Chapter 134

46. Light the Bonfire! (4K)

After such a major incident, the audience should have scattered and fled.

However... they were stubbornly still sitting there—no one intended to run!

Whether or not they could run was one thing.

On the other hand, today’s audience weren’t commoners.

They were nobles from various countries.

They knew well that even if there was turmoil, no matter who won or lost, no one would dare to harm them. After all, who would be foolish enough to offend so many nations at once?

Of course, there was another more important reason—the Demon Clan audience on the other side was all waiting to watch the Human Clan make a fool of themselves.

“Hahaha, don’t you Humans always pride yourselves on ‘political stability’ and ‘benevolent kings and respectful subjects’? Why is it that the moment we show up, you're already having a coup?”

Hearing such ridicule, the Human nobles naturally fumed with anger, and their inexplicable stubbornness made them choose to hold their ground to the end.

None of you are leaving, huh? Then we won’t leave either!

That being said—

At this moment, every noble from the Kingdom of Aurus likely had their hearts clenched with anxiety.

Especially the high-ranking nobles.

If this truly was a coup, then the outcome of this struggle would be closely tied to their futures—and even their very lives...

......................................

“Milh, you fool… To make such an outrageous decision. It’s not too late to pull back now.”

“Oh? Could it be that Father can’t see the situation clearly anymore—have your old eyes gone dim?”

“......”

Milh, the Kingdom’s Second Prince, was usually timid and cautious. He would always think twice before speaking, even with the King or anyone else.

And looking now at his arrogant, excited, and insolent second son before him, King Celt Aurus sighed inwardly.

Everything in this world—truly, you may know a man’s face but not his heart...

Milh and Firex quickly exchanged a glance. It was brief—but seemed to signal they were waiting for something.

Livra noticed this detail and quietly shifted a little toward the empty seat beside her...

In fact, when Milh walked over to Firex, his brothers and sisters had all been stunned, unable to believe that the usually silent Milh harbored rebellious intent.

And when they heard his disrespectful tone toward the King, confirming it...

As royal siblings, they grew anxious and naturally hurried to dissuade him!

“Brother, you’re truly being foolish! Colluding with that dog from the Theocracy—how could this possibly end well for you? Stop now! It’s not too late to confess your wrongs to Father!”

“That’s right, Brother! What are you doing? You’ll throw the Kingdom into chaos, and in the end, won’t it be that Theocracy that benefits?! You’ve been duped!”

Duped?

Heh...

Milh’s disdainful gaze swept across these brothers and sisters.

In the end, it landed on Livra, who had remained silent.

His eyes, already filled with contempt, now showed even deeper loathing.

Everyone was trying to persuade him—except her.

Why was it that she was always the exception...

Why was it that she was always the most special...

Livra blinked her large emerald eyes, looking completely innocent.

Whimper... She hadn’t spoken up because she knew it wouldn’t help anyway.

Second Brother had already taken things too far. From the moment he stood and walked over to Firex’s side, he had doomed himself—it was no longer possible for him to be forgiven just by admitting fault.

Since he could no longer be forgiven, and since he had come prepared, it meant that no matter what anyone said now, he would not come to his senses.

And that was exactly the truth.

Milh swept aside the golden fringe from his forehead with one hand, tilted his head slightly upward, and looked toward the endless, deep black night, letting out one cold laugh after another.

“Ha... hahaha... That’s right, Father. You say I’m foolish... say I’m wrong... but are you really that righteous? If you were truly so great... then go ahead, lead the Human Clan and drive the Demon Clan back! Do you think we don’t know? You say the war is over, yet the Demon Clan army is still stationed at Aurus’s borders. The threat has never gone away.”

His tone grew fiercer, but King Celt’s mindset was now different from his son’s—he wouldn’t be so easily provoked.

Besides... he needed to buy some time, to let the Kingdom’s stationed troops in the Royal Capital arrive and help the Wright Family break through the encirclement.

“Milh... you are still young. You don’t understand that the way of war is not something that can be resolved overnight. This very tournament... is an effort toward peace.”

“Oh? So Father, you do remember that I’m still young?”

“What do you mean by that.”

“My elder brother is also young. Filled with righteous fury, he’s killed countless enemies, and what did you do? Silently sent him to the frontier to fight battles for the rest of his life, didn’t you... My third brother is even younger, and haven’t you already decided to assign him to manage the Royal Library in the Capital? And I’m young too... yet you’ve never once looked me in the eye.”

Milh had wanted to say all this for a long time.

As a prince, he should never have had to participate in a gladiatorial tournament just to establish merit through cheating. But it was all because he was never given any other means to prove himself.

He had suggestions for the war effort—but never once was he allowed to properly speak his mind in the palace.

You said I still had plenty of opportunities?

But I’m nearly thirty already.

You say I’m one of the crown prince candidates? But every official in court, and even the commoners, already know that the next king’s name is certain to be Livra!

The more he spoke, the more frenzied the look in his eyes became—spiraling out of control.

His finger pointed directly at Livra. The way he gritted his teeth, there was already a distinct murderous intent in his expression.

“You handed every future opportunity to that damned girl! Why?! Just because she causes trouble? Just because she breaks the rules and sneaks out of the palace every day to play her little game of ‘punishing evil and upholding justice’? Just because she acted like an idiot for years after she was born, barely able to speak clearly? If you really think that’s reason enough to strip away my future, Father, then you are gravely mistaken!”

