Ch.151The Declining Imperial Family (22)

No matter how strong one’s abilities were, they were meaningless before this power.

Was it because they underestimated someone from 1,000 years ago?

Or was it because they had such overwhelming power that they looked down on everything in the world?

Either way, the fact that it was already too late remained unchanged.

“Sis…ter?”

Amelia’s pupils were empty. There was no response even when he waved his hand.

She slowly turned her head to look at Damon. She faced Damon’s expressionless face.

“Give her back.”

The mana in the air responded to Ruide’s intense emotions. There was an anxious feeling that it might explode if disturbed even slightly.

At the very least, Damon would know what would happen if that occurred. The amount of magical power sleeping inside that small blonde boy was immeasurable. If he lost control of his magic in this situation, no one would survive.

Nevertheless, Damon remained calm.

“Have you not yet grasped the situation?”

“……”

“With just one word from me, even you cannot refuse my commands.”

“If that were possible, you would have done it already.”

Ruide’s eyes burned blue.

“Isn’t that right?”

“You seem to be misunderstanding something—”

Damon stood directly in front of Ruide, looking down at him.

“Under this sky, there exists no being who can defy the imperial family. Until now, I’ve held back simply because I felt no need to act.”

Damon flicked his finger at Amelia.

Amelia slightly bowed her head, then moved to stand beside Damon.

“…Tell me what you want.”

“My most cherished hunting dog has bitten its master.”

Damon stroked Amelia’s cheek.

Ruide increasingly felt the emotion of anger.

It was a great anger, like his chest might burst into flames—something he had never felt before in this world.

“Normally, disposal would be appropriate, but that’s troublesome. I truly like this hunting dog. Even in this moment when it bites its master.”

Damon arrogantly raised one corner of his mouth.

“Withdraw your entire army immediately. Though by ‘entire army,’ I mean just you and your two maids.”

Hearing those words, Ruide’s head cooled down.

‘Something’s strange.’

Thinking rationally, it made sense.

If Damon truly had the ability to control everyone, he wouldn’t need to use Amelia—he could simply use his power directly on Ruide.

But Damon deliberately used Amelia.

“…And if I refuse?”

Ruide asked to test Damon.

“I don’t want to witness such tearful sibling fighting myself.”

That was the moment suspicion became certainty.

What Damon should have said here was, ‘I’ll use my power on you too.’

‘Which one is lying?’

Something was hidden behind the hazy fog.

There were two possibilities.

Either he wasn’t sure if his power would work on Ruide—

Or Amelia wasn’t being controlled from the beginning.

Ruide looked at Amelia.

She was staring into space with an emotionless face.

Come to think of it, that couldn’t be proof of the power. Amelia could be acting if she wanted to.

‘What if I put them both to sleep and take Amelia away?’

It was something he could do with just a blink of an eye. He could figure out the details later.

Ruide had many options.

But—

Ruide didn’t want to take risks with Amelia.

“Rosalie.”

Rosalie responded with an expressionless face.

“Yes.”

“Prepare to return.”

Something flashed in Rosalie’s eyes. An emotion close to disappointment. It was just for a moment, but Ruide, who was currently in a very sensitive state, could tell.

“Everything according to your wishes, young master.”

“You heard that? She can’t lie. Because she’s a vampire.”

Ruide took a light deep breath.

“Now return Amelia to normal.”

“Unbelievable. Would you believe me if you were in my position?”

Ruide bit his lip.

“This isn’t what we discussed.”

“Hmph, that’s rich coming from someone who could erase the Empire with a single word. What if you change your mind as soon as I return her?”

“…I won’t do that. I don’t lie.”

“That’s the easiest lie in the world.”

Damon grinned. Then he moved Amelia behind him.

“I’ll take good care of the hostage, so don’t worry.”

“…If anything happens to Amelia, I’ll kill you. Not just you, but the Empire you’re trying to protect.”

“That’s the most vicious thing I’ve heard yet.”

“I assure you, if I set my mind to it, you won’t be able to protect anything.”

Damon shrugged.

“Don’t be like that. Do you think I want to be at odds with a genius like you? Just understand that I have no choice right now.”

Damon turned around, putting one hand in his pocket and casually waving with the other.

“Once I determine that everyone has completely withdrawn, I’ll send her back. As you wish, in the same state as before I used my power.”

No one feels good when they have to move according to someone else’s wishes.

Ruide was no exception.

He quietly closed his eyes to calm the fiery emotion swirling in his chest.

‘I just need to endure this. Stopping the war. This is a reasonable demand that Damon can make. I should be grateful there’s no damage.’

