The Heavenly Demon Can’t Live A Normal Life [EN]: Chapter 194

Fabius felt like he couldn’t breathe. The pressure in the room was crushing him.

Emperor Chronos stared down at Count Fabius without a word.

His huge body filled the throne, his skin pale and chilling.

Even if he wasn’t pretending to be Emperor Chronos, he was still a very strong swordsman, a 5-star aura master.

Even though he wasn’t listed as the strongest, the power coming from Emperor Chronos filled the entire huge palace.

Fabius walked slowly.

He didn’t rush to the Emperor, and he didn’t even look up.

When the doors opened, Fabius was met with a powerful sight. Emperor Chronos sat on his throne, surrounded by important people from the Chronos Empire. It was clear how powerful Chronos was.

Thud.

He stopped walking.

Fabius bowed to show respect for his group. Then, Emperor Chronos spoke.

“Are you Roman Dmitry?”

“No, I am Count Fabius of Cairo……”

Wham!

“Ack!”

The situation happened in an instant.

As soon as Fabius said who he was, Emperor Chronos’s face changed. The knight who had led Fabius grabbed him roughly by the neck.

The knight threw Fabius to the floor.

He held Fabius down hard, his hand on the back of Fabius’s neck, so he couldn’t look up.

Above him, the Emperor’s voice echoed.

“My representative made it clear. Negotiations are impossible. If you do not desire an all-out war with Chronos, Roman Dmitry himself must come and offer his arm.”

“Th, that’s……”

Clench.

He couldn’t speak.

The Chronos knight pressed Fabius’s face down with excessive force, and even if he tried to open his mouth, the words were muffled against the floor.

His heart pounded.

He knew Emperor Chronos was a belligerent figure, but he never imagined he would treat a representative of the delegation this way.

“I understand Cairo’s intentions well. If you truly desire an all-out war, I shall sever the arm of your delegation’s representative to show Chronos’s will.”

Thud.

His heart plummeted.

His blood ran cold.

Fabius thought quickly. ‘If I can’t speak, there will be war. But I can’t beg for my life, that would be shameful and ruin Roman Dmitry’s plan. Being unclear won’t work either. But if I’m too strong, Chronos might get angry and do something extreme to protect his empire’s honor. I need to explain Cairo’s plan without being weak, but also without making Chronos lose face.’

His mind raced.

Much was at stake with a single decision, a single word.

Count Fabius, in a life-or-death situation, felt his senses sharpen.

“Your Imperial Majesty, Emperor Chronos! Cairo does not desire an all-out war! Please grant me the opportunity to speak. After I have conveyed all of Cairo’s intentions, you may take not just my arm, but my head!”

He was risking everything.

He spoke loudly, even though the knight was still holding him down.

There was no answer.

An eternity passed, with only the sound of his heart pounding in his ears, before Emperor Chronos spoke his reply.

“Remember the words you have just spoken. If Cairo’s intentions do not satisfy me, you will die here.”

The knight stepped aside.

Fabius had finally obtained the opportunity to speak.

He rose from his position.

He took a breath, his face flushed red, and adjusted his disheveled attire as he looked up at Emperor Chronos.

He was afraid.

His heart was pounding madly, but Count Fabius swallowed his fear.

“The reason we rejected the Chronos Empire’s proposal is that Marquis Benedict’s rebellion did not secure a legitimate cause from the start. Marquis Benedict revolted simply because his own safety was at risk, and it cannot be said that his decision to involve the Chronos Empire was correct. We do not desire an all-out war with Chronos, but we also determined that we should not sacrifice the kingdom’s talents.”

Chronos had said they had a reason for attacking.

They said Cairo had pulled them into this situation, so their attack was fair.

He first denied the most important issue.

The statement that began now proceeded under the assumption that the Chronos Empire had violated the laws of the continent.

“Cairo sought the opinion of the international community regarding this matter. A war between nations had broken out for unjust reasons, and we needed to confirm whether we had a duty to hold them accountable. And five kingdoms, excluding the Valhalla Empire, have expressed their intention to align with Cairo. Your Imperial Majesty, Emperor Chronos, this war was an internal conflict in which other countries had no justification to intervene. But if you unilaterally demand Cairo’s sacrifice to this extent, we will inevitably be driven into a corner.”

Fabius spoke in an unusual way.

He made it sound like Cairo *had* to say these things, and he started by saying that other kingdoms agreed with Cairo.

A few days ago, Roman Dmitry contacted the five kingdoms on the continent to negotiate with Chronos.

The conversation with them was not difficult.

The kingdom alliance in southern Chronos desired a friendly relationship with Cairo due to their conflict with Chronos, and the Hector Kingdom judged that it was necessary to unite their voices this time, leaving behind their past grievances.

It was a situation where the empire was unfairly attacking a kingdom.

Cairo was being attacked now, but they knew that they would be next.

Roman’s plan.

It was to gather the strength of the kingdoms.

Each kingdom did not have great military power, but the alliance of six kingdoms was a different story.

Count Fabius said,

“Cairo desires peace. If the Chronos Empire desires war, please show Chronos’s will by cutting off my head. But if you share the same intentions as Cairo, we hope that this matter will be concluded as it is.”

The statement was over.

