Chapter 57
Chapter 57
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 57
Chapter Title: Pursuit (1)
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“Huff... huff!”
His breath was catching in his throat. Deneb Philius, who could no longer bear the title of Second Prince, was fleeing the sanctuary alongside the Hashashin of the Edriger Kingdom. Hot on their heels, the Dancihi territory forces pursued relentlessly.
“Damn it all!”
Deneb spat out a rough curse, lamenting his dire situation.
He had never imagined that his brother, once merely the Fifth Prince, would ascend to the throne. And he certainly hadn't anticipated such a near-perfect countermeasure.
In the end, they had lost. Deneb abandoned his title as Second Prince and fled to the Edriger Kingdom, while Aloken had scattered in a different direction with the ghost unit from the Free Isiria Kingdom.
“Having desecrated the previous emperor at the sanctuary and plotted rebellion, they’ll hunt us to the bitter end.”
Baron Sidings said. He was dressed in black formal attire, but unlike usual, the traces of fierce combat were evident all over him.
“Damn it!”
Deneb growled coarsely. The curses wouldn’t stop.
“How much farther to the border?”
“Even if we push without sleep, it’ll take at least another week nonstop.”
That meant enduring pursuit for a full week at minimum. Having insulted the late emperor’s funeral, the pursuers wouldn’t rest. In truth, they couldn’t let their guard down for even a moment that entire time.
Baron Sidings didn’t mention it, but crossing the formidable Marquis Kreyer’s domain posed another problem with its mighty military strength.
Though they moved stealthily, suppressing their presence with Hashashin secret arts, he couldn’t be sure they’d slip past the eyes of the Kreyer territory forces to reach the border.
“Baron Sidings, do you think I can make a comeback?”
Baron Sidings rolled his eyes at Deneb’s sudden question.
“It’s not impossible.”
If you had no value left, you’d already be a corpse, he swallowed the unspoken afterthought. Deneb would know without it being said.
“Baron Sidings, then...”
“Hold on.”
The baron’s expression hardened abruptly. He cut Deneb off and cast cold glances around.
“Baron, you don’t mean...”
“Pursuers have caught up.”
Not the territory forces chasing from behind. His subordinates drew their swords in unison.
“Engage!”
At Baron Sidings’ sharp command, the Hashashin halted their mounts, kicked off the saddles, and leaped onto the high branches in perfect sync.
“Gaaah!”
“Argh!”
Red blood sprayed through the trees amid screams. Five Hashashin who had surged into the canopy plummeted back as cold corpses.
“Damn it!”
Baron Sidings cursed as he drew his dagger. A sharp mana blade coated its keen edge. Soon, the other Hashashin landed after brief clashes above, more than half bearing wounds great and small.
“Status?”
“Few enemies, but elites!”
One Hashashin reported. Baron Sidings gritted his teeth, and Deneb panicked visibly. If even the Hashashin led by a member of the Dark Nobility Council had only just noticed them, it meant their pursuers were no amateurs.
“Reveal yourselves.”
The baron said in a low voice. From the shadows of tall trees and thick underbrush, black-clad figures emerged.
They had never intended to hide their presence or identities from the start.
“By His Majesty the Emperor’s command, you won’t get past us.”
Shade spoke in a chilling tone. Baron Sidings scanned them with shifting eyes. No other presences detected—fifteen seemed to be all.
The Hashashin numbered around thirty, but victory wasn’t assured. The brief skirmish had only cost his side casualties.
“Your Highness the Second Prince. Did you know about them?”
A crucial question. Baron Sidings asked in a calm yet edged voice.
Until just before the Bloody Funeral began, Deneb’s eyes and ears—nurtured with Edriger Kingdom backing—lurked throughout the imperial capital.
No matter how stealthily Raymond moved, the baron couldn’t believe Deneb was unaware while raising assassins of this caliber. He even considered the worst: Deneb plotting against him.
“I swear, I had no idea.”
“Understood for now.”
The baron nodded at Deneb’s stiff reply but didn’t trust him.
Having served at Deneb’s side all this time, he knew better than to take him at his word.
The assassins faced off in a silent probe. Baron Sidings’ men moved first. With Dancihi forces closing in from behind, time was short.
“Hashashin! Break through!”
As Baron Sidings shouted, the Hashashin melted into the darkness. Even in perfect stealth with presences erased, the Shades showed no panic. Their apparent leader stepped forward, raising his unarmed left hand.
“Attack.”
His cold order sent the Shades charging. As they swung in unison, blood erupted from empty air, unveiling Hashashin who crumpled lifelessly.
“W-what...”
Baron Sidings reeled in shock. He hadn’t dreamed the Edriger Kingdom’s proud assassin unit would fall so easily.
He himself was an assassin of such caliber that he could join the Dark Nobility Council, yet these black-masked foes were too stealthy and lethal to gauge properly.
This won’t do.
For a fleeting moment—unbefitting a seasoned killer—he faltered. In those scant three seconds, five more Hashashin bled out and fell.
