Chapter 236
Chapter 236
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 236
Chapter Title: That as Glory
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“Prince Gail. Have you eaten all of it?”
Philia muttered in dismay. The meal had been prepared with utmost care by the imperial chef since dawn, yet its owner had refused it without so much as lifting a finger.
From the looks of it, he hadn’t even picked up the knife and fork. She could already picture the doctor flying into a rage, saying he couldn’t administer the medicine.
“Yeah.”
Oblivious or perhaps uncaring of the anxious gazes around him, Gail lay in bed, smoking one mana cigarette after another. Each time he exhaled a breath with a soft “hoo,” white smoke trailed languidly into the air.
Since Philia had entered the room, his eyes hadn’t left her once. She was well aware of it and had tried her best to pretend otherwise...
“...Ah, no.”
She finally raised the white flag against his persistent, tenacious stare. As soon as Philia spoke up, Gail shrugged nonchalantly.
“What? I haven’t said a word.”
“You’re asking to go with me to the Mana Confirmation Ritual, aren’t you? No. I don’t have the authority. I can’t help until Ian permits it. I’m sorry.”
“Philia. Do you place your son above a prince? Impressive. No wonder you can’t even look at me, being the mother of such a man.”
“Th-that’s not what I...”
As Philia stammered in embarrassment, Gail let out a low chuckle. Could this woman, who couldn’t even take a single mischievous joke, really be Ian’s mother? If not for their strikingly similar features, he never would have believed it.
At that moment, footsteps approached, and Nersarn appeared.
“Philia.”
“Lord Nersarn.”
It was time to wrap up and leave. Philia set down the tray and turned to Gail, as if signaling their departure. In the meantime, he had lit another mana cigarette.
“Hey. Warrior of the desert.”
“...Yes, Prince Gail.”
Gail rarely addressed Nersarn directly. There was the matter of their statuses—the emperor of the empire and a minority tribesman from the border—but mainly because Philia served as the bridge between them.
“Ian called my half-brother a monster.”
“That’s correct.”
“And he declared that one of them would die today.”
Philia felt her heart sink with a thud. It was a truly frightening and terrifying statement. She still couldn’t believe Ian was staking his life to kill someone.
Was the imperial palace always like this? Yet on the other hand, it was heartbreaking to think he held something so precious that he’d risk his life for it. Just as she cherished Ian, he must cherish something in the same way.
“That’s also correct.”
“Arsen is my half-brother. If Ian doesn’t die, then Arsen will. Don’t I have the right to witness the end of my family?”
Nersarn pondered how to respond. The imperial palace was a place where the situation changed by the hour. There must be a reason for Gail’s insistence, but he couldn’t fathom it. They had been holed up in the detached palace under the pretext of guarding him and to avoid troubling the imperial citizens. Without information from Ian, their knowledge was limited.
“I’m sorry.”
The conclusion was simple: refusal.
As Nersarn and Philia turned to leave the bedroom, the sound of a desk drawer sliding open rang out. Gail straightened his upper body and rummaged through it, his hand waving about as if searching for something.
Dr-r-rk!
“I understand you’re doing this for your son’s well-being.”
“Thank you for understanding.”
“I also understand drawing a line because the imperial palace is as inscrutable as the borderlands.”
“......”
“But not only Arsen—I have business with Ian too.”
“Then tell me. I’ll relay every word without omission.”
“Hmm. That won’t do. Do you know what this is?”
A small scrap of paper pinched between the prince’s index and middle fingers. Crumpled was one thing, but it was covered in food stains.
Nersarn glanced at Philia, but she shook her head, equally clueless.
“It’s the trace of a traitor Ian sifted out using my name.”
The moment rumors spread that he would defect to Ruswena, the reactions were immediate. Notes appeared tucked into his meals, and messenger birds tapped at his windows at all hours.
“Some revealed their names, others didn’t. But with handwriting analysis or an investigation from the Magic Department, their owners would be easy to identify.”
Gail demonstratively lit one of the notes with his mana cigarette. The paper ignited instantly, crumbling into ashes. His smile was like that of a child playing with fire.
“If you don’t take me, I’ll burn them all.”
“Your Highness! This puts us in a real bind!”
“Philia. Don’t worry. Ian, who entrusts his back to allies without knowing they carry daggers, will be the most troubled.”
It was blackmail using her son. Even if Ian returned alive from the Mana Confirmation Ritual, what good was that if traitors lurked around him? He wouldn’t last long before facing another crisis.
Ting!
Gail flicked a gem toward Philia. Nersarn caught it mid-air in her stead.
“If you want, I’ll give you jewels too. Even confined like this, I’m still a prince of the empire. Wealth to your heart’s content is no issue. Warrior of the desert. You’re a tribal leader, aren’t you? You must know well how a bountiful treasury brings a warm spring.”
“We don’t need such things. I only want what my son wants.”
“Hahaha! Your face is red.”
“I want what my son wants.”
“That’s exactly what your son wants.”
The paper scraps swayed gently from Gail’s fingertips.
Thought was the purest sanctuary granted to humanity by the gods, as long as permitted. Screening for traitors meant invading that sanctuary and searching every corner.
And not against enemies, but doubting and reading the minds of allies. A truly difficult, grueling, and delicate task.
“Why would Ian undertake such a thing? The Magic Department knows how to neutralize truth serum. I’ve benefited from it a bit. So without these papers, it’d be quite the ordeal.”
