What Became of the Tyrant After the Pregnant Empress Left - Chapter 151
The Kingdom of Pyrein had been ruled for generations by the Chernian royal family, but at some point, the bloodline became mixed with that of another race. It began when a woman from the northeastern barbarian tribes, conquered by the former royal family, entered the royal harem.
The prince born to this barbarian concubine originally had no claim to the throne, but through his exceptional charisma, he gathered his own forces and succeeded in rebellion. Though he continued to carry the Chernian name and ruled the Kingdom of Pyrein, he could never shake off the label of being a barbarian.
Over the next five generations, no bloodline ability users of Chernian descent appeared in Pyrein. It seemed as though the old saying was true: mixing with barbarian blood caused the loss of the hereditary abilities passed down through the bloodline.
A country ruled by despised barbarians. It was no wonder that Ysaris, the sole princess of such a land, was unwelcome in Uzephia, where the power of Tennilath was highly valued.
“But it’s strange, isn’t it?”
Zebiken glanced out the window. Winter had arrived unnoticed, announcing its presence with the skeletal trees. The empress had returned to the empire at the tail end of summer, and much time had passed since then.
That was the problem. Over the months that had gone by, the emperor had been unusually quiet.
Of course, there had been a bloody incident not long ago, but that was the result of a justifiable event. Considering how the emperor had rampaged like a madman in the empress’s absence, it was surprising that he had only executed those who needed to be dealt with and neatly handled the aftermath.
If Zebiken hadn’t intervened, the group of dark mages might have truly been caught. It was something that wouldn’t have been possible if the emperor hadn’t regained his sanity.
“But it shouldn’t be possible.”
Zebiken muttered as he stroked the short beard on his chin.
It was widely known that the royal family made pacts at the cost of blood, but as the chancellor, he was well aware not only of the exact nature of Tennilath’s power but also of the side effects that came with it. He knew in detail the symptoms the emperor had suffered after the empress left.
It wasn’t just the inability to sleep—there were other things that took a greater toll on the mind. Hallucinations and auditory delusions were severe, and where did they all stem from? The root of the curse, which stimulated negative thoughts, was the very source that drove people to madness.
Zebiken had watched firsthand as Kazhan descended into corruption. Cain Zenut, who had a lonely past but was otherwise sturdy except for his emotional detachment, had been consumed by the blood of Tennilath. Through war, he had gradually become more brutal, and Zebiken had witnessed it all clearly.
The day Ysaris Chernian held her engagement ceremony with Bariteon Kelloden marked the point when Kazhan crossed an irreversible line. From then on, he was already a madman pretending to be sane. After the woman he loved faked her death and left, he completely lost his mind.
That was why Zebiken had helped when the emperor said he would bring the empress back. After all, there was nothing but tragedy awaiting the two. Kazhan, who had already lost his faith once, would break Ysaris’s legs if it meant keeping her by his side, and she, unable to withstand his obsessive fixation, was likely to make the wrong choice.
In fact, if one looked back through Uzephia’s history, such events had frequently occurred. There were numerous cases where members of the royal family, unable to overcome their accumulating madness, destroyed their partners, lost them forever, and then took their own lives. This was why the average lifespan of the physically superior Tennilath was shorter than that of others.
Because of this, Zebiken had to find a way to preserve the power of Tennilath. Unlike in the past when awakened Tennilath were abundant, Kazhan was now the only bloodline left, which was problematic. With the emperor in a state where he could die at any moment, and obsessed with Chernian to the point of neglecting proper succession, Zebiken had no choice but to seek out methods, even going so far as to collaborate with dark mages.
But…
“Thinking about it, things have been strange since the empress returned.”
Zebiken narrowed his eyes. At first, he thought the emperor was holding on through sheer willpower after regaining the woman he loved, but there were things that couldn’t be explained by that alone.
First of all, Kazhan’s condition was far too stable. For the first two or three months, it seemed like he was overworking himself, unable to sleep at night as before, but at some point, he began boasting of excellent health.
It wasn’t just a matter of drawing strength from Ysaris’s presence. Even for a Tennilath with great physical stamina, it was beyond mere survival in the worst conditions—he even seemed happy.
In fact, since last month, he had started sharing a bed with the empress. Zebiken had thought it was just pretending to sleep while spending time together, but seeing how active he was during the day, it seemed he was truly sleeping.
