Today, the capital's square was crowded with countless people.
"Long live the Second Prince!"
"Kill that damned tyrant with one strike!"
"Kill him! Kill him!"
Among the citizens, rough shouts erupted.
Soon, a group of people parted the crowd and headed to the center of the square.
At the front of the group, a young man with his hands tied was walking.
He looked like he was in his thirties. He had a refined appearance, but his face was drained of strength from exhaustion.
The citizens' faces became more vicious as they saw the man.
"Look at his clothes. Isn't that proof that he sucked our blood dry?"
"He's still mocking us in this situation?"
"Kyaahh, spit!"
Contrary to his situation of being dragged out, the man's clothes were extremely extravagant.
His majestic clothes were woven with gold threads and his body was adorned with gold and jewels.
The man smirked inwardly as he was dragged along.
'Really, what a cheap drama. I guess they're so dissatisfied that they have to do this.'
He had hardly ever worn such excessively flashy clothes, even when he was the emperor.
The imperial style was modest and he had spent more than ten years in civil war after he ascended to the throne.
He was called an emperor, but he spent half of his reign on the battlefield. There was no way he could afford to wear such clothes and indulge in luxury.
'If I had the budget to dress like this, I would have helped those poor people who are shouting. Tsk tsk.'
The man clicked his tongue inwardly as he moved his steps and reached the center of the square.
In the center of the square, a huge execution device was installed.
A frame to fix the neck, a giant blade connected to a rope.
It was a guillotine, used to publicly behead traitors who were recognized by the imperial law.
The deposed emperor, the man, stopped his steps right in front of the frame.
And he looked down at the enraged citizens once again.
"Cut off his head right now!!!"
A rough-looking middle-aged man shouted.
"You bastard! Because of you, our son and grandson were dragged into war and died. You scum!"
An old man with white hair cursed with rage.
All he heard from the crowd was hatred directed at him.
But the man only felt pity for them.
'Why did I cause so much suffering?'
It was all because he, the emperor, was foolish.
He couldn't protect anything.
Not even his soldiers who followed him until the end.
Nor his loyal vassals who devoted themselves to him.
And not even his precious companion who was his lover.
"Silence, all citizens!!"
"We will now begin the trial of the deposed emperor!"
The man's thoughts were interrupted by the declaration announcing the trial.
"Leonhart."
Only then did he look at the high platform where the trial would take place.
His gaze met with a handsome blond man in the center of the platform.
He looked like he was in his mid-thirties, but he looked no older than twenty. He had a neat appearance.
But his whole body exuded an aura of authority that did not match his age.
As he showed himself on the platform, cheers erupted from the crowd.
"The Golden Lion of the Empire!"
"Long live the Second Prince, no, the New Emperor!"
[The Second Prince of the Empire, Leonhart]
He was the man's half-brother and the one who drove him from his throne.
His expression became slightly grim as he glared at Leonhart.
"..."
But Leonhart's expression was cold as ice.
The winner had been decided and the life of the man who was once an emperor was already worthless.
'So you don't even bother to face me anymore, huh?'
The man listened with a hollow expression as his charges were read out loud.
The nobles who presided over the trial looked smug as they watched him.
"We will now accuse the deposed emperor of his crimes."
"He corrupted state affairs with luxury and decadence, and ruined the people's livelihood!"
"He invited foreign forces, disrupted the foundation of the empire, and incited civil war!"
"Booo!!!"
"Kill him! Kill him!"
The judge banged on the table repeatedly to quiet them down, but every time a charge was declared, the crowd's voices of condemnation grew louder.
"With this, we have accused all of his crimes one by one."
"Does the deposed emperor have anything to say?"
The man snorted inwardly at the judge's question.
'Do you think you'll spare me if I defend myself here?'
He had enough of playing along with this childish drama. He was a loser, but he didn't want to be more pathetic.
He had already given up on hope for life.
He just wanted to rest now.
'Tsk, don't you want me to die with dignity as an emperor?'
The judge clicked his tongue inwardly and finished the verdict.
"The criminal does not answer, so he admits to all his crimes."
"We sentence the deposed emperor to death by guillotine!"
The executioners' strong hands grabbed the man from both sides.
Following the executioner's lead, his neck was slowly placed on the frame.
He felt the cold touch of the frame digging into his neck and various thoughts crossed his mind.
'Where did it go wrong?'
When he was young, he was naive and foolish.
Maybe, it was from then on.
"Clank, clank, clank."
The heavy steel blade slowly rose.
Then the declaration came down.
"Execute him!"
"Shriek!"
The blade came down with a lightning speed, opposite to when it went up, towards his neck.
"Thud!"
The beheading by guillotine was too easy.
The blade severed the man's neck in one breath, which should have been attached to his body.
'Will I be able to see it after I die?'
He was not a religious person who believed in the afterlife, but he couldn't help thinking about it in this situation.
The last thing that came to his mind was a woman holding a sword and standing proudly.
'Beatrix...'
His thoughts were cut off along with his severed neck.
[Special Aptitude – Recognizing the Bloodline of the Imperial Family.]
[You have obtained the qualification of a player. Currently acquiring authority....]