Chapter 91
Zair’s gaze, which had been under intense scrutiny in the royal court, gradually settled down. His contorted face slowly returned to its original state, now devoid of any expression.
The situation was nearly the worst possible for Zair.
The reason Sethian had been singled out as a prime suspect in the poisoning of Prince Mendel was because of Idelo, and the testimonies of the gardener of Emerald Castle and several servants and guards.
Roa, who seemed to already know everything, personally stepped forward to reveal the possession incidents involving Idelo and the witnesses. The completely inconsistent testimonies, coupled with the fact that the witnesses had no memories of the days surrounding the incident, the related possession report involving Tower Lord Roa's name, and the blood of the fake body left at the stone tower, were the final blow for Zair.
If there was any relief, it was that Roa, despite undoubtedly acting for the Emperor, had not spoken a word about the soul that had frequently possessed the Emperor, even though he had captured it. That alone would have been enough to leave him unable to escape severe punishment for attempting to manipulate the Emperor.
The first target Zair had wanted to eliminate, Prince Mendel, was still alive. Sethian, who had long seen through the plot, had prepared a fake body for Mendel and a healing potion using Ivelo, allowing him to be saved, and now he was here, appearing unscathed. Under normal circumstances, Mendel, as well as Remines and Elina, should have been dead by now.
Zair had intentionally planned to kill his two younger siblings while his hands and feet were bound, to completely eliminate any suspicion of him. Immediately after Sethian’s disappearance, his people were being watched by the Imperial Knights, so it was obvious that the missing suspect of the first prince’s poisoning would be suspected if he used this situation.
However, the suspect stood here and proved that the Idelo he had possessed had not been used, even revealing the injuries on himself to show he had been attacked by someone else. It was an almost incomprehensible turn of events for Zair, but he had gone as far as warning his siblings and saving them.
Sethian, if anything, could have chosen not to save his siblings. But he had acted differently. From his perspective, it might have been more certain to have Mendel and the other siblings killed and then shift the blame onto Zair. Considering the current situation, it was possible to have arranged it that way, yet for some reason, he seemed determined to save his siblings.
‘I confirmed the Divine Command Contract with Crown Prince Sethian. In exchange for granting him the title of Crown Prince, it required that he not kill his siblings.’ This was information learned by the soul that frequently possessed the Emperor. At the time, it had seemed like an elderly father's concern for his diminishing life, but perhaps it was due to his fear of such events happening.
The contract, however, was null and void as soon as one of the parties died. So it was just a piece of paper that would be immediately discarded once the Emperor passed. Yet, Sethian had been acting oddly dutiful as if he would honor it.
Was it because he was before the Emperor? Or was it because of the soul that resided in the Emperor?
"There was a rather... horrible incident occurring in Prince Zair’s estate."
The sorcerer, who looked pale as though he had vomited, and an Imperial Knight calmly supporting him, opened his mouth to report.
There would be nothing significant found even if the estate was searched. Zair had already realized the Imperial Knights were coming for him, and just before their contact, he had ordered his subordinates to completely conceal the entrance to the lab. But for some reason, the lab had been discovered, and even the area behind the bookshelf, which had been hidden with a special lock, was revealed.
It was obvious who the culprit was. The key to the space with the blood-filled glass tube was in the hands of only him and Eda. Eda seemed to want to clearly indicate that Zair was the culprit. Not only did she open the lab, but she had also openly shown the glass tube, revealing that Zair had been taking the blood of living humans in a brutal manner.
Most of the gazes directed at Zair in the royal court were the same: hatred and disgust.
This was true for his siblings as well as for Roa, the Tower Lord who, like the Imperial Knights, served only the Emperor.
“You blended the blood of souls and living humans and mixed in your own blood to use it as life energy for body alchemy. Those created in this way were living as part of Prince Zair’s knight order.” With each word he spoke, the mage trembled with suppressed rage.
Zair couldn’t understand why he was so angry, but he just remained silent and listened.
“Prince Zair, why... Why would you do such a thing?! Not only did you cruelly take the blood of living humans, but how could you use your own life energy so recklessly...!”
