Chapter 128: That's Too Bad
Boom! Boom!
The First Princess gritted her teeth as she looked at the fallen Ian and the burning capital.
She shouted at the attendants.
“What are you all doing! Can’t you see the youngest has collapsed? Quickly bring a healer!”
“Th-the healer is coming now, Princess.”
The attendants urgently rushed toward Ian.
They would give first-aid treatment first while waiting for a healer to come.
Ian groaned as the servants flocked around him.
“Ugh.”
Ian even closed his eyes, pretending to pass out.
The First Princess cried out in panic at something unexpected.
“Hang in there! A healer will be here shortly.”
“Si, sister…”
“No, you can’t die like this!”
It was no wonder she reacted as such.
Even if they were contenders for the throne, she couldn’t bear to see Ian die this way.
She was even given a spot next to him at the victory ceremony.
The death of the youngest over herself would be nothing but a disgrace to her that she could never forget.
Ian also knew that.
‘Well, I guess she was shocked. She can’t even tell I’m pretending in pain.’
Of course, under normal circumstances, she would have noticed it right away.
However, she was so distracted by the sudden terror attack that she did not see Ian’s smile.
Instead, she was yelling at the chamberlain next to her.
“What are you all doing?! Can’t you at least bring a potion!”
“B-but the potions we have now are all prepared for the final event of the victory ceremony. And only the First Princess’s remains…”
The final event of the victory ceremony was the king personally pouring a potion on the head of the meritorious person.
However, due to the unforeseen incident, Ian’s potion had become useless.
And, of course, the only potions prepared were for the two of them.
The chamberlain did not dare propose to use the First Princess’s portion.
However, the First Princess exploded in anger.
“Are you saying that a ceremony like that is more important than the life of a royal?”
“Th-that’s not it.”
“No matter how important the ceremony is, what is the point of it if the main character dies!”
The chamberlain bowed down in a fluster.
As she said, no matter how precious the potion was, it was no more important than the life of a royal.
The chamberlain hurried away to leave at the First Princess’s continued urging.
“I’ll get it right now.”
“Hurry! Hurry up!”
Once the chamberlain had left, she whispered to Ian.
“Hold on a bit longer, the potion will be here soon.”
But she couldn’t pour her attention only to Ian right now.
It was inevitable.
Boom! Boom!
“My child! My child!”
“Help me! Somebody please help me!”
“Why won’t this bastard die! I have stabbed him but—ugh!”
This was due to the fact that Kaistein’s capital had become the center of the battlefield.
Someone had to sort out this situation.
The First Princess furrowed her brow as the king was about to draw his sword.
‘I must move before His Majesty moves.’
She needed to distract the enemies’ attention from the great king of Kaistein.
And now that she and the soldiers of the nobles had entered the capital for the victory ceremony, the First Princess gave orders to them.
“Catch those who mess with Kastein! Do not miss a single one!”
“Understood!”
The First Princess’s faction began to fight against those who had become berserkers.
Ian smiled at the sight.
Everything was going according to the plan.
‘As expected of my sister.’
The First Princess undoubtedly had excellent political skills and leadership.
She even had good control over her faction.
It was apparent just by watching her faction nobles leading the soldiers.
“Princess! We have come!”
“We will help too!”
If he had to be honest, she scored higher than him on this point.
Soon, the First Princess took over command of the soldiers from the faction nobles and began to sort out the confusion.
But the damage would be significant.
Ian knew this because he had memories of his past life.
‘In the first place, those affected by it become strong beings like berserkers.’
That happened shortly before his death in his previous life.
It was a time when the succession war, which had reached the final moment, was heating up and swords were being thrust at each other’s throats.
At that moment.
[A strange disease began to spread in the Holy Empire.]
It was no ordinary plague.
A common plague caused patients to die after suffering from it.
But the thing called ‘mania’ was different.
‘It takes away people’s sense of self and turns them into madmen who thirst for other people’s life.’
It was similar to brainwashing people.
However, the difference was that mania gave the patient immense power and inexhaustible vitality like that of a berserker.
And those who became berserkers discarded their lives to kill those around them.
That wasn’t all.
‘When certain conditions are met, they become a biological bomb and explode.’
The destructive power was enough to level a building.
A walking berserker bomb.
In Ian’s past life, the succession war was even momentarily ceased for fear that the disease would spread to Kaistein.
