The Return of the Genius Ranker of All Times - Chapter 303

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

Chapter 303

Episode 303.

“…Charlie?”

In his trembling hands was deep resentment.

In the wavering of his eyes, contrasting with his coldly settled face, was contained thick anger.

Indescribable emotions were swirling and manifesting in the form of killing intent.

‘Calm down! Charlie. This is the Imperial Capital.’

‘Rizariza!’

Though he urgently sent a whisper at Charlie’s appearance that wouldn’t be strange if he drew his sword right now, Charlie remained silent.

Standing like a statue with his eyes tightly shut, he seemed to be exercising extreme patience.

The fact that the Lord of Arren Castle was a collaborator must have been quite a shock.

Well, as someone who had directly experienced the Arren Disaster, which suffered the greatest terror from the Abyss, it was understandable.

‘There’s no way he could calm down.’

It was when he was watching carefully, ready to grab Charlie and run out if necessary.

“Hmm, how awkward.”

“Ah, nice to meet you. I’m called Kaiser.”

Dohyun belatedly accepted the greeting from Garion, who was still extending his hand.

Since the princes were watching, he couldn’t just ignore him.

Swoosh.

As they clasped hands, Dohyun calmly observed Garion.

A middle-aged face estimated to be similar in age to Charlie.

But unlike Charlie, who was a middle-aged handsome man with a noble feeling, this one had a sharp and rough impression.

His beast-like build, comparable to what seemed to be a 190cm height, added to that feeling.

‘He’s incomparable to the knight I saw at the workshop.’

Above all, the aura he gave off was different from Dran, the Knight of the Gale, who was said to be able to compete with the Top 10 Guild Masters.

More heavy, solid, and fierce. The gap was so great it would be embarrassing to even compare.

Well, Garion was the Knight Commander of Arren Castle, no less.

Considering how high Arren Castle’s status was now, it was natural.

‘Who would have thought that the Lord of that Arren Castle was a collaborator.’

It was truly an identity he never imagined.

At the same time, it didn’t make sense.

‘How does the Lord have an Imperial insignia?’

The Knight’s Castle, one of the Empire’s three great powers.

Among them, Arren Castle belonged to the highest tier.

A place that even appeared in the tutorial, known to every player.

Naturally, being the Lord of such an Arren Castle meant being a nobleman with tremendous power, but having an Imperial insignia didn’t make sense.

‘Since it’s a symbolic token only held by those who carry the blood of the founding Emperor.’

Then was Garion a descendant of the founding Emperor?

Like in dramas, where the king’s hidden son is actually serving as a knight commander.

So in his anger, he tries to bring down the Empire!

Something like that would make sense, wouldn’t it?

‘I need to catch him now.’

Whatever the case, now was the only opportunity.

If someone who was the Knight Commander of Arren Castle started rampaging, the difficulty would increase drastically.

He had to cut off the sprout before there was any chance.

Fortunately, there were two princes here, and the Emperor was beyond the corridor.

“Your Highness. Have you ever visited the labyrinth?”

“The labyrinth… the Forbidden Labyrinth? Only Disciples can enter that place, can’t they?”

“That’s what I know as well, but what’s this about?”

Toward the questioning princes, Dohyun continued in a serious tone.

“The labyrinth’s conditions change each time someone enters. His Majesty the Emperor also told me that initially, everyone could enter, not just Disciples.”

“Is that so. That’s surprising information I’m learning for the first time.”

“I also learned it for the first time. But why bring this up?”

Dohyun focused his gaze not on the princes, but on Garion.

By now, Garion should have a sense of what was happening.

He had laid the groundwork, so this was to see what kind of reaction he would show, but Garion remained composed.

‘Will he stay composed even if I bring this out?’

Dohyun smiled bitterly and presented the insignia to the 1st Prince.

Taking the insignia, he didn’t hide his surprise.

“This is… a golden insignia? How do you have something only Imperial family members possess?”

Since he had used the insignia many times to get through difficult situations outside, he knew best what the value of a golden insignia was.

“I obtained it after catching a legion commander in the labyrinth. Someone must have been there before the labyrinth’s entry conditions changed.”

“…Why are you telling us about such an important matter now?”

“I apologize. Since it was an Imperial insignia, I also needed certainty.”

In other words, it could be heard as meaning he had been suspicious of them.

Though it might be offensive, they understood.

Since it was clearly an Imperial insignia, anyone other than Dohyun would have made the same judgment.

What they were curious about now wasn’t that.

“Then the fact that you’re telling us now means…”

“Yes. I’ve found the one who was collaborating with the Abyss.”

At Dohyun’s shocking declaration, silence fell over the room.

The sound of someone swallowing saliva could be heard, and the 1st Prince’s cold voice rang out low.

“…Then you’re saying the culprit is among us?”

“You’re looking at me. I can say with certainty that it’s not me, brother.”

“I know you’re not someone who would do such a thing. But then wouldn’t that mean father is the collaborator?”

The 1st Prince looked troubled.

There were only three Imperial family members remaining in the Empire.

If it wasn’t the two gathered here, then circumstantially it meant the Emperor was the collaborator.

It was shocking enough that their father was a collaborator, but if the Empire’s leader was a collaborator, he couldn’t grasp how to handle this.

“No. His Majesty the Emperor and both of you are not collaborators.”

“? Then who on earth dared to possess an Imperial insignia?”

“This doesn’t make sense.”

Even while the two were bewildered, Garion showed no reaction whatsoever.

When Dohyun stared intently at Garion, naturally everyone’s gaze turned toward Garion.

“…Could it be?”

Suddenly receiving everyone’s attention, Garion said nothing.

He simply kept his mouth shut and met their gazes.

Looking at him, Dohyun spoke as if pronouncing judgment.

