Chapter 266: Side Story 12 (1/2)
Chapter 266: Side Story 12
When she gave birth to a son, the Empress believed he would definitely become the crown prince Even if he wasn’t the eldest son, he was her son, the blood son of the Empress while Yushi+n was just the son of a low-level maid She didn’t think the two of them were comparable
However, the Emperor strictly adhered to the rule where the eldest son would succeed the throne The Eard Yushi+n, the Crown Prince, as a thorn in her eye
Yushi+n’s childhood was filled with countless assassination attempts; at some point, he couldn’t trust anyone and couldn’t recklessly put anything in his mouth If he wasn’t always suspicious and wary, then he couldn’t survive
Feeling threatened by Yushi+n’s persistent survival, the Empress sent him to the northern front The northern front of the Jae Nation was the frontline facing a dense forest where the barbaric minority and the evildoers lived
It was a front that needed to be maintained in order to protect the country It was also a front that was never ending It was a front that was so dangerous that there were even talks of sending the erous criminals in order to use them, but that here the Empress sent the Crown Prince
At that time, Yushi+n was only ten years old She told everyone that it was for hinity and dedication of the Imperial Family to the people, but the Eo and die there However, this was the E mistake
Yushi+n did not die No, not only did he not die, but he created his oer in the north
After serving on the northern front for seven years, he trained hi called a fully fledged warrior and subjugated fifteen barbarian tribes that posed a threat to the northern front The decisive blohen he stopped the living calaon
The Giant Mountain Dragon was aIt was a giant dragon that woke up every 200 to 300 years, but its existence had been a headache for the Jae Nation for a very long tian to e However, it didn’t directly attack huon, hus that were crushed under its foot But, it was so big that by just es were obliterated and castles were crushed Si disaster
200,000 troops had to be organized and thoroughly prepared in order to stop this giant dragon fro And at the cost of the soldiers’ lives, the northern front would buy enough time for the 200,000 troops to do just that
However, Yushi+n stopped the Giant Mountain Dragon He led the soldiers as well as the fifteen tribes that had sube on the Giant Mountain Dragon At the very last h one of its eyes and with a roar, the dragon turned its giant body and fled back into its cave
Frodom It was the first time in the history of the Jae Nation where the country hadn’t been devastated despite the Giant Mountain Dragon waking up
Now, Yushi+n was a Crown Prince as enthusiastically supported by the citizens and had received the sworn loyalty of the elite troops stationed in the northern front
The Eritted her teeth It was obvious what the fate of her son and herself would be if Yushi+n was the Crown Prince
The position of an Emperor wasn’t one where he could leave his rival alone And considering the hostility and all the sche she had done behind the scenes, death was inevitable
In the end, the Empress made one last move She contacted a coven of witches in the reion and asked them for a curse However, the recipient of the curse wasn’t Yushi+n Afterall, a truly strong warrior could overcome a curse and the E that But could the warrior’s family do the same?
It was Yushi+n’s mother that the Empress cursed When he heard that his mother had collapsed, he rushed back to the palace in a hurry
And there, the Empress made a deal with him: Leave this country
Yushi+n had become someone that she couldn’t kill even if she wanted to He had both the E nized Yushi+n as the next eun to stand behind him
At this point, if Yushi+n were to die, those involved in his death would face the sa That hy the Empress didn’t kill him and made him leave on his own To leave behind the treasured weapon, Cloud Dragon Blade and leave the Imperial Palace, that was her condition Since the weapon served as a guide, it would inform others of the owner's status In other words, if the weapon was left in the palace, it couldn't be proven if Yushi+n was alive or dead
Yushi+n had no other choice but to accept the Eed for the Emperor’s position in the first place He had just done his best to survive and this had been the result
But now, because of his current position, hiswas futile Now that things had gotten to this point, doing his utmost to survive these past years seemed to have been in vain
In the end, Yushi+n accepted the Empress’s proposal and left the Southern Continent on a boat with those she had gathered in advance Later on, they handed him over to the Ghosts and he had lived helplessly until he met Elizabeth
“This isfro to ask me for advice?”
“Yes, Your Majesty I heard that you had also established your position on your own and rose to the throne Please, advise me on the way forward”
That hy he had cooperated with Elizabeth after hearing her talk about Milton Yushi+n thought that Milton would tell him what he should do since Milton had been in a similar position as hi to Yushi+n, Milton looked as if he thought it was ridiculous
“What a load of bullshi+t to act pitiful after giving up so easily when you had both talent and a golden spoon”
“Your Majesty?”
Yushi+n was flustered Although there were soh Milton found him to be pathetic
“You and I are the sah If you were in my shoes, you’d have diednice”
Elizabeth stepped in frohter, I can only say nice things if there’s anything good to talk about”
“”
Elizabeth puffed up her cheeks, but surprisingly, Milton ignored her pouting and spoke to Yushi+n
“You and I are different Do you kno?”
“I’mnot sure, Your Majesty”
“I’ all the burdens that I ever had and you’re a selfish person who knows nothing but hih you’ve been blessed with circumstances and talent”
“”
Yushi+n frowned
“What you said… is difficult to accept I have never lived for myself”
Yushi+n was sure about that
If he truly was a selfish hu as Milton said, then he would have triumphed over the Empress on a political front and had her killed And even when his er, he would have closed his eyes and sacrificed her for his ambition
But what value would there be in a throne when he had to trample on others and shed the blood of his blood relatives? That hy he had withdrawn So why did he have to listen to so him selfish?
Milton spoke
“The reason you’re selfish is because you’ve only done what you wanted to do”
“Your Majesty?”
Milton continued, “I don’t want to face o to the battlefield I’ve been living in a war zone but e, so let’s just submit”
At Milton’s words, Yushi+n’s expression hardened
Milton looked hiht in the eye as he continued to talk
“You’ve just chosen the easy path each tiht of selfishness”
“Then what should I have done? Should I have started a civil war?”
“If it was me, I would have been smarter about it but well, bluntly put, that’s one way”
“Grand Duke, now I see that you’re the type of person that I despise the most Have you always been an authoritarian ould step all over people as long as it’s for power?”
“Yeah, I’m an authoritarian So what?”
“Ha?”
Yushi+n’s conterew at Milton’s calm ad words
“Then I’ll ask you Do you think your people will be okay while you’re like this?”
“”
Yushi+n was silent
Milton had pointed out soht about
“I don’t know the situation in your country, but… just because the E is over She’ll ainst the people ere supporting you That’s the only way she’ll regain power”
It was true The Empress that Yushi+n knew really would do that
“I know you suffered quite a lot at a young age However, the process of surviving through that hardshi+p andnumerous contributions weren’t done by yourself”
Yushi+n’s eyes widened
“Soht for you, and others may have devoted their entire lives to serve you as their ree?’
Yushi+n immediately recalled his subordinates who shared his joy and sorrow on the northern front
[Your Highness! Please go on ahead, I’ll stop thehness You must survive now for the next tihness away!]
The northern front was hell itself And in that hell, Yushi+n had suffered nu crises And each time, there had been subordinates who sacrificed their lives so that he wouldn’t have to They had all been willing to give up their lives in order to save him They all hoped that Yushi+n would becoe the Jae Nation
As he saw Yushi+n’s coot to the point
“Aren’t you ashamed to face them?”