"...That is proof that I am a worthy successor to the Emperor." Zair, who had been silently listening as everything was revealed, finally spoke.
“There is no imperial crown, no symbol of the crown prince, no magical stone. And yet, with just my research and my own life energy, I succeeded in creating human bodies and anchoring souls.”
Zair raised the corner of his mouth and looked at Roa with a crooked smile.
“You must understand that I’ve always had the mana the Emperor should possess. If not, no matter how much I researched or refined, how could I have anchored the souls without a magical stone?”
Roa’s face contorted in barely contained fury.
“It is none other than ‘my life energy.’ My life energy, which, with refinement alone, can become the master of dead souls even without a magical stone. No matter how I use it, Tower Lord, there seems to be no need for you to get worked up over it.”
Roa was not one to get emotional easily, but Zair’s insolent words made even heat rise to his face. It was bad enough that he had hung countless humans alive to collect their blood and had even sacrificed souls. That alone was infuriating, yet he used the life energy he firmly believed was his own without hesitation. The decisive reason Zair’s refinement had been effective was that it contained not ‘the prince’s life energy’ but ‘the Emperor’s life energy.’
“Prince Zair, you do not know. The reason that refinement was possible was...!”
“Roa.” The angry Roa’s words were cut off by the Emperor’s call. Despite his weakened state, the atmosphere in the royal court changed with just the Emperor’s short summons.
“Step back.”
“…Yes, Your Majesty.” Roa swallowed his breath and lowered his head, silencing himself.
Only then did Zair’s gaze shift from Roa to another direction. Zair looked up at the Emperor, his face indifferent.
There was no disgust, no hatred.
The soul within the Emperor simply looked at him with pity. The same look his father had given him all these years.
‘Who do you think you are?’
Zair gritted his teeth in frustration.
‘How dare you try to act as though you know everything, pity me like that?’
The soul that claimed to be the Emperor sickened Zair.
A soul that had come only to prolong its life by seeking out Sethian.
A soul with no ambitions or desires, the most pitiful of souls.
‘How dare you...!’
Zair’s eyes grew cruel, and just then, one of the Imperial Knights hurriedly reported to the court.
“Your Majesty, Prince Zair’s knight order has begun to attack the Imperial Knights, defying orders!”
The knight’s expression was grim.
Zair’s knight order had never spoken to each other properly before. Though there had been some murmurs, they were too faint to notice, and it could have been attributed to the anxiety caused by the sudden capture of their master.
But that assumption proved wrong as Zair’s knight order suddenly rose as though they had synchronized and ambushed the Imperial Knights who had been watching them. Soon, they were charging at them as though they didn’t care what happened to their bodies.
The Imperial Knights were highly skilled and handled the surprise attack well, but the Emperor had commanded that no one should die before the truth was uncovered. This made it difficult to stop the knights in fake bodies, who were prepared to die.
Just then, as the Emperor frowned and was about to speak—
—Move aside!
A black crow suddenly swooped into the royal court, dodging the Imperial Knights’ attempts to grab it, and rushed toward the Emperor.
Zair, upon hearing the crow’s voice, grinned maliciously. Sethian, too, turned his head toward the crow that had flown into the court. A small glass vial containing white liquid was hanging around its neck.
The crow flew past Zair and near the Emperor, tilting its head in midair to pull off the necklace. The small glass vial fell to the ground, shattering into pieces.
Thud.
The Emperor closed his eyes, and the people in the royal court fell unconscious as though they had been knocked out by a powerful sleeping agent. The odorless drug caused everyone to collapse without having a chance to react.
Zair, having anticipated this, quickly grabbed a thick cloth and covered his nose and mouth before dashing toward the Emperor, intending to extract Joo Yi-Gyeol from him.
Just as he was about to reach the Emperor, his hand almost touching him—
Zair’s wrist was grabbed with such force it felt like it would snap, and a chillingly low voice pierced his ear, “I clearly warned that I wouldn’t give my things to anyone.”
