Chapter 13
Chapter: 13
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>Translator: penny
>Chapter: 013
>Chapter Title: The Princess Has Returned for Revenge (2)
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>Chief steward Louis startled as he entered the office. The Holy Emperor was sprawled haphazardly on the office sofa, hand pressed to his forehead.
It was a sight rarely seen from the young Holy Emperor.
Spotting the chessboard on one side of the table, Louis smirked knowingly.
"Now that I think about it, today was the day for the twin princess and prince's audience. Did you play chess again?"
Nate let out a groan.
"It's getting harder and harder to keep up with those two. Can't they just play simple games like normal kids?"
"Why not just let them win?"
"That's the problem—they sense it if I don't give it my all, like ghosts."
Fair enough. The twins were no ordinary bright children. The steward nodded.
"By the way, how's Amelia doing?"
Louis knew the Holy Emperor had been on edge lately about the situation in the Silver Rose Palace.
It had started two days ago in the morning, when the First Princess suddenly had a seizure and summoned the imperial physician. There had been a report that her health showed no particular issues.
"Her appetite has decreased, and she's been a bit depressed."
"I see."
"And I've heard she's visited the Pearl Palace twice."
"...That's unexpected."
The two children, who had seemed utterly unlikely to ever get close, were now visiting each other. It should have been welcome news, but it only proved that whatever was happening to Amelia wasn't just some simple change of heart.
Nate sat up on the sofa with a sigh.
"If only I could get a straight answer tomorrow during the audience about what's going on."
At that moment, the Holy Emperor couldn't even imagine the headache his beloved daughter was about to bring him.
* * *
Unwittingly, the life trajectory of one innocent girl had been upended entirely, and thanks to that, her father was destined to clutch the back of his neck and collapse.
But the culprit behind it all, Seongjin, was blissfully unaware as he headed to the training grounds with a pounding heart. His swordsmanship lessons with Masain, who had finally finished handing over his duties, were about to begin.
He felt a twinge of guilt toward his vice-captain, who had taken on all the knight captain's workload. But for a prince, getting one-on-one lessons all day with an enthusiastic sword instructor was an opportunity not easily obtained.
Eager to experience the mysterious power called aura as soon as possible, Seongjin was a bit impatient.
He circled the eerily empty training grounds, devoid of even the usual practicing senior knights, a couple of times before finishing his warm-up with his routine national exercises. Masain, who had been watching him closely, furrowed his brow.
"Your Highness, is it alright to proceed with the lesson like this? Is your body not uncomfortable anywhere?"
"Huh? I'm fine. Why?"
He had finally built up some muscle and could move properly now.
When Seongjin asked, puzzled, Masain pressed again.
"Are you certain you've fully recovered from the fever?"
"The physician said it's fine to exercise. Why? Is something wrong?"
"But why is your aura..."
Masain examined Seongjin's complexion carefully, then continued with a gravely serious expression.
"I thought it was because you had only just gotten out of bed last time. But even after recovering, I can't understand why Your Highness's aura activity is still so weak, like that of someone who's ill."
Aura was the foundational power of life, evenly spread throughout the world. Even non-accumulators drew in aura from outside, and a normal body would exhibit a baseline level of aura activity.
In frail or sick individuals, this activity weakened. Yet Moreth's body showed an abnormally low level, as if he were suffering from a severe illness.
"You can tell that? Aura isn't visible to the eye."
"Of course it's not visible. But once you're accustomed to sensing aura flow, you can detect the movement of surrounding aura and estimate the internal activity level."
Aura naturally sought to distribute evenly, like air or water. If one tried to hoard incoming aura without expelling it, the flow would accelerate to fill the gaps.
Thus, the more aura one used or accumulated, the more active the aura movement around them became.
Masain added that it was also a way to indirectly gauge another's realm.
"...Ah, now that you mention it!"
Something suddenly came to Seongjin's mind. It was a casual remark from Physician Ninnia during his last check-up.
-Your internal aura activity seems a bit weaker than average. If you put effort into aura cultivation, it should recover quickly.
When he relayed this to Masain, the knight tilted his head.
"The physician said that? Not many physicians can properly sense aura activity. Must be quite experienced."
"Yeah, Physician Ninnia didn't seem to think it was serious. She said I might just have a constitution dull to aura naturally. Maybe that's it?"
But Masain looked utterly shocked at Seongjin's follow-up words. He gasped, then stared at Seongjin's face with wide eyes.
What? Is it weird that I said I'm dull to aura?
Should I smash a plate over his head or something? As he pondered seriously, Masain spoke with a slightly pale face.
"The former Your Highness..."
He seemed unable to continue, lips moving silently for a while before swallowing dryly and clearing his throat.
"From what I know, before the illness, Your Highness's aura activity was no different from a normal person's."
"Really?"
"Yes, Your Highness. So if it's not a sequelae of the fever, then what could be the cause?"
Come to think of it, when he first opened his eyes in Moreth's body, it had felt unusually heavy. Maybe not just from being overweight.
Anyway, he felt fine now. No major issues with moving.
Seongjin rolled his shoulders casually.
"Maybe my body feels a bit hollow since I lost weight so suddenly. It'll be fine soon."
Masain looked somewhat unconvinced but nodded.
"Yes, the physician has a point. Once you start accumulating, aura activity will increase—that much is true. Even if there are lingering effects from the illness, it should recover quickly."
And with that, he began explaining meditation methods in detail. It was the first step toward true aura cultivation.
* * *
At that very moment, in the Holy Emperor's office, a massive bomb crafted by Seongjin the day before was in Amelia's hands, counting down.
