Chapter 560: The Sun Will Eventually Rise

A sealed compartment without even a window, so dark that even nocturnal animals would have trouble seeing clearly.

With a crisp snap of fingers, wavering starlight floated up, finally lighting this space so deathly silent you couldn’t even hear breathing.

The room was very cold. Muen saw faint traces of magical power patterns roaming across the floor, but these arrays were not to protect anything—they were to maintain a low temperature, so that the body lying quietly beneath the white cloth at the very center of the room would not rot for the time being.

Muen walked forward. After lifting the white cloth, a rich, heavy stench of blood hit him in the face at once.

His brows knit slightly.

Because aside from that thick smell, the first thing that entered his sight was a stiff, venom-filled face.

That face—one Muen had met once before, arrogant and self-assured—had now become extremely pale and twisted, like... a lump of clay sculpture that hadn’t even dried and set before it was accidentally dropped onto the ground.

Dark red-black bloodstains stretched along the surface of the table. Beneath the tattered clothing were savage, bleeding wounds.

It looked like this Second Prince—who could now only be called pitiful—had not even had anyone do the simplest handling of his corpse after death, and was simply left here in this ugly state.

Either unwilling, or not daring.

“But... this is even better.”

Muen murmured to himself as he placed his hand on Andrew’s forehead.

“I hope this way, you’ll leave behind more information.”

His mind still throbbed with pain.

But after recovering a little, Muen gritted his teeth and finally forced out a bit more black flame.

The leaping pitch-black fire flickered out between his fingers, then sank into the center of Andrew’s brows.

This corpse would definitely be inspected and handled later by specialists sent by His Majesty, so Muen naturally didn’t dare do anything too obvious.

He only hoped that the obsession and resentment Andrew still carried would let him see more.

The black flame swayed, silently traveling through Andrew’s body, searching and devouring any fragments of soul that might not yet have dispersed.

Muen closed his eyes, sinking his consciousness deeper, and called softly.

“Black Book.”

Rustle.

A black book floated up. Pages flipped, and messy handwriting began to appear on the blank paper.

Those words had no pattern at all, like a mass of garbled code. Muen touched lightly, and images flooded into his mind—yet they were only a blur of broken, fragmented light and shadow.

It was exactly what he expected. After all, Prince Andrew hadn’t died by his hand. He hadn’t been able to use black flame to devour his soul, so he never expected to see anything useful.

But Muen still stayed extremely patient, little by little, seriously watching those useless shattered scenes as they kept flashing through his mind.

Until...

Muen saw the shadow of a flying bird in the very center of the image, bowing slightly.

He made a hoarse sound that was hard to make out, but Muen listened carefully, and could vaguely hear that what he said was...

“Good evening, Mr. Speaker.”

Crack.

The image shattered.

Muen felt a fierce dizziness slam through his brain. A warm sensation rose at the tip of his nose. He hurriedly braced the table, instinctively raising a hand to touch beneath his nose.

Warm blood instantly stained his fingers red.

“Heh.”

His last thread of mental power was completely squeezed dry. But Muen didn’t care about «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» his body, already weak to the point of collapse. He only stared at Andrew’s pale, twisted face and gave a self-mocking smile.

“Speaker... so the one I’ve always wanted to drag out was right under my nose, and I still went to all that trouble, protecting him the whole night... Andrew, so the two of us... were both clowns.”

......

......

“Stop.”

On the carriage ride back to the palace, Albert suddenly gave an order.

The driver didn’t hesitate in the slightest. The carriage came to a steady halt.

Albert lifted the carriage curtain and looked toward the shadowed alley not far away, smiling.

“We’re all friends. Why hide and skulk like this?”

“Friends?”

From the shadows came a sneer. “I don’t remember having a friend like you—someone who, from beginning to end, is nothing but lies.”

“Lies? No. Although I did hide many things from you, on the big points, what I said was all the truth.”

