CH 27

Eugène was often summoned by the Emperor to spar with him after their first meeting in the practice room.

Of course, that didn’t mean they had a repeat of the intense spar that took place in the beginning. That sort of confrontation was bound to lead to an irreversible blunder one day, and the negative consequences of that were desired by neither Eugène nor the Emperor. 

Instead, they continued training by hiding their skills above a certain level like wild beasts with their claws hidden, and this new training method worked in an unexpected way.

It was surprisingly nerve-wracking to use the longsword without revealing his skills beyond that level. Since he had to carefully control the movements of the sword, he valued efficiency more than before, and his defensive skills improved a lot as he blocked the sword, which always attacked the vital points agilely.

Above all, the biggest benefit was that this repeated sparring widened his scope of understanding other swordsmanship. Just as the Emperor learned the use of a heavy sword, Eugène learned the sharpness of the rapier.

“Did Your Majesty call for me?” 

Eugène entered the training room and paid his respects to the Emperor. The Emperor, who had arrived at the practice room one step earlier, was standing in front of the weapon rack and looked back at him.

“Did you enjoy the banquet last night?”

The Emperor, wearing a comfortable white shirt and a black culotte for practice, rolled up his sleeves and asked casually. Eugène, thinking that the Emperor was talking about the matter concerning Louise, bowed his head with reddened earlobes.

“I apologize. I failed to carry out Your Majesty’s orders.”

“Do you even have the intention to follow Our will? We heard that you did not return to the banquet hall after leaving like that.”

“I decided that it would not be good to stay in the banquet hall and attract everyone’s attention after what happened.”

The Emperor listened to his excuse with a cool expression. He stared at Eugène for a long time silently, then took out a weapon from the weapon rack and threw it into his arms.

“… This sword is?” 

The shape and weight of the sword he had unexpectedly received were really familiar.

“It’s your beloved weapon. I ordered the Grand Chamberlain to bring it out of the armory.”

Eugène looked at the Emperor, unable to hide his confusion. The Emperor ordered him in a cold voice.

“Draw it.” 

“Pardon?”

“We ordered you to draw your sword.”

“Your Majesty, this is a real sword.”

Did he mean to say that they should spar with a real sword? Eugène, who had almost attempted to kill the Emperor with a bladeless sword, was startled and deterred the Emperor. However, the Emperor did not listen to him. He answered Eugène with a harsh smile on his lips. 

“Don’t worry. Our sword is real too.”

The Emperor quickly drew the rapier from the scabbard, maintained the momentum of the force he had while drawing it, and attempted to stab Eugène in the heart. Eugène felt a sense of danger from the swift attack, like a flash of lightning, and instinctively lifted his favored weapon to obstruct the extremely dangerous tip of the sword.

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The Emperor wielded two swords, long and short, quite freely. He was primarily a swordsman who displayed the excellent ability to adjust the distance from his opponent. Such a person held two swords with different attack ranges, so he was simply like a lion with wings.

The fact that a person who had learned Austrasie did not use main gauche did not mean that he simply left one of his hands empty. It was only now that Eugène understood the true power of Austrasie.

The sequenced attacks, gushing out without even a second to spare, were quick and delicate. As if he had three or four opponents instead of one, Eugène began taking backward steps while blocking the frantic raging sword. The Emperor indeed moved fiercely and violently, as if he were attempting to rip his heart out. However, Eugène was unable to draw his real sword in front of the Emperor, so he only focused on blocking him with the scabbard. 

“Why are you doing this, Your Majesty? Please tell me the reason why.”

In this situation, if you take out your sword even yourself, the result would be catastrophic. Whether it be his blood or the Emperor’s blood, someone’s blood was sure to be seen before this ends, but Eugène could still not draw his sword even though he knew the result that he would have to suffer as a liege.

Having made his decision, he did not draw his sword until the end, despite being in a situation where his life was at stake. A sharp main gauche cut through his forearm and blood flowed from his shoulder through the thinly cut cloth. While dodging and blocking the attacks, his torn sleeves had already tattered and changed to the point of being unrecognizable.

“Life in the court is like having a sharp sword hanging over your head all the time. Everything in this place is a showdown with real swords as it is right now.” 

The Emperor continued to attack Eugène as he mocked him in a cold tone. Eugène blocked the rapier, which was aiming for his lower abdomen, with the scabbard that was showing signs of breaking. As he tried to push the lightweight rapier with the weight of his heavy sword and attempt to escape by forcing it to slant at a certain angle, the Emperor thrusts the main gauche over his sword.

