Empress Letina's will was delivered through Crown Prince Bardenaldo.
Vincenzo froze and remained silent.
“May Crown Prince Bardenaldo, the most brilliant light in my life, inherit the throne. In this way, may he cover up his brother’s faults and become the glory of me, Latina, who will remain for eternity in posterity.”
A pure voice that rings calmly.
The Emperor, who arrived late, wept as he heard Letina's will coming out of the Crown Prince's mouth.
The moment he met the eyes of Rhodnes, who were already swollen and swollen from crying, Bardenaldo's mouth, which had been hesitating, opened quietly.
“Rhodnes Cosma de Ronta. Protect your brother. Let Crown Prince Bardenaldo ascend to the throne without incident. Make your brother, my only light, the Emperor, so that my name will be remembered with glory in future generations.”
Young Rhodnes' eyes shook miserably.
At the sentence, 'Your brother is my only light', Rhodnes held his breath and bit his lips without raising any objections. His expression was close to resignation.
Rhodnes nodded, his mouth tightly shut as if determined not to sob any longer.
Bardenaldo, who was staring at the trembling small chin, did not continue speaking.
No one in the room doubted Letina's will, except Vincenzo.
'I've been trying to become Emperor my whole life, Mother.'
As he stared blankly at Latina's face, which seemed to be dead as if she was asleep, Bardenaldo prayed inwardly for her to understand that he could not help but be like this.
The 100-day funeral of Empress Letina has begun.
Compared to Rhodnes, who seemed to be desperately holding back tears, Bardenaldo was calm.
Instead, every night he went to the Imperial Secret Library, which was accessible only to the Emperor and the Crown Prince.
Bardenaldo has recently taken a keen interest in mana stones.
Could it be because his own position became precarious after Empress Letina died?
He couldn't stand to watch his mother's body decay, so he clung to the rumors about the Mana Stone Coffin.
Then, after seeing the record of the mana stone coffin used to preserve the body, he secretly asked Noevian to look into it.
Vincenzo took it for granted that the young Crown Prince would not be able to accept his mother's death.
The Crown Prince looked pitiful, even though his will was completely different from the one he had heard.
Even if Bardenaldo had told the truth, the Crown Prince was Bardenaldo and the Marquis of Winston would have supported him first and foremost. Nothing would have changed.
And as the 100-day funeral was coming to an end.
As usual, Bardenaldo went to the secret storage and found a record hidden very deep inside.
"The first Emperor Kirpis is a traitor."
It was about Kirpis, the first Emperor who united several kingdoms to create an empire.
[The ugly backstory behind Kirpis' achievements. The person who united Ronta into an empire was not Kirpis, as history records. The first Emperor was actually his older brother, Caldeion, and his younger brother Kirpis killed him on the battlefield and became the Emperor himself. Kirpis was a traitor before he became the first Emperor.]
Bardenaldo continued reading the records without blinking.
[The symbol of the Ronta Imperial House is not the blue eye of the traitor Kirpis. The red eye of Caldeion is the true symbol of the Ronta Imperial House.]
He put the book down and collapsed, his breathing suffocating as if someone had grabbed his throat.
Red-eyed children who were born one by one as foreign objects in the royal family.
Doesn't this mean that the children who were mercilessly abandoned or killed if they were the children of the Empress or illegitimate children actually had the legitimacy of the first Emperor?
“That’s ridiculous.”
The feeling of guilt that he had felt because he loved his younger brother was instantly crushed.
His mother's will became a swamp of pain that slowly consumed him.
'Red Eyes' is the true legitimacy of the first Emperor.
That sentence became a giant sword that pierced his mind.
After reading the records over and over again, Bardenaldo stayed there until dawn and then hid the book.
The book, although clearly made of paper, was neither torn nor burned, which upset Bardenaldo.
Bardenaldo, who had been anxious about hiding the records in his bedroom, ended up killing his first love, the maid when she discovered the records while cleaning and began to show signs of something strange.
