A Blend of Romance and Fantasy - Chapter 66

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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66.
“Gack!?”
The moment I drew the dagger, blood erupted from Count Pixis’s neck like a fountain.
I stood transfixed, watching the crimson tide pool across the platform, before my gaze shifted to the one who had struck the blow.
No hood. No hat. Her face was entirely exposed.
Beautiful platinum blonde hair cascading past her shoulders, and those exquisite jade-green eyes gleaming with terrible purpose.
“Y-Your Majesty, the Empress Consort.”
The 3rd Empress!?
She had just stabbed her own father?
I stood frozen in shock, unable to utter a word, when Benjamin beside me suddenly collapsed to his knees.
“M-Mother….”
“….”
The 3rd Empress didn’t even spare us a glance.
She straddled her writhing father on the ground and raised the dagger high once more.
Then I felt someone seize my arm with brutal force. Benjamin experienced the same.
“Eek!?”
“Ahhh!?”
What had grabbed me was a black magical circle and the arm within it.
This underground chamber is surrounded by a magical barrier. Yet another circle could still be drawn here—which meant someone of overwhelming magical power was nearby.
‘Leonard!?’
A chill raced down my spine as Cedric and Jack hurled themselves into the magical circle.
The knights’ commanders we had freed and who had followed us—those opposed to this war—had already vanished.
“Mother! Mother!!”
Benjamin beside me thrashed and managed to wrench himself free from someone’s grip.
He scrambled forward desperately toward the 3rd Empress.
Then someone burst from the magical circle like lightning and bound Benjamin’s limbs.
Cloaked from head to toe, their identity was impossible to discern, though their exceptional size was unmistakable.
“Let go! Let me go right now!!”
“Benjamin!!”
Then the 3rd Empress cried out as if the room itself would shatter.
“This is my final command. Leave this place!!”
“…Mother.”
“If you leave here, everything will end safely. Live a happy life with your siblings. This is my sin and my father’s sin alone.”
“Mother! Wait! What are you saying!?”
Benjamin struggled once more with all his strength, then suddenly went rigid.
He had recognized whoever was holding him.
“B-Brother? Is that you, Brother? This hair—Brother! Please let me go for a moment!!”
But Benjamin’s plea went unanswered.
We all vanished into the magical circle, and the events of this day unfolded in a direction neither I nor Rosalian had planned.
* * *
Upon teleporting, I arrived at the safe house Rosalian had prepared.
Without a moment to appreciate the surroundings, I turned to face the person who had dragged me here.
It was Sara, as expected.
“Sara! How did you even get here!? What about the Capital!? And why did the 3rd Empress kill her own father, the Count!? This ruins everything!”
“Your Highness, please calm down—”
“Allow me to explain.”
A heavy voice resonated from the far end of the room.
The man who had laid Benjamin down on the sofa after his emotional collapse slowly removed his hood.
Beneath the dim firelight, blood-red hair and coldly settled crimson eyes were revealed.
“Leonard… it was you after all.”
“The 3rd Empress coming with me was a condition of the arrangement.”
Watching Leonard speak so bluntly, I recalled his demeanor from the reception hall before.
Like a cold statue, the man who had said he would kill the 3rd Empress as well.
“But why did the 3rd Empress take such action?”
“She insisted on doing it herself. I believed it would yield the optimal outcome.”
“The optimal outcome?”
Rosalian, who had been waiting at the safe house, cried out in a sharp voice.
“How is the 3rd Empress’s sacrifice the optimal outcome!? The Empress Consort will surely face execution!!”
“Rosalian, hear him out before you rage.”
Jack spoke dryly.
His eyes gleamed fiercely, making his anger unmistakably clear.
Leonard released a short sigh and leaned against the wall.
“The 3rd Empress did send a mage to kill Charlotte. And Count Pixis sought war with me. In other words, both were on the same side, which means Benjamin, as their blood relative, would inevitably become my enemy regardless of intent.”
