I Became a Sick Nobleman - Chapter 124: Stage (2)
He couldn’t die alone like this.
If he dies, shouldn’t they all die together?
The ministers who stood up from their seats at Huan’s explosive remarks looked at Brans in bewilderment.
Brans answered them without hesitation.
“It is true. I turned a blind eye to the death of Lord Trino Setiria.”
The ministers couldn’t hide their surprise.
“If you have a mouth, why don’t you speak up, Adoris, you’re a Red Ash too!”
Huan then proceeded to bite at Adoris.
“Stop it, brother!”
Banios shouted.
Adoris grabbed him by the shoulder and shook his head.
“It’s true. I have no intention of hiding it, nor intention of denying it.”
Adoris didn’t lie about the truth either.
The room fell silent again as one more shocking truth hit them.
“Therefore, the next heir shall be Banios. He was the only one who truly cared about this country.”
Brans looked at Banios warmly.
“Your Majesty…”
Banios was speechless.
“Perhaps a stage will be set to decide on a successor. So the real protagonist is you, Your Highness.”
He remembered Ruel’s words, when he’d said that he was the real protagonist.
Now he understood what he meant with his father, his eldest brother, and his second brother all shackled by sin, he was truly alone.
The ministers turned towards Banios.
There was hope in their eyes.
“Do you truly have the heart to become king?”
The question Ruel asked himself came to mind again.
He’d said yes then, but the words didn’t seem to come out right now.
It was heavy.
It was much heavier than he thought.
“Banios.”
Brans called out to Banios with a sad smile.
A bright red line was drawn over the royal family.
He hadn’t expected to pass on the throne like this.
Instead of answering, Banios looked at Ruel.
Ruel nodded and smiled.
And then Ruel got down on one knee towards Banios.
“I am Ruel Setiria.”
It was a promise to be made at the coming-of-age ceremony, but there was no stage more suitable than now.
Because there is nothing more beautiful than a flower that blooms in despair.
“I support His Highness Banios.”
“You… really, really overdo it.”
Banios laughed in exasperation.
His back was against the wall.
In a situation where even Setiria supported him, he couldn’t avoid answering.
“I, Rie Kuhn, support His Highness Banios, not His Highness Adoris.”
Rie walked out and got down on one knee like Ruel.
“Prios also supports His Highness Banios.”
Ketlan also supported Banios.
Ben said with a chuckle.
“I already supported the prince.”
“The Lumina family will also support Banios.”
Corrence quickly came out and knelt down, catching Ruel’s eye.
Five families have already supported Banios.
The answer had already been decided.
“Your Highness, we too…”
When even the ministers opened their mouths, Banios held out his palm.
No more words were needed.
Banios took a breath and looked at Brans with his fists clenched.
In those clear eyes, Brans saw the future of Leponia.
A brilliant future.
“Your Majesty, I may be weak, but I will lead Leponia.”
As Banios accepted the position of next king, the hall became so noisy that it seemed as if they were about to leave.
“What the hell.”
Huan’s words sent a chill through the air, like cold water.
Everyone’s gazes turned toward him.
“The throne is mine. That seat belongs to me! How did I come this far! Me!”
He couldn’t keep still, not even in frustration.
“Cough.”
At that time, Ruel’s coughing sound was ominous.
Ruel urgently covered his mouth with his hand, but blood leaked out between his fingers.
‘Darn it. Again, blood without any symptoms…’
Ruel covers his mouth with the handkerchief given to him by Cassion, but it is already too late.
There was no one who was not shocked by his bright red blood.
—Ru, Ruel!
Leo was shocked and froze.
No words came out of his mouth to say he was okay.
Despite the painkillers he’d taken beforehand, the pain rushed through him, making his whole body shake.
‘Damn it!’
“Ruel-nim!”
In the end, when Ruel lost his balance and fell backwards into Aris’ arms.
The sound of a cane collapsing followed.
“Fuhahaha!”
Huan smiled very brightly.
Hope bloomed in despair.
The poison he had fed Ruel was finally working.
“Look! The throne is mine now, because I poisoned him!”
“Huan, you!”
Brans gritted his teeth and glared at Huan.
That was a sin of his own making.
It was very awful and terrible.
Brans looked away from Huan and urgently raised his voice.
“Now! Call a doctor immediately! No matter what happens, Lord Setiria must not die!”
“It’s late, Your Majesty! It’s late!”
Huan chuckled.
