Bloodline is a Cheat Code - Chapter 18

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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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Chapter 18
The lady who had been conversing fell silent mid-sentence, unable to finish her thought.
Predictable.
‘It seems the Third Prince has also decided to throw himself into the political struggle for the throne.’
That’s what she wanted to say.
And it wasn’t wrong either. Throughout history, there was no shortage of Imperial Family members without red eyes who had recklessly pursued the throne only to bring about their own downfall.
Rather, they seemed to lament the capable knight Jade Delpoi, who had been claimed by Lucian Advein.
In truth, it was the result of Hailey Genevre’s resourcefulness to keep Duke Rosena from becoming entangled in the matter.
Near the end of that tea party, Hailey Genevre had first proposed to Jade Delpoi that it would be best for him to go to the Third Prince’s Palace with Lucian Advein.
‘Hailey Genevre.’
‘Your Highness, though I speak out of turn, I humbly request that Lord Jade Delpoi, who shall be your loyal subject, undergo a formal oath of allegiance at the Prince’s Palace.’
‘You mean you wish to proceed through the official ceremony of oath-taking?’
‘Yes.’
‘Hailey Genevre, stop. Such empty formalities hold no meaning whatsoever….’
The image of her responding precisely to her lover’s bewildered rebuttal remained vivid in my mind.
‘Do you understand how great a debt we owe to the young lady of House Rosena, Jade? But if word spreads that this oath was conducted at Duke Rosena’s Residence, she will surely be drawn into this as well.’
‘So you’re concerned that it might appear as though Duke Rosena is officially supporting me?’
Lucian Advein spoke with open sarcasm, yet Hailey Genevre merely flinched momentarily without yielding her position.
‘House Genevre shall also support Your Highness. However, Duke Rosena’s decision is one for the Duke and the Young Duke to deliberate upon, not something to be determined by rumor based on our actions.’
‘Hmm.’
Lucian Advein let out a short sound of acknowledgment before chuckling softly.
He seemed unable to muster a displeased expression no matter how he tried.
So he was the type to be delighted and at a loss when encountering capable people? Hailey Genevre clearly had plans to employ someone.
Perhaps in some service capacity. Hailey Genevre.
He nodded slowly before turning his head toward Jade Delpoi.
‘Then go to the Third Prince’s Palace. Ah, but it would be good to stay for a few days so that people have room for misunderstanding. Soon enough, there will be social gatherings where mothers mock even heirlooms merely because someone bore the Emperor’s son—we can meet there.’
To describe a heirloom auction as merely a social gathering where mothers mock one another.
I felt anew just how twisted his perspective on this situation had become.
“Now, finally, the Empress’s violet pearl necklace! It is said to have been crafted from a mermaid’s tears!”
“There’s also a rumor that Jade Delpoi first proposed to Lillian, isn’t there?”
Along with the auctioneer’s voice, another voice whispered through the red-tinted earpiece.
The voices of young men who sounded far younger and somewhat lighter than those who had overheard the previous conversation.
I instinctively turned my head to observe Hailey Genevre’s expression.
With a mask covering half her face, I could not discern her exact expression, but her tightly pressed lips seemed to reveal her mood.
“Young Lady Hailey Genevre, if it troubles you, I can listen alone—please feel free to participate in the auction.”
“No, it’s fine. I’ll listen. It’s only rumor anyway.”
Her eyes shone with fierce trust in Jade Delpoi and a touch of stubborn pride.
Whoever they were, those who spoke so lightly of others’ affairs would surely pay the price by my hand.
* * *
“Ethan, what nonsense is that? If you carelessly let such words slip, neither of us will come out of this unscathed.”
The man leaning against the terrace trembled as though frightened, yet his grinning face bore a subtle satisfaction.
Why did novels depict villains so theatrically, and why did such flat characters appear in reality?
Perhaps because the very archetypes that inspired them actually existed.
Wherever one went, such people could be found—those compelled to seek the cause of their own inadequacies in others.
And once they found even the smallest pretext, they descended upon it ferociously, indifferent to truth or falsehood.
It was no coincidence that this place had gathered young men who envied House Delpoi for precisely such reasons.
“What more could go wrong? Deneb. Everyone here knows of it now. If anyone heard me, they’d think I was fabricating tales.”
Indeed, the entire Capital had been abuzz lately with news of Jade Delpoi’s oath of loyalty. A renowned knight received such attention simply for choosing his liege lord.
Or rather, the true reason for his prominence lay in which prince he had chosen to serve.
“Everyone saw it themselves inside the Auction House, didn’t they?”
“Well, yes, we did see it…”
“Certainly, there’s no doubt about it.”
The liege whom Jade Delpoi stood guarding was not Vincent Advein, but Lucian Advein.
The rumored Third Prince.
His temperament was notoriously volatile, and because he stirred up bloodshed whenever opportunity arose within the Imperial Household, the Crown Prince had seen fit to isolate him in the Prince’s Palace without hesitation.
‘— Without those crimson eyes, he could never become Emperor, but he might have served Vincent Advein most admirably.’
‘— People used to visit the Prince’s Palace frequently, but now even ghosts might fear to tread there.’
‘— Though I’ve also heard it’s not madness but rather a plague.’
The prevailing rumor held that in his youth he had been exceptionally brilliant, possessed striking beauty, and demonstrated unwavering integrity—a child lacking nothing—until one day he fell victim to madness.
The man called Deneb recalled Lucian’s face, which had worn an expression of profound ennui.
“If the young lady of House Faneshula truly sent a marriage proposal, shouldn’t the union naturally come to pass?”
In truth, he felt the intoxicating rush of a decisive victory coursing through him.
Since childhood, he had endured endless comparisons with Jade Delpoi—merely because they were peers and had both received their knighthood together.
Jade Delpoi had been born as heir to a promising knight’s house, received excellent education from an early age, and possessed innate abilities that no amount of effort could overcome.
‘If we work together, we could achieve greater heights.’
Yet Jade never missed an opportunity to flaunt his superiority.
That expressionless face offering hollow consolations anyone could provide, that shameless gesture of extending a hand—it made him nauseated.
‘So this is where your ascent has led you—to the side of a mad prince. You may possess ability, but you lack judgment in reading people. Your taste in women is equally abysmal.’
Finally, a knot he had harbored within himself for so long seemed to unravel.
It mattered not if someone pointed at him and called him contemptible.
Those steeped in negativity for so long rarely recognized the irrationality of their own emotions.
Ethan glanced nervously about, as though concerned someone might overhear.
“Still, we all knew she was betrothed to the young lady of House Genevre…”
For the first time, Ethan’s face—which had been offering perfunctory responses—showed a hint of embarrassment.
At the very least, he possessed more sense of propriety than this disgruntled man.
From the start, he had harbored no genuine interest in a powerless prince. His sole concern was finding some way to establish connections with the Crown Prince’s faction. He had merely engaged in conversation because this man claimed ties to House Faneshula.
He knew that Lillian Faneshula was desperately pursuing Jade Delpoi despite his existing betrothal, and he also knew that this man had sent a marriage proposal to House Faneshula only to be soundly rejected.
‘Yet despite such humiliation, why does he maintain such deep relations with House Faneshula?’
For someone so distant to dare spread such vicious rumors about the prince’s knight was extraordinary.
“What exactly are you so afraid of?”
“Afraid? What on earth do you mean by that?”
“I haven’t disparaged the Crown Prince nor the Prince. I merely spoke of rumors circulating among the people. Everyone already knows what I’m saying.”

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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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