Chapter 98 : Chapter 98

Chapter 98 - Ready to be Reborn

Recently in Eclipse.

Two major problems had arisen in its Dark Moon Grand Castle.

One was.

“Dante! What should we play today?”

The Fourth Son wasn't going home.

The other was.

“Fifth Son. I want to build a mansion on the land you have allocated to us. I contacted the Construction General Manager, and he said it could be built right away.”

The Fourth Son’s mother wasn't going home.

The mother and son who had suddenly attached themselves to the Dark Moon Grand Castle.

Two beings who couldn't be trifled with in the slightest.

So neither the Head Maid nor Lubosch could relax.

This was even more so for the Youngest Son, the main target of these beings.

“You will have to approve the construction of the mansion.”

Moirena. The woman called the faceless mother followed him around like an attendant.

“…If you speak to the Head Maid, it will be resolved comfortably. There is no need for you to come to me.”

“Though we are not related by blood, we are one family. To me, the Fifth Son is like a son, and it is not a bad thing to come and see my son’s face, is it?”

Did she butter her tongue?

Even though this was the first time they were meeting formally, she had no hesitation in lying.

Since she was already mentally accustomed to it.

She had only been contemplating how to easily devour her opponent, so it wouldn't be awkward even when facing him.

“You say you think of me as a son, yet your heart is beating irregularly. You seem to be quite angry.”

“Seeing the face of the younger brother Jamie adores so much, my heart must have acted up again.”

“Ah. Is that so.”

I gave a small nod and scoffed inwardly.

The current state of Moirena, the head of the Mystics family, could be defined in one word.

Pissed. Or super pissed.

Moirena’s current state was somewhere in between.

And the Youngest Son was a master at scratching such itches.

“Lady Moirena. I know well the feelings you are harboring right now.”

“I have no idea what you are talking about. In any case, I will take it that you have given your permission to build the mansion.”

“Yes. I give my permission, of course.”

“Thank you.”

Moirena turned around.

“However.”

The Youngest Son stopped her in her tracks.

“I know well that building a mansion here is not your idea, Lady Moirena. It is entirely my second-oldest brother’s opinion.”

“……”

Was that all?

“Lady Moirena, you wish to leave this place as soon as possible to raise my second-oldest brother into an even greater prodigy and have him focus on his training. But my older brother keeps going out.”

“…!”

“You must be extremely worried.”

Her body turned towards me in an instant.

Her face, naturally, was not visible.

Not a hint of expression could be read.

But I could tell.

How do you know that, she was asking.

The Youngest Son shrugged.

“To be honest, it was obvious. My second-oldest brother is a genius who could beat not only me but also that First Son with just a little effort.”

Heuheung.

A slight sound of amusement reached my ears.

She might threaten and lie without a moment’s hesitation, but in the end, she was a mother.

She crumbled without resistance at the praise of her son.

I continued.

“If you cooperate with me a little. I will not only refuse my older brother’s request to build a mansion, but also give you a reason to leave this place.”

“…I heard you made a deal with Jamie.”

Are you trying to make a double contract now?

To the question of what her scheme was.

“I don’t know how it will sound to you, but.”

The Youngest Son smiled faintly.

“I think I’m ready to face my second-oldest brother now.”

“……”

Chilliness. Coldness.

A cold draft. A chill.

Things that were biting and cold and made one's teeth chatter created a layer of frost.

It wasn't visible to the eye, but it certainly felt like it.

It was just one of the randomly created and disappearing corridors in the Dark Moon Grand Castle.

Today, an unexpected winter had come to that corridor.

But that early winter also ended quickly.

“Puhut….”

──!

The cackling sneer of the faceless mother erased it.

The Youngest Son stood before her, his smile never faltering.

He just listened quietly.

“My.”

Then, in just a few seconds.

“I shouldn’t be laughing at something like this.”

Moirena’s hand moved first.

That magicless touch moved slowly and reached the Fifth Son’s dark purple hair.

“Our Dante.”

Truly like a mother.

A gentle touch like that of a family member continued.

