Chapter 243
Chapter 243
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 243
Chapter Title: Hand Over the Seed
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Black Hood—a skill that could steal anything, as long as the conditions were met.
Never in his wildest dreams had Krash imagined using it on the emperor. He raised his right hand.
"Then, may I have your permission to steal the White Stone Syndrome?"
"A polite thief, I see."
The emperor, Sirius Epania, chuckled lightly and nodded.
"Granted."
The moment permission was given, a light began to burst from Krash's grasp.
Everyone watched the scene with tense expressions.
With the erupting light, something seeped into Krash's hand along his arm.
At the same time, Krash sensed the presence of the White Stone Syndrome taking root inside his body.
And with that, Ignis ignited within him.
Ignis began to heat the White Stone Syndrome.
The White Stone Syndrome embedded inside resembled an egg.
And Krash knew exactly why it took the form of an egg.
The reason the imperial family suffered from the hereditary White Stone Syndrome.
The explanation was simple.
It traced back to their ancestors.
The Epania imperial family often claimed they were the bloodline of the White Dragon, wielding the power of the White Dragon.
It was a tale to cloak the family in mystique, and while the secret arts they wielded were indeed passed down through generations,
the truth was different.
'The Epania imperial family truly is the bloodline of the White Dragon.'
Their progenitor was the White Dragon King.
He was a Dragon King from a world like Crimson Garden.
In other words,
the Epania imperial family
were descendants of World Eroders.
It was a story passed down only within the imperial family, as records from that distant past had all but vanished.
Thus, the imperial family flaunted their "White Dragon bloodline" to play up the mysticism.
As a result, people dismissed it as a joke and thought the family overly shrouded in mystery.
By proclaiming it openly, they avoided real suspicion.
World Eroders were enemies of the world.
The fact that the empire's imperial family descended from them was a secret that could never be revealed.
Naturally, they hid it, and had concealed the White Stone Syndrome as best they could.
They desperately wanted to eradicate the disease.
If they could eliminate it, the label of being World Erode descendants would vanish entirely.
'White Stone Syndrome is proof they are the White Dragon King's descendants.'
White Stone Syndrome.
It was the White Dragon King's horrific greed left to his progeny.
The Dragon Kings feared death to an unnatural degree.
They craved eternal life and meddled with things they shouldn't have.
A prime example was Crimson Garden's immortality.
She had fallen into eternal slumber in exchange, viewing the world through her kin.
The White Dragon King was no different.
To achieve eternal life, he embedded eggs containing his soul into his descendants' bodies.
However, the White Dragon King had no desire to be reborn in a weak body.
He wanted a body like his own—a Dragon King's.
So, while implanting the egg with his soul, he added one more measure.
It was to remodel the matured descendant's body into that of a Dragon King.
The symptom of the body turning white internally was none other than the process of the body being transformed into a Dragon King's.
But most descendants couldn't endure the process.
They died repeatedly from the White Stone Syndrome first.
'But if a descendant survives all the symptoms...'
The egg inside would hatch, and the White Dragon King would be reborn in the Dragon King body.
That was the White Dragon King's chosen path to immortality.
He sought to seize his descendants' bodies and live on undying.
White Stone Syndrome was precisely that dream of the White Dragon King.
'All descendants inheriting the White Dragon King's bloodline inevitably carry the egg inside them.'
Unless the White Dragon King was reborn,
his soul would continue passing to the next generation, and the next.
Krash had learned this fact after the empire's fall, while treating Sigrin.
Thus, he called White Stone Syndrome a curse.
And now,
the White Dragon King's egg had taken root inside Krash's body.
The moment it detected a new body, the egg began unleashing the White Dragon's power to claim it.
But it didn't realize how foolish that was.
Ignis blazing inside Krash began burning away the White Dragon's power.
No matter the form, its foundation was ultimately the power of World Erosion.
Before the purifying flames of Ignis, the White Dragon's power could do nothing.
The burned-away White Dragon power rapidly seeped into Krash's body.
The egg, lacking will, continued spewing White Dragon power wildly, unaware it was all combusting and becoming Krash's strength.
A slow smile crept across Krash's lips.
Not a single person here understood the meaning behind handing him the White Stone Syndrome.
"How is it, Your Majesty?"
So everyone assumed his smile meant the treatment had succeeded.
"......The pain is starting to subside."
Sirius examined his own condition, his face filled with surprise.
Then, the head butler standing by approached him.
"Your Majesty, may I perform an examination?"
"Please do."
The head butler, versed in medicine as well, quickly began checking Sirius.
And soon, even he couldn't hide his astonishment.
"It's truly gone. The White Stone Syndrome has been completely eradicated."
