Chapter 73

It was only after Astell collapsed that the hunters finally gathered around.

“Gasp! I think she’s unconscious!”

“Look at this. Her arm… it’s broken.”

“Her face is a mess, too… She must have been in so much pain.”

“The pain must have been enough to make her pass out.”

“Would she really go this far just for power? There’s no reason to fight monsters this fiercely, is there?”

“I think… we’ve made a huge mistake.”

They were the ones who had abandoned her and joined Bluebird.

Worse, the emperor had not only branded her a power-hungry villainess but had also thrown her in prison.

Just who had Astell been fighting for? No one here deserved her protection.

Pushing through the solemn hunters, Johan approached Astell.

“Lady Astell…”

Seeing her pale face, he couldn’t help but sigh.

He cupped her cheek and brought his face close to hers.

“Hooo…”

A sacred breath.

The blood trickling from Astell’s mouth and nose slowly stopped.

Her swollen cheek and eye, which had made her look like someone else, returned to their normal state.

Next, he carefully took hold of her broken arm. He then gently pressed his lips to the cloth that had been roughly tied around it.

Soon, a brilliant light enveloped her arm.

The arm mended without a trace of the break, but Astell did not wake.

Dante lifted the limp Astell into his arms and stood up. But Alex blocked his path.

“Your Highness, I’ll take her.”

“No.”

“…She’s my sister.”

“She’s my lover.”

Alex clenched his jaw.

*You’re just a fake, how dare you act like her real lover!*

If the constellations weren’t holding him back, telling him to endure, he would have thrown a punch.

Alex growled in a low, sunken voice.

“Have you forgotten that His Majesty threw my sister in prison?”

What had Dante done when the emperor imprisoned Astell? Hadn’t he just watched as if it were someone else’s problem?

For him to act the part of a lover now was nothing short of disgusting.

Alex practically snatched Astell away from him.

“I will be the one to carry her.”

Dante lowered his now-empty arms and let out a smirk.

“Well now, I’ve lost.”

It was a bizarre smile, like a beast forcing its facial muscles to mimic a human.

Alex frowned, an instinctive sense of unease washing over him.

He used to not care what Dante did, but now, even the sound of his breathing was grating.

Why did Astell have to pretend to be the lover of a guy like that?

*All he has going for him is his face.*

He hated everything about this place.

He hated Dante, he hated the hunters, and he wanted to kill the emperor.

To think Astell had ended up in this state after struggling alone to protect such worthless people.

The absurdity of it all made his blood boil.

“Your Majesty, where will my sister be staying? Prison?”

The emperor flinched at the murderous intent in his voice.

He wasn’t oblivious. Throwing Astell back in prison now would be the worst possible move.

“…I will permit her to return home.”

“Yes.”

Alex shot a cold glare at the hunters before turning his back.

No one dared to stop him.

* * *

In the garden, after everyone had left.

The emperor’s chamberlain approached Dante, who was drinking alone.

“Your Highness, His Majesty summons you.”

“To where?”

“…The Red Room.”

“He’s still got plenty of energy. Alright.”

As Dante finished his drink and stood up, the chamberlain stopped him.

“Your… Your Highness, His Majesty is greatly angered. So today, please, please…”

“Behave myself?”

“…”

“That’s strange. When have I ever defied him?”

“…My apologies.”

Dante walked past the chamberlain with an air of indifference.

Entering the main castle, he stood before the fireplace in a bedroom.

With summer approaching, the fireplace had been swept clean.

He pressed a spot on one side of the fireplace, and a section of the wall slid back, revealing a staircase leading down.

It was a secret passage that only the royal family could use.

Descending the stairs, he entered a long corridor.

Though it was clearly meant as an escape route for emergencies, the space felt lived-in, as if it had been used just yesterday.

Of the two doors before him, Dante entered the one painted blood-red.

It was a strange place.

Inside the dim room, instruments of unknown purpose hung on the walls, and in the center stood a large, cross-shaped wooden rack.

In this place that looked more like a torture chamber than a shelter, there was one incongruous object.

An elegant lectern, and upon it, a thick, ancient tome lay open.

「…By the hand of an undying being, Taikan shall meet its ruin.」

It was the final sentence of the secret book of prophecies, passed down through the Taikan imperial family for generations.

Dante stood beside it and slowly removed his shirt.

The light illuminated a body woven with dense muscle, without a single scar.

Now half-naked, he fastened the cuffs hanging next to the lectern onto his own wrists. Then, standing before the rack, he raised his arms and locked the cuffs in place above him.

How much time passed while he stood like that?

Finally, the door burst open.