He shouted again, looking at his own shadow instead of Ruel.
“Ruel Setiria is about to die! I killed him! Now the throne is mine. Isn’t that right?”
At that moment, the necks of the knights holding on to Huan were separated from their bodies.
“There are assassins! Protect Your Highness and Your Majesty right now!”
Torto held his sword in front of Brans.
He couldn’t tell how many others had stepped out of the shadows.
Torto swallowed dryly at the tension.
“Now, hurry and save me. Save me and give me that crown!”
Huan shouted to those who appeared from his shadow.
At that moment, Aris raised his sword in response to a violent attack.
Someone came out from Huan’s shadow and tried to attack Ruel.
Clank!
Aris parried the attack and glared murderously at the man.
“How dare you… Ruel-nim!”
In one swift motion, Aris pierced the enemy’s abdomen.
“Cuck!”
A groan escaped the enemy’s mouth.
Aris raised his sword, preparing for the next attack.
“I’ll join you!”
Rie took a sword from a knight and slashed at the enemy’s throat as they charged towards Ruel.
Blood splattered everywhere.
‘Damn it.’
Ruel struggled to endure the pain and looked at the current situation.
Assassins emerged from Huan’s shadow.
From the words Huan muttered, they weren’t just assassins, they were hired by the Red Ash.
This was not a simple matter.
A black-blooded man might appear soon.
“Cassion, ugh. Take care of the assassins.”
Ruel’s shadow moved and set medicine down beside him.
Ruel fumbled to pick it up.
He took a deep breath against the pain and barely managed to open his mouth.
“Leo.”
—A-are you okay?
“If a black-blooded …person comes out, can we purify it?”
—This body can do it!
At the whispered words, Leo’s tail stood high.
“Let me help you.”
Ketlan took the medicine and handed it to Ruel.
Ruel chewed the medicine, swallowed it, and forced the power of recovery to flow.
“Cough.”
Ruel spat blood into his handkerchief and got up again using his cane.
The pain hadn’t stopped yet, so Ruel’s facial expression didn’t improve at all.
He forced himself to hold on and spoke to Brans.
“Your Majesty, please leave the hall immediately.”
Then Ruel glanced at Banios and Adoris.
They would have realized what he meant now.
“Sir Torto, escort His Majesty and leave the hall immediately.”
Adoris moved immediately.
“We need to take Lord Setiria first.”
Brans hesitated and looked at Ruel.
“I’ll take care of that, Your Majesty, brother.”
Banios comforted Brans and pointed to the door.
Then he looked at the ministers.
“What are you doing, ministers, not escorting the king out of here at once!”
“Too late.”
Huan rose from his seat, unbound with the help of the assassins.
He had prepared for this day.
A final move to overturn this situation and eliminate everything.
He took out black water from his arms and shook it.
“Now, it’s party time!”
The moment Huan was about to move his hand, someone appeared in front of him.
Before he could recognize the familiar face, he was knocked unconscious by a painful blow to his face.
Cassion held the black water in his hand and disappeared.
Rie momentarily rubbed her eyes and looked at Huan.
It seemed like something appeared and disappeared.
Thinking that she had seen it wrong, she tried to swing her sword at the enemy again, but soon she was unable to hide her embarrassment.
There was suddenly no sign of enemies.
“…ha.”
Aris breathed, lowering his sword.
There were no more enemies.
Torto quickly evacuated the king and then saw the ministers leaving the hall and approached Ruel.
“Are you okay?”
Aris supported Ruel.
Ruel asked, examining the situation.
“Any enemies?”
“Not anymore… The shadows must have gotten rid of them.”
Aris whispered the last part.
“Okay…”
Ruel answered in a weak voice.
Cassion walked through the crowd of people heading to the door.
His steps as he walked across the floor covered in blood and corpses were infinitely calm, like walking on ice.
Cassion supported Ruel instead of Aris.
“Please rest assured that we have completely recovered the black water they had.”
Ruel turned his head and looked behind Cassion.
The knights were dragging the captives away.
“It’s over.”
Cassion stated clearly.
Only then did Ruel catch his breath and inhale Breath.
Cassion stopped short of giving Ruel the painkiller.
“It’s so dirty here. I will take you to your room.”
“Did a lot of people die?”
Cassion responded calmly to Ruel’s calm voice.
“Yes, there was a lot of blood in other places besides here.”
The blood on Torto and the royal knights as they entered this place belonged to the Red Ash that had spread throughout the royal family.
