"Clean up the mess."
Armanthor spoke to the servants as soon as he left the hall while Orlax and the others followed him.
The servants entered the hall, their faces paling at the sight, and they turned their eyes toward Orlax.
"What are you looking at?"
Orlax didn't turn his head back, but he somehow knew they were looking at him and directed these words toward them.
The servants quickly averted their eyes as soon as they heard his words and began doing their work.
Orlax walked through the wide and vast palace corridors, admiring the beautiful design of the palace.
Finally, Armanthor stood before the door to a large room, opened it, and went inside.
Everyone followed him, and before Orlax's eyes appeared a room resembling a meeting hall, containing a large round table with several chairs placed around it.
Armanthor sat on one of the chairs and waited for the others to sit down.
Orlax headed toward the head of the table and sat on the comfortable chair.
He looked at the decorations in the room, estimating their value in the millions in his previous world.
'As expected of the strongest empire in the world.'
After finishing admiring the room, he turned his gaze toward Armanthor, who sat quietly.
"Prince Orlax, according to the contract signed between you and the former emperor, you will be the next heir to the throne, but…"
A deep voice came from Armanthor as he looked at Orlax with sharp eyes.
"What exactly happened inside? Why was the emperor killed during this battle?"
Orlax didn't know how to answer this question since he had no memories of what happened, which made him feel a bit confused about how to respond.
Suddenly, his body began to move on its own, and words came out of his mouth.
"I did not kill the emperor. The former heir killed him out of greed for the throne."
'Huh? What's going on? My body is acting on its own.'
"You can check the cameras placed in the throne room. You'll confirm my words then."
Armanthor nodded in agreement with his words and showed no surprise, unlike the rest of those in the room.
"What? The former heir rebelled against the emperor and killed him?"
"Why would His Highness do something like that?"
While everyone was discussing, only two people remained silent, watching what was happening in the room.
After some time, a man wearing elegant servant clothes entered, holding a storage device in his hand.
This servant caught Orlax's attention immediately because he was one of the characters in the game.
'Alex Reinhardt — just a minor character who appeared briefly in a mission, then disappeared entirely, never to appear again.'
Alex had golden hair and beautiful green eyes.
He had an extremely handsome face, making him resemble a celebrity from Orlax's previous life.
The suit was tight on him, showing the details of his well-trained body.
Alex handed the storage device he was carrying to Armanthor and left the room after a graceful bow.
Armanthor took a cable from the round table and connected it to the storage device.
The table's surface, which had been wooden a moment ago, now turned into a screen showing the throne room.
Everyone turned their eyes to the screen, including Orlax, who wanted to know what happened since there was no information about this in the game.
'If what my body said earlier is true, then why is Orlax accused in the future of killing his family?'
He shook his head and focused on the screen, just as the six other people in the room did.
The video began playing, showing the emperor sitting on the throne at the top, looking at the princes and princesses standing before him — including Orlax.
"Let the royal battle begin."
After the emperor's voice rang out, the princes and princesses moved away from each other, looking around cautiously.
Thus the battle began. The screen continued to show the fight until a scene appeared that left everyone in the room shocked.
"This… this is unexpected."
"What a vile bastard."
The video showed the former heir, flanked by the fifth prince and the third princess, seemingly having formed an alliance.
What followed was a one-sided massacre — the former heir and his allies slaughtered the remaining participants with extreme brutality.
During this battle, Orlax always stayed away from the center, only deflecting any attack that came his way.
Suddenly, while the fifth prince and third princess were killing everyone, the former heir stopped in place and turned his gaze toward the emperor sitting on the throne.
"What do you think, Father? Did you like my plan?"
His voice was full of amusement and pride as he looked at the massacre he had orchestrated.
"Not bad. Even if you used dishonorable means, results are all that matter in the end."
The emperor nodded in approval, looking satisfied with what was happening, showing no concern as he watched his children being slaughtered.
"What a scoundrel."
A low voice came out that only Orlax could hear, making him turn his gaze to Armanthor, who looked displeased by the scene.
