The Lord Who Levels Up by Devouring - Chapter 357

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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 357. A Single Loach Muddies the Entire Pond (2)
Baron Segretus’s gaze turned glacial.
And the man before him.
He regarded quietly the man who had revealed the secret of Prince Walter’s birth.
“If it becomes known that Walter is an illegitimate child born between you and Marceline….”
His face remained impassive.
Yet beneath it, an unspoken tension hung heavy in the air.
“The Royal Court’s authority, the line of succession, everything will crumble. And especially you, Baron—you will not survive.”
“…Is that a threat?”
“Advice.”
The man turned his back.
And in that instant.
Ashen mist consumed the man’s form.
He vanished without a trace.
-From now on, you’ll need to grow accustomed to crawling.
Only his voice echoed through the Study like a dying whisper, lingering long after he had gone.
* * *
Silence settled over the Study.
Baron Segretus’s hands trembled faintly as he stood alone.
I slipped carefully out of Beneron Manor.
…But setting that aside.
‘So Walter was Baron Segretus’s son?’
An illegitimate child born between Queen Marceline and Baron Segretus, no less.
…Honestly, it was difficult to believe.
But coming directly from the lips of a Special Operations Bureau agent, it couldn’t possibly be a lie.
‘Now that I think about it.’
I’d always wondered why Baron Segretus sponsored Walter.
And now, in hindsight.
‘Walter’s wild rampage like a rabid beast—was that hereditary?’
It must have been inherited from Baron Segretus.
In any case, Prince Walter.
He was not of The King’s blood.
‘Could Blake also be illegitimate?’
…Unfortunately(?), that wasn’t the case.
Blake was a legitimate child.
He was born when Marceline was merely nine years old, before she’d even begun menstruating.
At that time, no one could have imagined Marceline would become pregnant.
A nine-year-old girl becoming pregnant—was such a thing even possible?
Therefore, at that time, the possibility of Marceline committing infidelity was virtually nonexistent.
‘…?’
My mind came to a halt.
If Blake was The King’s bloodline and Marceline became pregnant at nine years old….
‘Then The King slept with a nine-year-old?’
Well, royal bloodlines were important.
The succession had to continue without fail, or so they claimed.
‘But Leon already existed.’
Even if he was born of a concubine.
Yet he still reached for a nine-year-old regardless….
‘Or perhaps it was the other way around.’
The King didn’t make the first move on Marceline.
Marceline.
She might have seduced The King herself.
The King, who suffered from chronic illness.
Before his virility faded, to secure royal bloodline for herself.
The Marceline I knew possessed considerable ambition for power.
Moreover, she was thoroughly calculating in her nature.
Considering this, it was far more likely that Marceline seduced The King first.
‘Yet to fall for a nine-year-old’s seduction is still….’
Either way, neither was in their right mind.
In any case.
After that, Marceline became pregnant with the Third Prince, Walter.
At that time, Marceline was fourteen years old….
‘…?’
My mind ground to a halt once more.
If Walter was Baron Segretus’s bloodline and Marceline became pregnant at fourteen….
‘Then the Baron slept with a fourteen-year-old?’
Well, the age of social debut was sixteen.
Fourteen wasn’t that much different, or so they’d claim.
‘Are they insane?’
Nobility’s sexual conduct was certainly loose, but these bastards had crossed every line.
Even being generous, it was a crime.
Of course, this too could have been Marceline initiating the seduction.
Leon and Blake.
In the succession struggle, Leon held overwhelming advantage.
Blake alone couldn’t compete.
Marceline felt the need to check Leon.
‘She wanted to complicate the succession further.’
Dividing the supporting factions.
A strategy to muddy the very line of succession.
And so Marceline prepared yet another heir.
But alas, that was not to be.
The King’s virility had ultimately failed him.
Chronic illness and age had rendered him incapable of fathering more children.
Then came a man who caught Marceline’s eye.
Baron Segretus.
The Kingdom’s Chancellor.
The second most powerful figure after The King.
If she could bring him to her side, it would greatly aid her in the succession to the throne.
Marceline seduced Baron Segretus.
And conceived Prince Walter.
‘Though I must say, succumbing to the seduction of a fourteen-year-old is quite something.’
But at this point, I had to wonder.
I couldn’t call Marceline a victim.
‘If anything, she was the perpetrator.’
In that sense, her enchantment ability was truly formidable.
A level of fascination bordering on mental manipulation.
‘Now that I think about it….’
Marceline’s ability that I witnessed at the Royal Social Society was exactly that.
