The Max Level Hero Has Returned!

Chapter 1375

“Your Majesty, why are you drinking all alone...?”Alberth el Lyndis, the Crown Prince of Lyndis, snatched the liquor bottle from Emperor Deorte's hand before he could continue silently drinking the strong alcohol.

“You insolent brat! How dare you take the Emperor's bottle?”

“Haaah. Father, why are you blaming yourself again?”

The address, the atmosphere, and the tone were different than usual.

However, Deorte didn’t hold it against him.

“Honestly, what happened to Vashas is no one's fault. It was just a disaster,” Alberth said with conviction.

“Do you truly think so?”

“Pardon? Is there something else I didn't know?”

“No, what you know is correct. But Vashas will assume there was something more he doesn’t know, since no one could have predicted that disaster.”

“That's just his delusion...”

A delusion became a person's reality once it was held as a belief. At least, talking to Vashas about that day's accident in the present day would be utterly useless.

He was a pitiful soul who loved his mother more than anyone, was unable to accept her early death, and thus closed his heart off.

That was the fundamental reason why the noble faction in Lyndis still held power. It was the very reason why the imperial family member who lent strength to the noble faction could still be alive.

“How did that brilliant boy end up like this...”

Alberth had become the crown prince long ago, but Emperor Deorte and Alberth had planned a future where Alberth would be the crown prince and Vashas would assist him.

However, a single landslide shattered everything.

A catastrophe with no perpetrator.

“It might be better if Aeria doesn't know. She was distressed for days after the accident, barely able to keep herself sane.”

Not many people had survived that accident. Aeria was among them, but the empress consort, one of the empire's First Ladies, had perished, swept away by the mudslide while trying to save people.

Aeria's memory of the time was vague due to the shock and trauma of the accident. Even so, she felt a subconscious sense of guilt over the death of the late empress consort, who had died trying to save her and the servants.

The relationship between Vashas and Aeria was completely destroyed after that accident. The memory of Vashas fiercely demanding to kill Aeria right then and there, and his own sadness as he subdued him, was still unsettling in his mind.

“Vashas is too far gone now. He lost his spirit—his very soul—after that, but Vashas is not the only problem.”

Vashas lost his spirit, but he had not lost his intention to serve the Lyndis Empire.

However—

“Belluard should be prioritized. Although the age gap with Aeria is not significant, he was heavily influenced by Vashas. His current hatred for beastfolk is merely an unprovoked outrage.”

While Vashas’s hatred for beastfolk stemmed from Aeria, Belluard, who’d grown up under his influence, simply hated beastfolk. There was no great cause or reason behind it.

That made it almost impossible to change him.

“That's not all, either. That lunatic Vashas apparently said he’d take the position of crown prince for himself. It's a disrespectful remark, but the crucial issue is something else.”

'You will grow up to be Emperor.'

Belluard, who’d already had an aggressive nature, was basically enthralled by those words and had eventually developed an excessive sense of ‘chosen one’ mentality.

To make matters worse, it happened during his adolescence, the period when a person’s values were most easily shaped.

“I hope that brat doesn't cause trouble. If he's too late...”

“I can't allow that,” Deorte solemnly responded.

“Your Majesty!”

“I was too careless. I was too complacent with the response, so the empress consort and many others were caught in the accident.”

That day's incident was not just a raw nerve for Vashas and Aeria. It was just as painful for Emperor Deorte.

He had been the one to recommend the trip. Of course, he had not foreseen the landslide. However, he still felt a sense of guilt, wondering if he may have found signs of the landslide if he had investigated just a little more thoroughly. Even when the experts told him that no amount of investigation could have predicted it, the feeling remained.

It had been a catastrophe. An unprovoked disaster.

“Father!”

“That's enough. Leave now.”

Alberth felt utterly disheartened by his father's appearance. The man before him looked so weak and dejected, making Alberth doubt if he was truly the absolute ruler of the Lyndis Empire.

He also felt angry at himself for not realizing that his father, who pretended to be firm and resolute on the surface, had carried the painful memory for his entire life.

“Your Majesty, you must remain strong. This empire still needs Your Majesty.”

