For the heart - Chapter 49

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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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Chapter 49

 

Tark had heard from Duke Baldren and Rainer that they had discovered the ancient weapon, the Arkdia Sword, at the Bellora Ruins.

 

Arkdia was a sword said to have been created by the founder of House Dagnir, a family that had produced outstanding swordsmen for generations.

 

Pictures and descriptions of the sword were recorded in the family heirlooms containing the history of House Dagnir, proving its existence, but to the people of Arsed, Arkdia was a sword of legend.

 

Through that sword, which possessed the ability to cut through time and return to the past, the first Emperor of Arsed was said to have gone back tens of thousands of times to correct countless errors.

 

The nation of Arsed was thus established through such perfection.

 

Because of its incredible abilities and the immense significance Arkdia held, whenever ancient swords were discovered, the people harbored expectations that it might be Arkdia.

 

This even led to the frequent appearance of counterfeits.

 

Therefore, whenever a sword suspected to be Arkdia was found, descendants of House Dagnir would always verify it, and Tark, who was both the empire’s greatest swordsman and of this generation, held that role.

 

The Bellora Ruins were located near County of Velan, Catalina’s family home.

 

It wasn’t too far from the capital, so if they left early in the morning, they could return to the palace by evening.

 

“Sir Tark, where are you going so early in the morning?”

 

“Your Majesty, Duke Baldren has requested that I verify an ancient artifact suspected to be Arkdia that has been discovered. I intend to go and return quickly.”

 

“I see. If Arkdia is discovered today as well, it would be even more joyful.”

 

“What good news do you have, Your Majesty? You seem to be in good spirits.”

 

“A midwife has been in the Empress’s Palace since dawn. Perhaps today, I might finally meet the daughter I’ve been waiting for so long.”

 

The Emperor was certain that his unborn child was a ‘daughter.’

 

“How do you know it will be a princess?”

 

“Hahaha! Because I received an oracle.”

 

“Do you mean you received a succession oracle?!”

 

Tark’s eyes widened in surprise.

 

While the imperial family received oracles for various matters, receiving an oracle before a child’s birth was extremely rare.

 

This oracle, also called a ‘prenatal oracle’ as it was said to be a divine message given while the child was still in the womb, was called a ‘succession oracle’ because it was only given to chosen successors who received revelations from the sacred realm.

 

Magnus receiving a succession oracle in Arsed was the first time in nearly 300 years.

 

On the day he received the succession oracle, blue Selenia flower petals were said to have rained from the sky.

 

That’s why Arsed’s national flower was changed to Selenia at that time.

 

Moreover, since he was born as a powerful being with an ‘immortal body,’ the empire’s people loved him tremendously.

 

And now, immediately in the next generation, another succession oracle!

 

It was an incredible blessing for Arsed.

 

Succession oracles were given one month before the child in the womb would see light, but by law, they were announced only after the child was born.

 

“I’m so curious about what kind of oracle the princess received, Your Majesty.”

 

“You’ll be amazed. The princess will be Arsed’s joy.”

 

The Emperor’s face, which he had known since boyhood, was overflowing with more joy than ever before.

 

Seeing this expression for the first time, Tark smiled happily as well.

 

Not knowing that this moment would be their last.

 

When he returned to the palace late at night, Tark was horrified by the severely burned Empress’s Palace and the gruesome state of the Dumont Ducal House’s family members, the Grand Steward, and various priests.

 

It was all so sudden.

 

They said the Empress had stabbed the heart of the Emperor, who had an immortal body, causing his death, and that House of Demonth had conspired with the Grand Steward, the Saint, and priests to overthrow the imperial authority.

 

The deceased Emperor’s body was placed in a coffin without anyone being able to confirm it, and they said the Empress had died in the fire at the Empress’s Palace.

 

This tremendous incident was made known to the world the very next day at dawn, when severed heads were hung in the town square.

 

Rainer Arsed, who had prevented the rebellion, ascended to the throne, and he declared that he would never let such a thing happen again and would create a strong Arsed.

 

Thus began his madness for unifying the entire continent.

 

Tark couldn’t understand any of it.

 

But as if it had been prepared for a long time, the events of that day spread as an elaborate story.

 

Ernesa Hamer, the wicked woman of the century who had seduced Emperor Magnus from the beginning with the intention of overthrowing Arsed’s imperial authority.

 

Viscount of Demont, who had disguised himself as a loyal subject while trying to devour the empire.

 

Rainer Arsed, who had dealt with the tragic end of Emperor Magnus and protected the Arsed Empire and its people from crisis.

