Chapter 193: The Southern Continent
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 193: The Southern Continent
If she had known I had a status window, Ophelia would never have dared to challenge me with force. This meant that the king she had known in the past did not possess such an ability.
‘When I first drew my sword, I was tense, thinking she might possess a power even greater than that.’
But judging by the bewildered look on her face, that didn't seem to be the case.
“Keuk…”
Barely managing to pull herself up against the wall, she bent over and coughed up blood. The bright red color suggested internal injuries.
“Stop playing hurt and get up.”
Against a normal opponent, I would have thought I’d seized victory, but this was the immortal witch. Her damaged organs were likely already back to normal, as if nothing had ever happened.
Ophelia grimaced as she slowly composed herself.
“Child, just because I’m an immortal witch doesn’t mean I don’t feel pain.”
“Good. That gives me the motivation to hit you.”
“Hmph, this king is truly a mystery. To be so hostile when a witch comes bearing a white flag, and to possess such an incomprehensible ability…”
“That’s enough stalling. You should be fully recovered by now.”
“You insolent brat.”
Her face twisting further, Ophelia kicked off the floor and lunged at me in a single motion. Her movements were as light as a feather.
I reflexively swung my sword down. The powerful gust of wind alone would have made most people lose their will to advance, but Ophelia was different.
“Hah-!”
Instead, she dodged diagonally outward, using the flat of her Damascus blade to push my sword away.
Of course, due to the difference in our strength, my sword’s path was only slightly altered, but that was enough to change its destination from Ophelia’s chest to the space over her shoulder.
But she wasn’t finished.
The Damascus blade that had deflected my sword flowed like water behind her head and once again aimed for my neck. It was a perfect union of offense and defense.
“You think I’d fall for the same trick twice?”
The only saving grace was that the attack path was identical to the last one.
Crack.
I used my monstrous strength to forcibly wrench my sword back. At the same time, I twisted my body and stepped back diagonally, matching her movement. The hilt of my sword naturally came up before my face like a shield.
Clang.
The Damascus blade struck the crossguard, sending sparks flying.
“So you’re not just all brawn!”
Ophelia pulled her elbow far back to retrieve her Damascus blade and immediately transitioned into a thrust. The pointed tip of the curved sword aimed for my abdomen.
I took another step back to buy time, and in that opening, I swung my sword up, aiming for Ophelia’s arm.
My intent was only half successful. I managed to cut off her arm, but it was her other arm, not the one holding the sword.
She had sacrificed an arm to buy time. The arm holding the sword was still aimed at my abdomen.
Fortunately, she hadn't completely absorbed the shock from my strength, so the blade’s trajectory was slightly off.
“Ugh…”
A gash opened in my side. Thankfully, my organs weren't damaged, but the wound was large.
“Allen-!”
Hearing my wives’ screams, I shot my leg out.
Aware of my immense strength, Ophelia didn’t take the kick lightly and quickly threw herself backward. Blood streamed from her severed arm.
But it was too early to celebrate. As if time were rapidly rewinding, the blood she had shed flowed back into her arm, and in the blink of an eye, the limb was reattached.
She wiggled her fingers to confirm it was perfectly healed and gave me a soft smile.
“Child, I can never be defeated.”
Her swordsmanship was clearly superior to Andrei’s. In particular, that do-or-die move where she used her immortal body as a sacrifice was enough to send a chill down my spine.
However, she didn't possess superhuman strength like Alex, whom I had fought before. Her skill was merely the result of training for a length of time impossible for an ordinary person.
In other words, she was just human. If so, this was a fight I could win.
“Never losing is meaningless. What matters is whether or not you can win.”
Slower than Ophelia’s, but the wound on my side was also healing quickly.
Furthermore, Aenya, having seen me get injured, had quietly slipped out of the room. She had undoubtedly gone to call for help.
Shing.
“I’ll help!”
Piole, who had been watching, tore the bottom of her dress, drew her sword, and joined in.
Her joining us would be a great help, as her pure swordsmanship was superior to mine.
Piole naturally took up a position behind Ophelia. Having watched my duel, she had taken on a supporting role, a sign that she had accurately judged both her opponent’s level and her own.
Ophelia seemed to have gauged Piole’s skill from the way she held her sword. With a troubled look, she spoke.
