[Chapter 127] The Twist of Crown Prince Bardenaldo

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The Empress Retinia's will was conveyed through Crown Prince Bardenaldo's mouth.

Vincenzo stiffened and was silent.

"May Crown Prince Bardenaldo, the most brilliant light of my life, properly succeed to the throne. And may he cover up his younger brother's flaws, thus becoming the eternal glory of me, Retina."

A calm, clear voice resounded.

The Emperor, who had arrived late, wept bitterly at Retina's will, which came out of the Crown Prince's mouth.

When his eyes met Roaldness's, which were already swollen from too much crying, Bardenaldo's mouth, which had hesitated, opened quietly.

"Roaldness Kozma de Ront. Protect your older brother. Make sure Crown Prince Bardenaldo ascends the throne without any incident. Make my only light, your older brother, the Emperor, so that my name can remain glorious for posterity."

Young Roaldness's eyes shook terribly.

Taking a deep breath at the sentence "my only light, your older brother," Roaldness bit his lip without any objection. It was an expression close to resignation.

Roaldness nodded, his mouth tightly shut, as if determined not to cry anymore.

Bardenaldo, who was staring at the trembling little chin, did not continue.

No one in that room doubted Retina's will, except for Vincenzo.

'I've worked my whole life to become Emperor, Mother.'

While endlessly looking at Retina's face, which looked like she was dead asleep, Bardenaldo secretly prayed that she would understand why he had to do this.

****

The 100-day funeral for Empress Retina began.

Compared to Roaldness, who was desperately trying to hold back tears, Bardenaldo was calm.

Instead, he went to the secret royal library, which was only allowed to the Emperor and Crown Prince, every night.

Bardenaldo had recently become very interested in mana stones.

Perhaps it was because of his precarious position after the death of Empress Retina.

Unable to watch his mother's body decay, he clung to rumors about mana stone coffins.

And after seeing a record about mana stone coffins that preserved corpses, he even secretly asked Noebian to look into it.

Vincenzo thought it was natural for the young Crown Prince to be unable to accept his mother's death.

Although the Crown Prince had told a completely different will from what he had heard, he looked pitiful.

Even if Bardenaldo told the truth, Bardenaldo would still be the Crown Prince, and the Winston Marquis family would support him above all else. Nothing would change.

And near the end of the 100-day funeral.

Bardenaldo, who had visited the secret library as usual, saw a record hidden deep inside.

『The first Emperor, Kirps, was a traitor.』

It was about Kirps, the first emperor who unified several kingdoms to make Ronta an empire.

『The ugly behind-the-scenes story hidden by Kirps' achievements. It was not Kirps who unified Ronta into an empire, as history records. The original first emperor was his older brother, Caldeion, and his younger brother Kirps killed his older brother on the battlefield and became emperor himself. Kirps was a traitor before he was the first emperor.』

Bardenaldo continued reading the record without blinking.

『The symbol of the Ronta royal family is not the blue eyes of the traitor Kirps. The red eyes of Caldeion are the true symbol of the Ronta royal family.』

He dropped the book from his hand and collapsed. He felt like his breath was being cut off as if someone had twisted his neck.

The children with red eyes who were born like foreign objects in the royal family from generation to generation.

Didn't it mean that those children, who were mercilessly abandoned or killed if they were the offspring of a concubine or a bastard, actually had the legitimacy of the true first emperor?

"It can't be."

The feeling of pity he had for his brother, whom he loved so much, was crushed at once.

His mother's will became a swamp of pain, slowly engulfing him.

'Red eyes' are the true legitimacy of the first emperor.

That sentence felt like a giant sword piercing his head.

After reading the record repeatedly, Bardenaldo stayed there until dawn and hid the book.

Even though the book was clearly paper, it wouldn't tear or burn, which frustrated Bardenaldo.

When Bardenaldo hid the record in his bedroom and was feeling uneasy, his first love, a maid, discovered the record while cleaning and showed a suspicious look, so he ended up killing her.

At first, he was tormented by guilt, but as time passed, he became numb.

It was true, she was a maid he cherished very much.

But when he placed her in the mana stone coffin that Noebian had procured and looked down at her, he felt strangely at ease.

He felt much more affectionate toward the maid who was quietly waiting for him, dead, rather than seeing her make even the slightest remark about his legitimacy or his qualities.

Her death came to him as a meaning that it wasn't a permanent farewell, but rather that he could keep her by his side forever.

That was how his first love, the maid, was first exhibited in the secret room under his bedroom.

As mana stone coffins were created one by one and filled with people,

And as the number of keys he held increased,

He felt overwhelmed by the feeling that his allies who would never disappoint or despair him were increasing one by one.

Was it from then on?

He no longer grieved over anyone's death.

Immediately after the 100-day funeral, when he hid Empress Retina's body in the mana stone coffin out of sight of the Emperor, he even hugged the coffin and made a rather resolute vow.

