Chapter 120
Chapter 120
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 120
Chapter Title: Founding Festival (5)
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Thud. Thud.
Martin followed Richard toward the emperor.
There were no issues with the journey itself, but something was bothering him.
As they walked, Richard kept glancing at him sideways, which was seriously annoying.
“If you have something to say, just say it. Since when has Your Highness the Prince been one to read someone else’s mood?”
“Have you lost your mind?”
As if he’d been waiting for those words, Richard immediately spoke up.
His face was filled with genuine concern.
Martin stared at him in disbelief.
“I said speak your mind, not spout nonsense.”
“I’m asking out of sincere curiosity. What on earth were you thinking, jumping into the middle of those two? Do you have a spare life or something?”
“As if. I just intervened because it felt like things would go south if they kept facing off like that. Honestly, I was shaking the whole time I spoke... I really thought my heart was going to burst.”
To be frank, it hadn’t ended with just his heart pounding wildly.
Every time he strung words together, his mind had gone hazy, nearly losing consciousness.
“That you endured it is impressive in itself... damn.”
“Why are you like that again?”
“I could accept the gap as a warrior. You’ll reach it first, sure, but I believe without a doubt that I’ll hit 10th Circle someday too. Even without those two confirming it.”
“Well, unlike your siblings, Your Highness has every reason to be confident.”
Martin readily agreed with Richard’s words.
He had grown fast thanks to the Dragon’s Curse, but his counterpart was different.
He’d honed his talent relentlessly to reach 7th Circle in his late twenties and was now aiming for 8th.
In fact, before his regression, he’d succeeded in reaching 8th Circle before turning mid-thirties.
In that era, aside from himself, the only one in the empire with purer talent than Richard was Countess Irina von Minert.
“Getting your acknowledgment feels special. Anyway, I’m not too hung up on lagging behind as a warrior right now, but... as a fellow human, falling short in capability stings a bit.”
“A few words, and you’re exaggerating way too much, aren’t you?”
“You know it’s different in front of 10th Circle absolutes, unlike with others. And you even raised your own standing in the process.”
Richard gave a wry smile as he spoke.
Martin shook his head with a playful grin.
“You’re saying a lot of weird stuff today.”
“Playing dumb, huh. Even among high nobles, few assert themselves so boldly before 10th Circle absolutes. The nobles have no choice but to see you differently now just for pulling that off.”
“Nah. I’m not that impressive to scheme like that in front of them.”
“If you did it without intending to, that’s even scarier. It means you instinctively know how to raise your value. Sigh. Should’ve stopped you from teaming up with Claudia.”
Richard let out a deep sigh.
The smile at the corner of Martin’s mouth deepened.
“Even if you’d tried, Your Highness had no intention of joining me, right?”
“True. To me, the Adalbert and Klaus houses are just merger targets.”
“Mm. Isn’t that a bit too blunt?”
“We both know everything about each other already, don’t we? And I’m already a step behind you—no point lying in this situation.”
“I understand Your Highness’s intentions. But I won’t go down easy. Not even with Duke Ferdinand watching your back.”
“Hearing you say that gives it real weight. Must mean your dealings with the elves and dwarves have helped in all sorts of ways, enough to shore up the Adalbert house’s shortcomings.”
Richard eyed Martin with subtle intent.
Martin replied with a cryptic smile.
“I’ll leave that answer to Your Highness’s imagination.”
“Didn’t you speak your mind fully even before the two dukes of the three great houses? Why dodge a simple question like this all of a sudden—getting timid?”
“I’ve always been cautious. Unlike some people.”
“You sure can talk big without meaning it.”
“Who started with the nonsense first?”
“...I get why everyone who’s dealt with you calls you infuriating.”
“Misunderstanding.”
When Martin didn’t yield an inch, Richard eventually shook his head helplessly.
They continued their banter as they walked, finally arriving at the annex where the emperor lay.
A single man stood tall at the entrance like an iron bastion.
A handsome middle-aged man with long navy hair, wearing a platinum uniform and blue cloak just like Irina von Minert.
‘That’s Marquis Hendrick von Maiyas.’
Patriarch of the Maiyas Marquis house, renowned next only to the Adalbert and Ferdinand houses in martial prowess and tasked with the emperor’s protection for generations.
Currently, he served as captain of the Imperial Guard Knights.
A 9th Circle powerhouse befitting his position, his spear was said to pierce anything.
“First time meeting you, Marquis Maiyas. I’m Martin Adalbert.”
“Hendrick von Maiyas. Finally meeting the empire’s rising star in person.”
“No one in the empire is unaware that Marquis Maiyas guards His Majesty’s side. Please forgive me for not visiting last time.”
“There was a major incident then. No need to worry about it.”
“Thank you for understanding. And I apologize for the unpleasant experience you had because of me.”
“With a 10th Circle absolute throwing their weight around once, who could handle it? If anything, I consider it fortunate that the young lord’s quick thinking got us through without disaster.”
