The Story Of The Second Son Of The Baron Family [EN]: Chapter 74

Black smoke billowed, painting the night sky. Despite the darkness, the soaring flames illuminated the capital as if it were daytime, and a frenzied activity gripped the city. People clashed, collapsing in fits of rage. Screams for help mingled with the clang of swords wielded by those who seemed deaf to the pleas. The sickening smell of burning flesh and the agonizing cries of the wounded filled the air. From the upper floors of the Magic Tower, situated at the heart of the capital, the horrific scene unfolded in its entirety.

Clench-

It was a ghastly spectacle: people slaughtering each other. For me, who had only witnessed battles against monsters at the Terra Barrier, where people fought side-by-side to protect each other, it was a particularly jarring sight.

I had seen enough death to last a lifetime, but this… this was different. If you only considered the physical aspect, the deaths at the Terra Barrier were far more gruesome.

It wasn’t as if I hadn’t anticipated such a scenario. In the worst-case, I had envisioned not only a coup in the capital but a full-blown civil war that would tear the empire apart, claiming tens, even hundreds, of thousands of lives.

Moreover, I had endured countless sparring sessions that mirrored actual combat, and I had stared death in the face on numerous occasions. I had witnessed horrific experiments at the Terra Barrier, the bio-engineering of monsters and animals, until I was utterly disgusted. So, it’s a sad truth, but I believed I would be unfazed by this kind of carnage.

Yet, at this moment, my mood was the lowest it had been in recent memory.

Swish-

I drew the curtains, instinctively suppressing the magic that had been fortifying my body. Darkness enveloped the room, and the cacophony that had been assaulting my ears faded away. But my spirits remained low. Even the bed, usually a source of comfort, felt as rough as lying on uneven ground.

An (安 – peace), Pyeon (便 – comfort), Rak (樂 – joy), and so on. Engravings meant to dispel this foul feeling flickered in my mind, but none activated.

Covering poop with dirt only hides it from view; the *jjipjjipham* [a uniquely Korean feeling of unease, discomfort, or something feeling unresolved] and musty smell will linger as long as the source isn’t eliminated. In that case, even a seemingly refreshed mood would soon be dragged down. After my extensive experience at the Terra Barrier, those engravings were nothing more than non-addictive drugs.

‘······.’

I couldn’t drift off to sleep, no matter how I tried, and I simply tossed and turned. In reality, even if I did sleep, the likelihood of the outside noise penetrating the Magic Tower’s defenses was extremely low. But the reason I couldn’t find rest was…

‘Should I abandon it?’

…the worries about the path I had to tread in the future.

[Titan Project]

The initial goal was to enhance the martial capabilities of individual knights to compensate for the lack of manpower and, ultimately, to transform the land beyond the Terra Barrier from a monster-infested territory into a human domain. Of course, that goal remains unchanged to this day. But would others share that sentiment?

I could confidently say no. The reason was simple. Firstly, none of those in positions of power had shared my experiences. Those who hadn’t felt the pain of seeing comrades, with whom they had shared life and death, become monster fodder would never understand.

Secondly, because there was no tangible benefit. More precisely, because the potential profit was insignificant compared to the investment required. The northern part of the Empire was the northernmost region of the continent. Winter reigned for half the year, and even the remaining months offered little warmth.

Even without the monsters, it was a harsh environment, unsuitable for habitation or agriculture. I had stumbled upon a few mines while searching for dragons, but they wouldn’t be enough to justify the effort.

Even if the Titan Project were successfully implemented, clearing the monsters’ land wouldn’t be a simple task. Merely blocking the monsters’ advance already strained the Empire’s resources and manpower; how much more would it cost to push forward?

Besides, the monsters’ territory was vast, large enough to build a kingdom. It was impossible to predict how much time and resources would be needed, and even if doubts arose, there would be no turning back. The only reason we were managing to hold the line with such heavy losses was thanks to the natural fortress known as the Terra Barrier.

‘Should I have sided with the Third Prince?’

It’s a fundamental truth that you can’t expect dividends without investment. If I had supported the Third Prince at the time, wouldn’t I have been in a better position to assert my claims later?

‘That’s nonsense. Even if I had accepted the Third Prince’s offer, I wouldn’t have received that much in return.’

One billion is a substantial sum. It’s an amount that a venture company with a valuation of 100 million would desperately seek, but would a company worth 100 billion or 1 trillion do the same? It would be nice to have, but there’s no need to grovel before investors. That was the dynamic between me and the Third Prince back then.

“······Tsk.”

