Chapter 16
The mana of the Marin Family contains a sea.
It is an obvious truth.
Because a sea exists in the hearts of those who live their entire lives by the sea.
One person, one sea.
“Huff, huff, huff.”
The stronger the person, the wider and more vast the sea becomes.
A sea that can embrace everything, a sea that can swallow and hold absolutely anything.
“Huff, huff, huff!”
Right now, one such sea had disappeared.
Not a temporary disappearance, but an eternal end.
At that bizarre phenomenon, the Former Grand Duke of the East, Jabairen Marin, ignored everything around him and rushed in a straight line.
None of the Servants had noticed.
An anomaly that the Knights hadn’t realized either.
In this situation, only the father, Jabairen.
Sensed the abnormality that had befallen his son and ran.
[Please let nothing be wrong, please let nothing be wrong.]
There was definitely no Aura to be felt.
But when he came to his senses, the sea his son possessed had vanished.
How could this be possible?
With that thought, Jabairen ran to where his son, Kai-Ren, was.
“Ah, you’ve arrived.”
There, he faced an unexpected figure.
“H-His Royal Highness the Crown Prince?”
“I was just correcting a problem regarding the Grand Ducal Succession of the East, and you came at the perfect time.”
A problem regarding the Grand Ducal Succession of the East? What does that mean?
Jabairen’s confused gaze darted around.
At the end of that gaze, his son finally came into view.
Twitch, twitch.
Kailen was convulsing intermittently.
He could feel the mana slowly disappearing from his son’s body.
Not a temporary depletion, but an eternal end.
Jabairen, who was also a martial artist, realized what phenomenon was occurring in his son’s body.
[His dantian has been destroyed.]
By whom?
As he thought that, his head naturally turned back around.
Kailen, who had no dantian, couldn’t use mana, and was at the level of an ordinary person, continuing the position of Grand Duke of the East?
That made no sense. The problem regarding the Grand Ducal Succession of the East mentioned earlier must be exactly this.
But how was his son’s dantian destroyed?
In this short time that no one even noticed.
[No, no… But, could it be?]
While an assumption he didn’t want to imagine was being forced into his head.
Jabairen made eye contact with a girl standing next to the Crown Prince.
Opal-colored Eyes and Vertical Pupils that contrasted with her dark skin.
She wasn’t emitting any Aura, but because of that, she was an even more alien existence.
[Is she the Executioner I’ve only heard rumors about…!]
The Crown Prince had entered the Grand Duke of the East’s Private Quarters with an Executioner.
When he entered, his son’s dantian was already destroyed.
An attitude and atmosphere where no one was worried about his son.
When putting all of this together.
“D-His Royal Highness the Crown Prince the Crown Prince do this!”
The situation clearly stated that the culprit was the Crown Prince.
“I did.”
“H-How… How could you do such a thing! Why on earth! Why!”
Jabairen forgot his dignity and screamed as he asked for the reason.
“Do you not already know?”
“…!”
His eyes widened at the returned answer.
A clear act of treason.
No one had said it like that, but Jabairen knew.
That the deeds his son was committing were by no means a matter to be taken lightly.
The reason he had turned a blind eye despite that was because it was his son.
Because he was his son, because he had trusted him and passed down the succession.
He firmly believed that his son would surprise everyone with an unimaginably positive result.
[But is this the result…]
Jabairen couldn’t even think to calm his trembling hands and lowered his gaze again.
He saw his son, still convulsing and vomiting in pain.
Since his dantian was completely shattered, living like before was entirely impossible.
Sea Ruin Exploration would be out of the question, and he would no longer be able to expand his own sea.
“Ah, ahh…”
It was indeed a crime grave enough for the Crown Prince to punish him personally.
Therefore, the most rational judgment in this situation was to acknowledge and accept everything.
But would that be as easy as he wished?
As time passed, his anger boiled over.
Even knowing he should be relieved at the sight of his son not being dead despite committing treason.
Even knowing he had to take up the position of Grand Duke of the East once again and swear loyalty to the Crown Prince.
“Why! Why!”
The fury of having come to the brink of losing his son overflowed in his body.
The man in front of him no longer looked like the Crown Prince.
An enemy who had harmed his child.
The evil that had destroyed his son’s dantian.
“How dare you!”
The string of reason he had been holding onto tightly snapped.
He ended up committing an act he absolutely shouldn’t have - standing against the Crown Prince.
The mana in his body surged like a wave, completely dominating the surroundings.
The sound of a raging storm rang out as blue mana swirled around Jabairen’s body.
Mana like a tidal wave.
An ocean current that seemed ready to crush everything it touched naturally formed around Jabairen.
“His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.”
Seeing that, Arveda widened her eyes and tried to respond immediately, but.
“No, Arveda.”
The Crown Prince reached out a hand and stopped her.
“Grand Duke Jabairen, I Judge that you are unable to make a rational decision because your son was hurt… I will not hold you accountable for this current crime.”
Stepping forward leisurely, the Crown Prince looked at Jabairen with a faint smile.
“Looking down on people like that will only last for now! I will not forgive you!”
Thud!
