Bloodline is a Cheat Code - Chapter 83
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————
Chapter 83
Long, pale blue hair and sky-blue eyes that mirrored it—the man who emanated a refreshing, mysterious aura was strikingly handsome, the kind who would be utterly breathtaking if only he kept his mouth shut.
“What?”
“Ah, I’m Cruide Den. Might I have the pleasure of knowing the lady’s name?”
The man with his hair tied back in a ponytail blinked innocently, as if he understood nothing, greeting Serpina Rosena.
“Are you pretending to be meeting me for the first time because of all that talk about forgetting everything?”
Lucian Advein’s voice dripped with exasperation, as if he’d lived far too long to witness such absurdity.
It wasn’t the sort of thing someone not yet of age should say, but even after living decades more, one wouldn’t easily encounter such a character.
“Serpina Rosena. The wife of Kalik Rosena and Aden Rosena.”
“Wait, wait, wait. Kalik Rosena and Aden Rosena? We haven’t gotten married yet. Of course, once we marry you, you’ll naturally enter the Duke’s Residence and take our name, as we agreed, but has it already progressed this far? Seri, you’re only nineteen. No, wait. Then make me Cruide Rosena too. Who are you—oh, oh my!”
In that instant, black flames erupted from Cruide’s blue hair with a whoosh.
Serpina Rosena, unable to contain herself, had set his hair ablaze. He let out a shrill shriek, grabbed his hair, and quickly snapped his fingers.
Cruide, whose lustrous, flowing hair had been restored as if the flames had never touched it, pressed his hand to his forehead.
“Asteron, for heaven’s sake. Seri, are you a ruffian? How can you be so violent?”
“Shut up. If you’re not going to stay, forget everything now and get out.”
“You found me again, didn’t you? You pulled me out of my solitary devotion to the study of magic, and now you’re going to abandon me irresponsibly?”
Hadn’t he just been begging for love in the most tender voice in the world?
Serpina Rosena looked at him as if he were the most deranged person on earth, then pushed him from behind into the room.
“Young Duke, it seems to be your hobby to pick up strange men one by one.”
“They didn’t get picked up—they got tangled up with me. And after filtering and sifting through them, I’ve kept only three decent ones, so please refrain from such insulting remarks.”
“All the men in this Empire seem to be garbage.”
Serpina Rosena spoke coldly and pushed the man once more, urging him inside.
Cruide.
Since I was now looking at him calmly without much surprise, Lucian Advein bowed his head slightly toward me.
“Is he another man of the Young Duke’s? Do I need to prepare myself for yet another candidate?”
“As far as I know, he’s the last one. Sister, really, how can your taste in faces and personalities be so inconsistent?”
The three of them had nothing in common except that they were all men.
If I had to pick one similarity, it would be that they were all taller than Serpina Rosena, but most men were taller than her anyway.
As I stared at him expressionlessly, Cruide’s gaze met mine in the empty air with a sharp click.
“Seri, could it be—”
“Yes, that child is Flotie. If you say anything strange to her, she’ll set your mouth on fire instead of your hair.”
“Oh, my. It’s like you reversed her hair color. But the atmosphere is exactly the same. Even the not smiling part. That cold gaze that could get me hanged—she inherited that too!”
“What are you talking about?”
When I hear such unbearable nonsense, my thoughts scatter beyond my lips.
Unable to contain my bewilderment, I mutter under my breath, and Lucian Advein, hearing it as if by supernatural sense, bows his head deeply as if suppressing laughter. Excuse me, isn’t this infuriating?
In an attempt to regain composure, I press my forehead while my shoulders tremble.
As I continue to stare at Cruide with a stern expression, he mimics shuddering.
“I think I should voluntarily walk to the guillotine now. Look at that frigid gaze.”
“No need to go. I’ll behead you myself.”
Serpina Rosena drew the sword hanging on the wall.
“Seri, is this life with the sword? You seemed happier when you were using magic.”
“I’m quite skilled with the blade too.”
“But there’s a Sword Master here. Do you really need to wield one?”
Lucian Advein, who had been laughing with a shrug, suddenly went still. In that instant, the sword in Serpina Rosena’s hand slipped free and floated gently into the air.
