Chapter 219
Joshua’s feat of defeating the Mercenary King made him famous throughout the world. Now, he was finally in the Tripia Region.
In the Imperial Palace of Avalon, someone was dying. She was born with the noblest blood of Avalon, but at the same time, the circumstances of her birth made her life harder than any of her kin.
“Haah… haah…Haah.”
One of the most beautiful palaces within the Imperial compound was the Magnificent Flower Palace. But right now, the Magnificient Flower Palace was filled with pained, heartwrenching groans.
“Your Highness…!” Ellen stared at the bed, worried. Ellen was the private maid of Princess Serciarin.
Princess Serciarin’s once golden hair had turned dull and ashen. Her skin was grey and worn, but her beautiful demeanor could still be seen.
“I’m so sorry, Your Highness…” Ellen’s eyes welled up with tears.
If Princess Serciarin’s fate had always been dying before she even became an adult, then why did she have to spend the rest of her life locked up in this place? Emperor Marcus only doted on her on the surface, he didn’t favor her at all.
Now, it seemed that the heavens were finally going to take Princess Serciarin’s life after they were done depriving her of everything else.
Knock! Knock! Knock!
Ellen quickly wiped her tears away upon hearing the knocking on the door.
She had to appear strong in times like this.
“Who’s there?”
“This is Amy. There’s a visitor—”
Ellen interrupted with a frown. “Amy… you know that Her Highness Princess cannot meet anyone right now, right?”
“I, um—”
Ellen could feel Amy’s hesitation.
“I came here to see my sibling. It’s me, Kaizen.”
Ellen’s eyes widened, and she jumped out of her seat. It was no wonder that Amy was flustered. Ellen walked up to the door, twisted the doorknob and opened the door right away.
“Ah…” Ellen quivered at the golden-haired man standing next to Amy. The golden-haired man’s somber visage—as if his signature golden eyes weren’t enough—was immediately recognizable.
“I am Ellen, a servant of the Magnificient Flower Palace. I greet Your Second Highness.”
“You’re dismissed.” Kaizen walked past Ellen without even looking at her.
“Y-Your Highness…! Her Highness is sleeping—”
“A lowly servant like you dares to stand in my way?!” Kaizen thrust a blade at Ellen’s neck. The blade made a thin cut on the maid’s white neck, drawing a few drops of blood.
Gulp!
Ellen gulped a mouthful of her own saliva.
Kaizen stared at the trembling Ellen and said, “Get in my way again, and you will lose your head.”
With that, he left the quivering Ellen and approached the bed.
“Haah… haah… Haah.”
“Imperial Father has been using you since you were born, Serciarin. How pitiful...” Kaizen stared at her sister, who was in agony.
At first, the Magnificient Flower Palace was a forbidden area even to the members o the Imperial Family. Black Wind had been keeping tabs on the palace, but at some point, their eyes vanished. Specifically, they vanished when she fell into a coma.
It wouldn’t take a genius to deduce why—Emperor Marcus abandoned her after she outlived her use. The poor girl was no longer useful to Emperor Marcus. It was cut and dried. However, was there an even more tragic tale than that?
“Your cursed power even broke your leash,” Kaizen muttered. He knew all this while that Princess Serciarin had special abilities. Honestly, it had become an open secret throughout Avalon.
Just like the legendary elves, she had the Eyes of Truth. Emperor Marcus’ judicious use of her ability ensured a sturdy foundation for his tyrannical reign better than any weapon by stopping any rebellion before it could even start.
Princess Serciarin had always been a sickly lady, but her health never managed to stop Emperor Marcus from using her.
“...” Kaizen fell into deep contemplation and thought, ‘I think he said she still has a month to live. You’re no longer useful to Imperial Father, but you’re still useful to me, Serciarin.’
Kaizen grinned and muttered, “I’ll be taking Serciarin away.”
“...!” Ellen quivered. She wanted to say something, but she didn’t want to die. In the end, she simply kept her head down without saying anything.
‘Please no…’
Ellen was inwardly screaming, but all she could do was stare blankly at Kaizen as he carried Princess Serciarin away.
***
The demonic creatures suddenly froze like statues. The orcs curled into the fetal position; the house-sized trolls cowered behind the trees; the mad, man-eating ogre was nowhere to be found.
The small boy weakly fell to the floor.
“No… this can’t be…!”
“Nothing is impossible.”
