Chapter 18 – Part 6

“Calm yourself, Your Majesty.”

Though Cedric was himself agitated, he spoke up.

“Cedric, didn’t I tell you to let Calix go?”

The Emperor turned sharply toward him.

“Did you really drag him out of prison only to throw him into a death trap?”

Cedric felt angry at what sounded like the Emperor defending Calix.

“Your Majesty, isn’t that irrelevant now? That scum is advancing on the palace as we speak.”

“Of course, I know that! What I want to know is why you acted on your own without my permission!”

The Emperor shouted.

“The real mistake, Your Majesty, was not wiping out that family line in the first place.”

Cedric shouted, his voice hoarse with fury.

“How dare you…“

“Your Majesty, Crown Prince, might it be best to discuss that later? This is not the time.”

The Empress interceded.

“Yes, the Empress is right. The first priority should be stopping Duke Vartica’s forces.”

The Emperor sighed, his voice finally calming.

“Agreed.”

One of the ministers responded.

“We’ll assemble troops, including the palace guards, to counter them. There’s no need for great concern. No matter how large their numbers, they cannot surpass ours. We’ll ensure they never breach the capital.”

One man was watching this chaotic conversation unfold.

‘Nonsense.’

Elesio quietly observed the bickering. Duke Vartica was not a man who had spent his time idle; he’d only moved from one battle to another. The forces he had gathered and those of other nobles Elesio had connected him with would overwhelm the palace’s military.

“Marquis Norte, I have an auspicious plan. Care to hear it?”

Elesio had deliberately sought out Marquis Norte at an art auction. Though the Marquis looked surprised when Elesio approached him, he accepted Elesio’s dangerous proposal.

When Elesio subtly hinted at his plan to strike against Crown Prince Cedric shortly, the wealthy Marquis Norte immediately offered to finance it. He bore a grudge against Cedric, who had insulted him and his beloved daughter on more than one occasion.

“That’s wonderful to hear, Marquis. We’ll be of great help to each other.”

Elesio willingly shook the Marquis’s hand.

“Your Majesty, I will go forth.”

Elesio rose from his seat and spoke up.

“Given the situation, how can I remain in the palace?”

With Elesio stepping up, Cedric could not stand by idly.

“I’ll go first.”

Cedric and Elesio finished their preparations to depart as they vied to take the lead.

Empress Heather gently touched Cedric’s cheek with a sorrowful hand.

“You must return safely.“

“Don’t worry. I’ll be back before the day is over,“ Cedric boasted.

***

The battle unfolded in an entirely different way from the palace’s expectations. The palace forces attempted to stop Calix’s army as far from the palace as possible, but things didn’t go as planned. Calix’s troops were far more numerous and well-trained than the palace had anticipated.

“What are you waiting for? Crush them!”

Cedric shouted from the rear, his voice strained, as he saw his soldiers faltering and retreating before the stronger-than-expected enemy.

He understood their fear; he couldn’t help but notice the imposing presence of the enemy, clad in ominous black battle uniforms.

“Aagh!“

“Ahhh!”

Screams echoed all around. The sound of allies falling seemed endless.

The peaceful Moira Empire, with its established order, had never expected a battle to erupt like this within its capital.

Cedric had naively believed that he could avoid the fear and confusion of a real battlefield so long as he stayed within the capital.

But he had overlooked that other lords and soldiers were handling duties that he should have shared and that he should have prevented them from bearing too much responsibility on his behalf.

“Ugh.”

An arrow struck a soldier beside Cedric, piercing his head as he fell.

Cedric looked ahead, alarmed. In the distance, the figure leading the enemy troops was unmistakable — it was Calix Vartica.

“That madman!“

Cedric’s heart raced, his chest tight with fear and anger, twisting into an overwhelming, sickening feeling.

‘I should have killed him in that prison.’

Capturing and k＊lling Calix, who was now rampaging outside his cell, felt far more daunting than Cedric had anticipated.

“Charge! Crown Prince Cedric is there!”

From afar, Cedric heard Calix Vartica’s shout. Calix had recognized him, targeting him for death.

“Yaaah!”

With a fierce battle cry he’d never heard, Calix’s forces began to charge straight at Cedric.

Anyone courageous would cast off fear and face it. They’d risk everything, ready to die to defend the palace. But Cedric had never once thrown himself in the face of death, always relying on his weakened body as an excuse.

Now, in his greatest crisis, there was no way he could change.

“Protect me!”

Cedric shouted, his voice trembling without him realizing it.

“I ordered you to protect me!”

Yet, Cedric’s soldiers continuously pushed back and could barely hold their ground.

“Your Highness, the enemy is advancing! What are your orders?”

A nearby officer asked, sensing Cedric’s wavering command and uncertainty.

Flames rose on all sides. Those flames and arrows seemed ready to consume Cedric at any moment.

“Fight back, all of you! Forward! No retreat!”

Cedric shouted. Palace forces surged forward, entering a battle fiercer than any so far. Dozens of soldiers fell from their horses, their throats slashed by swords. The time between life and death was mere seconds.

In the distance, Calix was riding toward him at an impossible speed. On his black horse, Calix Vartica looked like a harbinger of death. It was as if he would do anything to take Cedric’s life. His sword swung so fast it was barely visible.