“Garion van Rodman. The insignia reacted to you.”

It was checkmate.

In this room with two princes no less, with his identity exposed, there was nothing he could do.

‘What happens when you raise a blade against Imperial family members in the Empire. He would know best himself.’

Especially treason was the greatest crime of all.

He would suffer all kinds of torture and die miserably.

Naturally he would make excuses, but with the clear evidence of the insignia, it was meaningless.

Indeed, weren’t the faces of the 1st Prince and 2nd Prince hardening?

‘It’s over.’

Finally, the time had come to end the Forgotten King’s Quest.

But what was this?

The reaction that came back was neither excuses nor confession.

“Kheup…!”

That was laughter.

To burst into laughter when about to die miserably from torture?

And it wasn’t just Garion either.

“Hahaha!”

“Heheup…”

Even the 1st Prince and 2nd Prince were laughing?

Their rigidly hardened faces began to twitch, and the hall instantly became a sea of laughter.

Dohyun’s face suddenly turned serious as he watched their incomprehensible reaction.

Warning bells went off in his head.

‘Don’t tell me those two were also in on it?’

Garion was just the one who acted directly.

In reality, everyone might be involved.

Thinking about it, it would be safer to use the Knight Commander than have royalty move directly, so it was entirely possible.

‘Damn it…!’

He had spoken with relief after concluding that the Emperor and the 1st and 2nd Princes weren’t traitors.

His thinking had been too shallow.

If he got caught here, he’d be framed with all sorts of charges and thrown in prison.

Then everything would be over.

Swoosh.

It was when Dohyun instinctively reached for Cheonbyeon.

“It’s been a while since I’ve laughed like this.”

“Indeed. Sir Garion being a traitor, hahaha!”

“Don’t be too harsh. It was a situation that could easily be misunderstood.”

“Weren’t you the first one to laugh?”

“Ahem…”

They stopped laughing and began saying incomprehensible things.

‘Misunderstood?’

As Dohyun’s face became puzzled, Garion approached with a grin and held out something.

A badge with golden borders and a dragon engraved on it.

“…An insignia?”

It was a golden insignia, the symbol of royalty.

Though it showed signs of age, it was well-maintained and hadn’t faded.

“Golden insignias react to other insignias of the same kind. We need to recognize royalty to prevent any unfortunate incidents.”

“So it’s natural for it to react to Sir Garion who possesses an insignia.”

Even the 1st Prince added his testimony, but doubts still remained unresolved.

And Garion, who saw through this like a ghost, grinned.

“Those eyes are asking why someone who isn’t royalty like me would have this.”

“…”

“There’s nothing I can’t tell you. This is my treasure and no different from a family heirloom.”

He carefully tucked the insignia back into his chest and spoke.

“This is the insignia my Master entrusted to me before drawing his last breath.”

“…Master?”

“When His Majesty the Emperor was the 2nd Prince, he was a great knight called the reincarnation of the Lion King and was favored as the next Emperor.”

Garion concluded in a calm tone.

“He was His Majesty the Emperor’s older brother.”

* * *

-All royal bloodlines bloom through competition.

This is a saying passed down from ancient times and an unchanging law.

There are many princes, but only one Emperor’s throne.

Competition makes people grow, but it also makes people evil.

To get what they want, they use any means necessary, checking each other until they cross the line and spill blood.

Long history proves this, but very rarely, there were cases of virtuous competition.

Bairan de Arnis.

His case was like that.

-He is the reincarnation of the Great Lion King!

-Prince Bairan could surely reach the supreme realm.

-Ah, the Empire’s future is bright.

-He possesses both the qualities of a conqueror and a wise ruler, how can anyone object?

As the 1st Prince, he showed genius in many areas from childhood, and his younger brother who should have competed for supremacy followed him well.

Jealousy and envy? There was no room for such things.

One can only be jealous when the gap is reasonable, but with someone like Bairan, respect came before jealousy.

But they say geniuses die young.

On the day he turned 20.

Bairan suddenly contracted an unknown disease and rapidly weakened.

His charismatic appearance vanished without a trace, and his robust body withered away.

Like a wilting flower, he gradually dried up and eventually couldn’t survive past three years.

Thus, the younger brother who originally wouldn’t have become Emperor became Emperor, and from that day, the younger brother lost his smile and his personality changed.

That was Baharun de Arnis.

This was the hidden history from before he became Emperor.

“I was the first sword who served Prince Bairan from childhood.”

And he was Prince Bairan’s first sword, and according to Bairan’s will, the knight who helped his younger brother Baharun properly ascend as Emperor.

Also, he was like an uncle to the current princes.

That was Garion van Rodman.

“There’s no way Sir Garion would collude with the Abyss.”

“In the first place, the insignia you possess is being carefully preserved. Unless you had two insignias, it wouldn’t make sense.”

“However, the situation is indeed troubling. We must investigate how the insignia ended up there.”

“I will inform His Majesty.”

It was perfectly natural for him to possess Bairan’s insignia.

Bairan had personally passed it down before drawing his last breath.

And that insignia was now held in Garion’s hands.

Though there was no room for doubt, Dohyun’s expression was subtle.

‘Huh.’

Because the moment Garion presented what he claimed was Bairan’s insignia, Dohyun could see it.

[The Eye of Truth activates.]

Red light emanating from the insignia he took out, stretching like threads to connect Garion and both princes.

And above it, a message window was floating.

[You have discovered an item related to the Main Quest.]

[You have found the key to the Fifth Fragment of Fate.]

[Main Quest ‘Fifth Fragment of Fate (2)’ has been completed.]

[A linked Quest occurs.]

‘What the hell is going on?’

It was the moment he had suddenly found the key to the Fragment of Fate.

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