Nersarn swallowed a sigh inwardly. The notes were one thing, but Gail didn’t seem the type to give up if they just walked away. What if he caused trouble out of their sight?
“Tell me just one thing truthfully.”
“With pleasure.”
“How do you plan to go?”
“......”
It was as good as acceptance. Gail straightened his clothes and donned his outer robe. He tucked the bundle of notes into an inner pocket, checked his cigarette case last, and flashed a faint smile.
“In my view, now is the perfect time. The gods must think so too.”
* * *
Gail’s inclusion delayed the schedule slightly. They switched to a larger carriage, brought along warriors just in case, and dressed them in imperial attire.
Gail realized it had been truly ages since he’d gone out. Traces of his bloody clashes with Marib lingered here and there, but the imperial palace he’d etched into his soul throughout his life remained unchanged.
Hiiing!
The carriage jolted, but Gail’s gaze did not waver. He simply gazed enraptured at the peach-colored walls, golden patterns, and neatly laid red bricks.
Ahh. The imperial palace was this beautiful. Gail bit his lip hard, forcing away the rising memories. Memories could breed regrets at times.
“We’re almost there, Lord Nersarn.”
“Hm? But everyone over there...”
“Wait a moment. We should stop here. The crowd’s out, and the carriage can’t get through.”
The area in front of the Magic Department teemed with people. Carriages, escorts, shabby nobles, and officials tangled in a chaotic mess.
It was a disordered scene, yet everyone stared in the same direction—an eerie sight. Philia naturally followed their gaze.
“What... what is that?”
A sinister black aura descended the Magic Department’s stairs, as if drawing a line to keep others away.
Philia disembarked the carriage with an ominous expression, surveying the surroundings.
“Lord Ian! Lord Ian! Let go of this! I said let go!”
“Lord Romandro!”
“Let me gooo! Mother and Ian are inside!”
“No. Your Highness, please!”
Not far off, Jin thrashed against his escorts. He kicked and yelled to be left alone, but no one budged. He was the only remaining heir.
Philia grabbed Romandro’s arm and shouted.
“What’s happening, Lord Romandro?”
“Lady Philia! Huff, it’s that...”
“Philia! Lord Ian is inside. Arsen will kill him. Why is everyone just standing there?!”
“Oh dear, Your Highness, please calm down.”
Several soldiers who had tried approaching the building lay sprawled. Getting close caused splitting headaches and dizziness—no solution in sight.
The Magic Department had set up barriers, but all the captains were inside. What a troublesome situation.
“Jin.”
At that moment, Gail pulled out a mana cigarette and placed it in his mouth. Jin froze at the quiet call and turned.
Why was Brother Gail here?
“Shut up.”
“Wh-what?”
“Is Arsen a monster?”
“...Brother.”
“Yeah. I see.”
Gail stared into empty space for a moment. His own fate was one thing, but the child born sharing a womb with a monster had it rough too. He steadied his breath, then strode into the poison mist without hesitation.
“Prince Gail!”
“Why is His Highness here?”
“He’s entered the poison mist!”
“Good heavens, what in the world...”
It was a bit stifling, but not overly disorienting or exhausting. Gail climbed the stairs, glancing back briefly. He tossed the notes from his pocket to Philia by way of greeting.
“Philia. Thanks for sharing meals with me all this time.”
“Your Highness?”
“Tell Ian when he comes out.”
“Your Highness!”
Gail bounded up the stairs. Those who hadn’t evacuated in time lay collapsed everywhere. In the silent space, he walked slowly, biting down hard on his mana cigarette.
-Cursed one, you cannot defy fate. Die for Variel. Then glory shall descend upon the world.
Since the day he received that oracle, he had awaited this moment. He was Variel’s prince. Better to meet death beneath the world’s glory than to scatter like Marib on the wind.
Even if history wouldn’t record it, glory would remain.
“H-hey, try stabbing me! If you kill me, you die too. If you die, Jin won’t last much longer!”
...Was that Arsen’s voice? What a foul tone. Gail followed the sound and pushed open the door to the hall.
Creeeak.
Thud.
“Having quite the heated party in broad daylight. Mind if I join?”
The hall brimmed with mysterious light. Gail wondered for a moment if he’d arrived in heaven.
Ian, who had raised his sword to the air, turned. The gasping heart before him burst the poison mist.
“What?”
“Do you remember the new oracle?”
“......”
The mana cigarette fell. It would be his last puff of smoke.
“It may not be Your Highness’s oracle.”
“Doesn’t matter. If I say it is, then it is.”
Gail picked up the sword from the floor and slowly approached Ian.
“If I die here, I leave behind glory.”
And if he didn’t die?
“If I don’t, then I’ve slain the monster lurking in the palace with my own hand—that’s glory too.”
The veins on the gasping heart stood out starkly amid the venom. Gail calmly aimed the sword’s tip at it. Ian lightly gripped his arm.
“...No one will know.”
Could the fact of a monster in the palace be recorded in history? Absolutely not. They’d erase every trace. The irreverent past decade would vanish into the light without a shadow.
So even if Gail devoted himself to death, who would know?
“No. The gods know.”
Gail smiled and pressed the sword to Arsen’s heart. He nodded at Ian to activate his mana and murmured.
“And you know too.”