Bloodline is a Cheat Code - Chapter 82

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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 82
The two standing beside me said nothing in particular. They didn’t even question why I’d brought it up—they simply accepted it as fact.
“Of course, this is only counting the living. If we include the dead, there would be a few more. The Young Duke’s precious man isn’t someone I trust enough to include in this conversation, so I didn’t bring him here.”
Lucian Advein continued with perfect composure.
Right, the dead couldn’t speak anyway. I wasn’t even curious about who they were.
“You’re not asking?”
“I don’t want to know. What good would it do me? I can’t even perform necromancy.”
“The curse on your body could be possession by a spirit. Ah, when will that mage who understands curses finally arrive?”
Why did the conversation suddenly veer off track? Weren’t we having an incredibly serious discussion just now?
This curse that gave me no pain, no suffering, and lay dormant peacefully wasn’t something I should be worrying about at this moment.
“Please, calm yourself.”
“If I were cursed somewhere, you would simply accept it without concern?”
“No, I would annihilate their entire house. My sister taught me to live with the resolve to destroy every single thing that touches someone she cherishes.”
“….”
I couldn’t tell what part of my words moved Lucian Advein or improved his mood, but he suddenly calmed down completely.
Thanks to that, I had the leisure to take a sip of tea. After that day, I myself had developed an almost compulsive habit of dipping a silver spoon into my tea.
“Flotie, I brewed that tea myself. If you make such a suspicious expression, doesn’t your fiancé get hurt?”
“Yes? Oh, I apologize.”
“Don’t apologize. In situations like this, stop talking nonsense and tell me you’ll carry a few spare silver spoons with you.”
What kind of rhythm was I supposed to match? How tiresome.
As I was glaring at him, whose words kept changing by the moment, I heard a knock. I thought the person about curses had finally arrived, but it was Elian, who had finally awakened.
“Um, I apologize. I really want to hear the story about the Vincent Crown Prince. Would that be possible?”
It was awkward to tell someone who had already heard everything that it wasn’t possible.
As I conveyed this meaning with my gaze, Lucian Advein shrugged.
“Do as you wish. There’s nothing left to hide now anyway. Or just pretend to take out and reshelve books that are already organized.”
He willingly retold the story he’d shared when we were alone. Though it amounted to little more than how few people in the Imperial Household knew that Lucian Advein’s eyes were red.
The reason he deliberately told this story in Elian’s presence was actually quite clear.
He was trying to bring her aboard as well, since she carried the Vincent Crown Prince’s child.
I trusted Elian completely, but to Lucian Advein, she was merely someone who had kept many secrets from him.
“Your Highness, if I may be so bold, might I ask one question?”
Rather than being flustered by what she’d heard, Elian opened her mouth with even greater composure.
Unlike me, who couldn’t even grasp how to handle this situation.
“You’ve already been bold enough. One more boldness won’t hurt. Ask away.”
“Thank you. The matter is, if there are only three people in the Palace Interior who know this fact, then that means….”
Elian, who had been speaking without hesitation, suddenly trailed off. She seemed uncertain whether she should dare voice what she was thinking.
Only then could I understand what she was about to say.
Lucian Advein’s expression darkened slightly. I couldn’t guess the cause of his displeasure.
“Why did you stop speaking?”
“…No, it’s nothing. Even with your permission, I realized I was thinking of a question I shouldn’t dare ask. Please forget it.”
“So you’re saying our father, His Majesty, doesn’t know either, is that it?”
“…Yes.”
The moment those words left Lucian Advein’s lips and entered the world, Elian bowed her head deeply.
I found myself frowning involuntarily. To think that Elian could pose such a question even while backed into a corner like this—I had to admire her audacity.
Then again, perhaps only someone this bold could muster the resolve to hide the child of the Vincent Crown Prince and live with that secret.
Lucian Advein stroked his chin before responding.
“I don’t know. After all, this entire affair is an elaborate chessboard constructed to deceive His Majesty. Tell me, are you any good at chess?”
