Chapter 100: 056. Ruppel Olfolse (Part Two)
The sickness of her mind progressively got worse with every passing day. She eventually started calling a young male servant by her son’s name, Ruppel, and even referred to a small doll in her hand as her own son.
It got to the point where she’d end all of her sentences with the clearly unstable-sounding words of, “You are a child that will make his highness the Crown Prince happy.”
I asked, “…Wasn’t there a way to heal her?”
“A Priest can certainly heal the injuries and illnesses of one’s body, your highness. However, they are unfortunately powerless when confronted by the diseases of one’s mind.”
A despair-filled time period ensued. The Crown Prince decided to have another child with Rose, believing that it’d be the best thing for her future happiness.
The thinking there must’ve been that she’d eventually forget about the pain in her heart and lead a brand new life from that moment on.
But then, around the time she became pregnant with the current Third Imperial Prince Ruppel, a new problem reared its head.
Harman’s voice quivered as if the memory was too painful to recall. “It was around this time that Lady Rose ended up committing an act that she should never have done.”
“Something that she should have never done, is it?”
Cold sweat continued trickling down Harman’s face. He swept back his hair, and after a lengthy hesitation, opened his mouth once more. “She… managed to revive the Second Imperial Prince.”
“…”
A creepy chill ran down my skin.
In the continent’s lengthy history, [Resurrection] had never succeeded once. It didn’t matter which Magician, Alchemist, or Priest attempted it, in the end, they all utterly failed.
Not even the previous Saints and Saintesses managed to pull it off, so obviously, it was impossible for everyone else. With the sole exception of someone like me who possessed the powers of both a Necromancer and a Priest.
However, not even I would be able to revive a dead person if it had been left to rot for a long time.
So when he said she ‘revived’ her dead baby, it could only mean…
“…As an undead, huh.”
Harman responded gloomily, “Yes. It was an unthinkable act for someone from the Imperial Family.”
“But how? Wait, are you saying that she’s a Necromancer?”
“We still haven’t figured out how she pulled it off, your highness. Some posited that the Necromancers had somehow bewitched her. As a result, the imperial court initiated a wide-scale operation to apprehend and execute Necromancers back then.”
The Crown Prince despaired, and from that day onward, distanced himself away from Rose. He even had to eliminate his own stillborn child.
Even then, Rose acted as if she had no clue what she had done.
Perhaps with excellent timing, the Third Imperial Prince was born right around then. Rose began thinking of the child as the Second Imperial Prince.
And that’s how the Third Imperial Prince ended up being called the Second Prince by his own mother, and even inherited the dead baby’s name too.
The reason why she still called him like that was most likely her mental condition, the ‘disease of the mind’, hadn’t healed at all.
“Well, that was a pretty horrible ordeal.”
Hmm, the trio of ‘chaos, confusion, and obsessiveness’ that showed up when I looked at her through [Mind’s Eye], I’m guessing they were caused by this event, then?
I shook my head. “What a tragic event that was.”
“Yes, it is indeed so, your highness.”
Even while saying that, Harman sighed deeply as if all his strength had abandoned him just then.
**
(TL: In 3rd person POV.)
Rose and her son were riding in the carriage. She had the lower half of her face covered with a hand fan.
She narrowed her eyes and spoke up, “Allen Olfolse, that child is looking rather healthy these days.”
Ruppel flinched a little at her sudden observation and shifted his gaze over to his mother.
She continued on. “It would’ve been so much nicer if he also died when Yulisia was killed, too.”
Those deeply cold words sent shivers down Ruppel’s whole body. “Mother, he’s still my little brother. I beg of you to mind what you…”
“To think that they failed to assassinate him during his exile. It seems that the Black Order is also useless.”
Ruppel sucked in his breath.
Rose’s snake-like eyes were now firmly locked on her son. “You must never lose to that boy, understand? For the sake of your father the Crown Prince, you must inherit the Holy Emperor’s throne no matter what. If you fail, how will I be loved by him again? Wouldn’t you agree, Ruppel? My beloved Second Imperial Prince.”
Ruppel shivered where he sat.
This woman… she was definitely broken. Her excessive love had broken her beyond repair.
With her mind tainted so much by chaos, confusion, and obsessiveness, she was no longer a human but a monster who had discarded her humanity.
