Chapter 322
A suffocating silence fell upon the thousands-strong crowd packed into the colosseum. It was so quiet that the sound of a person swallowing their saliva was thunderously loud.
“What did you say?” The hot-tempered Second Prince Kaizen violently thrust his finger at Joshua. But of course, his reaction was understandable. Joshua was wanted for high treason; he should have immediately kneeled and made excuses, and even that might not have been enough to keep him from being executed. However, Joshua declared that he was going to become the emperor—but that was just the beginning.
“H-he’s going to become the emperor?”
“He must be crazy…”
“Did he just openly declare that he’s going to start a coup? Oh my god.”
The spectators’ murmurings got louder and louder. Meanwhile, Joshua stood firmly upright in the center of the colosseum, quietly staring at the top seats of the colosseum.
Joshua heard a low chuckling.
“Kekekekeke… You’re still the same. You’re so interesting that I’m getting goosebumps,” Arie said, licking the blade of his rapier. Then he turned away.
“I’ll admit it,” Arie said, shockingly. Arie, the prideful Superhuman and the most unique maverick in the Empire, voluntarily admitted defeat to the man who made him lose his arm.
“What are you saying?! Marquess Arie!” Knight-Commander Rod instantly roared. “He’s a rebel who is trying to overthrow our country! He just declared that he’s going to commit treason!”
“I’m fine.” Arie shrugged.
“What…!” Rod couldn’t believe what he was hearing.
“If you have a problem with that, why don’t you subdue him yourself?” Arie suggested.
The Knight-Commander’s jaw dropped. “…What did you say?!”
“Well, I’m not sure if it’ll be possible though,” Arie said with a smirk.
“You bastard…!” Rod growled.
Although Rod cursed at Arie, the Marquess paid zero attention to him and fixed his eyes on Joshua.
“I’ll keep watching you, Joshua Sanders.”
“…I…” Joshua finally broke his silence. “...I didn’t forget about your advice.”
“Oh?” Arie’s eyes widened. “Kekeke, I’ll look forward to it.”
Only Joshua and Arie knew what they were talking about. After licking his lips once more, Arie jumped off the stage. In the meantime, there was another group of people who had been watching the two.
“…Is he really our master?” Cain blankly mumbled. He was frozen up like an ice sculpture.
Icarus nodded.
“I think he is.”
“Or is there a possibility that that crazy doppelganger is acting right now?” Cain asked in disbelief.
“We can’t completely rule out the possibility… but I still think it’s our master,” Icarus confidently affirmed.
Cain swiftly turned his head to Icarus.
“Why so?”
“He’s exactly the same as our master as I remember him. He starts trouble first and takes care of it later. On top of that, he scares the life out of us using all sorts of methods.”
“Ah…” Cain nodded immediately. He could understand Icarus’s reasoning.
“What are the Imperial Knights waiting for?” Kaizen shouted when he recovered from the shock of Joshua’s appearance. “He’s a criminal! He declared that he’s going to commit high treason before thousands of citizens of the Empire! Arrest him right—!”
“No!” Joshua interrupted with a mana-empowered shout. “Wasn’t this occasion about acknowledging the death of Emperor Marcus ben Britten and selecting the next emperor in order to stabilize the country as soon as possible?”
A storm of shock hit the spectators inside the colosseum.
“W-was it?”
“Wait… then did His Majesty really pass away?”
“Well, it has already been over three years…”
“But still, how is it related to him declaring that he’ll become the emperor?”
“No matter how hard I think about it, I think he’s just crazy…”
“How is any of that related to you?” Kaizen asked on behalf of the spectators.
“Of course it is,” Joshua said with a nod.
“What?” Kaizen narrowed his eyes.
“I’m also a candidate for the throne. I carry the Britten blood, so I also want to compete for the throne in a way that won't cause any controversies in the future!” Joshua declared.
Kaizen and the First Prince Kiser, who had been watching the conversation beside Kaizen, boggled at Joshua.
“Wh-what bullshit are you talking about…!” Kazien clenched his teeth.
“My mother was a member of the Imperial Family,” Joshua said.
“…Hup!” Kaizen’s breath caught mid-curse due to shock and confusion.
“Before she became Lucia von Agnus…” Joshua took one step forward. “...my mother’s name was ‘Asiru ben Britten’.”
Joshua moved one more step forward.
“I am her son, so no one can deny the fact that I also have a right to inherit the throne.” He arrived right before the top seats and stared up with shining eyes. “Therefore, I, Joshua Sander, officially challenge the princes for the throne.”
A silence fell upon the colosseum as everyone inside shut their mouths. At this point, some were having goosebumps. They wondered if Joshua hadn't inherited the Ducal Family of Agnus for this moment.
The ordinary citizens, who didn’t know the full story, were confused. It was understandable since even the numerous nobles were bewildered as they had no method to authenticate Joshua’s claim right now. Only two people maintained their composure as they were watching the situation.
Kiser discovered one of them.
“There is no way that he’d lie here since his lie would easily be caught,” he noted. Kiser quickly turned his head. “Duke Tremblin.”