Albert raised his chin and straightened his chest, like he had completely cast off that thousand-jin mask. His tone turned strange and confident.

“Just as you can see, I am more suited than Andrew to sit in that position. Whether it’s means or ability, I far surpass him, don’t I?”

“Far surpass...?”

That voice murmured lowly. “But in my eyes, in some ways, you and Andrew are no different.”

“Is that so...”

Albert heard it and didn’t get angry. Instead, he sounded rather regretful.

“I thought we would always be the same kind of people. After all, our coordination before was quite tacit.”

“Don’t say that kind of disgusting thing to me.”

“I’m sincere. If you join my side, I believe there’s an even brighter future waiting for you, rather than only hiding in the Campbell family’s shadow. But... with your personality, you absolutely wouldn’t do that, would you. What a pity.”

In the darkness, there was no more sound in reply.

Albert shook his head, sat back down in the carriage, and signaled the driver to continue.

“Not dealing with him? He could be a threat.”

At some point, a small, delicate bird landed on the table in front of Albert, hopping as it stuffed the snacks and pastries on the table into its beak.

“No. Tonight has already drawn too many people’s attention. Now isn’t the time to make a move.”

Albert placed both hands on his knees, back straight. In that young body, there faintly seeped a deep, heavy authority.

“Besides... a threat? I don’t think he’s a threat at all.”

“Oh? Why?” the robin asked curiously.

“Very simple. Do you think a ‘dark’ Emperor exposed in the open... still has any threat value?”

The corner of Albert’s mouth lifted as he chuckled softly.

“Hehe. Besides, after tonight, everything the Campbell family has exposed is crystal-clear to us. Tell me—if even the Campbell family can no longer contend with us, then just by himself, a bug that can only buzz in some dark corner, what waves could he possibly stir up?”

“So that’s how it is.”

The robin also looked toward that dark corner, nodding, its tone dripping with ridicule.

“Speaker’s brilliant insight. Just a defeated underling. Indeed not worth mentioning.”

......

......

“This time, I really lost... a complete mess.”

Muen stepped out from the darkness. He lifted his gaze to the surroundings, looking at the wrecked street, looking at the bloodstains that still hadn’t faded, and suddenly felt endlessly lost, not knowing where he should go next.

In the end, his numb consciousness carried him to a high place, overlooking the lower district of all Berland.

The clamor had passed, the strife had passed, the slaughter had passed, death had passed... yet this district, and even all of Berland, was still covered beneath boundless night.

The darkness was heavy as ink, pressing until you could barely breathe.

“What are you doing here?”

He didn’t know how long he had stayed. He hadn’t even paid attention to the vibrations of the transmission stone, until... that familiar, cool voice sounded behind Muen. Only then did his statue-like body tremble slightly.

“I’m... thinking about life.”

That voice didn’t relax Muen at all. Instead, it made him hunch his shoulders even lower.

“Your worthless, failed life?”

“......More or less.”

“What did you think out?”

A familiar faint fragrance came. That silver-white figure sat down beside Muen as well.

Muen didn’t lift his head, and didn’t look at her. He smiled bitterly.

“If it’s a failed life, then what value is there in thinking out an answer?”

“......”

A stretch of silence.

Far away, a few lights flickered on, and then were quickly swallowed by the darkness again.

No one knew how long passed before Celicia finally flicked her eyes toward the disheveled man beside her and continued asking.

“So, you’ve already given up?”

“Given up? Not yet. I’m not so weak that I’d give up completely over this kind of setback. I’m just thinking about a backup plan.”

“Backup plan?”

“Yeah. First I cultivate for a few more decades, cultivate until I’m invincible under heaven, then I charge straight into the palace and slap that old thing to death with one palm.”

“That sounds... like something an unreliable fantasy novel sold at a street stall would write.”

“It is pretty unreliable.”

Muen laughed at himself.