Martin dipped his head slightly at Hendrick’s words.
Seeing this, Hendrick gave a faint smile and took the lead.
“Then follow me.”
“Yes.”
Martin and Richard trailed behind Hendrick.
They soon reached the room at the far end of the second floor.
“His Majesty the Emperor lies within. Unlikely as it is, if you try anything funny, I’ll take your head without warning.”
His tone was calm, but cold killing intent laced his words.
Martin, however, didn’t care in the slightest.
“I’ll keep that in mind. But what you fear won’t happen.”
“I thought so. I’ll open the door then.”
With that, Hendrick carefully opened the door and stepped aside to let Martin pass.
Martin moved as quietly as possible into the room.
And he saw it clearly.
An old man lying on a massive bed.
Emaciated to the point his bones showed, his spindly limbs resembled bare branches.
His white hair lacked any luster, and wrinkles covered his face.
There was no trace of the majesty of the empire’s representative 10th Circle absolute.
But Martin was shocked for a different reason.
‘What the hell is that?’
Something that shouldn’t exist had entered his sight.
* * *
The power of a 10th Circle absolute was said to far surpass even the superhuman realm.
Even so, they were still human, and thus couldn’t fully protect themselves from illness.
Of course, their immense vitality meant most diseases that felled ordinary people couldn’t claim their lives easily.
‘The illness is clear, but this is...’
The disease had completely overtaken the emperor’s body.
But the real problem was elsewhere.
Kuuooo!
From around the mana core in his abdomen, pitch-black energy flowed out, relentlessly driving his disease-ridden body toward death.
‘A magic circle?’
Incredibly, a magic circle was etched into the emperor’s mana core.
It was converting his normal mana into black curse energy.
‘That magic circle is corrupting His Majesty’s mana. That’s what’s worsening the illness.’
Even a 10th Circle absolute falling to disease was understandable.
But no matter how weakened by sickness, for someone to etch a magic circle inside such a being...
“Damn it.”
Martin muttered a quiet curse.
There was one person in the Altria Empire who could pull that off.
The only one capable of such mischief on the body of the 10th Circle absolute emperor.
With his skill, it wouldn’t be strange if no one noticed the emperor’s issue.
Not even fellow 10th Circle absolutes.
He could see it only because of the Dragon’s Curse.
But it wasn’t time to voice it recklessly yet.
Martin slipped out of the room even more cautiously than when he’d entered.
“As the young lord saw, His Majesty lives on healthily. I want you to convey that properly to the two dukes.”
“That’s not the issue right now.”
Hendrick furrowed his brow at Martin’s words.
“Then what is the problem?”
“A curse has taken root inside His Majesty’s body.”
“...If this weren’t where His Majesty resides, and you weren’t the Adalbert young lord, your head would already be gone.”
“The same goes for you, young lord. That remark just now crossed the line by miles.”
Both Hendrick and Richard glared at Martin with deadly expressions.
Though they hadn’t raised their auras, the intensity in their eyes could fell most men.
Yet Martin replied without flinching.
“Thanks to the Dragon’s Curse, I can see clearly what you all can’t. A curse is definitely implanted in His Majesty’s mana core, driving him toward death. His immense power is all that’s keeping him going—for now. Left like this, he’ll never recover.”
“Duke Ferdinand and Duke Klaus have seen His Majesty before and sensed nothing amiss then. Even with your Dragon’s Curse, it’s hard to believe you can see what those two missed.”
“But you must believe it. If things continue, His Majesty will never wake again.”
At Martin’s earnest words, Hendrick and Richard hesitated to respond.
It was well-known that those afflicted with the Dragon’s Curse became hypersensitive to mana.
“If you truly can’t trust my words, summon the core nobles of the three great houses and three factions. I’ll prove the curse on His Majesty’s body before them all. And once proven, I’ll remove it immediately.”
“...A curse debilitating the emperor wouldn’t be ordinary. And you claim you can erase it?”
“It’s powerful, yes, but not absolute. I can remove it. Spatial Dominion lets me interfere even inside another’s body.”
“First... let’s properly confirm if the curse exists. But before that, you must promise something.”
“Speak, Your Highness.”
“Can you stake your life on it? Even as Adalbert young lord, hoping to survive such a lie would be arrogance.”
“Of course. When everyone gathers, I’ll swear on my life and my house’s name before them.”
Martin nodded readily to Richard’s words.
Showing the curse and removing it would both be straightforward.
‘After all, I’ve succeeded before.’
He’d destroyed the magic circles etched into High Elf Solen and Dwarf Andrea’s bodies in the free city of Akella.
Though this one was trickier and deeper inside, he was confident he could do it.
His only concern was something else.
An utterly unforeseen crisis had arisen.
‘It won’t end with just the epochs running wild.’
He was certain.
The imperial household and three great houses.
The empire’s power structure, dubbed the Four Great Powers, would shatter this time for sure.