Turning Chapter 1038

Chapter 1038

"It seems to me a fine opportunity for Your Highness to show me what kind of trust you seek and what kind of new era you wish to create," Yuder said, tilting his head as he suddenly recalled saying something similar before. He exhaled with a "hmm" as he felt Nahan's blood-covered face overlapping with Katchian's pale, anger-filled visage.

'Ah... It was that guy.'

Nahan had been brainwashed to wish for a new world where only Awakeners could live happily, but it was a distorted goal without any contemplation of what an Awakener truly was. When Yuder had asked him a piercing question, exposing his weakness, Nahan couldn't say a word.

Katchian was the same. Since his previous life, Yuder had heard Katchian's claims about erasing the traces of the old imperial family and creating a new world ad nauseam. But what had he actually achieved? Although the natural disasters that continued during his reign weren't entirely his fault, he made no effort to overcome them and instead increasingly lived only for himself, buried in his own shell. Even until the day Yuder died, it was impossible to know what the new world Katchian had been advocating for actually was.

Many people wished for a new world, but very few could articulate exactly what it was. Without knowing what they wanted or if there were contradictions in their words, their empty boasts were no different from the echoes that returned when shouting in the mountains...

As Yuder was recalling the past, Katchian opened his mouth with sunken eyes.

"Yes, we'll find out. We'll see just how true your arrogant words are. And then..."

Yuder was curious about what Katchian would say next, but he trailed off and abruptly turned his body. The next moment, Katchian collided heavily with someone who had been lurking in the darkness, falling on his bottom with a sharp cry.

"Ugh! Who...!"

"Oh my. I came looking for my assistant who had gone to fetch the carriage but hadn't returned, taking a shortcut, only to find an unexpected guest blocking the exit."

The one who emerged from the shadows between the dark building walls was none other than Kishiar. As their eyes met, he simply smiled and waved as if nothing had happened. Just his appearance seemed to brighten the endlessly dark place in an instant.

Unlike how he treated Yuder, Kishiar gazed at the fallen Katchian with a smile that only lifted the corners of his lips.

"You've come quite far for a night stroll, haven't you?"

"..."

Katchian's face flushed with humiliation. Bewilderment, wariness, and hatred flashed unmistakably in his eyes as he looked at Kishiar, but he forcibly lifted the corners of his lips and smiled.

"If I want to wander around the place where I live, is there a problem with that, Duke?"

"Not at all. I, too, was walking the same path just now, so how could I think such a thing?"

"Then please step aside."

"Of course."

Kishiar didn't extend a hand to help Katchian up, as one would typically do for someone who had fallen, and instead only took a step to the side. Katchian tried to get up from the spot, pretending to be nonchalant.

However, strangely, he couldn't stand up, unable to put strength into his lower body.

"..."

No matter how many times he tried to get up, his hands and feet only flailed in the wrong places. As he repeated this several times, Katchian's clothes inevitably became covered in dirt, and his face also contorted with humiliation.

"Th-this...!"

Katchian grabbed his legs, trying to put strength into them as he trembled, and then raised his head to glare at Kishiar.

"Duke Peletta...!"

He was certain that Kishiar had done something. He intended to shout at him to stop if he was playing a dirty trick.

However, Katchian couldn't do that. The moment he saw Kishiar's eyes, his mind went blank as if consumed by darkness, and no thoughts came to him.

Kishiar hadn't moved from where he first appeared, still standing in the same spot without facing Yuder, quietly looking down at Katchian. Due to Kishiar's towering height, which obscured even the moon and stars, Katchian couldn't properly see his face from his position as it was hidden in shadow.

But even in the darkness, a pair of red eyes gazed at Katchian La Orr, reflecting a faint light without any warmth, endlessly cold and darkly sunken.

The moment he saw those eyes, his body turned cold without any warning, and his hands and feet began to tremble.

'Wh-what the...'

A chill ran down his spine as if he were standing in front of something terrifying and fearsome that he couldn't identify.

His body, soul, and instincts all screamed with all their might to not face the 'thing' in front of him and to run away immediately...

'Ah...!'

Seeing the frozen Katchian, Kishiar slowly tilted his head and asked, "It seems you've lost strength from being too startled by me... Shall I lend you a hand?"

Only then did Katchian exhale as if released from a spell that had prevented him from even breathing. His heaving shoulders trembled slightly. Without looking at Kishiar, he spoke, sweating coldly.

"No... need. I can get up on my own, so don't... touch me!"

His voice, which had been trying to feign composure, completely cracked. He couldn't understand the emotions and reactions he was feeling right now.

'Why on earth?'

Confusion, terror, fear, and doubt.

Amidst all those emotions, Kishiar's answer was heard.

"If that is your wish."

Kishiar stepped back with an attitude that couldn't be cleaner. Katchian finally managed to get up from the spot and forcibly stood. His hand, which was leaning against the wall, felt heavy as if it would slip, and his legs still trembled slightly. Nevertheless, he took a step to quickly escape from this place.

But that was short-lived, as his knees gave out once again. Seeing Katchian staggering in an unsightly manner, Kishiar asked once more, "Wouldn't it be better to call your attendant? You said you don't need my touch, but it seems difficult for you to walk like that."

Katchian, who had been gritting his teeth and trembling, turned his head to glare at him. With a distorted smile, he answered, biting out each word, "You know very well who made it impossible for me to get up, yet you're pretending not to know at an expert level. I don't know what trick you used, but if it's revealed that you used an ability inside the imperial palace, even a duke won't be safe!"

Kishiar's eyes widened slightly. Yuder thought he was going to feign ignorance, but the next moment, he smiled beautifully with relaxed eyebrows.

As his lips, the color of vibrant flower petals, parted, his voice flowed out.

"Ability that occurred inside the imperial palace... That's right. Investigating that was Your Highness the Crown Prince's job. I remember you promising to take responsibility for it before."

Katchian's face turned pale.

With a single sentence, Kishiar completely overturned what Katchian La Orr had said, vividly reminding him of the incident where the Sun Palace was invaded by the sage’s faction and Katchian's failure in investigating it.

"I had high hopes that you would impressively catch the culprit and surprise me... But when I returned from the South, you still hadn't been able to identify the real culprit. Can you imagine how disappointed I was?"

"..."

"Finish what you need to do first, and then try to catch the culprit behind this sorcery as well. I can imagine how delighted Duke Diarca will be."

"Duke...!"

"You should at least show that much to be qualified to try to recruit the hero of the Cavalry, who possesses the best beauty and ability on the continent, don't you think?"

Katchian closed his mouth again as if he had been hit once more. Kishiar smiled, his eyes softening.

"If that's too burdensome for you, there are also many promising new recruits who joined the Cavalry this time. If you want to know what true talent is, you should observe their performance as well."

"Now, what are you..."

"Hmm. Come to think of it, there was a member who really wanted to meet Your Highness the Crown Prince. I met her in the West... I think her name was... Marin."

"..."

Katchian's face changed to an expressionless one as if it had shattered into pieces.

Without any response, he flinched back and turned his body. Then, he staggered and disappeared into the darkness. Until the sound of his panting breaths disappeared, Kishiar stared into the darkness where Katchian had vanished for a long time.

"Commander."

His expressionless face disappeared when a voice mixed with a sigh was heard from behind him.