Jabairen didn’t even think of suppressing his anger and threw his body straight at the Crown Prince.
Like the unpredictable surging of the waves that the sea possessed.
Jabairen’s body blurred the vision before striking the Crown Prince’s blind spot.
[He won’t be able to react.]
Jabairen had never once seen the Crown Prince fight.
He only ever laughed heartily and benevolently looked after everything.
He had never used any martial force, and one couldn’t even catch a glimpse of him training.
There was absolutely no Aura to be felt from him.
[Kailen was probably dealt with by the Executioner as well.]
But despite that, to pull back the Executioner and think of facing him.
Even while anger was eating away at his reason, his head continued to assess the situation.
[First, I will crush both his shoulders, and then I will hold him accountable for his crimes.]
Even if he couldn’t kill him, he would pay him back with the exact same pain his son had felt.
With that thought, the moment Jabairen’s arms, wrapped in fierce ocean currents, were about to strike the Crown Prince’s shoulders.
“How sad, to think you have grown this senile.”
He saw the Crown Prince calmly spitting out those words.
“Still, I commend you for not aiming for the head. You are still clever, so it should be fine for you to sit in the Grand Duke’s seat again.”
Along with those leisurely words.
CRASH!
In an instant, Jabairen’s body was slammed into the floor.
“Keugh!”
CRACK!
Even though the floor was completely shattered by the impact of being slammed down.
The reason Jabairen didn’t fall through was because the Crown Prince was holding him by his hair.
[What on earth?]
Jabairen fell into shock.
He couldn’t even react.
Even though he had definitely attacked first, from a blind spot.
To come to his senses and find himself on the floor with his hair grabbed?
What was even more shocking was that it was incredibly painful.
If it were a normal physical impact, it shouldn’t have hurt since his body was wrapped in mana.
In an instant, an agonizing pain that made it hard to breathe rushed in.
“Kuaaaagh!”
Even so, Jabairen didn’t try to stop.
He tried to raise his body again and deliver punishment to the enemy before his eyes.
However.
“Grand Duke Jabairen, think calmly. What will happen if you run wild any further here?”
At the Crown Prince’s subsequent words, Jabairen’s reason returned.
“Will you only calm down if I tear off and reattach the limbs of a traitor in real time, showing a father his son being dismantled with his eyes wide open?”
“…”
It was one of the famous torture methods of the Bellos Empire.
Ripping off limbs, reattaching them, and repeating the process of ripping and reattaching.
If they seemed like they would die from the shock, letting them take a brief rest.
Then repeating the ripping and reattaching of limbs all over again.
A heinous punishment that didn’t even allow for suicide.
To think that would be inflicted upon his son?
[It’s entirely possible… No, it wouldn’t even be enough if he did it right now.]
Even as a Grand Duke, one couldn’t just do whatever they wanted.
But to ignore all the duties he ought to fulfill as the Grand Duke of the East and fool around with a neighboring country.
Bluntly speaking, it was a crime where it wouldn’t be strange if Kailen were killed on the spot.
But his son hadn’t died.
[Because I am useful.]
The Eastern Region he had ruled wasn’t like this.
It constantly expanded its power, keeping a tight grip on the surrounding coasts.
If it was for the Empire, they didn’t shy away from dirty work and carried it out without hesitation.
The reason his son was alive right now.
Was because those achievements were recognized, and the Crown Prince expected him to continue doing so in the future.
If he steadily met those expectations, his son could continue his life.
The reason His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was letting him off even though he had committed such an irreverent crime.
[It’s because I still have my uses.]
As soon as he realized this, Jabairen’s body curled up to an unsightly degree.
“Ah, ahhh… His Royal Highness the Crown Prince…”
A crouched, completely lowered posture.
To an extent that it was hard to believe he was the Grand Duke who ruled the Eastern Region of the Empire.
Jabairen pathetically licked the Crown Prince’s shoes.
“I thank His Royal Highness the Crown Prince for his boundless grace.”
Reason drove out his anger.
The Crown Prince laughed as if pleased by the sight.
“Haha, you’ve finally come to your senses.”
The Crown Prince kept his grip on Jabairen’s hair, then threw him to the side next to Kailen like tossing away an object.
“Your broken son will be sent to the Maselin Kingdom he loves so much.”
“Thank you, thank you… Thank you…”
Jabairen begged and begged again.
As long as he was alive, it was fine.
He just needed to continue managing the Eastern Region.
Then his son could enjoy his life in the Maselin Kingdom he had always wanted to go to.
He wouldn’t be able to boss people around like before.
Jabairen was simply grateful that his son was alive.
He considered this, too, to be the grace of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.
“I hope your successor will be someone like you as well. The history of Marin shouldn’t end with your line, should it?”
“That is correct! That is correct!”
“It seems like the perfect time for Kailen to get a younger sibling.”
“I-I will prepare quickly!”
The place where anger had vanished.
What took up that empty space was reason and blind loyalty.
Jabairen knew.
That even if his son was in the Maselin Kingdom, he could not escape the Crown Prince’s grasp.
If the Crown Prince wanted to, his son would die at any time.
A single ordinary person with a destroyed dantian.
It made no sense to say the Empire couldn’t kill such a person.
