The Search for the Duchess’s Husband - Chapter 176

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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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In Search of the Duke’s Husband – Episode 176

“Oh, Lord Orpheus!”
I saw the courtiers rushing toward me in alarm. Yet I could not speak a single word.
I could not even produce the smallest sound.
“Hah… haah…”
I let out a pained moan, my face twisted in agony.
I understood naturally.
My body had collapsed and crumbled because I had squandered my magical power so recklessly all this time.
‘This cannot be!’
I am Orpheus!
A being born beneath the blessing of the gods!
Yet no matter how loudly I cried out within, reality remained unchanged.
My heart had ruptured, and precious little life remained.
As I lay fallen, I gazed up at the crown resting upon the dais.
‘I must become…’
I must become Emperor…!
It was my final yearning before death claimed me.
The man who had once commanded the world with godlike power met his end in hollow futility.
The coronation ceremony transformed into a funeral.
The courtiers placed upon my corpse the crown I had never lived to wear, then constructed my tomb in the Imperial Palace Garden, which I had particularly loved.
“Rest in peace, Your Majesty.”
Though I never formally ascended the throne, I was recorded in history as the Empire’s first Emperor.
Fortunately, I had left behind a young child, and he became the second Emperor.
After his death came his son, and then his son after him.
Countless ages passed, yet the name Orpheus was never forgotten.
The omnipotent power that rivaled the gods themselves.
And.
[A successor who inherits the power of Orpheus, the first Emperor and great sorcerer, shall appear and lead the Empire into a golden age of prosperity.]
Such was the prophecy of a certain sorcerer.
Remarkably, that prophecy came to pass.
Orpheus was reborn.
In the body of Arsen von Orpheus.

* * *

Artia covered her mouth in shock.
“Wait, Arsen is the Emperor Orpheus?”
Charlotte nodded.
“Yes, he returned to fulfill the dream Orpheus yearned for until his dying moment. But there was a fatal problem.”

