Chapter 401: Maximillian’s Idea

[A/N: We hit 400 Chapters!!]

While he reimagined those words come out from a younger Roderick’s mouth, a similar voice entered his ears again.

"Max."

Maximillian snapped back to the present. He looked up at his half brother and slowly opened his mouth while clenching his fist against his leg.

"It was my fault for getting too emotional," he muttered. "For listening to my wife’s demands when they did not make sense for the development of the empire."

Roderick didn’t say anything.

He just stared down at Maximillian for a few seconds before glancing at his wife. Then, without even making eye contact with Maximillian again, he spoke.

"I told you. Not just once.... that I wanted Adrian on my side. I wanted to develop a good bond with him, but you did not listen. You went and listened to a woman from a small noble house... a barony infact."

He paused.

"And you have ruined everything that I have built and worked for."

Maximillian kept his head down.

"Ever since you were instated as the emperor, how much did I help you expand this place?" Roderick asked. "I helped you usurp and take over three different kingdoms around us. We were the strongest on this continent. Yes, we didn’t have the power to fight the kingdoms still remaining because of the political conditions around us. If we fight one, the others attack from the sides and behind. But we still had a lot of power. The power to negotiate, and also the power to push them around."

Roderick’s voice stayed calm, but it got heavier.

"But thanks to you, look where we are. The amount of land that has gone under him is not much, but it is significant. He took over the Avarice kingdom right after we left. Now he is an emperor just like you. It is just a matter of time before he announces it."

He leaned forward slightly.

"One of our oldest noble houses... the House of Voss. They kept the walls safe from the northern side. From the monster dungeon that plagued us for centuries. We lost them too."

Roderick let that hang in the air.

"Do you really think that what you did was worth it? Yes, I did not expect it. I am pretty sure that you didn’t expect something like this either. But just imagine... just imagine how it would have been if you had been nice to him."

He turned to look at Vaneira.

"Instead, you took the side of this vixen."

Vaneira flinched but didn’t say anything.

"Now this woman has nothing. Not a single piece of land, not a single soldier under her name. Even her general left her side after learning about what happened."

Roderick turned back to Maximillian.

"This is unacceptable, Maximilian. What do you think that I should do with you now? I don’t wish to waste my time like you do. Socializing, hosting parties for nobles, hosting meetings... All you do is waste time talking about things but not actually doing anything to solve issues."

He stood up from the bed, and his movements were slow and deliberate.

"You have really put me in a spot. Now tell me, because I am extremely angry. Give me a reason to not kill you right now. Give me something...Prove to me that you still have worth. That you can be of value to me."

Roderick walked closer.

"You did well during the first few years of becoming emperor. But you have grown a big head recently. Before you tell me anything, let me give you two options."

He turned to look at Maximillian’s wife.

"Banish her from the empire. Or lock her up somewhere and punish her. She needs to learn what happens when she messes with my plans. Just because she is the emperor’s wife, just because she is the empress, doesn’t mean she holds power. Doesn’t mean she can do whatever she wants."

Then he looked at Vaneira.

"If you don’t do any of these, then within the next week, you will never see her again."

Vaneira’s face went pale. She opened her mouth, but nothing came out.

Roderick turned back to Maximillian.

"As for you, who has been the root of this issue, you are banished from the empire. Go somewhere and try to live a different life. Or you can just die if you can’t do it yourself. The only reason I am leaving you alive is because your father helped me a lot during the succession wars. That is the only reason."

He glanced down at the empress.

"And that is also the only reason why I let you marry this buffoon. I knew he liked you, and I knew you fancied him. And your father always wanted to see you happy. But he never expected that you would go from a girl with humble roots to someone arrogant and controlling... Someone who throws tantrums to get her way."

The empress was crying harder now, shaking as she kept her head pinned to the floor.

"I know everything that you did to make Maximilian agree to your wishes," Roderick said. "And then he invested himself too much and got carried away. Involved his feelings and made it personal for himself instead of thinking about it objectively. You have ruined everything for us, all three of you. You have ruined everything for me."

Roderick stopped directly in front of Maximillian.

"Now, Max."

Maximillian looked up.

"Tell me. Why should I let you live?"

Maximillian took a deep breath, and his gaze turned serious. There was no anger nor arrogance. There was a little bit of fear, sure. But there was also a little bit of confidence.

Seeing that face, Roderick couldn’t help but smirk slightly.

This was the face Maximillian used to make when he first became emperor. The face he made whenever he had to make a difficult choice or an important decision.

Maximillian began to speak.

"I have an idea," he muttered. "We have seen how strong he is."