The cutlass’ balance was disturbed by a series of up-and-down attacks. The Emperor then untangled the rapier and struck Eugène’s chin with his elbow. Eugène, being in an unfavorable position due to the distance between the swords, lowered his head to avoid the elbow, and immediately raised the pommel to block the main gauche that was aiming his eyes.

Even the sharp sword attack of the rapier, which had penetrated his blind spot, was completely inescapable. He hurriedly leaned back to avoid the rapier’s sharp blade piercing his neck, but the Emperor kicked him in the chin, causing him to fall to the floor.

“If you were thinking of stabbing someone in the back, you should have prepared yourself for the same as well. Is that not correct?” 

“Gasp- Ugh- What does that mean?”

“We know that you have secretly been in contact with Kayediv’s envoy. You would not have lied to Us if you had nothing to hide.”

The Emperor looked down at Eugène with eyes as cold as the sun on a winter day. He gently placed his feet on the chest of the servant who had fallen to the floor, lowered his upper body, and looked into Eugène’s eyes as he asked coldly.

“What information did you sell to the envoy from the Northern Country through secret communication? What price did they promise you that you dared to do this?” 

It was only then that Eugène realized what misunderstanding the Emperor had. He never imagined that last night’s meeting would be misunderstood in this way, and looked up at the Emperor without saying anything in both bewilderment and embarrassment.

“… How did Your Majesty know we met?”

“My court is not a comfortable place to the extent that foreign key figures can wander around as they please.”

Though he thought so too, it turned out to be true after all. The Emperor seemed to have put a tail on Prince Cyrill. 

“Your Majesty has misunderstood. I did not disclose secret information to Kayediv’s envoy.”

“Then you mean to say that you met an envoy from another country without any reason?”

“I have had a personal friendship with Prince Cyrill for a long time now. That is why we met separately, not because we had any other intention.”

“Then tell Us the conversation the two of you had verbatim.” 

The tip of his toes gradually weighed on his chest. The Emperor, so full of energy as it would burst out of his chest, glared at Eugène with a piercing gaze and urged him to answer.

“Hurry!”

“Your Majesty.”

“We will decide whether there was any other intention or not. So speak. What did you talk about with Kayediv’s envoy last night?” 

Eugène was speechless at the Emperor’s relentless interrogation. The conversation he and Prince Cyrill had last night was extremely private. Among them, there were some secret stories that could not be revealed to others, so Eugène was not in a position to disclose the conversation to others.

“It was a personal, extremely private conversation, Your Majesty.”

Eugène had no choice but could only answer so, even though he knew that the Emperor was giving him one last chance. If the secret had been his own, Eugène would have revealed the truth without hesitation. However, the secret he had to keep was that of Prince Cyrill, and he, who was well acquainted with the Emperor’s cold-blooded nature, could not spill the secret that could be the Prince’s weakness.

“Do you think We will be satisfied with a mere excuse like that?” 

Sure enough, the Emperor could not stand it any longer and struck the rim of Eugène’s ear with the main gauche he was holding and snarled threateningly.

“Are We not personally giving you a chance?! That is why don’t disappoint Us anymore and speak the truth. How did you, Admiral of the Imperial Navy, come to know the Prince of Livonia? What was the reason you met Prince Cyrill separately yesterday, and what does it mean to be closely acquainted with him? If you want to live, convince Us of your innocence. If you don’t succeed, you shall die.”

Eugène’s collar had been ripped down by the main gauche so hard that it was fixed to the floor. As the sharp blade brushed against his skin, Eugène instinctively flinched and trembled. The Emperor bent down to rebuke him once more closely right in front of his face but stopped on the spot. It was because something strange had entered the Emperor’s field of vision.

He didn’t know what it was at first glance, but when he looked closely with suspicion, he found out the identity of the trace at once. What the Emperor found was an obvious bite mark on the nape of Eugène’s manly neck. 

The Emperor saw the mark left in a place that no human could ever leave on his own, looked up, and into the embarrassed Eugène’s eyes as he belatedly covered the wound with one hand.

“… What is this?”

“……”

This time too, Eugène could not answer the Emperor’s question. 

“Why can you not answer? The ‘personal friendship’ you mentioned couldn’t possibly mean ‘this’, does it?”

He was quite taken aback because he had never thought that yesterday’s incident could have ‘that sort of’ meaning. The Emperor, unable to hide his expression of immense displeasure, looked down at Eugène and even touched the wound on the nape of his neck as if to confirm.

“It is indeed a bite mark. Bitten quite firmly.”