At first, he struggled with guilt, but as time passed, it became less severe.
Clearly, she was a very precious maid.
But when he placed her in the mana stone coffin that Noevian had brought and looked down at her, his heart felt at ease.
About his legitimacy. He loved the sight of the maid quietly waiting for him, dead, much more than any talk of his qualities.
Her death came to him not as a permanent separation, but rather as a sign that he could keep her by his side forever.
So the maid who was his first love was first displayed in the secret room under the bedroom.
Mana stone coffins are created one by one and people are filled inside them.
As the number of keys in his hand increases.
He felt as if his side was growing bigger and bigger, without any disappointment or despair in him.
Was it since then?
He no longer mourned anyone's death.
As soon as the 100-day funeral was over, when Letina's body was placed back in the mana stone coffin, avoiding the Emperor's eyes, he hugged the coffin and made a rather resolute pledge.
'I will be your only light. So please watch. I will show you that you are wrong. That the records are wrong. That no one but me can take my place. People of future generations will remember you as the Saintess of Ronta, the mother of Emperor Bardenaldo.'
After that, Bardenaldo chose two candidates for the Crown Princess to fill the 'lacking legitimacy' that only he knew about.
Adrienne Piretta, Princess of the Piretta estate, which was the capital when Ronta was a kingdom.
And Doris Castagna, daughter of the Duke of Castagna, a noble family with a long history, and the King of the West who laid the foundation for the current empire.
Bardenaldo's heart sank when he heard the report that Adrienne was on friendly terms with Rhodnes rather than with himself, the Crown Prince, compared to Doris, who was friendly towards him.
Even though she was a candidate for Crown Princess, Adrienne never sent me a single letter.
By that time, Bardenaldo had become more twisted as time passed.
As Rhodnes silently gave in to him and made sacrifices, his heart strangely became more twisted.
But somewhere in his heart, he still felt a little bit of regret towards Rhodnes.
It definitely was like that.
The moment when Rhodnes first showed hi. his desire, and the moment when he thought that Adrienne Piretta, a woman with integrity, might be stolen by Rhodnes.
“I don’t know about anything else, but Adrienne never gives in.”
The moment he heard the word 'concession'.
Bardenaldo's mind was twisted beyond belief.
A feeling like someone was mercilessly squeezing a dry rag took over his whole body.
For the first time, Bardenaldo felt a strong desire toward Rhodnes.
The young Lord Rhodnes, who was so careless in telling him to yield to him as the next King or saying no, seemed so arrogant.
Bardenaldo suppressed his anger and smiled even more gently.
And he pressed down on the head of Rhodnes, who had not yet fully grown, with his hand as if he were trapping an insect in his shadow right before he was about to trample it.
“Will this guy help me?”
From that day on, Bardenaldo decided to make Rhodnes aware of his position.
And he decided to give Adrienne Piretta the position of 'the Crown Prince's mistress' - dead, of course, not alive.
He couldn't give the Crown Princess position to Adrienne, who loved Rhodnes. If she didn't have legitimacy, he would take it. Either alive or dead.
'I am the Crown Prince. I am the only one who can become the Emperor. Mother made a mistake. That strange record is fake. The ghost story will soon become a 'real' legend.'
“The sinister Prince with red eyes, Rhodnes, summons the demons.”
He spread the tale of the red eyes among the people as a legend without any sense of guilt.
He knew that Noevian was forming a rebel army with prisoners on the verge of execution and harassing Rhodnes, but he turned a blind eye to it.
At the same time, he helped plant mana stones in the west without hesitation, even causing monsters to appear.
'If you keep telling a lie, it eventually becomes the truth.'
Just like Letina's will that was passed down through his mouth.
All he has to do is turn the red-eyed ghost story into a plausible legend.
It all started as soon as Rhodnes went out to the battlefield to ask the Emperor for Adrienne.
Like people who had been submerged in deep water, those inside the cave gasped for breath and emerged from Bardenaldo's past.
