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Chapter 322
Archduke of the Empire
Valdemar reflexively pushed Olivia behind him.
-My name is Morax. We made a contract once before.
"You speak nonsense, you devil! I have never done anything shameful in the name of the Empire!"
-Is that not also part of the contract?
Morax flicked his tongue as he spoke.
W ẽb ṅ о́ v̌ê l En̂ umа̌
-The time has come to give you the truth. Watch closely what the Emperor did to you.
As he spread his hand, there lay a glowing pebble.
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When his gaze fell upon that pebble, a startling thing occurred.
Something burrowed into Ferda's consciousness and began to replay.
-The Empire is rotting, Grand Duke Golt.
A child's voice.
Е n̈ ů m а̊
A voice flowing from between baby teeth, not yet having lost its childish fat.
Yet that voice held a power that made one forget its owner's body was not that of a child.
-That is why you are plotting treason, are you not?
The young boy knew everything.
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Grand Duke Golt thought.
If he killed this child, the secret could remain a secret once more.
W е b̃n̊ӧ v ӗl Е_n ü ṁ а̃
Whether he truly thought so was known by his actions.
He moved to draw his sword.
-You are more than capable of pulling it off. You are a reverse hero walking an undefeated path, and a great Grand Duke.
The boy was at ease.
He was no fool unaware that revealing this fact would mean his own death, yet he felt no fear.
The reason was his firm conviction.
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-But do you truly believe that would be the end?
And because he possessed the charisma to match.
-The Empire has rotted. It has forgotten the Founder's will and tilts ever further. But that is not reason enough for the Empire to fall.
The boy's voice burrowed deeper into Valdemar.
1% doubt amid 99% conviction.
It focused and magnified that doubt.
Ӗ ňu mâ
-There is a way to return the Empire you served to its original state.
He spoke, and Valdemar accepted that method.
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The perspective shifted.
As if skipping all useless memories, someone stood before him.
Valdemar was performing black magic.
A very insidious magic not permitted in the Empire.
Ẅ e b n̆ оv̌е l Е̌ n̂ umа
What emerged from that ritual was Morax.
-The great Grand Duke Golt seeks me out. How truly astonishing!
Valdemar made a deal with him.
Even knowing it was a sin, he did not care.
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His conviction was unshakeable.
-I understand well the Empire's love for you. Love, ah! Where else could there be a more beautiful emotion?
Ёnu m а̃ . ìd
Morax's tone seemed to mock and sneer at his actions.
Valdemar did not care.
-But one cannot love everything. You know that well, do you not? So as the price, you must personally reap that selfish love.
Morax smiled and flicked his tongue.
That fishy laughter instilled the conviction that one must not deal with him.
Morax's way had always been thus.
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Action that makes one walk to the end even while knowing it is a trap.
That was the talent of the Archdemon governing greed.
-Of course it would be difficult to do in your right mind. So I shall help. The moment you kill that woman, you will be a tragic figure betrayed by the one you loved.
Morax extended his hand.
That hand was coated in a sticky, unpleasant mucus, like a fish's fin or webbed feet.
Valdemar grasped that hand and muttered.
Ĕ ñ u mа́
-Adriana.......
It was the name that came from Valdemar's mouth.
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That name was achingly tender.
The scene changes.
This time, a woman was held in his hands.
She was a beauty with brown hair.
Еn̄ ù ṁ_a
She was Adriana.
Valdemar's fiancée had never cheated.
Though it was a political marriage between families, she had been his support even during his hardest times, and had truly loved him.
Valdemar also knew that devotion, and loved her.
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-Please forget me. I will fall to the very bottom of Hell, so please forget me and climb to an even higher place, living a noble life.
Yet Valdemar Golt was the Empire's soldier, a Grand Duke leading the people, and a patriot whom no one would doubt.
En ü m̊ӓ .ī d
Therefore, for the sake of the young prince who would become the Empire's future, he fulfilled his duty by offering his partner to a demon.
He called the pet name of his partner, sleeping as if dead.
-I am sorry, my Lux Stella.......
Stella.......
Upon hearing that three-syllable name, Ferda felt a sense of awakening.
This sense of incongruity.
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Like the sound of the ground shaking before a dam bursts.
Some call it realization.
'Stella Arken.'
The name of the woman Valdemar became obsessed with, and Olivia's older sister.
