Chapter 75

When Yuwon, who had commissioned the request, returned to the Imperial Palace, Rohan was left alone again in the small hut.

“Who would’ve thought that, in all my years, I’d get to forge a blade using the fang of a monstrous beast… Hah, it felt worthwhile to have survived this long.”

With scales like these, one could only imagine the hardness of the beast’s teeth.

For the first time in a very long while, creative passion welled up inside the old blacksmith.

Rohan burned with an eagerness so intense it felt as though he could melt iron simply with his will.

At that moment.

Knock, knock, knock—

The sound of knocking echoed again. It was not a sound Rohan often heard, especially in this remote hut he had purposefully built far below the mountain where few people ever passed.

‘…? Did he forget something?’

But the unexpected voice beyond the door answered his confusion.

“Brother. It’s me. Yulaios.”

“Well, I’ll be.”

Rohan immediately opened the hut’s door and welcomed Emperor Yulaios.

“Earlier it was your son, and now it’s you?”

No, from his tone, it did not sound entirely like a warm welcome.

“So the youngest child has already been here, I see.”

“You knew it all along yet you pretend otherwise.”

“Heh, even after decades, I still can’t match you, Brother.”

Rohan clicked his tongue at the Emperor’s glib reply.

“tsk tsk, lying without even wetting your lips… Your son, at least, came without flaunting ‘I’m a Prince’, but you—you practically wrote ‘I’m the Emperor’ on your forehead. You really have no sense. Come in quickly. I have no desire to change my name and move again if someone happens to see you.”

“Then I won’t decline.”

Soon, the two sat side by side at the small table inside the hut. It was an image that did not suit such a humble dwelling.

Still, as a guest had come, Rohan busied himself preparing tea for the Emperor, though he spoke curtly as ever.

“Why are you here.”

“Well… it felt wrong to send only the child. And… I thought I’d pay you a visit since it has been a while.”

Right before him on the table lay the beast’s scale and molar, boldly displayed. They immediately caught the Emperor’s eye.

“Are those the materials the child left with the request?”

“Yes. He brought something truly interesting. In my seventy years I’ve never seen anything like it. He said it came from the Southern Great Jungle. Seems like there are still many fascinating things hidden there.”

“…Hm. The child did return from the South this time.”

Clack—

Rohan placed the teacup on the table, already crowded by the scale and fang.

“Tea brewed by you, Brother… It brings back memories. Though… did you wash this?”

“Just drink it. Your child put his lips on it, so what’s the problem.”

The Emperor accepted the cup without complaint. Rohan, also holding a cup, pulled a chair over and sat across from him.

“Stop with the useless chatter and tell me why you’re here. You didn’t come to covet the materials your child brought. And you certainly didn’t come just to reminisce with me.”

“It’s about the child you saw today.”

“Mm.”

“What do you think of him?”

“He’s properly polite, spirited, and though he looks pale, he has considerable resolve. He resembles you exactly when you were young. No—truthfully, at that age, he’s far better than you were.”

At Rohan’s answer, the Emperor smiled—a genuine, unguarded smile he had never shown anyone. It was not the Emperor’s smile, but Yulaios’s.

“That’s not what I meant to ask.”

“Could it be…?”

At Rohan’s startled look, Emperor Yulaios quietly nodded.

“Yes. I’m speaking of who will come after me.”

“Hm… Is it already time for that….”

“Brother, you are now in your seventies. As Emperor, I’ve lived in comfort and indulged in good things, so I’m still in usable condition… but age is catching up to me.”

“Don’t whine. For someone like me, sure—but someone who trained the sword to your level still has ten good years left.”

It wasn’t wrong. But the Emperor shook his head slowly.

“I refuse to end up as a toothless lion pushed aside. I want to hand the throne over while times are good, and spend my final years in peace.”

“You sure know what not to say in front of someone who really is at the end. You brat… But why. Why are you rushing this all of a sudden?”

“He threatened me.”

At the unbelievable words from the Emperor’s mouth, Rohan’s wrinkled eyes widened.

He looked even more shocked than when Yuwon had placed the subspace bag before him.

“W–who? Don’t tell me that boy from earlier?”

“Yes. He’s as unflinching before me as he is before you. He told me he’s now prepared to stain his hands with blood and that I should do what I believe is right. What else could that possibly mean?”

There was no need to spell it out. If his children were so precious, then he should secure the succession before Yuwon stained his own hands with blood.

