Black Badger

“Pretty.”

It was the first thing Ami blurted out the moment Hildebert stepped out of the control room.

“He’s insanely cool. Hilde is all white and sparkling.”

“If that really is the Emperor, what happens then?”

Yun muttered, eyes fixed on the screen.

By now, all of them were staring at it.

It wasn’t surprising. Until Hildebert and his subordinates arrived, they had been watching the man who appeared in the Portal Zone so intently their eyes nearly popped out.

They were just reaching the point where watching was getting tedious—when Hildebert appeared.

“Keep him under surveillance.”

Yehyeon said it in a voice devoid of emotion.

“If he’s that big a figure, we don’t know how he might change the balance.”

“I thought I heard the Emperor was dead.”

Ska threw a glance at Yoow, who was practically glued to the screen.

“It doesn’t look like Hildebert confirmed his survival either, does it?”

“I didn’t hear the details of his final moments either. But... it does seem that way.”

Yoow murmured.

He looked half-dazed.

Yet no one pointed it out. They were all just as rattled. From the moment Yoow came running in after being summoned and, mouth hanging open, said that the man was the Emperor, the Badgers had felt dizzy.

A person appearing out of nowhere was absurd enough—an Emperor was too much.

Just watching someone presumed to be the Emperor was «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» already overstimulating.

And then Hildebert appeared.

The humans couldn’t take their eyes off the white-haired man.

They’d already been talking about Hildebert throughout the mission.

Originally, Hildebert was supposed to be included in this operation. But since his condition hadn’t improved, they had no choice but to go without him.

They hadn’t told Hildebert, worried it might give him a sense of loss or frustration.

The mission was to return to the site where Shu Diamond had been abducted and retrieve flower samples.

But the flowers had withered and died, leaving only Creatures behind. They came back exhausted, with nothing to show for it.

Either way, they talked about Hilde the entire time.

Even on the way back, they kept discussing his condition, and what might have been different if Hilde had been with them.

And then they crossed the portal—who could have expected that someone claiming to be the Emperor would suddenly pop out?

On top of that, they’d heard from Yoow that “Hildebert was the captain of the knight order that protected the Imperial family.”

The strategist said Hildebert had assisted the Emperor closer than anyone else.

A knight who stood silently behind the Emperor whenever he was needed.

So how could they possibly look away from Hildebert when he came face to face with the Emperor?

“I’ll go in and confirm.”

But Hildebert wasn’t as shaken as they expected.

He was surprised, but quickly regained his composure. The white-haired man readily agreed to the Supreme Commander’s order to keep the other party calm.

Then he changed clothes and returned.

With a clear, soft clink, Hildebert came back into the control room.

Given the circumstances, no one commented on his outfit.

But everyone understood why Ami had sucked in a sharp breath.

Hildebert, returning in the knight-captain’s attire, was dazzling.

It wasn’t a metaphor. He truly seemed to emit a faint glow on his own in the darkness. The glossy silver armor blended seamlessly with his white hair.

Beneath the armor, the white garments were embroidered with gold thread that seemed matched to the color of his eyes—delicate golden leaves stitched across the fabric.

Even the earring on a man who looked like he’d never wear such an ornament gleamed the same color as his eyes.

A golden earring dangling among white hair.

Gold interwoven through white asserted its presence.

But more than the flashy appearance of the youngest, who usually dressed plainly, the Badgers were taken aback by the completely different aura he radiated.

There was no trace of his usual gentle atmosphere.

Eyes that left no opening to strike.

A figure draped in authority they had never seen from him before.

Until the swordsman cloaked in heavy pressure left the control room, the seniors couldn’t say a single word to Hildebert.

Only after he was gone did they come back to themselves.

“What happens to the chain of command?”

Walker murmured darkly from where he stood in the shadows.

“If that man really is the Emperor, doesn’t that mean there’s now someone who can give orders to Hildebert?”

“The Empire is gone. Is he still an Emperor?”

Sophia Kalak muttered, arms crossed.

“There’s no need to treat him like one at this point.”

“Right. There’s no nation to elevate his authority, no imperial seal, no throne.”

“But bloodlines are eternal.”

At Yoow’s murmur, the Badgers’ heads snapped around.

The man who joined the conversation wasn’t looking at them. Still half out of his mind, he was only waiting for Hildebert to appear on the screen.

Black hair falling past his shoulders, eyes filled with keen intelligence.

The strategist rubbed his chin, gaze locked on the screen.

“The authority he was born with. And the achievements he built.”

“I heard he lived on Earth for nearly a century. Shouldn’t he have shed that class-based way of thinking by now?”

Aide Gilbert spoke up suddenly.

“Everyone is born equal.”

“I won’t argue that. But royalty is definitely... different in some way.”

Yoow replied, standing beneath the glow of the screen.

“And everyone here, including Hildebert, swore loyalty to the Emperor.”

Silence fell.

Deltei and Kairos didn’t object to Yoow’s words.

Some of the Badgers turned their heads to look at the Titans. Since confirming the Emperor, they’d grown strangely quiet.

Ami glanced at her aide, but the aide who had lifted their head showed no sign of looking away.

An unreadable face, staring at the Emperor.

“Ah.”

A small sound slipped from Deltei’s lips.

Everyone’s gaze turned to the screen at once.

Hildebert appeared.

An overwhelming silence descended over the control room. Holding their breath, they watched the man walk into the Portal Zone.

