The Bastard Swordsman Of The Imperial Guard [EN]: Chapter 185

Dark Room

Yuri trembled, her eyes closed.

Unconsciously, she gripped the blanket tightly.

“Ugh…”

Closing her eyes brought back nightmares.

A murderous intent she couldn’t control enveloped Yuri, a nightmare where she killed everyone in sight.

Isabelle.

Her father, the princes, princesses, nobles.

Reina and Ghent.

Familiar faces flashed by.

Everyone resented Yuri as they breathed their last.

And Yuri, watching them, smiled.

Yuri, lost in her bloodlust, reveled in the situation.

Finally… she saw Rahel’s face, the one who tried to stop her.

Startled-

“Haa. Haa…!”

Yuri shot up from the bed, gasping for air.

Feeling the unpleasant sensation of her back soaked with cold sweat, she covered her face with both hands.

After a moment, Yuri took her hands off her face, placed them on her pounding chest, and took a slow, deep breath.

“It wasn’t a dream. This… actually happened.”

The murderous intent of the Heavenly Execution Star [a being associated with uncontrollable bloodlust].

Yuri had actually felt that power.

When consumed by bloodlust, Yuri couldn’t control herself, but she could wield overwhelming power.

She easily killed Leopold, who controlled Lucifer’s magic, and even tried to kill Isabelle.

If Rahel hadn’t stopped her, she would never have stopped until she had killed at least dozens of people.

“…Rahel.”

It was Rahel who stopped the rampaging Yuri.

If it hadn’t been for him, she probably would have killed Isabelle with her own hands.

If that had happened, she would have been traumatized for the rest of her life.

“…”

Yuri slowly looked down at her hands.

Although she had lost consciousness as the Heavenly Execution Star’s murderous intent subsided, Yuri had no injuries on her body.

Even though she had exchanged blows with Rahel several times, he had been considerate of her.

The murderous intent that had erupted like a volcanic eruption had now subsided.

She had been able to endure the bloodlust even though the Heavenly Execution Star had gone berserk.

“Rahel. You really are… an amazing person.”

She didn’t know how many times he had saved her so far.

If he hadn’t been there, would she have been able to survive?

“Haa… how pathetic.”

Yuri sighed.

She had confidently declared that she would change the Empire, but in the end, she had received help from so many people and caused so much trouble.

She couldn’t do anything alone.

Knock- knock-

Just then, a knock was heard.

Yuri stopped worrying and slowly began to take off her outerwear.

It was time to receive treatment from the elf.

“Yes, come in.”

She didn’t have any injuries on her body, but Yuri, like Rahel, was receiving the natural magic of the elves.

This was because her physical condition had deteriorated a lot while suppressing the Heavenly Execution Star’s energy.

“Yuri, you were here… oh?”

Just then, Rahel, who opened the door and entered, met Yuri’s eyes.

Yuri, who had half-opened her clothes, covered them up as soon as she saw Rahel entering the room.

“R-Rahel? Why are you here… Ah, ah… your body has recovered.”

Yuri felt her face getting hot and fastened the buttons on her clothes.

It was Yuri herself who had asked Rahel to come to her room as soon as he recovered.

“…Yes. The elves told me to go to this room. I’m sorry, Yuri. But you don’t have to worry because I didn’t see anything.”

Rahel turned his head and closed his eyes.

In fact, it was an obvious lie that he couldn’t see anything with his senses.

He had instinctively scanned Yuri’s body as soon as he entered the room, but he didn’t bother to say unnecessary words for the sake of Yuri’s dignity.

“Don’t worry about it. It’s okay because I was wearing underwear.”

“…Underwear?”

Rahel recalled Yuri’s skin he had just seen.

Clearly, Yuri had nothing else on her body except her outerwear.

“You saw everything after all. Haa…”

Yuri sighed at Rahel’s words.

“No, no. I didn’t see it. Really.”

“Hehe, I’m just kidding. It was my mistake, so there’s nothing I can do.”

Yuri gave a faint smile.

She had been lost in heavy thoughts, but thanks to Rahel, her head cleared up a little.

“…I was really surprised, so please don’t play tricks like that. More than that, Yuri. Have you heard any news from outside?”

Rahel felt a headache and sat down in front of Yuri’s bed.

“No. I didn’t think I should say anything until Rahel woke up. I deliberately avoided contact with others.”

“You did well. It’s a mess outside.”

It was already an established fact that a Demon King had appeared in the Imperial Palace.

In this situation, if Rahel and Yuri didn’t coordinate, there would definitely be trouble.

“…Rahel. My father and brothers are all dead, right?”

“Yes. They were worth dying for. Well.”

Rahel picked up a fruit next to Yuri’s bed.

He had a lot of fruit in his room, but it seemed that the elves liked fruit.

“…I know it in my head, but I still can’t believe it.”

When the Heavenly Execution Star’s murderous intent engulfed Yuri, she couldn’t control her body.

She had seen her father and the princes die, but she still couldn’t believe it.

“Don’t think too hard about it. It was going to happen someday. Yuri, you were going to be the Empress, weren’t you?”

In order for Yuri to become the Empress, the princes had to disappear.

The process was a little strange, but it was just that what had to happen happened sooner.

“Rahel. Can I become the Empress?”

“What are you talking about? Now that there are no obstacles, you should definitely become the Empress. Didn’t you say you were going to change the Empire?”

“…But even if I become the Empress like this, I won’t be able to quell the nobles’ dissatisfaction. It’s not a position I obtained with my own ability.”