Without needing to turn his head, Zair knew the person holding him back was barely containing their anger.
The situation was nearly the worst possible for Zair.
The reason Sethian had been singled out as a prime suspect in the poisoning of Prince Mendel was because of Idelo, and the testimonies of the gardener of Emerald Castle and several servants and guards.
Roa, who seemed to already know everything, personally stepped forward to reveal the possession incidents involving Idelo and the witnesses. The completely inconsistent testimonies, coupled with the fact that the witnesses had no memories of the days surrounding the incident, the related possession report involving Tower Lord Roa's name, and the blood of the fake body left at the stone tower, were the final blow for Zair.
If there was any relief, it was that Roa, despite undoubtedly acting for the Emperor, had not spoken a word about the soul that had frequently possessed the Emperor, even though he had captured it. That alone would have been enough to leave him unable to escape severe punishment for attempting to manipulate the Emperor.
The first target Zair had wanted to eliminate, Prince Mendel, was still alive. Sethian, who had long seen through the plot, had prepared a fake body for Mendel and a healing potion using Ivelo, allowing him to be saved, and now he was here, appearing unscathed. Under normal circumstances, Mendel, as well as Remines and Elina, should have been dead by now.
Zair had intentionally planned to kill his two younger siblings while his hands and feet were bound, to completely eliminate any suspicion of him. Immediately after Sethian’s disappearance, his people were being watched by the Imperial Knights, so it was obvious that the missing suspect of the first prince’s poisoning would be suspected if he used this situation.
However, the suspect stood here and proved that the Idelo he had possessed had not been used, even revealing the injuries on himself to show he had been attacked by someone else. It was an almost incomprehensible turn of events for Zair, but he had gone as far as warning his siblings and saving them.
Sethian, if anything, could have chosen not to save his siblings. But he had acted differently. From his perspective, it might have been more certain to have Mendel and the other siblings killed and then shift the blame onto Zair. Considering the current situation, it was possible to have arranged it that way, yet for some reason, he seemed determined to save his siblings.
‘I confirmed the Divine Command Contract with Crown Prince Sethian. In exchange for granting him the title of Crown Prince, it required that he not kill his siblings.’ This was information learned by the soul that frequently possessed the Emperor. At the time, it had seemed like an elderly father's concern for his diminishing life, but perhaps it was due to his fear of such events happening.
The contract, however, was null and void as soon as one of the parties died. So it was just a piece of paper that would be immediately discarded once the Emperor passed. Yet, Sethian had been acting oddly dutiful as if he would honor it.
Was it because he was before the Emperor? Or was it because of the soul that resided in the Emperor?
"There was a rather... horrible incident occurring in Prince Zair’s estate."
The sorcerer, who looked pale as though he had vomited, and an Imperial Knight calmly supporting him, opened his mouth to report.
There would be nothing significant found even if the estate was searched. Zair had already realized the Imperial Knights were coming for him, and just before their contact, he had ordered his subordinates to completely conceal the entrance to the lab. But for some reason, the lab had been discovered, and even the area behind the bookshelf, which had been hidden with a special lock, was revealed.
It was obvious who the culprit was. The key to the space with the blood-filled glass tube was in the hands of only him and Eda. Eda seemed to want to clearly indicate that Zair was the culprit. Not only did she open the lab, but she had also openly shown the glass tube, revealing that Zair had been taking the blood of living humans in a brutal manner.
Most of the gazes directed at Zair in the royal court were the same: hatred and disgust.
This was true for his siblings as well as for Roa, the Tower Lord who, like the Imperial Knights, served only the Emperor.
“You blended the blood of souls and living humans and mixed in your own blood to use it as life energy for body alchemy. Those created in this way were living as part of Prince Zair’s knight order.” With each word he spoke, the mage trembled with suppressed rage.
Zair couldn’t understand why he was so angry, but he just remained silent and listened.
“Prince Zair, why... Why would you do such a thing?! Not only did you cruelly take the blood of living humans, but how could you use your own life energy so recklessly...!”