The faint clink of armor.

Silver attire reflecting the light.

Hildebert stepped in a few paces and stopped.

A silence on the verge of bursting.

Dozens of cameras, with no blind spots, captured Hildebert and the face of the man who looked like the Emperor.

Golden eyes that seemed to glow, white hair resting atop a gleaming uniform.

Neatly groomed golden hair and vividly shining sky-blue eyes.

It was the Emperor who broke the suffocating silence.

A faint smile spread across the face that had seemed devoid of emotion.

Blue eyes held the golden-eyed knight.

「Hildebert.」

A low but resonant voice echoed.

「My sword.」

***

The only reason I didn’t kneel on the spot was because he was too far away.

And because I knew Jaeyeon’s chilling ability to imitate.

When Jaeyeon transformed into something, they forgot their self. They forgot even the fact that they were themselves, fully becoming the target they sought to imitate. Jaeyeon’s identity was nothing more than fragments.

That ability gnawed away at Jaeyeon’s mind.

However, the only one who could awaken Jaeyeon in that state of self-loss was Colton. So in truth, nothing would change even if I doubted my opponent now.

Still, recalling it helped me steady myself.

I calmed the heart that had dropped the moment the Portal Zone doors opened.

「Your Majesty.」

I called to my lord.

The same face as in my memories.

The face I saw last. Confronting him, heavy emotions and memories poured out, leaving me dizzy. It felt as though someone had carved out the past and placed it whole before my eyes.

Yet all those emotions and thoughts were neatly contained, failing to explode for the exact same reason that had triggered their flood.

Is it truly you?

I wanted to shout that.

If it is, why did you come only now?

What happened after the dimensional gate activated?

What of those who remained behind?

The Crown Prince, the Imperial Princess, Grand Duke Jacques?

The dragon that appeared, snapping the supposedly indestructible pillars of the palace like reeds, and—

Kysis.

The one I failed to save.

The knight who chose to stay behind so that I might live—the most foolish choice of all.

The final words of the knight with violet eyes echoed in my head.

‘Sorry for leaving you with such a heavy burden.’

The sensation of my collapsing body and heart resurfaced.

‘But you’ll make the right decision. My hatchling.’

「Your Majesty.」

I barely regained my composure.

Keeping my distance, I called to him.

Light illuminated only the place where the Emperor stood.

They’d said they shut off most of the lighting in the vast Portal Zone to make it look like an inspection. Thanks to that, an odd effect appeared, like a spotlight shining down on the Emperor.

I looked at him as he slightly lifted his chin, as if telling me to speak.

「I apologize for making you wait so long.」

「It is you who waited so long.」

The man said, voice like someone just awakening from sleep.

A voice I knew well.

A familiar tone.

「I’m sorry I made you wait too long.」

「Your health is—」

「For now, there’s no issue.」

He looked down at his own hands as he answered.

「Except that there’s almost no mana left. And except for the illness that hadn’t fully healed by the time I drew the dimensional gate. Embarrassingly enough, I’m doing quite well.」

「There is nothing for you to be embarrassed about.」

「I handed everything over to my youngest son.」

At the man’s calm remark, my chest dropped heavily.

I strained with all my might to keep my hands from trembling.

If the person before me truly was the Emperor, he would have pretended not to notice my futile efforts.

Indeed, the man standing in the center of the Portal Zone continued speaking as if he hadn’t noticed anything amiss.

「It seems I’m the only one who came out.」

「...Your Majesty.」

This was the moment to ask.

What had happened.

In the past, I would have approached him, knelt, and kissed his hand before asking such things.

Though he had always been an inscrutable man, I had stayed by his side for a long time.

I knew this degree of disrespect would be forgiven.

「How did you arrive here?」

「You know the amount of magic a dragon possesses.」

The Emperor understood my question precisely.

「It reactivated a dimensional gate that was fading after completing its mission. However, because it manifested unintentionally during the duel with Kysis, it wasn’t perfect.」

The heart I had barely calmed began to race again.

「We were all swept up into that imperfect gate. I wasn’t in a state to clearly grasp the situation, but my last memory is of the entire area collapsing inward, everything being sucked into the gate.」

Ah.

「Then Grand Duke Jacques and Sir Kysis as well—」

「They were pulled into the gate. After that, there was darkness. When I came to, I was standing here. I don’t know whether the others are alive. Whether they were devoured by the gate, flung into another dimension, or arrived here later as I did.」

As he spoke, the Emperor lifted his gaze to me.

His piercing stare skewered me.

「But judging by your expression, it seems none of those swallowed later by the gate reached this place.」

My breath caught in my throat.

Only after forcing down what had choked my windpipe could I speak.

「Yes.」

Was it hope that suffocated me—or despair disguised as hope?

「I am deeply sorry.」

「You still have the habit of apologizing for things that aren’t your fault.」

The Emperor showed a faint smile.

Then he extended his right hand toward me.

A hand left empty, bearing the mark of a ring.

「There’s nowhere left to kiss now, but—」

I walked toward him.

Without hesitation, I closed the distance and stopped at the familiar range. I knelt on one knee before my lord. After assuming the posture of submission, I took my lord’s hand and lowered my gaze.

I pressed a kiss of obedience to his fingers.

The one to whom I swore loyalty.

「I greet His Majesty the Emperor.」

I said, eyes lowered.

「My lord.」