“I’ve received instruction from the Young Duke.”
“The King moves but a single square at a time, barely managing to stay alive. Once captured, the game ends. But the Queen—she commands the entire board, dominating every situation.”
Lucian Advein fixed his gaze upon me as he continued.
“Am I the Queen, then?”
Was he displeased that I was dashing about haphazardly in every direction?
What other choice do I have right now? You’re essentially imprisoned in the Third Prince’s Palace.
Feeling suddenly wronged, I spoke with a sharp edge to my voice.
“Are you comparing His Majesty to the King?”
“So you’re saying I’m the one who moves barely a single square at a time, and once captured, the game ends?”
That’s not an inaccurate assessment, is it?
Confined to the Prince’s Palace, feigning madness while living out my days—yet I am the subject of an oracle that would destroy the Empire itself should I fail to ascend the throne. Had I not pulled you out, you would have simply continued as you were.
Whether this constitutes lèse-majesté or the bestowal of legitimacy, I’m not certain. I blinked slowly before asking again.
“Then who exactly is the opposing team’s King?”
“The King is usually the Emperor.”
“And the Queen?”
The Empress and the Imperial Consort are both long departed from this world.
To voice this aloud would be true sacrilege. I swallowed my words and fixed my gaze upon Lucian Advein.
That expression—as though he already knew every thought running through my mind. Has he taken even my last remaining ability, my intuition, for himself?
Yes, yes. Read it all. Read every last thought.
“There is a rule in chess where a pawn that reaches the far end of the board becomes a Queen.”
“Indeed.”
“There was once a pawn who crawled alone to the board’s end, exploiting the King’s helplessness.”
This was an allusion to Lai.
When he spoke of a helpless Emperor, I couldn’t tell if he meant Vincent or the Current Emperor. I hummed softly in acknowledgment, then nodded.
“But why must we throw ourselves into a game where we’re so clearly disadvantaged? I prefer overwhelming battles.”
“I too desire only overwhelming victory, yet didn’t you push my back toward it, promising that you would bring me triumph?”
The deliberate use of “Young Lady”—neither “you” nor “Flotie”—was meant to remind me of that promise made then.
I who had sworn to place him upon the throne through Rosena’s power.
Though it was an unavoidable path for Rosena’s safety, to be used in this manner… Of course, my resolve has not wavered even now.
He has already entered the realm of those I wish to protect.
“It wasn’t so much pushing my back as extending your hand. In an alliance forged thus, we became friends, and now we’re even betrothed. This is a textbook example of desirable relationship development—the sort that could appear in children’s educational books.”
“Which is precisely why there’s a terrifying secret lurking within this desirable development. Hiding my nephew, no less.”
“I’m not the one hiding him.”
Speaking thus makes it sound as though I’m the one concealing him. I’m merely a sickly youngest princess who has always dreamed of hiding something in her lifetime.
“Lucian, stop deflecting and tell me what’s actually important. What do I need to do to achieve checkmate?”
As I opened my mouth with growing urgency, he gazed at me before letting out a soft chuckle.
Just as I thought I might finally hear the truth, another knock sounded at the door.
“Who is it?”
This time, I couldn’t suppress the exasperation in my voice. Why did someone always have to interrupt at the most crucial moments?
“The Young Duke has personally brought a mage to examine your condition.”
“What? Serpina Rosena did? Lucian, did you ask her?”
“No, I simply sent word to the Magic Tower requesting they dispatch a mage well-versed in curses as quickly as possible.”
Lucian tilted his head as if equally bewildered.
Could it be Asteron? If Serpina Rosena had actually gone so far as to drag the Magic Tower Master here by force because of me, this would become a truly irreversible situation.
The moment tension gripped my expression, the door swung open.
“Seri, if you just say you love me, I promise to forget everything that came before.”
“Fine, I love you.”
“Good, I’ll forget. Let’s start fresh. Who are you?”
What in the world? This madman.

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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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