EOL Chapter 43

When Xiu returned to his room aboard the ship, the High Priest and Joshua were already waiting in the sitting room of his suite.

The moment he saw Xiu, Joshua instinctively rose to bow.

Only halfway through the motion did he remember that they had already defected from the Empire. They had abandoned everything and chosen to join the so-called Federation on the other side of the galaxy.

And according to what they’d been told, the Federation had neither an emperor nor a hereditary nobility.

Besides…

Xiu had never truly been a member of the imperial family in the first place. The High Priest had revealed the truth to both Xiu and Joshua before they boarded the ship.

If he hadn’t learned who he really was, Brother probably wouldn’t have agreed to leave, Joshua thought.

With that in mind, he quietly sat back down.

Since the survival crisis had ended, the Empire had gradually begun promoting the idea of equality. But an idea was just that… an idea. Much like the Capital Planet’s “next-generation orbital transit system,” which had been promised for decades, it remained forever somewhere in the future.

No one actually expected it to become reality.

The people who called themselves space pirates had been extraordinarily cautious. Throughout their previous cooperation, they had revealed almost nothing about themselves.

Only after the High Priest and his companions had boarded the ship, with no possibility of turning back, now certain to accompany them all the way to the Federation… did they finally begin explaining their destination.

At first, Joshua had assumed their endless talk of “everyone being equal” was just another beautiful slogan. Until they told him that the Federation had recently replaced its leader with an even stronger President in preparation for confronting the Empire… and that the new President had been an orphan, raised in a welfare home.

The President was the highest authority in the Federation, essentially a rotating emperor¹ I think they are talking about the concept of prime minister. The Federation is not a monarchy..

Joshua couldn’t begin to understand why an emperor would ever rotate, but that didn’t stop the revelation from overturning everything he thought he knew.

In the Empire, where resources were already scarce, orphans often didn’t survive childhood. Even those who did had neither family nor powerful patrons to protect them. For someone like that to rise above everyone else and become the nation’s supreme leader…

It was more absurd than anything even the wildest novels would dare write.

Xiu paid no attention to Joshua’s aborted salute. He nodded to the High Priest.

“You’re back,” the High Priest said warmly.

“I’m back.”

Joshua hesitated before speaking. “Brother.”

“Mmm,” Xiu answered calmly, seemingly having accepted his true identity without much difficulty.

The High Priest nodded with obvious satisfaction.

“I was worried I’d told you everything too suddenly this morning… that you wouldn’t be able to accept it. I’d even prepared myself to forcefully bring you along if necessary. You’ve handled it better than I expected. As expected of my son.”

Xiu sat down and poured himself a cup of tea.

“Being your son is far better than being the Emperor’s. What’s there not to accept?”

Joshua laughed, “Everyone dreams of being the Emperor’s son. So why are you the only one who doesn’t?”

Joshua was thin, pale, and much shorter than Xiu. The two hardly resembled brothers. That wasn’t surprising, as the Bai family had always struggled to produce heirs; children conceived through extraordinary measures were often born with congenital defects. Those children later passed their weaknesses on to the next generation, creating a vicious cycle.

Joshua’s mother had been an ordinary woman, so his constitution had naturally been frailer. Xiu’s mother, however, had come from the Stone family… the clan known as the Empire’s cornerstone²Oh damn so he is related to Marshal Stone??? .

No matter how flawed the Bai bloodline might be, the Stone family’s genes were strong enough to offset its weaknesses.

Yet Joshua had never envied his seemingly healthy elder brother.

Because he knew the real reason their father had insisted on bringing Xiu.

“After the late Empress passed away,” Xiu said softly, his expression filled with nostalgia, “Teacher spent an entire night talking with me.”

“He told me my genetic defect wasn’t my fault. That humanity had already survived its existential crisis. That even someone with genetic defects still deserved the throne. That I should never look down on myself because of it.”

He looked at the High Priest.

