Chapter 201
Chapter 201
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 201
Chapter Title: The Emperor Mage
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“…Mother?”
Philia had collapsed in a daze. Her hair was matted to her cheeks with sweat and tears, and her palms were soaked in blood.
Nersarn, who had followed behind her, rushed over in alarm.
“Philia!”
It hadn’t taken the warriors long to spot the intruder and subdue her. What on earth had happened in that short time?
Philia looked up at Ian, tears streaming down her face. She knew it wasn’t her fault, but she was terrified of what this might mean for Ian.
“Ian, I—”
“Are you all right?”
Ian knelt on one knee before her. Upon closer inspection, her lip was split open. Either Gail or Arsen—one of them—had struck her cheek.
Noticing this, Nersarn didn’t bother hiding his murderous aura. His clenched jaw jutted out even more sharply, veins bulging at his temples. He glared at the two princes as he rose to his feet. She was his wildflower lover, so fragile she might scatter in the slightest breeze—how dare anyone lay a hand on her…
“Wait, just a moment.”
Philia grabbed Ian and Nersarn with both hands. The shock of what had just happened was so great that she hadn’t even felt the pain of her wound.
“I can’t understand it, but His Highness Arsen ordered me to scratch his face. Just like His Highness Jin’s wound.”
Nersarn scowled in unease, but Ian quickly scanned Arsen. It wasn’t an ordinary scratch. It was a mark proving he was the next emperor, wasn’t it? The boy was clutching the desk and slowly standing.
‘None.’
Fortunately, his face was clean. His earlobe was slightly torn from Gail’s attack just now, but his innocent features remained intact.
“Ah, I didn’t mean to, but my mind went white and I couldn’t resist. If I’d been even a little later… I don’t know. Ian. Ian, I’m sorry.”
Philia trembled violently as she clutched Ian’s arm. Her eyes burned with the desperate hope that this wouldn’t cause him any trouble.
“Don’t apologize. You did nothing wrong. And Mother—my mother’s son is the Magic Department Minister of the great Variel Empire. Even a prince can’t treat me lightly. Lift your head.”
My mind went white and I couldn’t resist. Ian mulled over Philia’s words as he stood.
He had assumed Arsen’s intrusion into Gail’s chambers was with an accomplice’s help. But her testimony made it sound as if Arsen had used some kind of power.
‘Arsen was already inside the room. You can’t enter the chambers without passing the guards.’
Slap!
At that moment, a sharp smack cut through the air, halting Ian’s thoughts. Gail had struck Arsen’s cheek. The boy, who had barely managed to stand, tumbled backward again.
“Gasp! Y-Your Highness!”
“Prince Gail! No, you mustn’t!”
The guards, unable to stand by any longer, rushed forward in shock, but Gail ignored them and grabbed Arsen’s hair. A criminal’s status? What did that matter?
Crunch.
“I always thought you were arrogant and reckless, but at least you knew your place. Now I see that’s not true either. Your insides are rotting with filth, overflowing like sewage.”
“Your Highness! Let him go!”
“Last warning! You can’t do this!”
“Please stop! I beg you!”
Arsen’s body shook under Gail’s rough grip. The guards had no choice but to draw their swords and shout. Regardless of who was right, Arsen was the closest to the next successor. They couldn’t let a rebel like Gail strike him.
With his hair gripped, Arsen giggled and rolled his eyes.
“You should know your place, Brother. You’ve lived your whole life in Marib’s shadow! And you’ll die soon without ever escaping it! Who are you to lecture me!”
Slap!
Clang!
Gail slapped him again, and the guards thrust their swords forward. That was it. Gail released Arsen’s hair and slumped onto the bed. The sudden movement sent pain shooting through his neck and lower back.
“Heh, heh heh…”
“Y-Your Highness, are you all right?”
“Call a doctor! Get the doctor!”
Gail rummaged through the desk for a mana cigarette, and one of the warriors approached to hand him a gurut leaf roll. What he needed right now was a sedative, but no one realized it. Arsen, blood smeared on his lips, let out a guttural scream.
“The kid’s lost it. If he becomes emperor, I’ll be the emperor’s grandpa.”
“Shut your mouth.”
“What’s the harm? They don’t understand Cheonryeo anyway.”
“Look at him. Head’s gone funny. Keeps grinning like an idiot.”
“That brat hit Lady Philia? Damn, I wanna crack his skull. Learned all the worst habits.”
The warriors muttered among themselves in Cheonryeo. The so-called princes of the mighty Variel Empire were all like this—honestly, it was disappointing.
Nersarn signaled them with a glance to hold back, but he didn’t stop them outright. He too was displeased by Philia’s injury.
“Prince Arsen.”
“……”
Ian waved away the mana cigarette smoke and approached Arsen. The boy blinked up at him, staring blankly.
“Did you strike my mother?”
“Yeah. The lowly wench talked back, so I did.”
So what? Arsen grinned, but Ian’s gaze was ice-cold. He had seen the viciousness lurking behind that childlike innocence too many times.
