CHAPTER 169……………………………………..
His holy sword cut through the marble pillar. At first glance, it seemed untouched, but a few seconds later, the ceiling of the corridor slid to one side as if melting away.
“Your Highness, the Crown Prince! It’s dangerous!”
“…Even here?”
Killian’s cold voice brushed past the soldiers surrounding me.
The palace where he stayed had already lost all semblance of its structure.
He hadn’t cut down the soldiers directly, but every swing of his sword was accompanied by a deafening roar, as though eardrums would burst, and some part of the building would collapse.
“Step aside if you want to live.”
Boom!
This time was no exception; the corridor crumbled completely. The soldiers who had been standing there recoiled in panic, unable even to cry out.
Is he really human?
Completely overwhelmed by his formidable swordsmanship, I couldn’t even breathe loudly.
At this level of power, one might suspect a curse, yet they knew better.
“…Your Highness.”
Killian, standing with his sword amid the collapsed corridor, was no different from the war god they had revered. The solemnity of his presence made it hard to dismiss as mere cursed power. Only those who hadn’t seen it firsthand might call it a curse or gossip recklessly.
The captain of the guard swallowed hard and bowed.
“Your Highness, please consider our position…”
“Why should I?”
His eyes, cold as ice, narrowed with amusement.
“If you can’t even consider the position of my people, it’s meaningless.”
“Killian! Are you still like this?!”
“….”
The emperor, who had stormed into the palace, shouted from his palanquin. He hadn’t expected his son to remain calm, but he hadn’t imagined this level of chaos either.
He told himself he would endure, thinking of his household, but only just barely.
“Must it come to this?!”
“Let me tell you this. Even if you try to detain me, do you think it will mean anything?”
“What?”
The contempt dripping from Killian’s voice made the emperor flare up.
Yet the very act of leaving his sickbed to come here had been a huge strain on the emperor.
If his conflict with Killian continued, no one could say how many days he could endure.
“Is there no way? Will you let the royal family perish like this?!”
“If you refuse to relent, then I have only one method left.”
“What?”
“If my cursed blood is so needed, I shall return it all to you.”
“Killian!”
Killian pressed the sword to the emperor’s wrist without hesitation. The emperor went pale. He had thought he had endured everything so far, but now he instinctively realized Killian had reached his limit.
“How dare you do such a thing before your father!”
“Then what else should I do? Even if I cut down only one of these, the blame would fall upon my innocent wife and the living Fidelio—on someone obsessed with punishing them!”
Killian’s eyes burned with rage, an aura so intense that even the emperor, highest among men, faltered.
The emperor finally gestured to the head servant who had followed me.
“R-Retain him, Your Highness. I have confirmed the Crown Princess is not in the south at present.”
“What?”
Killian’s gaze turned piercing at the servant. Up until now, it had been anger, but from the moment Adel’s name was mentioned, the very air around him shifted.
“Tell me! Where is my wife right now?”
“W-Well… she went to another province to recuperate…”
“…Adel.”
Killian exhaled sharply, as if hearing something unbelievable.
Even knowing Adel had awakened while I had failed to protect her seat made my heart ache.
Now, in despair, he had become even more terrifying. He could now burn down the palace with a power beyond curses.
“My wife… truly went to recuperate?”
“Yes, Your Highness. The entire south is abuzz with news of the Crown Princess falling ill. So much so that Count Sergio, her father, had to temporarily halt his guild affairs to send her to recuperate; it caused quite a stir for a while.”
“….”
“Do you hear? Even if you go, your wife is not there. She left for recuperation, and it will take time for her to return.”
Unable to endure any longer, the emperor absorbed his son’s fury directed at the servant.
Yet Killian, lost in thought, remained still and silent.
“…My wife, truly…”
“Do you not understand even after hearing it? Many saw the procession themselves.”
“…She truly left obediently, as your father instructed.”
The focus of the conversation was somewhat off.
Killian frowned and shook his head in disbelief.
…That’s impossible.
Thinking of the fallen Adel still made his heart drop, yet she was not the type to abandon her duties.
She had always said the guild was her life. Even if her father urged her, she would not leave so easily.
What kind of person is my wife?
A woman more rational and precise than anyone else. If she had truly left the south, it must have been for something even more important than the guild—or even her life…
“…Impossible.”
“What are you doing? Didn’t you say you’d see your wife gradually? And with a body so weak, how will she adapt to the palace….”
“Your Majesty!”
Before the emperor could finish muttering his concern and disapproval, messengers arrived in the palace courtyard.
They knelt, and the emperor rose.
“What is it?”
Their aged faces were filled with urgency.
Only a war could have made palace messengers this pale and frantic—this was logic derived from experience, common sense.
“Can’t you speak quickly? Which country is it this time?”
“N-No, it’s not that….”
“Then a rebellion! Which family? Even lying incapacitated, they dared stir trouble in my absence! Who are these audacious men?”
The emperor’s voice boomed. Though on the verge of death, his wrath and authority were overwhelming.
“I struggled so much in selecting an heir! Who is it? Duke Everton? Or Marquis Revan?”
“No, Your Majesty. It is neither of them.”
“Then who is it? Who….”
“It is Count Sergio from the south.”
“……Who?”
The emperor’s face, a mix of shock and disbelief, was quite a sight.
What did I just hear? My ears are fine, yet…
“Who came?”
“Strictly speaking, it is not the count but his heir.”
“…The heir of the count?”
“If you do not recognize him, allow me to clarify: Agnes Sergio Setian.”
“Haa.”
Upon hearing the name, Killian raised a hand to shield his eyes—not with disbelief like the emperor, but something else entirely.
“…Adel.”
A faint smile hovered at his lips.
The terrifyingly fierce presence that had radiated from the palace over the past few days was nowhere to be seen.
Watching his son’s stark change, the emperor exhaled sharply.
“Impossible! The Crown Princess only recently left to recuperate! Where on earth….”
“She has nearly arrived at the palace. Even the Second Prince personally escorted her.”
“What? Aaron?”
“….”
“Even if the woman truly came, is that reason to make such a fuss? If the Crown Princess came, she could be admitted into the palace—why this reckless display?”
The source of fury shifted from Killian to the emperor.
He scolded the messengers, trembling and bowing their heads in fear.
“How dare you bring such things into the palace! You should show the Crown Princess the palace’s order and dignity! What a disgrace!”
“B-But…”
“What are you standing there for? I must tell you myself! Immediately send out the servants and attendants to greet the Crown Princess and prepare the palace! Carriages and horses—”
“It’s not horses! W-Well, not exactly, but… that is…”
“Not horses? Then what did she arrive on?”
“S-She rode a strange creature, long-nosed and massive, larger than a house! There were flashing lights all around, and people crowded in—we could not possibly manage it… In all my life, I have never seen such a magnificent procession…”
The messenger’s face reflected the shock of witnessing it firsthand.
The emperor, utterly baffled, furrowed his brows and stretched out an arm to punish them.
“Killian! These people must be mad! What on earth are they saying….”
“No, Your Majesty.”
Killian answered calmly, with firm conviction.
“…It is indeed my wife.”
