I Woke Up from Hibernation and Found a Husband - Chapter 98

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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 98
At nineteen, Gregory had demonstrated exceptional talent in swordplay and was studying at the Academy in the Convent under his mentor’s recommendation when the Empress, Bianca, secretly summoned him to the Imperial Palace.
At that time, Bianca was concealing the fact that Aaron had prematurely manifested a trivial ability at the age of five.
‘Aaron needs power.’
She had summoned Gregory to determine whether she could recruit House Voltier’s adopted son—who displayed overwhelming skill at the Sword Academy—into Aaron’s faction.
‘She wants to sway House Voltier’s neutrality by securing me.’
Gregory, sharp-witted since childhood, easily discerned Bianca’s intentions. Having no interest in anything beyond House Voltier’s ability, he arrived at the Imperial Palace resolved to refuse whatever proposal she might offer.
And there, he met Tenel.
“You. Faint though it is, you are our descendant.”
A man with an air of elation at receiving an unexpected gift seized both of Gregory’s wrists. He was Tenel, who had altered his appearance and was waiting to implant an ability into Aaron.
“I need you. You possess the perfect talent to assist me.”
Though the distinctive violet eyes of Imber had not manifested—the concentration was too low—Tenel instinctively sensed Imber blood flowing through Gregory’s veins.
“A body without resistance to sorcery will aid in the stable implantation of an ability.”
That day, Gregory’s life changed completely. A descendant of Imber suited to wielding sorcery—neither Bianca nor Tenel intended to let Gregory leave.
Yet House Voltier’s adopted son could not simply remain in the Empress Palace without particular reason. The disguise known as ‘Knox’ was created to bridge that gap.
‘You can implant abilities? Then is it possible to induce manifestation as well?’
‘Of course.’
All of this transpired suddenly, but it was not forced upon him.
Leopold, House Voltier’s heir who had failed to awaken the family ability, felt a hollow emptiness at the severing of the bloodline his father and grandfather had obsessed over for generations. To him, Tenel’s ability to induce manifestation was quite alluring.
Thereafter, citing continued studies at the Sword Academy as his public reason, he remained in the Convent, operating under the name Knox and laying the foundation for Umbra.
This routine changed once more with the arrival of Ian Lloyd.
‘Healing and enhancement. A being possessing two special abilities.’
Ian Lloyd had entered the palace to strengthen the ability Aaron would receive. Though two years Gregory’s senior, his slender frame and youthful appearance made him seem younger than his age.
Gregory initially dismissed him, hastily concluding that such a frail man had limited capacity. Yet it did not take long for that prejudice to shatter.
* * *
“Now that you mention it, the monsters’ patterns were indeed irregular.”
The day Ludwig said he had a suspicion, the three of them immediately left the Castle, boarded a Carriage, and headed for the Border. Ludwig had said he would investigate directly before informing them, but the two impatient ones could not restrain themselves and followed.
“The emergence patterns, individual conditions—none of it was normal. I was thinking of checking beyond the ridge.”
Most combat involved repelling monsters that came over the ridge of the Mountain Range. Thus, the unseen reverse side of the ridge was effectively a blind spot on this Battlefield.
‘If something was hidden, it would be nowhere else.’
As they descended from the Carriage upon reaching the Border, the Military Camp stirred.
The Count and his heir arriving without notice, and even his fiancée besides. Pushing past the commanders rushing out barefoot, the three climbed directly to the Fortress.
“So this is the Border.”
“Yes. Nothing unusual, is there?”
“It is quite expansive.”
Claire surveyed the Wilderness spread before her. The space was completely open, without a single obstruction to block her view—apparently to enable rapid identification of monsters.
At first glance, it evoked memories of the Laten Plain, but the aftermath of periodic, prolonged warfare had left not a blade of grass on the ground, lending the atmosphere a desolate appearance.
The three walked through the Wilderness, having turned back all the Knights who insisted on following.
Sniff.
‘The scent of blood.’
Claire’s nose twitched. In every handful of soil beneath her feet, the traces of battle were unmistakably present. Most of it carried the scent of monster blood that had seeped into the earth.
