The Emperor shook his head.
Gunter groaned on the sickbed, his skin turned pitch black.
“Ugh, ugh…”
Seeing him hover between life and death made the Emperor uneasy.
He had certainly struck down countless enemies, brothers, and cousins, but that was a long time ago.
He realized too late that a child is a family with blood thicker than that of brothers or wives.
“Gunter.”
No matter how inadequate the title of Crown Prince was, he was still of his bloodline. Surely, he would have had a chance to grow.
“Please do not come too close, Your Majesty. There is a risk of exposure to the remnants of the curse.”
Despite Ambrosia’s advice, the Emperor continued to gaze at Gunter for a long time.
“Is there no possibility of recovery?”
“As of now…”
“Aren’t you the Empire’s best healers?”
“The curse involving sorcery falls within the realm of black magicians. It’s a skill that does not surface easily, making it hard to research.”
“Black magician.”
The Emperor trembled at the word.
Black magicians are sorcerers who use forbidden spells. They cast spells that yield even more powerful effects in exchange for sacrifices or by leading the user to death.
If such spells spread among the populace, the safety of the Empire’s citizens would be at risk. For that reason, the Emperor had maintained a principle of zero tolerance towards black magicians.
Thanks to this, it could be said that ordinary people scarcely had access to black magic in the Empire. Even the Inner Palace’s Haeju expert knew only the basics of black magic.
‘No matter how many were caught like rats, black magicians always popped up somewhere.’
Some countries do not manage them, and there are always those who are born cruel by nature.
Surely Gunter must have been bewitched by them.
Returning to the Imperial Palace, the Emperor fell into deep worry.
Gunter had undoubtedly used sorcery directly. How could such a timid person even have the guts to dabble in black magic?
“I might have pushed him too hard.”
He never expected his timid Gunter to have the nerve to resort to black magic.
Of course, it was always welcomed for children to showcase their abilities and strive for growth.
He thought it acceptable if one or two lost their lives in the process, as long as it was an honorable occurrence within competition.
But Gunter must surely have resorted to black magic out of rebellion against himself rather than the competitive spirit towards Acella.
(Thud!)
The image of Gunter, slamming down a liquor bottle and throwing a tantrum, flashed before him.
If he treated him harshly, perhaps he would come to realize and grow, and it might also stimulate the other siblings.
But in the end, ‘It was the wrong approach. Gunter is indeed dying.’
It was not the scenario the Emperor desired to see, where his child self-destructed like this.
Lost in thought, the Emperor reached one conclusion.
“If my insight had been clearer, I would have chosen the successor at once.”
The competition he had fostered among his children was no different from pushing his insufficient judgment onto them.
In the past, as the Emperor of the Empire, he had been confident that any choice he made would be correct.
The current state of the Imperial Family was the result of his fear of failure.
Had he grown old and become cowardly?
“Hmm.”
The Emperor glanced at the bottle he had placed in his office’s bookshelf. It was a rare liquor Gunter had brought.
As the Emperor poured himself a cup and opened the lid, the deputy healers looked anxiously at Ambrosia.
She too wanted to dissuade the Emperor from drinking external alcohol, but the atmosphere was not conducive to that.
It was the last offering from a child who might very well die.
Ambrosia cautiously interjected.
“Your Majesty, please allow us to examine whether that liquor is harmless.”
“It was brought by Gunter. Surely there’s no risk in that.”
“Originally, a more detailed examination should be conducted…”
“I understand.”
Granted permission by the Emperor, Ambrosia cast a detection spell on the bottle.
…There was nothing particularly troubling detected.
“I believe it is safe.”
Once Ambrosia stepped back, the Emperor took a moment to savor the scent of the clear liquid he poured into the cup.
It was rich and full-bodied. It must have been the finest liquor Gunter had struggled to obtain.
If he were to return alive, the Emperor thought he would like to accept him a bit more moving forward, and he tilted the cup to swallow the liquid.
“Hooh.”
After a heavy sensation struck, a refreshing wave spread throughout his body. It was indeed good liquor.
Just as he savored the remaining aroma,
(Clang!)
The Emperor trembled and dropped his cup.
“Your Majesty!”
Ambrosia rushed to him immediately and cast a healing spell. The deputy healers assisted her as well.
“Ugh, ughh…”
But the more healing spells that were cast, the worse the Emperor’s complexion became.
“What, what’s happening!”
“Stop the casting!”
It was poisoning. Something that couldn’t be cured with healing spells.
Ambrosia bit her lip.
“Amb, Ambrosia…”
“Your Majesty!”
The Emperor gasped and struggled to speak his last words.
“…Gothberg.”
Before he could finish, the Emperor fainted.
Ambrosia commanded the deputy healers.
“Take him to the bedroom at once!”
“What about my sister?!”
Ambrosia steadied her breathing and replied.
“I will summon Gothberg.”
*
I led the knights toward the Sun Palace office.
