"One day, you will lose to your own humanity. No matter how strong your rationality is, you will never escape corruption in the end!"
Sidney turned to look at the center of the ruins, where a mass of flesh wearing a crown had once lain.
That had also been the previous emperor's end.
"Anyone with emotions will eventually fall, is that it?"
He slowly withdrew his gaze and looked up at Victoria. "Then I simply have to sacrifice my emotions."
Victoria froze.
She stared at Sidney in disbelief. Only when she saw his utterly unwavering eyes did she confirm that he meant it.
"You'll die!" Victoria all but snarled. "There is no such thing as sacrificing your emotions. Losing your emotions means losing yourself. What you're sacrificing is Sidney, and all you'll leave behind is a cold, empty shell!"
"But that empty shell is precisely what the Empire needs," Sidney said softly, as though he were not talking about himself. "The Throne's curse lies in the weaknesses of human nature. If I have no weaknesses, neither will the Throne. The Empire will no longer need to gather so many corpses, nor will so many commoners need to lose their lives. I alone will be able to suppress every evil entity!"
"Only by shedding these burdens can the Empire truly move forward. From this day on, there will no longer be a Throne that cannot be stepped down from. Once I sacrifice myself, I will never be corrupted, and like Theresia, I will be able to protect the Empire forever."
Sidney started walking again, going around the web before him.
Victoria wanted to stop him, but could not find even a single reason. Her rationality told her that Sidney's idea was right.
"Then... then Elliot..."
"I've already told him everything. He'll