Cisneros' POV

I'm the 37th Ruler of the Coelacanthian Empire, currently 31 years old. I had such a happy married life with Maximillien, a noble lady from Lyonesse and my beloved Empress, until she birthed our son Maxentius and died due to it. Having him is a blessing and a curse so to avoid him, I sent him to a deserted palace with a few maids.

My resentment for him grew deeper than I thought that I turned a blind eye to the servants that dared abuse him even if he's of imperial blood .

In one of my daily walks, I saw Maxentius getting along with General Lenox Danforth, leader of the Mauve Knights who guarded the late Empress. I got irritated and annoyed by what I saw that an image distorted my mind.

I recalled how my beloved Maximillien enjoyed General Danforth's company that rage filled my heart.

"Let go of my robe, you f*cking lowlife!!" I cursed at him. My son got between us with his arms sidewards, clearly defending his guardian knight which incensed my anger more.

"Ottousama, stop..!" He yelled and I saw how his eyes wavered with determination and resolution, reminding me of the same expression my late wife had when I did something tyrannous.

I let out a dry chuckle and pointed my longsword at his neck.

*shiing

"Move aside or you might follow your mother soon otherwise." He flinched.

"No ottousama, I won't move an inch unless you sheathe your weapon first..! What would okaasama think if she were still alive?!" I gritted my teeth.

"But you killed her and now she's gone!! Move aside!" He shook his head. "I said, move aside!" He still shook his head. "I'm telling you Maxentius, even if you're my son with Maximillien, I'd still kill you if you get in my way. Now move!!"

"No!!"

Why do you remind me so much of Maximillien? The way you defend someone weaker, look at me when I do something opposite of those righteous Emperors before me, everything..! Ugh, f*ck!!

"You asked for it..." I kicked him away and stepped on General Danforth's armored chest. "General Lenox Danforth, I, as the 37th Emperor of Coelacanth, hereby dismiss your position as the General of Mauve Knights. You are also stripped from your title as a Marquis." I slashed his body diagonally, breaking his breastplate into two.

"I... urgh... accept your verdict... urgh... Your Imperial Majesty..."

*cough cough

"From now on, I swear my oath to His Imperial Highness, Crown Prince Maxentius Eliécer Pristine Lixivius von Coelacanth. I no longer serve the reigning Emperor but instead, the future son of the empire." I kicked his abdomen. "Maximillien-jōo.." He muttered under his breath. "Maxentius-ouji, please... run..."

"Lenox-san, no!!!"

"I never knew killing that sonuvabitch could be so satisfying, I should've done this a long time ago..!" I screamed in madness. "Now what should we do to the witness of the benevolent Emperor's tyranny? Do you wanna follow him, Maxentius~?"

"Ottousama, no..!"

Loud footsteps could suddenly be heard in the throne room and when I turned to its source, I saw my younger twin brother Caiaphas, who have the same influence as me even though he's just the Grand Duke.

"Appease your anger, aniiki."

"What do you want, otóto?"

"Can't you just spare your son in honor of your dead wife?" I coldly gazed at him and snickered.

"Why should I do that?" He shrugged and knelt down so he could pull my son upwards. He wiped off some dusts from Maxentius' ragged clothes and for the first time, Caiaphas scowled at me. "What?"

"You've changed aniiki, and it's worse than I imagined. Just what happened to you after Maximillien-jóo died? Are you still sane for killing General Danforth? If I hadn't arrived in time, you would've killed Max. Just why are you doing this? Tell me so I can understand, aniiki."

"Why are you accusing me when the ones who did wrong are my son and his f*cking personal knight?!"

"Aniiki!!" He sheathed his sword. "I usually don't question your actions but if you suddenly cross the line like this, I wouldn't hesitate to raise my sword at you."

*hahaha

"My dear otóto, you are really too naive. Maybe this is the result when you spent most of your time in the battlefield. I am now the Emperor while you're my loyal vassal, and that means I can bypass the law however I see fit. I'll only say this once, stand down." I said in a domineering tone and pointed the imperial sword, Avaruan, while him, the holy sword Cherubian.

"Tch."

"Ojiisama, ottousama, stop this..!"

"No Max, no words can pacify him now. Just run now while I give you some time. Now go!!" I rushed to my son's position and was about to slash him on his neck when Caiaphas' weapon collided with mine.

*clank

"Don't you know that this is lesé majèste, otóto?" He forced himself to smirk while struggling from defending himself.

"Coming from you, that doesn't sound convincing..!"

*huff

"And aniiki, I'm not that weak little brother you kept on bullying, anymore. I'm now the holy sword of the empire!"

"Hah! Ah Cisneros, killing Maxentius is my salvation."

"But aniiki, you weren't like this before..." He inched closer to me. "This is..!"

"F*ck off, you piece of shit!!" I angrily bellowed and pushed him to the floor. "How dare you approach me, the great Emperor of Coelacanth? You're just a f*cking dog licking the feet of the temple!!"

"Maxentius, why are you still here?! Leave, now!!" My son obeyed immediately and left the room. "Now aniiki, you can open up to me for old time's sake."

"He's my wife's murderer, my own son killed Maximillien!!!"

"Making an offspring through sexual intercourse is considered taboo for spirits, you know that. But still, you let her be pregnant with your child. You're such a coward, not facing the consequences of your negligence!"

"No..." I denied. "Maximillien was the one who wanted a child, not me. I never wanted it in the first place, I only need her. But those f*cking nobles pressured her to birth the heir, what were we supposed to do?!"

"... sorry aniiki, whether you like it or not, I'll be raising Max from this day onward. Never make an attempt to change my mind, my decision will never change and besides, Maximillien-jōo wanted me to tell you--"

I slumped to my chair when her last words spoken by my little brother in her stead, echoed in my head.

"... take care of our son Maxentius, because he's the fruit of our love and my memento to you... I love you so much, Cis..."