All the cards were revealed, and now it was Chronos’s turn to decide.

Cairo’s plan was very clear.

At the edge of a cliff.

They said they would join with five other kingdoms and fight until the end if Chronos pushed them too far.

And, there was a trick in that statement.

The reason why the Valhalla Empire was deliberately not included in this plan was that they were Chronos’s sore spot.

Chronos and Valhalla were the two strongest empires.

If Fabius had threatened Chronos by talking about Valhalla, Emperor Chronos might have reacted badly to protect his empire’s honor.

So, they made sure not to mention Valhalla at all.

They said Valhalla wasn’t part of this, but everyone knew Valhalla was still important.

Fabius thought, ‘If there’s a big war between Chronos and the group of kingdoms, Chronos will probably win. But then what? Chronos will be tired from fighting six kingdoms, and they’ll have to worry about Valhalla. I didn’t mention Valhalla, but Chronos will still be thinking about them. This is the best plan.’

It was a kind of threat.

He tried to protect the empire’s honor while suggesting the best way to settle things.

By bringing in other countries, he made Chronos’s argument less clear.

Roman Dmitry.

He was a remarkable person.

Fabius had thought Roman was only good at fighting. But this plan was so good, it was amazing.

There was no better plan than this in the current situation.

The Chronos Empire was not yet ready to conquer the continent, and they would not want to advance their grand plan because of this problem.

Gulp.

He swallowed hard.

He trusted Roman Dmitry’s plan, but the presence of Emperor Chronos kept making his mouth dry.

It was then.

“You’ve used your head quite well.”

He wasn’t flustered, nor was his voice angry.

Emperor Chronos looked at Count Fabius with an expressionless face, as if he had expected it.

From the beginning until now, Emperor Chronos’s expression had not changed much throughout the conversation.

Because Fabius couldn’t tell what Emperor Chronos was feeling, he knew this meeting would be hard for someone like him, who was known for being clever.

“I will forget about this situation if you release Chronos’s prisoners. But what happens to Roman Dmitry is different.”

“……What do you mean?”

“Roman Dmitry killed my people. Count Fabio, Commander of the Gustavo Knights. All of them were talents who dedicated themselves to the empire. And I, as the Emperor of Chronos, will receive the price of blood. From now on, every night, my men will come for Roman Dmitry. He killed important people of my empire. He and Cairo will pay for that.”

Emperor Chronos.

He was a terrifying person.

Cairo involved other countries in this matter.

But if it was simply revenge against Roman Dmitry, there was no way to get their help.

An assassination attempt.

How could they help with that?

No matter how much they raised their voices about it being unfair, an assassination carried out in the shadows was likely to end with Roman Dmitry’s death.

A chill ran down his spine. Emperor Chronos did not desire an all-out war with Cairo from the start.

Perhaps he had set the stage to put Cairo in a corner to rescue the prisoners and to re-establish the empire’s prestige by assassinating Roman Dmitry.

Above the sky, there was an otherworldly existence.

The empire had a reason to be called an empire.

“And don’t try to use the same plans again.”

The Emperor’s words.

Count Fabius could not hide his dismayed expression.

A few days later, Fabius returned to Cairo.

He visited the king and reported on the series of events, then bowed his head in front of Roman Dmitry.

“……I’m sorry. A variable has occurred.”

He had prevented the war.

But the fact that assassination attempts would be made in the future was something he couldn’t bring himself to say as a person who served Roman Dmitry.

His face flushed red.

Fabius had been confident he would show his worth as someone who had changed sides. But he couldn’t find a perfect solution when facing someone as powerful as Emperor Chronos.

But,

“You did well.”

Roman Dmitry.

He showed an unconcerned expression.

He had already accepted the area that Count Fabius had not anticipated.

“The Chronos Empire never changes its mind. They wanted to get me from the start. It was very likely they would agree to Cairo’s deal, but still want to hurt me personally. You did your best for what I wanted.”

Chronos’s response.

It was within the expected range.

‘Emperor Chronos. He is a belligerent person as expected.’

If Roman Dmitry had gone as a delegation, he would not have killed himself even while mentioning the assassination. It was a matter of pride rather than practical gain.

If Roman Dmitry was sent back alive and killed him outside the empire, people would be afraid of the empire’s influence.

So, he volunteered as a delegation.

Knowing that Emperor Chronos was the same kind of person as himself, he knew that it was not so dangerous.

Even if things had gone very badly, Roman Dmitry would have found a way to handle it.

“……Are you really okay? The Chronos Empire has historically only foreshadowed one assassination. And the Valhalla swordsman who was the target caused a huge stir by dying miserably.”

Count Fabius expressed his concern.

It was a natural feeling.

He trusted Roman Dmitry, but the name value of Chronos gave him a tremendous sense of weight.

However, he didn’t know the truth.

Roman Dmitry.

No, what kind of life did Chunma Baek Jung-hyuk live?

Assassination happened all the time in his past life. Emperor Chronos was wrong if he thought he could scare him.

“Don’t worry about it. That is the problem I will handle from now on.”

His blood was boiling.

Finally, he felt like he was in a situation he understood, a dangerous game.

Roman Dmitry prepared for the coming assassination attempts, a dangerous game he knew well.