“Two young people ganging up on an old woman isn’t a very pleasant sight…”
“Shut it, lady!”
“L-Lady…?”
All traces of her composure vanished, replaced by a terrifying glare. Yet even facing that glare head-on, Piole’s spirit didn’t waver.
“What? You don’t like it? Should I call you grandma instead?”
“They say married couples grow to resemble each other. You two are a matched set of insolence!”
“Yep, thanks for the compliment.”
Piole was actually pleased at being told she was like me.
Dumbfounded, Ophelia let out a hollow laugh. Then, with a deep sigh, she let go of her sword.
The Damascus blade, with no force behind it, slid into the stone floor as if it were tofu. Ophelia raised both hands, making it clear she had no intention of attacking.
This time, it was Piole who frowned.
“What are you doing?”
“Can’t you tell? I surrender.”
“I mean, there has to be a reason you’re surrendering! What trick are you trying to pull now…!”
Ophelia put on an aggrieved expression, but it had no effect on Piole.
She turned her gaze to me as if asking for help, but I, too, kept my sword pointed at her.
“Hah… I wouldn’t fight for real when I know it’s pointless, would I?”
“If you really thought that, you wouldn’t have started in the first place.”
Ophelia flinched, then gave a bashful smile.
I guess I’m still a man. Even knowing she was hundreds of years old, I found her cute. As expected, being pretty was the best.
“I thought I might be able to escape.”
“And you’ve changed your mind now?”
“Fate has a rebellious streak; the more you resist, the stronger it acts. Your abnormal ability must be a consequence of Vivian twisting fate. Perhaps it’s fate’s design to prevent me from escaping. There’s nothing to be gained by resisting further. I’ll only incur your wrath.”
Ophelia sounded like a fanatic who worshipped a god named Fate. To me, it seemed she had bound herself with the shackles of that name.
“I think you’ve already incurred plenty of my wrath…”
As I took another step forward, she took a step back, leaving her Damascus blade behind.
Her attitude didn’t change even when I retrieved the blade. Instead, she knelt and bowed her head.
“I can only hope for the king’s mercy.”
Piole, who had charged in with great vigor only to not even swing her sword once, approached with a sour look on her face.
“What are you going to do?”
“I don’t know…”
She was such an unpredictable person that I couldn’t feel at ease even if I took her prisoner. And it wasn’t like I had a way to kill her, either.
As I continued to ponder, Aenya returned with Andrei at her side.
“Hmm…? Looks like my help wasn’t needed after all.”
“Hmph, you’re way too late, you know?”
Piole expertly led Andrei out of the room.
In the meantime, Aenya, having grasped the situation, stood beside me and looked down at Ophelia. Then she brought up an important point I had almost forgotten.
“If you’re truly surrendering, then you can tell us how to undo the seal on his reproductive ability, right?”
Ophelia raised her head.
“Of course, child. But my old bones are finding it a bit difficult to sit on this hard floor for so long. If we could go back to the table…”
“Not a chance.”
Aenya cut her off flatly.
Ophelia couldn’t even complain. Because she had injured me, the other women were glaring daggers at her.
Sighing once more, she began to speak.
“The method I told you about is an ancient spell. A mystery that existed even before the old gods descended upon this land.”
“Could you just get to the point?”
“…The cleanest method is to kill the caster. That’s usually how you undo an ancient spell.”
Aenya glanced at me. It probably wasn’t because she was thinking of Vivian. When Vivian had run away, Aenya was just a child who hadn’t even come of age.
It meant there had been far too little time for affection to form between parent and child.
She was probably worried about me. She might have remembered how I had wavered slightly at my father’s funeral.
“So you’re saying there’s another way.”
Ophelia gave me a look that said, I knew you’d say that.
“Ancient spells always work both ways. If you wish for the target to suffer, the caster must also endure the same pain.”
“I don’t know what you mean.”
Now that she had a moment to breathe, Ophelia was starting to ramble again. When I scowled at her, she quickly continued.
“By sealing your reproductive ability, her own was also sealed. In other words, if you were to bed her and get her with child, the seal would be broken.”
The atmosphere instantly grew several degrees colder.
“Brother. Let’s just kill her.”
The Aenya who had been worried about me was gone. In her place was a woman burning with jealousy.