“So you weren’t trying to stop the Count alongside the Prince’s Consort! By stopping her own grandfather, she proves her innocence!!”
“And how would Benjamin be perceived by the Empire’s people?”
“That would be…”
As Rosalian hesitated, Leonard cut through with a single word.
“A hero.”
“…!”
“A young but capable prince who prevented collusion with the enemy nation Morbian, peacefully averted war, and tearfully stopped his own grandfather.”
“…”
“His reputation would skyrocket instantly.”
Someone’s audible swallow echoed through the silence.
The room was gripped by such tension that it felt suffocating.
“Demian will certainly keep watch over Benjamin.”
“But Benjamin Prince will request asylum in Sincester!”
“Even with asylum, one cannot rule out the possibility of his return. Are you unaware of the case where the 14th Eclipse Emperor feigned exile, built his forces, and returned to usurp the throne?”
“B-but…”
“Moreover, protecting oneself in a foreign land is far more difficult than in Blake. The Empress Consort attempted to kill Charlotte, so she’ll be confined to prison for at least five years. It will be difficult for her to protect Benjamin directly.”
Rosalian is intelligent and knows how to assess the situation accurately.
Otherwise, she would never have requested a deal from me.
As her words dwindled, the atmosphere grew heavy.
“But if the Sixth Prince’s mother were to directly kill my father, it would mean the two of them were on opposing sides from the beginning, and Benjamin—who sought to stop Count Pixis—would have known nothing of this affair.”
“….”
“Furthermore, if Benjamin were to bear the sins of his mother and maternal grandfather and depart for Sincester, he could never become Emperor again. Yet all would pity and mourn him as a tragic prince. Of course, he would face no threats to his life whatsoever.”
In other words, the 3rd Empress desired her children to live peacefully, even if they were stripped of honor.
By killing my father.
I could never have imagined such an outcome. Had I been too naive about war?
—A jewel within the Pope’s casket
—A foolish flower in a greenhouse.
It felt as though I had been struck from behind.
While I stood dazed, Jack spoke in a voice like a beast’s growl.
“You didn’t incite the Empress Consort, did you?”
“….”
“In the end, only you reaped good fortune, didn’t you, Sixth Prince? The war never happened, and you’ll gain the Silverstone Territory. That Sixth Prince’s Wife will be revered alongside Benjamin for preventing the war.”
“Jack Clore. Don’t judge by results.”
Leonard commanded him as one would tame a beast.
“Do you truly believe she—who once regarded me as vermin—would do something solely for my benefit?”
“….”
“Even if the 3rd Empress was a good woman to you all, she was never a good woman to me. And I am no philanthropist.”
“You bastard!”
Jack surged to his feet.
“Brother, stop.”
Rosalian stepped in front of him.
“It’s already over.”
Sorrow dwelt in her blue eyes, but no anger.
Leonard, observing the siblings, pushed himself away from the wall.
“I shall return to the Capital. I have much to attend to. Nicholas, who should be arriving shortly, will handle the rest.”
“Wait!”
I quickly grasped Leonard’s collar.
“Don’t you have something to say to me?”
* * *
The safe house was dilapidated yet spacious.
Rosalian wordlessly offered us a large room.
The night air had grown cold. Though we were deep in the forest with no one around, somehow the scent of blood seemed to drift even here.
I had seized him first, yet I could not easily speak.
I did not know what reaction to show in this situation.
As I kept my gaze fixed on the floor, I heard footsteps approaching me.
In that same moment, the final images of the 3rd Empress and Count Pixis surfaced in my mind.
“Did you seize me to condemn me?”
“I beg your pardon?”
I lifted my head in startled surprise. It was a question that stole the very breath from my lungs.
“That cannot be. Why would you think such a thing?”
“If that were not the case, why did you seize my arm when I attempted to leave, and why do you stand there in such silence?”
“I… that is to say.”
My lips trembled.
“I.”
For a moment, reason within my mind held me back, yet my thundering heart urged me forward with its insistent pulse.
“I wanted to ask if you were all right.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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