Became The Son Of The Final Boss [EN]: Chapter 170

170.

Lilian’s story was interesting to listen to, as long as you weren’t directly involved.

The continent’s hidden secrets!

A secret organization was manipulating the continent’s nations, controlling them as they pleased, and instigating wars.

It sounded like a conspiracy theory, yet it made you wonder if it could actually be true.

I moved to the headquarters barracks with Lilian, Ken, and Olivia.

There was plenty of time to listen to Lilian’s story.

I wasn’t planning on directly attacking the capital of the Pyreon Kingdom until messengers arrived from the eastern, western, and northern fortresses.

I brewed warm tea, handed it to Olivia, Ken, and Lilian, and sat down.

Ken opened his mouth as if he had been waiting for this moment.

“I’ve heard countless conspiracy theories, but I’ve never heard of the secret organization you’re talking about, Lilian.”

Ken questioned the credibility of Lilian’s story.

Lilian nodded.

She understood why Ken would have doubts.

“I didn’t know anything about the secret organization until my disciple Eve became a subject of Duke Daret’s bio-experiments. Even after I found out that Duke Daret was a necromancer, I thought he was just a crazy individual. I didn’t know he belonged to any organization.”

Lilian moistened her throat with the fragrant tea and continued.

“I don’t even know the name of the secret organization yet, but what’s certain is that the goal of those crazy bastards is to completely destroy the Middle Realm.”

“Completely destroy the Middle Realm?”

Lilian nodded at my words.

“Yes. They seem to be doing everything they can to worship the Demon King and bring him to the Middle Realm. Eve becoming a subject of bio-experiments was also part of the preparation for the Demon King’s descent.”

Lilian’s voice was filled with anger and a sigh.

“I only found out this much information by staying in the capital of the Pyreon Kingdom and desperately investigating Duke Daret.”

The information that an 8th Circle mage [a mage of extremely high power] had painstakingly investigated felt so absurd that it sounded like a conspiracy theory.

I didn’t think Lilian was lying.

Ken still had doubts about Lilian’s words, but he spoke based on the assumption that it was somewhat true.

“If what you say is true, it’s certainly surprising. Are you saying that the Pyreon Kingdom is just a puppet of the secret organization?”

“Duke Daret didn’t come forward. But King Lepio trusted only Duke Daret entirely. Rather than a puppet, it’s more like Duke Daret was secretly manipulating King Lepio.”

Ken summarized the situation.

“You had a disciple and were tied to the Pyreon Kingdom because you were held hostage by King Lepio and Duke Daret. And Duke Daret is a necromancer. The organization that Duke Daret belongs to worships the Demon King and aims to destroy the Middle Realm. Is that correct?”

“That’s right.”

“What about the magic circle?”

“I installed it in the early days to travel comfortably from the palace to the ruins. But after Eve became a subject of bio-experiments, I hardly went to the ruins to protect her. I only did what King Lepio ordered.”

Ken discovered one fact from Lilian’s words.

“King Lepio, or rather, Duke Daret, probably knew from the beginning that the ruins were worthless, right? Otherwise, he would have continued to have Lilian investigate the ruins while holding her disciple hostage.”

“That’s right. That bastard probably knew. Looking back now, I think Duke Daret had already finished investigating the ruins completely behind King Lepio’s back.”

Lilian gritted her teeth.

“He must have investigated everything and restored the ruins.”

“It took a year just to解除 [unravel/disarm] the entrance magic. Even an 8th Circle mage struggled so much, even if Duke Daret is a necromancer.”

Lilian interrupted Ken’s words.

“Restoring the magic installed in the ruins isn’t difficult. Maybe Duke Daret didn’t investigate the ruins himself, but the organization he belongs to somehow opened the entrance to the ruins, investigated it, and then restored it to lure various wandering mages.”

Looking at the tea that had already gone cold, I asked an important question.

“What happened to your disciple? She must still be alive since she was held captive in the kingdom. If she had died, I don’t think you would have stayed still with your personality.”

“Eve is alive. But she has become Duke Daret’s minion. Through brainwashing with curses, Eve has lost her memories. She only serves Daret as her master.”

Lilian’s voice was filled with resentment.

“She was a good child. She wasn’t particularly talented, but she was like a light that brightened her surroundings. But due to my mistake, she was reduced to Duke Daret’s slave. It’s difficult, but now I’m going to make Eve comfortable.”

Lilian met my eyes.

“That’s the real reason I made a mana contract with His Highness the Crown Prince. Even if Gordon had died, it wouldn’t have been difficult to delay things at Kaila Hall if I had just coaxed Jane well.”

I narrowed my eyes.

“You were saving your strength?”

“I fought moderately because I was aware of Jane’s eyes. Fortunately, His Highness the Crown Prince brought a large number of Riverhill family mages, so I could pretend to be captured without killing the Imperial soldiers.”

Olivia said in surprise.

“The fierce battle with the magic corps at Kaila Hall wasn’t your real strength?”

Lilian smiled deeply.

“Even if a thousand of those mages came, they couldn’t stop me.”

