As My Husband Said, I Brought in a Lover Chapter 218

When he lifted his head, Edward was standing before him.

 

“Let’s make sure you pricked your finger properly.”

 

“Do you not trust me? Look, there’s blood on it, isn’t there?”

 

The emperor hastily showed his finger and then tried to hide it, but Edward held his hand firmly, not letting go. He then pulled out a handkerchief and wiped the emperor’s fingertip.

 

“It’s strange that there’s blood but no sign of a prick on your finger.”

 

Those nearby, overhearing their conversation, turned their gazes to the emperor’s hand. Just as Edward had said, the emperor’s fingertip showed no sign of a wound after the blood was wiped away.

 

“I’ll prick it again.”

 

“Wait, wait!”

 

The emperor shook him off and stepped back, reaching into his sleeve again. At that moment, there was a snapping sound from somewhere, and a small vial flew out from his sleeve pocket, rolling across the floor.

 

Thunk! Roll, roll… The small vial, which had spilled about half of its contents as it fell, rolled to a stop at Edward’s feet. The emperor quickly reached out, but Edward was faster. He deftly grabbed the thumb-sized vial and examined it.

 

“It looks like a vial of blood.”

 

“Gi-Give it back. It’s mine. Give it to me.”

 

“Is that so?” Edward, still calm, held the vial and approached the magic stone. He tilted the vial slightly, letting a drop of blood fall onto the stone, which then turned transparent. It was the sign of imperial blood.

 

“See? It’s my blood. I had it drawn in advance and stored there, just in case my finger didn’t bleed when pricked.”

 

“But your testimony alone isn’t enough to prove it’s your blood, Your Majesty. Prick your finger again here and now.”

 

“No. I won’t do it!”

 

As the emperor backed away suspiciously, the crowd began to murmur. His attendants, standing nearby, swallowed nervously, their faces pale. The situation was becoming increasingly strange. The emperor’s behavior seemed almost like a confession that the rumors were true.

 

“Your Majesty, I must ask for your cooperation in enforcing imperial law. If you do not cooperate, we will have no choice but to compel you. Knights, prick His Majesty’s finger and place it on the magic stone.”

 

“W-What law? Where is such a law!”

 

“It’s a clause stating that force may be used if there is no cooperation in verifying the legitimacy of the bloodline. It’s usually employed by the emperor when determining the paternity of princes.”

 

“Damn it, let go! I said let go!”

 

The magic stone, which had turned transparent, was now black again. The knights pricked the emperor’s fingertip with a needle and placed it on the magic stone.

 

“…!”

 

All eyes were fixed on the magic stone. In the silent square, a collective gasp was heard. The magic stone showed no reaction.

 

“…As I suspected.” Edward’s murmuring broke the silence, and chaos erupted. The crowd began to buzz, and the commotion grew louder.

 

“Again, I’ll do it again. This can’t be. We’ll do it again in a week. Yes, a week later. I’m not well, that’s why.”

 

“…”

 

Despite his frantic excuses, no one paid attention to the emperor’s words. Even those who had supported him earlier now looked at him with disgust, turning their faces away.

 

“T-The magic stone is broken! This can’t be!” The emperor desperately pricked another finger and placed it on the magic stone. But once again, nothing happened. He pricked every finger several times, drawing blood, and repeatedly touched the magic stone, but it remained unchanged.

 

The chancellor shouted loudly, “Emperor Eligos von Bellord is not of imperial blood!”

 

Cries of shock echoed from all around.

 

“Arrest the traitor.”

 

At Edward’s command, the Red Dawn Knights, who were loyal to the crown prince, immediately surrounded Eligos and restrained him. As he shouted and struggled, the knights gagged him. The nearby imperial knights and nobles flinched but did not intervene.

 

Edward stepped forward to the magical device that amplified his voice. “I, Edward E. von Bellord Kaillon Carl Roblin Estante Orwell, will now reveal the reasons for proposing this course of action.”

 

As his voice echoed across the square, the murmuring gradually subsided. In the ensuing silence, Edward continued.

 

“Emperor Eligos von Bellord and the Empress Dowager Ellena von Bellord used dark magic to steal the blood of the late emperor and used it to pass the magic stone test, thereby desecrating the imperial family. To cover up their crimes, they assassinated the late emperor and empress, framed innocent nobles who were close to the imperial family at the time, and sacrificed innocent lives.” Edward paused to catch his breath, gazing at the gathered citizens.

 

The blood stored in the emperor’s secret chamber was all that of the late Emperor, Edin. From the start, it should have been suspicious that Eligos didn’t kill the late emperor immediately after ascending as crown prince. They had kept Edin alive deliberately to stockpile enough blood. They had blinded and deafened Edin to drive Edward away, murdered the late emperor when he sought to restore Edward, and even after Eligos ascended to the throne, he was desperate to kill Edward. All because the emperor lacked the imperial bloodline.

