Chapter 231: Chapter 231

Yung pressed the button in her hand. It was the detonator for the explosives hidden in the lab, which was supposed to explode in a magnificent display.

But nothing happened.

With no sound of an explosion, Leon’s eyebrows shot up.

“What are you doing, Yung? Detonate it.”

“Ah… y-yes! I’m doing it right now!”

Panicking, Yung started pressing the button over and over again.

Leon’s expression darkened.

“This isn’t the time for jokes, Yung.”

“No… it’s just that…”

Yung was genuinely flustered. No matter how many times she pressed it, the detonator didn’t respond. She frantically inspected the device.

“It is the right button…”

It was the detonator for the secret lab, the one most securely stored due to her abilities. There shouldn’t have been any chance of it being tampered with. But now—

No matter how many times she tried, the lab showed no signs of exploding. Leon’s eyes turned icy.

“It seems… that brat has interfered again.”

“I… I’m so sorry, Lord Leon…”

Yung bowed her head in shame. If she’d known this would happen, she would’ve detonated it before leaving. She hadn’t anticipated Ian acting so swiftly. But Leon, calm as ever, spoke evenly.

“It’s fine. It’s a shame I couldn’t strike back at him, but… perhaps this is for the better.”

“Pardon? What do you mean?”

“There’s not only that brat inside but also the Second Prince. I understand his ambitions and greed even better.”

Leon let out a sinister smile. The Second Prince might be bowing his head now, but it was clear he wouldn’t hide his ambitions for long.

“There’s bound to be a conflict between those two over the remaining materials inside the lab.”

Leon understood from Ian’s gaze. He realized that Ian had sympathy for mere test subjects. Yung shouted in realization.

“A fight between the Seventh Prince, who wants to destroy the data, and the Second Prince, who wants to take it for himself?”

“Exactly. Even if they don’t end up fighting, distrust and hatred will take root between them.”

On second thought, that wouldn’t be a bad outcome at all. If those two clashed, their alliance would crumble. All Leon needed to do was stir the pot—manipulate the Emperor and the eunuchs—and the conflict would explode on its own. A grin crept across his face.

“And it seems Leonic is having his own issues as well. If we use that as justification to bring the First Imperial Princess into play… the picture becomes even more beautiful.”

“As expected of you, Lord Leon,” Yung said with admiration in her voice.

But Leon waved her off.

“Enough flattery. Open the way. We need to get back to the palace.”

Yung began morphing her body into a black portal. Just then, Leon spoke again.

“How long do you plan to keep holding that? It’s useless now—get rid of it.”

Yung tossed the detonator aside. As her body gradually began to transform, the detonator fell to the ground.

It was at that exact moment.

A massive explosion erupted. The shockwave and heat burst toward them like a wave. Startled, Yung instinctively shielded Leon with her body.

“L-Lord Leon! Are you all right?”

Both of them stood up and looked toward the source of the explosion. It was where the research facility had been, and the explosion had completely destroyed it. Yung exclaimed in confusion.

“Huh… Just a moment ago, there was no response at all.”

She hurriedly tried to pick up the detonator again. Then another sound erupted from the direction of the lab.

It was a violent explosion, far more intense than the previous one. The exterior of the lab, which had barely been visible, vanished without a trace.

The two could only gape at the thick black smoke rising from where the lab had once stood.

“My lord! Are you alright?”

Galon rushed to Ian after the blast, checking him over in concern. But Ian remained calm.

“I’m fine. It’s safe here.”

He wasn’t lying. He had already gotten out before the lab exploded. Around him, the Second Prince’s soldiers and knights were staring at the ruined facility in silence.

“If we’d been even a little later…”

“We might have died. What that man said was true.”

Their eyes all turned to Ian—this time with an unusual light. Though they’d been told it would explode, none of them had truly believed it. Still, Galon wasn’t concerned about their reactions.

“Regardless, you must be careful. Your safety, my lord, is our top priority.”

With that, Galon took off his cloak and draped it over Ian to protect him from the cold wind.

But the First King’s Cloak, already wrapped around Ian, started rustling in protest.

It seemed to be saying that it was already keeping him warm and wanted the additional cloak removed. Ian smiled and stroked the cloak.

‘Just bear with it for a little while. Sir Galon means well.’

The First King’s Cloak settled down. However, that wasn’t the main issue at the moment. Galon then whispered quietly.

“As you said, my lord. It was fortunate that this man had relevant information.”

“Indeed. Thanks to him, we all managed to escape safely.”

Ian pointed to the man Galon was holding—one of Leon’s subordinates, half-dead and barely conscious.

His mouth was gagged, but under the influence of Jealousy, he had already confessed everything.

“There’s a detonator in the lab. One of Leon’s aides can set it off at any time… It can’t be stopped once activated, but… it can be delayed.”

Thanks to that information, Ian and his group had managed to delay the detonation and escape. Of course, there had been some friction with the Second Prince, who had insisted on retrieving some of the lab’s materials.

“Then I’ll go first. If you want to die, stay behind.”

When Ian and his knights left, the Second Prince hesitated briefly—then followed. That decision had saved his life. But the man’s intel hadn’t just been about the facility’s self-destruct system.

“Leon’s true goal is to complete the Seven Sins. Two of them are already finished, and the remaining fragments will soon awaken. He originally planned to awaken all Seven and merge them into himself, but your actions, Ian, made him impatient. He’s already fused the two completed Sins into his body. The next to awaken is Sloth—currently sealed within the Emperor. When Sloth awakens amid bloodshed and chaos, the remaining fragments will return to their original forms.”