[If they wish it, no matter the location, the Empire can definitely kill my son.]
Protecting an ordinary person with a destroyed dantian for life? That was impossible.
It was far safer to be under the state’s secure surveillance instead.
Escape? That was also impossible.
Who would dare to escape against the Empire?
Tremble.
The fear that he could lose his son made Jabairen’s body tremble.
That trembling hand touched his son.
He was a foolish son.
And he himself, who had neglected that foolish son, was a foolish father.
Stroke, stroke.
Stroking his son’s hair, Jabairen fixed his gaze on the floor.
[I can make up for it starting now, since His Royal Highness the Crown Prince… has bestowed his grace.]
He just had to do it again.
No, he just had to do it better than before.
He was fully confident.
“I can hear the sound of your brain working hard.”
“I committed a discourtesy while thinking of things for the Empire. Please forgive me.”
“Haha, I have never doubted that your wisdom is for the Empire.”
“It is an honor that you recognize it.”
Step, step.
Knowing that the Crown Prince was walking closer to him, Jabairen.
Unconsciously dropped the hand he had placed on his son.
“You’re quick on the uptake.”
Tap.
The Crown Prince’s foot stepped onto his son’s back.
But Jabairen turned a blind eye to this.
“When I come to the Eastern Region again…”
Listening to the Crown Prince’s words, Jabairen thought.
[This is enough.]
For now, just the fact that his son was alive was something to be immensely grateful for.
What more could he do here right now?
Ignore the history of Marin and throw a fit knowing his son was hurt? That was nonsense.
What would be the reason the Crown Prince went out of his way to come here?
[Depending on my attitude… he is someone fully capable of exterminating my Family.]
Jabairen completely erased the thoughts he previously held about the Crown Prince.
He had to forget the past and focus on the present.
Otherwise, his son would die, and he would die too.
But the method to survive was incredibly simple.
“…I want to see the mighty Eastern Region I saw in the past.”
“I will make an Eastern Region that rules over an even! Even! Mightier and vaster sea! I absolutely! Absolutely will do so!”
As soon as the Crown Prince finished speaking, Jabairen immediately got up and bowed deeply.
“Haha, I am truly delighted that the Grand Duke of the East says so.”
With those final words.
Arveda, who had been standing still, carefully grabbed the tips of the Crown Prince’s fingers.
Swoosh.
They vanished in an instant.
Teleport.
Spatial Movement that occurred in an instant, without any preparatory motions.
A ridiculous miracle that even an Archmage would concede to.
Like that, Jabairen stared at the empty space left by the Crown Prince and the Executioner, and at his son.
“Huu…”
He let out a sigh.
[There is a lot to do.]
Taking over the Grand Duke position again, correcting the corruption in the Eastern Region, and making plans for a second child.
“…Still, I protected the Family.”
Wiping away the tears of relief that flowed down belatedly.
Jabairen struggled to his feet.
Only then could he realize.
“…Ah.”
That the surrounding air had changed as soon as the Crown Prince disappeared.
“Ha.”
How was the Crown Prince able to react to his attack so quickly and destructively?
That question was answered.
From the very beginning, this entire space was already completely within the Crown Prince’s grasp.
[…This must be my last chance.]
The anger and reason over almost losing his son disappeared.
And what completely filled that space was.
[I must satisfy His Royal Highness the Crown Prince with my life on the line.]
A primal fear.
+++++
“Treat him, and let me know immediately when his condition improves.”
“Yes, sir.”
The first thing I did upon arriving at the Imperial Palace was treat Kailen.
Still, shouldn’t I make him function like a Human being before sending him to the Maselin Kingdom?
The servants lifted Kailen and quickly disappeared.
“Arveda, you worked very hard too.”
“This Humble Woman has done nothing to call hard work.”
“Even if it is your proper duty, it was pleasant thanks to you. Thank you.”
“Not at all. Then This Humble Woman will take her leave now.”
“Alright.”
“…”
Arveda fidgeted a lot without leaving immediately after saying that.
Does she not want to leave? Well, it’s rare for an Executioner to step forward anyway.
She must have been very bored all this time.
[And I’m also curious why a dragon became the Empire’s Executioner.]
If I knew this would happen, maybe I should have read the novel more diligently.
Muttering like that.
“You can come comfortably anytime. And, well… you don’t have to leave right now either.”
I gave her an appropriate response.
“Eh! Hehe, then This Humble Woman will stay here a little longer.”
I was a bit surprised because Arveda liked it much more than I thought.
[What a peculiar dragon.]
Anyway, it was a very fruitful stroll through the Eastern Region.
Just as I was about to pleasantly wrap up the day.
[ Bold Choice! ]
[ Destiny changes. ]
[ The worldline shifts. ]
[ Kailen Marin’s narrative has changed. ]
[ Would you like to Check? Y/N ]
A System Message appeared before my eyes.
There was no need to even think about this.
[Of course it’s yes.]
It was an acceptance.
And as soon as I pressed accept.
Flash!
My vision changed.
The first thing I saw in front of my changed vision was.
“Hic… Ugh… Sob…”
Kailen, crying foolishly.