kscans

Chapter 127 - The Curse Repeats

"That fool!" Adrian’s voice trembled with rage at Eleonora’s report.

"And Ariel?"

"She was in a state of confusion… so the doctor put her to sleep."

"I see. …Eleonora, I thank you for your courage. I know how painful it must be to speak the truth to the heir of a ducal house."

He said this as he held her. Adrian was a man who regularly expressed his gratitude and feelings in words. That was what Eleonora loved about him.

But she shook her head and spoke sadly.

"Under normal circumstances, perhaps… but to utter such words in front of a woman who sacrificed herself to protect everyone, I was shocked by his nerve."

"…Albert, huh. I had heard he possessed power greater than Darius’s," Adrian said. He was part of the noble faction, and had not had much contact with the ducal house of the royalist faction. In particular, he had only heard that Albert, who usually resided in the ducal territory, was more skilled than Darius and was looking after the former king’s child who was in poor health.

A man drunk on nothing but power and lineage.

That made him no different from the former king, Karlwein. No, in fact, he was more troublesome. Karlwein had no power, so he had no choice but to be swayed by those around him.

Now, the current king Cedric’s heir, Albert, possessed power and brandished a twisted ideology. And the Crown Prince, the future king, adored him as a father.

In the future, if Cedric were to abdicate, could that Crown Prince become a decent king? At worst, he would become nothing more than Albert’s puppet.

Adrian thought. (Can brothers be so different… no, that's not it. I was the same. Through his involvement with Ariel and raising Mireille, Darius nurtured a heart that could love and care for people.)

"To think he would wound her with the same words as that former king. It’s like a curse."

The thought of Ariel, who had become distraught and violent after hearing Albert’s voice, made his chest tighten with pain.

Adrian had kept the records of the abuse Ariel had suffered at the hands of Karlwein, the Queen, and Rainer. He couldn’t bring himself to dispose of them. Yet he couldn’t show them to anyone to share the pain either. Showing them to Darius would only be kicking him while he was down. It was simply too cruel.

If this continues, the same thing will happen again.

He had truly thought that adopting Ariel would solve everything. He and his wife would support her, and help her when she was in trouble. Darius and Ariel would be united, Mireille would be given a title, and she could marry the promising Leonhard.

But what about the future of the country?

Wouldn't this end up being just a temporary happiness? The future king would again try to exploit Ariel as a weapon. Even if Darius objected, Albert would not allow it. And following Ariel, Mireille was the country's foremost alchemist. She would be targeted as well.

Adrian made his decision. When he told Eleonora, she took his hand without hesitation.

"I believe in you. I will follow you anywhere."

It was as if she were praising his decision.

Adrian summoned Leonhard.

He would share with him the records that Mireille must never see.

And to tell him that tonight, the king’s heir, Albert, had repeated the same actions as the former king and hurt Ariel again.

To tell him the path he had chosen.