Cedric knew he couldn’t compare to Calix in swordsmanship. Watching Calix cut through soldiers like trees, he felt firsthand why so many men and beasts feared him.

Calix reached Cedric instantly before Cedric could decide whether to advance or retreat.

“Your Highness!”

The soldier in front of Cedric reached out to protect him.

“Argh!”

At that moment, Calix’s sword struck the soldier, leaving Cedric’s path wide open.

Cedric’s golden eyes widened in instinctive fear. As Calix’s sword aimed at him again, Cedric raised his own to meet it, but he lost his balance and fell to the ground.

Thud!

Even amid the chaos around him, Cedric could clearly hear the humiliating sound of his body hitting the ground. Expecting Calix to attack him again, he leaped to his feet without a moment to feel the pain. His limbs trembled from the shock of the fall.

The sword, specially bestowed by the Emperor, had already flown far away. The horse he had been riding was writhing, unable to get up. Its leg seemed to be broken.

“Advance! Keep moving forward!”

Someone shouted in Cedric’s stead. Cedric looked around hastily. Black horses and black battle uniforms were scattered everywhere. There were so many that he couldn’t tell friend from foe, his vision spinning. Feeling trapped, Cedric started running in the direction of the palace.

“Your Highness, take my hand!”

Limping frantically as he ran, a soldier on horseback extended his arm to Cedric. With great difficulty, Cedric climbed onto the horse with his support. He knew well that he should be leading everyone, not fleeing in panic. He also knew that everyone would mock him for this. But none of it could overcome his instinctive fear.

***

Elesio’s information had been accurate. He had already leaked a wealth of details about the palace’s defensive strategies in the event of an attack on the capital.

Such an operation was impossible without extensive preparation for rebellion. In the end, Emperor Davon and Crown Prince Cedric had cultivated enemies, both near and far.

“I will end you, no matter what.”

The moment he saw Cedric standing as the commander, Calix made up his mind. He was confident he could outdo him in every way. Cedric’s bravado faded as he froze, unable to wield his sword correctly up close.

‘He’s afraid of me.‘

Cedric’s confidence while taking Eliana and falsely imprisoning him shattered when he faced Calix directly.

As expected, Cedric was the first among the palace’s troops to flee. The soldiers’ state without their commander was all too predictable. Even so, they resisted, and Calix broke through their lines, advancing directly toward the palace.

***

Though the skirmish continued, it didn’t last long. Calix approached a place one could only enter when achieving great merit — a place he could never set foot in unless it was in their interest.

“Stand down immediately!“

“What is the meaning of this…?”

The attendants blocked his way, but Logan cut them down before Calix could reach out.

“Aagh!”

As several lives vanished like dust, the ladies-in-waiting screamed and scattered into the corners.

“Seize the Emperor and the royal family. Find out where Eliana is immediately.”

At Calix’s command, soldiers infiltrated every corner of the palace. Once so lofty and unaffected by events outside, this place quickly became a scene of chaos.

“The Emperor and Empress are here!”

A voice soon announced the whereabouts of the royal family in the Emperor’s office on the second floor of the main palace.

The ornate golden door was already wide open. When Calix entered, he saw the Emperor, Empress, and Princess Cynthia gathered like trapped animals.

“You! Calix Vartica! You insolent scum!”

The Emperor Davon shouted as he rose at the sight of Calix.

“I spared your life out of pity for your father’s pleas, yet you dare to defy me!“

Calix’s eyes flashed with a savage glint at his words. The merciless red of his gaze was enough to send a chill down the Emperor’s spine. He bore no resemblance to the late Duke Vartica, known for his good character.

When Emperor Davon had last met Duke Vartica, he had offered a sincere warning that eradicating corruption was the way to a better palace.

Yet, enraged and preemptively fearful, Davon had ordered his execution.

His past returned, embodied by Duke Vartica’s son, whose sword was now pointed at his throat.

“So, should I be grateful that you killed my parents and spared my life?“

“What, what are you saying!“

“You killed my father and mother, yet you dare to speak like that.“

“Your… father betrayed me. He was of royal bl＊＊d yet dared to reveal my flaws. He deserved death!”

The Emperor’s lips quivered as he desperately tried to justify his actions.

Calix stared at the Emperor, who showed no remorse for the past. His red eyes exuded a coldness devoid of any mercy.

In the wake of his family’s destruction, Calix had clung to life by holding on to the shattered remnants of his happiness. Trapped in the darkness, he’d thought he’d never find a way out.

Yet the Emperor, who had made him this way, remained brazenly unrepentant. He was no different from the Emperor’s own son.

“Fine. Since you killed my father and mother, I’ll kill you and your family. Isn’t that fair?“

“You lunatic!”

Empress Heather couldn’t hold back her scream. Her life, always splendid and one she thought would last forever, now hung by a thread in the presence of Calix, who stood like a lion ready to strike. She knew he wouldn’t spare any of the royals.

“Do something, Your Majesty, please. We can’t die like this! Is there no one out there?”

Empress Heather pleaded with the Emperor, then shouted toward the outside, at a loss. She was flailing in terror, unable to think of what to do. Frustrated by the Emperor’s inaction, she tried to lunge at Calix, but Logan instantly struck her down.

“Ugh.”

Empress Heather collapsed onto the floor.