American: Native Empire

Chapter 32 < Demons Beyond Imagination. >

The moment finally came.

The day when Kim Ki-woo’s descendant saw the light of the world.

‘Please, let there be no trouble…’

Kim Ki-woo bit his nails and paced around his office.

He wanted to run out of this room and rush to the empress, but he didn’t.

The officials had stopped him.

‘Why is it taking so long?’

The empress had been in labor for quite a while. But there was no news.

What if something went wrong? What should he do then?

No, it’s because it’s her first child that it’s taking so long.

All kinds of thoughts came to Kim Ki-woo’s mind.

Then.

Bang!

“Your Majesty!”

The door of the office opened. Kim Ki-woo looked at the open door reflexively.

He would have scolded anyone who opened the door and came in without permission, but now hearing the news was more important.

The upright tree knew this too, so he came in hastily.

“Minister of the Interior! Well, how did it go?”

The Straight tree’s face brightened at Kim Ki-woo’s question.

“The empress has given birth to a healthy boy!”

“Is that true?”

“Do you think I would lie to you?”

“Huh…”

He felt a relief. He was dazed for a while.

He couldn’t help it.

In Kim Ki-woo’s life, the child born now was his first child.

“Do you want to go right away?”

Kim Ki-woo came to his senses at the upright tree’s question.

“Yes. Let’s go.”

“I’ll guide you.”

Kim Ki-woo followed him closely.

As he walked down the corridor, Kim Ki-woo felt his chest swell. He wanted to hold his son in his arms as soon as possible.

‘Mother, father, sister…’

His parents and his only sister, whom he had left behind in the modern world, crossed his mind.

Kim Ki-woo’s family of three were all alive until he took the time machine from the modern world.

If Kim Ki-woo’s going back to the past had nothing to do with the future time, his family would have surely suffered a terrible fate when the asteroid collided with Earth.

Even if not, Kim Ki-woo could no longer meet his family. The time periods were completely different.

In this world, Kim Ki-woo was an orphan.

So he often wished he had someone who shared his bloodline.

But Kim Ki-woo didn’t get married for a long time. He didn’t even have a relationship with a woman before marriage.

He denied it several times, but there was one reason why Kim Ki-woo acted like this unconsciously.

‘I was scared.’

It was a kind of trauma.

The anxiety of losing his bloodline first again.

The emptiness he would feel when that happened.

He was scared because he had experienced it before.

Since his lifespan was long, his children were more likely to leave this world before him.

If the founding of the empire had been delayed, Kim Ki-woo’s marriage would have been delayed as well.

Even after marriage, he had this thought. That’s why he only had his first child now.

The empress didn’t criticize or resent Kim Ki-woo’s behavior. She didn’t even ask why.

Even though there was concern about the empress among the ministers, and she was stressed by it.

But living together for a long time, Kim Ki-woo could vaguely feel the empress’s feelings.

She couldn’t have been unaffected by the criticism of those who said she couldn’t conceive a child.

‘This was my selfish thought.’

Not even starting to avoid future sorrow. How foolish that was.

And he was the emperor of Wakan Tanka Empire.

This behavior was irresponsible. It was also a bad thing to do to the empress.

From then on, Kim Ki-woo changed his mind.

Thanks to that, he finally had his first child.

He arrived at his destination before he knew it.

Kim Ki-woo quickly ran into the room.

“Empress!”

“…You’re here.”

“How are you feeling?”

She looked drained, her face devoid of strength.

Kim Kiwoo approached her and quickly grasped her hand.

Deep Lake smiled faintly at his gesture.

“Don’t worry about me. I’m fine.”

“You’ve been through a lot. You really have.”

“What have I been through? It was nothing compared to your Majesty’s efforts for the empire. You should hold your son now.”

“Oh!”

Kim Kiwoo finally turned his gaze to the baby in Deep Lake’s arms.

“This is…”

The baby was very chubby.

He must have cried when he was born, but now he was wrapped in a clean cloth and sleeping soundly.

As Kim Kiwoo approached the baby, Deep Lake naturally handed him over to Kim Kiwoo.

Kim Kiwoo carefully took him, making sure not to wake him up.

At that moment, Kim Kiwoo’s chest swelled with emotion.

‘He’s so light…’

He was light, but somehow he felt heavy. Was this the weight of responsibility?

Kim Kiwoo stroked the baby’s cheek with his index finger.

It was very soft. The baby’s hands, feet, everything was small.

He looked like a doll.

Kim Kiwoo spent some time memorizing every detail of his child.

‘I was foolish.’

What was he afraid of? Just by having his own bloodline, he felt such a deep satisfaction in his heart.

The feeling that he was not alone in this harsh world.

He would not do anything to avoid future wounds anymore.

‘I’ll make a better world for you.’

Kim Kiwoo vowed to himself as he looked at his child.

*

“Did you hear the news? The emperor has finally been born.”

“Hey, you. Who doesn’t know that?”

“Hehe. I feel like I can finally relax a bit. I was worried that the empress might not be able to bear a child.”

