I was worrying for nothing…]
Nero frowned: [Mental value?]
The system pulled up a new panel, resembling an EEG. Unlike normal brainwaves, the lines on this panel were extremely erratic and chaotic, with no pattern at all.
However, as Nero’s heartbeat and breathing slowly steadied, the graph began to smooth out.
System: [Although the original’s hereditary mental illness won’t fully manifest until his differentiation, he’s already 18, close to the differentiation period, so minor episodes like today will likely become more frequent.]
The System’s tone became more confident: [But with us, a system living in your brain, it’s its bad luck. Just as you can destroy the System through reverse input, the System can stabilize your mental fluctuations by influencing your brainwaves. The extent is limited, but since the original hasn’t fully developed the illness, I can stabilize you somewhat.]
Nero was about to stop it, but the System had already started working on its own.
A monotonous rustling sound began to play in his mind, like the steady rhythm of raindrops, but not irritating.
The System peeked in: [Oh, by the way, you’ll hear white noise. That’s just the sound of me smoothing your brainwaves. Don’t worry about it.]
The chaotic brainwave graph gradually smoothed out, and the cold, twisted command voice faded away into the calming rustle.
When the White Wolf Knight returned with the milk, he saw Nero slumped on the pillow, his red eyes half-closed, brows furrowed, looking like he was about to fall asleep yet stubbornly trying to stay awake.
His expression had a peculiar sense of comfort, like a cat enjoying having its ears cleaned.
“Your Majesty,” the White Wolf Knight supported his head with his hand, asking softly, “Are you going to sleep?”
“Mm…”
Though reluctant to admit it, the System’s brainwave stabilization was indeed effective.
The intense inner turmoil and violent emotions slowly ebbed away like unwinding threads, disappearing into the soothing white noise. The sudden mental relief made him squint his eyes like a satisfied cat.
When the System finished its work, Nero slowly propped himself up, sipping the milk from the White Wolf Knight’s hand.
The System showed the Hatred Points panel: [We got 100 points from the Marshal. Do you want to convert it to leg health points now? Even though -20000 is a huge negative value… every bit helps, right?]
Nero: [Go ahead.]
System: [Alright. Leg health points +100, current health: -19900/100, remaining reward points: 0.]
Nero instinctively touched his ankle.
Embarrassingly, unlike the effective brainwave repair, the leg repair had no noticeable effect.
The System played dumb: [Well, you know, the base value is too large… this base value…]
Nero: [It’s fine.]
When he looked up again, his blazing red eyes seemed to be filled with the light of countless stars.
[As long as my will remains,] the silver-haired Emperor said, [I can accomplish anything.]
…
Thanks for the chap!
Ahhhhh I love this novel