Chapter 201: For the Family

“Father.”

Tiren sought out Kuwell, who was preparing to depart for their mansion.

“Ah, you’re here.”

Kuwell’s face had grown gaunt in the past few days. Seeing him like this, Tiren let out a soft sigh.

“You must be troubled. I never expected Karyl to return like that. And to cause such chaos...”

“It’s unbelievable.”

“Yes, the power of the Spirit King is one thing, but for him to have caused the defeat at the Twin Armor... What was he thinking? He nearly put our family in jeopardy,” Tiren complained, clicking his tongue.

“He has ties with His Majesty. He might’ve acted on Emperor Shutean’s orders.”

“Well, they didn’t seem that friendly back in the Sun Hall,” Tiren argued.

Kuwell nodded. The empire was now starkly divided between the emperor and the faction of the two princes. On the surface, everyone followed the emperor, but given any opportunity, the throne could change hands.

In this tense three-way tug of war, Karyl’s arrival had served as a wake-up call for everyone.

“But in the end, it worked to our advantage. Prince Luon’s faction will be busy stabilizing their forces for a while.”

“Watch what you say. We’re in the imperial palace.”

At Kuwell’s warning, Tiren nodded cautiously.

“What about my older brother?”

“He’s headed to Tatur.”

“What?!” Tiren unwittingly shouted, taken aback by Kuwell’s unexpected answer. “Meeting with Karyl again at a time like this...?”

“I don’t agree with it either, but he insisted it had to be now.”

“That’s unlike him...”

“Well, he’s old enough to make his own decisions, even if they’re wrong.”

Martte was more knowledgeable about noble society than anyone. Kuwell thought this was the first time Martte had firmly expressed his own opinion.

“Does this have anything to do with His Majesty summoning you?”

Kuwell shook his head at Tiren’s question.

“No, it was Martte’s independent decision. In any case, I’m more worried about Jake. I’ve heard he’s unwell.”

The fifth child of the MacGovern family, only a year younger than Karyl, was much weaker than his siblings. Though Kuwell had brought him back from the monastery where he had been abandoned several years ago, Jake still spoke little and remained frail, mostly keeping to his room. Even after Karyl’s visit, which had caused a stir at the mansion, he and Jake had rarely met.

“It’s only natural to be worried about Jake, but is your return to the mansion unrelated to His Majesty?”

This time, Kuwell hesitated.

“The emperor has ordered that matters concerning the MacGovern family be resolved within the family.”

“Does he mean to cut off Karyl?”

Tiren didn’t understand the emperor’s intentions. Though Karyl had provoked him, with Tatur now an independent state, using Karyl, a MacGovern, could be the empire’s key to disrupting the three-power balance.

“His Majesty hasn’t asked anything specific about Karyl. He just... asked me to bring Jake to the imperial palace.”

“What?!”

“He’s worried about Jake’s health and wants me to bring him personally.”

“Is he really asking for Jake to be brought to the imperial palace?”

Kuwell shook his head heavily.

“He’s to go to Heim.”

“That’s outrageous!”

At Tiren’s outburst, Kuwell nodded slightly.

“I know, but what choice do we have? The nobles already know about Jake’s poor health... When the emperor himself gives such an order, we can’t refuse.”

“Heim is the Church’s Holy Land. You need special permission to go there. In a way, it’s even more isolated than the palace.”

It was clear that the emperor’s plan wasn’t to offer Jake treatment, but to hold him hostage. Tiren, usually reserved, now raised his voice, clearly distressed about this. The emperor’s demand was excessively harsh.

I know the reason for keeping me and Randol in the capital after the Goblin Subjugation was to keep an eye on our father.

Yet, thanks to Olivurn’s skillful maneuvers, both of them had managed to join his faction, Tiren as a court sorcerer and Randol as a member of the Ryeo Knights.

Determined not to repeat the same mistake, this time the emperor openly demanded Jake.