Valdemar was pierced by that name Stella.
Because part of Lux Stella, Adriana's pet name, was within it.
Ẅе ḃnȯ vẽ l Е̄ ǹ ǔ m̄ȧ
Information flowed in and continued to assemble.
'Valdemar's sense of destiny was born from that distortion.'
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Morax distorted the memories with Adriana.
Adriana was rolling in bed with a knight, and love had betrayed him.
In reality, that knight had grown up like a sibling from childhood, and they were master and servant with a clear relationship.
But no one doubted the Grand Duke's words, and subordinates even stepped forward to fabricate evidence so he would not bear that stigma.
Ёn̈ ŭ.ṁ а̄. і.ď
'Everything would have been perfect.'
On the surface, that is.
But Valdemar made a contract with a demon.
In exchange for the Empire's survival, he made him abandon love, and did not intend to end it there.
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'He pulled tricks to exert influence over the Empire.'
The deeper the love, the deeper the hatred.
E ń ǔ m̌ а .і d_
Morax would have created a detonator during that contract to make Valdemar hate the Empire.
'That was Lux Stella.'
His distorted memories created a twisted obsession toward Stella Arken.
That obsession hindered Stella's love, and ultimately led her to death.
Valdemar, having lost meaning, turned his sights to Olivia after her death.
None of this could be mere coincidence.
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'Stella Arken.......'
Valdemar is the donkey, and Stella is the carrot.
The donkey must move upon seeing the carrot, but must never eat the carrot.
'Because a donkey that eats the carrot will no longer move.'
But the donkey is too capable to dispose of.
Capable enough to be used a while longer, even though he is old enough to retire.
Е ṅ u.mа̇
Thus, the relatively unnecessary Stella was driven to death.
Valdemar was still the Empire's great Grand Duke, and he could not retire.
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The ones who designed all this were,
'The three dragons guarding the Empire.'
And
'The Emperor.'
W̌ê b̄ nо̀ v̂ӗl Ѐn um а
Godfrey Arken.
The moment that name flashed through his mind, Ferda felt his thoughts leap.
'The Emperor used Stella to use Valdemar.'
Knowing Lux Stella would shake him, he named the child thus.
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And another conclusion flashed in his mind.
'He is still alive.'
Ӗǹǔm а.
Just as he tried to find evidence for that, Valdemar opened his mouth.
"I see......."
The voice of Valdemar, who had realized all the truth, sank low.
Whether that calmness contained anger or emptiness could not be known.
Even what would become of Olivia's body, which he restrained, became an unknown.
"In the end, you too are a fate of being used."
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"Yes....... Even the position of Grand Duke is ultimately a seat someone can replace."
He muttered bitterly.
-Oh my, is this not truly tragic? That the great Grand Duke is nothing but a mere part—how can that be acceptable?
Morax flicked his sticky tongue.
-I respect your feelings, Grand Duke. So I shall give you a chance for revenge against the Emperor who used you. How about it?
Valdemar raised his head and asked Morax.
W е b̂ n̂ о̇vе̌ l̊ E̊ ṅ ù m̄ а
"The price?"
Morax wore a fishy smile.
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-I shall take your twisted obsession.
Olivia Arken.
The carrot he had chased was, in the end, a wretched thing that must never be eaten.
-Additionally, I shall give you youth. End the Arken dynasty and open the era of Golt. You have the qualifications for it! With this, I shall truly make this the end of the deal.
Е̌ ṅ u mа̄
If he handed over Olivia, he could gain all power.
Youth befitting that power.
And even the deal's conclusion acknowledged by Morax.
To Valdemar, filled with betrayal, they were irresistibly tempting offers.
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"Hahaha!! Yes, truly a splendid proposal."
Morax's hand reached toward Olivia.
W е b̌ n̄ ov еl̈ Е n ŭm̂ а̌
-Then I shall take that as your agreemen—.
Skeung!
"Kyaak!"
Before it could touch Olivia's body, Morax's arm flew upward into the sky.
Mucus-like blood streamed down the cross-section.
-Kuhuhu, so that is how it will be?
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Even with his arm severed, Morax was laughing.
-Does the Empire still hold such value for you? Great Grand Duke?
"Right now, a sense of betrayal surges. Yes, I am human, so it cannot be helped."
Yet he laughed.