“Don’t even try to fool me! Crevasse-nim is the only dragon who is still awake on this continent!”
Joshua shrugged. “What makes you think that it’s a dragon? You can change the color of your hair and eyes with magic—”
“That just proves it!” The small boy snapped his fingers as he jumped to his feet. “Dragons may change their appearance for amusement, but they’re too proud of their species to hide their race.”
”It goes against their principles, so you’re definitely human! There’s no mistaking it!”
“Haaa…” Joshua sighed at the small boy’s words. He was only going to do a bit of trickery, but it seemed he couldn’t fool someone living with a real dragon.
“How can a person use Dragon Fear?”
“Are you curious?” Joshua smiled mischievously.
“...” The small boy’s eyes widened at the sight of that. However, he shook his head and decisively said, “No, I am not interested.”
Joshua's smile widened at the small boy’s answer.
“Are you sure about that? You look like you’re dying from curiosity.”
“I'm not interested!”
“Are you sure you’re not interested?” Joshua teased.
“Argh!” The small boy glared at Joshua and gnashed his teeth before saying, “I’m not interested, so go away! I don’t want to see your face again!”
“...” Joshua couldn’t help but reminisce about his past life. It had always been fun to play around and tease the small boy, but he was running out of time. In the end, Joshua made a decision, and he decided to address the elephant in the room.
“You’re curious about where your old friend, Jerath dek Orbis, is located…”
“...!” The small boy’s eyes widened.
“I'll tell you everything I know.”
“W-what…?” The small boy was truly dumbfounded. He had no idea what to say. It was all because Jerath’s name couldn’t be spoken lightly. For a moment, the small boy’s emerald-like eyes seemed like they had become real emeralds.
‘I really have no idea what’s going on, but…’?thought the small boy with a frown. He looked at Joshua and asked carefully, “H-how am I supposed to take your words seriously?”
“Shouldn’t you be able to feel it, even though you can’t see it?” asked Joshua.
The small boy’s inscrutable eyes peered into Joshua’s heart. “...What do you want me to do?”
Joshua smiled softly and explained, “I know someone born with a curse.”
“What?” The small boy tilted his head in surprise.
“She’s not gonna last long…” said Joshua. “However, if the genius alchemist Ash creates a cure for her…”
“That’s—” The small boy's long ears quivered.
Joshua’s smile widened. He knew better than anyone what kind of person the small boy was, so he also knew what decision the latter would make when confronted with a scenario like this.
Therefore, Joshua pressed on and asked, “Can you do it?”
“So that’s why you need Sanders.” The small boy coughed a few times and nodded vigorously. It was unknown why his demeanor suddenly changed, but Joshua knew that the small boy simply wanted to look serious.
“If you help me, I’ll tell you how to use Dragon Fear,” said Joshua. He stared at the small boy intently and asked, “You’re curious about how it works, right? You find it interesting?”
“Ahem! I guess that’s a fair price for my genius,” said the small boy.
Joshua couldn't help but chuckle at the sight. “All right, the deal is set, then. Help me, and I’ll teach you.”
“Great!” The small boy exclaimed. He ran up to Joshua and pretended like they were close, as if they weren’t hostile to each other just a few moments ago. He put his hand out and said, “Human friend, let’s take an oath in the name of mana.”
“...?” Joshua was momentarily baffled. However, he shrugged as if it didn’t really matter and grabbed the small boy’s hand.
When their hands made contact, there was a brief resonant hum, and the small boy’s tiny shoulders started trembling in sadistic mirth. Someone like Joshua would have no idea because he was a human and because the incidence of the Eyes of Truth was astronomically rare in humans.
It was a blessing for elves, but if someone else belonging to a different race were to receive the Eyes of Truth, then it would be a curse that would cut their lifespan short. It was incredibly difficult to break the curse as well.
Every ingredient necessary for the elixir was extremely hard to find, and some of them were only ever heard in legends.
‘Kek, he’s going to spend the rest of his life looking for the materials—ahem!’?The small boy managed to stop himself from laughing by coughing. “All right, I’ll write the ingredients down. It’s probably going to take you a long time, so—”
“They’re ready.”
“Huh?” The small boy couldn’t understand what Joshua was talking about.
Joshua smiled slyly, and as if he knew what the small boy was thinking, he emphasized each and every word as he said, “The. Ingredients. Are. Ready.”
The sourc𝗲 of this content is free(w)ebnov(𝒆)l