'I will be the only light of my mother. So please watch. That you were wrong. That the record was wrong. I will show you that no one else can replace my place. Future generations will remember you as the saint of Ronta, the mother of Emperor Bardenaldo.'

After that, Bardenaldo chose two candidates for the position of Empress to fill the "lack of legitimacy" that only he knew.

Adrienne Pireta, a noblewoman from the Pireta territory, which was the capital when Ronta was a kingdom.

And Doris Castagna, the daughter of the Duke of Castagna, the king of the west, who laid the foundation of the current empire, and a descendant of a great noble family.

Bardenaldo's heart sank when he heard a report that Adrienne was closer to Roaldness than to him, the Crown Prince, compared to Doris who was favorable towards him.

She was a noblewoman who didn't even send him a single letter even though she had been nominated as a candidate for the Crown Princess.

Around that time, Bardenaldo was more twisted than ever as time passed.

The more Roaldness yielded to him without a word and sacrificed himself, the more strangely twisted his heart became.

But there was still a tiny bit of regret for Roaldness in the corner of his heart.

There was, definitely.

The moment Roaldness first revealed his desire to him, and the moment he thought he might lose Adrienne Pireta, who had legitimacy, to Roaldness.

"I don't care about anything else, but I can't give up Adrienne."

The moment he heard the word "give up".

Bardenaldo's heart twisted more than it could.

A sensation like wringing out a dry cloth dominated his whole body.

For the first time, Bardenaldo felt a strong killing intent towards Roaldness.

Young Roaldness, who casually said such things as "yield to me" and "no" to him who would be the next supreme ruler, seemed incredibly arrogant.

He suppressed his murderous intent and smiled more softly instead.

And he pressed young Roaldness' head with his hand, as if confining a bug about to be trampled under his shadow.

"Shall this older brother help you?"

From that day on, Bardenaldo decided to make Roaldness clearly recognize his position.

And he decided to give Adrienne Pireta the position of "the Crown Prince's mistress." Of course, not alive but by killing her.

He couldn't give the position of Crown Princess to Adrienne, who liked Roaldness. If there was no legitimacy, he just had to take it. Whether alive or dead.

'I am the Crown Prince. I am the only one worthy of becoming Emperor. Mother made a mistake. That strange record is fake. The rumor will soon become a real legend.'

"The evil prince with red eyes, Roaldness, is summoning monsters."

Without any guilt, he spread rumors about red eyes as a legend among people.

He even tacitly allowed Noebian to create rebel troops with death row prisoners to harass Roaldness.

At the same time, he helped without hesitation to plant mana stones in the west and cause monsters to appear.

'If you keep saying a lie, it will eventually become the truth.'

Just like the will of Retina, which was conveyed by his own mouth.

It was enough to turn the rumor of red eyes into a plausible legend.

It was the beginning of everything, right after Roaldness went to the battlefield to ask the Emperor for Adrienne.

****

"Like people who have been submerged deep in water and escaped, those in the cave gasped for breath and escaped from Bardenaldo's past."

"Looks like I won't be awakening my magic today."

Lottie said lightly, in contrast to the heavy atmosphere.

Lottie walked slowly and stood directly in front of Roaldness.

And she smiled up at his red eyes, filled with shock.

"Handsome Prince. You have magic, don't you?"

Dark, flickering eyes met Lottie's gaze directly.

"I don't know how you reached such a level alone in Ronta, where magic is forbidden, but it's amazing. That's something you're born with. Even I was completely fooled. To be able to hide such a level of magic. But I knew when I killed the monster. Only monsters clung to Your Highness. Like moths that would jump into the fire without knowing they were dying."

Lottie's voice, which had been leisurely, gradually became firmer.

"You are the true legitimate successor. Red eyes are not a symbol of the destruction of the nation, but the most powerful symbol of magic that saves it."

People opened their mouths at the sound coming out of Lottie's mouth.

"That magic that the cowardly Kirps could never have. Just as the true first emperor, Caldeion, summoned monsters but eventually exterminated them all and established the country. The red eyes that will be the sun of the world. The light that will burn the monsters to death with the brightest light and save the world."

Roaldness scoffed. His dark, gleaming eyes twisted and curved.

The light that saves the world? He was just a human being who couldn't even save himself.

"Who are you to say such things? How can you believe such a sudden record and say such things to me?"

"Because I wrote that record."

"Lottie!"

Adrienne covered her mouth and screamed softly.

"Believe me. My name is Lottie Kozma. I'm not a sorcerer, but a great magician who has lived for thousands of years to reveal the truth of the ancient kingdom."

A voice that was neither a woman's nor a man's sounded low in the cave. It was as auspicious as the voice of an absolute being.

"Roaldness Kozma de Ront. Your name must have been given the second name Kozma, which is given only to those with the most powerful magic according to prophecy. Just like me and Caldeion Kozma de Ront."

The corners of her lips, which rose smoothly, shone beautifully even in the darkness.

"Your magic. Your power. It's not a power to kill people, but a power to kill monsters and save people."

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