Chapter 139
Chapter 139
Translation: godsn
The innermost office of the Kazen Empire's Imperial Palace.
The soaring ceilings and vast hall paved with marble and gold reached the pinnacle of opulence.
The ceiling bore frescoes depicting the Kazen Empire's triumphant moments of conquest across the continent, while tapestries and sculptures lining each wall flaunted their grandeur.
The Emperor's throne was positioned higher than the rest, forcing visitors to crane their necks upward just to look upon it.
Directly opposite the throne stood a gilded statue deifying the Emperor, radiating a dazzling brilliance.
"What is the meaning of this uproar?!"
The middle-aged man seated upon that throne crumpled a letter in his hand and hurled it aside with a rough motion.
Clad in an ornate black robe embroidered with thick golden threads, he bore the countenance of a man perpetually on edge.
Upon closer inspection, one could still discern the handsome features of his youth.
Yet his thick brows, deeply sunken eyes, and dense black beard now evoked an unsettling aura.
His jet-black hair, slick with sweat and plastered to his forehead, only heightened the sense of bizarre impatience.
This was Perdiccas II, the current Emperor of the Kazen Empire.
"Angelique, has she lost all sense?! I sent her to Valdina to tighten the noose around Valdina's neck, yet not only does she personally feed those northern barbarians with relief supplies, but now she's carrying the child of some lowborn wretch with their filthy blood running through his veins?!"
Perdiccas II trembled violently.
Unable to contain his fury, he smashed the long golden scepter in his hand against the furnishings.
"How much longer must I endure this disgrace?!"
Crash—! The swung scepter sent objects flying, shattering glass and reducing a white marble statue to fragments.
Young attendants gasped in alarm, swallowing their breaths.
"Please restrain your anger, Your Majesty. This agitation only harms your imperial health."
Only the elderly head attendant, who had served the Emperor since his princely days, remained composed, speaking to him in a gently admonishing tone.
"Do I look like I'm in any state to restrain myself?!"
"Calm yourself, Your Majesty. Though my unvirtuous daughter has caused you distress, how might we atone for this grave offense?"
The East Imperial Consort was also present in the chamber. She, too, was aghast at the news from Valdina concerning her daughter.
'Angelique, you foolish girl! Where did all my counsel go, that you'd bring about such calamity?!'
But reprimanding her daughter and uncovering the full story could wait.
The immediate priority was to quell the Emperor's wrath and bring Angelique back as swiftly as possible.
"Your Majesty, I beg you to save Angelique. She has fallen prey to wicked schemers. You know she may have grown in body, but she remains a child at heart. So please..."
"A child should still know her limits! Carrying a bastard—is this something to overlook? Didn't I warn you to keep that girl in check the moment I heard rumors of her misbehavior?!"
Seeing no sign of the Emperor's fury abating, the East Imperial Consort shifted tactics.
Tears dripped one after another down her flower-like face.
"But Your Majesty, if you turn your back on us mother and daughter, what are we to do? Would you truly let Angelique—your own flesh and blood—be branded with such infamy? To let it spread that she carries a bastard whose father's identity is unknown?"
Though phrased as questions, her words were closer to desperate cries.
"I know you've always been a cold man at heart, Your Majesty. Though you doted on Angelique, you never truly cherished her. But remember this—she is the only bloodline I bore after risking my life in a difficult birth."
The East Imperial Consort raised her eyes resentfully.
She had endured countless palace intrigues to rise to her current position.
Though she'd had to share power with the Empress Seo after the Empress's death, there was no doubt she remained the noblest woman in this palace.
Moreover, Perdiccas II far preferred the gentle and affectionate East Imperial Consort over the haughty, cold-natured Empress Seo, whose temperament too closely resembled that of his deceased Empress.
She had won the Emperor's love, but in doing so, had also lost much.
The most painful loss was being rendered unable to bear more children after falling victim to Empress Seo's schemes.
"Your Majesty has countless other children, so what does it matter if one daughter is ruined? But for me, Angelique is all I have!"
The East Imperial Consort rushed toward the window. When she made as if to throw herself out, the head chamberlain startled and grabbed her.
"Let me go! If I cannot even protect my own daughter, then what reason do I have to remain in this palace any longer?"
"Since when have I said I would turn my back on her?! Do not speak so lightly, Imperial Consort!"
Even the cold-hearted Perdiccas II could not remain unmoved by the sight of this beautiful woman—whose looks had not faded despite having a grown daughter—beating her chest and shedding tears.
Haah. He sighed deeply, descended from his throne, and stepped toward the window.
Then, as if to embrace the Imperial Consort, he naturally spread his arms.
"Your Majesty, have that wretched man killed. If he and the child disappear, then our Angelique will have no reason to bear this disgrace......"
Through tear-blurred vision, the East Imperial Consort seized the Emperor's sleeve without missing her chance.
"It's already too late! The Holy Nation has learned of it! Do you intend to let Angelique be branded an apostate?!"
The conservative doctrines of the Holy Nation forbade both adultery and abortion.
Marriage and pregnancy. To defy the natural order was to defy the gods—considered heresy, treated as apostasy.
"The... Holy Nation?"
The East Imperial Consort's face paled with despair. She sensed there was no turning back.
"Which is why the best course now is to wed the two and salvage what remains of Angelique's reputation. At least Claudio is of Valdina's royal blood—he isn't a completely unreasonable match—"
"No! Sob Your Majesty, no! How could you dare taint our daughter with that filthy Valdina blood......?!"
But the East Imperial Consort shook her head violently in refusal.