“Oh dear… That boy, who does he take after… To threaten his father over the lives of his uncles… Hah, if something goes wrong with this request, this might finally be the end of my stubbornly long life. Hahaha.”

Rohan burst into hearty laughter, astonished that there existed someone besides him who dared speak so freely to the Emperor. But the laughter faded, and he asked with a serious face:

“And your thoughts? Are you certain?”

“The child started from the very bottom, and before I knew it, he had grown into a rival worthy of my first child. From what I’ve observed… even without my intervention, he’ll claim his rightful place within two years.”

“That rightful place being the throne… Very well. If you’re that certain, then you should pass it on. So Emperor Yulaios will soon say farewell.”

“Yes, most likely… it will be so soon.”

The iron-blooded Emperor who had slain all his siblings and ascended the throne smiled as though relieved.

The fragrance of the cheap, nameless tea tasted sweeter than any fine tea.

On the fourth day after the Subjugation Squad returned to the Capital, early in the evening—

A grand banquet was held in the Imperial Palace’s main hall to celebrate their return.

The neatly prepared dishes captivated the eyes and noses of the Houkijisu participants, and the Imperial Orchestra’s sweet performance melted their ears.

Beneath the starlight cast by the chandelier hanging from the tall ceiling, the attendees drank as lively conversations blossomed.

“The farewell gathering in the South had its own charm as well.”

“Yeah, rough but the starlight was beautiful. If only those guys hadn’t attacked that night, it would’ve been an even better evening….”

“Come on, it’s a good day. Let’s not dwell on that, friend. Let’s toast to our comrades who went ahead.”

“Right. Today is a good day. No reason to spoil the mood because of me. Let’s toast.”

Clink—

The light sound of glasses meeting faintly echoed.

Instead of separating by faction as they once had, the Houkijisu participants broke down their walls and gathered with the comrades who had shared hardships with them on the battlefield.

It was a completely different sight from the banquet that had opened the tournament.

Tonight, there were no talks of which Prince’s faction was which.

They simply shared drinks with like-minded friends and reminisced about the memories of the recent Subjugation Mission.

“Come to think of it, is His Highness the Fifth Prince not here yet?”

“He should arrive soon.”

Speak of the tiger—about ten minutes after the banquet began, Yuwon, Terrien, and Bernid entered the hall together.

“His Highness Yurion Aphahiel, the Fifth Prince, His Highness Bernid Aphahiel, the Third Prince, and Sir Terrien Calmodet are entering!”

At the clear announcement of their arrival, the Houkijisu participants already present turned their heads and welcomed Yuwon.

“Oh, His Highness has arrived.”

“You’ve finally come, Your Highness. I was worried you might not show up.”

“Welcome, Your Highness. I was waiting to offer you a drink myself.”

Those who once did not spare even a glance at Yuwon now greeted him with bright smiles. Yuwon returned their greetings with a friendly smile.

“Good to see you. You all look well—seems you’ve been resting comfortably.”

“Of course. Thanks to the Imperial Family’s generous hospitality, we rested very well. Has Your Highness been well?”

“Me? The same as always. I finally got to read quietly for the first time in a while.”

“Both scholarly and martial—how busy you must have been. Hearing that makes me ashamed of myself for having lazed about for days after arriving in the Capital.”

“Haha, after working that hard, it’s fine to relax a bit here. And this is what resting is for me.”

“Your words are appreciated, but how could I speak of my accomplishments before Your Highness? I’ll indulge only until today—starting tomorrow, I’ll return straight to training.”

“Good. I’ll cheer you on.”

One by one, people gathered around Yuwon. Laughter never ceased at his side. All those smiling had once been saved by Yuwon, learned the sword from him, and had been moved by his leadership.

As Yuwon drew the attention of all, the other Princes’ surroundings became desolate.

The Crown Prince, who originally had many followers, barely maintained his dignity, while the Second Prince did not attend the banquet at all.

The Fourth Prince Mariel’s side was nearly empty—almost as barren as Yuwon’s once had been—and it was pitiful to witness.

The Third Prince Bernid quietly remained near Yuwon, admiring all that he had accomplished.

‘A prodigy is a prodigy… In that short time, he made all of them his people.’

About an hour passed. As the banquet ripened around Yuwon in a warm and lively atmosphere, he stepped away for a moment.