“Since your real family isn’t by your side, no one has taught you your place. I understand.”

Seuk. Seuk.

The stroking, which had continued several times, was cut off with several steps back.

“Very well. I don’t know what your scheme is, but I’ll go along with it. What is it. This small cooperation.”

She was properly scratched.

A counter that had landed squarely on a weakness that wasn't a weakness.

It immediately drew out a fierce reaction and created a situation of mutual benefit.

However.

“Lady Moirena, you just.”

He had no intention of stopping at a counter.

If you scratch once and make a wound?

“Stay still.”

Doesn't that mean the second scratch is a critical hit?

“…What do you mean by that.”

Even though he had asked for the easiest thing in the world, her reaction was sensitive.

It had to be.

Because the one who had asked was the very person she had just laughed at so heartily.

That person did not know how to pull the reins.

“Because the only family you have is running wild, unable to trust their child like this. From the child’s perspective, wouldn’t they rather doubt themselves?”

At least for now.

“The mother herself. Is stifling her son’s talent.”

I really decided not to know.

Kwaaaaaaaang─!!

***

The Fourth Son and Moirena had to leave Eclipse.

Because Moirena had just put a hole in the Dark Moon Grand Castle.

No matter how much she was from a maternal family of Millesdusk, a good welcome was impossible.

“Lady Moirena. I have granted everything you wished for.”

Not only did I refuse my older brother’s request to build a mansion.

I also gave her a reason to leave this place.

“To think that fortune would roll in just by staying still. Where else would one find such luck?”

If she had heard, it would have created another hole.

He said it without hesitation.

The Butler filled the hole by pouting his lips.

Soon, the Head Maid quietly came from behind.

“It is a good thing that those two have left Eclipse. Both Lady Lores and the plan. There are many things that should not be revealed.”

The Fourth Son did not know about the coup d'état plan.

Because to the Fourth Son, Kian was a target he had only recently started to work on.

The information he had was that he had now coiled himself in the forest of the Julsin Kingdom.

And that unusual strange rumors were spreading in that Julsin Kingdom.

Broadly speaking, that was all.

But this side was different.

“The difference in information. This is the only way to balance the scales with my older brother. So I must refrain from leaks.”

Both the Fourth Son and Moirena.

They wandered around the Dark Moon Grand Castle pretending not to, but their ears were perked up.

This side also pretended not to, but information leaks were indeed something to worry about.

“From my second-oldest brother’s perspective, everything will be sudden. The demonic realm transformation. The appearing hero. The changed king. The Julsin Kingdom that has become my base.”

A sailboat moved by the wind called Dante Black Millesdusk.

In this plan, the Fourth Son was such a sailboat.

“So I have to create a wind so strong that a boat of my older brother’s caliber will be shaken without even thinking.”

Furthermore, that was not something this side had to do.

‘Elder Kian. The wind speed is your job.’

In this Youngest Son’s life, there were too many enemies.

Blood-related brothers. Subordinates of the family. There were too many to count.

It is difficult to survive on one’s own.

If necessary, one had to know how to use the power of the enemy without hesitation.

Even if it was.

A biting wind that tried to kill me.

“Young Master. There is one more thing I have to report.”

And the biting wind on this side was no slouch either.

“It is a Messenger Ghoul from Sir Reggie. He says the groundwork is finished and Lady Anthia has also infiltrated well. He says the ripple effect is tremendous.”

It might be a strange rumor here, far from the frontmost boundary line.

But on the boundary line, the second coming of the Third Prince was no different from a god who had been nailed down returning to life.

A sudden wave of brilliance in a moment of exhaustion and near-death.

That was the biting wind the Youngest Son had prepared.

“Tell the two of them to prepare. As I see it, Elder Kian will also be making up his mind soon.”

The reason he thought so.

There was no need to ask.

Because the content of today’s letter sent by Jubel on the desk was the reason.

─The king of the Julsin Kingdom has passed away.

Those words were like a party invitation.

To a festival that the Fourth Son had also recently been invited to.

The Youngest Son decided to attend first.