The only healing method was the priest’s divine power.
‘But even that wasn’t a perfect cure. It was just enough to temporarily calm the symptoms.’
It was fortunate that the Holy Empire had abundant priests.
In some kingdoms near the Holy Empire, more than half of the population was wiped out.
Ian’s gaze turned sharp.
‘At the time, I didn’t know it was related to the Holy Empire…’
Now that he knew the Holy Empire was involved, Ian decided to drag the First Princess’s power into this.
‘This is the only way to stop his plan with minimal damage.’
In that case, the best action was to move differently from the set schedule, also forcing the other nobles to take action and join forces to organize as quickly and overwhelmingly as possible.
However, if it was only Ian there, other factions would not have quickly stepped forward.
‘And I would have had to watch the royal family and my soldiers die.’
That wasn’t all.
‘Since they gathered for my victory ceremony and suffered damage, they will try to pin all the blame on me, calling it the will of the people.’
However, things had changed now.
“Are you okay, Prince? Come to your senses!”
“What about the potion? Is there a healer yet?!”
“The potion is here. The healer has almost arrived!”
Of all things, Ian was injured while trying to protect the First Princess. There was no way the First Princess’s faction would not move.
‘If they keep sucking their fingers while I am down, they will become the prime suspect for the murder of the royal family.’
That was why Ian took advantage of this opportunity.
And through investigation on Haverion, he knew that the attendant had already suffered from mania, so he thought up a plan.
It was then.
“Duke Lavaltor!”
The First Princess urgently called out to Duke Lavaltor, her body soaked with blood.
“Duke! Why are you just looking on?!”
She couldn’t help being desperate.
Even after she mobilized the troops, they were rendered helpless by the bizarre phenomenon.
Now, all she and the soldiers could do was evacuate people.
To overcome this situation, she needed the power of someone like Duke Lavaltor.
“Hurry and subdue them!”
However, Duke Lavaltor responded sternly to the First Princess’s order.
“I can’t do that.”
“Why?! You are His Majesty Eloin’s guardian knight! Have you forgotten your promise to protect the country and its people?”
Instead of answering, Duke Lavaltor looked at the lying Ian.
“His Majesty ordered me to follow only Prince Ian for today.”
It wasn’t a lie.
After meeting Ian yesterday, he immediately had an audience with King Eloin.
However, the First Princess, who did not know this, could only be frustrated.
“Can’t you see that the youngest has fallen from being stabbed? He’s dying right before your eyes!”
Then Duke Lavaltor looked at Ian and narrowed his eyes slightly.
“The prince is dying?”
In reality, chaos nearly broke out around Ian.
“Prince! Come to your senses!”
“Why is this happening! We definitely used the potion, why isn’t he waking up?!”
“I, I don’t know. It should have worked, it was definitely the First Princess’s potion.”
“Check again, hurry! And bring a healer here first…”
Ian, who had drunk the potion, was still lying motionlessly, his body drooping. The First Princess raised her voice toward Duke Lavaltor.
“See? He still hasn’t opened his eyes!”
Then Duke Lavaltor chuckled.
Perhaps he had noticed Ian’s condition at a glance.
“Your Highness, the prince is…”
“Ugh…! Sister!”
“Ian!”
“…My wound hurts so much!”
Ian pretended to be in pain as if to shut Duke Lavaltor up, and his action succeeded in diverting the First Princess’s attention.
Duke Lavaltor was dumbfounded by the sight, but Ian tried to say something with a deliberate dying expression.
But then, someone shouted to the First Princess.
“Sister! Quick, get away from here!”
“!”
The Fifth Prince Haverion.
He was shouting urgently as he ran toward her.
The First Princess tilted her head.
‘How did he get here?’
No, why was he trying to save her?
But before she could ask such questions, a cold voice flowed into her ear.
“Duke Lavaltor.”
“!”
This time, it was Ian’s.
In the First Princess’s eyes, Ian seemed to struggle to get his injured body up.
But the voice was nowhere that of a patient.
“Are you ready?”
Even as his body was being supported by the attendants, Ian’s eyes shone with a sharp glint.
Sighing, Duke Lavaltor put his hand on his chest and lowered his head.
“Of course. Everyone is on standby in their positions. We are waiting for the prince’s instructions.”