“I guess you finally awakened your magical powers today.”
Compared to the heavy atmosphere, Rossi spoke lightly.
Rossi walked slowly and stood exactly in front of Rhodnes.
And then she looked up at the shocked red eyes and smiled.
“Your Highness, handsome Prince. Do you have magical powers?”
The dark, swaying gaze met Rossi's eyes.
“I don’t know how you managed to reach that level alone in Ronta, where magic is forbidden, but it’s amazing. That kind of thing is innate. Even I was fooled. To think that you could hide that much magic power. But I realized it when you killed the monsters. The monsters only latched onto Your Highness the Prince. Like a moth to a flame, not knowing that they were dying.”
Rossi's voice, which had been relaxed at first, gradually became more resolute.
“You are the true legitimate successor. The red eyes are a symbol of the most powerful magic that will save the country, not ruin it.”
People's mouths opened at the sound coming from Rossi's mouth.
“The magic power that the cowardly Kirpis could never have. Just like the true first Emperor, Caldeion, who summoned demons but eventually defeated them all and established a nation. The red eyes that will become the sun of the world. The light that will burn the demons with the brightest light and save the world.”
Rhodnes laughed, his dark, gleaming eyes twisting and rolling.
The light that saves the world? He was just a suffering human who couldn't even save himself.
“Who are you to say such things? How can you be so sure of such a sudden record and say such things to me?”
“Because I wrote that record.”
“Lord Rossi...!”
Adrienne covered her mouth with a low scream.
“You can believe it. My name is Rossi Kozuma. I am not a sorcerer, but a great sage 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 was low in the cave. It was as auspicious as the voice of the Supreme Being.
“Rhodnes Cozma de Ronta. Your name was clearly given to you by the oracle as a second name, Cozma, given only to those with the most powerful magical powers. Just as I and Caldeion Cozma de Ronta were.”
The corners of her lips, rising smoothly, shone beautifully even in the darkness.
“Your magic power. Your power. It’s not the power to kill people, but the power to kill monsters and save people.”
Vincenzo froze and remained silent.
“May Crown Prince Bardenaldo, the most brilliant light in my life, inherit the throne. In this way, may he cover up his brother’s faults and become the glory of me, Latina, who will remain for eternity in posterity.”
A pure voice that rings calmly.
The Emperor, who arrived late, wept as he heard Letina's will coming out of the Crown Prince's mouth.
The moment he met the eyes of Rhodnes, who were already swollen and swollen from crying, Bardenaldo's mouth, which had been hesitating, opened quietly.
“Rhodnes Cosma de Ronta. Protect your brother. Let Crown Prince Bardenaldo ascend to the throne without incident. Make your brother, my only light, the Emperor, so that my name will be remembered with glory in future generations.”
Young Rhodnes' eyes shook miserably.
At the sentence, 'Your brother is my only light', Rhodnes held his breath and bit his lips without raising any objections. His expression was close to resignation.
Rhodnes nodded, his mouth tightly shut as if determined not to sob any longer.
Bardenaldo, who was staring at the trembling small chin, did not continue speaking.
No one in the room doubted Letina's will, except Vincenzo.
'I've been trying to become Emperor my whole life, Mother.'
As he stared blankly at Latina's face, which seemed to be dead as if she was asleep, Bardenaldo prayed inwardly for her to understand that he could not help but be like this.
***
The 100-day funeral of Empress Letina has begun.
Compared to Rhodnes, who seemed to be desperately holding back tears, Bardenaldo was calm.
Instead, every night he went to the Imperial Secret Library, which was accessible only to the Emperor and the Crown Prince.
Bardenaldo has recently taken a keen interest in mana stones.
Could it be because his own position became precarious after Empress Letina died?
He couldn't stand to watch his mother's body decay, so he clung to the rumors about the Mana Stone Coffin.
Then, after seeing the record of the mana stone coffin used to preserve the body, he secretly asked Noevian to look into it.
