MAE 05

Chapter 5…..     Revenge for the Curse

After the king vanished like scattered clouds, darkness lifted from the palace, and silence descended.

No one dared to move a finger.

Until now, the imperial army had only seen healing magic. That’s why they had underestimated witches. But this curse…

The strength of the magic was unimaginable, so overwhelming that even the emperor was left speechless at that moment.

“Cough!”

“Gah!”

With ominous coughing, the imperial soldiers began to collapse.

If their armor was corroded, how could their bodies remain intact?

Those with damaged skin survived, but those with injured internal organs died.

Among them…

“Your Majesty!”

“Your Majesty, the Crown Prince—!”

The Crown Prince convulsed, vomiting dark red blood.

“Prince!”

The emperor, staring in horror at his son’s hands, twisted grotesquely as if burned, shouted and ran to him.

Though he ran with unbelievable speed for a man of fifty, cradling the prince in his arms, there was nothing he could do.

“Crown Prince! Why are you like this! Gaus!”

“Gurgle… gurgle…”

Without leaving a final word, vomiting only blood, the Crown Prince’s life ended.

The cause of death…

“The Remegaton Empire’s line will end with you. The royal bloodline will be cut off, and Remegaton will never rise again!”

A curse.

The curse had come true.

The soldiers trembled in fear.

“…Return to the palace.”

“Your Majesty?”

“Withdraw immediately! We will return to the palace!”

He needed to confirm it.

Were his remaining children safe?

As his subordinates hastily prepared to retreat, the emperor glared fiercely at the princess.

The princess had collapsed to the floor, staring endlessly at the spot where her mother had vanished.

A ray of sunlight shone over her.

Like a myth.

Like a legend.

Again.

Again!

Half-mad from the death of his heir, the emperor immediately grabbed the back of the princess and lifted her up.

And the moment he met her eyes, the blood boiling within him cooled.

Her gaze, full of hatred and disgust, carried poison, yet being a child, she could not hide her fear.

Seeing that the princess’s coral-colored eyes—like King Elhart’s—were filled with terror calmed him and soothed his heart.

Yes.

There was nothing to fear.

She was only a witch.

She had only taken the Crown Prince’s life at the cost of her own.

All talk of cutting off the bloodline was mere bluff.

The emperor brought his face close to the princess’s.

“Your mother must have uttered that curse to protect you. That’s why I will take you as Empress even more. Even if the curse made me infertile, I will seek you every night.”

Watching her face turn pale by the second gave him a cruel sense of pleasure.

“Your foolish mother couldn’t even protect you. If she truly wanted to sacrifice her last life, she should have killed me instead.”

The emperor grinned, drawing her face closer as if to kiss her.

“I will take care of you thoroughly, Empress Euribe.”

The emperor’s plan had completely failed.

He had originally intended to parade the captured King Elhart before everyone during the triumphal ceremony and then execute him in the central square to declare that the war against witches was finally over.

Afterward, he had planned to have a son with Princess Euribe so that when the future Crown Prince ascended the throne, he could serve the new emperor as a magician.

It had been a perfect plan…

The Crown Prince was dead, and he could no longer have children.

There was no evidence, and he did not intend to see a doctor, but he instinctively knew he had become infertile.

As time passed, the emperor became angrier about his infertility than about his son’s death.

The emperor, infertile?

The emperor, who had wielded absolute power and held the throne unquestioned, now a “castrated” man?

How ridiculous that would seem to everyone!

Those weaklings who dared not speak a word before him would snicker behind his back.

“Anyone who speaks of the curse will be executed immediately! And erase the Estum Kingdom from maps and history books!”

He issued orders in haste, yet his rage remained.

In his fury, instead of the king who had died without even a body remaining, the emperor sacrificed the young princess who had just come of age.

He made her his empress.

In a secret marriage, instead of a groom’s vow, the emperor made another pledge.

“No matter how much we silence people, rumors will spread. I will be ridiculed.”

Throwing off his clothes in anger, he said:

“I swear by your mother’s curse.”

The emperor, now naked, approached Euribe with terrifying intensity.

Despite seeing her pale face, her eyes full of disgust and fear, and her trembling body, his face showed no trace of guilt or hesitation.

“I will hold you until my blood is conceived within you. The curse that was meant to protect you will instead throw you into hell. That is how I will avenge my son.”

From then on, the emperor sought her every night.

Whenever Euribe showed dislike or even the slightest shame, he scolded her, claiming she was sullying the sacred act of conception with impure thoughts.

Having given up—or rather, being forced to give up—Euribe wished only for a child to be conceived quickly. That way, she would no longer have to be with him.

But no child came, and over three years, Euribe slowly withered away.

“Your Majesty! The Empress has collapsed!”

“What?”

The emperor, who had been unaware after chasing the empress away and had fallen asleep as if fainting, gasped heavily and stood.

In his dream, someone had beaten him mercilessly, a nightmare from which he could not awaken.

Oddly, his buttocks felt sore as if actually struck…

“Prince Nugos found the Empress collapsed, vomiting.”

Frowning, the emperor rose, and the panicked chamberlain quickly explained the situation.

“The prince personally carried the Empress to the palace. The court physicians are now attending to her.”

“Have they determined the cause?”

“No results yet, but they suspect she may be pregnant.”

“Pregnant? That can’t—”

The emperor stopped himself just before speaking.

Officially, there was no curse. The emperor was healthy, and the empress could conceive at any time.

Even if he knew the truth, he had to go along with it.

“I must go. Also, have Marquis Pecori summoned to the palace.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

The emperor hurriedly rose, glanced at Vintera, and kissed her forehead.

“I’m sorry. But do not misunderstand. My relationship with the Empress is solely for producing an heir. You are the one I truly love.”

“I understand. Don’t worry about me, Your Majesty. Go.”

Vintera smiled gently.

Her expression carried a subtle sadness that made the emperor’s heart ache.

Yet he could not tell her the truth about the curse.

It was a matter tied to his masculinity.

“I will return soon.”

Determined to fulfill any wish upon his return, the emperor left the room.

Under the watchful eyes of the emperor, his chief secretary, and the second prince, the imperial physician carefully examined the empress.

People are truly fickle.

Though he knew it was impossible, watching the physician examine her gave the emperor’s heart a hopeful thrill.

If she was indeed pregnant, everything could be corrected.

His tarnished reputation from rumors of infertility. The unlucky curse that foretold the empire’s fall.

All would vanish as a nightmare from three years ago.

Moreover, if she bore a child inheriting the witch’s blood and magic, he could raise that child as the archmage to serve the new emperor.

If only… she was pregnant.

“Is she pregnant?”

The emperor asked repeatedly.

After several checks, the court physician quietly rose and bowed.

“Your Majesty, it appears she is not pregnant. She likely collapsed due to stress.”

The emperor’s face immediately turned cold.

“However…”

The physician hesitated, then added cautiously:

“Her Majesty is malnourished. A healthy body is necessary for conception, so more care is advised…”

“Hah!”

At the word malnourished, Nugos made a strange noise.

It sounded like a mix of mockery, frustration, and anger.

‘Why is he still here?’

The emperor glared sternly, but Nugos, ignoring him or oblivious, stood like a statue, staring only at the empress.