First of All, I’m Drinking - Chapter 31

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 31

“He must be killed.”

Inside the meeting room of Taeyang Palace.

Viscount Balcaud, one of the highest-ranking nobles, opened his mouth.

“Prince Cael must be a cursed child. A human possessing demonic energy? It’s impossible.”

Emperor Brunei had deliberately hidden this matter from the imperial family.

This information must never be disclosed to anyone, as it could shake the very foundation of the Empire if mishandled.

No matter how capable Arthur and Killian were, they had no way of discovering information that the Emperor was determined to hide, even with their use of the imperial intelligence network.

However, those gathered here were pillars supporting each axis of the Empire.

They were truly the most powerful among the powerful, nobles among nobles.

In some ways, they wielded even greater power than the imperial family, whose authority merely emerged under the Emperor’s protection.

Using their respective families’ independent information networks, they had succeeded in uncovering the truth of this incident that the Emperor had not revealed.

Only nobles with such capabilities were gathered in this meeting room.

“Calm yourself, Viscount.”

“I am perfectly calm. Don’t you all think the same? A child born with demonic energy has appeared in the Empire’s imperial family. If this fact becomes known to neighboring countries, what will those vermin think of our Empire?”

“This incident itself might be someone’s wicked scheme.”

“A scheme? That’s impossible.”

Viscount Balcaud spat as he spoke passionately.

“Duke Ifrit and the Imperial Guard knights already know the truth anyway. We also discovered it through our own power. It’s only a matter of time before the truth spreads. We must kill Prince Cael before other countries find out.”

“Too extreme, Viscount. Nothing has been properly revealed yet. We need to take more time and observe the situation.”

“What’s extreme is the power dwelling within Prince Cael. How… how can a human possess demonic energy.”

“Enough.”

Viscount Balcaud closed his mouth.

The other party’s expression was so stern.

Count Gamillan.

Along with Duke Ifrit who wasn’t present, he was a great noble ranking among the top five in the Empire in terms of influence.

“Count Amanet.”

“Yes.”

At Count Gamillan’s voice, a man standing behind him bowed his head and stepped forward.

He was a member of the Imperial Guard who had helped arrest Cael.

He was also an expert who had obtained a doctorate in demonic energy and demon studies.

“Nothing can be determined yet. We have no choice but to confirm things gradually in this place. Count Amanet.”

“Yes, Count.”

“What are the chances that someone maliciously implanted demonic energy into Prince Cael?”

This was the possibility Count Gamillan suspected.

No matter how young, Prince Cael was the Emperor’s own son.

Even if not immediately, he held a position where he could enter the succession competition at any time.

There was every possibility that one of Prince Cael’s political enemies, wary of this, had arranged to implant demonic energy in his body.

Targeting exactly this kind of situation.

However, Amanet spoke decisively.

“Impossible.”

“…Can you take responsibility for those words?”

“Yes. I’m certain.”

Amanet added.

“Demonic energy is a force incompatible with the human body. If demonic energy is injected into a human body, they immediately go berserk and die, or their entire body rots and falls apart. But His Highness was perfectly fine without any symptoms.”

“Wouldn’t it be the same if he was born with demonic energy?”

“Theoretically, yes… but what I want to address isn’t the demonic energy itself, but His Highness’s body.”

“His body…”

“For a human body to contain demonic energy and remain fine – that can never be called normal.”

Demonic energy injected into the body by someone else?

If that were really the case, it would be to kill Prince Cael, but if murder was the goal, there were many safer and more efficient methods available.

There was no need to consider the uncontrollable option of ‘demonic energy.’

And what this meant was.

“…So he was born with it from the beginning.”

The nobles’ expressions grew grave.

Viscount Balcaud nodded as if he had expected this and opened his mouth.

“Now do you see? That Prince Cael was born with a cursed body. No, perhaps he’s a demon in disguise.”

Viscount Balcaud sneered.

Seeing that attitude, Count Gamillan showed subtle anger.

“You seem quite pleased with this situation, don’t you.”

“What do you mean?”

“Exactly what I said. An innocent child might die, yet your expression is absolutely gleeful.”

“An innocent child? Prince Cael must be a demon in disguise!”

“You know one thing but not two. Among the hundreds of security magic circles in this Imperial Capital, do you think there isn’t a single one that detects demons?”

“That’s…”

“You knew that too. Yet the reason you’re being so aggressive – is it because of your daughter?”

“…My daughter?”

“Don’t play dumb. I know your daughter is having her engagement ceremony with His Highness Prince Killian, the Second Prince, next month.”

The Viscount’s body trembled.

“Are you happy that a political rival is disappearing on his own? Even if it’s built on a child’s blood?”

“…”

“A beast in human form. Utterly disgusting.”

At the Count’s harsh words, Viscount Balcaud’s fists trembled.

“…Even if you say that, nothing will change.”

“What do you mean by that.”

“Right now upstairs, His Majesty is meeting with Duke Ifrit. Given the special circumstances, they must be discussing secret matters that shouldn’t be known to us.”

“So what of it.”

“Count, surely you haven’t forgotten why His Majesty is called by the epithet ‘Blood Martial Emperor’?”

The Count’s face hardened.

“No matter if it’s his own son, His Majesty would never let an existence that harms the Empire’s prestige live.”

Viscount Balcaud declared with confident tone.