A union with Claudio—a fallen commoner from a minor kingdom, utterly ruined for treason—meant Angelique would be completely pushed out of the line of succession.
With such a worthless tumor attached to her, surpassing the other princes would become impossible.
Perdiccas II, noticing her intent, grew cold-eyed.
"Imperial Consort, if you do not change course when the tide shifts, you will only be swept away. I wish to at least preserve Angelique's position as imperial princess."
The Emperor's warning jolted the East Imperial Consort back to her senses.
"I-I was only worried for Angelique, sob Your Majesty......"
"Enough. Return to your quarters now, East Imperial Consort. You there, escort Her Highness out."
"Your Majesty, but—!"
"I said return. Do not fret over Angelique. I will not allow my own blood to bear a false disgrace."
Tears streaming down her face, the East Imperial Consort was all but dragged out by the attendants.
Thud. As the door closed, Perdiccas II pressed his temples.
His head throbbed. A splitting pain pulsed through his skull.
"Valdina, Pelleus, Claudio...... Every last one of them makes my skin crawl!"
"Your Majesty, now is the time for strategic thinking."
The head chamberlain calmly pointed out. His wrinkled old face was accentuated by his neatly groomed white mustache.
"The King of Valdina has finally seized the plains. And with the Regent's rebellion having failed as well......"
Worse, that damned Samon Claudio had threatened to reveal evidence of the Kazen Imperial Family's aid to the Regent unless his life was spared.
Yet they couldn't kill him.
"Setting aside that the Regent has already lost an eye—Samon Claudio. That wretch is the only remaining bloodline of the previous king besides the current one. If he disappears, it means Pelleus's absolute monarchy will be realized."
Perdiccas II trembled with rage.
A throne without rivals holds incomparable power.
Now that they've reclaimed the plains, who knows what impact this will have on Kazen.
'With Pelleus and that hot-tempered disposition of his, he'll surely seek vengeance against our Kazen for all their past grievances.'
That's precisely why, while he was away, they'd tried to install that incompetent fool Claudio—all ambition and no ability—as king...
"That brainless imbecile! After all the support I poured into him! How could he fail so spectacularly! How could he collapse so utterly!"
Perdiccas II gnawed at his nails until they cracked.
"This won't do. Valdina... That Philosopher's Stone must come into my possession..."
He muttered feverishly, oblivious to the blood welling from his shredded cuticles.
"Your Majesty."
"The Magic Beasts will tear our Kazen apart! They'll storm the imperial capital and shatter my throne!"
He roared violently.
Thanks to the Philosopher's Stone, Valdina remains untouched by Magic Beasts—a land hailed as the bastion of protection.
But Kazen still suffered under relentless attacks from the beasts. Even the mighty Kazen Empire, having conquered tribes to establish itself as the continent's hegemon, had failed to eradicate the Magic Beast threat. Every season, hundreds of knights were dispatched solely to combat them.
Thus, the Emperor's grand plan—his deepest desire—had been to place Claudio on Valdina's throne and extract the Philosopher's Stone, creating an ultimate, permanent safe zone.
"All of them! Every last one is a half-witted fool with some defect or another. I have to micromanage every single step. The moment something goes wrong, they come crawling to me begging for help."
If only Cesare were here.
"If the First Prince were still alive..."
The words spilled from the Emperor's lips, echoing the thought in his heart.
"I wouldn't have to shoulder this burden! That boy would've already brought me Pelleus's head on a platter! I wouldn't need to worry about the Empire's future or scheme against Valdina!"
It would've been different with Cesare. Had it been him, everyone would've knelt in terror, pressing their foreheads to the ground.
The Empire's glory would've flourished eternally.
The Emperor repeated himself, like grasping at a vanishing mirage.
"That's why we need a solution. The Philosopher's Stone—only with it can this nation endure even after Cesare's death."
The Chamberlain listened to his master's soliloquy and couldn't help but think him duplicitous.
'He claims to miss His Highness the First Prince, yet speaks as if he's already dead.'
Though the First Prince was terminally ill, he was undeniably still breathing.
But this wasn't the Emperor's first contradiction.
When the First Prince had flourished so brilliantly that his succession seemed inevitable, the Emperor had trembled in fear of being usurped, eyeing his own son with suspicion.
Thanks to that, despite his numerous achievements, the First Prince had never even received the title of Crown Prince.
Every ounce of the First Prince's influence and the fearsome reputation he'd built—all of it had been carved out by Cesare himself.
Thus, the Emperor's despair over Cesare's absence couldn't help but ring hollow...
'Thank the heavens His Highness the First Prince is cold-hearted enough to lack any familial affection.'
Had their positions been reversed, the Chamberlain might've gone mad long ago.
But he concealed all such thoughts behind his wrinkled visage and bowed respectfully.
"I understand Your Majesty's concerns. Then, what shall we do?"
"Claudio must remain alive."
"But he's been erased from the royal lineage. Neither he nor his son can realistically pose as contenders for the throne now, can they?"
"As long as he breathes, everything else can be rebuilt. Look at me! What haven't I torn down and remade since ascending this throne? What matters is the blood running through his veins! That identity—the bloodline of Valdina's royal family!"
Perdiccas II turned abruptly.
Whoosh—! He flung a hastily scrawled letter.
"Deliver this to Valdina's King. Tell him that since Duke Claudio is the father of my grandchild, his life—and his family's—must be spared."
"The King might disregard this and proceed with the execution."
"Then we must dangle bait too tempting to refuse."
The Emperor's eyes gleamed with madness as they swept over the continent's map.