Bloodline is a Cheat Code - Chapter 23

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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 23
What good would it do us to know who possesses divine power?
If this were an era when divine power wielded tremendous strength and magic could be commanded freely, I would naturally have agreed with Serpina Rosena’s words.
Even without being born with crimson eyes, members of the Imperial Family supported by the Temple or capable of wielding divine power could hold considerable authority.
They would never ascend to the throne, yet they would possess formidable influence throughout their lives—all because they were backed by those who possessed miraculous healing arts bordering on resurrection.
But now, even if the Temple offered its support, they would merely be branded as Imperial Family members colluding with suspicious elements.
“Do you mean I should remonstrate with the Prince not to associate with that person?”
Such words hardly seemed likely to be effective.
If that were the case, he wouldn’t have gifted me something blessed with consecration. For all his unassuming appearance, how meticulous he truly is.
He must consider me someone he trusts completely and would never abandon—that’s why he dared take such action.
“No, we need to show we’re trustworthy people so we can extract information from his side. He wouldn’t have approached the divine faction without some intention.”
“I think the same way.”
Did he truly give this out of goodwill? If so, he would have chosen a less conspicuous gift.
Not something as obviously expensive as this necklace.
He must have wanted to convey something. But since letters risked being intercepted, he chose to express it through this necklace instead.
“It’s the sort of conversation that couldn’t happen in person.”
Serpina Rosena seized the opportunity to add one more comment.
“Besides, your eyes are far more beautiful, Tiae.”
“That hardly seems like sound reasoning, Serpina Rosena.”
Serpina Rosena let my words go in one ear and out the other, examining the necklace meticulously.
She listens carefully to everything else, but she absolutely refuses to hear anything contradicting her compliments about me.
I subtly changed the subject.
“Generally speaking, do blessed items stand out much?”
“Well, those who possess them certainly sense it. You can feel it just by having it nearby. But merely owning a blessed item doesn’t make you a target for punishment or suspicion. There were simply too many blessed items in the past.”
After all, unless one were the Emperor himself, no one could determine whether an Empress or Consort’s necklace had been blessed in the past.
“If anyone questions it, you can simply say it was blessed when the Consort owned it.”
“Can I really do that of my own accord?”
“From what I can tell, he sent it precisely so you would. He’s worried about your safety, but he can’t be by your side.”
Serpina Rosena, having discerned even the hidden intentions I myself hadn’t recognized, wore an unmistakably displeased expression.
Not wanting to hear Lucian Advein’s curses, I pretended to gaze at the necklace as well.
I must share the same blood as Serpina Rosena after all. I too let unpleasant words go in one ear and out the other.
“Tiae, do you remember which Consort this belonged to?”
“Hmm.”
I began searching my memory. It was precisely that moment when countless voices had overlapped in my ears.
The Empress’s items had been presented first, followed by the Consorts’ items in order.
I remembered.
The Second Consort, Pertona.
“It belonged to the Second Consort. Her items rarely come up for auction.”
“Most of them are from the Holy Kingdom, after all. Though there was nearly talk of resuming exchanges with the Holy Kingdom a few years later.”
“Nearly?”
“Yes, everyone who mentioned it had their heads cut off, so it fell through midway.”
“….”
I see.
I don’t really need to know who got their head cut off, do I? That’s terrifying.
Serpina Rosena also refrained from bringing up that story for the sake of my peace of mind.
“Why did they try to resume it?”
“An illness spread. I’ll tell you that story later if such a situation arises.”
She smiled wryly and nodded.
“It seems I’ll have so many things to deal with in the future….”
Living peacefully is really this difficult. So everyone, just don’t get caught.
* * *
The Second Consort Pertona was a princess of the Holy Kingdom whom the Emperor brought in during The Empire’s era of revering Holy Power, to consolidate their forces.
Though she possessed relatively weak Holy Power for royalty, her marriage played a significant role in somewhat easing the Holy Temple’s subtle displeasure toward the Emperor.