◆Charm [G]
: The user radiates a powerful aura of enchantment around themselves, allowing them to erode the target’s will. Targets who succumb to the erosion feel drawn to the user even in unjustifiable circumstances, and the user can immediately induce [trust, affection, loyalty] in the target.
Marceline was undoubtedly the aggressor.
Of course, that didn’t make The King and Baron Segretus victims either.
In any case.
This was depravity of the highest order.
‘Somehow, it’s even worse than my father.’
My father and Marceline.
Both are depraved, but at least my father never committed adultery.
And he never laid a hand on anyone at nine or fourteen years old.
He waited until Seraphia turned sixteen.
‘And though he did plan something far more sinister.’
At least it remained merely a plan.
Had it been carried out, the consequences would have been unthinkable.
It wouldn’t have ended with mere accusations of depravity.
‘Neither I nor Leon can escape our family’s disgrace.’
…Actually, no.
Come to think of it, Leon had nothing to do with any of this.
Leon was of royal blood, but he was not Marceline’s child.
He was the son of the Royal Mistress.
In other words, the child of a concubine.
Leon was unrelated to Marceline, and he stood far removed from this sordid drama festival.
‘Wait, if that’s the case…?’
Suddenly, an absolutely brilliant scenario flashed through my mind.
* * *
Battenberg, the capital of the Kingdom.
The streets of the capital were in chaos.
The Crown Prince Leon’s assassination of The King.
People were swept up in confusion and turmoil.
The Royal Guard patrolled the streets to quell the disorder, but it was insufficient.
With the entire capital descending into pandemonium.
In a certain tavern located in the Outer City.
“Say, have you fellows heard the news?”
A man whispered quietly.
At his words, several patrons from the adjacent table turned their heads.
“News?”
“What news?”
“I’ve heard something too…”
The man glanced around nervously.
He spoke in a hushed voice.
“Prince Walter is apparently not actually of His Majesty’s bloodline.”
At those words, the hand holding the cup froze.
“…What did you say?”
“What do you mean? That Prince Walter isn’t the child of His Majesty?”
“Then whose bloodline is he?”
“There’s talk that it’s Baron Segretus.”
“WHAT?!!?!”
Someone shot up from their seat.
The commotion.
All eyes in the tavern snapped toward him.
“Prince Walter is the child of Baron Segretus?!!”
At the voice that erupted again, the tavern erupted into chaos.
“What on earth are you talking about?!”
“Is this true? You’re not joking, are you?”
“If you slander carelessly, you could lose your head for insulting the royal family!”
All eyes in the tavern fixed on one place.
The man who had first brought up the subject.
He hesitated for a moment before speaking.
“I only heard this information, but apparently the court physician kept duplicate records.”
“Duplicate records?”
“The birth date was recorded twice, and the dates didn’t even match.”
“How could royal records be so sloppy?”
“Yeah. Just a rumor, right?”
People didn’t believe it easily.
The man nodded as if he understood.
“I thought so too. But the midwife, the wet nurse, and all the maids from back then—they all died.”
“They all died?”
“Yes! And every single one—disease, accident, or missing persons.”
Sighs leaked out from various corners of the table.
The man continued without pause.
“And that’s not all. Around the time of Prince Walter’s birth, there are traces of someone tampering with the Royal Court’s ledgers.”
“How so?”
“Apparently, a large sum flowed from the Marquis Segretus Family to Queen Marceline’s faction. Consistently, from just before the birth and for some time after.”
“…That does seem odd.”
“But do you have evidence of that?”
Someone asked.
“How would anyone know about court records or the Royal Treasury ledgers?”
“Right! It’s been over twenty years anyway.”
“Wouldn’t only insiders be able to see something like that?”
Suspicion spread among the crowd.
The man glanced around and spoke in a low voice.
“You all know about the assassination of His Majesty The King, right?”
“Of course.”
“Because of that incident, the Royal Court launched a massive investigation into the records, and that’s where these details came to light.”
In that moment, the murmuring grew louder.
“Is, is that really true?!”
* * *
Of course, it was all lies.
But not entirely fabrication.
The fact that Walter and Baron Segretus were father and son was true.
But the evidence—all of it was lies.
It had been more than twenty years, after all.
I hadn’t been careless enough to leave evidence.
Just one thing.
The deaths of the midwife, wet nurse, and maids from back then were real.
So I fabricated the evidence.
I altered the court records and the accounting ledgers.
Then I secretly slipped them into the Royal Court’s archives.
Therefore, once the rumors spread, the Royal Court would launch a full-scale investigation.
Thus, with my newly reshaped face,
I, as a tavern patron, ignited the spark of rumor.
“I heard the Royal Guard will begin an official investigation soon.”
“My goodness!”