‘Arsen has a power. Since he hasn’t revealed it until now, it’s not entirely to my benefit. But leaving him be will only cause trouble, so I’ll eliminate him.’
“No one stands alone in heaven and earth, Your Highness. You’ve made a mistake.”
Swish.
Ian turned to Gail. He was rolling a mana cigarette on the bed and exhaled smoke. Their eyes met. Ian twitched his left eyebrow ever so slightly—a signal.
“Ha.”
Gail let out a low chuckle. He instantly grasped what Ian wanted. Kill Arsen. Right here, you’re the only one who can do it cleanly.
“…Lord Ian. Didn’t you order no outsiders in my chambers?”
“I did.”
“There are those who live while I barely cling to life. As the one responsible for quelling the palace chaos, I need to eradicate all conspirators. Yet I have no idea how Arsen got in here.”
Gail deftly laid out his justification. They started it. He shifted the blame for the impending tragedy entirely onto Arsen.
Ian nodded along and dipped his head slightly.
“I wouldn’t know either.”
Clang!
Gail snatched a guard’s sword. The warriors whistled inwardly and watched, while the guards hesitated, backing away. His intent was clear.
“Arsen, even if you die here, no one will know why.”
Swish.
Gail aimed the sword. His condition was poor, but killing a child was child’s play. The blade tip trailed from the boy’s chin to his nape.
“Lord Ian.”
Gail suddenly called out to Ian and paused. He needed to confirm what killing Arsen would gain him.
What he needed most was a stay on the revocation of his imperial surname. He couldn’t stay in the palace, but surviving outside was key. Opportunities would come if he lived.
“Prince Gail Berosion, second prince. What is your command?”
Ian read his intent and addressed him fully by name. The man’s perceptiveness was annoyingly sharp. Gail smirked irritably and gripped the sword tighter.
Kill, and live.
To live, kill.
Swish.
“Lord Ian.”
It was then. Arsen lightly bit the blade with his fingertips. Blood welled from his index and middle fingers.
“A rebel is trying to kill me, the fourth prince—why aren’t you protecting me? I’m indispensable to Variel.”
“You, Your Highness?”
Ian feigned ignorance. Indispensable? Variel’s centuries of glory wouldn’t falter without him. If anything, the future with Jin would shine even brighter.
Zing. Ziiing.
“……!”
“……!”
Arsen sighed, and his blue eyes turned golden. Philia, Nersarn—even the lowly guards knew what that change meant.
“I will be the first mage emperor.”
Shock beyond astonishment.
Gail unwittingly staggered back. Nersarn’s arms tightened around Philia. No one understood how the situation had turned.
“So killing me is killing the Variel Empire. You know it, Ian—the boundless glory a single mage brings.”
He knew all too well. Hadn’t a frontier bastard like him risen this far solely because he was a mage? An imperial prince in the line of succession who was a mage? It was qualification enough for the throne, plain and simple.
A divine power surpassing all, just as Ian had in his past life.
Arsen giggled incessantly, bursting into laughter.
“You said I made a mistake, Lord Ian? I think you did. Standing with dull Jin instead of me. Tsk tsk.”
Everyone turned to Ian. Even Gail couldn’t hide his flustered expression. He’d known Arsen since birth, yet he’d never suspected mage talent.
“…An illusion?”
“Brother Gail, have you forgotten the imperial blessing? Mind control magic doesn’t work on me. If you try to kill me, then I’ll… Ack!”
Arsen, mid-sentence, coughed up blood. Clots poured out, soaking the floor in an instant. In agony, he widened his bloodshot eyes and screamed.
Click!
“Your Highness! Are you, urk! Are you all right?”
“Prince Arsen! Your Highness!”
Medical staff rushed in at the guards’ calls.
With Gail holding a sword and Arsen collapsed in a pool of blood, the unaware reinforcements pinned Gail to the bed.
Clang!
Gail’s sword clattered to the floor.
He swallowed a pained groan and stared blankly at the door through which Arsen was carried out. If Arsen was truly a mage, then no matter what he or Marib did, the throne was out of reach. What cruel joke was fate playing? Gail buried his face in the bed as the guards pressed him down.
“Lord Ian.”
Nersarn cautiously called to Ian. What now?
“…The first emperor mage.”
“Lord Ian?”
“Haha! Hahaha!”
Nersarn flinched. Ian was laughing. A genuine laugh from sheer absurdity.
“…This is insane.”
To dare claim that title before the true first emperor mage.
A few warriors peeked through the door crack and urgently asked.
“Should we chase him? If he gets out like that, it’ll really be trouble, right?”
Ian shook his head. If he was building the image of emperor mage, his close aides likely knew of this scenario. Any harm to Arsen would be Ian’s blunder. It was fortunate he hadn’t died by Gail’s hand.
‘The first mage from the imperial family. Neither adds up. History taught me. I was the first.’
Based on the history Ian knew, it was impossible. If what Arsen had just shown was mana in any sense…
‘It means he’s not imperial blood.’