Ch.230230. Revenge

# Prince Rahul Zerman’s Rebellion

Prince Rahul, who had taken troops to defeat a large monster, surrounded the royal palace.

He deployed the formation they had practiced for fighting the large monster to instead restrict movement throughout the entire palace.

For the 2nd Prince Rehul in particular, the situation was utterly confusing.

He had planned to frame them as rebels, kill the 1st Prince, and arrest them all.

But as if the 1st Prince had anticipated his accusation of rebellion, he actually started a rebellion.

“Why?”

Even in this urgent situation, the most perplexing thing was the reason why the 1st Prince staged a coup. As the eldest son, wasn’t he already closest to the throne?

He could have simply waited and sat on the golden throne that everyone desired, enjoying absolute power.

Why on earth?

For what reason?

Despite these questions, Rehul somehow gathered his wits and raised his sword.

“Rebellion! The 1st Prince Rahul has committed rebellion!”

The 1st Prince, who was to be falsely branded a rebel, had simply become a real rebel.

Thinking of it that way actually lightened 2nd Prince Rehul’s heart somewhat.

He now had no reservations about killing his own blood.

‘This is actually better.’

Yes, thinking this, 2nd Prince Rehul moved with his generals to eliminate 1st Prince Rahul.

The situation was disadvantageous—movement was difficult due to the deployed formation, and he hadn’t brought many troops.

But all he needed to do was buy time.

Besides, it would all be over once he cut down the 1st Prince as the focal point.

The princes were all quite skilled in combat, and the 1st and 2nd princes were evenly matched.

‘The righteousness is on our side anyway.’

2nd Prince Rehul, not missing his advantage, infused his voice with mana and shouted loudly.

“How could you betray divine loyalty and justice to commit such an unfilial act! I am truly ashamed to call you a fellow prince!”

There was no need to show respect to the eldest son who had already become a rebel leader.

He thought that condemning and criticizing the rebels as villains would lower their morale.

But the response from 1st Prince Rahul was nothing short of shocking.

“You made me this way, brother! Were you so greedy for the throne that you would frame your own brother as a rebel!”

“…What?”

It was like being struck hard on the back of the head with a blunt object. How on earth did his brother know about his plan?

Unable to comprehend, he let out a gasp.

How?

Just as the word was about to naturally slip from his tongue.

2nd Prince Rehul remembered a girl’s face. His heart sank, and he quickly turned his head.

At one side of the palace.

Despite the late dawn, there was a blonde girl resting her chin on the windowsill, looking down at the scene.

“Elenoa!”

Even as he recognized the culprit and lamented his own foolishness, it was too late to explain everything to his brother.

1st Prince Rahul was already a traitor.

He wouldn’t stop until he either died or claimed the throne.

Even though he realized who had orchestrated this, that realization was utterly useless.

This filled 2nd Prince Rehul with unbearable regret.

* * *

“Hmm.”

Elenoa, who had been waiting for this moment, sipped the tea she had prepared earlier.

The Kingdom of Zerman was near a desert, so the tea leaves weren’t very good. They lacked depth of flavor.

In any case, it wasn’t to Elenoa’s taste.

But with such a spectacle to watch, the taste of the tea hardly mattered.

The 1st and 2nd princes swung their swords at each other. Even though they realized they had fallen into Elenoa’s trap, it was already too late.

Rahul had committed treason, and Rehul couldn’t back down either.

Anyone would wonder:

Why did the 1st Prince stage a rebellion?

“Because of the 2nd Prince Rehul.”

It was none other than because of the 2nd Prince.

Just as the 2nd Prince had been wary of the 1st Prince, the 1st Prince had also been uncomfortable with the 2nd Prince’s connections to military generals and mages.

Nevertheless, he thought there would be no problem if this operation succeeded.

Despite hearing that it might be difficult to execute in the desert, he had practiced repeatedly and thought it would work.

Even Elenoa had assured him that he could definitely succeed.

But if asked whether he had staked everything on that alone, the answer would be no.

Since Rahul was determined to keep his position as 1st Prince, he had already devised a contingency plan in case of failure.

That plan was to retreat immediately.

It might sound ridiculous, but for 1st Prince Rahul, who had already commanded the first subjugation, this was the best option.

He couldn’t fail twice.

So Rahul had firmly resolved to retreat, humiliating as it might be.

When Elenoa heard this…

She was convinced she could use it.

That’s why she warned 1st Prince Rahul:

‘Retreating itself is a good strategy, but someone might exploit it.’

‘Someone might pin false charges on you as you retreat.’

Elenoa deliberately targeted 2nd Prince Rehul with her advice, though she didn’t mention him by name.

The 1st Prince immediately realized his vulnerability when he heard this.

He had already committed to the monster subjugation and couldn’t escape.

If he retreated without defeating the monster and 2nd Prince Rehul branded him a traitor?

The military leadership—generals and mages—were already supporting the 2nd Prince.

If the 2nd Prince really did exploit his retreat in such a way, the 1st Prince had only one option left:

To actually stage a rebellion.

So when the 1st Prince returned after retreating and sensed something was wrong,

he immediately launched the rebellion as he had already decided.

The soldiers had no choice but to tearfully follow the 1st Prince. They had been fully briefed when they went to the desert, and staying passive would only lead to execution as rebels.

‘The 2nd Prince didn’t know.’

In fact, even before the 2nd Prince had planned to frame the 1st Prince as a rebel, the 1st Prince had already been guarding against the 2nd Prince’s schemes.

“If the 2nd Prince hadn’t accepted the operation, the 1st Prince wouldn’t have rebelled.”

The princes’ struggle, each following the other’s tail, had begun under the name of rebellion.

Not a small number of lives would be lost, and the floor of the Zerman royal palace would be soaked with blood.