He decided to think positively.

Amelia was family.

Even if it was just possession—

She was more precious to Ruide than anyone.

“I’ve been watching Ruide for quite some time.”

As Damon’s presence faded, Rosalie spoke.

“From when you were a baby until now.”

Ruide slowly opened his eyes. Looking up, he met Rosalie’s cold red eyes staring down at him.

“Your capabilities exceed any Windsor. Beyond magical talent, you have insight to see situations clearly.”

“I’m tired. Let’s go back.”

Not wanting to hear a lecture, Ruide turned his back.

But Rosalie didn’t follow. She just stood there, speaking.

“Young master has always looked at the world with more intuitive eyes than anyone else. There aren’t many humans like that.”

“Sleeping when you’re tired is intuitive. And I’m tired now, so I’m going to sleep.”

Making a light joke while glancing at Rosalie, Ruide froze in that position.

When humans breathe, their shoulders move slightly. Actually, any animal would do the same.

Rosalie was no exception. Her shoulders always moved very slightly when she spoke. But now they weren’t moving at all.

Ruide realized for the first time.

Vampires don’t breathe.

“It’s the same this time. Surely Ruide knows. That something is strange. If the First Emperor’s power was really that convenient, there’s no reason such a greedy human would have remained idle until now.”

“What are you trying to say?”

Ruide didn’t expect to say this line twice today.

“Young master is always passive. Your personality is indecisive, and you’re afraid of even small failures, so you don’t try to do anything. That’s why you cannot become the head of the family. Not because you lack talent with the sword, but because of that personality—no matter how excellent you are, you cannot become the head.”

“…Are you picking a fight? You don’t need to tell me what everyone in this world already knows.”

Suddenly, Ruide recalled that his personality quite matched the original ‘lazy Ruide.’

After all, he had never once heard the phrase “your personality has changed lately” that possession victims inevitably experience.

“But it didn’t matter. Just because your personality has some flaws doesn’t mean your ability as a weapon is diminished.”

“You’re seriously crossing the line.”

Ruide ruffled his hair.

He was already in a bad mood, and now Rosalie was irritating him further.

“Hey, what did you just say?”

“Until now, it didn’t matter. If you had just followed Irene’s words well. Even being manipulated by humans far inferior to yourself—though pathetic, I would have endured it. As I always have.”

“What?”

He frowned, sensing something was wrong.

That’s when it happened.

White smoke of unknown origin filled the world.

“The history of the Windsors is quite long. As long as that period, the grudge that Mains hold against the Windsors runs deep.”

‘Dangerous.’

Ruide’s pupils trembled.

A powerful magical force he had never felt before.

More precisely, he sensed the presence of a ‘powerful being.’

It felt as if a dragon, extinct for a thousand years, had reappeared.

“Confronting the Windsors head-on is meaningless. After all, they’re overwhelming against any being. Even Victoria Windsor alone possesses the power to annihilate all Mains and magical beasts in the North.”

“What are you doing right now!”

Despite the hazy fog, Rosalie’s figure remained clear.

The problem was that she maintained perfect composure, as if she had expected this.

“That’s why the magical beasts of the North have been thinking for a very long time. A way to check the Windsors. What could it be?”

“Illuminate—”

Ignoring Rosalie, Ruide began casting magic. First priority was to brighten his vision. The fog quickly began to clear.

‘Damn, this is too slow. If I could just see Amelia’s direction…’

He had a bad feeling. A premonition that something would happen to Amelia.

“Magical beasts think simply, so the solution that came to mind was also simple. But powerful.”

The fog was rising faster than Ruide could dispel it.

But gradually Ruide’s magic gained speed, reaching a point where the fog was clearing faster than it was forming.

‘Just a little more—’

“It was to find and persuade the only opponent who could stand against the Windsors. That subject was a dragon named Oppenheimer—”

The fog cleared.

Finally, what had been hidden by the fog became visible.

“Who happens to be Ruide Christopher Windsor’s biological father, the last dragon remaining in this world.”

Through the cleared fog, Ruide saw a scene as clear as if it were right in front of him.

The hand of a man in a black suit had pierced through Amelia’s abdomen.

Amelia’s silver plate mail was soaked with bright red blood beyond repair.

Thud—

Ruide’s heart sank deep underground.

The man pulled his hand out of Amelia’s abdomen, and blood gushed out.

Thud, thud—

His heart beat so fast it felt like it would burst.

Amelia falling sideways with her eyes open looked like slow motion.

Thud, thud, thud.

That was—the last scene Ruide remembered.

Ruide lost his reason.