“Keep talking amongst yourselves. I’ll step out briefly.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“Ah, then I’ll go with—!”

A clueless noble tried to follow Yuwon, but Terrien and the Third Prince stopped him.

Tap—

“Leave him be. Looks like he has something to do.”

Terrien grabbed his shoulder, and Bernid stopped him with words.

Naturally, Yuwon’s senses—far beyond the scope of any ordinary human—caught all of this.

Yuwon simply pretended not to notice and continued on his way.

‘They’ve become so capable even without me saying anything.’

A smile spread across Yuwon’s lips as he turned away.

The one Yuwon went to find was the Fourth Prince Mariel.

“Shall we step out for some air?”

“Sure. No reason to refuse. Let’s go.”

Yuwon and the Fourth Prince Mariel moved immediately, standing on a quiet balcony connected to the banquet hall. Though it was still midsummer, the night breeze of the Capital was far cooler than that of the South.

“This is the first time you’ve come to find me like this, youngest brother. You spent time with the other brothers often enough, didn’t you?”

“Since the older brothers came to me first, it felt too harsh to turn them away. By that logic, Brother, you’ve never sought me out first either, have you?”

“Haha, that’s true. I shouldn’t have brought it up—I’ve earned nothing for saying it.”

A brief exchange of empty pleasantries passed between them. Then the Fourth Prince spoke first of the real matter.

“It was a pleasant chat, but you wouldn’t have come all this way for trivial banter. Let’s get to the point. What is it, Yurion?”

Yuwon wiped the smile from his face and spoke directly.

“There were too many strange things during the subjugation mission. I wondered if only I found them strange—or if my brothers also thought the same—so I came to ask.”

“But why me in particular?”

The true reason was that Yuwon suspected the Fourth Prince, but he casually gave another excuse.

“Well, the First and Second Brothers are a bit difficult to approach. My relationship with those two is… not very good.”

“Haha, yes. They can be a bit prickly.”

“Exactly, right?”

“So, what is it that you found strange? Monster attacks have always happened in the South.”

“First, the timing was too perfect. And the number of monsters was far beyond what even the South could handle. Even Count Valaris said he’d never seen such a number in his entire life.”

“Hmm… True, we stayed in the South less than a month, yet fought two massive battles. Strange indeed. But perhaps it was coincidence? Unless someone could control monsters.”

At that moment, the Fourth Prince pretended to be startled and turned to Yuwon.

“That’s right! Those serpents… Could it be you, Yurion…?”

Yuwon gave a cold smile at his theatrical performance.

“If I had controlled monsters to attack the subjugation force, do you think the troops would have returned alive like this?”

“You speak frightening words so casually. Still, you fought at the very front—of course it wouldn’t have been you. I overstepped. My apologies.”

“Ah, and there is one more thing. Another oddity.”

“…?”

“As if they had been waiting for that very moment, some men immediately came after me amidst the chaos.”

“Oh… how could that be…!”

“They were quite skilled, too. They gave me a fair amount of trouble. But they were looser-tongued than I expected.”

Mariel held his breath at Yuwon’s meaningful words. In the short pause before Yuwon continued, the air between them chilled.

‘This brat—don’t tell me…!’

Then Yuwon spoke again.

“To summon monsters, cause innocent deaths, and use the chaos to target me… Why go that far, Brother?”

The question struck Mariel like a spike.

The gentle expression on his face twisted grotesquely.

As if something amused him greatly, he suddenly burst into laughter.

“Kukkk.”

Soon the laughter grew into a mad cackle.

“Khahaha! Yes, I did it. I summoned the monsters, and I sent the assassins after you. To think those idiots not only failed but even squealed everything before dying. I deceived people for years just as well as you did, but I guess I finally slipped. One who’s fooled others knows another, as they say! Khahaha!”

Mariel behaved like a completely different person.

The man standing before Yuwon was no longer the Saint of the Imperial Family.

There was no trace of sainthood in the gleaming madness filling his eyes.

Yuwon faintly smiled.

“So it was you, after all.”

At that single sentence, chills crawled down Mariel’s spine.

“W-what…?”

“Those men were tighter-lipped than I expected. So I tried lightly probing—and I can’t believe you confessed everything yourself. Is it really supposed to be this easy?”

The lizard had cut off its tail and fled, but Yuwon had seized its head in one move.

The game of pursuit ended with Yuwon’s victory.

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