Chapter 67
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Chapter 67
* * *
Yurien de Harden Kirie confined her to the Changtian Knights Headquarters Underground Prison. He filled the sealing chamber, bound her limbs with chains, and installed double doors.
The Emperor raged and commanded the Demon Woman be released at once. Yurien de Harden Kirie defied the Emperor's order directly for the first time. Though the Emperor thrashed about in fury, the Empire—dealt a fatal blow by the complete annihilation of the Suppression Unit—could not touch Agenka.
At least, not for now.
Tension settled between Agenka and the Empire. Letters passed ceaselessly, and much transpired beneath the surface. For the moment, the Celestial Knights were regarded as the saviors who had rescued the Empire from the Demon Woman, keeping matters quiet. Yet as time wore on, the grievances of the victims would only swell—demands for why the Demon Woman was not executed.
Whenever time permitted, Yurien de Harden Kirie visited the Underground Prison. He could not draw near. He always gazed at her from beyond the iron door. Within, her body writhed like a caged demon beast.
But to him, who possessed the Celestial Eye, something else was visible.
A light flickering between roiling shadows of malice. That spark, kindled into flame, grew steadily more intense. Precarious as if it might be extinguished at any moment, yet it never went out. I watched her desperate, pitiful struggle unfold endlessly.
[When I first saw her, I thought there was a possibility she might become the sun. But honestly, the probability of that actually happening was infinitesimal. It's remarkable she hasn't gone mad.]
"She will overcome this."
Yurien de Harden Kirie murmured softly. A person with whom I had not exchanged even a single word. I had never truly met her gaze. I did not know her name. Yet the more I watched, the more I found myself rooting for her. I wanted to see her triumph. I hoped she would endure.
What kind of person would she be once she conquered that malice and reclaimed her body? I wanted to know her.
The flame wavering beyond the malice trembled precariously once more. Sparks scattering like blood. Dimming as if about to be smothered, then surging anew. Thrashing beneath the crushing weight of malice. In that undulating form, I read a silent scream. Yurien de Harden Kirie clenched his teeth.
I wanted to help her. If there were a way, I would do anything. But I had no means to aid her. This was a trial she alone had to overcome. Yurien de Harden Kirie placed his hand quietly against the iron door. He could not reach beyond it—only touch the metal itself. The steel beneath my fingertips was cold.
"I must prepare."
[Prepare for what?]
"So that she... can live again."
I began preparing for the moment she reclaimed her body and could live once more. It was all I could do for her, fighting alone as she was.
I provided compensation to those harmed by the Demon Woman and held ceremonies for the deceased. I erected a memorial monument and cooperated in recovery efforts. Then I attempted negotiations with the Empire. Since negotiation with the Emperor was impossible, I proceeded with the Crown Prince instead. Several documents were exchanged, and secret meetings took place.
Throughout all of this, I never revealed that she was the young lady of an Imperial noble house with pink hair. I did not investigate her identity. There was nothing to gain from exposing a family that had become the Empire's public enemy. If anyone connected to her remained alive, revealing her identity would cause them tremendous harm.
In truth, I desperately wanted to know her name. I wanted to know what to call her. But I refrained. Once she triumphed over that malice and reclaimed her body, I would hear her name directly from her.
More than half a year passed in this manner.
* * *
In the autumn of 1632, Yurien de Harden Kirie left Agenka and met secretly with Crown Prince Cruien in the Imperial Capital. The scales of power had now tilted decisively toward the Crown Prince. The Emperor had become a figurehead.
"Much of this is thanks to you. The remaining 2nd Prince faction and His Majesty are pushing my young nephew instead. That brat, honestly."
The Harden Imperial Family of the Kirie Empire, who took the white lion as their symbol, were mostly silver-haired. Crown Prince Cruien likewise had silver hair and blue eyes like Yurien de Harden Kirie—eyes inherited from the Emperor.
The 2nd Prince Karaem had inherited green eyes from the Empress, and his young son had inherited those same eyes. The Emperor loved those green eyes, the same shade as the Empress. Far more than his blue-eyed sons who resembled him.
"My father-in-law still watches you carefully, saying you're the most dangerous. But I trust you. You have no interest in the throne, do you?"
Crown Prince Cruien smiled faintly. Yurien de Harden Kirie remained expressionless. The Crown Prince shrugged and continued.
"It's time to end Father's era. Lend me your aid."
"What sort of aid do you require?"
"Send the Celestial Knights. I will strike the Imperial Palace."
Yurien de Harden Kirie frowned. Before he could voice his refusal, the Crown Prince produced a document.
"Do you think I would pursue this without justification? There is sufficient cause here for the Celestial Knights to act. You need only be my blade."
"What is this?"
"The circumstances by which the Imperial Family obtained and utilized the Demonic Sword Bardegiosa."
Yurien de Harden Kirie's eyes widened. He quickly seized the document, and Crown Prince Cruien's smile deepened. The Crown Prince watched leisurely, fingers interlaced, as Yurien de Harden Kirie read. The single page laid bare a plan to elevate the prestige of the Imperial Family—specifically, the 2nd Prince—using the Demonic Sword Bardegiosa.