‘Yet the ground feels strangely vibrant, as if trembling.’
“They’re coming.”
Before Claire could even relay her observation, a horde of monsters began advancing down the Black Barren Mountain visible at the edge of the Wilderness.
“Isn’t that far too many?”
The pack of beast-type monsters charging forward with sharp fangs appeared to number well over sixty. Yet Theodore and Ludwig remained composed, and Theodore even seemed to harbor a hint of anticipation.
‘Finally, I can show Claire my true power.’
The reason House Voltier had become the Empire’s shield. This talent had only blossomed because of Claire, and I wanted to demonstrate it properly to her.
‘If I show her my strength, Claire will trust me even more.’
Theodore yearned for Claire to depend on him sometimes. When things were difficult, when burdens grew heavy, or even when she was simply bored. He wished she would understand that he always stood firm behind her, offering his greatest support.
“Leave this to me.”
As Theodore spoke and stepped forward, Claire glanced back at Ludwig as if asking if he was certain. He merely grinned mischievously and shrugged, as if telling her to watch.
Kieeeeeee….
The enraged monsters shrieked and charged forward.
‘Wolf-type monsters, perhaps.’
At first glance they resembled wolves, but the black horns sprouting from their foreheads and the putrid stench that could be felt from a distance set them apart.
Theodore did not hesitate and rushed toward the direction of their advance.
His right hand extended calmly, and then came the manifestation of his ability.
“Hah.”
Claire let out a hollow laugh. What unfolded before her was a straightforward massacre. The Wilderness offered no cover, no need to consider the positions of allies as one would on a typical battlefield.
It was a battlefield perfectly suited for Voltier’s wide-area ability to be fully unleashed.
“That’s incredible.”
“Still far from perfect, but serviceable.”
He turned around after meticulously checking that every last enemy had been annihilated.
“Come, let’s move on.”
Theodore casually gathered the monster corpses into a pile and gestured cheerfully. Claire let out a short laugh at the sight of him, so at odds with the blood-stained earth around him.
After repelling several more attacks with ease, they reached the Mountain Range and discovered, within half a day of searching, a cornerstone roughly six meters tall in a Cliff Cavern.
“It’s definitely theirs.”
Claire looked up at the dark green stone with an expression of disgust.
‘With such an ominous aura, it’s no wonder the monsters have become so violent.’
The powerful scent of death was unmistakable even from a distance. It was undoubtedly Umbra’s.
* * *
“Hehehehe.”
Hector laughed greedily as he gazed upon the safe overflowing with gold bars.
‘Healing the Crown Prince is far more valuable than purifying some mere nouveau riche fool!’
It had been the right call to triple the price for Bianca, who desired Aaron’s purification to be conducted in secret.
“It’s thanks to my negotiation skills that House Lloyd has grown this far! The rewards are sweet indeed.”
Hector pressed his lips against the gold bars with a smacking sound before carefully closing the safe.
“Now, if only Rozina can properly seduce the Crown Prince, we’ll have struck absolute gold.”
Though her constant complaints after using her ability daily were tiresome to witness, her appearance was of the highest quality, so if the two of them could just see eye to eye, success seemed within reach.
“If I could get my hands on Claire as well, just how much wealth could I accumulate?”
From what I confirmed on the first day of the Ball, Claire clearly possessed an ability—one that had been lost from House Lloyd, originally theirs.
‘Healing, enhancement, anything works. Just thinking about selling Rozina and her together to the Empress makes my mouth water.’
Hector, intoxicated by dreams of sudden fortune, laughed arrogantly as he slipped out of the room where the safe lay hidden. It wasn’t enough that he’d survived that ballroom catastrophe—he’d shamelessly profited from the crowd’s terror that bloomed there, peddling his purification ability to the highest bidder.
“I really am chosen, aren’t I?”
He was completely drunk on his own cleverness, oblivious to the cause of the terror or why Aaron needed purification, too busy reaching for the feast laid before his eyes.
‘My life will be smooth sailing from here on!’
My brother, my ward, my nephew—they were all merely sacrifices for my prosperity.
But Hector didn’t know then that nothing in that safe could follow him to the grave.

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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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