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Published at 16th of January 2023 05:53:56 AM


Chapter 19

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“Radanum?”

“Yes, Your Majesty the Emperor.”

There were usually three people at the recent Emperor’s luncheon.

The Emperor himself, the Empress Consort, and Prince Delmar.

There were times when a few more people joined this place.

It was a case of having a meeting about close state affairs or discussing the deployment of troops.

When some Dukes, Marquis, and Markgraf said meaningless things, the Emperor always gave his opinion and eventually put it through. 

But sometimes, there were four people.

“Is it true that Count Postino has a strange smell in the southwest?”

A place where the wizard Rathanum observes and cleans up.

“Yes. Reliable news says that he’s secretly selecting more soldiers than is allowed. After checking it myself, it is unlikely that it will lead to a rebellion. He seems to be struggling pitifully to counter the power of the Western Markgraf, however.” 

Radanum interrupted for a moment.

“The result is always important, not the intention. It’s up to Your Majesty how you use it.” 

“Count Postino has been like a tongue in my mouth for a while—” (t/n: Means someone who is always obedient.) 

“Would you like to take a look?”

“I meant that it was even more disgusting. Take care of it yourself.”

The blue-eyed Emperor, who smiled coldly, waved his hand. 

Radanum also smiled and raised his arms. A bracelet with blue jewels was hung on it. 

“Even though you refuse every time, I will still make a request. If you could release this restraint, which can only be released by the Emperor’s power, even for a moment, I would be able to process it faster than anyone else and come back. Definitely, I can make sure that no one is left behind in the Postino estate.” 

The last wizard, Radanum, was thought to be dead from the outside, but he managed to stay alive by selling all of his colleagues.

However, the treatment of informants is not good as always.

He was given restraints that limited his magical power.

The Emperor called it to reward, and those who knew the story called it punishment. 

It was a prize for Radanum. Anyway, he survived.

“To tell a bland joke.”

The Emperor, who casually passed the word, refused as if it were natural, and Radanum also accepted it as if it was natural.

During the luncheon that followed, a few more names were mentioned. 

An accomplished knight, a clerk who wrote offensive words, and a judge who refuted the Emperor’s opinion.

The Emperor, who casually spat out the words that half of them would die, chewed the meat and swallowed it. 

The last topic of conversation was the Prince, who had never sat here.

“What about Aurelio?”

Delmar was startled. After looking at him for a while, Radanum said softly.

“He’s still doing well.”

“Oh, my.”

The Emperor, who spoke lightly as if he were talking about others, beckoned.

It was a congratulatory message to Delmar. The Emperor, who had put down his fork, watched as Delmar moved away and continued to speak slowly. 

“You had prophesied.” 

“I offer my prophecy to Your Majesty the Emperor.”

It was the day the prince with black hair and red eyes was born.

The Emperor with golden hair and blue eyes saw the child’s face.

All of the few who were present trembled.

Neither the midwives, the maids, nor the chief servants dared to open their mouths. It was more correct that they couldn’t open it. A child who doesn’t show any of the characteristics that must be possessed by a direct lineage of the Vladin family undoubtedly seemed to resemble his mother.

No way, did the dark-haired mistress, who had passed out after giving birth, do something impure? Did she dare to play with someone else, betraying the Emperor even though she had received the Emperor’s favor?

Each question was scattered, but only one thing could be said.

“I, I won’t say anything about today until I die….”

“You don’t have to. If you don’t have a closed mouth, you won’t have anything to say.”

It was the time when the Emperor, who had thrown away the sword that tore the mouths of all those who witnessed it, was about to grab the wine glass.

The wizard, who appeared in the dark as if he had been there from the beginning, knelt down and offered a golden apple.

The prophecy of a bitter and sour taste resounded in the Emperor’s ears. 

“Here comes the man who will kill you—”

The man who will kill you is here.

Every time someone tries to kill him, they fail, and he uses that to make himself stronger.

The Emperor grinned as he murmured the prophecy.

“As soon as you’re born, you insult your father twice, which makes you very different.”

There is a child who is blessed just by being born.

So, there will also be a child who is cursed just by being born.

What was the expression of the wizard, one of the two people who knew the prophecy of the day?

“Yes, I see.”

Just like today. Calm, relaxed, with a strange smile on his face.

“It’s a headache.”

“There is no need for Your Majesty Emperor to use your power. Of course, you don’t have to worry about it. Because I am monitoring him.” 

The Emperor, who had always looked at the wizard with the same expression, clicked his tongue relentlessly.

“Is it my job to get ahead of my judgment in advance, so you’re even thinking about it, Radanum?”

“….”

“You’re arrogant.”

Radanum was a sharp and hard-to-control weapon that was passed down from ancestors.

He couldn’t throw it away and couldn’t just fully take it. 

