Chapter 224: Arpentia (2)
Beneath the lofty sky, splendid flags fluttered in the wind as if flaunting the majesty of the Solberique Empire.
The procession, which could be called the highlight of the Departure Festival.
At its very front, a golden chariot drawn by four dignified white horses shone brilliantly under the sunlight.
And atop that chariot stood Second Prince Gernot, widely known as the most likely successor to become the Empire’s next emperor, holding himself with imposing confidence.
“Hmm…….”
Gernot stood upon the lavish chariot led by the four white horses, like a general returning in triumph.
With a gentle yet dignified smile, he leisurely waved toward the crowd that filled the surroundings.
A perfectly calculated smile.
It was the result of practicing before a mirror countless times so that he would appear most ideal from any angle, at any moment.
‘Impudent bitch.’
However, unlike the flawless smile that resembled a mask, his mind was filled entirely with unpleasant thoughts.
And naturally, the one occupying the largest share of those thoughts was his half-sister, Second Princess Velita.
‘How dare she.’
Upon hearing the news that his loyal subordinate had been absurdly murdered, he had, of course, been unable to contain his fury.
That fury first turned toward the owner of the severed arm found at the scene, and from there, it was only natural that it extended toward Velita herself.
……At first, he had intended to let it pass with a measure of mercy if she knelt and apologized.
At the same time, he had planned to use the incident as leverage to issue a few instructions, and in doing so, properly suppress her arrogance, which had grown increasingly insufferable of late.
‘How dare she……!’
But contrary to his expectations, she had not taken a submissive stance at all.
Rather, Velita—that wench—had come to him as if she had been waiting for it, pretending to offer an apology while carefully choosing only the words that subtly provoked him.
In the end, the conversation had concluded with him losing his temper and striking her across the cheek with all his strength.
And yet, instead of staggering or falling, she had merely let out a faint scoff, lifted her chin proudly, and glared back at him.
That insolent gaze, as if to say, ‘Is that all?’
Enraged by that look, he had tried to strike her several more times, but at the critical moment other subordinates had rushed in and stopped him, thwarting his intention.
‘……She’s disgusting, no matter how I think about it.’
If he were to inherit the throne, he would never let her off lightly.
More than any of his other siblings, he would ensure she met a fate so dreadful it would surpass imagination—he swore it over and over again.
“Ha.”
Even after reaching that conclusion, his anger did not subside easily.
Perhaps because of that, his fury began to extend further—toward his other siblings, and even toward the nobles of the Three Families.
The first to come to mind was, naturally, Cecilia Everglenn.
‘That bitch is just as arrogant.’
Until only a few days ago, had she not been called the Everglenn family’s revenant, barely even treated as a person within her own house?
And yet when he had shown courtesy and taken a lower stance toward her, she had failed to understand her place and dared to reject his proposal.
It was utterly outrageous.
Furthermore, there were the two wretches who had hovered around her.
The bastard of the Amiel family, and that vermin from some merchant household—he concluded that he would not leave either of them alone.
‘……No, wait.’
Suddenly, Gernot’s brow furrowed faintly.
Come to think of it, that vermin from the merchant family—the one from the Gwendil Count family—his face had seemed oddly familiar…….
“Hmm.”
Gernot tried for a moment to recall something, but soon shook his head.
He only vaguely remembered that the fellow was tall like a pole and had the face of a gigolo; beyond that, no particular impression remained.
He dismissed it lightly, assuming it must have been a face he had glimpsed somewhere in passing.
“Waaaaah!”
“Long live the Prince!”
“Long live the Empire! May the Empire endure forever!”
At the cheers of the crowd, he waved once more.
Though he had been lost in thought for quite some time, the perfectly crafted smile on his lips did not waver in the slightest.
Just when would this tedious procession end?
With that thought, he once again sank into contemplation.
‘……Now that I think about it, the atmosphere among the ministers has been rather strange lately.’
He reflected quietly.
In truth, it was because rumors had been spreading in secret that his father—the Emperor of the Empire—was reconsidering the issue of succession.
His other siblings had already noticed and were moving swiftly in their own ways.
Only Gernot, however, had failed to suspect anything at all.
It was not that he was particularly incompetent or foolish.
He simply believed, without even the slightest doubt, that inheriting the throne was something so natural that it required no question.
‘Perhaps it’s because I’ve taken political damage from the various incidents that occurred recently.’
In the end, he settled on the conclusion that seemed most plausible to him.
Even if Anguster—that stupid, useless has-been—had handled his task properly, none of this troublesome mess would have happened.
‘No, that’s not right. No.’
For a brief moment, a crease almost formed between his brows, but he quickly corrected his expression.
Depending on how one looked at it, this outcome was not entirely bad.