The Emperor knew yesterday that after Eugène had left the banquet hall, he had not met anyone else except Kayediv’s envoy. According to the attendant, who secretly followed the envoy, Eugène and Prince Cyrill met in a secluded place that was out of sight of others, stayed together for a while, then parted, after which they each went back to their rooms and fell asleep. 

When the Emperor first heard the report, he guessed that the two must have had a secret conversation. But now it was clear that the meeting had a purpose that was completely different from that of the Emperor’s own conjecture.

“Are you, by any chance, a sodomite?”

The Emperor directly asked a question to Eugène, who had not uttered a single word so far, be it in his favor or not. Eugène kept his mouth shut with an embarrassed face, but his earlobes, which were gradually turning red, replaced the answer.

Damn it. Even if you do not say it, I will know. The Emperor, realizing that he had caught his innocent vassal due to an absurd misunderstanding, removed his foot from Eugène’s chest. When the Emperor stepped down, Eugène rose from his position in a disheveled manner and began to staunch the bleeding of the wound. The Emperor watched the scene with a frown on his face. 

“Even so, it is beyond comprehension. Did you risk your life only to hide such a secret? We know that the practice is fairly overt in the Navy. Moreover, Kayediv, which lacks a number of women, is a place where male lovers are legally permitted. As such, even if the relationship between the two was revealed, it would not raise a big issue, but why were you so desperately trying to keep your mouth shut?”

Sodomy was a preference that was not uncommon in the capital, as well as in the Navy and Kayediv, which the Emperor gave examples of. Nobles who had nothing to do were happy to enjoy anything and everything, and sodomy was only a common form of amusement among them. Just like adultery, it was only a story that took place below the waist that nobody cared about if not done openly and publicly, so the Emperor could not understand why he kept his mouth shut until the end as if it was a crime worthy of death.

“I apologize for causing trouble, Your Majesty. However, I could not divulge the private life of the person who would one day become the monarch of a country.”

In fact, there was a fundamentally different reason why Eugène could not speak. He didn’t reveal even the smallest details about their relationship because he was well aware of how sharp the Emperor was. 

He was so quick-witted that he could easily get wind of the true nature of the secret even with the slightest clue. If Eugène had hastily opened his mouth, the Emperor would have, somehow, perceived the full extent of what he was trying to hide.

“That’s good nonsense to hear. In Kayediv, his godson system remains intact, so how could sodomy be a flaw for the monarch? … There’s still something left unsaid, right? You are still trying to uphold your loyalty.”

But the Emperor, as expected, was not easy to deal with. He didn’t want to lie to his lord, but he didn’t want to betray Prince Cyrill either. Eugène, unable to make any choices, clenched his molars, thinking that it would have been better for him to keep his mouth shut.

“I will not ask you any further questions as you wish, so I will ask you one last thing. Do you love the Prince of Livonia?” 

The little anger in his voice had gone, but the Emperor still asked in a cold tone. Eugène widened his eyes at the unexpected question posed by the Emperor. After thinking about the question for a moment, he shook his head and answered quietly.

“There used to be a time when that was the case. But not anymore.”

“Then is there still any need to risk your life? Is he not a bygone lover who you do not love anymore?”

“… You said one question, Your Majesty.” 

“You are simple and honest to no purpose. Neither brazen nor cunning. We wished for something better than this from you.”

The Emperor turned around and called the primary court-guard attendant. Baron Bouilhet, who was always by the Emperor’s side, even when everyone retreated, rushed out and received the Emperor’s orders.

“Give that foolish man proper clothes. Only when the Emperor’s favored vassal is of such a disposition can he not stand up to the envoys.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.” 

Baron Bouilhet called the attendant outside the door and ordered him to bring proper clothes. Before leaving the room, the Emperor glanced back at Eugène and left a meaningful statement, not known whether a warning or advice.

“While it is not appropriate for the foolishness of mixing up the order of priority, We will let you keep your loyalty this time. This comes with expectations. What would a man who risked his life for his past lover offer his master to whom he swore allegiance?”

The Emperor asked Eugène, without hesitation, to offer something more than his life. Eugène knew that the request was the price for forgiving this.

As he had felt from the time he first decided to serve him, his monarch was supremely greedy. The Emperor wished for what was in his grasp to be entirely his own, and his desire was no exception to his liege, Eugène. 

T/N: i’ve had a few people msg and ask me if eugène had actually slept with prince cyrill. and yes, he did XD only once, six years ago as said by eugène himself. i assume the confusion came from the word “held/embrace” which is actually a common allusion to sex in korean… but in a more romantic sense ;] hope that cleared it up for anyone who’s still confused^^ thank you for reading and take care!