“Aenya.”
“I don’t like it. Why should the woman who tried to kill you be the first to carry your child?”
The other women chimed in, adding a word or two in agreement. It seemed they all felt the same way.
I decided to take a step back for now.
“So in the end, we have to capture Vivian.”
“She will be on the Southern Continent. If she had come to the Eastern Continent, I would have known.”
I had suspected as much, but I couldn’t help but frown. Things would get quite troublesome if Vivian managed to win over the two witches of the Southern Continent.
Of course, it wasn’t as if I didn’t have a plan in mind.
‘But before that, I need to decide Ophelia’s fate.’
The grand picture of using her as bait to lure an invasion from the Eastern Continent and then counterattacking didn’t need to change. What I was contemplating was the treatment of this woman who had ‘surrendered.’
“What should I do with an untrustworthy woman who could bolt at any moment?”
Ophelia tilted her head.
“Will you not take me?”
“Hmph! Who does this lady think she’s eyeing! You should be begging for forgiveness, yet you dare draw your sword against him!”
Aenya snorted. I shrugged as well.
“I’m not a man who’s crazy for women.”
The other women stared at me with incredulous expressions, but I shamelessly ignored them.
Ophelia, who had been tilting her head, soon let out a small gasp.
“Is this also a consequence of fate being twisted?”
According to her, just as witches were drawn to the king, the king was fated to be drawn to witches.
I could feel that pull, but it wasn’t an irresistible magic.
Ophelia smiled at my words.
“You won’t be able to avoid it forever. Because that is fate.”
“Grandma, isn’t it about time you made your exit?”
“You, you insolent…!”
Even the patience she had built up over hundreds of years couldn’t withstand being called grandma.
Aenya didn’t back down, glaring right back at Ophelia. In the end, I had to step in and separate the two.
“For now, she’ll be confined to the room at the top of the spire. Of course, she’ll be restrained so she can’t leave the room.”
“A merciful sentence. I thought you would restrain me so I couldn’t move, eat, or sleep.”
“I would have, had you resisted to the end.”
Having roughly dealt with Ophelia, I turned my thoughts to what to do about Vivian.
“Whatever we do, we have to catch her as soon as possible.”
Everyone agreed with Aenya. Not only to regain my reproductive ability, but because there was no telling how Vivian might interfere if given more time.
“I feel the same way.”
Still, hadn’t she shown a speck of love before she ran away? I was very curious to know if that love still remained.
“What will you do about the Eastern Continent?”
“It’s a bit early, but we’ll have to form the Supreme Advisory Council that will decide the fate of the empire. This council will also decide the next emperor.”
No one could hide their surprised expressions. Eleanor asked urgently.
“Does that mean… you intend to elect the emperor? Like how those city-states elect their mayors?”
I nodded.
“The right to vote will be held by my descendants from the five families here, and the Pope.”
I included the Pope for the image of the Holy Empire and for Cynthia, who had no family.
Her son, as the first head of the new holy family that would hold a monopoly on the papacy, would exercise his rights on the Supreme Advisory Council.
“It won’t end with just six families, will it?”
At Aenya’s words, the women’s eyes all turned to me.
“That’s right. The number could grow.”
It meant that the number of concubines could increase. The women glared as if to say, I knew it. But only for a moment, before they began sizing each other up.
Though they had no children yet, in a society that revolved around families, they all had a keen interest in the property and titles that would be inherited.
They would become even more sensitive about it once they had children. So it was the right decision to settle this matter now.
Of course, there was someone with a more immediate interest.
“Wait, I have an announcement to make first.”
“An announcement…?”
At her choice of words, which brooked no argument, the women’s gazes gathered on Aenya. Unfazed, Aenya declared proudly.
“I’m the only one who didn’t get a proper wedding ceremony, right? I deserve to be compensated for that.”
The women, who felt sorry about that, quieted down for a moment. But only until Aenya revealed what that compensation was.
“I will be the one to have the first child.”
The look in the women’s eyes changed completely.
Sensing the ominous atmosphere, I silently slipped out of the room.
Soon, a fierce argument erupted from beyond the closed door. The intensity was nothing to scoff at.
Putting more distance between us, I thought to myself that I should probably give more consideration to the idea of adding more women.