***

The kingdom was plunged into sorrow.

He wasn't a particularly good king, but he wasn't a bad king either.

Just without incident.

Not quite a peaceful reign, but not a terrible one either.

Perhaps the king who had accomplished the most difficult task had passed away from old age.

So it was only natural that the capital of the kingdom, Krawl, was plunged into sorrow.

Life these days was so harsh that people were starving, emaciated, and destitute.

It was a day when they desperately missed the past when they weren't full but at least not hungry.

Drrrrrrrrrrrk─

The king’s coffin was carried in a magnificent carriage to the capital's temple.

Behind it, a funeral procession followed.

People sniffled and mourned, missing the king.

But only one person.

The First Prince was not one of them.

“A grand future is about to unfold. Why are they all crying like that?”

“…He was Your Majesty’s father.”

“From now on, there will be no awkwardness in your calling me Your Majesty. The coronation ceremony will proceed immediately.”

The Military Affairs Grand Officer swallowed a groan.

“Your Majesty. With all due respect, all royal activities are prohibited during the official mourning period. Moreover, the memorial procession has just ended─”

“This is not a royal activity. Elder Kian has agreed to become our kingdom’s prime minister. I wish to inherit the crown as soon as possible.”

Until now, he had the scepter but not the crown.

Because that was something given only to the true king.

That emptiness was no longer bearable.

“If I delay, how do I know the ghost of my youngest brother won’t snatch it away?”

“That is….”

The Military Affairs Grand Officer closed his mouth.

What would Charles have answered here?

Whose country is this?

Is it the country of the Millesdusk Elder? Or is it the country of the people and the king?

He barely managed to swallow the words on the tip of his tongue.

“May Your Majesty’s will be done.”

The words that came out were only these.

“The coronation ceremony will be held in the prime minister’s forest. The prime minister has said he will inform us of the process, so you shall attend as well.”

“Of course.”

“Follow me.”

“A-are we going now?”

“Did I not say immediately?”

“Yes, yes.”

The Military Affairs Grand Officer followed behind the king.

The thought that came to him as he went was longing.

A longing for someone whose whereabouts he did not know.

‘Charles. It is too much for me alone.’

He spat out his inner thoughts into the empty air where no one was.

This kingdom had lost its way at some point.

Even the king had lost his direction and was drifting with the wind.

This rudderless sailboat drifted on, not knowing what lay at its end.

Whether a whale was opening its mouth somewhere.

Or whether it was heading for the edge of the sea, a cliff.

The old man on the blind boat trembled with fear.

Drrrrrrrk─

The memorial procession is visible outside the carriage heading to the forest.

Hundreds of people followed the dead king’s coffin.

And only one old official followed the new king.

The two same yet different carriages grew further and further apart.

The further apart they grew.

The more it felt like they were walking a path of no return.

He couldn't stop looking outside.

‘…There’s not a single person who isn’t emaciated.’

It was almost the first time he had come out to the streets in broad daylight.

It was also the first time he had seen the bare face of the people’s livelihood.

The people looked hungry and ragged.

The goods that the merchant association was supposed to be supplying were nowhere to be seen, and it was hard to find a stall that was fully stocked.

“We have arrived.”

While he was in shock, the coachman naturally announced their arrival.

The old official, barely escaping from his thoughts, hastily got up and attended to the king.

It wasn't just the people who had changed from his memory.

“The forest…. is very gloomy.”

“It is the day the former king passed away. Did you expect songbirds to be chirping like in a fairy tale?”

“N-that is not it.”

“No more chatter, just follow. He said the prime minister’s residence is just down this path.”

Even in the midst of that, the king’s thoughts of the prime minister were dreadful.

“When I inherit the crown, I will cut down the trees here and build the prime minister’s residence. Big. And grand.”

Soon, a light appeared at the end of the gloomy forest.

He couldn't say it, but there was also a faint smell of rot.

At the end of that light.

“Welcome, Your Majesty.”

A black altar. The elder in front of it.

“All preparations are complete.”

The first sacrifice had walked in.

“Are you ready to be reborn?”

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