Ian didn’t delay any longer.
“Do it.”
“As you wish.”
“And.”
He pointed to Haverion with a trembling hand as if he were a genuine patient.
At the same time, he commanded Duke Lavaltor.
“Get him.”
His voice was colder than ever.
***
Haverion was in a hurry.
‘Before something happens to the First Princess, I must take her to a safe place.’
The knights monitoring him had long since gone, thanks to the confusion.
At first, they hesitated when the capital was under attack but soon hurried to ensure the safety of the people.
And Haverion headed toward the First Princess to abduct her.
Of course, going to the First Princess was not easy.
“Soldiers, block the enemy’s path!”
“Your Highness! He’s not going down! Our soldiers are the ones falling!”
“You just need to buy time! Hold them off until the others evacuate the citizens!”
It was because the First Princess was at the center of the battlefield.
But soon, an opportunity fell into his lap.
“Duke Lavaltor!”
Haverion’s eyes twinkled the moment she left the center of the battlefield to find Duke Lavaltor.
‘Now is the time.’
If it’s with the item in his pocket, he could escape with her.
Of course, he might be driven to suspicion, but it was better than facing her wrath.
‘It can’t be stopped once it’s activated anyway.’
Even if he managed to get away from this situation, he wouldn’t be held guilty.
All he had to do was return with the First Princess afterward and use his divine power as if to show his benevolence.
But it was then.
Boom! Boom!
A massive explosion swept him.
Haverion looked around in bewilderment.
It was inevitable.
‘There shouldn’t be any more bombs left, though?’
Mania was an effect created by his divine power and a certain substance.
Among them, turning humans into bombs was a power that could only be used by those with unwavering faith.
Most of those people were the first to explode.
Unless he ordered otherwise, there normally should not be any more human bombs left.
But that wasn’t the only baffling thing.
“Defend Kaistein!”
“No mercy for those who attacked Kaistein!”
Mysterious figures suddenly appeared.
The thing was, each of them was a great individual.
“The Guardian is here!”
“They are Duke Lavaltor’s Blue Wolf!”
They weren’t the only ones.
Even the Blood Lion Knights, who were supposed to protect only King Eloin, were mobilized.
“The enemies are berserkers. The only weak point is the neck.”
“But remember not to cut off the citizens. Restrain their limbs so they can no longer move.”
Haverion was so dumbstruck by their appearance that he forgot to run toward the First Princess.
‘What on earth happened? Why are they here?’
They showed up as if they knew this would happen.
Realizing that someone had caught on to the plan, Haverion furrowed his brow.
‘Forget about the First Princess. I need to get out of here quickly.’
If he got caught, everything would go awry.
As he reached into his pocket to use that item, a cold voice came from behind him.
“Stop there, Cardinal.”
Haverion jolted and quickly turned his back.
‘Duke Lavaltor!’
Without hesitation, he pressed the item in his pocket, but Duke Lavaltor was quicker.
“Where do you think you’re going!”
Thud!
The duke immediately overpowered Haverion, who was acting suspiciously, and knocked him down.
The item in his hand was flung straight to the ground.
Haverion raised his voice.
“What are you doing, Your Grace?! You have no right to treat me like this—”
“Shut up, you piece of trash.”
“Wh-what?”
Haverion was momentarily speechless after hearing Duke Lavaltor’s harsh tone.
Never once did he imagine that that inflexible nobleman would utter such a foul swearing.
But his thoughts didn’t last long.
Duke Lavaltor dragged him away with rough handling.
“Prince, I have brought the main culprit who laid hands on the royal family member.”
He was brought before Ian, who was receiving treatment surrounded by everyone.
But what awaited him was not a warm reception.
“I heard that the moment you became a cardinal, you forfeited the authority of the Kaistein royal family. Therefore, there is no escape from the grave crime of the assassination of the royal family.”
“!”
Haverion opened his mouth to say something, but Ian was faster.
“Haverion Kaistein. I will punish you for tarnishing the name of Kaistein.”
At Ian’s command, Duke Lavaltor raised his sword.
Author's Thoughts
Happy New Year, everyone! ??????
We've made it almost two years thanks to your continuous love and support.
Many things happened, but we, like you, kept going.
Cheers to health, happiness, and prosperity in 2024!????
P.S. I apologize to everyone. New year, new price. Need to make a living.
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