Witnessing his men drop helplessly, Baron Sidings conceived and executed a desperate measure.
“B-Baron Sidings...!”
Deneb’s panicked voice echoed. The baron’s blade now pointed at him. Though sudden, the Hashashin swiftly reorganized, dispatching Deneb’s retainers and facing off against the Shades anew.
“What treachery is this?!”
Unlike the furious Deneb, Baron Sidings remained composed.
“Emperor’s hounds. Come closer, and this imperial blood dies.”
A calculated gamble. Many in the Philius Empire recoiled at the thought of imperial blood spilled, so holding the former Second Prince hostage might buy escape. These assassins were Philius subjects, after all—or so he assumed.
But the Shades were laughing. Masks hid their faces, but their blatant smirks were obvious. A chill ran down Baron Sidings’ spine. To them, an imperial life meant nothing. They followed orders, nothing more.
“Damn it!”
The baron’s curse marked the Shades’ charge. Battle resumed, and the dwindling Hashashin fell one by one in the fierce clash.
In the end, Baron Sidings faced another hard choice.
Abandon the Second Prince!
The Bloody Funeral’s failure, coupled with Raymond’s ascension, had plummeted Deneb’s value.
Decision made, action followed without hesitation. Baron Sidings drove his mana-coated dagger into Deneb’s throat.
“G-guh...?”
Blood gushed from his mouth, his face a mask of disbelief. Wary when the blade turned on him, he still hadn’t believed they’d truly kill an imperial of Philius blood.
“Don’t take it as betrayal.”
You were just a figurehead all along, he silently added.
His gaze shifted to the Shades. Most Hashashin he’d brought lay dead.
Baron Sidings summoned his mana. Black mist spread like fog. As the few surviving Hashashin formed a human wall to buy time, he melted into the shadows.
Two days had passed since the Bloody Funeral erupted. Despite priests and healers insisting on absolute rest, Raymond couldn’t relax amid the cleanup. High nobles from the court council visited his chambers daily.
Tangled diplomacy gave him headaches, but as emperor, it was his burden to bear.
“Your Majesty.”
A shadow slithered from the darkness—one of the Shades. Raymond nodded lightly while refilling his empty glass, a silent signal to approach and report.
“Aloken has been hunted down.”
He’d heard earlier about Deneb’s corpse discovery. Today, it was Aloken.
“The body?”
“En route here.”
“Good.”
Raymond nodded in satisfaction. Even rebels warranted lenient treatment as imperial kin, so he’d dispatched Shades for clean kills—and they delivered impeccably.
“Well done. Return to position.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
A presence stirred outside. Moments after the Shade vanished, a light knock sounded.
“Your Majesty, Marquis Kreyer has arrived.”
Squire Alex’s voice.
“Let him in.”
Raymond cleared his throat and spoke. The door opened cautiously, revealing Marquis Kreyer in crisp red uniform.
He pressed a fist to his chest and bowed deeply, paying proper respect to the emperor.
“What of the border and Black Mountains?”
His domain abutted the border, so House Kreyer had long monitored it, the mountains, and foes beyond. Raymond summoned him today to check vigilance.
“Sent additional scouts to the Black Mountains, but no anomalies or large forces sighted.”
“Border troops’ morale?”
“Low. News travels slow to the border—most units still think the throne vacant.”
The late emperor Ronald had died by poison, and Raymond ascended unofficially. From outside eyes, the throne seemed empty briefly, shaking Philius forces.
“Gestain!”
“Your Majesty, you called?”
Gestain, waiting outside, entered and bowed politely.
“Fetch Count Potas.”
“At once.”
It didn’t take long. Less than thirty minutes after Gestain left, Count Potas arrived. Spotting Marquis Kreyer, he seemed startled but composed himself.
“Marquis Kreyer is trustworthy. You can speak freely.”
Permission to reveal hidden identities.
“Understood, Your Majesty.”
Count Potas bowed deeply. Raymond continued.
“Count Potas! Inform the military and all nobles: the throne is not vacant.”
“Central Intelligence receives Your Majesty’s command!”
That day, top mages of Central Intelligence, under Count Potas’ orders, sent magical communiqués to every outpost: Raymond Philius had ascended, imperial authority intact.
Border troops too. Furthest north with slowest news, they’d thought the throne empty despite the imperial seal’s activation. Now, word spread: authority endures.
“Imperial authority endures?”
A border knight asked the messenger. The man nodded vigorously.
“Yes! His Highness the Fifth Prince has ascended the throne!”
“The Fifth Prince?”
“If it’s him, I trust it!”
The knights reacted first. Raymond, the Fifth Prince, had shone at the border and Black Mountains—his favor among them soared sky-high.
“Any specific decree?”
An elderly knight asked cautiously, eyeing the imperial banner on the messenger’s saddle. Three messengers wouldn’t come just for this.
Two had gone to border command; one stayed here.
“His Majesty commands: prepare fully against any enemy provocation.”
The messenger said. Knights drew swords with zeal.
“We receive the decree!”