Several years prior, a village near the Emperor's Villa had been completely annihilated. The Emperor, who happened to be staying at the Villa, dispatched the Imperial Guard to apprehend the murderer and discovered the Demonic Sword Bardegiosa in the killer's possession.
It remained unclear how an ordinary herbalist had come to wield a Demonic Sword. In any case, the Imperial Guard swiftly disposed of the herb-gatherer tainted by the blade. Witnessing this, the Emperor conceived a plan to elevate the 2nd Prince's prestige using the Demonic Sword. The plan required victims of the blade—people, particularly nobles, who would inspire sufficient alarm.
The Emperor had calculated with meticulous precision. He sought a family that could disappear without consequence, one that was manageable yet capable of generating the necessary sense of crisis when the Demonic Sword emerged. He deliberately excluded families with talent in swordsmanship—the Demonic Sword could not be allowed to grow too powerful. Thus, a handful of candidates were narrowed down.
It appeared they had failed to track which of those candidates was ultimately selected. The documents merely stated that the 2nd Prince had chosen one from among the candidate families, and that he had personally sent his subordinates to place Bardegiosa in that household.
What the Emperor and the 2nd Prince had not anticipated was that the family they happened to choose harbored an unrecognized genius of the blade. That was their fatal miscalculation. A herb gatherer wielding the Demonic Sword was manageable, but a peerless prodigy with it became a catastrophe.
Yurien de Harden Kirie stared blankly at the documents. The 2nd Prince had chosen it. Karaem, his older brother. In that moment, a memory surfaced—something from the birthday celebration.
"...A woman? This is the first time you've shown interest in a woman."
The malice that had gleamed so distinctly in Karaem's eyes as he spoke those words. It was far too coincidental to be mere chance.
Could it be. Could it possibly be. That Karaem had selected one family from among the candidates, could it be. That she had come to wield the Demonic Sword, could it be.
'Because I saw her....'
His vision tilted sickeningly. Something bitter rose from deep within. Yurien clamped his hand over his mouth.
"What do you think? As the Celestial Knights sworn to protect Giosha, isn't this naturally something you should step forward for?"
Crown Prince Cruien spoke with casual indifference, unaware of what had shaken Yurien so profoundly. Yurien crumpled the documents in his grip until they were nearly torn. Then he rose from his seat.
"Yurien?"
"I... I will provide my answer at a later time."
He barely managed the response before leaving the chamber where the secret conference had taken place. His steps wavered unsteadily as he departed.
* * *
Throughout the journey back to Agenka, Yurien was consumed by profound turmoil. No matter how many times he turned the matter over in his mind, he could not shake the guilt that it was his fault.
Strictly speaking, the true culprits were his father and his brother. But the fact that they had devised this conspiracy and selected her as its victim was entirely because of him. The woman he had thought would live an ordinary life had fallen into the abyss—and the only catalyst was a glance he had given her. What was worse, he had not even attached great significance to that moment, and had quickly forgotten it.
While he forgot, the woman who had been made wretched by that single glance had lived as a demon in hell for three years—three long years. And even now, she remained trapped in that hell, unaware of who had made her what she was.
Fearing he would lose his mind, he rode a horse instead of taking a carriage or train. He drove the beast until his breath came in ragged gasps. He rode until the horse collapsed from exhaustion, then spent the night barely sleeping, and when dawn broke, he mounted again. Holy Sword Langiosa, unable to sleep alongside him, spoke softly.
[I understand your feelings, but this is not your sin. It is my judgment, rendered by one forged from the justice that humans feel and conceive. You have done nothing wrong.]
"Then what of her?"
Stained by the Demonic Sword, she had committed unwilling slaughter, lost everything, and still remained unfree—struggling alone in that swamp of malice. What could she possibly have done wrong? And those who fell victim to her hands, what had they done wrong?
The innocent had been drawn into an irreversible tragedy, while the guilty lived on unscathed, wielding their authority. The knuckles of Yurien's clenched fist turned white with tension. His nails dug into his flesh, yet he felt no pain.
After a long silence, Holy Sword Langiosa answered.
[...That woman is innocent too. There is another who should pay the price for sin. But master, he died by that woman's hand. He has already been punished for his crime.]
"One remains, does he not."
Yurien's eyes, as he replied quietly, gleamed with madness. Langiosa continued, as if to soothe him.
[Yes, your father lives. But he is your father. Unless he sought to kill you, touching him would be filial impiety. Justice is judgment, not vengeance.]
"So I should endure it, committing filial impiety to uphold justice? Is that what you call justice?"
Yurien's voice as he questioned was calm, belying the content of his words. Holy Sword Langiosa sensed what roiled beneath that composure. The holy sword sighed before speaking.
[Not to endure, but to follow procedure. Rather, accept the Crown Prince's proposal. Expose the conspiracy of the Demonic Sword and have the Emperor officially brought down and executed. That is a just act.]
Yurien did not answer. He watched the dawn break without sleeping, then mounted his horse once more.
The moment he returned to Agenka, he sought to go to her in the Underground Prison. He did not know what he could do or how he could help, but he needed to see her now. He needed to confirm that it was not yet too late, that something could still be undone, that she still lived. All other decisions could wait.
But the fate that awaited him was far more cruel than anything that had come before.
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Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org
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