Chapter 43

Chapter 43

“What?”

“It is written that way, Your Excellency.”

He snatched the letter from Hector’s hand and read it.

“Ha! It seems that these guys are crazy at last! Imperial property? Property? Me…? Since when have I been their property?!”

“Your Excellency.”

“Did you see these crazy people?! While they were sitting quietly in the imperial castle and discussing politics with their tongues, I swung my sword at the forefront. How dare they look at me like that.”

“Your Excellency.”

“There is no one in this world who can say that to me…!”

“….”

His anger welled up, and he felt that his eyes could turn white as he was too angry. Berthas ripped the letter he was holding. Seeing the letter falling apart in front of his eyes made him feel much more at ease.

He had to think. Since they found out that he was a sword master, he needed a countermeasure.

“Where did the word leak?”

“Not me.”

Seeing Berthas stare at him, Hector hurriedly denied it.

“Who said that?”

If there was a traitor among his subordinates, he had to kill them. It was because what he was going to do from now on was something where even a single deviation could not be forgiven… one wrong step was death.

“What are you going to do?”

“Advancing the plan.”

“Then…”

“Call the army on the border of Larchen.”

“Finally!”

Upon hearing Berthas’ decision, Hector was excited and tried to run out of the room.

“Sir Hector.”

“Yes, Commander!”

He smiled at the title change from ‘His Excellency’ and ordered him.

“Call the others.”

“All right.”

Seeing Hector’s back as he stepped forward with light steps, Berthas’ head twitched.

“I will make you regret it.”

After the noisy Hector left, silence settled in the room. The sun was still in the middle of the sky, but he felt a chill.

‘I should tell her.’

Isilis’ current situation was not something that could ever be easily resolved. He didn’t like having to leave for Hillenton, leaving her alone, but he couldn’t help it.

If he didn’t go in now and overthrow the imperial palace, he could be beaten to it. In addition, taking Hillenton was the best solution for him. The Emperor and Crown Prince weren’t going to be taken for granted, but Berthas had hoped for the crown Prince’s complacency.

For that, he even postponed his father’s revenge.

In the document sent by the Prince, there was a detailed record of his father’s death. He couldn’t tell whether the record was true or false, so he made a request to Faylos and was miserable when he got the result as false.

Because of that incident, Berthas abandoned his expectations of the Crown Prince and the Emperor. His plan to save the Crown Prince’s life was completely turned upside down from that point on. As he destroyed Hillenton, he intended to take their lives as well.

Now that his child is born, while the plan has changed a little, the fact that they can’t survive doesn’t change.

“I’ll have to get the necklace from Isilis.”

The necklace he handed over to Isilis was no ordinary necklace.

It was a necklace that symbolized Hillenton’s Imperial Family and a magical tool that turned into a sword when infused with his aura, and a national treasure of Hillenton passed down from generation to generation by the Imperial Family.

The necklace, which consisted of a pair, belonged to his mother and the other to his father, the previous Emperor. Both came into his hands because as soon as he was born, the Emperor gave him the necklace, and when his mother died, she left him the necklace.

The Emperor and Crown Prince of Hillenton, who did not know such a fact, wandered in search of the necklace after the death of the previous emperor.

Naturally, his residence was the first to be searched, but Berthas had already given one necklace to another girl, and the other was hanging around his neck. The enchanted necklace was invisible unless the wearer wished to see it.

Having escaped being taken away, he did not take off the necklace even for a moment after that.

“What should I say?”

What should he say?

He was worried as it was absurd to ask Isilis to give back the necklace he had given her. Still, without it, he could not be recognized for his legitimacy. No, it was difficult for his children to be recognized for their legitimacy.

The reason why the current Emperor struggled with legitimacy was because of that.

Those who did not possess national treasures could not be recognized as emperors or successors at Hillenton. Therefore, it was only natural that the present emperor suppressed the nobles by force, and dissatisfaction with the emperor’s attitude erupted.

It was also a ruse to prevent his uncle from having his legitimacy recognized.

Nevertheless, there was a way to be recognized even without a national treasure. It was to receive the approval of the majority in the noble assembly.

However, in this anonymous vote, the uncle was not recognized for his legitimacy. Only one chance… Missing that opportunity, he purged and cast out more than half of the nobles, and it was Berthas who embraced those nobles.

While expanding the territory of the country, he deliberately left them alone.

It took a long time for people to get from the Imperial Capital of Hillenton to the rough and poorly governed borders. It was Berthas’ henchmen who took control of the occupied areas before his uncle’s servants dispatched from the capital arrived.