The emperor, flushed with drink. He strode forward and, without a word, struck Dante across the face.

*Smack!*

“You insolent bastard! There’s a limit to how much you can humiliate me! Declaring your surrender there? Did you really think you could get away with such a thing unscathed?!”

Dante turned his head back to the front. Blood trickled from his split lip.

“If I’m going to be punished no matter what I do, there’s no point in trying.”

“What? Do you think you can spew such excuses just because you have a mouth?!”

“Hmm, it seems you hear an excuse. I’m being sincere.”

“Will you shut that mouth!”

*Smack!*

“When the second gate opened, I gave you a clear order! To get into the rankings, no matter what!”

The emperor, whose shouts had been echoing through the room, grabbed a bottle of liquor from the table and drank straight from it.

“But now the third gate has passed, and you’re still the same! Why haven’t you managed to enter the rankings, I ask you!”

“What’s the point of any of that? I’m going to join Astell’s guild.”

“Do you think I would ever permit such a thing!”

“It doesn’t matter if you permit it or not. Nothing you do will change my mind.”

The emperor glared at Dante, his eyes narrowed to slits.

“Are you telling me you’re actually in love with the princess?”

Dante smiled faintly. His white teeth were stained with blood, creating a smile that was both grotesque and alluring.

“Of course. Your Majesty has no idea how much I love her.”

“Do you think I’d believe that?”

The relaxed smile on Dante’s lips slowly faded.

“A monster like you, devoid of emotion, loving someone? How truly amusing.”

After laughing his fill, he approached Dante and whispered quietly.

“Did the princess confess her love to you? Did she whisper sweet nothings and ask you to join the Guardians?”

“…”

“You must have been swayed. Having never been loved, how enchanting that warmth must have felt. But!”

The emperor paused and grabbed Dante’s chin.

“Did you know? The princess asked me to choose you as the crown prince. Do you know what that means?”

“…”

“The princess doesn’t love you; she wants to become the crown princess. That cunning bitch whispered false love for the sake of her own power.”

“…”

“Even if the princess truly did love you, it would change nothing. The moment she learns that a monster hides beneath this perfect skin, she will leave you.”

Dante silently averted his gaze.

His expression remained unchanged, but the emperor could easily tell. Dante was anxious.

The emperor tapped Dante’s red, swollen cheek.

“Tsk, tsk, you pitiful thing. Why did you let yourself be mistaken? As if anyone could ever love a monster like you.”

“…”

“Son, change your mind now. That is, if you want to keep your true nature hidden from the princess.”

It was a threat: if he continued to be stubborn, he would reveal Dante’s identity to Astell.

“And break up with the princess. That wench will only bring you pain.”

Dante’s eyes, which had been wandering toward the floor, slowly lifted to fix on the emperor.

“Pain from her, you say? The very thought is ecstatic.”

At Dante’s reply, the emperor’s expression turned frigid.

“…You perverse bastard, how dare you!”

“I’ve heard that one a lot.”

“Shut up! I don’t know what you’re thinking, but you are to take charge of Bluebird! I will not permit you to join the Guardians!”

“I seem to recall hearing that joining a guild was a matter of free choice…”

As Dante muttered as if to himself, the emperor ground his teeth.

“…Fine. We’ll see if you feel the same way by the time you leave this room.”

The emperor went to a display case and took out a rod. It was thick and made of hard wood.

Holding the rod, the emperor smiled cruelly.

“It’s time to tame the monster. Stand straight.”

“Don’t wear yourself out. You have state affairs to attend to tomorrow.”

“Shut up!”

The emperor struck Dante’s body with the rod.

A greater impact landed on the spot that had just been hit.

According to the secret prophecy, a being who would destroy the Taikan Empire would be born—a monster that could not be killed, even in death.

The emperor knew the monster’s identity.

It was his second son, Dante, who had been born dead with the umbilical cord wrapped around his neck, only to come back to life.

From that moment on, Dante was no longer his son. He was merely a monster to be killed before he destroyed their family.

But Dante’s life force was stubbornly persistent. No matter how much he was beaten or starved, he would not die.

And how keenly he sensed killing intent.

Countless assassins had been sent after him, but he dealt with them all with ease. It was likely due to his abilities as a swordmaster.

*For a monster…*

The emperor glared at Dante and grit his teeth.

*This thing can’t be human!*

A human would surely scream if they were beaten until they were dripping with blood.

Not only that, but no matter how severe his injuries were, they would disappear without a trace after a short time.

How could such a being possibly be human?

“You disgusting thing! You devil’s spawn! You’re not human! You’re a monster! A monster!”

The sound of the blows continued for a long time after that.