“Teacher…” He paused before correcting himself. “…Father. After the late Empress died, you were the only person who knew the truth. It was your encouragement that gave me, for the first time in my life, the desire to live for myself. Even the Empress never showed me that kind of warmth. You were the one who told me that people with genetic defects are no less worthy than anyone else.”

The High Priest’s eyes softened. He reached over and gently patted Xiu’s arm.

“Good child. When we reach the Federation, you won’t have to carry such burdens anymore. They possess technology far beyond ours. And with the genetic modification research we’re bringing them… There’s every hope your condition can be cured.”

Joshua lowered his gaze to his teacup, deliberately avoiding the scene before him.

Being the High Priest’s son really was a blessing. He would be taken to a civilization that was wealthier, stronger, and far more advanced. He didn’t mind suddenly having an older brother to “share” those opportunities. Because he knew Xiu wasn’t there to take anything from them. Quite the opposite.

Xiu was the one providing them with something valuable.

Xiu didn’t know. Joshua did. The High Priest had already reached an agreement with the Federation. In exchange for favorable terms…

He would provide them with a living subject possessing a rare genetic mutation. Whether that mutation manifested as a defect or as extraordinary abilities, it was still a unique genetic specimen. That was the real reason the High Priest had insisted on bringing Xiu.

With a living special-genetics subject to offer… He could negotiate a much better deal. Which was why, ever since boarding the ship, both the High Priest and Joshua had treated Xiu with such kindness.

After all… He was an invaluable bargaining chip.

“…Father.” Xiu corrected himself again. “I can’t help feeling uneasy about the future. There are too many unknowns.” Who currently governs the Federation? Besides this so-called President, are there any other people we should be wary of?”

The High Priest fell silent for a moment.

“…We know nothing about them.”

“We know nothing about them.” Half reclining on his golden throne, the Emperor glared down at Alfred.

Then he repeated himself for emphasis, “Nothing. You’ve been suspicious of them for a long time. So what good did that do? Did you uncover anything useful?”

“At least more than you did, Your Majesty,” Alfred replied evenly. “I came to report that while you were unconscious, their ship altered course. It passed one of our military bases in the Second Spiral Arm. It’s now heading toward another military installation. And why was this reported to you before me?” the Emperor demanded.

Even now… That was his first concern.

Alfred suppressed the urge to lose his temper.

“Presumably because you fainted from fright and couldn’t be awakened. They had no choice but to report to the next person in the line of regency.”

Before the Emperor could explode and waste precious time arguing, Alfred continued immediately.

“It’s obvious. Someone aboard that ship knows the precise locations of all our military installations.”

“Xiu.” The Emperor practically spat out the name.

“Only him. The High Priest wouldn’t know military deployments in such detail. Issue my orders immediately! Attack! Mobilize the entire military! They absolutely must not be allowed to leave the Empire!”

“It’s useless,” Alfred said, “I already ordered the previous base to engage them. It had no effect whatsoever.”

The Emperor’s chest rose and fell with restrained fury. He stared fixedly at Alfred.

“You rushed into the palace. You clearly have something else to say.”

Alfred inclined his head. “There is one more option.”

“What?”

“Strip the Crown Prince of his title. Name me Crown Prince instead.”

The Emperor laughed in anger. He was just about to sneer,

You condemn me for playing politics at a time like this, yet here you are trying to seize power for yourself…

But before he could say a word, Alfred calmly continued, “Then dispatch the Crown Prince to personally lead the campaign…to rescue the victims from their kidnappers.”

The Emperor frowned. “…Kidnappers?”

“The people from the other civilization kidnapped our eldest prince and the High Priest,” Alfred said without the slightest change in expression.

“Unless… you intend to announce to the entire Empire that they defected of their own free will?”

• 1
  I think they are talking about the concept of prime minister. The Federation is not a monarchy.
• 2
  Oh damn so he is related to Marshal Stone???