Chapter 232: Chapter 232

Ian marched toward the Imperial Palace, dragging the Second Prince and Leonic along with him. Naturally, he led the procession, flanked by hundreds of thousands of soldiers. Behind him followed the Second Prince and Leonic, both wearing disgruntled expressions.

Then, the helmet spoke.

[But what do you plan to accomplish by going to the palace ?]

[You’ve seen the power of the Seven Sins. These guys are useless in battle.]

The helmet was referring to the Second Prince and his army—an army that had once been easily defeated by the black knights, who had grown stronger under the influence of the Seven Sins. Leon, having already absorbed two fully awakened Sins, remained an unknown threat. No one could accurately gauge the extent of his forces. The helmet feared another devastating loss. But Ian remained confident.

‘I told you. I’ve found his weakness.’ The latest_epɪ_sodes are on_the novel·fire.net

[No way… I didn’t sense anything like that.]

‘Of course not. It’s a weakness only someone who possesses the Seven Virtues can perceive.’

Ian wasn’t bluffing. During his confrontation with Leon, he had clearly felt the Seven Virtues stirring within him. At the time, he had fought using the Seven Sins, trying to counter Lust and Greed. But had he used the Seven Virtues instead, the outcome might have been different.

‘Besides, we have to go to the palace to win.’

Ian simply smiled, feeling a certain item in his possession pulsing with energy. Rather than explaining, he glanced behind him.

‘That guy will explain it.’

Trailing behind were the Second Prince and Leonic, arguing as usual. Leonic sneered sarcastically.

“You brought this on yourself, little brother. You were so arrogant, thinking you could do whatever you wanted.”

“What are you talking about?”

“What now? Unless you silence every soldier here, the whole empire will find out you aided the enemy in running a secret lab. No—this won’t stop at Cantum. Every nation will hear of it.”

“You’ve disgraced the Cantum Empire with your foolishness.”

The Second Prince snorted.

“If we can stop the rumors from spreading, what’s the problem?”

“And how do you plan to do that? Kill every soldier here?”

The Second Prince had brought hundreds of thousands of troops—many wounded, but still a formidable number. Silencing them all would be no easy task. Besides, they were his primary power base. If he killed them himself, the First Princess might come for his head next.

“You think you can kill Ian too? He’d take your head before you even got close.”

“I know that already. Just shut your mouth, brother.”

“What! You couldn’t even look me in the eye before!”

Leonic shouted, his face twisted with anger, while the Second Prince appeared genuinely irritated. In the past, their reactions might have been quite different.

‘He’s lost everything—his soldiers, his faction. Even the First Princess, who shares the same mother, no longer sees him the same way.’

In contrast, the Second Prince commanded hundreds of thousands of soldiers—loyal enough to risk their lives to kill Leonic at his command. Yet, he couldn’t give that order.

‘I can’t touch him yet. He’s acting so bold because Ian is protecting him.’

The Second Prince glanced at Ian, who was focused on the path ahead, seemingly oblivious.

‘Now’s my chance, while he’s distracted.’

But a knight—one of Ian’s—remained stationed close to Leonic. The Second Prince spoke smoothly.

“Sir Nathan, aren’t you needed elsewhere? Prince Ian is unguarded.”

“Prince Ian is with Galon. He’s well protected. Why? Would you like me to step away?”

“If you don’t mind, I’d appreciate it.”

The Second Prince’s eyes gleamed. He was preparing to strike the moment Nathan left. But Nathan, as if he’d been expecting it all along, chuckled and called out,

“Your Highness! The Second Prince wants me to step away—what should I do?”

The Second Prince waved his hands in panic.

“No, that’s not what I meant…”

He didn’t want to provoke Ian. He tried to make it seem like he had no intention of harming Leonic, who was under Ian’s protection. But Ian already saw through everything. He chuckled and replied,

“If he’s asking, let him. Sir Nathan, give him some space.”

“Are you sure, Your Highness?”

“He’s someone who’s about to hand over a treas… I mean, he’s a valuable customer. There’s no way he’d kill him. I’m sure it’s just a family matter they need to settle.”

“I see. Then I’ll get some fresh air.”

The Second Prince’s face twitched.

‘Did he almost say ‘treasure’? Was that just my imagination?’

But that wasn’t the point right now. The only thing that mattered was that Nathan had stepped away. The Second Prince advanced toward Leonic with a chilling expression.

“Brother. What did you say to me just now?”

“You bastard… You really plan to use force against me in front of everyone?”

“Everyone? Who’s watching?”

As he spoke, nearby soldiers turned their backs, forming a wall like a shield.

They closed in, enclosing the two brothers in a private circle, hidden from view.

“Now it’s just us, brother.”

Leonic gritted his teeth, trying to brace for a fight. He remembered stepping on the Second Prince time and again in the past. But things didn’t go as expected.

‘M-my body… it won’t move.’

The issue was that Leonic’s body had grown stiff from long confinement. To make matters worse, he lacked his favored weapon and his once-boastful magical tools. Meanwhile, the Second Prince had become a seasoned fighter, his skills sharpened by a lifelong thirst for revenge.

“I’ve never liked you!”

Without warning, the Second Prince lunged at him.

