Chapter 301

Chapter 301

Translator: yun

“Pushover?”

He repeated innocently.

“Can I not call you that when you were buying an item at such an exorbitantly high price?”

Now I remembered. I helped him out since he looked like he was about to puncture a hole in his wallet.

“Right. I placed a blessing on you so that your impression of me would be vague but it seemed like you really didn’t recognise me.”

“It was too long ago.”

“But I remember you. That’s disappointing.”

He smiled before tilting his head. Seeing his carefree expression, I could feel my guard letting down.

“I had given you the desert princess’ necklace.”

“Did you recognise me back then?”

“Of course I did. How could I have not?”

No, if we hadn’t been in the North Tower, it would be like we were having afternoon tea.

“You’re my younger sister.”

“How could you be sure that I was your younger sister when you’ve never seen me before?”

Strictly speaking, we weren’t biologically related. The emperor did not have a daughter. He only had seven sons.

‘Of course, just because we don’t share blood, doesn’t mean we can’t be family.’

Moreover, perhaps because I remembered my previous life, I had taken a long time to consider Fleon my family. But there was no reason why I would be moved by a man who suddenly appeared before me, saying that I was his younger sister.

“Even though we’ve never met before, it doesn’t change things. I’ve always wanted to see you. But I never expected you to come here.”

“Why didn’t you come to see me since you wanted to?”

“Then Dane and Fleon would have hated me. I didn’t want to be hated by my brothers.”

Julian smiled gently.

“But I enjoy watching them protect you once in a while.”

The warm and gentle prince, whom I had only heard of, had shown me the truth.

Usually, rumours were exaggerated.

“Alright, why did you come to see me?”

Julian straightened his back. He had just shifted from leaning against his bed but even then, he looked elegant. This was where the little bonding session between unrelated siblings ended.

“I can’t stay here for long so I’ll get straight to the point. The emperor and Castor did not kill you off even though you were the mastermind behind the coup, why?”

“So, why did the emperor imprison me instead of executing me? Because he liked me.”

“... I’m not here to ask the obvious.”

Julian tilted his head.

“That’s strange. You might want to ask about His Majesty but why would you want to talk about Castor?”

His eyes that had narrowed seemed to have a strange glint for a moment.

“Or did you ask the wrong question?”

He leaned against a chair before staring at me.

“So what do you want to hear? Would you like to hear the truth I know?”

“The truth?”

I repeated after him.

‘She had made a wish upon the God of Death.’

For a moment, I was reminded of the crystal lying beneath the Empire. To transfer his soul to another body, he needs a powerful Templar of Death and a lot of divinity.

‘I know that the emperor had sacrificed templars to the crystal to provide for his divinity.’

That was how the current state of matters came to be. And it had been this way for the past 10 years at the very least.

But the state of the Empire remained.

And then.

“I am a Templar of Death.”

I spoke without realising.

“Auresia? Don’t tell me that’s the reason why Auresia is by the emperor’s side.”

Julian nodded.

“His Majesty had massacred all the Templars of Death at the time before bringing in the most powerful. And that was your mother, the 8th Queen.”

The strength of a Templar of Death was amplified by loss.

“It’s thanks to me that you haven’t gone mad.”

She told me I had the same powers as her because I was her daughter.

And that was why the emperor had been so obsessed with her. An escape from his old, dying body.

Because of what he wanted, the emperor had trampled all over a woman’s life. But it couldn’t have been just her. Victims who had been suffering for so long. There must be some who couldn’t even scream.

“From the love of a man with golden eyes. A rotten smell rose.”

Auresia, what could she have been thinking standing next to the emperor?

“Ashley. How do you intend to use the truth of the man who had failed in his coup?”

Slowly, he turned his head.

“Do you want to get out of here?”

Julian shook his head slowly.

“If I die, the living would lose hope. By keeping me alive, His Majesty was holding me hostage over all those that followed me. Even I have a hostage being held over my head.”

He calmly explained why he did not die on his own after the coup failed.

“Is the emperor still looking for an opportunity to transfer his soul into your body?”

He lowered his head.

“Why you?”

“Because that’s the most the 8th Queen can do. Souls can only be transferred between templars and non-templars.”

I zipped my lips for a moment.

Why did the emperor want to hold a Succession Ceremony? The emperor was still watching for a chance to transfer his soul. The fact that Julian was alive and the fact that Auresia was next to him was proof.

“Why did you tell me everything?”

“I wanted to prove to be of some use to you.”

Our eyes met. Julian smiled gently. He was someone who smiled often.

‘Or someone who uses smiles to hide his thoughts.’

The relaxed atmosphere tightened in an instant.

“There was something I heard. So, I could guess. Castor is interested in you. And you’re the daughter of the 8th Queen.”

Julian paused for a moment before continuing.

“Hold on!”

For some reason, he stood up and tried to approach me. But he tripped over his legs and fell on the spot.