In this situation, once the power of the Titan weapon is proven and the Titan Project succeeds, where will the knights equipped with Titan be deployed? North? South?

From the perspective of the Third Prince, who would by then be the undisputed emperor, would he favor the barren, cold northern lands, requiring immense investment and time with little return, or the warmer, more fertile southern lands, which could be developed more quickly?

Even if the Third Prince, now the new emperor, genuinely cared for his people and made decisions out of concern for the situation at the Terra Barrier, most of the nobles would undoubtedly oppose it.

Of course, if the troubles in the north had been a recent development, the Empire might have at least considered it, but the losses at the Terra Barrier had already reached a level that the Empire’s nobles were willing to tolerate. They wouldn’t view those losses as a problem but would instead seek opportunities to gain even greater profits to compensate for the shortcomings.

“There’s no solution. None at all.”

Perhaps I was simply deluding myself, but maybe I had already foreseen this. Let’s just finish it first, and we can discuss its application later. Knowing full well that it wouldn’t be that simple.

That night, I couldn’t fall asleep until the early hours, and the capital, as bright as if there was no night, presented a stark contrast.

The next morning, it was readily apparent that the Third Prince’s faction was behind the coup that had occurred the previous night. By sunrise, the only children of the emperor remaining in the capital were the Third Prince, his younger siblings, and those who had aligned themselves with him early on.

To draw swords in the heart of the capital immediately after the emperor’s funeral demonstrated the preparedness and audacity that had allowed the Arsen family to reign as the Empire’s premier noble house, despite not producing exceptional figures like Duke Zeke, Duke Gunter, or my own teacher.

However, even a rotten *junchi* [a type of fish] has some value, and even a bankrupt rich man has three years of resources, the other princes were not simply defeated. Some managed to escape the capital safely and secure their futures in their own territories.

But there was no stopping the tide. Even if a dam like Mount Tai begins to crumble from a small leak, if you address the most critical issues, there will be ample opportunities to repair the damage.

The First Prince and the Second Prince.

The two most significant obstacles for the Third Prince. Compared to them, the other princes were mere piranhas. As such, the coup that took place last night was successful in that it eliminated these two threats.

Once the Third Prince, having seized the capital, smoothly proceeds with the coronation ceremony, it will only take a short time to deal with the former princes who barely managed to escape and fled to their territories. The new emperor, possessing both power and legitimacy, will find it easy to subdue them.

In effect, the competition was over, much faster than I had anticipated, and with less bloodshed. And the Third Prince, the victor, began to distribute rewards in earnest.

“This is the will left by His Majesty the Emperor.”

The day after the coup, the Third Prince and Duke Arsen summoned the key figures of the capital to announce a will declaring that the Third Prince, not the First Prince, would be the next emperor. Of course, no one present believed those words at face value. If such a will existed, they wouldn’t have engaged in a mere battle of wits during the funeral.

However, no one raised any objections. The momentum had shifted, and the Third Prince was not unqualified. Preparations for the coronation ceremony were underway. Simultaneously, the Third Prince sent envoys to his half-brothers, inviting them to attend the coronation. They would be stripped of their royal status and become ordinary nobles or commoners, but their lives would be spared.

It was their choice whether to unite and oppose the Third Prince, who would become the new emperor, or to bow their heads and preserve at least their lives, a matter that held no interest for me. If I had to choose, I would prefer them to submit willingly, avoiding unnecessary bloodshed, but it was not something I could influence.

In fact, for me, the Third Prince was a better choice for the new emperor than the First Prince. A capable and ambitious new emperor would seek new achievements to enhance his reputation. It would be easier to implement my future plans with someone like him than with the First Prince, who possessed ordinary abilities and sought to maintain the status quo.

“What kind of wealth and glory am I going to enjoy that I’m having these worries… Should I just retire to my hometown instead?”

Still, the anxieties about the path ahead persisted.

Knock knock-

Just then, a knight arrived to summon me.

“His Highness the Third Prince has ordered you to bring Lord Dragnil.”

It was more of a polite command than a request. Not that I couldn’t refuse, but there was no reason to do so. Besides, the timing was opportune. I wanted to see for myself what kind of person the Third Prince truly was.

“There will be a body search. Thank you for your cooperation.”

“I understand.”

The security at the Imperial Palace was tight, understandably so, given the circumstances. Of course, it was a meaningless gesture against a wizard.

“His Highness the Third Prince is waiting.”

And the security at this location, where my escort concluded, was even tighter. The door slowly opened, revealing the person at the center of this heavy guard.

“Are you Lenil Dragnil?”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“I’ll be direct. Do you have any intention of helping me usher in a new era?”