“If the Royal Guard mobilized, then it’s really true?!”
The Kingdom’s final shield, the Royal Guard.
Even if the Kingdom trembled.
Even in the moment the Royal Palace crumbled.
Their loyalty had ever been directed toward the throne alone.
“Then Prince Walter isn’t actually the Queen’s child?”
“No, you fool. He’s the Queen’s child, but not the King’s.”
“My God! That’s an even bigger scandal!”
If he were the King’s child, it could have been justified somehow.
After all, he would still carry the King’s bloodline.
But if he weren’t the King’s child?
That meant.
He was the product of infidelity that deceived the Royal Court itself.
“To think the Queen deceived the King and raised another’s child within the palace walls?!”
It was tantamount to treason.
* * *
The rumor spread in an instant.
At the market entrance, in the Town Square.
There was no telling who started it first.
Like words without feet traveling a thousand leagues.
The rumor spread swiftly from mouth to mouth.
“Have you heard the news, friend?”
“News? What news?”
“The Third Prince Walter—it turns out he was Baron Segretus’s child!”
“What?!”
The streets of the Capital erupted in chaos.
And Queen Marceline, who could have spoken the truth.
She had already departed from this world.
The dead speak not, and rumors swell of their own accord.
“Prince Walter does bear some resemblance, doesn’t he?”
“To the Baron? Yes, quite a bit. Especially when he furrows his brow.”
“Now that you mention it, don’t his eyes look similar too?”
“His lower face as well. The jawline and cheekbones—they’re identical.”
The Capital’s streets churned with fervent speculation.
By now, the rumor must have reached the Royal Court.
But this was far from over.
Belonging to the Special Task Force under the Allied Forces Command.
Special Forces Duke Commander.
I had conducted countless covert operations alongside my special warfare assignments.
Information distortion, assassination disguised as natural death, evidence fabrication, and more.
All manner of dirty work that must never be exposed to the public.
I had experience handling every single one of these with my own hands.
In other words.
Sowing chaos is my specialty.
And the chaos was only just beginning.
“Then it was Prince Walter who assassinated His Majesty the King, wasn’t it?”
I struck immediately.
My newly reconstructed face.
As a mere passerby.
“Huh?”
“What?”
“What are you talking about?”
All eyes snapped toward me in an instant.
I spoke casually.
“The midwife, the wet nurse, the maid—all dead. Two sets of records, signatures forged, suspicious fund transfers in the ledgers. Isn’t that so?”
“And then?”
“Everyone who knew the truth has vanished, and His Majesty passed away the moment he awoke.”
A brief silence.
I paused for effect before continuing.
“Think about it. Who would be most troubled if His Majesty had awakened?”
And.
“Who benefits most now that His Majesty has passed?”
The surroundings fell silent in an instant.
Everyone seemed lost in thought.
Their eyes darted about as they calculated the implications.
And then, after a moment.
“…That makes sense.”
Someone nodded.
“His Majesty must have known. When Queen Marceline was pregnant with Prince Walter, he never lay with her.”
“Well, he was already suffering from chronic illness back then….”
“I heard he spent long periods bedridden.”
From that point on, whispers spread.
“Then His Majesty’s death right after awakening…?”
“Could he have been trying to speak the truth?”
“So someone stopped him… is that it?”
That someone.
Everyone already knew without being told.
“Honestly, Leon has no reason to assassinate His Majesty.”
“Right! The Crown Prince investiture ceremony is already scheduled—why would he kill His Majesty?”
“That’s right—conversely, it would be troublesome if His Majesty were still alive.”
The eyes of the crowd began to shift.
This was no longer suspicion.
It was certainty.
Incitement requires only a single phrase, but refuting it demands dozens of pieces of evidence and documents.
In other words, the battle was already decided.
Now I merely needed to deliver the finishing blow.
I cleared my throat with a sharp sound.
Then I uttered the words that would overturn the will of the people.
“Prince Leon must be released at once!!”
A moment of silence.
And then.
The flames ignited in an instant.
“That’s right! Why should Prince Leon be imprisoned?”
“The real culprit is someone else!”
“This is a fabricated conspiracy! A cover-up!”
“Imprisoning the Crown Prince is imprisoning the Kingdom itself!”
The fire spread in moments.
Shrieks, shouts, and murmurs intertwined.
As people poured into the streets—
“Release Prince Leon! Release him!”
“Release him!”
“Release him!”
The streets of the Capital blazed and roared as the people’s will overturned.
* * *
The Capital, Battenberg’s Inner City.
The grandest manor within it.
A thunderous crash.
“What in blazes is this!!”
Baron Segretus slammed his hand against the desk and shot to his feet.

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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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