“I understand, now go...”

“Oh, and Your Majesty,” Alberth added.

“What is it?”

“There are some unusual movements within the empire lately.”

Emperor Deorte waved his hand dismissively, as if uninterested. “Work talk even at a time like this?”

“I’m only reporting this because I think you should know.”

Deorte’s expression tightened at Alberth's unusually serious tone.

* * *

The person Belluard resented the most was none other than Evangeline. Not only did he see her as a beastfolk he despised, but she had dared to act that way toward someone who would one day become the emperor of a great empire.

He could not forgive her.

Knowing he would have no chance if he confronted her directly, he decided to use someone who had bothered him for a long time.

Someone who, despite being a lowly beastfolk, was technically part of the Imperial Family.

Of course, he hadn't intended to go so far at first. With his limited wisdom, he had no chance to be a David against Goliath.

Fortunately, an opportunity had suddenly come his way.

He was writing a letter. After briefly looking over the letter, neatly written in a formal script unlike his usual handwriting, he asked one of his followers with an uneasy expression, “This should do, right?”

“It will work out, Your Highness.”

While Vashas had deliberately removed all the bad followers who worked for Belluard, he had failed to identify the old man who’d just spoken.

It wasn’t surprising that he had missed the old man, though. He was quite a mysterious and elusive figure.

Belluard still wasn't sure about the plan. “What if they find out...”

“Do not worry. Grand Duchess Aeria will simply be receiving a letter of unknown origin. What happens afterward is purely an act of God.”

“Good. I trust you,” Belluard answered with a smirk on his face.

“Thank you.” The old man then left the mansion discreetly through a window, having habitually pulled on a black robe.

After moving to a secluded spot, he surreptitiously pulled out a communication artifact.

“It's Owl. The operation is a go.”

- Good. Remember, leave absolutely no evidence. Whether you succeed or fail, all responsibility must fall on both Imperial Grandson Belluard and Imperial Prince Vashas.

“I understand. I will finish the job well, so please make sure the reward is generous.”

- If you succeed, I will certainly give you a reward worthy of your efforts.

“But will the Grand Duke of Heins really handle it so carelessly?”

- It doesn't matter even if it ends as a simple accident. The important thing is to create a massive rift between the Lyndis Empire and Heins Territory, creating a pretext to shake up the noble faction within Lyndis.

It didn’t matter if the target survived or was just injured and the attempt failed. Even that alone would be an irreversibly huge problem.

Owl cut the communication with a look of satisfaction and wore a chilling smile.

His purpose in approaching Belluard was to shake the Lyndis Empire from within and cause a conflict with Heins. It wasn’t an easy task, but fortunately, the work had progressed well thanks to the vain and incompetent Belluard.

“Stupid fool. Well, thanks to him, things went smoothly for me...” he muttered to himself, then suddenly flinched in surprise. He turned and saw someone running away in a hurry.

‘T-That’s...?!’

It was a person Owl knew—the royal attendant of the mansion where Belluard was staying. He was a loyal retainer of Vashas.

Seeing him running with a pale face, it seemed he must have overheard the conversation Owl had.

Owl began to suspect that he might even have been following him the whole time.

“Damn it. To make such a mistake...”

If the royal attendant escaped, the entire plan would fall apart.

Belluard was foolish enough to agree to the plan, but Vashas would never stand idly by if he knew.

“Tsk...” He took a short breath and stepped forward.

Boom!!

Owl showed a burst of speed belying his old age. After suddenly vanishing, he appeared in front of the royal attendant.

The moment the royal attendant noticed his presence and his eyes widened, a chilling blade pierced through his abdomen.

“It's the spleen. The place that causes rapid death from excessive bleeding. I hold no personal grudge, but I cannot let you live and leave here.”

“W-what exactly... are you plotting?” the royal attendant coughed out.

“Nothing much. Just thinking of shaking up the Lyndis Empire a little.”

Vashas also disliked Aeria, but he was fundamentally different from Belluard.

