Chapter 241
Kazhan genuinely had no desire to engage in conversation with Bariteon. The young Duke of Kelloden, who had studied abroad, had been provoking him at every encounter since returning to Pyrein a year ago. It was infuriating—how the man subtly flaunted his childhood friendship with Ysaris to keep Kazhan in check.
As if she even saw him as a man in the first place.
Whether he correctly interpreted Kazhan’s glare or not, Bariteon curled his lips into a smirk and let out a derisive laugh.
As Kazhan fell silent, Bariteon continued in a measured tone.
As the man with a faint foreign accent turned away, Kazhan clenched his fists, resisting the urge to draw his sword. The fact that he had to endure this—when he could carve that body apart right now—was unbearable.
He desperately hoped Bariteon was lying just to provoke him, but reality was colder than ice. Soon after, Ysaris announced her meeting with Bariteon.
But Kazhan couldn’t stop Ysaris. Watching her soothe him before leaving, he sank alone into a black abyss.
The dread of losing her right before his eyes crept up like a shadow. A cold serpent coiled around his body, tightening its grip on his throat.
He had to do something. Anything.
After standing frozen for a long moment, Kazhan dragged his heavy legs to his dilapidated old house. Rummaging through a hidden compartment beneath the floorboards, he found a note, nearly twenty years old.
[Should you ever wish to return to Uzephia, contact me at the address below.]
It was from a mysterious man who had helped him escape the Empire during a crisis long ago. As a child, he hadn’t understood its meaning—but now, he did.
It was an offer. A promise of aid, should he ever decide to claim the throne. Likely from one of the few nobles who still revered Tennilath’s legacy.
Kazhan memorized the neatly written address and burned the note. The white paper crackled into black ash in the fireplace, its destruction reflected in his crimson eyes.
He hated Uzephia. The palace, a prison. The people who lived there.
Since coming to Pyrein, he had never—not even subconsciously—entertained the thought of becoming Emperor. This life was his own, hard-won. With Ysaris’ help, he had finally built a world for himself. The idea of sitting on a throne, forever shadowed by the Fourth Consort’s disgrace, repulsed him.
Rebellion, by nature, was a gamble with abysmal odds. A risk where survival alone should be the foremost concern.
But…
Watching Ysaris laugh it off as a joke, her guilt unconcealed, Kazhan made his decision.
He would become Emperor. By any means necessary.
……And so, Kazhan reached out to the note’s owner.
And gained a powerful card, Jebiken Barilio.
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