Margrave’s Bastard Son was The Emperor - Chapter 237

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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 237
Episode: What Remains
I said nothing. I merely watched his black hair sway gently in the trembling light. I understood that this was not a will that could be stopped by interference, nor a fate that could be opposed by resistance.
As Prince Gail drove his sword forward with all his strength toward Arcen’s heart, he unleashed a howl of madness.
“I will die! I will die!”
Shhhhwaaaa!
The blade’s tip corroded from the venom. Arcen’s desperate thrashing consumed it bit by bit, ever so gradually.
Prince Gail clicked his tongue and threw his upper body weight forward. The sword hung suspended in empty air, unable to advance further. It was the balance between the force driving through the heart and the force pushing back.
“Arcen. I’m telling you now, but honestly, I never liked you.”
“Aaaahhh!”
“For a mere child, you certainly knew what you were. A child playing at schemes.”
“Gaaail! Damn it! Damn it!”
How dare this insignificant creature lurk here for ten years, weaving such wicked machinations? That I had lived in suffocation because of the grown Prince Marib and Prince Gail—it was truly beyond comprehension.
As he clenched his teeth, dark crimson blood poured from between them.
“Cough.”
Prince Gail instantly recognized the sensation. It was the same feeling of coughing blood when Ian’s slave had infiltrated the palace to assassinate him. He laughed with a pale grin and roared fiercely.
“Yes, come on and try!”
Shhhhaaaa!
“I fear nothing!”
Rather, an inexplicable exhilaration surged through me.
This was how I lived. I could protect everything I had lived for as a prince of the Bariel Empire. Glory, pride, and duty. Though they would wear away with time, I could feel it clearly now. In this hand, everything breathed and lived.
Boom! Thud!
Zing!
I raised my hand toward the empty air. The incantation circles that filled the floor, ceiling, and walls flared to life once more. Warm, brilliant light poured in one after another, weaving together with Arcen’s dark aura to create day and night.
A majestic celestial sight. Standing between light and darkness, between life and death, Prince Gail cried out with tremendous force.
“Perish! Perish again, and meet me at the bottomless depths of hell!”
“Uuuaahhh!”
“I will kill you again! Gladly!”
Crack!
Prince Gail’s half-remaining blade finally pierced through Arcen’s heart. The concentrated essence of venom erupted violently, and the malevolent aura it contained exploded outward.
I drew upon every ounce of my magical power. For a moment, my head and neck felt a sharp, severing pain, but it was only an instant. There was no time to even comprehend it.
Outside, Jin waited. And the people. Those who must not die. I gritted my teeth and held onto consciousness.
Thud! Crack!
Prince Gail continued to slash at the heart even as venom covered him. Once, twice, three times. With each stroke, dark crimson blood gushed forth. He felt the searing pain of burning flesh, yet he could not stop. This demon had existed since the empire’s founding. Would its breath cease from merely one or two cuts?
“To future generations—!”
Arcen attempted to leave a curse. Like the demon Roberside had slain, he sought to vow revenge upon future generations, eternally postponing his defeat.
But.
“No. You will leave nothing behind.”
I stopped him immediately. Light seeped slowly through the gap where Prince Gail had carved deep. Like the dawn breaking back the darkness, magical power gathered in the wake of my hand. It carried the sanctity of the Priests and the resolve of the Mages. A force granting Arcen infinite oblivion.
Flaaaaash!
The light was so brilliant that I couldn’t see even an inch ahead. I shielded my eyes with my sleeve and heard a crystalline scream echoing distantly in my ears.
After a brief moment, only my breathing and Gail’s remained faintly in the hall.
“Haa, haa….”
“Hagh….”
I felt my strength draining away. As I slid down the wall and collapsed, a headache and chest pain crashed over me simultaneously. My body was clearly falling apart. I had consumed Akorelra’s potion while maintaining constant tension for days, and I had poured out my magical power without limit.
“…Ah.”
Several coughs led to blood in my mouth. This was surely due to the lingering toxin of the demon in the hall. Faint and weak as it was, it signaled that I lacked even the strength to repel it. I turned my head to look at Gail lying there.
“….”
He was dying. Covered in the thick, viscous blood of the demon beast. Poison was spreading from the fingertips that had pierced his heart, and the blue eyes that had witnessed it had lost their light.
Could he see nothing?
I simply remained silent and contemplated his feelings.
“Haa, ha…. Ian.”
His faded pupils gazed at the ceiling. It seemed as though he was asking—did you see? Did God see all of this from the distant end of the sky?
“…Leave it behind.”
I muttered while wiping the blood from my lips. This was the end. If Arcen’s existence disappeared from history, then Gail’s final moment—the death caused by him—would also vanish.
God may know, and I may know, but that remains an undeniable truth. So, to the one who had given meaning to death, such a small favor seemed acceptable.
“I will grant it.”
With my eyes closed, I deliberately took a deep breath. Countless thoughts and lingering attachments swirled at the tip of my tongue. What should I convey? To the only one in the world who would know my end, what should I leave behind?
‘Ah. Even so, this is a blessing.’
The one who had been contemplating suddenly laughed aloud. Born as a prince and dying as a prince—if Marib were watching, it would be truly wonderful. And even if it were not recorded, someone would remember it. Perhaps that too was a small part of history.
Tears streamed down my temples, but I seemed unaware of them as my consciousness faded.
“…Just a moment.”
“….”