That made Ian’s next move obvious.

“We need to head for the Imperial Palace—before Leon does.”

“I’ll begin preparations right away.”

Before leaving, Ian gave Galon a brief order.

“Keep an eye on Leonic. We’ll need him sooner or later.”

There was no longer any reason to stay here. Leon’s secret research lab had been completely obliterated, leaving not a trace behind. The data and evidence of the experiments within it would never see the light of day again; of course, some materials secretly gathered by the Second Prince would remain, unbeknownst to Ian.

“Y-Your Highness! The data—it’s all gone!”

“What? I told you to safeguard it!”

“I—I’m sure I did! But it’s… all vanished!”

The Second Prince’s subordinates fidgeted anxiously. The Prince himself looked absolutely furious.

“Find it! Someone must’ve taken it!”

“B-But, sir! We definitely packed it all into this bag—”

“The bag’s intact, but the data’s missing!”

“Enough! Start searching—now!”

The Second Prince scolded his subordinates harshly. At that moment, Nathan approached Ian from behind with a knowing smile.

“All the data has been taken care of.”

“Good work, brother-in-law.”

Nathan stumbled back quickly, covering his ears as if he had just overheard something he wasn’t supposed to.

“W-What are you talking about?! I—I don’t know anything!”

His face pale, Nathan quickly scampered away. Watching him, Galon smiled.

“Though he acts like that, it seems he handled the task well.”

“Indeed. We can have some fun teasing him for a while.”

Ian smiled subtly. However, in contrast, the Second Prince was sulking.

“How was I supposed to secure that data?!”

He had betrayed Leon and sided with Ian solely to get his hands on it. Yet, Ian had been clear from the beginning—even before the lab exploded.

“What are you trying to take with you? Destroy that data immediately.”

“I can’t do that. This data was made using the blood of Cantum’s citizens. It belongs to me—the next Emperor.”

“Says who? That data also includes the blood of Kaistein and Bahara. I won’t allow it to see the light of day again.”

Those words alone were enough to make the Second Prince consider turning on Ian. He was even prepared to kill him.

‘That man’s completely exhausted. I could easily finish him off if I wanted to.’

To him, Ian was nothing but an obstacle at this point. But his knights shook their heads firmly, trying to stop him.

‘Absolutely not. If you do that, we’re all dead.’

‘These are the same people who overpowered the Black Knights. We won’t be able to protect you, Your Highness.’

The two knights Ian had left behind were the real problem. With their overwhelming strength, the Second Prince had no hope of victory. Reluctantly, he backed down.

“What if I insist on taking the data anyway?”

“Without offering anything in return?”

“…Then what do you want in exchange?”

“If it’s compensation for the blood of my people… it won’t come cheap.”

“Fine. Then… I’ll pay the price.”

The Second Prince promised Ian a price.

“I’ll provide generous compensation to the victims and their families.”

“I’ll mobilize the Imperial Army to ensure this never happens again.”

“If necessary, I’ll make this incident public. I’ll issue official apologies to Kaistein and Bahara.”

“What more do you want?”

“You haven’t offered me any compensation yet.”

The Second Prince could only grit his teeth in frustration. At that moment, it was clear that Ian held the upper hand. It would be troublesome if Ian acted before he could. New ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄhapters are published on ⓝovelFire.net

“Fine. What do you want?”

Resigned, the Second Prince finally spoke.

“I’ll give you one of my treasures. It’s a special relic that even Brother Leonic himself desired.”

“A treasure? I’m not particularly interested.”

“You must’ve heard of it. The relic is called the Dragon’s Tear.”

The Dragon’s Tear. A legendary artifact said to have been left behind by the dragon that founded Cantum. It was a sacred relic passed down to the Second Prince’s mother by the former Emperor.

In the end, he agreed to hand it over in exchange for sparing a portion of the data.

There was nothing left in his hands. Not only had the actual data disappeared, but he was also at a disadvantage in terms of justification, leaving him helpless and frustrated. At that moment, Ian approached him from behind.

“So… when are you giving me the promised item?”

The Second Prince’s eyes widened.

“W-Wait! Don’t tell me… you stole the data?”

“What are you talking about? I was too busy trying to escape.”

The Second Prince was left speechless. But Ian maintained a hidden smile, appearing unaffected on the outside.

‘Thanks to that explosion, I gained far more than expected.’

Even Leon likely believed Ian had been caught in the blast. The outcome of a single explosion had brought Ian immense advantage.

‘Leon will waste time investigating the ruins. That means I have to reach the Imperial Palace before he does.’

Not to mention, he still had to claim the Dragon’s Tear from the Second Prince. The Second Prince wouldn’t want the secrets of the lab he had supported to leak out. Ian had many demands he could make on him.

‘This is what you call killing three birds with one stone.’

So, Ian placed his trembling hand on the Second Prince’s shoulder without him noticing.

“W-What are you doing?”

“Nothing much. I just want to receive what you promised. Let’s head to the palace.”

The Second Prince’s shoulders slumped. He hadn’t even realized Ian’s hand was trembling.

All he could do was groan internally.

“F-Fine. Let’s go, then…”

Ignoring the Prince’s sullen expression, Ian turned his gaze toward the direction Leon had fled.

‘From here on out, it’s my turn to strike. Let’s see how long you can last.’

A small smile played on Ian’s lips.

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