CH 219

Joshua slayed the Mercenary King, spreading his name far and wide; now, he was finally in Tripia.

In the Imperial court of Avalon, another life was disappearing. She came from the noblest blood—but at the same time, the circumstances of her birth made her life harder than any of her kin.

“Haah… haah… haah…”

The exquisite expanses of Hwahwa Palace were filled with a pained moan.

“Princess…” Ellen, the Princess’s only maid, leaned over the bed worriedly.

The Princess’s golden hair had turned dull and ashen, and her skin was grey and worn, yet her beauty still shone through.

“I’m so sorry, Princess…” The maid’s eyes welled up with tears. If she was going to die before she even reached her twentieth year, why did she have to spend the rest of her life locked up in this place? The Emperor’s favor was no gift at all. God would take away her life as he had taken everything else from her.

A knock came at the door, and Ellen quickly wiped away her tears. She needed to be strong at times like this.

“Who is it?”

“It’s Amy, Madame. A visitor came to the palace, is all…”

“Amy…” Ellen’s brow creased. “You know that the Princess can’t see anyone right now, right?”

“I, um—”

“I came here to see my sibling. It’s me, Kaisen.”

Ellen’s eyes widened, and she leaped out of her seat—it was no wonder Amy was so flustered. She opened the door and immediately bowed.

The guest’s somber visage—as if his signature golden eyes weren’t enough—was immediately recognizable. Ellen had seen this man many times before.

“Greetings to the second prince. I am Ellen, a servant of Hwahwa Palace.”

“I see.” The prince walked past Ellen without sparing her so much as a glance.

“P-Prince! Princess Sersiarin is sleeping right now—”

“How dare this lowly girl…” The second prince thrust a blade at Ellen’s neck, drawing a few drops of blood from the razor-thin cut. “Try to get in my way again, and you’ll lose your neck.” Kaisen left behind the quailing maid and approached the bed.

“All your life you’ve been used by your father, and now you’re so miserable, Sersiarin…” Kaisen watched his sister slowly die.

At first, Hwahwa Palace was forbidden even to the Imperial family. The Black Wind kept watch over it, but at some point, those eyes had vanished—specifically, when she’d fallen into a coma.

The implications were clear: even her father had abandoned her now that the poor girl was no longer useful. Was there ever a more tragic tale than this?

“Your cursed power even broke your leash.” He—and the rest of the Empire—knew that the Princess had special abilities. Just like the legends of the elves, she had the eyes of truth. Emperor Marcus’s judicious use of this ability secured his tyrannical reign better than any weapon by stopping any rebellion before it started. Sersiarin’s sicknesses didn’t stop the Emperor for a moment.

I think he said she still has a month to live. You may not be useful to your father, but you are to me, Sersiarin. Kaisen’s lips stretched into a mad rictus.

“I’ll take Sersiarin.”

Ellen heaved a deep breath.

Please, no… She wanted to speak up… but she wanted to live more. All she could do was watch Kaisen disappear with the Princess.

All of the demons 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.

Ash’s legs collapsed.

“No, no… How can this be…?”

“Nothing’s impossible.”

“Don’t bullshit me! The only dragon who isn’t asleep is Crevasse!”

Joshua shrugged. “What makes you think it’s a dragon? You can change the color of your hair and eyes with magic—”

“That just proves it!” The 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 disguise their race. It goes against their very being!”

“Hmm…” Joshua sighed. He was only going to do a little trickery, but it seemed he couldn’t fool someone who lived with a real dragon.

“How is it that a human can use fear?”

“Are you curious?” Joshua smiled mischievously.

“No.”

Joshua’s smile widened. “You look like you’re about to die of curiosity.”

“I’m not interested!”

“You seem very interested.”

“ARGH!” The boy rounded on Joshua. “I’m not interested, so go away! I don’t want to see you again.”

Joshua couldn’t help but reminisce about his past life. It was fun to play around for a while, but he was running out of time.

“…Someone thought they knew where an old elf-friend named Jerath dick Orbis was. I’ll tell you what I know.”

“Wh-What?” The boy couldn’t help himself. Jerath’s name was not spoken lightly.

For a moment, the boy’s eyes sparkled like real emeralds. I don’t understand what’s happening, but… “Why should I trust you?” he demanded with a frown.

“Can’t you feel it, even if you can’t see it?”

The boy’s inscrutable eyes peered into Joshua’s heart. “…What do you want me to do?”

Joshua smiled softly. “There’s a person born with a curse.”

“What?” The boy cocked his head in surprise. “She won’t last long—”

“But if the genius alchemist Ash made a cure for her…”

“That’s…” The boy’s ears wriggled.

Joshua pressed forward, already knowing how the elf would react.

“Can you?”

“Hmm… So this is why you need Sanders.” The boy coughed a few times and nodded in a forced display of seriousness. “If I do, you’ll tell me how to use fear.”

“You thought it was interesting, didn’t you?”

“Nuh-uh! This is a fair price for my genius,” the boy insisted.

“Okay.” Joshua laughed helplessly. “I’ll teach you if you give me the cure.”

“Great!” Ash ran up to Joshua with a sudden familiarity and stretched out his hand. “Let’s swear upon mana… human friend.”

Joshua looked confused for a moment, but shrugged it off and took the boy’s hand.

Stupid human. Hehe. The boy’s shoulders shook with sadistic mirth. A human like him had no idea because the eyes of truth were astronomically rare in humans—it was a blessing for elves, but for anyone else, it would cripple their lifespan. Breaking the curse was anything but easy. Each component was near mythical. He’s going to spend the rest of his life “looking for materials.” Hah! Ash coughed to hide his laughter. “I’ll write down the ingredients, but you need to get this first. It’ll probably take a long time, so I’m going to say—”

“Everything’s been prepared.”

“Huh?” The boy gave Joshua a dumbfounded look.

Joshua smirked knowingly.

“I. Have. All. The. Ingredients. Here.”