The blade’s tip rotated toward me. What was this scheme about?
Cruide Den, who controlled it, stood behind with a smirk. Quite the spectacle.
In that moment, his lips moved. As he manipulated the sword, he chanted an incantation. So he had cast a spell upon the blade.
A spell circle so small only my eyes could perceive it appeared at the sword’s tip.
In that instant, someone’s blurred voice reached me.
— Your Majesty, you’ve left your meal again.
That voice was unmistakably….
For reasons I couldn’t explain, I reached out to grasp the sword.
“Tiae!”
Lucian Advein drew his blade to deflect it and pressed the edge against Cruide Den’s throat at nearly the same moment Serpina Rosena and Elian threw themselves forward to embrace me.
The sword, launched to the ground with such force, had its entire blade shattered into fragments.
“Ha, it seems the Young Duke’s filter didn’t function properly.”
Haeston and Jade Delpoi, who had drawn their swords, stood flanking Lucian Advein as if providing cover.
Though naturally, Lucian Advein would have no need for such protection.
“Cruide Den, now that I think about it, I’ve heard that name before.”
“Explain, Haeston.”
“He’s famous for authoring the Grimoire of Dark Arts. It detailed what dark magic is when divorced from curses. He’s also proficient in curse-breaking, though he was exiled from the Empire roughly a century ago.”
“A century?”
“Yes, he’s said to be of the elven race, not human. Of course, that’s a minor matter. The real reason for his exile was likely because he drunkenly spiked the holy water of the Minister’s Temple with alcohol….”
“Wait! Wait! That’s a matter of personal privacy!”
A man—or rather, a non-human—who had committed a capital crime in the public eye.
Elian convulsed with her entire body wrapped around me and Serpina Rosena, shrieking frantically.
“Heavens! That brutal fiend must be dragged away at once! Miss!”
“Calm yourself, Elian.”
“Should I kill him? In this life, two men seem sufficient.”
“Sister, you calm down too.”
Lucian Advein’s eyes gleamed with a sharp light.
“Young Duke, is there a reason I shouldn’t cut this man down?”
“Lucian, too….”
It seemed a situation that wouldn’t be calmed by words of caution. I decided to abandon the effort.
“Tiae, what are you doing? In such a dangerous situation, you didn’t even think to flee, yet you reached out your hand?”
I, who had been patting Serpina Rosena’s back to reassure her, turned to face him.
“While everyone’s eyes were on the sword, you chanted an incantation silently. Curses always leave traces. And this mansion is bound by ancient magic, so anyone using a curse will inevitably suffer backlash. The gentleman who has lived with sister could not be unaware of this.”
“Ah….”
I felt Lucian Advein listening to my words without lowering his blade.
“Since you’re versed in curses, sister must have brought you here herself. Moreover, the one who devoted eternity to sister in the previous life would not harm me. At least not before sister’s eyes. So what did you discover?”
I’m skilled enough at reading people’s auras to have recognized that Lucian Advein is a Sword Master.
Though he appears slovenly and peculiar, that very nature makes him easier to read.
“…Seri, your brother seems rather frightening. In any case, this isn’t an ordinary curse—it appears to be a perversion of something that already existed. A black mage with some skill must have had a hand in it.”
“But why did you draw the sword?”
When Serpina Rosena asked coldly, Cruide shrugged his shoulders.
“The sword hilt is made of magic stone. In this Empire, it’s difficult to find magic stones that can accept black magic deep enough to properly break curses. But you there—I don’t know who you are, but if you dig any deeper, your carotid artery will be severed.”
“It seems you don’t consider that you could sever it but choose not to.”
“Seri, who exactly is this person? Can I fight him?”
“I explained the whole way here—he’s the legitimate crown prince, Aden’s brother.”
“Let’s forget everything that just happened and make peace, shall we?”
“Young Duke, do I truly have a reason not to cut this man down?”
“Since Tiae seems inclined to hear him out, let’s listen first and then cut. You need only leave his tongue—he’s lived long enough. Experiencing the loss of limbs might be something new for him.”
“Then I’ll refrain from cutting off his limbs for now.”
“Seri? Seri?”
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————