weddingnovel Vol 2. Chapter 34: Black Rose Family
Vol 2. Chapter 34: Black Rose Family
Sadik Empire — Capital, Rubitaan
Under the glow of the night lights, everything appeared peaceful.
And at this moment,
the heavily guarded imperial palace was equally quiet.
Accompanied by crisp footsteps,
a black-haired man dressed in a cold and handsome military coat leisurely strolled through the palace hall while holding a communication magic stone radiating blue light.
After a brief exchange,
Yumo's voice, as melodious as a songbird's singing, slowly entered the black-haired man's ears.
"T-Then, I'll leave it to you, okay?"
The black-haired man, Xiao, smiled faintly and replied confidently,
"No problem, Lady Yumo. Just leave it to me. I won't disappoint you."
"Mhm, then that's all. Also, even if you've become a God of Magic, you still have to take care of yourself. Don't overwork yourself~"
"Don't worry, Lady Yumo. I'll take care of myself."
...
...
As the final words of farewell faded away, the glow on the outer layer of the communication stone gradually disappeared.
And the moment the conversation with Yumo ended,
the warm atmosphere that had filled the palace hall vanished completely, replaced by an icy, murderous aura.
The horrifying chill and terrifying killing intent caused the white-bearded old man prostrating himself at the black-haired man's feet to tremble violently. His very soul seemed on the verge of freezing.
However,
as the ruler of a nation, the white-haired old man forcibly suppressed his fear. Supporting himself with his scepter, he barely managed to stand and glared angrily at Xiao.
"B-Black Rose Duke! Is that woman the one ordering you to do this?!"
"Hm?"
Hearing those words, Xiao frowned and immediately waved his hand dismissively.
"Don't misunderstand, Your Majesty. Lady Yumo is very kind. She would never issue such an order~. Wanting to destroy your royal family is entirely my own idea."
Xiao smiled faintly, his smile carrying overwhelming pressure and an infuriating mockery.
Upon hearing those words,
the white-bearded old man, Emperor Lopeqi of the Sadik Empire, immediately bulged with veins and clenched his fists unwillingly.
"Then why?! My royal family treated you well! We even granted you the title of duke! Why are you rebelling?!"
"Oh?"
The amusement in Xiao's eyes became even stronger.
"Your Majesty, treated us well? That's not exactly accurate, is it? Everyone knows you love playing balance-of-power politics. Besides, you don't seriously think I don't know who killed my father, do you? If I remember correctly, it was Your Majesty himself, wasn't it? Speaking of which, disguising it as an Abyss Demon attack really was a wonderful excuse~"
"Y-You?! Impossible! How could you know that?!"
Those words instantly changed the old emperor's expression. He had intended to appeal to sentiment, but his face turned pale.
In response,
Xiao couldn't help but let out a disdainful laugh.
The dozens of Black Rose Family knights guarding the hall also burst into laughter.
"Y-You! What are you laughing at?!"
Hearing the mockery in their laughter, Lopeqi gritted his teeth. Blood flowed from his tightly clenched fists.
Realizing emotional appeals were useless, his expression suddenly became ferocious, and a hint of threat entered his voice.
"Xiao! Don't celebrate too early! We still don't know who'll have the last laugh! Once the Imperial Guards arrive, your deaths are assured! If you surrender now—?!"
However, while he was trying to intimidate the enemy, Lopeqi suddenly shut his mouth.
He stared behind Xiao in disbelief.
At that moment,
accompanied by powerful battle aura pressure, a giant man nearly three meters tall, clad in black heavy armor and carrying a gigantic axe, walked into the hall.
And in his left hand...
was the head of the Imperial Guard commander, Lakaro.
Glancing at the vice captain of the Black Rose Knights behind him, Xiao smiled meaningfully.
"Your Majesty? What were you saying just now?"
"Y-You!! H-How is this possible?!"
Lakaro was a Seventh-Tier Sword Saint!
How had he died so inexplicably?!
And if Lakaro was dead, then the entire Imperial Guard—
No.
Impossible!
Impossible!!
Absolutely impossible!!!
Lopeqi clutched his head and roared hysterically,
"What have you done?! Your Black Rose Family only has forty people! My Imperial Guards number five hundred! How could they possibly be defeated?!"
His eyes were bloodshot.
Seeing his final trump card killed so inexplicably, the emperor of the Sadik Empire seemed to have entered a state of complete mental collapse.
Looking at the pitiful appearance of the former emperor, Xiao shook his head in disappointment.
"Hehe~"
To others, defeating the elite Royal Guards with merely forty people might indeed seem unbelievable.
But to Xiao, it was entirely expected.
Almost every member of the Black Rose Knights had returned alive from the Great Winter Forest.