The expert had declared a full cure.
The moment this spread, the atmosphere in the room shifted instantly.
The way Sirius looked at Krash changed.
Reality was finally sinking in.
The disease that had tormented him and the imperial family their entire lives—White Stone Syndrome.
With it gone, he felt an unprecedented vitality.
"Ha, haha, hahahaha!"
Sirius burst into a hearty laugh for the first time in ages.
He rose and walked over, clapping Krash heavily on the shoulder.
"On behalf of the entire Epania imperial family, I thank you. As I said before, anything you request will be granted top priority."
The emperor owed a massive debt to a 15-year-old boy.
Failing to repay it would be deeply shameful for an emperor.
"Then, may I make one more request?"
"Haha, speak it."
"I ask that the reinstatement of House Diana be handled by the Fourth Princess."
Reinstating House Diana like this would mean it was all due to Sigrin's influence.
Then House Diana would fall entirely under her sway.
'You think I'd just hand that over?'
Sirius hoped Sizli wouldn't get dragged into the succession struggle unnecessarily.
So Krash chose this moment, when Sirius was in high spirits, to speak.
Sirius's expression grew subtly intrigued, and he leaned in slightly.
"Hmm, I did say anything, but I have a question. May I ask?"
"Of course, Your Majesty."
A smile formed in his eyes.
"Valheim boy, what exactly is your relationship with Sizli?"
The unexpected question hit Krash like a punch.
His eyes flickered, a bad premonition rising.
"......We're classmates from Raheln Academy."
Because those eyes mirrored the look he'd seen in the Poison King before.
The only difference was the glint of interest and greed in them.
"Classmates, huh. I see."
He crossed his arms, tapping them thoughtfully before smiling.
"In legends and tales since ancient times, heroes always save the world and claim the beauties, don't they?"
"That's just old stories."
"Haha, whether past or present, not much has changed. All men, deep down, crave beautiful women—it's universal."
True to form for an emperor.
This man was utterly shameless.
"Valheim boy, you're the youngest in your family, right? How about my youngest?"
Sirius's pumpkin-colored eyes flashed fiercely.
Facing them, Krash felt more pressure than when he'd unleashed the White Dragon's aura earlier.
Krash's gaze rolled toward Sizli.
She watched the scene with keen interest, as if it were someone else's affair.
This father-daughter duo...
"......I think of her as a good friend."
"She's no emperor's daughter in status alone—her lineage holds its own anywhere. And her looks take after mine, quite lovely."
Sirius unabashedly praised Sizli.
"Plus, with the boon to House Diana upon reinstatement, you'd have the central noble faction's pillar at your back.
Even without the throne, you wouldn't lag in the empire. Sizli's standing would soar even higher."
As he spoke, he subtly tightened his grip on Krash's shoulder.
"And thanks to you, my lifespan has increased dramatically. No need to hand the throne to my children anytime soon. I plan to live another fifty years."
"That's worth celebrating, Your Majesty."
"Indeed. A cause for celebration. And if I wish, it means I can skip the children and pass it to a grandchild."
Damn.
"She's of marriageable age. Marry now, have a child—let's see, by the time I'm eighty, the grandchild would be nearing thirty."
Sirius stroked his chin, smirking.
"If the talent's there, I'd have no issue passing the throne to a grandson."
Valheim's innate bloodline.
Combined with Sizli's intellect.
A new emperor with both would make Epania the supreme power.
Krash swallowed hard, swept up in the grand vision.
Sirius's reforms were always far-reaching.
And they focused entirely on strengthening the empire.
"I have a fiancée."
"I don't mind a man having multiple women."
Is everyone in high positions like this?
Their morals are shattered.
"But Sizli must be the principal wife."
Otherwise, he couldn't pass the throne to a grandson.
"Your Majesty."
Then Sizli, who had remained silent, spoke up.
As Sirius turned to her, she smiled—just like him—and said,
"Pushing things too suddenly won't work out, even if it could. I'll handle talks with Krash. For now, after such a long journey, let him rest—he came to see you first, after all."
It was bold for anyone but a princess, yet undeniably reasonable.
Sirius looked at Sizli, then released Krash's shoulder.
"True enough. I got carried away."
Instead, he patted Krash's shoulder and turned to Dalpiron.
"Dalpiron, show the Valheim boy to a room for rest. He's an honored guest—escort him safely."
"Yes, Your Majesty. We'll take our leave."
Dalpiron bowed and led Krash out.
As Krash departed, Sirius watched his back with a smile until the end.
As if saying they'd meet again soon enough.
......Perhaps he'd stepped into something he shouldn't have.