The Emperor, who casually showed hostility, smiled as if he had never done so and looked at the Empress Consort, Diana.

“Why don’t you go meet him for a while?”

“…Don’t you know, Your Majesty? I’m uncomfortable with that child.”

Diana was the Emperor’s wife. 

The Empress died early. Some said she was ill, and some called it poison.

Now that everyone who said it was poisoned is dead, her cause of death is written as a disease. 

After the death of the Empress, the Emperor took over the mistress. The mistress that gave birth to Aurelio disappeared. No one knew what happened after that.

Next was Diana. The mother of Delmar and Empress Consort of the Vladin Empire.

She was fit for anything. The Empress Consort, who was moderately calculated and moderately benevolent, didn’t offend the Emperor. 

Even though she gave birth to a Prince, she didn’t complain about her condition of not becoming an Empress, nor did she question the appearance of the 1st prince Aurelio, who was unfamiliar to anyone.

That alone was enough to win praise.

“But it’s Your Majesty’s command, so I’ll have to follow it.”

“That would be nice, Diana.”

“Then I’ll stop by after dinner tonight. I’ll check his condition and come back. What can I say to him?”

The Emperor answered briefly.

“There’s nothing.”

Diana nodded.

After dinner, she went to Radanum’s room. Standing on top of the magic circle as if she had been swayed, Radanum spoke to her. 

“Prince Aurelio still has a portrait of his mother.” 

“What is your intention to tell me that, Radanum?”

“What do you mean by intention? It just means don’t be too surprised. About what’s going on in the house. Oh, I don’t know if you know.”

Diana looked back.

“Prince Aurelio really likes that place.”

“…He seems to have forgotten that this is exile.”

At first glance, it sounded pathetic.

But Radanum saw. A faint smile spread around Diana’s mouth as she disappeared under the blue flame.

She arrived on the second floor. As Radanum had said, a faded portrait lay on the other side of the room.

Diana looked for a while at the portrait of a woman with black hair, whose outline was now blurred.

She went down the stairs with a slight dizziness that the magic circle must have left behind. Aurelio appeared. The son of her husband, her stepson, and the exiled Prince. 

He was taller than the last time she had seen him. Muscles were attached to his skinny biceps.

There was a slight flush on his face as he came out of the room as he wiped his face. It was the opposite of the appearance of the Imperial Palace, which was always pale.

Diana thought it was a good look.

“Aurelio.”

But that figure was shattered as soon as he heard her own voice.

In an instant, he raised his greeting with a pale face.

“I see Your Highness the Empress Consort.”

A voice of vigilance was heard.

“Radanum was right.”

That you’ve come to like this place more.

Contrary to her soft words, the child seemed to have misunderstood her words. In an instant, his sharp red eyes turned to her.

“I don’t know what you heard from him.”

Aurelio blocked the door. 

“Today… Not today. Your Highness.”

“….”

“If you have anything to order, please tell me.”

Diana gave him a dry smile as she slowly looked back and forth between his face and the door, which was obviously meant to end the conversation.

“I’m just here to check something, so don’t worry.”

“What do you mean check something?”

“Enough.”

Turning and climbing the stairs, she left a short message.

“Take your medicine well.”

She knew the trembling eyes were looking at her, but Diana didn’t look back.

*****

Luce struggled to open her sleepy eyes.

She ate as much as she could and slept well, but she felt like she had forgotten something.

‘Ah, the warm wine! Rev said he would give me a warm wine, but I couldn’t try it.’

It seems that she fell asleep at the dining table, but Rev moved her here.

Luce, who was fiddling with the rough white blanket, saw a watch hanging in the corner of the room.

It was eight o’clock. It was time for Rev to wake up. Luce, who was standing up, quickly turned around.

“Oh.”

Rev was holding her wrist as he was about to fall.

He was leaning under the bed, looking like he had just put Luce’s hand on it without holding it properly.

“Rev. Rev?”

“Are you awake?”

“…Didn’t you sleep? What’s wrong with your voice?”

As Luce said, Rev didn’t sleep a wink today.

He didn’t feel this way when he saw Radanum and Delmar. However, looking at Diana, the memories of the palace seemed to come alive. 

He didn’t know what to do, and the worry of knowing the cause made him stay next to Luce.

A few times to catch his breath in line with Luce’s beating pulse.

After dawn passed and morning came, Luce spoke to him, and only then did he feel relieved. 

“Oh my, you couldn’t sleep because I was here! Oh no, I’m sorry!”

No. Because of you, I was able to breathe. Rev raised his stiff lips and smiled.

“Hurry up and come up here. Oh, why are you so tall that I can’t even lift you up easily?”

As Luce’s hand led him to the bed, Rev thought.

‘I need countermeasures. Measures to protect me and to protect Luce.’

And the opportunity came sooner than he thought.




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