“That was a needless worry. She gave birth to such a healthy crown prince.”

The birth of the crown prince spread quickly throughout the empire through newspapers.

Thanks to that, the whole empire was in a festive mood for a while.

The people had been anxious for a long time.

They were worried that the descendant of the spirit might not be born, and that the great bloodline might be cut off.

There were even rumors that the empress was a deficient person and that the great bloodline would not continue as if it were a fact.

After the crown prince was born, Kim Kiwoo stayed with the empress and the emperor for ten days.

“Your Majesty. I’m fine, so why don’t you take care of the state affairs?”

Deep Lake worried about Kim Kiwoo, who had taken a long vacation for her recovery.

The longer the rest time, the more work would pile up, and then it would be harder after ten days.

“No. Don’t worry about me.”

But Kim Kiwoo refused her request without hesitation.

He wanted to spend more time with his family since he became a father.

He didn’t think he could handle work at this time anyway.

The staff also understood Kim Kiwoo’s feelings. There was not a single director who opposed his vacation.

He spent time with his family and filled his empty heart.

Around that time, his ten-day vacation ended.

‘Time flies so fast.’

This was the only time he felt so bitter about the passing time.

‘But I have to work harder to make the empire more prosperous.’

His desire grew stronger as he had a child.

“Did you rest well?”

“Your face looks much better.”

“Haha. Nothing big happened while I was gone, right?”

The first imperial meeting after his return was held.

Kim Kiwoo received a brief report on what had happened during his absence and gave instructions.

Fortunately, there were no issues that worsened in ten days.

The directors were now competent enough to handle their departments well.

It was not like before when things went wrong when Kim Kiwoo left his seat.

After finishing the meeting and returning to his office,

“Your Majesty. The person you ordered has arrived.”

“Oh, let him in.”

As the attendant opened the door, a man entered the office.

He was none other than the Golden Parrot, who had escaped from Aztec.

“It’s an honor to meet you, Your Majesty!”

The Golden Parrot’s pronunciation was awkward, but he spoke in standard language.

He seemed very excited, his voice trembling slightly.

He prostrated himself on the floor as soon as he saw Kim Kiwoo. Kim Kiwoo laughed out loud.

“Haha! Get up and sit down. Don’t we have a lot to talk about?”

“How can I…”

“Ahem. This is an order.”

The Golden Parrot got up and sat on a chair.

“Your leg doesn’t look good, does it?”

Kim Kiwoo asked, looking at the Golden Parrot who was slightly limping on one leg.

“Yes. It seems that the injury I got while escaping hasn’t healed completely.”

“Oh. That’s a pity.”

“It doesn’t affect my daily life.”

The Golden Parrot smiled brightly.

He didn’t really care about his injured leg.

What was this inconvenience compared to his life?

“So. Do you have any idea why I called you here?”

“Yes. I have a guess.”

“Then it will be easier to talk. Can you tell me your story?”

“Of course, Your Majesty.”

The Golden Parrot opened his mouth.

His childhood story ended, and the story of the reality of the Aztec Empire began in earnest.

“They are demons. They forced not only my tribe, but all the surrounding tribes to pay hefty tributes at all times. And they took people from the tribes to their city from time to time. To sacrifice them!”

The Golden Parrot’s voice was filled with anger, as if he had a lot of resentment.

“The Mexica people thought of us as bread. They made a stew of human flesh called tlacatlolli. They raised dogs and turkeys, and ate enough meat from the fish they caught in the lake, but they made people into food just for fun! Really…”

Tears welled up in his eyes. His throat must have been choked as he recalled the horrible past.

“Take it easy. You can talk slowly. Do you want a glass of water?”

“…I would appreciate it if you gave me one.”

After gulping down the water brought by the attendant, the Golden Parrot’s story continued.

“They brutally slaughtered countless children. Tlaloc, the god of water and rain, only accepted children as sacrifices. They made children cry in Tlaloc’s temple. They said that the land would become fertile as they shed tears!”

The children didn’t die peacefully. The Golden Parrot vividly described the scene at that time.

“They deliberately made the children sick and starved them. And if they didn’t cry, they pulled out their fingernails one by one. Until they cried! And when they screamed, they cut their throats and killed them.”

Kim Kiwoo learned more about the reality of the Aztec people as he listened to the Golden Parrot’s words. He felt it in his bones that they were bastards who couldn’t even be compared to dogs.

‘Was it this bad?’

Kim Kiwoo only knew that the Aztecs had committed evil and horrible human sacrifices on a large scale, but he didn’t know the details.

The Golden Parrot continued to list their atrocities one by one. There was no end to it.

The highlight was that they made a skull tower called tzompantli with tens of thousands of skulls and decorated it.

It was unbelievable that it existed in Tenochtitlan, and he felt nauseous just imagining it.

Even if only half of this was true…

‘They are demons beyond imagination.’

Any civilization would have some limits, but Aztec had far exceeded those limits.

They were more than imaginable.