She gave birth to a stillborn child, the Second Imperial Prince, who was meant to earn the affection of the Crown Prince for herself. That made her too impatient. Her fears over his interest in her waning went on to disease her mind to this degree.
“Mother, perhaps it’s time that you stop bringing up father in the…”
Ruppel’s gaze drifted to the side.
That’s when he noticed the maidservant sitting beside his mother.
The maid with black hair and black eyes was staring back at Ruppel with a truly bewitching look. While doing so, she raised her hands and softly massaged Rose’s shoulders.
Ruppel flinched and stiffened up just a little.
“What do you mean, my child?”
Rose’s voice woke Ruppel back up, he urgently shook his head.
“…No, it’s nothing to worry about, mother.”
“Now that I think about it, the envoy should arrive soon, won’t he?”
“Y-yes. Indeed, mother.”
Ruppel loosened his collars at the suffocating feeling.
“Do your best to resolve this matter well. It will serve as a heaven-sent opportunity for you to become the next Holy Emperor, after all.”
“…I’ll engrave that in my heart, mother.”
Ruppel sucked in more breaths.
He also knew that he couldn’t afford to make any mistakes in the upcoming event. For the sake of himself and his mother, he definitely needed to succeed.
Ruppel opened the partition to the coachman’s seat and addressed the driver. “We are heading to the border region at Aslan. I’ll go and greet the envoy now.”
**
At the giant border wall to the kingdom of Aslan.
The envoy from Aslan, who had been granted permission to step into the empire’s territory, entered through the open gap of the massive gate of this wall currently being manned by the Paladins of the Theocratic Empire’s Heavenly Army.
The envoy was decked out in a loose-fitting robe. Besides his eyes, the rest of his face was hidden behind a red bandana.
Several Necromancers were following him from behind as his guards. All of them were equipped with a sword on their hips, while their right hands carried magic staves.
The envoy rode on horseback and travelled past the massive gate, and once he got safely across, he pulled the bandana down from his mouth.
“So this is the land of the gods, is it?!”
His eyes went round from shock.
He then looked behind him, beyond the gates he just went through.
There it was, the dry, desolate wasteland where only the winds of sand blew around.
He turned his head and looked to his front.
A blessed land filled with fertile, rolling green hills that were gently caressed by the refreshing breezes.
He only travelled past a single gateway, yet the difference between two areas was just too stark.
If Aslan did manage to acquire this fertile land, then it’d be the same as acquiring heaven itself.
The envoy took his time to take in and admire the wide-open verdant fields before shifting his gaze to his side.
He could see numerous Paladins lining up near the border wall.
These Paladins, armed from the top of their heads right down to their toes with nary an opening to speak of, stood there like unmoving statues.
…The Heavenly Army. One of the five main forces of the Theocratic Empire, who absolutely obeyed the commands of the Holy Emperor.
Although their overall skill level fell a little behind compared to the other Orders of the Cross, they still possessed an overwhelming might if you judged them on their sheer scale alone.
Just a single word from their emperor, and these holy knights would ignore the threat of death and invade Aslan. That would result in Aslan’s territory, which was already a wasteland to begin with, to turn into a scorched, burning land in an instant.
“I welcome you to the empire, sir envoy.”
The envoy turned his head once more.
The Third Imperial Prince, Ruppel Olfolse, was welcoming him with a dignified, princely manner. “It must’ve been difficult to travel such a long distance, sir envoy.”
Aslan’s envoy formed a considerably smooth smile as he stared at Ruppel. He smartly bowed and offered his greeting as well. “This one is called Haima, a special envoy dispatched by his majesty of Aslan. It’s my honour to make your acquaintance, your highness the Third Imperial Prince.”
Haima continued observing the Third Imperial Prince Ruppel closely.
“I heartily welcome you to the Theocratic Empire. I’m Ruppel Olfolse.”
Ruppel extended his hand, and the envoy, Haima, shook the hand with a thick smile etched on his face.
No one was more important than the Third Imperial Prince Ruppel Olfolse when it came to what would happen soon. If this prince was utilised well, then Aslan should be able to acquire all these wide-open green fields.
“Imperial Prince Ruppel, please take good care of us during the upcoming events.”
Haima smiled away with his eyes.
< 056. Ruppel Olfolse (Part One and Two) >