Fists rained down on Leonic. Unable to defend himself properly, he was beaten like a dog. He tried to resist, but it was no use.

“Stop… Stop it! We’re not alone—”

“You used to say that too, remember? When I begged you to stop back then, Brother?”

But the Second Prince didn’t stop. Instead, he swept Leonic’s legs out from under him and stomped on them with both feet. He followed up with brutal kicks—just as he himself had once endured in the past.

“Arghhh… S-Stop! I said stop!”

After beating him for some time, the Second Prince leaned in close and whispered coldly into Leonic’s ear,

“I could kill you right now… and claim it was an accident.”

“Ian… He won’t just stand by and watch.”

“If I pay the right price, it won’t matter. Even if it costs me half of Cantum, I’ll kill you here.”

Leonic’s expression hardened. He glanced over at Ian in desperation—but Ian seemed entirely uninterested, focused on his path to the palace. Gritting his teeth, Leonic muttered,

“What do you want from me?”

The Second Prince smirked.

And then it hit him. Leonic realized exactly what his brother was after. There was only one thing left that he still possessed—one thing worth coveting.

“The Imperial Seal. Where is that item that has been passed down since the founding of Cantum?”

“T-that’s with His Majesty the Emperor…”

“That’s a fake. I already know you have the real one.”

Leonic’s eyes widened in genuine shock. He hadn’t realized just how deep the Second Prince had dug. But his brother wasn’t finished yet.

“With the true seal, one can become the rightful emperor. I’ve also heard that only the founding-era seal can earn the dragon’s recognition.”

“How do you know that…?”

“The reason His Majesty has weakened so much… is because you stole the real seal. For the emperor, that seal is everything.”

Leonic broke into a cold sweat. That knowledge was supposed to be secret—known only to the Emperor and the Crown Prince. A mere Second Prince should never have been aware of it.

But he couldn’t reveal the seal’s whereabouts now.

‘That bastard already has it.’

Ian had taken excellent care of the real seal. And there was another problem.

‘Even if I say Ian has it, that fool wouldn’t believe me. And there’s no way to prove it now.’

Revealing the seal’s location would only paint a target on Leonic’s back. The Second Prince could easily offer Ian the empire—or half of it—in exchange for both the seal and Leonic’s life. Ian seemed indifferent to Cantum’s internal struggles. The deal wouldn’t be out of the question.

‘Until I join forces with my sister, the First Princess, I can’t say a word.’

‘That guy… he knows.’

Ian. He was the real problem. He was pretending not to listen, but Leonic could tell—his ears were perked. That idiot of a brother didn’t realize it, but Ian was catching every word.

‘Up until now, Ian must’ve thought the seal was just a symbol of royal authority. But now—he’s hearing the truth.’

If Ian fully grasped the seal’s true significance, he wouldn’t let it go.

‘At this rate, I’ll lose my chance at the throne forever.’

Panicking, Leonic shouted:

“Just kill me! Kill me already!”

He lunged at the Second Prince, trying to silence him before he said any more. But the Second Prince easily dodged the attack and sneered.

“Oh? Don’t tell me… you actually lost it? You remember, right? The seal is useless unless it’s acknowledged by the dragon. Without that, the throne means nothing. Or did you forget? The throne itself is enchanted with the dragon’s magic. Only the one who sits on it can make a request to the dragon.”

“Shut up! I said shut up!”

“So you really did lose it. Tch. Then I’ll just have to find another dragon. Only they can forge a new seal. Or wait—don’t tell me that fake seal was made by a dragon too?”

“You… you crazy fool!”

Leonic felt an urge to cry. That damned little brother of his was carelessly exposing all their secrets right in front of Ian—thinking no one would catch on. No, the truth was he could rant so freely because he had no idea about Ian and the Dragon.

‘He has no idea that Ian Kaistein is bound by a pact… with a dragon.’

Very few people knew that. In fact, Leonic might be the only one in Cantum who did. Who would ever imagine a human had forged a pact with a dragon?

Even Cantum’s imperial house had an agreement with the Empire and the Dragon. But that wasn’t the real concern now.

‘If he keeps spilling everything…who knows what Ian will do with that information!’

Ian could very well claim the Cantum throne for himself. It would no longer belong to the empire’s royal bloodline—it would end up in the hands of the Kaistein monarchy.

Ian’s eyes gleamed with interest.

‘So that’s the secret behind the seal Leonic’s been obsessing over.’

Now that he thought about it, the seal in his possession had been acting strangely—almost like it was resonating not with Leonic, but with him. It radiated warmth… as if it had already chosen him.

Besides, Ian had forged a pact with Rio Banzaim, a dragon. He even recalled another name:

“My name is Kanhelna. Kanhelna Kaistein.”

The name of a massive dragon with stunning red scales—one that was undoubtedly tied to the first king.

‘I might need to find her after all.’

Of course, before that, he would need to earn the recognition of Cantum and the dragons connected to it. Still, he had acquired a powerful new card to play.

‘Even after defeating Leon, I was unsure how to deal with his forces. This is perfect.’

It was time to play the card he had been saving.

One must fight monsters… with monsters.

‘I wonder how Leon will handle a dragon. I can’t wait to find out.’

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