"Hmm..."
In the heavy silence, Holy Emperor Nate let out a short groan.
It was audience time alone with his daughter. Normally, she could chatter for hours about gifts of flowers and jewelry, or the prince from the neighboring kingdom she adored. But today, her lips were sealed tight.
Gazing down at Amelia's beautiful rose-gold hair as she hung her head, he furrowed his brow slightly. What worries could be filling that little head?
Nate decided to untangle the knot step by step. First, he shared news sure to please her, hoping to lighten the mood.
"Amelia. About that second prince of Rohan you always talk about."
Confirming her flinch, he continued.
"He's sent a letter saying he'll visit soon. Apparently, he'll become crown prince in place of his sickly brother. Seems he's seeking formal investiture to solidify his position."
Rohan's Leonard.
The flashy pretty boy his daughter had been mooning over since last year.
He begrudged delivering news of that insolent brat personally, but parents couldn't win against their children. If she liked him, what more could he say?
Yet her reaction was completely unexpected. Amelia snapped her head up, and gem-like tears began spilling from her large gray eyes.
"Father, Your Majesty, I don't want to see that man Leonard! That cruel wretch will become the root of evil that harms me, Moreth, and Delcross!"
Nate froze at his daughter's sudden outburst.
Then the bomb dropped.
"Father, Your Majesty... I have returned from death to the past!"
It was a bolt from the blue.
What followed was a torrent of grievances from Amelia, shaking the office like a storm.
In summary: The damned Leonard had seduced his beloved daughter, openly kept concubines to deceive and torment her, soon escalating to physical and mental abuse. Not content, he imprisoned her in a cold tower for years and finally killed her before his eyes.
And she had returned to the past from that horrific death?
It was hard to believe.
"Ah! Your Majesty warned me from the start, yet this foolish daughter ruined everything!"
"......"
Nate could only stare blankly as his now-sobbing daughter poured it out.
He had much to say, but couldn't bring himself to ask anything. Her voice, spilling like vomit, was too raw and desperate.
"Last night, I agonized over it alone. Should I bear this secret by myself? How far could I change the future with my own power? I wrestled with it even coming here. But!"
"......"
"This is a conspiracy starting within the neighboring royal family. Events that will bring a massive war to the continent. If I don't consult the greatest monarch on the continent, my father Your Majesty, who else could I turn to?"
At least her claim of agonizing all night seemed true; dark circles shadowed Amelia's usually fresh face.
"...I know this all sounds utterly fantastical to Your Majesty. But every day was hell for me. I can't dismiss those vivid memories as daytime nightmares."
"Is that... so."
"Yes. Holy Emperor, Father. It was far too long a time until my return."
She swallowed her sobs tearfully for a moment, then lifted her head.
"So I will have my revenge. I will pursue him to the ends of hell. I will shatter all his hopes and utterly destroy him. I will forgive nothing that stands in my way!"
"......"
"Only his flesh will sate my hunger, and his blood quench my thirst."
Fu fu fu fu fu.
His daughter, who had seemed like a single rose petal, laughed eerily while speaking such terrifying words.
Nate blinked in bewilderment. Had he misunderstood this child all along?
Suppose, just suppose, everything Amelia said was true. Would this delicate girl calmly harbor a dagger of malice toward another in her heart?
She hadn't held even a grudge against the frontier count who had neglected her in childhood. How could a person's entire personality change in a single day?
As he stared into his daughter's unfamiliar, venomous eyes, chief steward Louis, who had been watching cautiously from the side, whispered a hint.
"It seems like... associating with Prince Moreth lately has influenced her a bit..."
"......"
Yes, Moreth.
Nate sighed softly.
Lately, that child was always at the center of every twisted connection.
"...Amelia."
The Holy Emperor didn't rashly say he believed her.
Nor did he comfort her that it was merely a nightmare and not reality.
He simply asked this.
"It must have been an incredibly long and painful time for you. So shouldn't you seek compensation now?"
"......"
"If I intervene, Leonard won't become king. You won't go to Rohan, and you can find another happiness here in Delcross. Why throw away this hard-won time on revenge?"
But Amelia shook her head firmly.
"I've realized my happiness can never be separate from revenge, Your Majesty."
A fierce blue glint burned in the eyes of his once pure and delicate daughter.
The Holy Emperor realized: This couldn't be stopped.
In the end, he could only ask in a hushed voice.
"Do you... have a specific plan?"
If it was inevitable, as a father, he would pour out advice without reservation.
"Shouldn't we figure out why he went through the trouble of imprisoning you after taking the throne? To gauge the power dynamics then, we need to investigate Rohan's current situation..."
"I can't fathom how you could be so completely cut off from Delcross. There are many capable Delcross spies in Rohan. About that tower, do you remember..."
"Why did it have to be a holy war? To speculate on why he rallied a coalition under the pretext of a holy war instead of outright war with Rohan..."
"Daughter, Leonard isn't particularly outstanding in martial prowess. It doesn't add up that you'd be killed by his sword so easily. Starting tomorrow, swordsmanship lessons..."
Thus, their wholesome tea time with his daughter morphed into a sinister plotting session for the downfall of a neighboring royal.
After safely escorting Princess Amelia out, Louis entered the office and froze in shock. The Holy Emperor was slumped over the tea table, clutching the back of his neck.
It was undoubtedly the first time in years of service as chief steward that he had seen such a sight.
The Holy Emperor groaned softly.
"I'd rather play chess day and night for a week straight than this..."