"But the me who came to find you was young. I believe that younger me judged right and wrong better than I do now. If I believed there was value in abandoning rebellion and staying loyal to the Empire then, the same holds true now."
-Truly noble. I only wished for your conviction to shatter.
Ẁ е̇ bňо̂ v̇ eĺ Ё n u̇ m̊а
Morax smacked his lips regretfully.
The deal fell through.
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Morax leaving like this was his nature.
-But unfortunately, I cannot let you go so easily either.
Yet Morax added one more word.
At the same time, the smell of sulfur thickened.
Е n u m а_
It was the sound of the Archdemon of Greed and Price scheming something.
-Since that woman's worth is that great, I shall harass you a bit more repulsively here.
Morax withdrew as is, but the portal did not close.
From there, demons began to pour out.
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-Kieeek!
An unpleasant scream made one frown reflexively.
Ẁе b̈ṅ оv̄e l̈ Е̄nú m̀ а
It sounded familiar, and then I realized it was a cry similar to the demon beside me.
Fish demons, reeking of sulfur and wet earth from beneath the water, began to surge forth like a flood.
"Hmph!"
Valdemar's sword trembled violently.
His sword vibrated as if crying out, then became completely wrapped in white light.
His mana-infused sword swung mightily forward.
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Hwoong!
With the sound of tearing wind, everything within the sword's range was split in two.
The sea of demons instantly became a mountain of corpses.
Valdemar Golt's martial prowess vividly proved he stood at the Empire's pinnacle.
"Ferda."
Valdemar spoke thus.
Е nûm̆а̄ .іd̃
He pushed Olivia's body toward Ferda as if throwing her.
Ferda caught Olivia, and simultaneously, one more thing flew over.
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It was House Valdemar's nameplate.
"From now on, you are my successor. I've already told the knights outside, so show them that and they will follow you."
He readjusted his grip on his sword and aimed forward.
"See to it that the Empire's Princess is escorted safely."
W еb̃n̄_о̄v ӗ l̃ Е̄ ñũm̂ ǎ
He did not look back more than that.
The Empire's emblem on his back shone brighter than ever.
"Let us move."
At Ferda's words, Olivia nodded.
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All that could be heard were demon cries and the sound of wind.
"Regent-nim?"
Е́ň ũmа́
"Where is Grand Duke Golt?"
"Let us hurry."
Ferda had no time to explain.
Entrusting Olivia to Garnet's hands, he climbed the stairs again.
The 12 Sword Masters who had formed the battle formation sensed a presence and looked back.
Seeing the composition of those who emerged, they frowned.
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"Where is the Grand Duke?"
"He is fighting demons below."
"If the Grand Duke is fighting, why have only you returned?"
It was a situation where fate could be decided by the answer.
Ferda quietly showed the nameplate Valdemar had given him.
The Sword Masters who checked the nameplate all wore confused expressions at once, but soon accepted the situation.
Е̃ n̂ ù m̈ а̌ .ì d̀
They raised their swords and paid respects to Ferda.
"We await only your command."
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"From now on we are your servants, so we shall follow your will."
Seeing such loyal figures, Ferda instead became convinced of this.
'I cannot become these people's master.'
They are not loyal to me.
Ẁ еb̄ ňо̀v̊ е̌ l̆ Ẽ n ũm̀а
They simply believe in Valdemar, who was the nameplate's owner, so they uphold his commands even unto the moment of death.
How Valdemar had lived was visible.
Though he was an old man gone mad with lust, he was a respected Grand Duke who fulfilled his responsibilities and duties.
Ferda could not lead them.
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"Do as you wish."
Ferda commanded them thus.
En ü mа
They wore surprised expressions at Ferda's decision, but soon accepted the command.
"Thank you, Regent."
The 12 Sword Masters paid sincere respects to Ferda and threw themselves into the place from which Ferda had emerged.
They will fight their lord.
And if lucky, perhaps someone will return alive.
Kugung—!
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The World Tree rings loudly.
No, it was not simply ringing.
It was the sound of something sharp digging into the World Tree.
Whether the owner of those claws was Mesabosk or Storeus was unknown.
One thing was certain: this World Tree was not in their consideration at all.
Destroying everything inside, the World Tree's interior was gradually losing its light.
Еnŭm̊ ã. і̆ d̀
"There he is!"
"Kill Valdrova's fiancé!"
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And the malice directed at Ferda still clung to him.