Ruel asked, looking at the family heads before moving his body.
“Did the red flowers bloom there as well?”
When they nodded instead of answering, Ruel turned back to the door, no expression on his face.
It was a given that today, wherever they went, there would be rivers of blood.
“Are you okay?”
Banios approached and asked.
His expression wasn’t good.
It was probably the first time he had seen so many deaths.
“Do not bury this day, my Lord, but remember it forever.”
Ruel himself was able to bury this incident.
No, he had to.
The Red Ash had not completely disappeared yet, so it was not the time to get drunk on small victories. Banios, the man who would lead the country in the future, needed to remember.
What the end for those who supported the Red Ash. What the first victory tasted like.
He had to remember it all.
“I understand. Let’s go to the room first. Isn’t detoxification a priority first?”
“Ruel-nim.”
Cassion frowned slightly and called out to Ruel.
Cassion’s expression was not good.
He carefully took out the communication device.
It wasn’t a good thing for the communication device to ring in this situation.
‘Did a Red Ash, or rather a black-blooded man, appear?’
Ruel pictured the worst in his current situation.
What if Red Ash knew of the stage he had created and attacked Setiria?
‘No, that can’t be possible.’
It was foolish to abandon the royal family and the five territories and only attack Setiria.
He decided not to overthink it and focus on what he had to do now.
“Connect.”
Ruel calmly opened his mouth.
-Patriarch! It’s Gors!
An urgent voice was heard.
The voice was urgent.
The urgency was palpable.
Ruel didn’t panic and spoke calmly.
“Briefly.”
-Well, the black-formed monster you mentioned is attacking ‘Sylvia’ right here.
Sylvia was a new village to be created for the residents of the back alleys.
-Suddenly, some guys appeared, shouting ‘Great Man’ and drinking some liquid.
‘Red Ash suddenly appeared?’
Only then did Ruel chuckle.
The Red Ash hadn’t realized this stage, and had been preparing to stab him in the back when Huan said that he had poisoned him.
It was like they had both taken a strike, but he had hit harder.
He hadn’t been properly hit by that guy yet.
“I understand. I’ll be there soon, so take refuge.”
Ruel broke off the contact and inhaled Breath.
His fingertips were still shaking.
“I’m sorry.”
Cassion bowed his head in apology.
“No, not your mistake, my mistake.”
Ruel shook his head.
He turned to Banios and spoke.
“Your Highness, please be especially careful, as there may still be hidden remnants in the castle. I will return now.”
“Are you going back in that condition?”
Banios protested as he tried to stop Ruel.
Ruel smiled at him and then looked at the five patriarchs.
“I’ll leave it to you.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Ruel walked towards the door.
Every time he touched the ground with his cane, it splashed pooled blood on the floor.
Ruel moved beyond the door and infused mana into the ring.
“Uncle.”
-Yes, Ruel.
Tyson’s expression became cold when he saw the situation unfolding behind Ruel.
“I need you to come to the Royal Palace now.”
This was the only way to get to Setiria quickly.
-On the way. Going straight to the palace.
As soon as communication with Tyson was lost, Ruel mentioned the next person to connect with.
“Cassion, contact Billo.”
“Alright.”
As Ruel walked, he saw numerous footprints marked with blood.
Footprints continued endlessly in the hallway.
-Ruel-nim, we were already planning to send knights and soldiers to Sylvia…”
“Don’t send them.”
-Pardon? What do you mean by that?
Billo’s embarrassment was vividly conveyed.
“Don’t send them because unnecessary sacrifices will only increase. Stop Cheynol, stop the knights.”
-Understood.
Billo reluctantly responded.
Ruel cut off communication and saw Tyson appearing in front of him.
It wasn’t a time to show joy.
It wasn’t a time to exaggerate pain.
“Uncle, you know where Sylvia is, don’t you?”
“I know. The black-blooded man…”
“Please take me there.”
Ruel stretched out his hand.
His fingertips were trembling.
Tyson hadn’t found an alternate way to deal with the black-blooded man, so the burden had to fall back on Ruel.
However, Tyson did not apologize for this.
Every time he apologized, Ruel’s expression was so pitiful.
It was like he was being forced to take something that didn’t belong to him.
Leo climbed onto Ruel’s shoulder, and Cassion and Aris gathered close to Ruel.
Tyson began to cast a warp magic spell.
Author’s Thoughts
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