The Scoundrel Prince Sold Out the Empire - Chapter 67

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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 67: The Beginning of Treason (1)
“Um, uh, eh, uh, uh, how……?”
The officers of the Liberation Army were, naturally, thoroughly trained to endure torture, leading questions, and the like.
Reyanna, an Assault Commander, was one of them.
But…….
Human nature dictates that when caught off-guard at the most unexpected moments, when stabbed through the defenses with the most jarring precision, one tends to slip.
‘Reyanna… even if Winter did guess your true identity, responding like that is practically screaming “Yes, I’m with the Liberation Army.”‘
It couldn’t be helped.
Regardless of her abilities or competence, Reyanna was still young.
Zion himself had lacked many things at her age.
For instance, there was the foolish past where he’d conducted a massive bombing campaign and spent years being hunted under the alias “the Raven of Deber.”
‘Right, I need to act shocked first.’
“What?! Reyanna is with the Liberation Army?”
Zion cried out urgently.
“Your Highness, I can explain everything.”
“Never mind the explanation. Stay quiet.”
It was consideration for Reyanna.
No point in playing your cards too early.
“Winter. Explain.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
In stark contrast to the fretful Reyanna, Winter began his explanation with measured calm.
“If someone with ash-colored hair can handle a rifle-like combat Magical Tool skillfully, it’s one of two things: either they come from the back alleys, or they’re former Imperial Military.”
Reyanna earned the title of Assault Commander because she possessed considerable talent in the Liberation Army—not merely in unarmed assault charges, but in explosive charges.
Firearms and Magical Explosive devices were said to be Reyanna’s specialties.
“If it’s the latter, they wouldn’t have left active service yet. As for the former, my investigation suggested otherwise.”
Likely from this point onward, Winter must have decided he needed to scrutinize Reyanna’s every move.
Which meant that from the moment she’d infiltrated and taken the position, Reyanna had been under suspicion throughout her time as a bodyguard.
“But based on that alone, you couldn’t have pinpointed the Liberation Army as the faction that sent the spy, could you?”
“Ah, I took a guess at that.”
“Hmm?”
“Eh?”
Zion found himself looking at Reyanna without meaning to.
Her expression was laden with grievance.
‘This is exactly why they teach you to deny everything to the bitter end, Reyanna.’
“Of course, I had my suspicions. Any faction deploying spies to monitor Your Highness would have to be either the Liberation Army connected to Zion Brizet or the Third Prince’s faction. But I judged that the latter would never plant someone of Reyanna’s caliber so close to Your Highness, no matter how ostensibly for surveillance.”
“I can’t argue with that.”
“It was also suspicious that the Liberation Army tried to recruit me in the first place. It would mean they recognized my abilities, and to do so, wouldn’t they need to observe how I operate from nearby?”
Well, viewed purely on suspicion, it did sound plausible.
From Winter’s perspective, he could make an educated guess and move on if he was wrong.
In other words, it was a bet with nothing to lose.
“So, Reyanna. I’d like you to introduce yourself.”
At Winter’s request, the hesitant Reyanna opened her mouth.
“First, Your Highness, the Crown Prince kept his alliance with you secret from the Liberation Army’s side. I need to make it clear that I infiltrated on my own initiative, not by the Crown Prince’s will, and I ask that you consider this an unfortunate incident born of a lack of communication.”
Zion waved his hand dismissively, feigning irritation.
“Fine, just tell me who you are. Come on.”
“……I am called the Assault Commander within the Liberation Army.”
He deliberately affected exaggerated surprise.
“Oh? So you’re a notorious wanted fugitive. But that person should be a giant of two meters, shouldn’t they?”
“Let me show you.”
The moment Reyanna brought her hand behind her back.
A black cloak engulfed her entire body, then swelled and bulged outward.
The petite woman vanished, and in her place stood a two-meter-tall dark figure.
“This is my disguise, achieved through the power of a Magical Tool.”
Not only her build had changed—her voice, too, had transformed into an unpleasant, grating tone like metal being scraped.
“Quite a useful Magical Tool for infiltration.”
‘Well, though the real ability isn’t in the disguise.’
He couldn’t help but know—he was the one who’d made it.
“Now that I’ve confirmed you’re with the Liberation Army, I’ll tell you this: I’ve already given permission for Zion Brizet to keep someone at his side if he wishes, so don’t concern yourself with unnecessary worries.”
When had he given such permission? Just now.
May I keep you by my side?
Of course.
“Reyanna. McAlister chose to enlist after renouncing his family because his father was a traitor. On top of that, he even exposed the Morphia smuggling ring. From the Liberation Army’s perspective, he’s exactly the kind of talent worth recruiting. Don’t you think?”
Reyanna, who had dropped her false guard-escort act and returned to her true self, answered Winter’s question.
Her shift away from formal speech was a clear signal that she was done pretending.
“It’s not my place to judge, but I won’t deny it either. I suspect the others will view it favorably as well.”
Her words were optimistic enough, but Reyanna knew well that Aristh would have leapt barefoot from his seat to greet such a talent—that was simply his nature.
“But McAlister will either be dead or discharged soon.”
The Empire’s peculiar statecraft and culture would never tolerate an internal whistleblower who betrayed the collective.
“That assumes the Prince isn’t present. The Liberation Army must also recognize and leverage the fact that the Prince is our ally.”
Reyanna’s gaze turned toward Zion.