"...That is proof that I am a worthy successor to the Emperor." Zair, who had been silently listening as everything was revealed, finally spoke.
“There is no imperial crown, no symbol of the crown prince, no magical stone. And yet, with just my research and my own life energy, I succeeded in creating human bodies and anchoring souls.”
Zair raised the corner of his mouth and looked at Roa with a crooked smile.
“You must understand that I’ve always had the mana the Emperor should possess. If not, no matter how much I researched or refined, how could I have anchored the souls without a magical stone?”
Roa’s face contorted in barely contained fury.
“It is none other than ‘my life energy.’ My life energy, which, with refinement alone, can become the master of dead souls even without a magical stone. No matter how I use it, Tower Lord, there seems to be no need for you to get worked up over it.”
Roa was not one to get emotional easily, but Zair’s insolent words made even heat rise to his face. It was bad enough that he had hung countless humans alive to collect their blood and had even sacrificed souls. That alone was infuriating, yet he used the life energy he firmly believed was his own without hesitation. The decisive reason Zair’s refinement had been effective was that it contained not ‘the prince’s life energy’ but ‘the Emperor’s life energy.’
“Prince Zair, you do not know. The reason that refinement was possible was...!”
“Roa.” The angry Roa’s words were cut off by the Emperor’s call. Despite his weakened state, the atmosphere in the royal court changed with just the Emperor’s short summons.
“Step back.”
“…Yes, Your Majesty.” Roa swallowed his breath and lowered his head, silencing himself.
Only then did Zair’s gaze shift from Roa to another direction. Zair looked up at the Emperor, his face indifferent.
There was no disgust, no hatred.
The soul within the Emperor simply looked at him with pity. The same look his father had given him all these years.
‘Who do you think you are?’
Zair gritted his teeth in frustration.
‘How dare you try to act as though you know everything, pity me like that?’
The soul that claimed to be the Emperor sickened Zair.
A soul that had come only to prolong its life by seeking out Sethian.
A soul with no ambitions or desires, the most pitiful of souls.
‘How dare you...!’
Zair’s eyes grew cruel, and just then, one of the Imperial Knights hurriedly reported to the court.
“Your Majesty, Prince Zair’s knight order has begun to attack the Imperial Knights, defying orders!”
The knight’s expression was grim.
Zair’s knight order had never spoken to each other properly before. Though there had been some murmurs, they were too faint to notice, and it could have been attributed to the anxiety caused by the sudden capture of their master.
But that assumption proved wrong as Zair’s knight order suddenly rose as though they had synchronized and ambushed the Imperial Knights who had been watching them. Soon, they were charging at them as though they didn’t care what happened to their bodies.
The Imperial Knights were highly skilled and handled the surprise attack well, but the Emperor had commanded that no one should die before the truth was uncovered. This made it difficult to stop the knights in fake bodies, who were prepared to die.
Just then, as the Emperor frowned and was about to speak—
—Move aside!
A black crow suddenly swooped into the royal court, dodging the Imperial Knights’ attempts to grab it, and rushed toward the Emperor.
Zair, upon hearing the crow’s voice, grinned maliciously. Sethian, too, turned his head toward the crow that had flown into the court. A small glass vial containing white liquid was hanging around its neck.
The crow flew past Zair and near the Emperor, tilting its head in midair to pull off the necklace. The small glass vial fell to the ground, shattering into pieces.
Thud.
The Emperor closed his eyes, and the people in the royal court fell unconscious as though they had been knocked out by a powerful sleeping agent. The odorless drug caused everyone to collapse without having a chance to react.
Zair, having anticipated this, quickly grabbed a thick cloth and covered his nose and mouth before dashing toward the Emperor, intending to extract Joo Yi-Gyeol from him.
Just as he was about to reach the Emperor, his hand almost touching him—
Zair’s wrist was grabbed with such force it felt like it would snap, and a chillingly low voice pierced his ear, “I clearly warned that I wouldn’t give my things to anyone.”
Without needing to turn his head, Zair knew the person holding him back was barely containing their anger.
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