My Students Regret It After I Retired

56 – News of Death, Leos Begins to Move

At Lakart’s shocking words, Leos reflexively asked,

“One of my disciples is dead? Who?”

“Weren’t you indifferent?”

“It’s natural, seeing as they didn’t trust me and cut ties for three years.”

“…Well, I guess you can be curious even if you’re not worried. Rekk is dead.”

“Rekk…”

“Was he close to you?”

“If you’re talking about the past, there were no disciples I didn’t pour affection into. But if having many conversations is the standard of closeness, then I’d say no. I didn’t talk much with him. He was never particularly fond of me, after all.”

“The reason?”

“He didn’t like my elitism. I remember him telling me not to swagger around like I was something special.”

“Well, sounds like he wasn’t anyone you cared about. The empire avenged you, so you must be pleased.”

“At least in the past, I would have been sad at the news of his death. But not now. That doesn’t mean I’m happy he’s dead either. Their not trusting me wasn’t a crime punishable by death. To me, my former disciples are now strangers. Nothing more, nothing less.”

After that answer, Leos quietly entered the tent. He spent some time alone there, without saying a word.

*

“Dareck! Dareck!”

Enas screamed as if wailing, but Dareck’s corpse sprawled on the ground didn’t move an inch. Keltazar wiped the blood off his sword, whispering,

“The palace is surrounded by the Red Gate, and instead of immediately grasping the situation and returning, you only come back after everything is over. That sin is not enough to be atoned for by the beheading of all your lives, but since you are needed, I’ll let it pass with only killing one of you as a representative. But know this, if this ever happens again, I’ll kill you all.”

“We didn’t even get proper communication, how were we supposed to know to return! And it was you, Keltazar, who sent us out of the palace and ordered us to carry out the mission in the first place!”

Enas shouted, and Keltazar slapped her across the cheek. Then, grabbing her face tightly, he whispered,

“Shut your mouth, Enas. Those who are called the components of the Empire must prioritize the Emperor’s well-being above all else. Even if it is my order, if the Emperor is in danger, you must ignore my command and throw yourself to protect him. He is the Empire, and our future.”

Keltazar threw Enas away and said,

“Do not object to any order. And place the Emperor above all else, under any principle. That’s the only thing you need to remember. Understand?”

The members of the new Gate Management Headquarters, or in short, the New Gate Management, were all terribly wronged. They were only following orders, but with no prior notice, they were being killed for not returning in time. They wanted to twist Keltazar’s neck right then and there, but there was nothing they could do.

“Understood.”

Kozaric, with a blank expression, stretched out his hand and saluted, shouting,

“We will follow Keltazar’s orders. We will correct our actions, and we swear to prioritize the Emperor’s safety above all else.”

“Excellent.”

Following him, Sirna, Enas, and Belin also slowly began to chant after Kozaric’s cry. Keltazar watched them to the end, then added a word,

“You are components of the Empire. You must do whatever the Empire commands. You are just that, nothing more. Do not have emotions. Do not discuss rational judgments. You only live for the Empire. Remember. You exist because the Empire exists.”

As Keltazar left the room after saying that, Enas knelt down, tears dripping, drop by drop. Sirna sat next to her, patting her back.

“Enas… it’ll be okay… everything…”

“Sirna, what should we do now… Is it really right that we’ll just be used like tools for the Empire for the rest of our lives, like Keltazar said, and then be thrown away like Rek later? Is that the right thing?”

Kozaric’s expression slightly contorted. Sirna and Enas didn’t know, but Kozaric, like Belin, was a member of the Imperial Shadow Guard. He was annoyed by their blasphemous words. But Belin stopped him, whispering,

“The Gate Management Headquarters personnel are absolutely necessary. That’s why Keltazar didn’t kill them all and left. Don’t act rashly.”

Kozarik grinned foolishly and nodded.

“Okay, Bellin. I’ll do as you say.”

“Don’t smile like that, it’s creepy.”

“What can I do? When you talk, it just makes me laugh.”

Even with a comrade dead, Kozarik was bursting into laughter at the fact he was talking to the woman he was in love with. Looking at him, Bellin couldn’t shake the feeling that she was growing more and more distanced from her own group, and from the previous group, Leos’s group.

Bellin felt like she was going to throw up any moment, and rushed out of the room, running to a corner.

“Ugh… Ugh…!”

She wretched for a good while.

Unlike those who mourned the deaths of their comrades, worried about their futures, and lived proactively, the Dark Shadow Order simply lived for Emperor Vermon.

They volunteered to be tools, and took it for granted that they would be discarded once they were used up. Whether it was themselves or their lifelong comrades, to them, everyone was just a tool to be used and thrown away, so it was hard to find any emotional stability or bond.

Strictly speaking, the emotions Kozarik possessed were also irrational. A tool for the Emperor, falling for someone? That’s why Bellin was certain.

Kozarik’s actions were either an act, or they weren’t rational feelings of affection, but something twisted. She didn’t know exactly what that was, though.

‘My whole life…will I have to live like this my whole life?’

Bellin felt like she was endlessly pushing her feet into a deep swamp. What was at the end of this desperate struggle to survive? In the end, she would only be used as a tool for the Emperor and discarded. If she made even the smallest mistake, she’d die like a fly, and someone else would take her place.

No one to feel sadness over death, no one to share the pain of loss. Just like a robot that had been used up, her role finished, she’d be disposed of.

Rather than discussing the value of life, she was living a life less than an insect.

She recalled the days she had spent with Leos, even though she had infiltrated under the Dark Shadow Order’s command.

[Bellin, why are you eating alone? Eat with everyone. Building bonds is also a mission.]

[I’m more comfortable eating alone…]

[It’s an order, so eat together from now on.]

[I’m sorry. I missed the monster again this time. It’s because of me…]

[Beline, don’t needlessly blame yourself. Everyone makes mistakes. Even I do.]

[Happy birthday, Beline. I didn’t know what you liked, so I brought a sugar bun.]

[I don’t really like sweet things…]

[Where I used to be, they give these lumps of sugar bread as gifts, even if you don’t eat them.]

[Where you used to be, Leos? Where was that?]

[You don’t need to know that. Anyway, blow out the candle.]

[What’s the point of blowing it out?]

[You make a wish. You pray with all your heart. If you blow out the candle at the same time, that wish will come true.]

[Why bother with such a pointless action?]

Back then, Beline said that as she blew out the candle. She clasped her hands together and prayed earnestly, just as Leos had told her to.

For her and her brother to be happy, together.

At the time, Leos seemed foolish for believing in such superstition. Even Leos, who always did everything perfectly, sometimes said such stupid things, she thought. But now, things were different.

“…”

Beline stared at the empty elixir bottle.

‘To live happily with my brother…’

Living happily hadn’t come to pass, but living *with* her brother had. It was only half of it, but her wish had come true.

By selling Leos out.

[Beline, if you ever have a hard time, tell me. I’ll solve anything for you.]

For some reason, Leos’s words kept echoing in Beline’s ears. She didn’t trust people. That’s why, instead of trusting and relying on Leos, she chose to use him.

That person, the one who kept making me have useless hope, I hated them so much. I was so envious, so damn envious of that person who could be perfect all alone, who could do anything.

‘Why do I keep having these useless thoughts…’

Beline was lost in memories of what had happened with Leos when she recalled the words he’d spat out at the trial.

[Beline, don’t forget, remember this. When we meet again, we’ll be enemies. Especially you… especially you, I will never forgive.]

She lifted her head, gazing at the sky.

“…Spirel…? Why is that…?”

Leos’s superior artifact. It was floating above the palace.