* * *

Arsen’s body did not contain only Orpheus’s soul.
The body’s original soul remained within it as well.
The fetal form, so delicate, could not bear two souls and shattered.
Though born as if by miracle, his condition was so critical that death could come at any moment.
‘I cannot die again….!’
Orpheus gathered his magical power to sustain life, then fell into a deep slumber.
Because of this, Arsen’s soul—the true owner of the body—could emerge.
Unlike the fiery Orpheus, Arsen was calm as still water.
He did not rage.
He did not grieve.
He simply lived each day with quiet acceptance.
Waiting for death, which could arrive at any moment.
Then one day, a visitor came to his chamber.
Though I had spent my entire life since birth in the room the Empress created for me, I recognized him at once.
Hair as black as the night sky.
A child with eyes that gleamed with brilliant golden light.
“Killian von Orpheus.”
When I called his name, Killian von Orpheus’s eyes widened.
“How do you know me?”
“Of course I know you. You’re my younger brother….”
“I know your name too. Arsen.”
Watching Killian von Orpheus speak with such confidence, his plump cheeks quivering, I burst into laughter.
The world believed I would be jealous of Killian von Orpheus and hate him, but that was not so.
To me, Killian von Orpheus was simply an infinitely beloved and precious younger brother.
So when the Empress forbade Killian von Orpheus from visiting, I felt pain—true pain—for the first time.
I missed Killian von Orpheus so desperately.
‘Mother, please let me see Killian von Orpheus.’
But I could not bring myself to say those words.
I feared the Empress would only grow angrier with Killian von Orpheus.
The image of Killian von Orpheus being dragged away and cast out by the Empress remained vivid in my memory.
Tears had pooled in those brilliant golden eyes.
I did not wish to inflict such a wound again.
I buried my heart and remained silent.
Hoping Killian von Orpheus wouldn’t grieve too deeply.
Then one day, Killian von Orpheus came to my chamber again.
Remarkably, the Empress had brought him.
“I’ll fix you, brother.”
In my younger brother’s small voice lay an iron resolve.
‘You don’t have to struggle for my sake, Killian von Orpheus.’
Even as I thought this, I surrendered myself willingly to Killian von Orpheus’s magic.
I understood how desperately he wanted to do this.
Because it was the only thing I could do for my brother.
Years passed with no outward progress.
But Killian von Orpheus’s magical power slowly seeped into my body and touched the soul of Orpheus sleeping in its depths.
And finally, Orpheus’s soul awakened.
In that moment, the tremendous shock stopped my breath.
“Brother!”
A panicked Killian von Orpheus drew out all the magical power within himself and poured it into me.
Don’t die. Don’t die, brother.
My body, reinforced by the powerful wind-laden magical power, did not crumble but endured, and finally two souls coexisted completely within my glass-fragile form.
Yet upon awakening from that long slumber, Orpheus felt nothing but rage.
‘Damn it, I’m reborn only to be trapped in this pathetic wreck of a body!’
There were far more things I couldn’t do than things I could.
Frustrated and furious, maddened by helplessness, I retreated inward once more.
But this time I wasn’t asleep—I could feel everything Arsen saw and heard.
Everything else was blurred like fog, but only one thing gleamed in vivid color.
Killian von Orpheus.
‘That brat looks exactly like me.’
Not just in appearance, but in physical strength as well.
‘That body is where I should have been. Is there any way to make that happen?’
A sinister feeling crept over me.
But it didn’t last long.
“Brother, are you all right?”
Each time young Killian von Orpheus embraced me, the searing pain that had torn through my entire being vanished, and my sharp edges softened and settled.
And finally, Orpheus….
“Killian von Orpheus, my precious little brother.”
Came to love Killian von Orpheus just as Arsen did.
For the first time, I cherished something other than myself.
That affection was so selfishly profound it changed even the dream this ruthless man had harbored for five hundred years.
“Killian von Orpheus will become Emperor instead of me.”
Not this wretched body, but beautiful Killian von Orpheus will wear the crown and lead this nation.
Toward the paradise I once dreamed of.
That was Orpheus’s new dream.
But then Killian von Orpheus spoke.
“I’m going to renounce my claim to the throne.”
If it had been Arsen, he would have laughed it off, but Orpheus was not Arsen.
He felt an overwhelming rage toward Killian von Orpheus.
‘I abandoned my own dreams for you, yet you would betray me for nothing more than a woman.’
Orpheus never forgave traitors. He would sever their necks without hearing a single excuse.
But he could not do that to Killian von Orpheus, so instead he gathered his mana and cast a spell.
‘Return to being a good brother, Killian von Orpheus.’

* * *

Charlotte spoke.
“Killian von Orpheus is having his mind controlled by Orpheus. He’s become nothing but a puppet that obeys only his commands.”
At the shocking revelation, Artia’s face drained of all color, pale as parchment.
Breathe. I had to breathe.
Artia desperately gathered her strength, exhaled, and finally managed to part her lips.
“How can the spell cast on the Emperor be broken?”
Despite trembling violently from the shock, her gaze remained sharp and piercing.
She showed no inclination to indulge in despair or sorrow.
Charlotte stared at Artia before speaking.
“There are three ways to break a mage’s spell.”
First, the mage who cast the spell undoes it directly.
Second, you kill the mage who cast the spell.
Third, you kill the target upon whom the spell was cast.
At those final words, Artia’s face twisted into something grim. Charlotte continued as if to calm her.
“Of these, the only viable option is the second—killing Arsen.”
At the concrete horror of those words, Artia’s pupils trembled.
She had died and returned to life, accomplishing much in the aftermath, but murder was something entirely different.
And to kill the brother Killian von Orpheus cherished most.
Watching Artia bite her lip, Charlotte spoke.
“I understand it’s difficult to decide readily, but if you’re going to do this, the sooner the better. The longer Orpheus’s spell remains in effect, the more his mind will be destroyed.”
“…!”

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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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