Let There Be Light
※ This episode is a side story.
"Things have gotten complicated. You know that, right?"
"I have no face to show you..."
"And Hiasen and Josephine?"
"Both are lying in the infirmary."
They'd pursued without rest, day or night, and slain the demon Tenebreja before she could cross the border. No wonder they were celebrating—it was one of the toughest missions in imperial history.
But news that her daughter, Estasha, had been exposed to the outside world made Emperor Irogen's heart sink.
Of all people, it was Hiasen and Josephine who'd witnessed it. Hiasen was still young, so they could probably talk him around, but Josephine's loose tongue made a gag order pointless—something her father knew better than anyone.
"We'll do it by the book."
"Pardon...? Y-You mean... by the book?"
"Hang Tenebreja's corpse on a cross and hold a public burning at Acropolis Square."
"Then her daughter too, the same..."
"What are you talking about?"
Emperor Irogen's eyes flashed coldly. The terrified Valgo, head butler, felt a hand clap on his shoulder.
"Make Tenebreja's burning last a week, not three days. A mere demon dared touch a noble princess of Kaizen—she must pay accordingly."
"Y-Yes... As you command."
"And I'm deeply worried about Princess Estasha's health. Do everything in your power to ensure her swift recovery."
"Then... may I ask the name of the Fourth Princess?"
"A name. Yes, a name."
Emperor Irogen paused before answering.
"Estasha Latias de Kaizen."
If Tenebreja was shadow, then to her: let there be light.
The legitimate heirs to the Kaizen imperial throne were Emperor Irogen's own children. Crown Prince Jade and Second Princess Josephine, born to the empress, were prime examples. First Princess Angelina, backed by the powerful House Zacario, and Second Prince Feiran were no small contenders either.
By contrast, Third Prince Hiasen and Third Princess Niobe were young, and their mother from the lesser House Aria, so they were practically excluded from succession.
It was no stretch, then, to see the other siblings treating Hiasen and Niobe casually—it wasn't entirely detached from politics.
But no one knew that Emperor Irogen had another illegitimate child.
"She had the same golden hair as us."
Josephine's voice still trembled.
In Kaizen, golden hair didn't just mean imperial blood. It signified the emperor's direct descendants and current legitimate heirs. All imperial authority stemmed from the imperial seal, so even a biological child born before ascension had no claim.
Yet the girl on that cross, seen by Josephine and Hiasen, had their spitting image: beautiful golden hair and golden eyes.
Hiasen still hadn't recovered from the shock. It was like seeing a living corpse—beyond what a child's mind could grasp.
"Will we end up like that too?"
"What do you mean 'we'?"
Angelina shot back.
"I always thought Brother Jade becoming emperor was a given. But even if he does... will he protect us?"
What if he doesn't? Will we end up like her? The anxiety flooded in.
"What are you worrying about? Jade's your blood brother, at least. If anyone's got reason to worry, it's Hiasen."
Not that Jade was ruthless or anything. If anything, he was the studious type.
"Verstappen, are you outside?"
"Yes, Your Highness."
"Has Father said anything yet?"
"Nothing to me."
The emperor was holding his tongue, and the mood was tense. Normally dormant "dark stars" roamed the palace heart, putting nobles on edge. Another purge? Or something bigger?
Everyone awaited the emperor's word.
Soon after, Emperor Irogen's guard knight, Verstappen, brought word.
"Tomorrow at noon. A burning at Acropolis Square."
"A burning?"
"Yes. Seems the dark stars caught a high demon. Details unclear, but orders came to gather citizens—they'll expose the demon's atrocities."
"What? A demon?"
"Hiasen!"
Hiasen clutched his head and bolted up. Then the Yvone Palace incident was demon work too? The mere memory nauseated him, but he cared more about her safety.
"Is she okay? She didn't die?"
"I don't know that mu—"
She'd been on death's door when he saw her. Dislocated shoulder, gasping breaths. The flesh knitting over the spike was horrific.
Still, Hiasen demanded they bring her to him.
"Take me to her. Ask the head butler if you don't know where."
Hiasen had a hunch where she was. Him and Josephine waking in this ward meant the main one was full.
With Verstappen's approval from the head butler, Hiasen rushed to her ward. The lobby swarmed with countless doctors and priests, rotating shifts to heal her.
It was Hiasen's first time seeing someone so brutally near death. He could only pray quietly in the waiting room that the empire's best saved her.
Minutes, hours passed.
"Hiasen, here you are."
Crown Prince Jade's voice reached him amid it all.
"Brother?"
"I heard. His Majesty will come soon too."
"The demon, the princess... I still don't get what happened."
"You'll learn in time. No need to rush."
"Feiran didn't come?"
"He's rushing from the south. It'll take time."
As Jade said, the emperor's procession announced itself distantly.
Hiasen had mountains of questions: her identity, why a demon in the palace. But even as Jenis Palace's central ward gates swung open, the emperor lingered outside, conferring with aides.
Then Emperor Irogen left abruptly—unexpected even to Jade.
"Valgo, head butler!"
Clutching at straws, Hiasen called out. His voice nearly drowned, but Jade's help got him a private word.
"Feeling better?"
"That girl... what's her name?"
Hiasen cut straight to it.
"You want the patient's name. It's Estasha."
"That's it?"
"Estasha Latias de Kaizen, Fourth Princess of the Kaizen Empire. I'm busy—excuse me."
Valgo turned curtly and left. As he departed the palace, he thought to himself.
The emperor's bastard was his shame. For the flawless Emperor Irogen, this choice puzzled even Valgo.
But every decision had reason—that was Irogen's stubborn way.
By acknowledging his shame, Irogen severed the bastard's link to the demon. Why spare her when he could kill? Valgo could only pity her fate as the emperor's outcast.
He, more than anyone, understood that pain.
"What...? What did you say?"
"I... uh..."
"Speak clearly, no trembling!!!"
"Co... con... contact with Lady Tenebreja's been... lost! Probably captured at the border... Aaaagh!"
The stone statue beside him exploded in an instant.
The demon couldn't even breathe properly. One wrong word, and his head would fly easier than a slaughterhouse pig.
How did it come to this...?
Tenebreja was the man's beloved youngest daughter. His rage crested into eerie calm—the demon's instincts screamed danger.
"I'll dispatch a strike team to retrieve her...!"
"Enough. You did your best."
"No! One more chance, please!"
The Demon King's finger twitched.
The one-horned demon glanced down. A thin red line etched his neck.
The world tilted. His ugly corpse toppled without a final scream.
"I'll go myself."