“…Yes, Your Highness,” Tremblin answered.
“Did you know about this?” Kiser asked. “You’ve been His Majesty’s closest aide.”
Tremblin was silent for a moment before concisely replying, “Yes, Your Highness.”
Kiser groaned quietly.
“…Is he truly—?”
“Bullshit!” Kaizen shouted. “I’ve been living in the palace for quite a long time, but I’ve never heard of the name Asiru! So—”
Tremblin nodded. “Of course, you haven’t.”
“What?” Kaizen asked disbelievingly.
“It happened before you were born, Your Highness,” Tremblin informed him.
Tremblin began to lay the story that only he, a living witness, could tell:
“Dozens of years ago, there was also a dispute about who would inherit the throne. Due to the dispute, a bloodbath took place in the palace. There was a certain beautiful princess, the most beautiful in the world. Her eyes were as brilliant as emeralds, and she was loved by everyone in the palace…”
“…Wait…!” Kiser’s eyes slowly widened as he remembered something. “When Father was a prince…? Hold on, but she’s…”
“Yes.” Tremblin nodded. “She was thought to be deceased.”
Kiser shook like he’d been struck by lightning and groaned. “The misfortune princess… Asiru ben Britten!”
“Don’t do this, brother!” Kaizen furiously yelled. “This isn’t your first day in politics! Even if you know something, you pretend you don’t know it, and vice versa. His story might really be true, but we shouldn’t react like that!”
“…Kaizen,” Kiser quietly said.
“Shut it!” Kaizen raised his hand. “I’ll take care of it—!”
“She’s our aunt.” Kiser shut his eyes.
Kaizen shut his mouth as if he’d never spoken in the first place.
“She’s the one and only sister of His Majesty Marcus ben Britten, the son of a concubine,” Tremblin bitterly continued. “I thought she passed away, but she became the Dark God’s wife and the mother of the man who is known as the Hero King by the people on the continent.”
“Shit…” Kaizen unwittingly cursed. Yes, the Imperial Family tended to have a messed up family tree, but this was too much.
“Brother Kiser.” Kaiser had been carefully observing the situation and now approached his brother. “Do you trust me?”
“…What?” Kiser’s eyes narrowed.
“Now is really the time when we should join forces.” Kaiser smiled lightly.
“What are you…?” Kiser blankly mumbled.
“I have an idea,” Kaiser declared with shining eyes.
“An idea?”
“I’ll make you an emperor, brother,” Kaiser whispered to Kiser.
Kiser’s eyes widened.
“Will you trust me on this?” Kaiser asked.
Like most firstborns, Kiser was cautious.
“…What do you want from me?”
Kaiser smiled.
“The seat of the second in command is enough.”
Kiser was silent for a while.
“If you can really make it happen…” he eventually replied, “then that would be good.”
“I’ll take that as a yes.” Kaiser stood up from his seat with a wide smile.
“I, Kaiser ben Britten, will answer your request on behalf of the three of us!” Kaiser’s earsplitting voice echoed throughout the colosseum, attracting all the spectators' attention. However, no one expected his words.
“If your claim is true,” Kaiser continued, “then it’s true that you have the right to inherit the throne!”
The spectators murmured among themselves.
“Kaiser, you bastard!” Kaizen furiously began.
“But!” Kaiser continued before Kaizen could interrupt, “There is one thing you’re mistaken about. Unlike what you think, the ugly fight between us has already come to an end!”
Kaiser pulled out something from his inner pocket and confidently held it out.
“The symbol of His Majesty is right here in my hands!”
“Th-that’s!”
The spectators and nobles’ eyes bulged as they gazed upon a brilliant, rectangular sculpting of a dragon. Kaiser was definitely holding up the imperial seal that symbolized the Emperor of Avalon.
“It’s the i-imperial seal?”
“What?! If that’s true, then there was nothing to argue about from the start.”
“That means…”
“The Hero King was chasing a wild goose…”
Kaiser’s smile widened as the people’s murmurs washed over him.
“His Majesty has already left his last words about who will inherit his throne. So are you still going to talk about your right to the throne?”
“Woaahhhhh!!!!!!!!”
The spectators were no longer shocked about the revealed story, and they were excited more than ever. The civil war had officially come to an end, which meant that the citizens of the Avalon Empire no longer had to suffer. They were thrilled.
Meanwhile, Tremblin was the only one who remained nonchalant throughout the whole situation.
“Oh, what shall I do?” Joshua broke his silence with a smile.
There was no way Kaiser could have foreseen what was going to happen.
“It looks like I also have the same thing that you’re holding right now,” Joshua said, and shrugged.
“Wh-What?” Kaiser’s eyes widened.
“You definitely said…” Just like Kaiser had, Joshua pulled out the imperial seal and put it on top of his spearhead. “...His Majesty left his last word about his heir, right?”
After he finished speaking, Joshua spun his spear as if he was mocking Kaiser. Nevertheless, his dexterous movements meant that the imperial seal stayed fixed on top of his spear as firmly as if it were resting on flat ground.
“I’ll say the same thing back to you.”
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