“But after thinking and thinking, it seems this is already the only way. After all, that old thing is now the Empire’s First Prince. With Andrew dead, he’s already the nailed-down future Emperor. If I really ignore everything and strike at him now, I’ll only drag the entire Campbell family into the abyss.”

A lone person’s failure wasn’t much, but he wasn’t alone. Behind him stood the massive Campbell family, and tonight there were already many of the Campbell family’s most loyal subordinates who had died meaninglessly in this cold night.

He couldn’t keep making irrational sacrifices.

“So in the end, you still gave up.”

“I wouldn’t call it giving up. It’s just a realistic consideration.”

“That doesn’t sound like you.”

“Yeah, it doesn’t. Facing an evil god, I can gamble my life, but this time the enemy is competing with you in power and in schemes. Power is inferior, and I got played in schemes too. What can I do?”

Muen stretched out a hand, but no matter how he spread his fingers, he still couldn’t completely seize this endless darkness into his palm.

“......The way you look right now makes me really want to step on you.” Celicia paused, then suddenly said.

“Then step on me.”

Muen answered.

“No resistance? Pervert?”

“......I don’t want to resist. If you step on me a few times, I might feel better inside.”

“Then turn your head over.”

“What, want to step on my face? If it’s stepping on my face, would it be better if I proactively lay down on the ground—”

“Stop talking nonsense.”

Just as Muen was about to move, Celicia grabbed him by the collar and forcefully made him turn his head.

Muen was helpless, thinking that at a time like this, being stepped on by a pretty girl might not be such a bad thing... but what caught him off guard was that what met him wasn’t the girl’s furious foot, but...

Lips.

Small lips—cold and soft. The girl’s scent, together with a sensation like being struck by electricity, surged into his mind, instantly snapping Muen fully awake.

He widened his eyes in shock. Before he could react further, the other party had already pushed him away.

“Do you feel better?”

Those cool eyes looked at him. She had just done something unbelievable, yet the ice-lake depths of those eyes were still calm and without ripples.

“You...”

Muen stared blankly for a long while. He opened his mouth, finally reacting, but still a little dazed.

“You were... comforting me?”

Muen originally thought that the always-tsundere Celicia would snap back with cold words at a question like that, but unexpectedly, she lightly nodded and answered.

“Yes. I was comforting you.”

“Why...”

“Just like I said earlier. I can’t stand looking at you like this.”

Celicia lightly brushed her hair back and said coldly,

“And also, you’ve only lost one round. Looking like this, as my fiancé, you’re making me lose face.”

“Only lost one round...”

Muen froze for a long time again, and then, his brain dulled from over-spending his mind, he finally understood the deeper meaning contained in those simple words.

“Are you saying... you...”

“Think whatever you want.”

Celicia stretched lazily, showing a beautiful curve without restraint, then stood up and strode sharply toward the depths of the district.

But after only a few steps, she turned her head back.

“This is also a road of no return. It might also drag the entire Campbell family into the abyss, and it’s even less your outrageously steady backup plan, so...”

Her gaze shifted slightly. Her tone sounded like a question, yet the words carried a cold, domineering force that allowed no refusal.

“Are you coming or not, Mr. Muen Campbell?”

After distant darkness, there is dawn.

Muen saw dazzling light rising far away, then casting into those ice-lake eyes, tracing within them an absolutely beautiful, breath-stealing, utterly unforgettable... moving arc of light.

In an instant, all confusion scattered away, because at this moment, he saw... the sun that would inevitably rise.

“Of course, noble Princess Celicia Leopold.”

Warmth surged in Muen’s chest, like sunlight driving away every shadow. He smiled, pressed a hand to his chest, and said,

“With you lighting the way ahead, I will fear nothing in battle, and I will win every battle.”

......

“So, does what you said earlier about stepping on me still count? If you’re willing to put on very moist black stockings, I’m not saying I can’t—”

“Shut up.”

“Oh......”

Side by side, the two of them walked into the shadows of Berland that had yet to disperse.

Behind them, the new sun was about to rise—shining upon this vast empire.