They had originally been talented children abducted from across Anqieka Continent by the Heavenly Punishment Holy Church for use as sacrifices to the Demon God.
Those who survived all the way to the Hall of Ten Thousand Demons naturally possessed physiques superior to others their age.
Their minds had also been tempered through that ordeal.
They feared neither hardship nor suffering, after all, they had danced repeatedly at death's doorstep since childhood...
After undergoing brutal training, such children had become the knights of the Black Rose Family.
And the Black Rose Knights had followed him through countless campaigns, conquering the southeastern regions of the Sadik Empire.
How could such a knight order be compared to those drunken wastrels of the Royal Guards?!
But clearly,
Lopeqi could not understand this.
He could only continue raging powerlessly.
"T-This is impossible!..."
"..."
Xiao had already lost interest in the old emperor's outbursts.
"Your Majesty, rest in peace~"
As he spoke, he casually waved his hand.
A compressed black magic projectile instantly gathered in his palm.
The next moment,
under the horrified gazes of countless royal family members,
Lopeqi's head was pierced by the black magic bullet.
He died instantly and collapsed into a pool of blood.
Seeing this,
dozens of captured royal family members revealed expressions of despair and desperately begged Xiao for mercy.
Those former princes, princesses, and imperial consorts, once lofty and untouchable, now cried and screamed without any dignity whatsoever.
Their pathetic behavior caused the Black Knights to laugh disdainfully.
To prevent the noise from polluting the Duke's ears,
the two Black Knights guarding the royal family exchanged glances and drew the swords at their waists, preparing to send all of them to the afterlife.
At that moment,
Xiao calmly raised his hand and stopped them.
"Forget it. Leave them alive."
"Huh?!"
The two knights were dumbfounded.
Hadn't they agreed to exterminate the entire royal family tonight?
Why had that suddenly changed?
However,
while they were still confused, Xiao smiled meaningfully and looked toward a ragged black-haired boy lying on the ground.
"You're the Eighth Prince, Lope-Lio, right?"
"Y-Yes, Lord Duke! I-I-I am Lope-Lio!"
Hearing Xiao call him, the fourteen-year-old boy immediately crawled toward him.
Xiao nodded with satisfaction and lightly patted the young prince's head with the sole of his boot.
"From now on, you're the Emperor of the Sadik Empire."
?!!?!
Those words left Lope-Lio completely frozen.
Not only him.
The other royal family members, even the Black Rose Family members themselves, all wore expressions of utter disbelief.
Everyone stared at Xiao in shock.
...
...
—
A short while later, under the protection of dozens of Black Knights, Xiao leisurely walked out of the bloodstained palace.
As for Lope-Lio and the remaining royal family members, he handed them all over to his secretary, Luowei.
If everything proceeded smoothly, the Sadik Empire would soon welcome the coronation of a new emperor.
However,
looking at Xiao's back, many members of the Black Rose Knights were still dumbfounded.
According to the original plan, they had intended to completely destroy the royal family and seize the empire.
But now?
Unable to suppress his confusion, one of the officers finally asked,
"Lord Duke, weren't we taking over the government? W-Why are we leaving the royal family alive?"
Hearing his subordinate's question, Xiao smiled meaningfully.
"It doesn't matter. Our goal was always to completely control the empire. Direct control or control through puppets doesn't make much difference. In fact, this is even more advantageous."
"M-More advantageous?"
"That's right. Think about it. The royal family has ruled for more than three hundred years. They still possess considerable prestige among the people. If we seize the throne directly, there might be resistance."
"If they resist, we'll just wipe them out," the vice captain beside him snorted.
Xiao nodded indifferently.
"True. But that's not the most important reason."
"T-Then what is?"
"Lady Yumo hopes the various empires can get along and reunite. Naturally, our Black Rose Family must obey her wishes, right?"
"You mean..."
"Hehe, our family will cooperate very enthusiastically in repairing relations between the nations. But if, at that time, the Sadik Empire's royal family refuses to cooperate~ or even deliberately obstructs things? Then we can't be blamed, can we~"
As he spoke, a sinister smile gradually appeared on Xiao's face.
It sent chills down the spines of everyone around him.
Fortunately,
Xiao quickly withdrew his killing intent.
Then, as if remembering something, he thoughtfully looked toward his vice captain.
"Oh right, Ravana."
"Yes, Lord Duke?"
"Help me find 'Flame Prison.' I need her assistance with something~"
"Flame Prison?! W-Why are you looking for that woman?!"
The vice captain clearly showed fear upon hearing the name of that Demon King-class existence.
In response,
Xiao smiled faintly.
"Sigh, the heroine is constantly being protected by Lady Yumo right now. It's difficult to make a move. Since that's the case, we'll just ask someone else for help and kill that Child of Destiny first~"