The Empire’s Sacrifice - Chapter 5

Chapter 5
Rudis realized at a glance that this man was the most arrogant and beautiful thing in the world.

With black hair like the distant night sky and golden eyes that were brighter than stars,

The man was comfortable enough to look rude.

But even that didn’t dampen his spirits.

He wasn’t just beautiful.

He was both as beautiful and strong as a statue.

All the lines that formed his body were both flexible and firm.

His fingers had numerous wounds and calluses, it was like he was a man who had experienced war dozens or hundreds of times.

What about the golden eyes that looked down at the emperor?

His eyes were filled with coldness and boredom that no man could bear.

Apparently, the Emperor is all alone, but everyone in the Empire worships the Emperor.

He should, but the man didn’t.

Rudis looked at the man’s eyes and could see that even the emperor was insignificant to him.

The man took a step closer.

The air seemed to thicken as he got closer.

Rudis had a hard time breathing because of the man’s presence.

“Who the hell is this guy?’

The confusion and embarrassment made Rudis’ head dizzy.

“I see a great old being.”

“…… I see an old being.”

When Bennett bent his knees and bowed down, the emperor also followed suit.

It was obvious that he was forced to do it. But, Rudis was surprised just by the fact that the emperor had the pride to do it.

Was there a person in this empire worthy of a polite greeting from the Emperor?

The Emperor had already passed away.

The Empress Dowager also followed the Emperor.

Except for the Emperor and his wife, Rudis could not have known such a person.

But this man was the first person Rudis saw.

What happened?

‘Did the world turn upside down during the last three days I was asleep?’

The man did not feel awkward to be greeted by the emperor.

Rather, he didn’t even give the emperor a proper glance as if it were natural.

The emperor shuddered with humiliation at the man’s disregard, but the man didn’t care a bit.

Rudis was surprised to see her father, who was arrogant to everyone, bite his lips and shrug off his shame.

The gaze of the man who was walking around the room slowly reached Rudis.

Rudis was still sitting on the floor.

She wanted to get up, but her legs didn’t have any strength.

It was difficult for her to open her eyes because of the violence that the emperor inflicted.

Rudis waited for the man to look away from her.

But the man kept looking at her.

‘Do I know him?’

It suddenly occurred to me.

The man’s gaze on Rudis became more familiar.

Above all, there was no coldness or boredom in the way he looked at Rudis.

Instead, it was an unknown feeling filling the position.

When she met the man’s golden eyes, there was a scene that rose in Rudis’ mind.

In the dark, she saw a golden eye in her fading consciousness.

Then, the man approached Rudis.

“Is this her?”

“Yes, it is. She woke you up.”

When Bennett answered, the man leaned down.

“Hmm.”

And he sat in front of Rudis with one of the swamps on the floor. (T/N don’t know this ;( sorry)

“Ah…”

Rudis flinched and groaned.

As the man approached closer, her body heated up without knowing why.

It felt like something was boiling in her lower abdomen.

The reason was unknown.

But the heat spreading across her body was not bad.

To be exact, it was a strange sensation that made her flinch.

At that moment Rudis got caught up with the thought she had to say something to him.

If she didn’t do that, she would be dominated by the sensation that was hitting her from the waist down.

“Who… who are you?”

The man laughed at Rudis’ stupid question.

“Don’t you know me?”

Perhaps because of the atmosphere, his question didn’t sound literal.

He was speaking as if she didn’t know what she was supposed to know.

“When you call me, you can call me ‘Lavane.’

Lavane? That was a strange name.

Rudis shook her head.

What she was curious about was not his name.

“You really don’t know.”

Was it an illusion? Lavane’s eyes seemed to have a slight sign of disappointment but it seemed to disappear.

“I’ll give you one last chance, Rudis. Don’t you know who I am?”

When Rudis looked at his face again, Lavane sighed, looking at Rudis’ innocent eyes.

“Haven’t you met me once already?”

“Did I……?”

“Yes.”

Lavane smiled as if he had recalled a pleasant memory.

For a moment, Rudis looked at the face of the smiling Lavane in bliss.

He is so unrealistically beautiful.

“When…”

“In that stone room.”

Rudy’s body stiffened at Lavane’s answer.

Rudis turned her head and looked at Bennett.

Bennett, who was kneeling on the floor, looked at the man and nodded enthusiastically as if he were an ancient god.

Rudis turned to Lavane again.

‘This is who I saw in the stone chamber?’

I couldn’t believe it, but looking at the Emperor’s and Benette’s attitude toward Lavane, he seemed to be an ancient god summoned during the ritual.

