A Half-Forced Imperialist
Must Kill
2025.09.01 | Views 846 Recommendations 43

One summer day, Zephestian, the head of the Ebenholz family, asked as he signed a document.

"Where is Max?"

The knight standing before him, Edmund, answered.

"He is with the military academy cadets."

"Is that so?"

"Yes."

"So he's fooling around."

Zephestian rose and drew the curtains. Sunlight poured in. His thick jaw clenched in displeasure. It seemed he disliked everything his son did. Edmund spoke.

"Still, didn't he get into the best knight order? There were no special favors involved in the process."

"He'll be useful for propaganda."

Maximilian Ebenholz—blond hair, golden eyes, fair skin, delicate features, long limbs, and perfect proportions—was the very textbook example of a "pure imperial" as defined by racial studies. His appearance alone was worthy of being a symbol of the imperial people, but to Zephestian, it was nothing more than that.

"He doesn't have the heart of an imperial. He's too weak."

"..."

Edmund quietly bowed his head. If Max had been born into an ordinary noble family, he would have been an above-average heir, but Zephestian and the house of Ebenholz were far from ordinary. The title 'Bulwark of the Empire' is not given to just anyone.

"That is all. You may go."

Zephestian scribbled his signature on the document.

"Yes, Commander."

Edmund turned and left, holding the approved documents. He got into a vehicle waiting outside the official residence.

"Let's go."

"Yes, Major."

The adjutant in the driver's seat adjusted the rearview mirror.

"Oh, by the way. I heard the young master was accepted into the Sentinel Knights?"

Edmund held up the document he had just gotten approved.

"This is the approval for that. In other words, a consent form."

"Ah. But, will he do well? Even for the son of the Ebenholz family, the Sentinels won't go easy on him."

The adjutant glanced at Edmund. Edmund was a more suitable talent for the Sentinels than anyone, but he could not join. It was because he was of mixed blood. He had been rejected due to the Sentinels' pure-blood policy and had chosen the Imperial military instead.

"His father is a mountain cat. No need to worry."

Zephestian wasn't just a tiger; he was the king of the mountains. The lands of the Ebenholz family were actually surrounded by rugged mountain ranges, which suited their reputation well.

"Let's stop by one place on the way."

"Yes. Where to?"

"...The library."

With that, he quietly picked up a book. Edmund, blocked by the wall of his lineage, naturally came to embrace a different dream. The grand ambition of revolution.


The sun beat down on the training grounds. I had just finished my morning run. My whole body was drenched in sweat. Cadets quickly approached and handed me a dry towel.

"...Oh, thanks."

"Not at all!"

Their faces lit up at my single word of thanks. Three men and one woman. They were all here for training from 'Empire Point,' the pinnacle of the military academy. It meant they were talented individuals gathered from all over the empire.

"When does this apprenticeship of yours end?"

Their task was to follow me, a new member of the Sentinel Knights, for a week and learn from my example, and I had to accept them. This, too, was the duty of a senior knight.

"This Friday!"

"I see."

I roughly wiped the sweat with the towel and handed it to the short-haired male cadet. The boy took the towel with both hands as if it were a great honor. At that moment.

CRACK!

A sharp pain shot through my left collarbone. I instinctively placed a hand on my chest.

"Uh, Sir Knight, are you alright?"

The short-haired boy, startled, checked my expression.

"...Ah, it's nothing. I just feel a bit sick. I'm going to the restroom."

I left quickly, pretending to be fine. The Ebenholz castle is vast. Insanely vast. It takes five minutes to get to the nearest restroom from the training grounds. Click. I went into the restroom, locked the door, and threw off my shirt. Standing before the mirror, my sweat-soaked torso was revealed. On my left breast, near my heart, a black object was writhing. It was no simple stain or mole. Like a living shadow, it pulsed minutely, squirming beneath my skin.

"Haa..."

It looked like a cancer cell, and also like a parasite. I don't know exactly what this thing is, but I have a good idea of its origin. It's a part of the 'Dimension Eater' that tried to devour me in the world that was destroyed right before I regressed. A fragment of that alien entity is now alive and moving inside me.

"...Just stay still."

It's a precious thing, in its own way. It's also the most obvious proof that I have regressed. I have returned to the past, to when I was twenty years old. The empire fell when I was thirty-three, so that's 13 years from now. Another 20 years passed before the world was destroyed, making this a past from a total of 33 years ago.

33 years.

It's a distant time. I was just a spoiled brat of a nobleman who hadn't grown up until the moment I died, but no matter how I wrack my memory, the time I was locked in the underground prison felt like only one or two years at most. There was too great a discrepancy with the 20 years Edmund had mentioned. Suddenly, Edmund's voice, from when all his hair had fallen out, whispered to me.

'It seems you were born with some talent you yourself are unaware of. There's no other way to explain this surreal situation.'

I took a deep breath and left the restroom. Outside, Angie, the family's servant, was waiting. A middle-aged man in his fifties with eyes as thin as threads. A familiar face smiled gently at me.

"Oh, Angie. What is it?"

"It is time for your class, young master. Or rather, Sir Knight now. The magic studies professor is waiting."

I am twenty years old now. I've even joined the empire's finest knight order—the Sentinels. And yet, my private tutoring schedule was more packed than most cadets'. It was all at my family's insistence. My father wanted me to make the Ebenholz name shine not just with my appearance, but with my skills as well, and so he had hired tutors from every field imaginable. It was useless, though.