I couldn’t tell if her words were true or just confidence.

‘What’s certain is that Lilian deliberately didn’t kill the Imperial soldiers.’

Lilian was already thinking of surrendering to me.

“I don’t know much about the secret organization either, but one thing is certain. Their plans changed drastically after Ron Carl Leord appeared. They are thorough enough to ensnare me, but in the face of the Emperor’s power, their schemes are useless.”

My mother came to mind again.

They tried to use my mother in some way to stop my father.

But they failed.

My mother’s death itself could be called a failure. To control my father, it would have been better to take my mother hostage, like Lilian’s disciple Eve, rather than kill her.

“I decided when I went to capture the Crown Prince with Gordon. His Highness the Crown Prince’s command and skill were so great that Duke Daret even mistook that I was truly captured, not just pretending.”

Lilian added.

“The guy who killed the Carion Sword Master ambushed me again, how could I not be captured?”

I smiled bitterly.

“I was completely caught up in your plan from the beginning.”

That I survived the battle with Lilian, and that Commander Hamilton captured her, were all part of her plan.

“I have to make Eve comfortable with my own hands. That’s the last thing I can do for her.”

* * *

I trusted Lilian’s words.

Not because I trusted her, but because of the story I heard from my father.

‘They even cursed the Empress of the Empire. It would have been easier to involve Lilian.’

Even my father lost his beloved mother, so it would have been difficult for Lilian to protect her disciple.

‘I’m also in danger. They attacked the enemy’s surroundings when the enemy was strong.’

Neither my father nor Lilian is an easy opponent.

My father goes without saying, and Lilian may not have power, but her own strength is that of an 8th Circle mage who can be considered one of the best mages on the continent.

So, the unidentified ones attacked not my father or Lilian, but those whom my father and Lilian cherished the most.

Without realizing it, my gaze turned to Olivia.

“Are you okay?”

At Olivia’s words, I exclaimed, “Ah,” and nodded.

“I’m fine. I’m just having complicated thoughts. I thought the Eastern Expedition was just a war with the Pyreon Kingdom, but I didn’t know there would be a mastermind behind it.”

“If Lilian’s words are all true, that’s right.”

“It’s probably true.”

Doubt arose in Olivia’s eyes.

She seemed to feel that I was trusting Lilian too easily.

“First of all, Lilian has no reason to lie since she made a mana contract with me. And.”

I called Olivia closer.

I didn’t tell Ken or Gail about my mother’s story.

Even Gail thought my mother died of an illness.

I slowly told her the story of my father and what happened in the Empress’s Palace.

Explaining it to Olivia helped me organize my thoughts about the secret organization.

Olivia’s face was filled with astonishment after hearing the whole story.

“I can’t believe the Empress passed away so futilely.”

Olivia is the same age as me, so she probably has no memory of my mother at all.

She may be the daughter of Duke James, but when my mother was alive, she was just a child like me.

‘She must have been a promising talent in the family, focusing on training.’

I leaned back in my chair and opened my mouth.

“In the past, I thought my father started wars because of his desire for conquest. On the surface, my father’s justification was to unite the continent and create a world without war under one empire.”

I continued calmly.

“Of course, it’s not that my father’s justification has disappeared. But my father started attacking neighboring countries after my mother’s death. Before that, he focused on stabilizing the Empire.”

My mother hated war, and my father loved my mother so much that he was satisfied with the Empire in its early days.

He loved my mother so much that he gave up his dream of revenge on those who had destroyed his kingdom.

But how could my father be after losing my mother to a curse?

It was natural for him to become an avatar of revenge.

“I think the organization that Duke Daret belongs to is the organization that cursed my mother. Lilian said that Duke Daret is a black magician who specializes in curses.”

“Do you think Duke Daret cursed the Empress?”

“It could be someone else. What’s certain is that the organization Lilian identified is very likely the organization that killed my mother.”

I pressed my temples.

“War isn’t simple, but anyway, this war has a lot of meaning. If possible, I have to capture Duke Daret alive. And King Lepio too.”

Maybe King Lepio has some information.

‘Lilian barely grasped it, and my father spent a lot of time trying to figure them out. Maybe King Lepio is just a puppet. A pitiful puppet who doesn’t even know he’s a puppet.’

I sighed deeply.

‘I haven’t written about such an organization. I’m starting to wonder if this is even the novel I wrote.’

Olivia said.

“If Lilian’s words are true, we must catch those who killed the Empress.”

“We must.”

Olivia said in a warm voice.

“When you talked about your memories with the Empress, I could feel how much you loved your mother. And the sense of loss you felt from losing your mother at a young age.”

I tried to answer casually.

“Olivia also lost her mother. It seems we have more in common than we thought.”

“I don’t have any memories. Having longing based on vague assumptions is definitely different from having longing while cherishing actual memories.”

I got up without realizing it.

At that moment, an urgent voice was heard from outside the barracks.

“Commander!”

Ken came in.

“What’s wrong?”

“Gail has sent a messenger.”

“What messenger?”

“He captured King Lepio and his son, the Crown Prince!”

I hurriedly replied.