Anguster, who had known his secret, had vanished while taking all the responsibility upon himself. In a way, that meant one irritating problem had been neatly removed.
‘In any case, through this Departure Festival, I’ve restored my authority and solidified my position as the Crown Prince. For a while, at least, I won’t have to listen to the sound of those old fossils rolling their eyes.’
Thinking that, he allowed a satisfied smile to spread across his face.
Kwaaaaaang!
Without warning, a tremendous roar erupted from somewhere, as though it would shake the entire world.
It was an Explosion Sound vast enough to swallow the cheers of the Crowd and the blaring performance of the noisy band in one gulp.
“Kyyaaaaak!!!”
“Uaaagh!”
“Someone save me!”
In an instant, the plaza descended into utter chaos, and the splendid procession of the Departure Festival was thrown into complete disarray.
“What in the world is this commotion?!”
Gernot roared angrily.
At once, the Commander of the Knights standing beside him hurried forward and bowed his head.
“My apologies. It seems a disturbance has occurred for a moment. However, it shall soon be resolved… There is no need for excessive concern, Your Highness.”
“No need for concern?! You incompetent fools…!”
Gernot nearly spat out a curse, barely swallowing the rest of his words.
Forcing himself to remain composed, he issued orders.
“…Reform the ranks at once and calm the people! Do not forget to identify the cause and resolve it swiftly! The Departure Festival shall continue!”
With that, he tried to drive his Chariot forward once more.
But before long, he was forced to halt again.
This time, however, it was not because of the deafening roar.
“Th-That… what in the world is that…?!”
It was because of the sight unfolding before his eyes.
It resembled a seething swamp of viscous mire.
Its distorted outline clumsily imitated the shape of a human.
Its skin writhed like living slime, nauseating to behold.
And those horrific figures were pouring out from all directions like a flood.
The first to sense something amiss was Yuran.
Yuran and the others had been waiting near the Auction House in preparation for any unforeseen situation, according to Lian Gwendil’s plan.
However, since Lian had descended underground, they had only been estimating his general location through a Charm and waiting nearby when—
“Ugh…!”
Suddenly, a massive explosion erupted from deep beneath the ground.
Despite being quite far from the Epicenter, the entire earth seemed to tremble, accompanied by a tremendous roar and a powerful surge of energy.
“Kh!”
Yuran, who had already been chanting Ritual Sorcery, immediately spread her energy. Soon after, Yeriel Helmont added his strength and cast Magic alongside her.
Thanks to that, the six of them remained unharmed.
However, they could not block the aftereffects spreading through the surroundings. In a situation where a Crowd had gathered due to the Festival, it could only be described as catastrophic.
Before long, the thunderous noise subsided.
Then, people’s screams rang out, and turmoil began to erupt everywhere.
“…It seems things have unfolded just as Lian predicted.”
Ras Sink Shagas muttered in a low voice.
Under normal circumstances, they would have immediately joined Lian, but the situation was unfavorable.
Not only did they not know his exact location, but the ominous aura that followed forced them to act cautiously.
First, Yeriel and Professor Shagas began calming and evacuating the nearby people to prevent further casualties.
In the midst of that, yet another Strange Aura spread in all directions.
Once again, the first to react was Yuran, whose senses were sharper than anyone else’s—perhaps because of her half-dragon blood.
However, the one who reacted most violently was none other than Deiare.
“…Master?”
She muttered blankly.
Soon after, as if unable to believe what she was seeing, she covered her right eye with her hand and focused all her strength into her left eye.
She was invoking the power of the far-seeing eye that had been directly passed down to her by her teacher, Sage Arpentia.
“Ugh…!”
Not long after, she let out a short groan and clenched her teeth.
Bloody tears streamed down from her left eye.
“Professor Deiare! Are you all right?!”
Startled, Yuran rushed to her side and handed her a healing Charm.
But Deiare could only continue muttering, as though she still could not believe it.
“……”
Meanwhile, Cecilia Everglenn quickly chanted and simultaneously summoned several high-ranking spirits.
From all around, those dreadful forms—like boiling, viscous mire—kept bursting through the ground without pause.
Each of them had a bizarre Iron Needle deeply embedded in their chest.
The problem was that this was not all.
“Ah.”
Allen Amiel quietly let out a sigh.
Among the writhing monsters, he spotted several people mixed in—faces far too familiar.
Kyren Amiel.
His older brother, Kyren—who had been lying on his sickbed until only days ago and was said to have fully recovered—stood there among them as if nothing were wrong.
Just like the others, a bizarre Iron Needle was embedded in his chest.
Allen was not the only one to display shock.
“Ah… This can’t be….”
Yeriel murmured in a devastated voice.
For among those who had appeared was someone he also knew all too well.
Airos.
The Ancient Dragon Airos likewise stood tall among them, pierced through by an Iron Needle.