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Episode 106: Family Line (II)
“My father is a street drunk
?”
Gerard felt his feet go out for a moment.
He was experiencing it for the first time. As a result of a psychological shock, the phenomenon of a buzzing sound in the ears.
His eyes twitched and for a second he couldn’t move as if he had been beaten hard in the head.
Thoughts scattered like shards tangled in his head.
So, she really swapped the babies?
—The empress wasn’t crazy?
Or was it that his mother’s madness had shifted to him, and now he was imagining things?
It would have been better if it was nothing, but the woman with a ragged appearance was brutally realistic.
As if she had been longing for this moment, she spoke with a vivid look full of ecstasy.
“But it doesn’t matter who your father is, son. What matters is that you’re raised to be a great prince, hehe!”
“

.”
‘You’re welcome.’
‘You just dropped your chick in someone else’s nest like a cuckoo!’
Gerard bit his lip.
“
There’s no way you can easily replace a child of the imperial family.”
“You still don’t believe it? Of course it wasn’t easy! We, the Morserks, have planned this for a long time for the revival of the clan. To celebrate the revival of our clan with you as emperor! 
Do you not know how many times our clan has infiltrated the Imperial Palace of El Dorado for this plan?”
The woman he did not know put her hand on her chest, and she proudly said,
“Look at me now! How did I get here? 
Even dressed like this.”
The woman’s eyes had a hint of desperation.
“
You planned it for so long, but you sold your body to some man and had a baby?”
Without erasing the nausea and disgust, Gerard sharply asked. The woman laughed like a person with one screw missing.
“That night, my son. I needed a man with silver gray hair and red eyes, and 50,000 gold. It was a perfect night.”
The empress had silver gray hair, and the emperor had red eyes.
An illegitimate life born of a street drunk through prostitution worth 50,000 gold, an illegitimate child whose father he did not know.
—That’s ‘me’?
He had gone from being the noblest man in El Dorado to the lowest in the world.
Gerard was still just a boy.
To accept this shock, he was young by general standards.
“

.”
Gerard stood there with a pale face as if he had lost all his motivation.
Then, suddenly, he remembered what the empress had said to the emperor.
“That child is not really my son, Your Majesty. As proof, he can’t even use Mephisto’s powers, right?”
“I’m sure Gerard will be able to use the powers when he grows up, Empress.”
The emperor replied, soothing her anxious wife.
“Because that power runs through his veins.”
He believed that and he had endured

He was my mother’s son. One day he would grow up to be an adult, bloom his magical powers, and carry on the proud lineage of His Majesty the Emperor.
But, he wasn’t.
In the first place, he himself was a lowly being. Like a common cockroach on the street.
Like a filthy parasite of the imperial family.
“Son.”
“

.”
The woman wrapped her arms around the shoulders of a completely dazed Gerard.
Then she whispered in his ear.
“I made you a prince, so you should repay me. Many families are hoping for a reward.”
The woman’s eyes narrowed greedily.
“You don’t intend to live well and eat well as a prince alone, do you? 
If I open my mouth
”
“

.”
“You, too, won’t be able to live as a handsome prince any longer, ahahaha!”
It was an obvious threat. His mother, who had pushed herself into the Imperial Palace, was threatening her son, whom she had not met in more than a decade.
Gerard’s face grew paler.
After a long silence, Gerard looked at the woman with red eyes.
“—I’ll pay.”
“