Until she met Rahel, she had not been properly treated, but Yuri was also a member of the Imperial Family.

She also knew the ecology of the nobles well.

Most of them would recognize Yuri, but there would definitely be nobles who would not recognize Yuri, who became the Empress without proper procedures.

“You can prove your ability from now on. Yuri. I’ll help you.”

“I’m confident in that too, but… there’s not much time.”

Yuri was confident in herself.

She could do better as an Empress than any other member of the Imperial Family.

However, the war with Alheim would soon begin.

If she didn’t firmly grasp the nobles before that, the Empire could be in danger.

“Don’t worry. Yuri. I’ve prepared everything for the troublesome things.”

“Yes? Prepared…”

Just then, as Yuri tilted her head.

[Thump- Thump- Waaaaa-]

Loud noises were heard from outside.

“It seems like everything is ready. You look good too. Let’s go out. Yuri.”

“Yes…?”

“Reporters and nobles are gathered. Duke Eric said he will announce the next Empress, so I’m going to put a spoon on it too [idiom meaning to get involved and benefit from something already in progress].”

The largest newspaper company in the Empire, Night Raven.

He had gathered them through Begguss.

Of course, there were many nobles waiting for Duke Eric’s announcement.

Rahel was going to put a spoon on it in the meantime.

“Yuri, show off your strength.”

Rahel gave a faint smile.

*

The founding ceremony to determine the next Empress of the Millennium Empire, Kamen.

The ending of the founding ceremony, which all countries on the continent were paying attention to, met an ending that no one could have imagined.

A major incident occurred in which half of the Imperial Family who could ascend to the throne, including the current Emperor, died, and thanks to this, hostility towards Alheim soared throughout the continent.

There had been local conflicts since the Great War, but this was the first large-scale conflict.

It’s not just ending in threats.

The war between humans and demons was just around the corner.

As fears grew that the truce would end and war would begin, the Allied Forces also began to grow.

“Tsk. Why are there so many reporters at the Duke’s announcement?”

“I heard that the Hero has finally opened his eyes. It seems that the Hero will also appear at the Duke’s announcement.”

“Oh, really? I can finally find out what kind of Demon King appeared in the Imperial Palace.”

The huge square in front of the Elven Healing Center.

Numerous crowds were gathered in front of the stage in the square.

This was because news had spread that the Hero of the Gaia Order had awakened at a time when fears of Alheim were growing.

“Shh. This is a secret, but… there’s a widespread story that the Demon King who appeared in the Imperial Palace was Maledrakx.”

“M-Maledrakx… are you talking about that monster from the Great War who killed a hundred knight orders alone?”

The noble’s eyes widened.

The strongest and most famous of Alheim’s Four Great Demon Kings was Maledrakx.

The monster had torn apart more than 100 knight orders in the Great War alone.

“That’s right. To chase that monster away single-handedly… the Hero is really amazing.”

“I heard that the Allied Forces suffered dozens of casualties against Lucifer alone… is the Hero that great?”

The nobles talked while waiting for the Duke to appear soon.

Now that there was no Emperor.

The highest person in the Empire was the Empire’s only Duke, Eric Grace.

“What announcement does the Duke, who is serving as regent [temporary ruler], plan to make?”

“He’s not originally interested in power… so he won’t hand over the Emperor’s seat to the Second Princess.”

“I guess so. The Duke supported the Second Princess before anyone else. He’s a man of great insight.”

“He probably has a lot of worries. I supported the Second Princess while treating the demon soldiers, but other nobles will have quite a few complaints.”

There were many nobles in the Empire.

They did not reach the Emperor’s authority, but each one was a person who had deep roots in the Empire.

Most of them supported the First Prince, who had legitimacy.

“We’ll have to see what choice the Duke makes.”

Among them, the most famous noble was Count Samuel.

He was glaring at the stage with a dissatisfied face.

‘The Emperor of the Millennium Empire, Kamen, cannot be determined so groundlessly.’

Since there are no remaining members of the Imperial Family, the Second Princess will eventually become the Empress.

Samuel also knew that.

However, in the process, respect for the nobles who supported the First Prince would be necessary.

Samuel sincerely thought so.

“Regent… well, I’m living to see the day I rise to this position.”

And behind the stage.

Eric Grace smiled and looked at the mark on his chest.

“Your Excellency, the Duke. What is a regent?”

Rahel also saw the mark on Eric’s chest.

“In simple terms, it’s temporarily taking the Emperor’s seat during the vacancy of the Emperor.”

“Why are you in that position when there’s also the Second Princess and the First Princess?”

“Well, the First Princess said she wasn’t interested, and the Second Princess was collapsed. Now that the Second Princess has recovered, I have to stop being regent and hold the coronation ceremony. More than that, Rahel. Didn’t I say you could call me Uncle Eric?”

“I’m still a Hero, so I have to keep some dignity.”

Rahel straightened his clothes.

It was a high-end suit prepared by Begguss.

“Dignity… that’s good too.”

It was a word far from Rahel… but he looked quite dignified.

It seemed that the saying that the position makes the person was not wrong.

“Come to think of it, Rahel. What’s this about Princess Yuriell fighting the Demon King? And what’s this about fixing the nobles’ minds?”

Eric was planning to announce that the Second Princess had recovered and that the coronation ceremony would be held soon.

Then, Rahel came to him, saying that he had to fix the nobles’ minds.

“It’s exactly as it sounds. Let’s go. I’ll show you today.”

“Show me?”

“That messing with the new Empress and the Hero will get you beaten up.”

Rahel smiled and went up to the stage.