(Bang!) Tanya burst in, throwing the door open, startling the healers who quickly stepped aside.
I walked straight to Livio, who was sitting at the innermost part of the room.
“Teacher Gothberg.”
“Tanya.”
“Yes.”
(Thud!)
Tanya immediately dragged him down and forced him to kneel on the floor, restraining his arms behind him so he couldn’t use any spell.
The sudden situation made the healers in the Sun Palace scream. Livio looked up at me, his expression still calm despite the urgency.
“What are you doing?”
“Seer Livio! I will arrest you for colluding with black magicians and plotting against the assigned royal.”
“I don’t understand what you’re saying.”
As he feigned ignorance, I thrust a document into his face.
“I’ve analyzed the sorcery that turned Prince Gunter like that. I also have evidence that you smuggled the spell.”
“Are you saying that as the attending physician, I harmed the prince? That’s absurd slander.”
“Well, we’ll find out if that’s true or not. We measured the residual mana of the spell. Let’s compare it with your mana.”
Mana is akin to a fingerprint. Each person’s signature differs slightly.
With residual remnants of the spell present now, it could be gathered as evidence.
“You analyzed the sorcery? That’s a realm only black magicians would know. There’s no way that’s possible.”
“Was the Kingdom of Law only victimized by black magic? Our team is a lot more capable than you think.”
Livio narrowed his eyes slightly.
“I refuse the comparison. Until an official order is issued, this is merely private revenge. After all, you aren’t even a constable.”
“If we gather evidence, won’t it become official?”
“I protest. I will refer this act of violence by the Moonlight Palace to trial…”
(Thud!) I placed my foot on the shoulder of the kneeling Livio.
“That’s a later problem. Why is your tongue so long?”
“What is this all of a sudden?”
“Didn’t you hear the rumors? I’m originally a professional in this kind of stuff.”
Not expecting me to act so recklessly, Livio twisted his body trying to escape.
But there was no use. Tanya tightened her grip on him even more.
Despite being cornered, he remained cool as a cucumber, not even shedding a drop of sweat.
“As the attending physician, I’ve only fulfilled my duty…”
“Teacher Gothberg!!”
At that moment, Ambrosia rushed in hastily.
“Sister.”
“It’s an emergency! You must follow immediately.”
“What? Surely not…”
I looked back at Livio.
The one who had only fake expressions until now had a barely contained smirk creeping up.
“What have you done?”
“I confess one thing, teacher.”
Livio raised his head to look at me.
“I have never understood the concept of human emotion.”
“What do you mean?”
“Indeed. The first time I realized I was different was when my younger sister died. She was entirely devoured by a demon on the mountain behind us. Everyone in the village wept and mourned her.”
Suddenly, Livio began rambling nonsensically.
“At that moment, I thought it was a good opportunity. I was able to inspect the internal structure of humans. It helped improve my healing skills.”
“Shall I cut your throat now?”
At Tanya’s question, I reached out to stop her.
“To me, it was an event that brought benefit, so I enjoyed it, but I could never understand why others were sad.”
Livio continued, caught up in his own memories.
“From then on, I began to study the structure of human emotions. Healers naturally work close to death, right? I could record and analyze the various action patterns that arise from emotional fluctuations.”
“And?”
Livio displayed a genuine smile, one I had never seen before.
It resembled a manipulated ceremonial mask of a Korean traditional play.
“When a child dies, no parent spares their last gift. Not a single one. No matter how evil they may be.”
That smile was akin to a victory declaration.
Ambrosia’s presence here meant the Emperor had fallen.
And Livio’s uncharacteristic honesty signified he had achieved his goal by assassinating the Emperor.
He bore an expression of no lingering regrets.
“Just a bunch of trivial nonsense. Are you stalling for time with such drivel?”
Livio’s expression hardened at my words.
My intention had been to delay as long as possible.
Conversely, that meant.
“Are you afraid that I might save the Emperor?”
Livio’s eyes widened.
He feared me.
At the brink of his plan’s success, he worried I might ruin it.
In other words, there was still a chance to save the Emperor.
“Sister, let’s go.”
“There is no time. Move at once!”
Livio let Tanya restrain him, and I followed Ambrosia out of the office.
*
In original history, during this incident, the father failed to heal the Emperor, bearing the blame of assassination and bringing ruin upon his family.
Conversely, if I were to save the Emperor, I would earn unparalleled trust.
“Teacher, I’ve heard the story. I will join you.”
I said to Falkenhayn, who had rushed over.
“Prepare the entire surgical and healing teams. Including Haeju.”
I pulled out a candy and popped it into my mouth.
My site has received a lot of DMCA notices, lol. From now on, I will update the MTL on https://darkmtl.com/.
The site is fast and lightweight because there are no ads yet. However, the theme is different from Cybor-TL, so take some time to familiarize yourself.
Support me by donating at least $10, and you'll have the right to request any novel from Novelpia (excluding 19+ content) using a newly developed tool.