Dawn of Vengeance — Chapter 46

WHAT KIND OF...

...BULLSHIT IS THAT?!

HE SURE IS FULL OF ENERGY

Sit down for now.

THIS IS WHY I DIDN'T TELL YOU.

YOU HAVE AN UNDERLYING CONDITION, SO YOU SHOULD BE ESPECIALLY CAREFUL.

What kind of useless consideration is that...?!

← STILL DWELLING ON IT

I MEAN, COMING TO THE CORONATION AND NOT EVEN CONGRATULATING YOU!

ARE YOU TELLING ME HE SPOUTED SUCH NONSENSE BEFORE LEAVING?!

EVEN IF HE IS THE REGENT OF THE EMPIRE, HOW DARE HE SPEAK TO THE KING OF A NATION LIKE THAT?!

TO THINK HE SPEWED SUCH ABSURD REMARKS!!

YOU'RE THE ONE WHO DISRESPECTS THE KING THE MOST IN THIS KINGDOM, BUT...

GIVING UP CALMING HIM DOWN

YET YOU MAKE SUCH A FUSS OVER SOMEONE ELSE'S DISGRACEFUL BEHAVIOR.

WELL... EVEN A TROUBLESOME CHILD IS STILL MY OWN.

I'M THE ONLY ONE ALLOWED TO CRITICIZE MY OWN, IS THAT IT?

touched.

How incredibly rude!

How could he do such a thing?!

Ooh, he's even breathing fire.

RIGHT? I WAS SO PISSED OFF THAT I ALMOST HIT HIM.

I'm still suffering from the aftereffects of that shock...

I ALMOST HIT...

AH, RIGHT.

YOU WERE INCREDIBLY... OUT OF LINE DURING THE CORONATION.

What's with the sudden change?

HEY, HOW WAS I OUT OF LINE?

I DIDN'T SPIT ON HIM OR SMACK HIM WITH THE THRONE, SO WASN'T THAT QUITE MATURE OF ME?

IF YOU HAD LIFTED THE THRONE...

THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN A SPECTACLE ON ITS OWN, BUT...

19TH KING OF PARNASSUS

Right.

BUT I THREW CHAMPAGNE IN HIS FACE INSTEAD, AND THAT FELT PRETTY REFRESHING.

Oh, you just imagined throwing it?

No?! Like this!!

WHAT DID YOU SAY???

ANYWAY, I THOUGHT ABOUT HIS PROPOSAL.

CROWN PRINCE ALEJANDRO IS MORE BELLIGERENT THAN HE LOOKS.

I FIGURED REJECTING HIM WOULD MAKE WAR INEVITABLE,

SO I DISCUSSED IT WITH THE GRAND GENERAL.

AND WHAT DID THE GRAND GENERAL SAY?

EXCUSE ME, YOUR MAJESTY.

SOMEONE WHO VOLUNTEERED TO BE A HANDMAIDEN IS CURRENTLY--

SIR HEIBERG! PERFECT TIMING!

IS IT TRUE THAT CROWN PRINCE ALEJANDRO PROPOSED TO YOUR MAJESTY...

WITH THE INTENT OF TAKING OVER THE THREE KINGDOMS?

UNIMPRESSED

IT IS.

SO, WHAT DID YOU TELL HER MAJESTY?

HUH?

I HEARD HER MAJESTY ASKED YOU FOR ADVICE.

ABOUT WHAT TO DO IF A WAR BREAKS OUT!

AH, YES.

I GAVE HER MY HONEST ADVICE TO FIGHT BACK IF HE PICKS A FIGHT.

THIS YOUNG MAN WHO WAS ALWAYS UPRIGHT, ALOOF,

AND ACTED REASONABLY..

...HAS BEEN TAINTED BY THE KING AND TURNED INTO A CORRUPTED WARMONGER!

Why? What?

I UNDERSTAND THE CHANCELLOR'S CONCERNS, BUT...

WE CAN TAKE OUR TIME FIGURING OUT HOW TO DEAL WITH THE EMPIRE.

WHY IS THAT?

ARTICLE 1 OF THE IMPERIAL ARMY'S CREED.

UNDER THE GLORY OF THE GREAT EMPEROR!