Unbeknownst to his uncle, the underlayment work had been carried out slowly for a long time.

The Emperor was nothing more than a puppet. Still, he lowered his head to find evidence to prove that the Emperor’s death was murder while walking to and from the Capital, bowing down.

Even though nothing was found, he held out hope.

A little clue from where his father last visited—the thing that killed the Emperor was a poison that twisted the movement of mana, and the wizard who created the poison was a wizard named ‘Ignardo’—that was the only clue.

He had to find out the identity of the poison that killed the former emperor and the wizard who passed it on to his uncle.

“Father.”

Berthas’ voice fell in the quiet room. It was then. The door burst open, and Hector and his men entered the room.

“Commander!”

“Your Excellency! I brought them.”

“Is it true?”

“What is this?”

As the four men talked at once, it was distracting. Hiding the emotions that had subsided, Berthas opened his mouth.

“From today, we are no longer Hillenton’s army.”

“What?”

“Then…”

The four noisy men held their breath, waiting for him to speak. Berthas lips opened slowly as he drew out his words.

“Become an army for me.”

“Your Excellency…!”

“Your Highness. You finally made up your mind!”

“Commander!”

“Your Highness Crown Prince.”

Everyone’s eyes were focused on Hector’s last words.

It was true. In the first place, Berthas was the Crown Prince of Hillenton. He was also the direct line. If he hadn’t drunk the spring water of oath, he had the lineage to succeed to the throne.

“I will follow.”

As Hector knelt in front of him, the other three also knelt. Seeing those prostrate in front of him, Berthas clenched his fists. It was a start.

“Alone?”

“That’s right.”

Isilis raised her head at the news the chief attendant conveyed. Her shoulders were heavy.

“Where are you?”

“He is requesting a private meeting in the parlor.”

“Call him to the office.”

“I will follow your orders, Your Majesty.”

Hearing that Berthas had requested a private meeting, Isilis could not calm her tumultuous mind. What did he come to say? She wondered about it.

Seeing Berthas enter the office, she sighed and spoke up.

“Why did you ask for a private meeting?”

“Your Majesty. Today, I did not come to see the Empress of Larchen.”

“Then?”

“Would you listen to me?”

His words caught the eyes of the escort knights and attendants. Isilis beckoned them to leave, and they went out. She confirmed that they were leaving and cast a spell that blocked the sound from leaking out.

“Now, tell me.”

“Isilis.”

“What’s wrong?”

“The necklace I gave you. Do you still have them?”

“…Yes.”

“Can you give it to me for a moment?”

“The necklace?”

“Yes.”

Isilis had mixed emotions. Did he hate her, so he asked for the necklace back? Or was there another reason? Why was he saying this now?

She was having all kinds of thoughts.

“It is Hillenton’s national treasure. I must have it now.”

Berthas, as if perceiving her thoughts, hurriedly opened his mouth.

“I know it is shameless to ask for what I gave you. However…”

“Why did you give it to me when I was young?”

“What?”

She thought she didn’t have to hide anymore about her childhood encounter with Berthas, so Isilis opened her mouth.

“A necklace that was given to me when I was young, and the necklace you gave me now. Aren’t the two a pair?”

“Then, you…”

“I am the one who saved your life.”

“Isilis.”

She whispered to Berthas, who opened his eyes in surprise.

“Isn’t that to be expected anyway? It’s rare to find someone who can use magic like that, and it’s rare that she has red hair and blue eyes. If you didn’t notice that it was me, you’re just a stupid Berthas.”

“…When I gave you that necklace when I was young, it meant that I would definitely find you.”

Watching him catch his breath for a moment, Isilis hid her expression.

“A pair of necklaces that resonate with each other so I went back there to find you, but no one was there. I couldn’t tell if you were dead or alive. There was nobody there, so I thought you were alive though it was still difficult… Considering that there are more than five people who tried to kill me, there might be a reason to misunderstand.”

“Five assassins are a joke to me who uses magic.”

“Because I didn’t know at the time.”

Listening to him, she opened her mouth again to ask Berthas, who was speechless while recalling the past.

“Why did you need that necklace now?”

“Ah, yes. It is a magic tool that turns into a sword by the sword master’s aura. It’s Hillenton’s national treasure, but it’s also the weapon that suits me best.”

“…Weapon? Why do you need weapons?”

“I have to go back to Hillenton.”

“You mean right now?”

“The sun is going down, so I’ll have to leave tomorrow.”

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