"Hahaha, isn't that right?"
The former heir began ascending the steps to the throne until he was standing directly before the emperor.
"Then why did you want to make the second prince the next emperor?"
The emperor's eyes widened as he looked at the former heir, whose face bore a crazed expression.
He tried to stand up quickly from the throne, but found that his entire body was unable to move.
"You poisoned me, you bastard!"
"Hahaha, you're welcome."
The former heir laughed wholeheartedly and aimed his sword directly at the emperor's heart.
Thud!
His sword pierced his father's heart mercilessly, a wide smile on his face.
"Hahaha, now I'll be the emperor."
But as he reveled in his deed, an uneasy feeling crept in as silence fell and the sounds of battle ceased.
"Have you finished your work, my friends?"
As he turned his head to check on the battle, he was met with a sight that greatly disturbed him.
"What do you think you're doing, Orlax?"
Before him stood Orlax, holding a bloodstained sword, with the fifth prince and third princess lying dead at his feet.
"Nothing. I'm just participating in the battle."
His cold red eyes looked at the heir as if he were nothing.
"You know, I've always hated those disgusting eyes of yours. I think I'll pluck them out for you today."
The former heir descended from the stairs and stood directly before Orlax, their eyes locked.
The former heir bore violet eyes — the mark of the great Tirshtain bloodline.
Orlax bore red eyes that everyone in the world feared.
They both gripped their swords tightly as the atmosphere grew tense under the strange pressure filling the room.
Clang!
They both raised their swords quickly, clashing with enough force to produce sparks.
Orlax stood calmly, while the former heir struggled to block his blade.
Suddenly, Orlax leapt back several steps, retreating from where he had been standing.
When he looked forward, he saw several sharp spikes erupting from the ground.
"Hahaha, not bad!"
The former heir laughed, feeling slightly tense because he knew Orlax's strength well.
"My turn now."
Orlax raised his free hand, the one not holding his sword, and aimed his palm at the former heir.
The heir tried to dodge quickly, but it was already too late — he felt something gripping his body like a vice.
"Damn it! That unique magic of yours is really annoying!"
Orlax ignored his words and advanced toward him with his sword.
He looked like a grim reaper approaching to claim his soul, making the heir uneasy.
"Wait, wait, how about we make a deal? When I become emperor, I'll give you whatever you want, okay? How about that?"
A nervous smile appeared on his face as he looked at Orlax with hopeful eyes.
"You can't give me what I want."
Orlax raised his sword high, looking at the former heir as if he were an insect.
"You bastard! You're nothing but the son of a damned maid! Do you think you'll become emperor after killing me? Don't forget that for these eight years you've been nothing but—"
Before he could finish his words, Orlax had already swung his sword, cleanly severing his head.
"Shut up."
He sheathed his sword, ignoring the corpse that fell to the ground, released his magic, and ascended the steps to the throne.
There, at that moment, the strange soul entered Orlax's body, and everyone saw him acting strangely.
Then they all heard the words spoken by the emperor before his death.
"Bllugh! You monster… hah! hah! I wish I had killed you when you were a baby."
After seeing that the emperor had died, everyone raised their eyes from the screen and looked at Orlax, who was watching the scene calmly.
What the hell? Did this really happen? Then why is Orlax described in the game as nothing more than an arrogant scumbag? Could it be that this world is different from the game?
Despite his outward appearance, his mind was filled with countless thoughts in that moment.
"Well, it seems you didn't kill the emperor, as you said."
Armanthor's voice pulled Orlax from his thoughts, and he turned his gaze toward him as he spoke.
"So, by the authority vested in me, Orlax Tirshtain will be considered the next emperor to the throne, and you will be officially crowned after the mourning period for the emperor ends — two weeks from today."
As soon as Armanthor finished speaking, the remaining five people who had been sitting on the chairs stood up and knelt on one knee to the ground.
"We great the next emperor."
Orlax remained seated in his place, looking at these great figures bowing to him and showing him respect.
'This is going to be exhausting.'