The Church... They lend their power only to the emperor. If Jake goes to Heim, we’ll never get him back...

There were only two options: obey the emperor’s command or have Olivurn ascend the throne. The latter was the most ideal but also the most dangerous, as Jake’s life would be put at risk before that could happen.

The imperial throne has never been passed down peacefully.

Titan Shutean was fighting tooth and nail to keep his throne, clearly unwilling to relinquish it. In a way, the throne was cursed like that. No one could claim it without shedding blood.

The emperor plans to use our father to simultaneously keep Karyl, Prince Olivurn, and our entire family in check.

It was a brilliant strategy, but being its target was far from pleasant.

“The root of this is probably the bottle Karyl had with him. We need to find out what it is.”

Tiren nodded at Kuwell’s words.

In the Sun Hall, Karyl had announced Tatur’s independence before all the vassals.

The land of slaves and immigrants.

Though they tried to keep it a secret within the empire, rumors spread faster than fire, and slaves from all parts of the continent were fleeing to Tatur.

His Majesty would have liked nothing more than to behead Karyl that day in the Sun Hall.

But he hadn’t done it; the Conqueror King had let Karyl walk away before his vassals. Everyone at the scene had seen it as a show of weakness.

[Karyl MacGovern has leverage on the emperor.]

Because of that, the emperor couldn’t issue any decisive orders, no matter how much he wanted Karyl dead. Conversely, the vassals needed Karyl to bring down the emperor, who had always seemed insurmountable on the throne, which meant they couldn’t attack Tatur.

In some ways, Karyl is even more remarkable than His Majesty.

While the emperor devised the best strategy using Kuwell in the worst circumstances, Karyl managed to protect Tatur, or rather, thousands—no, tens of thousands—of the native people without a single casualty, effectively seizing the entire empire by the throat. It was a monumental achievement, something no one else had managed before.

Yes, Karyl. You are indeed extraordinary.

Tiren clenched his fists without realizing.

You make for a formidable opponent.

But among the tens of thousands of people Karyl saved, not a single one was from the MacGovern family.

Saving more people at the expense of abandoning your family? Karyl, I’m not as righteous as you. The family that took me in when I was all alone is more precious to me.

Tiren looked up at Kuwell.

In that case, I shall be the one to protect the family.

Having made up his mind, Tiren said, “Father, thanks to Sir Kadin Luer, I was able to attend the funeral of the Third Prince in the Sun Hall.”

“Yes.”

“Do you remember what Prince Luon said when Karyl took off his mask in the Sun Hall?”

“Hmm...”

Kuwell stroked his chin as he tried to remember. It had been such a chaotic situation that recalling everything in detail was difficult.

“He said that Karyl’s eye color wasn’t brown.”

Surprisingly, Tiren remembered every single detail. While everyone else had glossed over it, Tiren hadn’t missed that one remark.

“He said that because he thought Karyl was an imperial citizen,” Kuwell offered.

“Maybe. But there was something off about Prince Luon’s reaction. Besides, he and Karyl crossed paths at the Twin Armor,” Tiren said cautiously. “Maybe Karyl wasn’t wearing his mask back then. You know, non-imperials can’t change the color of their eyes. Red eyes could be attributed to Ramine’s power, but other colors should be impossible. However...”

Kuwell looked at him, his eyes filled with anticipation.

“It’s possible with magic.”

“Are you suggesting that Karyl has mana?” Kuwell asked with a hint of concern.

“I don’t know. Even my teacher couldn’t confirm it, so it’s probably impossible.”

Kadin Luer, a Great Sorcerer of the 7th Class, had never mentioned anything about Karyl having mana. If he couldn’t confirm it, no one could.

“Tiren, are you still thinking about the incident at the Magic Competition in Azor?”

At that, Tiren shrugged slightly. It was something everyone had forgotten by now.

“Asking Prince Luon directly would be the best way, but that’s impossible in the current situation. Sir Azif is in the same boat.”

“...”

