Side Story Chapter 274

After Kireua’s teacher—and other father—had passed on, Kireua quietly lowered the body to the ground as the freedom fighters watched with teary eyes.

“Your Majesty...!”

“You can’t do this... It’s too early for you to leave this world like this! We’re lost without you!”

The freedom fighters wailed, but Kireua had no time to share their sorrow because the fight wasn’t over.

-Let’s eat them. How does that sound? Let’s eat every single human here!

The more Kireua’s murderous desire intensified, the more Coju gleefully chattered.

‘...No.’

Kireua shook his head. He now knew that this voice didn’t belong to Coju, the power of Greed.

‘Stop pretending already.’

The voice in his head vanished. The death of a loved one, agony, the desire for revenge were the Wrath’s favorites.

-Hehehe. When did you realize?

‘Let me ask you this first: how long have you been staying within me, Grand Duke Lucifer?’

-Well... Do you remember the day you passed out?

The Dark God, Grand Duke Lucifer... Kireua was like a haven for parasites at this point.

‘Did you want my body so much that you gave up your own?’

-A young man’s body is definitely better than an undead’s rotten body, but that isn’t really why I’m here.

Swallow’s knights had mustered their courage and were slowly approaching Kireua. Kireua could feel that his bloodlust was getting out of control.

-I’m telling you just in case, but what you’re feeling right now has nothing to do with me. I don’t have the ability to control other people’s emotions.

Lucifer didn’t have to tell him that because Kireua already knew that the emotion he was feeling was solely his own. He genuinely wanted to kill those people for driving Ulabis to his death.

“Stand down.”

For better or for worse, someone stepped in and ended the fight.

“Sir!”

The Swallow knights saluted Arash bel Grace.

Arash acknowledged them with a node. “I told Duke Voltaire to make sure everyone treats the red-haired man as our guest.”

“A-Aside from the guest...” The captain of Swallow’s knights glanced at the freedom fighters.

“Our work here was finished the moment the king of Thran died. Besides, I’m giving you an imperial order.”

“Yes, my lady.” The captain quickly bowed. As Swallow’s throne was vacant and Arash was the only member of the Imperial Family, her orders trumped all others.

“The rest of you should go and announce the king of Thran’s death to the entire continent, so the Thran remnants won’t start another meaningless fight... You will also tell our troops to refrain from using violence.”

“Then how shall we deal with those who persist until the end?” the captain asked.

Arash quietly looked at the freedom fighters, who flinched under her gaze.

“...Then I suppose violence is inevitable.”

Arash’s words were clearly a warning; she knew when mercy was needed.

The captain nodded enthusiastically. “What are you all doing?! You’ve received an imperial order. Get moving!”

“Yes, sir!”

As the Swallow knights scattered, the freedom fighters sank to the ground one by one. It was all over, they realized. For them, Ulabis was their unyielding resolve and their fire. They lost everything today and the decades' worth of effort toward reclaiming Thran were wasted. Before long, Thran would meet its end.

“...It isn’t over. If all of you give up now, you’re letting my teacher’s sacrifice and your dedication be in vain,” Kireua quietly said to them.

The freedom fighters' eyes widened.

“I believe it’s time for you to go back,” Arash interrupted, unwilling to let Kireua get in her way just as she was about to crush their spirits. “You’re a guest, after all.”

Kireua turned to look at her.

“As I understand, Avalon is in a very difficult situation...” she politely continued.

“Do you remember what I told you before?”

The Fox Master smiled behind the mask. “Are you referring to when you said you would get payback for what I did?”

“Yes, exactly.”

“...I didn’t really want to say this aloud, but don’t you know that you can’t harm me?”

-I’m the only hope for saving the Human Realm, you know.

-No, there are other items that can be used to restore the balance of the Human Realm’s.

Kireua was referring to the primordial stones. Once all of them were collected, the collapse of the Human Realm could certainly be prevented.

‘...So maybe I should just kill her here right now?’

Kireua shook his head to suppress the bloodlust that was beginning to overwhelm him again.

He had good reason not to, as well. Avalon was already having difficulty dealing with Hubalt, so Kireua should be helping Avalon, not making more enemies for the empire.