‘Are you saying the Consort’s body decomposed in just one day? It must be a curse.’
‘How could such a peculiar thing emerge from the body of someone with Holy Power?’
After the Consort’s sudden death, numerous rumors circulated, and the Holy Kingdom also made strong requests for the return of the Consort’s body, but The Empire refused.
The Consort was now a person of The Empire and would receive a funeral according to Imperial law, and no conspiracy was involved in her death.
Even when the Holy Kingdom offered to pay if necessary and was rejected, they could not contain their anger and severed relations with The Empire.
After that, following the deaths of the Empress and Consorts, the next to disappear was Aden Advein.
Aden Advein, the son of the Second Consort and the Second Prince, suddenly vanished without warning long ago.
“Did the Second Prince have Holy Power?”
“He did. Moreover, he was extremely knowledgeable in magic as well.”
Her tone was very definitive.
That kind of statement could only come from someone who knows the truth.
“I heard he disappeared, so what happened to him….”
“It’s not like that. If anything, it’s closer to him deliberately concealing himself, or so I was told.”
Her tone also sounded like she heard it directly. Why is Serpina Rosena always so careless about these things?
People said that because the Imperial Household wasn’t actively pursuing his disappearance, Lucian Advein or Vincent must surely be the culprits.
“Have you ever seen the Second Prince?”
“….”
Serpina Rosena, who always answered without hesitation whenever I asked something, fell silent for the first time.
Since she doesn’t usually do this, it seems even more suspicious than usual. And it feels like I shouldn’t ask any further.
“I’m sorry, Serpina Rosena.”
“What are you apologizing for? We do have a history. But it’s from quite a bit later in time, so my memories probably won’t be of much help, which is why I didn’t mention it.”
Now that I think about it, I’d never asked about that person’s old stories, and I could hear her muttering voice all too clearly, but I desperately pretended not to hear.
That’s possible. Serpina Rosena has met many men. Among them, there could be a prince who was thought to be missing.
I ended up learning whether the Second Prince was alive or dead in an unintended way, but it’s a familiar occurrence.
“Anyway, if he received a blessing, the highest possibility is that he’s from the Holy Kingdom.”
I naturally changed the subject.
Serpina Rosena, searching her memory, murmured in a tone as if grasping at a thread that might or might not materialize.
“Then is there a possibility she knows someone in the Holy Kingdom? The Empire and that nation severed ties long ago.”
With the Imperial Consort’s remains refused even a proper handover, there was no reason for the Holy Kingdom to maintain relations with an Empire that rejected Holy power.
The Holy Kingdom possessed military might rivaling the Empire itself, not to mention their command of Holy power—we couldn’t afford to push aggressively, so we merely maintained a strained, distant relationship.
The Second Prince deliberately avoided. The Holy Kingdom. The Second Consort’s possessions. Consecration. Brotherly affection stronger than expected.
The scattered fragments in my mind finally connected.
“Serpina Rosena.”
“Hmm?”
“Everything we just discussed might actually be connected after all.”
“What do you mean by that?”
Of course, this was merely my personal speculation with no basis whatsoever—a theory I had no way to prove at present.
“What I’m saying is, for some reason, the Prince somehow, well, that is to say.”
“He had no choice but to hide his body, and couldn’t be found within the Empire? But the fact that you suddenly brought up the Prince tells me you believe the owner of that Holy power is over there.”
Serpina Rosena truly was a remarkable person.
I’d barely broached the subject, yet she’d deduced the entire chain of logic perfectly.
“Of course, this is just… speculation with no evidence to back it up. The chances of being wrong are probably quite high.”
I hadn’t stumbled upon this by accident—it was closer to pure fabrication.
Serpina Rosena tapped her index finger against the table thoughtfully. I’d never noticed this habit before.
“Hmm…”
In truth, if this theory leaked outside, I’d be branded utterly mad.
That the Empire’s Prince was under threat to his life, and because of it was hiding in the Holy Kingdom—the homeland of the Imperial Consort—to escape.

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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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