“That boy possesses the power of the Blazing King. He always exceeds our expectations. Of course, this is just my speculation. I suppose I’m being stubborn too.”

He repeated Kuwell’s earlier words with a bitter smile.

“But if he really has acquired mana, it could be a weakness for him.”

“What do you mean?”

“We don’t know how he gained mana, but just as he’s taking advantage of His Majesty’s weakness, we might be able to take advantage of his.”

Tiren took a breath.

“Why do you think he wore that mask? I think he’s pretending to be an imperial. Why? Because he’s not satisfied with just Tatur. Someday, he’ll aim to conquer the three nations and then turn his fangs on the empire.”

“...”

“Father, I have an idea.”

Kuwell leaned in slightly.

“Tell him we’ll reveal his true identity to the Three Kingdoms. And if he doesn’t want that to happen, he should save Jake from Heim. Getting exposed as an immigrant pretending to be an imperial citizen would ruin him.”

Tiren’s tone grew colder.

“He has already made enemies within the empire. In a time when he needs the strength of the Three Kingdoms, he will do anything to keep his identity a secret and save Jake.”

“...What then?”

“We inform the emperor in advance that he’s coming to Heim, so that the bastard’s head will be taken. No matter how powerful he is, with the combined strength of the Church and the empire, we can—”

Smack!

Tiren’s vision suddenly swung to the side, accompanied by a sharp pain in his cheek.

“...”

He stared at Kuwell, stunned. His cheek was burning.

“Enough.”

Kuwell shook his head.

“Tiren, you’re acting just like His Majesty. Karyl is your brother, and you want to betray him? Calling him a bastard, saying you’ll take his head... How can you utter such words? How can you speak of the sixth son of the MacGovern family in such a way? Have you forgotten what family is?!”

But Tiren furrowed his brow at Kuwell’s rebuke.

“Why do you favor Karyl, Father? You’ve always said that even if we aren’t related by blood, we’re all equal.”

Wiping the blood from his mouth, he said sharply, “What he’s doing now, is that how an

equal

brother would act? No, he’s the one who will bring ruin to our family!”

“That’s...”

“Or did something happen in the north? I heard you met the Guidance Mercenary Gang during the northern campaign. You haven’t been well ever since,” Tiren asked with concern, but his words only made Kuwell’s expression darken even more.

With panic flashing in his eyes, Kuwell grabbed Tiren’s shoulders and asked urgently, “Who else knows about this?! I told the Blue Knights to keep it under wraps!”

“...What?”

Tiren was startled by Kuwell’s reaction.

“Was it... a secret? Ouch!”

Kuwell tightened his grip on Tiren’s shoulders, causing him to wince in pain.

“I-I heard it from Gordon Fabian. He mentioned it casually while we were heading to the south by airship... He didn’t seem to think it was important.”

Hearing that, Kuwell quickly let go of Tiren.

“...No, it’s nothing. Just as you said, it’s not a big deal.”

“...”

What is this? He’s not one to lie, so why... If Father went so far as to order the knights to keep quiet about it, something must have happened. There’s definitely something hidden in the north that I don’t know about...

Tiren said nothing, but he could tell something wasn’t right with Kuwell. His shoulders were still aching, bearing the clear marks of Kuwell’s grip.

“This must be done discreetly. His Majesty mustn’t know we’re contacting Karyl.”

“I should’ve talked to Martte about this when he went to Tatur.”

Tiren shook his head at Kuwell’s words.

“His movements are already being reported to His Majesty. When Martte returns, have him escort Jake to Heim. Since he went to Tatur, the emperor will suspect him anyway, so sending him to Heim is less suspicious. Also, he can look after Jake.”

“Then what about Tatur?”

“We have someone in the south who can move freely without His Majesty’s eyes on them.”

“You don’t mean...”

Tiren nodded at Kuwell, who seemed to realize what he was suggesting.

“Yes, the fourth.”

His voice was firm.

“We’ll use Randol.”