“Haa, please leave just a little later.”
If I left now, people would rush in. Then they would see me lying on the floor, dying. I did not want that. At least, I wanted to show dignity in a completely lifeless form. Was that not also a kind of glory?
Whoosh.
I remained in place instead. As time passed gradually, the malevolent aura filling the hall grew fainter, and Gail’s breathing too became shallow.
The half-torn curtain fluttered in the wind. The broken remnants toppled little by little, creating sparse sounds.
Whoosh.
How much time had passed?
I realized that silence surrounded me. Gail’s breathing had stopped. He lay with a peaceful expression, his eyes closed. Those faded pupils would no longer be seen.
“…A prince to the very end.”
I removed my uniform and covered his face with it. Then slowly, my legs barely moving, I opened the hall door.
Creak.
I saw people scattered about. I couldn’t tell if they were dead or alive. Some seemed to still be breathing, but my head ached too much to even sense their presence.
As I staggered out of the corridor, the crowd gathered at the bottom of the stairs immediately noticed.
“What, what’s coming out!”
“Is it a demon beast? Everyone take defensive positions!”
“Run! Let’s get out of the palace!”
“Wasn’t there a loud noise earlier? This is our chance. What are the Imperial Guards doing? Hurry and prepare-!”
Was it fear? Before they could even discern what it was, they raised their weapons. But then, beneath the sunlight, they recognized the brilliant golden hair and those deep green eyes like meadow grass.
It was Ian. The Minister of Magic, the one who had sniped the demon lurking within the imperial palace—a man of the Empire.
Tap, tap, tap!
“H-Hielo, the Minister!”
“Minister! Are you alright? Damn it, get a doctor!”
“Prince Gail has gone inside.”
“What of the demon? What has become of the demon?”
“Wait, hold on! Didn’t we say the demon has mind control abilities? Don’t approach! Be careful!”
Everyone worried and began climbing the stairs, but they faltered at someone’s cry. Yes. Ian had said so himself. That Arcen possessed the ability to brainwash. So if he were controlling Hielo…?
Whoosh!
“Ian! Ahhhhh! Ian!”
But one person pushed through the hesitant crowd and rushed forward. It was Philia. Without a shred of doubt, she stretched out both hands and opened her arms to Ian. She grasped her son’s face with her swollen eyes.
“Ian, are you alright? There’s so much blood, so much blood.”
“…Mother.”
“You’re alive, you’re alive. Thank goodness. Really, truly thank goodness.”
In such a short time, Philia had experienced hell multiple times. Every time a loud sound echoed from within, she wanted to cry out for death to take her instead, to steal her breath away.
Yet her son had returned alive like this.
She pressed her forehead against his, tears streaming down her face.
“Ian, thank you. I’m so grateful you’re alive.”
Ian patted her back. He wanted to offer words of comfort, but he had truly reached his limit. It was the moment Ian broke into cold sweat, trying to steady his breathing.
“…Count Ian.”
Jin, who had followed behind Philia, called out to him. The boy too had shed no small amount of tears, his face wet with them. Jin approached Ian with an indescribable expression.
“Your Highness. Are you alright?”
The boy’s lips trembled. There was so much he wanted to ask. What had become of the demon, was his mother truly alive, and everything about the ‘royal family’ that Arcen had mentioned.
But instead of asking, Jin forcefully bounded up the stairs and rushed to Ian.
“…Your clothes are soiled.”
“So am I. So are all of us here.”
Jin murmured softly and finally embraced Ian. His small hands gripped the collar of his garment, relieved at his safe return. Ian exhaled heavily and patted him.
“Ian, are you badly hurt? What happened inside? Prince Gail went in as well—did you perhaps see him? Oh my, the blood, where does all this blood come from…?”
As Romandro too anxiously inquired after his wellbeing, Ian straightened himself and looked down below the stairs. Nobles and officials were focused solely on his words. He prayed he could tell them the demon was dead.
“…The demon is dead.”
At Ian’s declaration, everyone released sighs of relief. Applause erupted from various corners, and those close to one another lightly embraced, welcoming peace.
“Ah! It’s done, it’s done.”
“As expected of Minister Hielo!”
“Indeed. No matter how much of a demon it is, it cannot move an inch before a mage, especially the Minister! Truly remarkable! You’ve done a great deed!”
“Had we not killed it today, ah, merely imagining Bariel’s future is horrifying.”
Ian slowly raised his hand and made a cutting gesture. Everyone quieted at his signal. The noise gradually subsided. Ian then announced the other death.
“Furthermore, Prince Gail Berosion of Bariel has passed away.”
“…!”
“The Imperial Guards, escorts, and mages are to enter the hall and manage the situation. If there are any survivors, transport them quickly—”
I paused mid-sentence. The command cut off abruptly, as though my breath had been severed. As Romandro looked at me in confusion, I steadied my breathing and issued another order.
“Collect the bodies of Prince Gail and all the fallen. That is all.”
Tap-tap-tap!
At my command, the soldiers rushed past me and bounded up the stairs. While they scattered frantically in all directions, I quietly slipped away and made my way behind the building. Even as Romandro, Jin, and Philia followed, calling out in concern, I did not stop.
“Ian!”
“Count Ian!”
“Good heavens, blood!”
The moment I turned the corner into a secluded area, I collapsed against the wall. I had an obligation to fall where no one could see me.
As my white shirt soaked through with blood, consciousness slipped away from me.

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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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