“Your Highness. Do you have any thoughts on the matter of McAlister?”
“Of course. I’ve already ordered Rensca to push McAlister forward.”
“May I ask the reason?”
“Because he’s resolute. I like men like that.”
Whether Zion Riobelt knew it or not, Zion Blije certainly did like him.
“You are much like the Crown Prince. Perhaps the fact that two people so different in every other regard have joined hands suggests unexpected common ground.”
“I suspect we’ll discover many such similarities as time goes on. We’ve had lengthy conversations, and I found the parallels striking.”
Well, they were the same person, so of course there would be.
“Your Highness. Will you approve the plan? Say the word, and Reyanna and I will discuss the details and make the Aincen Naval Headquarters your territory.”
Just hearing Winter’s words filled him with confidence.
“Approved. I trust you, Winter. I’m counting on you, Reyanna.”
That was when it happened.
* * *
‘The Pathfinder of Divergence.’
He could tell the moment it activated.
He was growing accustomed to it by now, after all.
Soon images began materializing before his eyes.
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Winter stands beside Reyanna of the Liberation Army, gun raised toward the Imperial Prince.
But instead of firing at the Prince, Winter pivots and aims at Reyanna.
Despite her body honed through rigorous training, the suddenness catches her off guard—she cannot dodge, and a hole opens in her forehead.
‘A scene I’ve seen before.’
So the next vision should be, perhaps,
about the altered future.
And indeed, the scene began to shift and change.
An elderly man with a face not much different from Aristh in the present stands face to face with the Ninth Prince, Zion Riobelt.
It should be impossible.
Aristh, acting as leader of the Liberation Army in Zion Blije’s absence, meeting the Imperial Prince with no weapons, no guards, no precautions between them—it should never occur.
And yet, now it could.
Though they would have to hide it from everyone else’s eyes.
“The things one sees if one lives long enough. I never thought I’d come to embrace the word ‘traitor.'”
“But the enemy of my enemy is my ally—such is the way of the world, is it not? It’s why your Prince and your Crown Prince were able to reach an accord, ha.”
“I trust you will keep your word.”
“Why would I break it, when you’ve become my greatest weapon?”
Aristh and Zion Riobelt shake hands firmly.
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With that image, the Pathfinder of Divergence faded.
‘Aristh and I shake hands.’
Fresh flesh grew over the old wound, and a vibrant sensation flooded through him.
In truth, he had thought he would never see Aristh again.
For a meeting between Zion Riobelt and Aristh Reyshial had been impossible—literally impossible.
‘But after gaining Soul Form Magic, a glimmer of hope appeared.’
Still, he had thought it a distant future, far beyond his reach.
Yet according to the visions the Pathfinder showed him, it wasn’t nearly so far away.
Aristh had been everything to Zion—parent, teacher, and loyal servant all in one.
The affection they held for each other ran just as deep.
Though he could never tell him that he was Zion Blije……
‘I’ll meet you soon, Aristh.’
* * *
Several days passed after Zion approved Winter’s plan.
Click.
“Your Highness. Colonel McAlister Remikoning has arrived.”
I told Daien to show him in, then finished reading the documents I’d been working through.
To be precise, only the cover was actual documents—inside lay research notes on Magical Engineering techniques to be handed over to Blenn Industries.
About five minutes passed.
McAlister entered.
‘His face is gaunt.’
He must have heard about his father’s death.
No matter how hard he’d tried to sever ties with his father, it would have been painful.
“A subject of the Empire greets a member of the Divine Clan.”
“Enough of that. Sit.”
Zion noticed McAlister’s eyes drifting subtly across the room.
“Looking for Winter? He’s not here today.”
“……I see.”
“Do you know? Remikoning is said to have collaborated with Gebell in the assassination of several royal family members, including Gereon the Thirteenth, the late king of Deber. In other words, Zion Blizen lost his father at the hands of your father.”
The sudden statement caught McAlister off guard, but he answered after a moment.
“I am aware. It is one of my father’s crimes.”
“From now on, obey this Prince’s orders. In doing so, you shall atone for your father’s sins.”
A brief silence hung between them.
“If I may ask one thing.”
I could guess what he wanted to ask without hearing it.
He was wondering how obeying a prince had anything to do with atoning for treason.
“Read this.”
McAlister picked up the letter thrown before him and began reading its contents.
Soon his hands began to tremble visibly.
“It’s shocking, I imagine. Nothing you could have anticipated.”
Winter’s original plan had been to conceal the existence of both Zion Rioveldt and Zion Blizen, recruiting McAlister solely under the names of Deber and the Liberation Army.
It was meant to suppress his resistance and appeal to his patriotism.
But I had objected.
‘Secrets are better never kept from the start. If a man will resist, then he was never meant to walk this path with us.’
So we revealed everything.
The letter, written in the name of Zion Blizen, laid out all that had transpired and commanded him to join the Liberation Army.
“Zion Blizen killed your father, Marquis Remikoning. Such a man now commands you to atone for your sin. The method: loyalty to me, Zion Rioveldt, who has chosen to become both an ally of the Liberation Army and a traitor to the Empire.”
Honestly, everything else aside, I was simply curious.
What direction the ending would take, what choice it would lead to.
“McAlister Remikoning. What will you do?”
……
From one corner of the reception room, Reyanna quietly watched his hunched silhouette, still kneeling.

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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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