!”
The woman’s face glowed.
“If you tell me about the Morserks who infiltrated the Imperial Court, I’ll make them sit in important positions.”
“Really?”
“―It is good to lay the foundation for the revival of the clan in the distant future.”
“Yes, you’re smart! My son!”
Excited, the woman revealed all of the Morserk clan that were in the imperial court, and the moment her lips uttered the final name, she was mercilessly pierced by Gerard’s sword.
From that day on, Gerard was changed forever.
The only emotion he felt was anger.
From the day that his hands were stained with blood that should not be buried, the boy viciously killed every parasite in the imperial court one by one.
—No one knew.
And he compulsively tried to be the ‘perfect prince’.
It was around that time that he established his place by creating an image from the people of the empire.
But the more he did it, the more he struggled.
One side of his heart was falling apart every day, and his heart rotted from within.
Right then.
A black, thick snake-like figure appeared in front of Gerard.
Its name was Venénum.
It was the soul of a cursed sorcerer.
[If you sign a contract with me, I’ll lend you my strength. Become a noble emperor with that power!]
The vile snake made the most welcoming face and seduced the boy.
Venénum gave him guidelines to life.
[Even if you are born lowly, you just have to die noble.]
—To die as a noble person.
He believed that he was noble all his life, but in reality, he was a boy born lowly.
It was the only choice.
In the end, Gerrard accepted Venénum.
Venénum also said,
“Because the human body is weak, it will not be able to fully utilize its power and will gradually collapse.”
“So put a special ‘cast’ in your eyes and find a special soul to awaken ‘Exordium’. If you find that child, you will be able to live as a noble person with my power.”
The following year.
Gerard saw the color of the special soul.
From the ‘Duke of Valienne’.
[Kekek, will the Duke of Valienne be your rope?]
“No.”
Gerard continued speaking as he looked at her pregnant belly from a distance.
“The child in that belly is the real one.”
She was growing in her pregnant womb.
The name of the woman he would yearn for for the rest of his life.
—It was Annette.
━━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━━
Dageuduk, dageuduk.
In the moving carriage, I quietly thought to myself.
‘
I’m sure I left alone with Kyle.’
‘Why?’
‘Why are those two crazy fellows following too?’
Clever Sislin and Heinrich said they would accompany me too, and now, behind my carriage, as many as three carriages (each with a madman on board) were following me.
‘The Crown Prince, the Grand Duke, and the Marquis are following me?’
‘No, it’s just a bread lover’s trip
 Can I drag these precious people behind me?’
‘
Even the emperor doesn’t make such a procession, right?’
‘I feel like the owner of a snack.’
With three dogs chasing after me.
Fortunately, the carriage was comfortable.
All three said they would ride with me in the same carriage (the carriage was about to explode because three tall people were in it), but I kicked them all out without a hitch.
Thus, it became a luxurious one-person carriage.
“Whew
”
I looked out the window quietly.
‘I’m returning to El Dorado in the end.’
It was quite a long distance when I ran away and hid on Bayonaire Island.
When returning, it wasn’t that long as teleportation was actually used to move the carriage.
―Thanks to a genius wizard.
‘Is the Duke of Valienne really my mother?’
Was she really in critical condition?
To be honest, it didn’t feel real at all yet.
At that time, while I was lost in thought

“

!”
The door of the moving carriage swung open, and a large man like a beast came in and sat down.
—Tak!
“Inside.”
“
Your Highness the Crown Prince, oh my god!”
A tough-looking forearm slipped behind my back and butt— and then huak, my body was lifted and moved further in. As easy as handling a child.
‘What are you doing?’
‘Rather, you just got on a moving carriage, right?’
“I have something to tell you.”
“It’s cramp.”
I said bluntly.
Then, Sislin’s large hand grabbed the handle of the seat I was sitting on. Strong arms limited my space like a prison.
“

!”
The sturdy chest that almost touched my blouse and the terrifyingly handsome face were getting closer and closer.
―Shrinking the space so that one couldn’t move. It was like putting me in a corner.
Sharp red eyes narrowed. He half-laughed and half-whispered.
“Hold it in.”
“

.”
‘I’ll put up with the crampedness, Sisl. But why are you saying naughty things?’
‘It feels like it’s getting hot all of a sudden.’
Sislin had just gotten into the carriage, but it felt like the temperature had risen strangely.
When we were alone in a limited space, the unique body scent of Sislin was felt strongly, and my head became dizzy.
“
Hurry up and leave.”
“It’s been a day since I proposed, but sadly you haven’t said anything.”
“

.”
It was just one day. Apparently, this man’s patience was much shorter than that of Kyle and Heinrich.
“I think it will be easier to answer now.”
His red eyes shone like a wild beast before swallowing its prey.
I asked, looking him in the eye quite confidently.
“Why do you think so?”
“It’s the easiest and most convenient option you can choose right now. Marriage.”
“It’s not romantic at all to be pushed by circumstances and get married. Do you want me to?”
“Yes.”
The lips resting above his distinct chin raised charmingly. He whispered
“I wish you would cling to my arms, crying and begging for help.”

Crazy guy
‘You’re talking like a madman, but in a romantic way, Sislin.’
As I narrowed my eyes, he said with a low smile.
“Another startled look. That expression is pretty.”
“

.”
Today, Sislin had a more tenacious and mysterious atmosphere.
The tips of his rough fingers gently scratched the insides of my soft, sensitive palms.
He met my eyes and whispered like a devil.
“Let’s do it.”
With thick fingers, he filled the gap between my fingers, as if pressing it in.
Squeeze— our hands were clasped together.
His red eyes were lidded as he whispered like he was about to do something bad.
“Come on, do it with me.”
How strange and ticklish the nuance was.
For a moment, it sounded like he wanted to do something other than get married.
I could feel my face flaming up a little.
“W-What are we doing?”
As I shamed him for no reason, Sislin’s sharp eyes narrowed slightly.
“Get married, and you do the ‘thing’ you just thought of.”
“

!”
It was clear that he was determined to seduce me today. His immoral lips touched my deliciously reddened ears and whispered.
A low voice rolled out like whipped cream.
“Until you lose your mind.”