For the princess of the Griffin Kingdom, simply causing confusion among them was valuable enough.

“…”

Yes, that’s what she had thought.

But now, watching the massacre unfolding under her wisdom, a strange sensation rose within her.

Why?

‘What is this?’

Why did I create such a scene?

Of course, it was to cause confusion in the Kingdom of Zerman. To create discord around the succession rights, form factions, and make them take sides.

Clearly, her actions would cause significant damage to the Kingdom of Zerman.

Since neither side could cleanly suppress the other by force.

But.

‘Did I really need to go this far?’

Screams erupted.

In the dawn sky, groans filled with injustice and pain, shouts stained with anger and hatred.

As Elenoa could take in the entire battlefield at a glance, watching their combat made her feel as if their heat and excitement were being transmitted to her.

No.

That was madness.

By now, they had abandoned rational judgment and were swinging their swords solely with the madness of wanting to kill their opponent.

All of this scenery, this breathtaking tragedy.

She had created it.

Elenoa felt a sense of déjà vu.

No matter how many times she thought about it, she couldn’t understand.

Why?

Why did I do such a thing?

Certainly, striking a blow against the foreign Kingdom of Zerman was good, but was it necessary to go this far?

She had come to negotiate regarding the Republic of Clark, and the negotiations had gone well.

Afterward, they shook hands and smiled at each other, maintaining a cordial relationship at least on the surface.

But why?

The question of “why” continued like falling dominoes.

A question that started from one point spread into multiple branches.

Why did the princes show goodwill toward her?

Why did the princes suddenly start fighting over succession rights?

Why did the princes come to her, a foreign princess, and reveal so much information?

Why?

Why?

Why?

“Princess Elenoa!”

Lost in questions, Elenoa suddenly found 3rd Prince Serhul grabbing her shoulders and shaking her.

She didn’t know when he had entered the room, but he was drenched in sweat and looked like he was about to cry—quite different from his usual cool expression.

“Snap out of it! You’ve been manipulated by a demon!”

“…What?”

What does that mean?

Elenoa couldn’t understand at all, but 3rd Prince Serhul continued to explain something in a disorganized manner.

“It wasn’t like this originally! I thought only my brothers were under that vicious demon’s spell! But that wasn’t it! You too! You were also under his magic!”

“What? Ma-magic? Demon?”

“There’s no time to explain! He’s trying to kill all my brothers! I need your wisdom! I have no way to resolve this situation!”

Elenoa couldn’t understand what the 3rd Prince was saying.

But considering that her actions so far had been excessive and not very convincing in their reasoning…

She now realized that something was definitely wrong.

“We must stop Brother Rahul and Brother Rehul! They’ll end up killing each other!”

But.

Elenoa could only shake her head.

There was no way for the two princes, caught in her trap and slashing at each other, to both survive.

“There isn’t one.”

The rebellion had already begun, and in the end, only one would survive.

If 1st Prince Rahul survived, a massive purge would create a bloodbath.

Even the current king, King Ramahul, would struggle to preserve his life.

The least bloody path would be for 2nd Prince Rehul to suppress the rebellion.

“Ah…”

But that wasn’t what Serhul wanted to hear. He had believed there must be a way to save both his brothers.

Serhul’s expression darkened rapidly. He blamed himself for his entire family being manipulated by a demon.

“Serhul, please explain in detail. What are you talking about? A demon?”

“Claire’s General Store.”

At this unexpected mention, Elenoa could only tilt her head in confusion.

When Deus and Aria resolved the Claire’s General Store incident, she was already in the Kingdom of Zerman.

“I made a deal with a demon… there.”

Serhul looked as if his soul had been drained. He sighed and wanted to say something, but…

His body froze.

He couldn’t even blink, completely rigid. He had experienced this situation before.

Run away.

He wanted to shout to Elenoa, but his tongue was frozen and no words came out.

“Greetings, Princess Elenoa Luden Griffin.”

A man appeared behind Serhul with light, graceful steps.

White hair and a black suit.

Wearing white gloves, he was quite handsome.

Judging by his pale skin, he clearly wasn’t from the Kingdom of Zerman.

“I am Learic, the Great Demon of Deception.”

He also revealed his identity quite readily. Almost too simply, as if it didn’t matter.

But that was special treatment directed at the girl named Elenoa.

“Until Deus Verdi arrives, you will have to accompany me.”

The Great Demon’s pressure pierced through her entire body. Her instincts screamed that she must not disobey his words, but…

Elenoa had already encountered Great Demons in the Republic of Clark.

“Shut up!”

She drew up mana to strengthen her body.

Grabbing the frozen 3rd Prince Serhul by the neck, she dragged him toward the window.

Crash!

Throwing the frozen Serhul through the window was truly shocking.

Despite being on the fifth floor at a considerable height, Elenoa immediately jumped out the window.

The Great Demon didn’t pursue her.

He too realized that now was not the time to chase Elenoa.

Falling downward, Elenoa looked toward the entrance of the Zerman royal palace.

A chilling atmosphere emanated from there.

She didn’t know how he had made it through the desert with the large monster.

She didn’t know why he was here at this hour.

If someone asked how she knew…

It was because of love.

Falling downward, firmly gripping her skirt that was being blown upward by the wind, Elenoa shouted with a smile:

“Deus!”

Boom!

As the tightly closed main gate of the Kingdom of Zerman—shut to prevent news of the rebellion from spreading—was destroyed…

The Spiritmaster hastened his steps at this opportunity that had come once again.

The struggle unfolding before him didn’t even receive a momentary glance.

“Learic.”

Frowning at the stench of the Great Demon that assaulted his nostrils, his eyes quickly searched for the evil presence.