"Right? Then have those kids follow me too."

I pointed to the cadets gathered in a corner of the training grounds.

"Will that be alright?"

"Of course. I'm not that petty."

Thanks to me, those kids got a day off. They'll get to listen to a top-tier magic studies lecture that costs 30,000 dollars per session, for free.

"Yes, I understand. Please go on ahead."

"Alright."

I walked down the long corridor of the main house. In this magnificent space that would be reduced to rubble in 13 years, I thought about the empire.

'If only, if only the empire had lasted longer, if we hadn't brought down the empire, then maybe humanity... might have survived longer.'

Edmund, consumed by despair, had said as much, but the empire was clearly the worst. The emperor and his sycophants were all rotten to the core, and most of the great families that supported the empire were trash. Thanks to my weakness and incompetence, I was able to break free from their fanatical brainwashing relatively quickly. I came to clearly see their ugly true nature. Imperialism was an illusion, and the racial superiority they preached did not exist. But I didn't have the courage to stand against them. That too was because I was weak and incompetent. The problem was that, just as a broken clock is right twice a day, their blind hatred and discrimination were correct for just 'one race'.

'The Izenheim... they were the disaster. They weren't human. Those bastards ruined the world.'

I looked down at my body. It all felt like a midsummer's illusion. A nightmare I'd been having for too long because of a fever.

"Ah... my head really hurts."

I placed a hand on my left collarbone. The only thing proving my existence now is this strange black object writhing inside my body.


"What is a magic circuit? It is a kind of biological organ and tool that allows humans to sense the mana within their bodies and handle it quantitatively."

The magic studies professor, dressed in a neat uniform, projected a diagram of the human body in the air. The complex blood vessels and organs disappeared, replaced by simplified blue lines. It was a network that started from the head and extended to the tips of the hands and feet.

"The magic circuit is the pathway that allows mana to move safely and efficiently within the body. By circulating mana through this circuit and concentrating it in a specific part, humans can exert superhuman strength or use magic that controls natural phenomena."

Blue particles of mana flowed smoothly along the circuit. The one large circuit that circulates throughout the entire body is called the 'main magic circuit,' and the branches that extend from it are called 'auxiliary circuits.'

"The wider the diameter of the circuit, the greater the total amount of mana that can be moved at once and the faster the circulation speed. On the other hand, the more auxiliary circuits there are, the more precise the control of mana becomes."

Ultimately, the main magic circuit is what's important. Whether a knight or a mage, one must be born with a good magic circuit.

"In the past, a method of creating a virtual central point called a mana core to gather mana in one place was also studied, but the side effects were significant and the efficiency was low, so it is now almost obsolete. Now, let me begin the detailed explanation of the theories..."

Formulas. All sorts of complex symbols and numbers filled the air. It was a self-reinforcement type of magic used by knights. Self-reinforcement magic is the essence of memorization. You have to memorize it to be able to use it. The lazy me had only mastered a few.

The magic studies professor lectured with great passion for 40 minutes, and I, at the very least, did not doze off.

"...Then, after a short break, I will explain the practical application of mana."

The first period was over. I stood up from my chair and stretched. The four cadets approached me in unison and bowed.

"Thank you! Thanks to you, Sir Knight, we were able to attend a truly valuable class!"

"Thank you!"

"Thank you!"

CRACK!

My left collarbone writhed again. This time it wasn't just a simple pain, but a churning sensation from within. I pressed down on it with my hand, trying to act nonchalant.

"Oh. No need for thanks, just work hard."

"Um, Sir Knight! May I go to the restroom?"

The short-haired cadet asked with a nervous expression.

"You don't need to ask for permission for things like that. Go whenever you need."

"Yes, sir! Thank you!"

The four cadets rushed to the restroom in a group. I stared blankly at the spot they had left. Neatly arranged writing instruments. Diligently taken notes in a notebook. They were nothing special. Rather, they were endearing for their age. But suddenly, I felt nauseous. An unpleasant sensation, as if something was boiling up hot inside me, persisted.

"..."

The short-haired boy, his name was Jacob, I think. I looked at his seat. I picked up the bag hanging on his chair and emptied its contents. Thud, thud, thud. Writing instruments, a sketchbook, a novel. Among them, the novel caught my eye. I don't know why. I just picked it up and flipped through the pages. On a specific page, faint traces of mana were marked on certain words.

[Soon, re, cov, ery, pos, si, ble, at, that, time, coop, er, ate]
[In, this, way, com, mu, ni, ca, tion, pos, si, ble, with, com, rades, will, be, del, i, vered...]

It was disguised as a simple coded message, but it was a double trick. The ominous 'trace' hidden deeper beneath this mana was visible to my eyes. A remnant of a cold, alien energy, completely different from ordinary mana. I placed my hand on that part. A chilling voice flowed into my mind. At the same time, the black fragment inside me writhed violently. The alien words were translated automatically.

-Starving. Must eat a fresh heart to replenish mana. The younger and purer the child, the better. Their life force is needed.-
-You will be selected as a knight of the empire, so we will help you procure food at any time. Lexie will be with you soon. Follow her instructions.-

"...Ugh!"

I snatched my hand away from the book. A splitting headache, an unbearable wave of nausea washed over me. Izenheim. That race was hiding here.

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Pub: 02 Sep 2025 01:27 UTC

Views: 9