“Brother, I...!” Livra tried to say something.

“Shut up!”

“......”

See?

When Livra didn’t want to speak, he wouldn’t allow it.

Now that Livra did want to speak, he wouldn’t let her.

“None of you are saying anything. But deep down, you think the same way, don’t you...” Milh was nearly completely unhinged now. He swept his gaze over the royal family present, raising his voice in accusation. “You all clearly feel the same way I do... so why hold it in?! Come on, side with me! Once I become King... I’ll give you all better treatment! After all, blood is thicker than water, right? Come on... Why don’t you?!”

The royal siblings remained silent, in a way that suggested they could understand where Milh was coming from.

Indeed... Father had gone too far in this regard. His praise for Livra was utterly unrestrained. Even though he was the King, this kind of favoritism was not so different from how ordinary parents doted on a favorite child.

However...

What Milh didn’t know was that even if his siblings shared some of his feelings, they each had a line they would not cross.

—As members of the royal family, they were fundamentally different from ordinary households.

In common families, when favoritism caused conflict, even if someone got hurt, they could patch things up after a few apologies.

But for royalty... if we failed to suppress our impulsive anger and truly clashed, it would not just be personal injury—it could harm countless families, even topple the entire nation.

And frankly—

Livra really was stronger than the rest of us.

“You damned fool...” The hot-headed First Prince, Yasen, couldn’t hold back any longer. “If you were really that capable... why didn’t you step forward during the negotiations with the Demon Clan Princess?! Now you want to act like a hero... I’ll beat you to death!”

“Yasen!”

The King tried to stop him, but Yasen’s rage had already reached its peak.

He swung his fist straight toward Milh’s face. With the strength of a Fifth-Rank warrior, if the blow landed, it might not leave him disfigured, but it would surely knock out all his teeth.

Milh’s expression turned panicked—he hadn’t expected his elder brother to actually come and hit him!

But then...

“Urgh!”

“Oh my, oh my... terribly sorry, just didn’t know where to put my leg.”

As Firex’s strangely affected voice trailed off, Yasen had already slammed face-first into the ground. The royal family members cried out in concern, but he didn’t respond.

—After all, the moment he collapsed, he had already been knocked unconscious by a strike to the neck.

Firex stroked his long, slender beard, withdrew the leg that had tripped Yasen, and looked at the King with narrowed eyes and a smug smile.

“Actually, I’ve dabbled in a bit of physical training and magic—not much, not much~ just at the Eighth Rank, that’s all. With Your Majesty’s divine foresight, surely you had already anticipated this?”

“You’ve hidden yourself well...”

People like Firex were the most terrifying kind of opponent.

He usually acted ordinary, so frail it seemed like he might trip while walking—but in reality, he had already prepared for everything.

Milh, still shaken, looked at his fallen elder brother. Gradually, a cold smirk returned to his face.

“Whew... Very good, very good, Firex. I truly didn’t choose the wrong partner—you did well.”

“Haha, Your Highness Milh, thank you for your praise. However... since you’re aware that this is a ‘partnership’, and since His Majesty is also present, I now need to confirm your sincerity in this collaboration.”

There was a hard-to-read darkness in the depths of Firex’s eyes, but on the surface, his expression remained respectful as he faced Milh.

“Once everything is done, I’ll rally the Kingdom’s high-ranking nobles to place their troops under your command.”

“Can you do that?”

“Of course. Once the old king is dead and the new king is established, with the authority of the Holy Theocracy of Coreia, I’ll issue the call, and the high nobles will make the wise choice. As for Your Highness...”

Firex’s gaze sharpened as he raised the long-agreed point once more.

“When you become the new King, do you remember the key line you’ll recite in your oath?”

“Hahaha! Of course! I’ll declare to the entire nation—‘Everything that happened today was my own doing. All the reinforcements that came today were summoned by me personally and have no connection to the Holy Theocracy of Coreia!’”

“Ah, as expected of Your Highness—you remember it so well. Ah... but I truly believe that’s the truth. After all, it was Your Highness’s achievement. The Holy Theocracy of Coreia would never dare to steal credit from you.”

“Tch.”

Milh wasn’t a fool. He could clearly see that Firex’s condition was meant to ensure the Theocracy could wash its hands of the affair—so that this entire upheaval could be officially labeled as Aurus’s internal conflict.

After all, if the Holy Theocracy of Coreia were implicated, it would be seen as interfering in another nation’s internal affairs. The Demon Clan would seize the opportunity to claim a justification for war—even the higher races might not sit idly by.

Even so—

Milh still wanted to gamble everything.

It didn’t matter...

Once he held control of the Kingdom, everything would be negotiable.

By now, even the usually composed King Celt had widened his eyes in disbelief.

“Milh, how could you be so foolish...! Do you really think the Theocracy is helping you out of generosity?! They want to make you a puppet! They want total control of the Kingdom! You—!”

As the King spoke, two knights behind him collapsed in unison.

Firex had knocked them unconscious with a magic blast—a “warning,” of sorts, to the King.

“Oh dear... good thing I didn’t miss. Your Majesty, please refrain from speaking recklessly... His Holiness the Pope has never harbored such intentions. What you’re saying could seriously affect the friendship between our two nations.”

“You...!”

“It’s about time.”

Firex took an Amplification Crystal from his robes and handed it to Milh.

“Your Highness, the time has come. The grandest segment of this gathering... is about to begin.”

“All right.”

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