 

“Moreover, they disturbed the peace of the empire through dark magic, sacrificing the lives of its citizens.”

 

Edward moved toward the empress dowager.

 

“By neglecting their duties and sowing chaos in the empire for their own gain, I, Edward E. von Bellord Kaillon Carl Roblin Estante Orwell, as Crown Prince of Kaillon, hereby declare the emperor deposed and demand that they be brought to justice for their crimes.”

 

Edward drew his sword and pointed it at the empress dowager’s neck. The emperor, gagged and pinned by the knights, struggled beside her.

 

“Is there anyone willing to sacrifice their life for them?”

 

Silence fell over the vast square. No one answered his call.

 

“Why…” Eligos looked around in despair. Though the empress dowager had said escape was impossible, he had believed that, in the worst-case scenario, those controlled by her dark magic would surely save them. But neither she nor anyone else moved to help him.

 

“If there is no one, then I hereby strip them of their imperial status and sentence them to death.”

 

After a brief silence, cheers erupted from all corners. As Edward sheathed his sword, the knights near the empress dowager bound her hands. The empress dowager, now no longer holding that title, held out her wrists without resistance, her face expressionless.

 

Edward’s sharp gaze then fixed on the emperor, who was writhing on the ground.

 

“Let go! This can’t be happening. Surely someone… someone will save me!”

 

“Surprised there’s no one to help you?”

 

At Edward’s gesture, Maxion and Hendrik entered, dragging in masked individuals who had been captured. Following them, the Red Dawn Knights brought in a line of bound prisoners and led them onto the terrace. The nobles and high-ranking officials nearby could see them, but they were hidden from the citizens.

 

“It wasn’t easy to root them out without help. Once brainwashed, the traces of dark magic are difficult to detect. If it weren’t for someone who knew the knights better than anyone else.”

 

Marquis Edvin and Sir Rante di Edvin approached. The marquis’s disciples were numerous within the imperial knights, and Rante, having served in the knights, knew the personalities of the members of each order. They quickly identified those who had shown strange behavior or who had suddenly changed without reason and were thus under the influence of dark magic.

 

At last, the emperor went limp. He sobbed as if resigned to his fate. Following the set procedures, the chancellor stepped forward again and loudly announced Edward’s ascension to the throne.

 

A new sun had risen over the empire.

 

* * *

The news of Eligos’s deposition and Edward’s ascension spread rapidly throughout the empire. Newspapers printed special editions, and taverns buzzed with curses aimed at the deposed emperor and praise for the new one.

 

“No wonder. I told you it was getting harder to make a living!”

 

“It turns out that the village that lost contact was entirely wiped out by dark magic.”

 

“Finally, aid is being sent to the region that suffered from floods!”

 

“The coronation is in a month, right? I hope it’s as grand as it deserves to be after all his hardships.”

 

“Yes, everything is finally falling into place.”

 

“The Empress Dowager—no, that villainess, Ellena, and the deposed emperor are scheduled for execution in three days at the square.”

 

“They say over ten thousand imperial citizens lost their lives because of them. More than a thousand villages were affected. Even the sleeping sickness was spread by them….”

 

“They suppressed the newspapers so that no negative articles could be published. No wonder we didn’t know about all the suffering. It makes me angry that they’ll die so easily.”

 

Those who heard the last remark nodded in agreement.

 

It wasn’t just the commoners of the empire who were in turmoil. The nobility also experienced significant upheaval. Due to Edward’s reshuffling, many of the former emperor’s supporters were ousted from the capital or demoted. They packed up without complaint. Any sign of resistance could easily lead to them being lumped together with the deposed emperor and facing execution. Not only did they lose all the benefits they had received as supporters of the emperor, but some even had their titles and lands confiscated as their past crimes were exposed, while others were imprisoned or sentenced to death. Ellena and Eligos were also imprisoned in the deepest part of the underground prison, waiting for the day they would die.

 

The underground prison was cold and damp, even in summer. The sound of dripping water echoed continuously, and rats scurried in the corners. With no windows, time lost all meaning.

 

The deposed emperor’s eyes were unfocused. He sat trembling in fear in the corner of his cell, his face vacant. He had always been a cowardly and weak-willed man, and it seemed his mind had given out first.

 

“To think she’ll die so easily after all she’s done. That filthy witch should burn in hell. It’s too late for regrets!” A guard spat on the floor of Ellena’s cell as he passed by.

 

Ellena leaned against the wall of her cell, closing her eyes slowly. She had killed many and committed unforgivable sins. But did she regret it?