Chapter 67
The Flower That Bears a Sword - Chapter 67
Translation: godsn
Yurien imprisoned her in the underground dungeon beneath the Azure Sky Knights' headquarters. He sealed her mana core with a Sealing Tool, bound her limbs with chains, and installed double-layered gates.
The Emperor flew into a rage, demanding the demon be handed over immediately. For the first time, Yurien openly defied the Emperor's command. Though the Emperor raged like a madman, the Empire—having suffered devastating losses from the Subjugation Squad's massacre—could not lay a hand on Agenka.
At least not for the time being.
Tension simmered between Agenka and the Empire. Letters flew back and forth without pause, and much transpired beneath the surface. For now, the Azure Sky Knights were quietly regarded as the Empire's saviors for rescuing them from the demon, but as time passed, the victims' discontent would only grow. Why hadn't they executed the demon? The complaints would mount.
Whenever he had time, Yurien visited the underground dungeon. He couldn't approach her. He always watched her from behind the iron gates. Inside, her body thrashed about like a caged monster.
But to him, with his True Sight activated, something else was visible.
Amidst the seething black malice, flickers of light appeared intermittently. That which had begun as mere embers was gradually intensifying into flames. A fire so precarious it seemed it might be snuffed out at any moment, yet never fully extinguished. He watched her desperate, heartbreaking struggle the entire time.
[When I first saw her, I did think there was a possibility she could become the sun. But honestly, the odds were astronomically low. It's a miracle she hasn't gone completely insane.]
"She will overcome this."
Yurien murmured softly. He had never exchanged a single word with her. Had never even properly met her gaze. Didn't know her name. And yet, the more he watched, the more he found himself rooting for her. He wanted to see her victorious. Wanted her to pull through.
What kind of person would she be, once she overcame that malice and reclaimed her body? He found himself wanting to know her.
Beyond the malice, the flickering flames wavered dangerously once more. Sparks flew like blood. The fire seemed to die down, only to surge back up again. She writhed beneath the oppressive weight of the malice. From her trembling form, he could read silent screams. Yurien gritted his teeth.
He wanted to help. If there was any way to help her, by any means. But there was nothing he could do for her. This was a trial she had to overcome on her own. Yurien quietly placed his hand against the iron gate. He couldn't reach through to the other side, could only touch the gate itself. The metal beneath his fingertips was cold.
"I need to make preparations."
[What are you talking about?]
"So that she... can live again when she returns."
He began preparing for the day she would reclaim her body and live again. For the girl fighting alone, this was the most he could do.
He compensated those who had suffered damages from the demon and held memorial services for the deceased. He erected monuments for the dead and assisted in recovery efforts. Then he attempted negotiations with the Empire. Negotiations with the Emperor were impossible, so he dealt with the Crown Prince instead. Documents were exchanged, and secret meetings took place.
Throughout it all, he never once revealed that she was the noble-born daughter of the Empire's pink-haired aristocratic family. Nor did he dig into her identity. There would be no benefit in exposing her family, now branded as traitors to the Empire. If anyone connected to her still remained, they would suffer tremendous harm should her identity become known.
Truthfully, he desperately wanted to know her name. Wanted to know what to call her. But he restrained himself. Once she triumphed over that malice and reclaimed her body, he could ask her for her name directly.
And so, over half a year passed.
In the autumn of 1632, Yurien left Agenka to meet secretly with Crown Prince Cruen in the imperial capital. The scales of power had now decisively tipped in the Crown Prince's favor. The Emperor had become a mere figurehead.
"You've been a great help. The remaining Second Prince faction and His Majesty the Emperor are pushing my young nephew, you see. That milk-sucking brat, ha."
The Harden imperial family of the Kyrie Empire, whose symbol was the white lion, mostly had silver hair. Crown Prince Cruen, too, bore silver hair and blue eyes like Yurien—eyes inherited from the Emperor.
Second Prince Karem had inherited green eyes from the Empress, and his young son had likewise received those eyes. The Emperor adored that emerald gaze, the same as the Empress's, far more than the blue eyes of the sons who resembled him.
"My father-in-law still considers you the most dangerous and keeps you under watch even now. But I trust you. You have no interest in the throne, after all, don't you?"
Cruen smirked. Yurien remained expressionless. The Crown Prince shrugged and continued.
"The time has come to end Father's era. Cooperate with me."
"What kind of cooperation do you require?"
"Dispatch the Azure Sky Knights. I intend to strike the imperial palace."
Yurien frowned. Before he could voice his refusal, the Crown Prince slid a single document across the table.
"Do you think I would act without justification? There is ample reason here for the Azure Sky Knights to intervene. All you need to do is become my blade."
"What is this?"
"A record of how the imperial family acquired and utilized the demon sword Valdergiosa."
Yurien's eyes widened. As he hastily snatched up the document, Cruen's smile deepened. The Crown Prince leisurely laced his fingers together, watching as Yurien read.