Vincenzo took it for granted that the young Crown Prince would not be able to accept his mother's death.
The Crown Prince looked pitiful, even though his will was completely different from the one he had heard.
Even if Bardenaldo had told the truth, the Crown Prince was Bardenaldo and the Marquis of Winston would have supported him first and foremost. Nothing would have changed.
And as the 100-day funeral was coming to an end.
As usual, Bardenaldo went to the secret storage and found a record hidden very deep inside.
"The first Emperor Kirpis is a traitor."
It was about Kirpis, the first Emperor who united several kingdoms to create an empire.
[The ugly backstory behind Kirpis' achievements. The person who united Ronta into an empire was not Kirpis, as history records. The first Emperor was actually his older brother, Caldeion, and his younger brother Kirpis killed him on the battlefield and became the Emperor himself. Kirpis was a traitor before he became the first Emperor.]
Bardenaldo continued reading the records without blinking.
[The symbol of the Ronta Imperial House is not the blue eye of the traitor Kirpis. The red eye of Caldeion is the true symbol of the Ronta Imperial House.]
He put the book down and collapsed, his breathing suffocating as if someone had grabbed his throat.
Red-eyed children who were born one by one as foreign objects in the royal family.
Doesn't this mean that the children who were mercilessly abandoned or killed if they were the children of the Empress or illegitimate children actually had the legitimacy of the first Emperor?
“That’s ridiculous.”
The feeling of guilt that he had felt because he loved his younger brother was instantly crushed.
His mother's will became a swamp of pain that slowly consumed him.
'Red Eyes' is the true legitimacy of the first Emperor.
That sentence became a giant sword that pierced his mind.
After reading the records over and over again, Bardenaldo stayed there until dawn and then hid the book.
The book, although clearly made of paper, was neither torn nor burned, which upset Bardenaldo.
Bardenaldo, who had been anxious about hiding the records in his bedroom, ended up killing his first love, the maid when she discovered the records while cleaning and began to show signs of something strange.
At first, he struggled with guilt, but as time passed, it became less severe.
Clearly, she was a very precious maid.
But when he placed her in the mana stone coffin that Noevian had brought and looked down at her, his heart felt at ease.
About his legitimacy. He loved the sight of the maid quietly waiting for him, dead, much more than any talk of his qualities.
Her death came to him not as a permanent separation, but rather as a sign that he could keep her by his side forever.
So the maid who was his first love was first displayed in the secret room under the bedroom.
Mana stone coffins are created one by one and people are filled inside them.
As the number of keys in his hand increases.
He felt as if his side was growing bigger and bigger, without any disappointment or despair in him.
Was it since then?
He no longer mourned anyone's death.
As soon as the 100-day funeral was over, when Letina's body was placed back in the mana stone coffin, avoiding the Emperor's eyes, he hugged the coffin and made a rather resolute pledge.
'I will be your only light. So please watch. I will show you that you are wrong. That the records are wrong. That no one but me can take my place. People of future generations will remember you as the Saintess of Ronta, the mother of Emperor Bardenaldo.'
After that, Bardenaldo chose two candidates for the Crown Princess to fill the 'lacking legitimacy' that only he knew about.
Adrienne Piretta, Princess of the Piretta estate, which was the capital when Ronta was a kingdom.
And Doris Castagna, daughter of the Duke of Castagna, a noble family with a long history, and the King of the West who laid the foundation for the current empire.
Bardenaldo's heart sank when he heard the report that Adrienne was on friendly terms with Rhodnes rather than with himself, the Crown Prince, compared to Doris, who was friendly towards him.
Even though she was a candidate for Crown Princess, Adrienne never sent me a single letter.
By that time, Bardenaldo had become more twisted as time passed.
As Rhodnes silently gave in to him and made sacrifices, his heart strangely became more twisted.
But somewhere in his heart, he still felt a little bit of regret towards Rhodnes.
It definitely was like that.
The moment when Rhodnes first showed hi. his desire, and the moment when he thought that Adrienne Piretta, a woman with integrity, might be stolen by Rhodnes.
