Chapter 105

At the Emperor’s sudden remark, Wilhelm was visibly flustered. However, as no immediate answer came, I subtly tugged at his sleeve. Now that the Emperor had expressed his intention to hear the truth, there was no point in trying to hide it. It was far better to disclose it now and create an opportunity for self-defense.

Wilhelm glanced at me, then opened his mouth.

“Understood. May we move to a different location?”

The Emperor and I nodded in unison.

Moving to a different location didn’t just mean finding a room without people; Wilhelm’s steps were directed toward the Imperial Palace exterior. Startled, I quickly grabbed him.

“Wait, wait. Where are you trying to go?”

“Ah.”

Holding him, I saw that Wilhelm looked uncharacteristically lost in thought, to the extent that he was heading outside without considering the Emperor’s presence.

I turned to the Emperor and apologized. “My apologies. He seems preoccupied with recent events…”

“It’s fine. However, if the intention is to go outside…”

Without hesitation, the Emperor rapidly threw off the layers of clothing he was wearing. Although he hadn’t shown it, the throwing motion was uninhibited, suggesting the clothes had been quite cumbersome.

“Your, Your Majesty!”

As the luxurious velvet uniform hit the floor, nearby attendants were startled and rushed over. While they collected the garments, the Emperor, now only in his trousers and boots, thoroughly ruffled his neatly slicked-back hair with his large hand.

“…”

“This should do it.”

The dignified Emperor instantly looked like a well-built man next door. Seeing my stunned, speechless reaction, he added, “Let five people follow us.”

“Pardon?” I tilted my head, thinking he was speaking to me, but two men in solid black suddenly appeared right behind us. They bowed to the Emperor, then instantly vanished as quickly as they had appeared. It all happened in the blink of an eye.

“Now, let us go quickly. Otherwise, the Chamberlain will scold me again, hahahaha!”

***

The place Wilhelm headed to was not just outside the palace. After a ride on horseback, we arrived at the Blueberry County’s private land located on the outskirts of the capital, Calipha.

‘It’s been a while. I used to visit sometimes as a child.’

Though it had been a long time since I’d set foot here, the scenery hadn’t changed much from my memory. Wilhelm didn’t stop but rode further inside.

He finally stopped in front of the building for ‘Popokle,’ the orphanage run by our family. Wilhelm dismounted and walked purposefully, opening the door without hesitation. The sudden entrance was enough to startle anyone inside.

As expected, the children inside looked at Wilhelm with caution.

However.

“Oh? It’s the Commander!”

“Wow, Commander!”

“Uh-huh? Who is this mister and this sister?”

Soon, the children rushed out of the building. Every one of them was smiling brightly, welcoming Wilhelm. The Emperor and I stood by the side, simply blinking.

‘Why are we here…?’

I was bewildered, having arrived without any explanation.

‘There must be a reason.’

Instead of asking Wilhelm, I surveyed the surroundings. Looking at the children running toward Wilhelm, I realized a characteristic of this orphanage. Most of the children had dark skin like Wilhelm.

‘These children are…’ 

They were members of the Spinelle Tribe, the same minority ethnicity as Wilhelm. Looking around, I saw that not only the children but also most of the people who appeared to be orphanage staff had the same skin color.

‘Was our family protecting a minority group?’

The Popokle Orphanage was managed by my parents. If this were the case, they would have at least given me a hint. Of course, it was possible they kept it hidden even from me…

‘Or was this Wilhelm’s independent decision?’

Just then, the Emperor bent his knees and crouched down, meeting the children’s eye level.

“Oh my! Hello, children?”

Curious about the unfamiliar person, the children gradually gathered around him. A child timidly holding the Emperor’s sleeve asked, “Who are you, mister?”

“Hmm, mister is…” The Emperor stroked his chin, pondering how to introduce himself, then suddenly pointed at me and said, “This lady’s bodyguard!”

“Wow! Then sister is a lady?”

In an instant, the children’s curious gazes turned toward me.

Just then, a young woman rushed out of the orphanage building, looking surprised.

“Children, what’s happening…!”

Fortunately, she was someone I knew.

‘The Director is still the same.’

I raised my hand and greeted the Director. “It’s been a while.”

“Lady Chacha?!”

The surprised woman rushed over, looked at me, then looked around quickly, trying to grasp the situation.

“Mr. Wilhelm!”

The Director walked purposefully toward Wilhelm and began lightly slapping his arm.

“Honestly! If you were coming with Lady Chacha, you should have told me before! Before!”

“Hahaha, don’t be too hard on him. We just stopped by for a moment.”

“Lady Chacha, you’ve grown up so much since I last saw you. It’s truly been too long. Have you been well?”

The Director stopped mid-scolding and greeted me with an excited face. I answered her sincerely, thinking:

‘The fact that Wilhelm brought us here… does it mean the minority group is truly connected to the monster? Or Urkelism?’

Either way, it was clear that Wilhelm was worried about the current situation. I, too, felt it was something to worry about. The Empire already discriminated against minority groups.

‘The perception is already terrible, and if they get involved in this incident, it will be a disaster.’

Although I didn’t know what he was about to say, I decided to brace myself. Even if there was a connection, I hoped that the innocent people would not be implicated merely because they shared the same ethnicity.

***

We only began our serious conversation much later. The children were delighted to see Wilhelm after a long time and clung to me and the Emperor, whom they had just met. Eventually, after playing with them for a while, we were able to send the children inside.

“Now! We shouldn’t keep our guests for too long, should we?”

“Yesss!”

The Orphanage Director’s help was essential.

‘Children have incredible stamina.’

We walked toward the lakeside near the orphanage, holding the reins of the horses we rode. As we released the reins, the horses didn’t wander far, grazing on the nearby grass.

As we felt the cool breeze from the lake, Wilhelm opened his mouth.

“…How much does Your Majesty know about the Spinelle Tribe?”

“Hmm, let’s see.”

The Spinelle Tribe. In this world, where the majority had light skin, they were a dark-skinned, marginalized minority group. Not much was known about them, and I had simply thought of their plight as the equivalent of racial discrimination in my previous life.

The Emperor stroked his chin, contemplating, and said, “I only know the story where the Creator of the world, God Paruel, instructed us not to persecute the Spinelle Tribe in his final divine message. There’s almost nothing about your people left in the history books.”

“…”

“It’s regrettable that the remnants of persecution continue, even though no one knows the reason for the persecution or the cause of the marginalization.”

The Emperor spoke, genuinely regretting the situation as he looked at Wilhelm. It wasn’t just a look of pity. It was more like an expression of responsibility for failing to improve the situation as the Emperor of the Empire.

Perhaps because of this, Wilhelm only nodded quietly to his words and continued to explain.

“There is one reason the Spinelle Tribe is ostracized. It is because, unlike Your Majesty and Lady Chacha, we were not created by the God Paruel.”

“What do you mean by that…”

“The one who fashioned us is God Urkel, the one who created the monsters.”

The Emperor’s eyes widened. I, too, couldn’t hide my astonishment. In this world, the Paruel Church, which believed in Paruel as the one true God, was the sole religion. Urkel was not a well-known deity; it was only after an investigation that he was finally named the Evil God or Demon God.

And now, this God created the monsters? My mind was in chaos at this completely new piece of information.

The Emperor quickly composed his expression, furrowed his brow, and asked, “The God who created monsters also fashioned the Spinelle Tribe? Then is the Spinelle Tribe perhaps closer to monsters than to humans?”

“Yes.”

Wilhelm answered his question without hesitation. And I couldn’t help but be shocked by his subsequent words.

“The proof is that we can control monsters.”