 

People believed that incredible story without even having time to doubt it, and cheered for the Arsed that would achieve the continental unification he spoke of.

 

“Her Majesty the Empress having an affair with Viscount of Demont… It’s absurd.”

 

Viscount of Demont was over fifty years old and was the most trusted of Magnus Arsed’s loyal subjects.

 

He was also a person of such upright character that he would be second to none in Arsed.

 

Moreover, if rumors about the Empress had been secretly spreading, there was no way they wouldn’t have reached Emperor Magnus’s ears, yet the Emperor had been purely happy just thinking about meeting his daughter.

 

Hadn’t he even said he received a succession oracle?

 

Tark was not swept away by the power that the new Emperor wielded frantically.

 

He watched the burned and sealed Empress’s Palace for several days, and when he confirmed that no one came there, he infiltrated it.

 

The once-splendid Empress’s Palace was desolate, with everything burned black.

 

“Inside there… there were exactly two things that hadn’t burned. Your Majesty’s sword and…”

 

Tark’s heart sank at the sight left on the collapsed bed.

 

Remains that couldn’t be completely consumed even by the flames.

 

The traces of a small figure that had curled up tightly were clearly those of the Empress.

 

The arms that had embraced something in her bosom to protect it, the shoulders and back curved like a bow while turning away from the outside, remained in a heart-wrenching shape.

 

And beneath that embrace.

 

In the middle of the fire-scorched bedding, only the space where a newborn baby would have lain remained strangely white and unburned.

 

At the time, Tark thought the Empress had given birth and these were the traces left from protecting that child.

 

Naturally, he assumed the child had died as well.

 

“What I took was practically theft. Your Majesty’s sword. I wondered why Your Majesty’s sword was in the Empress’s Palace, but no one spoke of such questions, or even mentioned the sword at all. Not even Emperor Rainer. Since the Empress’s Palace had burned so completely, they probably thought the sword had burned as well.”

 

As time passed, Tark couldn’t shake the thought that Nina might not be Rainer’s daughter.

 

While others didn’t even suspect it, he kept seeing the faces of the Former Emperor and Empress in Nina’s face.

 

But since both of them were dead, there was no way to uncover the truth.

 

Then, while examining the Former Emperor’s sword he had hidden away, he had a lightning-like realization when he saw the gem embedded in the sword’s cross guard.

 

“I remembered that it was a sword made from Emperor Magnus’s umbilical cord. And the gem that would glow red as if proving it was his whenever the Former Emperor held the sword. For me, it was no different from risking my life.”

 

The moment he saw the transparent gem emit a red light as soon as Nina grasped the sword, Tark gasped.

 

Nina wielded it as if she had been using that sword since her previous life.

 

In an instant, she froze the sword, scattered frost, and handled that large sword as if it were part of her body.

 

“I will never forget Emperor Rainer’s shocked face when he saw it. That face was nothing short of definitive proof. That Your Highness… is the daughter of His Majesty Magnus Arsed.”

 

Tark’s voice was trembling.

 

“And that evening, as expected, he sent assassins after me.”

 

That was how his life on the run began.

 

But it was only a life on the run in name.

 

“For the past four years… I have been searching for His Majesty the Former Emperor.”

 

Nina’s eyes widened at Tark’s words.

 

“What do you mean? Didn’t you say he had passed away?”

 

At Nina’s question, Tark shook his head with a darkened expression.

 

“As I mentioned, no one saw His Majesty’s body. They say Rainer hastily held the funeral, but how could there not be a single person who saw the body?”

 

“Well. According to what you’re thinking, His Majesty the Former Emperor practically had his throne usurped. If he were alive, there would be no reason for him not to appear. Not for the past twenty years.”

 

Casian was skeptical of the claim that the Former Emperor might still be alive.

 

Tark nodded with a bitter smile at his words.

 

“You’re right. It might just be my wishful thinking.”

 

Nina, whose blood had been racing at the thought that the Former Emperor, her biological father, might still be alive, felt the strength drain from her shoulders.

 

According to Tark’s words, the Former Emperor had certainly looked forward to her birth.

 

If such a person were alive, he would surely know that the immortal princess, Nina Arsed, was his daughter.

 

He hadn’t failed to show himself for twenty years—he couldn’t.

 

Because he was dead.

 

“Still, until I die… I will continue searching for His Majesty the Former Emperor.”

 

At Tark’s words that flowed out calmly, Nina and Casian’s eyes turned to him.

 

He looked up at the empty air and smiled faintly.

 

“Though it was the words of a drunk homeless man… he said he saw a naked emperor fleeing into the forest.”

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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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