“I don’t know about anything else, but Adrienne never gives in.”
The moment he heard the word 'concession'.
Bardenaldo's mind was twisted beyond belief.
A feeling like someone was mercilessly squeezing a dry rag took over his whole body.
For the first time, Bardenaldo felt a strong desire toward Rhodnes.
The young Lord Rhodnes, who was so careless in telling him to yield to him as the next King or saying no, seemed so arrogant.
Bardenaldo suppressed his anger and smiled even more gently.
And he pressed down on the head of Rhodnes, who had not yet fully grown, with his hand as if he were trapping an insect in his shadow right before he was about to trample it.
“Will this guy help me?”
From that day on, Bardenaldo decided to make Rhodnes aware of his position.
And he decided to give Adrienne Piretta the position of 'the Crown Prince's mistress' - dead, of course, not alive.
He couldn't give the Crown Princess position to Adrienne, who loved Rhodnes. If she didn't have legitimacy, he would take it. Either alive or dead.
'I am the Crown Prince. I am the only one who can become the Emperor. Mother made a mistake. That strange record is fake. The ghost story will soon become a 'real' legend.'
“The sinister Prince with red eyes, Rhodnes, summons the demons.”
He spread the tale of the red eyes among the people as a legend without any sense of guilt.
He knew that Noevian was forming a rebel army with prisoners on the verge of execution and harassing Rhodnes, but he turned a blind eye to it.
At the same time, he helped plant mana stones in the west without hesitation, even causing monsters to appear.
'If you keep telling a lie, it eventually becomes the truth.'
Just like Letina's will that was passed down through his mouth.
All he has to do is turn the red-eyed ghost story into a plausible legend.
It all started as soon as Rhodnes went out to the battlefield to ask the Emperor for Adrienne.
***
Like people who had been submerged in deep water, those inside the cave gasped for breath and emerged from Bardenaldo's past.
“I guess you finally awakened your magical powers today.”
Compared to the heavy atmosphere, Rossi spoke lightly.
Rossi walked slowly and stood exactly in front of Rhodnes.
And then she looked up at the shocked red eyes and smiled.
“Your Highness, handsome Prince. Do you have magical powers?”
The dark, swaying gaze met Rossi's eyes.
“I don’t know how you managed to reach that level alone in Ronta, where magic is forbidden, but it’s amazing. That kind of thing is innate. Even I was fooled. To think that you could hide that much magic power. But I realized it when you killed the monsters. The monsters only latched onto Your Highness the Prince. Like a moth to a flame, not knowing that they were dying.”
Rossi's voice, which had been relaxed at first, gradually became more resolute.
“You are the true legitimate successor. The red eyes are a symbol of the most powerful magic that will save the country, not ruin it.”
People's mouths opened at the sound coming from Rossi's mouth.
“The magic power that the cowardly Kirpis could never have. Just like the true first Emperor, Caldeion, who summoned demons but eventually defeated them all and established a nation. The red eyes that will become the sun of the world. The light that will burn the demons with the brightest light and save the world.”
Rhodnes laughed, his dark, gleaming eyes twisting and rolling.
The light that saves the world? He was just a suffering human who couldn't even save himself.
“Who are you to say such things? How can you be so sure of such a sudden record and say such things to me?”
“Because I wrote that record.”
“Lord Rossi...!”
Adrienne covered her mouth with a low scream.
“You can believe it. My name is Rossi Kozuma. I am not a sorcerer, but a great sage 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 was low in the cave. It was as auspicious as the voice of the Supreme Being.
“Rhodnes Cozma de Ronta. Your name was clearly given to you by the oracle as a second name, Cozma, given only to those with the most powerful magical powers. Just as I and Caldeion Cozma de Ronta were.”
The corners of her lips, rising smoothly, shone beautifully even in the darkness.
“Your magic power. Your power. It’s not the power to kill people, but the power to kill monsters and save people.”
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