“Prince Cael will die. Regardless of what we say here.”

As if the Viscount’s voice absorbed all sound, silence fell over the meeting room.

They too had been inwardly suspecting this.

But they didn’t know.

That outside the meeting room door, there was someone pressing their ear against it, eavesdropping on their entire conversation.

That their tiny heart was beating frantically with fear and anxiety.

“Cael…”

Seria whispered the unreachable name with a trembling voice.

* * *

Seria ran.

“Huff, huff!”

Shocking words had been exchanged in the meeting room.

They said Cael would die.

They said Father would kill him directly.

Cael, who still had so many days left to live.

Seria also knew what demonic energy was.

The power possessed by beings residing in a different dimension from the Mortal Realm – the Demon Realm.

A power symbolizing death and destruction, which humans could never possess nor should possess.

Such terrifying power was dwelling within Cael.

But does that really mean he needs to be killed?

Cael hasn’t done anything wrong yet.

To kill a child who has committed no crime, simply because he harbors demonic energy.

That’s not right.

‘Quickly, I need to find him quickly.’

Outside the window, a full moon hung in the purple sky.

I need to find Cael.

And we need to discuss countermeasures.

Otherwise, Cael might be executed as soon as tomorrow morning dawns.

“Hurry…”

But finding one person whose whereabouts were unknown in this vast Imperial Capital was no easy task.

To put it more bluntly, it was nearly impossible.

Even so, Seria ran.

First, the most likely place was the prison.

Among them, the underground prison.

The prison within the Imperial Capital grounds was nothing more than a temporary detention facility.

There weren’t that many of them either.

First, she’d search all the prisons, then think about what to do next.

“Huff, huff!”

If it weren’t for the stamina she’d built up training her aura, she would have collapsed long ago.

She wasted a full two to three hours searching through prisons.

But even after searching through every prison in the Imperial Capital, she couldn’t find Cael.

Could he possibly be outside the Imperial Capital?

“Quickly, quickly… Ow!”

Thud!

Seria, who had been running for a while, bumped into something and fell.

It wasn’t a joke – it felt like she’d hit a wall made of steel.

But the other party was a person.

“Oh my, are you alright?”

Distinctive dull blonde hair and light blue eyes.

It was Merry, Mac and Kal’s dedicated attendant.

Wait, why is this person popping up here right now?

“Ugh, it hurts…”

Looking down, her knee was scraped again and bleeding.

There was no time to be in pain.

Even at this very moment, death was closing in on Cael moment by moment.

She was about to turn away to find him as quickly as possible when—

“Are you perhaps looking for Prince Cael? If so, I have one place in mind.”

She stopped.

Seria’s footsteps halted.

She looked up at Merry with an incredulous expression.

“You have a place… in mind?”

“Yes. There’s an abandoned tower behind Taeyang Palace. There’s a temporary prison set up on the rooftop there, and Prince Cael is likely to be in that place.”

“Is that really true?!”

What are the odds of this happening.

Is this person an angel sent down from heaven?

No.

She’s a suspicious person.

Right now, to ordinary people, Cael is known to be simply missing.

But to say that Cael is in prison means this person also knows the truth.

How did she find out the secret with just a maid’s status?

“I know you’re suspicious.”

Merry raised her hand to reassure Seria.

“We only have one chance too. It would be troublesome if we broke in and he wasn’t there.”

“What… do you mean?”

“So Princess, you just need to confirm for us. Whether His Highness is in that tower or not. If you just confirm that, we’ll handle the rest ourselves.”

The fact that she was suspicious remained unchanged.

But having heard that Cael might be on the rooftop of that abandoned tower.

For Seria, Cael’s safety took priority over this maid’s identity.

“Thank you.”

Seria offered her thanks and turned direction, running toward the tower Merry had mentioned.

Then suddenly, something bothered her and she looked back.

“But when you say ‘we,’ are there perhaps other companions…?”

Merry had already disappeared without a trace.

Without any sign at all.

* * *

Seria ran like an arrow and arrived at the abandoned tower.

‘There was a place like this… in the Imperial Capital?’

The tower, which gave off an overall desolate atmosphere, was hidden among the trees.

That might be why she hadn’t discovered it, but Seria felt there was probably another reason.

As she approached the tower’s entrance, guards stopped Seria.

“Hm? Princess?”

A troubled expression appeared on the guard’s face.

“How did you discover this place? There should be recognition interference magic embedded here.”

I see.

‘So there was recognition interference magic embedded here.’

There was a reason she hadn’t discovered this tower despite living in the Imperial Capital her entire life.

“Move aside.”

When she tried to push her way in, naturally the guards blocked Seria.

Seria even summoned her aura to try to push past the guards, but they were immovable.

“Ugh! Move aside!”

“You cannot enter.”

“Why not! I discovered such an interesting tower in the Imperial Capital! It’s natural to want to explore it!”

“You cannot enter, Your Highness. There are very dangerous magical beasts inside. For Your Highness’s safety, we cannot permit entry.”

“Argh! I’m going to tell Mother about all of you! Can you handle the consequences?”

“We are guarding this place under His Majesty the Emperor’s direct orders.”

No matter how great Second Empress Fiore’s influence was, it was still a rank below the Emperor.

At this point, Seria wanted to break through this blockade out of sheer stubbornness.

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