That single sheet laid bare a plan—one where the imperial family, specifically the Second Prince, had sought to elevate their prestige by wielding the demon sword Valdergiosa.
Several years prior, a village near the Emperor's villa had been massacred. The Emperor, who happened to be staying there at the time, dispatched his guards to capture the murderer, discovering the demon sword Valdergiosa in the killer's possession.
How a mere herb gatherer had come to hold the demon sword remained unclear. Regardless, the guards swiftly dealt with the man, now corrupted by the blade. Witnessing this, the Emperor conceived a plan to use the sword to bolster the Second Prince's reputation. For this plan to work, they needed victims—people whose deaths would stir vigilance, particularly among the nobility.
The Emperor calculated meticulously. He sought a family expendable enough, insignificant yet capable of instilling the necessary fear. From the outset, families with prodigious swordsmanship talent were excluded—the demon sword could not be allowed to grow too powerful. Thus, a handful of candidates were narrowed down.
It seemed the document had failed to trace which of those candidates had ultimately been chosen. It merely stated that the Second Prince had personally selected one family from the list and ordered his subordinates to deliver Valdergiosa to them.
What the Emperor and the Second Prince had failed to anticipate was that, by sheer misfortune, the family they chose harbored an undiscovered sword prodigy. That was their fatal miscalculation. A herb gatherer wielding the demon sword had been easy prey—but a once-in-a-generation genius wielding it became a catastrophe.
Yurien stared blankly at the document. The Second Prince chose. Prince Karem. At that moment, the events of the birthday banquet resurfaced in his mind.
"...A woman? This is the first time I've seen you show interest in one."
The malice in Karem's voice had been unmistakable. Too deliberate to be mere coincidence.
No. No way. That Karem had selected one family from the candidates—No way. That she had ended up wielding the demon sword—No way.
'Because I... saw her...?'
His vision swam. A sickening wave surged from within. Yurien clamped a hand over his mouth.
"How about it? As the Azure Sky Knights who guard Giosa, isn't this precisely the duty you should fulfill?"
Cruen spoke nonchalantly, unaware of what had shaken Yurien so deeply. Yurien crumpled the documents in his clenched fist. Then he rose abruptly from his seat.
"Yurien?"
"I... will give you my answer later."
With that barely coherent reply, he staggered out of the secret meeting chamber, his steps unsteady and swaying dangerously.
The entire journey back to Agenka, Yurien was consumed by overwhelming turmoil. No matter how many times he turned the thoughts over in his mind, he couldn't shake the crushing guilt that this was all his fault.
By all rights, the true culprits were his father and brother. Yet they had woven their conspiracy and chosen her as their sacrificial lamb entirely because of him. That a mere glance from him—something he'd thought nothing of and soon forgotten—had become the catalyst that sent a woman who should have lived peacefully tumbling into the abyss.
While he had forgotten, the woman who suffered because of him had spent three long years as a demon, trapped in hell. And she remained there even now, unaware of who had condemned her to that fate.
The thought drove him to near madness. He abandoned carriages and trains, riding horseback instead. He pushed his steed to the brink of collapse, riding until the horse could go no further, then spending sleepless nights with wide, hollow eyes before mounting another horse at dawn. The Holy Sword spoke softly to his unrest:
[I understand your feelings, but this is not your sin. As a being forged by human ideals of justice, I render this judgment: You have done nothing wrong.]
"Then what of her?"
What had she done wrong—the one stained by the Magic Sword, forced into slaughter against her will, who lost everything yet remained trapped, struggling alone in that swamp of malice? And what of those who perished by her hand—what had they done to deserve it?
The innocent were caught in an irreversible tragedy, while the guilty lived unscathed, basking in power. Yurien's knuckles whitened with the force of his grip. His nails dug into his palms, but he felt no pain.
After a long silence, the Holy Sword replied:
[...That woman is also blameless. The ones who must pay are others. But Master, that man died by her hand. He has already been punished for his sins.]
"One still remains."
Yurien's quiet response carried a glint of madness. Langiosa continued in a placating tone:
[Yes, your father still lives. But he is your father. Unless he attempts to kill you, raising a hand against him would be patricide. Justice is judgment, not vengeance.]
"So I should endure it, then? Is that your idea of justice?"
Yurien's voice was deceptively calm, belying the fury simmering beneath. The Holy Sword sighed.
[I don't mean you should suffer silently. Follow due process. Accept the Crown Prince's proposal—expose the conspiracy of the Magic Sword and depose the Emperor through proper channels. That would be a just act.]
Yurien gave no answer. After another sleepless night spent watching the sunrise, he mounted his horse once more.
The moment he returned to Agenka, he sought her out in the underground prison. He had no plan, no way to help her—yet he needed to see her now. To confirm it wasn't too late, that something could still be salvaged, that she was still alive. All decisions could wait until after.
But the fate awaiting him was crueler than anything that had come before.