Ancient gods……

Rudis, from the Visioite Empire and a member of the Amarilis royal family, heard stories about ancient gods from an early age.

Before the creation god appeared, people called ancient gods were curled up in chaos and darkness from the beginning of time, but they were called ancient gods for convenience only.

They were just evil beings who demanded blood and life from humans, actively intervened in the human world, and borrowed power from them.

People worshiped the rest of the gods, fearing their power, which was the origin of the name ‘Ancient God’.

“You……?”

Rudis opened her eyes wide, her voice trembled as if she couldn’t believe it.

The man in front of her was not the same at all.

Although the atmosphere of the air was unusual, he had a perfect human figure.

The ancient gods summoned from rituals appeared in various forms, but they have never been human.

Rudis had read an ancient book and been through a ritual.

She learned how the ancient gods came down to the human world.

They all used to manifest themselves in bizarre and unrealistic forms.

It was something that could not be described in human language.

“Is it weird?”

The ancient god, Lavane, lifted his arms and looked down at his body.

He acted strangely as if he was asking if the clothes he wore today were out of order.

“It’s not weird……”

Rudis spoke cautiously in a small voice.

The ancient books said that ancient gods can change their appearance freely depending on their abilities.

So, it could be just a whim that he took on a human figure.

“Really? I thought it was enough to make you sick.”

Lavane said so and smiled at Rudis.

Rudis went blank for a moment.

It wasn’t just his unusual attitude or his incredible beauty as an ancient god.

It was because his smile at her contained clear affection and concern.

The man reached out to Rudis.

Rudis was startled and pulled herself back.

“I don’t care.”

Then, Lavane spoke in a gentle and firm tone.

“I’m just trying to get you up. I don’t want to see you sitting on the floor anymore.”

As he said, his hand stopped right in front of Rudis and stopped moving.

But Rudis couldn’t readily hold Lavane’s hand.

In Rudis’ head, she still felt his hot breath.

It was because she still had vivid memories of “it” like the beast.

Rudis caved in.

She didn’t want to be hurt again.

She just wanted to live alone freely.

In order to do so, she should not hold his hand.

She should not be swayed by his kind words.

Lavane looked down at Rudis.

Rudis, who was as small as a sword made of white paper, was reflected in his golden eyes.

“I will not harm you.”

The man whispered.

“I won’t let anyone hurt you.”

As if a beast would soothe a frightened animal, he froze Rudis with his friendly and calm voice.

Rudis’ shoulder flinched greatly, but she still didn’t think of holding Lavane’s hand.

“You must be afraid of me.”

Lavane spoke calmly without feeling frustrated or angry at Rudis’ passive attitude.

“But I can prove it to you. I’m the only one who exists for you.”

At the words, Rudis raised her head completely.

Lavane smiled as if he had done well.

He lowered his hand and put his index finger on Rudis’ cheek.

Rudis was surprised but did not step back.

Strangely, the touch of the man was not cold.

Even though he made contact with her skin, the strange temperature she experienced for the first time in her life was not cold at all.

From where he touched, heat other than her body temperature began to spread.

The heat descended on Rudis’ cheek, tickled her chin, and then flowed down her neckline.

Then fire began to emerge over Rudis’ body.

Rudis could feel a magic circle forming at the nape of her neck, passing through her chest, and extending near her stomach.

“……… what is this?”

Rudis’ eyes opened wide.

Rudis tried to get up to take a closer look at the magic circle and then collapsed again.

She felt strange. It wasn’t because of her left leg.

It was because the magic felt itchy and shallow in the areas that it came into contact with.

“This is the proof.”

Lavane spoke in a soft tone.

Rudis could see the same magic circle on his body that was on hers.

“Oh, my gosh.”

I heard Bennett yelping in surprise.

Bennett’s eyes glistened in awe.

Rudis looked closely at the pattern of the magic circle that came to mind.

“This is, I saw it in the stone room.…”

“That’s right.”

Lavane replied.

“I can be connected to you through this magic circle and exist in this world. If you get hurt or if this magic circle disappears, I will go back to the dark and deep chaos.”

When he spoke about the “dark and deep chaos,” Lavane’s eyes became blurred for a while.

Rudis knew that the reason why ancient gods could sacrifice themselves and even fulfill human wishes was to escape the chaos.

“You’re my benefactor,” said Lavane.

His voice was filled with the joy of being freed from the disgusting chaos.

Rudis also had a similar experience when she escaped from the palace, so she could see how Lavane felt.

“Can’t you trust me?”