He was skillful in uncovering the true intentions hidden within events. Unlike Belluard, who’d do anything to inflict pain on Evangeline, Vashas was a person who would be able to figure out that the end of the plan was to ruin his empire.

Therefore, it was vital for the details not to reach Vashas before the plot was carried out.

“Grk. Argh.”

Owl laughed coldly as he watched the dying royal attendant, then sheathed his sword and turned away. “Curiosity got the best of you. To chase after me alone without fear? Tsk tsk.”

As Owl disappeared after passing the royal attendant, the man desperately stretched a trembling hand into the air.

He needed to inform Vashas! If things continued unimpeded, not only Belluard but Vashas, too, would be finished. No, if things went as they planned, even the entire Lyndis Empire could be severely shaken.

He had to stop that, but he had no strength to move his body.

He was slowly dying.

He felt his vision blacken, as if he had stared at the sun for too long.

‘Is this what life flashing before my eyes is like?’

The royal attendant remembered how his lord had once smiled brightly a dozen years before.

‘I can't. My lord will be in danger if I don’t st—’

However, he had no means to move. His vision gradually blurred.

‘My lord. You must be careful... I must stop these people reaching out to the young master...’

Unfortunately, his voice never reached Vashas.

* * *

Jeo-Seung, who purified souls through the River of Souls, had several hobbies. One of them was observing the karma of the souls' lives.

Of course, he preferred the joy of observing the karma of those who lived righteously rather than the wicked ones.

He had heard about Empress Redimia purely by chance. He had learned about that incident from the empire’s past after Evangeline caused trouble and became involved with the Lyndis Empire.

Since it had happened over a dozen years before, there was naturally no way her soul still remained. He figured she must’ve reincarnated, but surely records of her should’ve still existed.

It felt like he was overstepping his authority under Sorcerer Woochi, but he couldn’t help it. He felt like he’d go crazy if he didn’t let off some stress with such antics sometimes. Moreover, he had an excuse.

Davey had expressed his concern over Aeria having conflict with her older brother, and so had asked him to investigate any traces of her soul.

“Oh?”

He had heard that Empress Redimia was a very kind person, so he looked for her records with a flicker of anticipation.

However, an unexpected truth confronted him.

“No... records?”

For him to find absolutely no record of reincarnation meant that her soul had never even reached the River of Souls.

“What...”

Unable to suppress his curiosity, he investigated to see if the record was somehow incorrect.

When a soul entered the River of Souls, it always left a record.

Still, even upon a second inspection, there were no records of her, as if she were still alive.

“That doesn't make any sense.”

Of course, there was a possibility that her soul couldn’t reach the River of Souls and was wandering in the lower heavens, but Davey had personally visited the accident site and been unable to find even the slightest trace of her soul.

She was neither wandering in the lower heavens, nor had she arrived at the River of Souls.

That fact could be interpreted in two ways.

“So, she could be alive?” Davey asked him once they met back up.

“For now, that seems to be the correct assumption. Other than that, the only possibility is the soul being extinguished. But that isn’t a phenomenon that occurs easily, and if she had truly been extinguished, her soul record likely would have completely vanished.”

“Then what is it? Is she wandering in the lower heavens?”

“It's a bit of a stretch, but you should consider the possibility that her soul isn’t merely wandering in the lower heavens... but is being detained somewhere.”

Davey’s head tilted at his report. “Detained?”

“Yes. It’d be impossible for her to be wandering in the lower heavens, unless she harbored enormous resentment. Yet the karma I checked showed no sign of her holding such resentment.”

Davey nodded silently, trying to come up with an answer.

Then.

“Are you there?”

“Huh? Yes.” Aeria placed down a cookie tray. “Please have some while you work. I baked them myself.”

“Thanks.”

When he answered with a gentle smile, she slightly avoided his gaze. “Ummm. Davey.”

“Yes?”

“Can you... do me one favor?”

“Of course, I will. What is it?”

“I want to visit the accident site where the former Empress Consort of Lyndis, Empress Redimia, died...”

Davey looked at her with a questioning expression. “To that place? Why?”

“The truth is...” Aeria pulled out a letter with an unknown sender from her inner pocket.

Inside it was—