Regressor Instruction Manual (PART 2)

Chapter 280: Unwanted Plan (4)

'It's not your Majesty Charlotte's fault.'

'You don't need to comfort me.'

'It was inevitable.'

'No. It is not a problem to end with rationalizing that it is inevitable. Maybe there was another way. I should have looked for another way. Yes, I should've.'

'It was a decision made for the imperial people.'

'I killed another innocent imperial citizen with my own hands for those imperial people.'

'If you hadn't done that, more people would have died. The knights and soldiers who defend the Empire, and many good people looking only at Your Majesty, would all have died. That plague...'

'I know. I know. I already know that there was no other way to save the contaminated land, that there was no other way because it was polluted through the air, and that I had to deal with it before the symptoms occurred. But Count, they weren't undead yet. I'm sure they were human. Their painful screams weren't the sound of the undead. It seems I can still hear the children crying. No, I can hear it clearly.'

'What...'

'I hear them talking to me. I hear the imperial people blaming me after dying for being betrayed by this stupid Empress.'

'You seem to be very tired, Your Majesty.'

'No. I'm not. I am definitely fine.'

'Your Majesty...'

'When I was very young...'

'Yes.'

'When I was very young... I remember what my mother said when it was before her death.'

'... ...'

'She told me not to be harsh. She told me to quietly live a normal life and enjoy the moment. She told me to live apart from the imperial family, peacefully outside the center, and like others. When she died, I remember that she also said something similar. I was very young at that time.'

'Your Majesty...'

'I saw all the hardships my mother had suffered here. I felt more keenly than anyone how the powerless, not the privileged class, were treated in the Empire. So I wanted to change the Empire. Yes. That's why I wanted to become an Empress. I got rid of my sister with my hand, betrayed my father's expectations, and I even have blood in my hands. I have fought with the Pope's side, and also with foreigners like the Count. That's how I became the ruler of this Empire.'

'... ...'

'And after I got to this position like that, in the end, I thought I was the same human as them. No. From the beginning, I was no different from them. I got blood in my hand once again to keep my position, and I have lived that way for several years. I have lived that way... because I was afraid of losing my power. The commitment to create an Empire for the imperial people was overwhelmed by fatigue and pressure, and my childhood dreams were worn out by reality. Suddenly, when I looked in the mirror, it seemed that the face of my sister, who I hated so much, was reflected.'

'No, Your Majesty.'

'This position doesn't suit me. I only realize it now. I'm someone who cannot bear the weight of the crown and cannot wash away sins. It's hard. Yes... It's so hard. As my sister said before... in the end, it seems that poor blood can't bear this weight.'

'Your Majesty...'

'If I were born again... If I were born again, I would like to live as my mother said, like everyone else. Meet loved ones, laugh and chat, have many children, and start a family... like others... I want to live like that.'