THE IMPERIAL ARMY IS A GROUP THAT MOVES SOLELY FOR THE EMPEROR.

THE CROWN PRINCE IS MERELY THE REGENT.

UNLESS THE EMPEROR PASSES AWAY,

HE CANNOT MOBILIZE THE ARMY ON A LARGE SCALE.

AH, SO THAT'S WHY HE WENT OUT OF HIS WAY TO THREATEN YOU AT THE CORONATION?

BECAUSE NOTHING WOULD BE EASIER FOR HIM THAN IF WE SIMPLY BOWED OUR HEADS FIRST.

EVEN SO, WE CAN'T LET OUR GUARD DOWN.

HE'S THE KIND OF BASTARD WHO WOULD KILL THE EMPEROR AND USURP THE THRONE AT ANY MOMENT.

EVEN SO, THEY'RE FATHER AND SON.

FOR BLOOD RELATIVES TO DO SUCH A THING...

ALEX IS MORE THAN CAPABLE OF DOING THAT.

HE'S A BASTARD WHO EVEN KILLED HIS OWN MOTHER.

I'VE FELT THIS FOR A WHILE, BUT...

YOUR MAJESTY SEEMS TO KNOW THE CROWN PRINCE QUITE WELL.

I DESPISE HIM.

THEY SAY KNOWING YOUR ENEMY AND YOURSELF IS THE KEY TO VICTORY, NO?

SO I DID A LOT OF RESEARCH ON HIM.

THEN DO YOU ALSO KNOW WHY THE CROWN PRINCE IS SO EAGER TO UNIFY THE CONTINENT?

THE CROWN PRINCE WANTS ROUGHLY TWO THINGS.

THE FIRST IS TO EXPAND HIS TERRITORY TO MATCH THE SIZE OF THE FIRST GREAT EMPIRE,

AND THE SECOND IS...

...TO DRIVE THE DEMI-HUMANS, NAMELY THE LAFI AND LYCANS, OFF THE CONTINENT.

WHY DOES THE CROWN PRINCE HATE THEM?

I ASKED HIM THE SAME QUESTION BEFORE.

YOUR HIGHNESS, WHY DO YOU HATE THE DEMI-HUMANS?

MY ARSINOE.

THERE MIGHT BE A REASON TO LIKE SOMETHING,

BUT THERE IS NO REASON TO HATE.

IT WAS AN ANSWER TRULY BEFITTING A MADMAN.

BUT I THOUGHT THERE HAD TO BE SOMETHING MORE.

SOMETHING HE WAS HIDING,

OR PERHAPS SOMETHING EVEN HE DIDN'T KNOW.

A MORE FUNDAMENTAL REASON HIDDEN IN HIS SUBCONSCIOUS.

THIS IS JUST MY GUESS,

FOR FEAR THAT IT MIGHT REACH THE CROWN PRINCE'S EARS,

IT WAS A GUESS I HAD NEVER TOLD ANYONE.

ALEX'S BIOLOGICAL MOTHER,

EMPRESS BEATRICE,

WAS A PRINCESS FROM THE FREE CITY OF ALPIREN.

UNUSUALLY, UNTIL SHE CAME TO THE IMPERIAL PALACE,

SHE KEPT A LYCAN AS AN ATTENDANT.

EVEN AFTER BECOMING EMPRESS, WHENEVER SHE VISITED HER MAIDEN HOME,

SHE KEPT THAT LYCAN CLOSE.

THE PROBLEM IS...

...THAT LYCAN WAS A MAN.

AND A STRANGE RUMOR BEGAN TO CIRCULATE IN THE IMPERIAL PALACE.

BY RUMOR, DO YOU MEAN...?

A RUMOR THAT THE EMPRESS WAS HAVING AN AFFAIR.

COINCIDENTALLY, THE EMPRESS, WHO HAD SHOWN NO SIGNS OF PREGNANCY,

ANNOUNCED SHE WAS WITH CHILD RIGHT AFTER RETURNING FROM HER MAIDEN HOME.

AND THE CHILD BORN FROM THAT...

...IS THE CURRENT CROWN PRINCE ALEJANDRO.

!!!