Besides, if the primordial stones weren’t enough to stop the Human Realm’s collapse, Kireua would have to ask for Arash’s help.

‘...I lost,’

Kireua bitterly thought. His success in Hubert had made him too confident. He had groundlessly believed that everything would work out again; however, he had instead been indisputably defeated.

‘It’s clear that I must kill her someday, but I should go back to Avalon with Anna for now...’

“It looks like you’ve made a decision. I’m glad. I don’t know if you’ll believe me, but Swallow is grateful to you.”

“...What?”

“You brought Her Highness back to use.”

To Kireua’s astonishment, Arash even bowed.

Her knights showed no reaction; presumably, they’d been briefed beforehand.

“By ‘Her Highness’... you mean Anna?” Kireua asked.

“Her full name is Anna bel Grace. You may not be aware of this, but the surname ‘bel Grace’ has belonged to the imperial family of Swallow for generations.”

“Are you expecting me to believe that you people are going to treat Anna as your princess when you kicked her out yourselves?”

“Her Highness Anna isn’t just a princess. She will be the next ruler of this empire,” Arash responded.

Kireua's eyes widened. “...What?”

“I would like to make it clear that this isn’t a matter in which you can intervene, outsider. Besides,” Arash added before Kireua could speak, “this is the destiny that Her Highness Anna herself has already accepted.”

* * *

A woman quietly stood before an empty throne.

“You made a great choice.” Voltaire beamed.

The throne had been empty for a long time, but it finally had a new owner. The chamber was already filled with nobles from the capital. They had already been close to the palace because of the Flame Emperor’s execution, so they had received the news quickly.

“The throne belongs to you now. You shall become the supreme ruler of Swallow,” Voltaire explained.

“...Hey, let me ask you one last question.”

“Ask me anything.”

“...Is my birth mother really alive?” Anna quietly asked.

“I wouldn’t dare to lie to you,” Voltaire said. He turned to the others in the chamber.

The nobles nodded in agreement as Voltaire’s gaze passed over them. As a matter of fact, all of these nobles were on Voltaire’s side; he wielded sixty percent of influence over the empire. The problem was that one particular family had the rest.

“Your mother is currently held captive by the Killian Family.”

“Why in the world would they do that!” Anna shouted.

“Because they’ve been desperately searching for you.”

Anna had been on the run for her entire life from Joshua Sanders, the Martial God. That was why she had been especially thorough about erasing her tracks—but she never imagined that someone else would be on her tail.

“...I have to meet and ask them why they’re doing that,” Anna muttered to herself, determined.

“I agree. If it hadn’t been for the Killian Family, your father, Draxia bel Grace, might not have been branded as a traitor, but... I’m a bit worried.”

“Worried? Why?”

“I’m certain that the Killian Family will use your mother to make inappropriate demands.” Before Anna could respond, Voltaire quickly continued, “There is a good reason why the Killian Family hasn’t made a move despite the power they wield.”

“And what reason is that?”

“It’s because of your half-sister.”

“My half-sister? Are you talking about the girl with the fox mask from earlier?”

“Yes, that is right. But she’s a bastard, unlike you.”

Although Draxia hadn’t told her about any siblings, Anna thought it was plausible, knowing the male instinct to produce offspring. Even Joshua Sanders had three wives.

“How does she stop them, then?”

“Even if she’s a bastard, she’s still a member of the imperial family, so the Killian Family doesn’t have the justification to seize control of the empire even if they want to.”

“...That’s why you used her as your face, isn’t it”

“That is a misunderstanding. Anyhow, you, the legitimate heir, came back to us... I could die happy now.”

Anna would have been very pleased if Voltaire did just that.

“...Alright,” she said, her eyes narrowed. “I’ll play along with your dirty scheme. It isn’t hard to be an executioner.”

“Thank you. We swear we will do our best to assist you, as proof of our loyalty.”

“Oh, yeah. I guess I should tell you this now.”

Voltaire tilted his head. “Pardon?”

“If I claim the throne, the first order I’ll give is...”

“Huh...?”

As the nobles stirred anxiously, Anna beamed, eager to see how they would react to her bombshell.

“...to strike the capital city of the Hubalt Empire. The entire empire is in chaos after they lost their emperor. I will have my payback like I always do.”