Chapter 304

Porcana gained immense benefits after the takeover of Hamel. They acquired Hamel's technology and treasures, and the lords of the imperial territories near Porcana came forward to willingly become its vassals.

Porcana had all the conditions to rise as a powerful nation, but Varca, who should have been the happiest man alive, looked at the corpse of a woman with a bitter smile.

“Sister.”

Varca looked at Damia’s body lying on the pyre.

It was a wretched sight, and it was clear what she had gone through before her death.

Varca hesitated with the torch in his hand. His sister was someone he had both loved and hated, but no matter how strong his hatred toward her was, the memories of the times they shared would not disappear. Damia was once the woman Varca loved and trusted most in the world.

‘Why did you hold your knife against me?’

They could have had a lovely relationship as siblings, sharing childhood memories and growing old together, laughing.

“Water under the bridge,” Varca muttered.

It was true that Damia had tried to kill him. It was also true that he handed her over to be the emperor’s plaything. At the end of their divergent paths, Damia died.

All sorts of thoughts crossed his mind as Varca quietly set the pyre on fire and stayed until Damia’s body was completely consumed by the flames.

By the time the acrid smoke permeated Varca’s clothes, several footsteps were heard.

“Your Highness, we have found the child you mentioned.”

Duke Lungell walked in followed by maids holding a boy.

“That’s good.”

Varca recognized Salone and strode forward. He lifted Salone and looked into his eyes.

“Is this boy Princess Damia’s son?”

“I’ve seen him before. He is my nephew.”

Salone was terribly frightened. He looked around for his mother, but she was nowhere to be seen.

“Who is his father? Surely not the emperor?”

“That doesn’t matter. What matters is that this child is my sister’s son.”

“If he is the emperor’s child, he could claim the imperial throne. Porcana could even absorb the empire’s lands!”

Duke Lungell exclaimed excitedly. The Porcana Kingdom had risen to the ranks of powerful nations through this war, and with its newfound strength, it was possible to even take the place of the mighty empire.

“How many of the emperor’s bastards do you think there are in the empire? Don’t talk nonsense,” Varca shut down Lungell’s hope.

“It’s not nonsense. There is only one illegitimate son who can receive Porcana’s support.”

Duke Lungell dreamed of Porcana’s revival as now was the time when Porcana could become as powerful as the empire.

“This child will grow up in Porcana. Make sure no unnecessary rumors spread, Duke Lungell,” Varca said as he pressed his finger into Duke Lungell’s chest.

Duke Lungell narrowed his eyes.

“Your Highness, you have often opposed me until now, but if you intend to make Porcana a great power like the empire, I will offer my utmost loyalty. I will mobilize all my power to be your strong support.”

Varca stared at Duke Lungell silently.

This might be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity in Porcana’s history. The small kingdom of Porcana was a key player in bringing down the empire.

“...When the time comes, perhaps.”

It was neither a complete affirmation nor a denial. Varca looked at Salone.

‘Urich’s child.’

Although Duke Lungell did not recognize it, anyone familiar with Urich might have suspected it at least once.

Step, step.

After Damia’s funeral, Varca took Salone to Urich’s quarters. Barbarians without shirts and with weapons in their hands were roaming the city known as the very center of civilization. It was a very unnatural sight.

Nod.

Warriors recognized Varca and greeted him. The Alliance had undergone many changes, and the warriors who had learned the ways of civilized society and the meaning of a king showed respect to Varca, understanding that he held a status equal to Urich.

‘The world is changing, and so are the people.’

The war had brought about rapid changes, replacing old values with new ones almost daily, and those who couldn’t adapt to the new values were left behind.

‘I just have to keep going and hope my judgment was right in this chaos.’

Warriors guarded Urich’s quarters. Recognizing Varca, they opened the door.

As soon as Varca entered Urich’s quarters, his eyes widened.

“Urich, what in the world are you doing?”

Urich was hanging from the ceiling, doing one-armed pull-ups while sweat dripped from his robust muscles onto the floor. Despite his severe injuries, he still didn’t neglect his training.

Varca was speechless, amazed that Urich could even move.

“Lying in bed all day was making my body ache even more.”

Urich continued his pull-ups, switching hands, easily lifting his large frame using only his upper body strength.

Finished with his training, Urich dropped to the floor. Then, using a crutch, he stood up and sat in a chair.

Varca didn’t bother asking about Urich’s condition.

“What’s with the kid?”

Urich looked at the boy Varca was holding. There was a strange sense of familiarity.

“He’s my sister’s son.”

“Damia’s son?”

Urich had heard about Damia’s death, but it didn’t affect him much. He only thought, ‘A pretty but wicked woman has died.’

“What, do I have another sister that I don’t know about?”

Urich stared intently at Salone.

Salone, frightened, hid behind Varca. His eyes were filled with tears as if he was missing his mother.

"...You're kidding, right?"

Urich wiped his sweat and waved his hand dismissively.

"Wow, I didn’t even say a word. Blood ties really are something."

Varca smiled faintly while Urich looked at Salone with a terrified expression.

"Man, it was just one night..."

"You must’ve been as healthy as ever back then, too."

Varca patted Urich’s shoulder and stood up. He entrusted Salone to a maid outside and sat down with Urich, alone.

"He really is my kid.”

"I knew he was your son the moment I saw him."

"How long have you known this?"

"Before forming an alliance with the west."

"You hid it pretty well, you sly dog. You've become a real snake since becoming a king. It feels like just yesterday you were showing off your ass to some bandits..."

Urich spoke with an uncertain tone, unsure whether he was excited or anxious. The news was certainly unexpected. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

"I thought about never telling you, but I figured you have the right to know you have a son."

"I’m not in a position to raise a child right now. If the chiefs of the Alliance found out about this kid, it would only cause more confusion."

"Don’t worry, I’m going to raise him. The boy will be treated as royalty. And who knows? If I can’t have a son, he might even become my heir."

Urich smiled bitterly, recalling something Georg once told him.

‘Just as Georg said, I can’t be a good father.’

The news of having a son was overwhelming. He thought that the child in front of him would be an obstacle for him rather than feeling joy in discovering that he had a son and he felt ashamed of himself for thinking that way.

Given how many seeds he had sown, there were likely other children he didn’t know about. But he had never prepared to be a father.

"Anyway, Urich, what do you plan to do now? Even though you’ve conquered Hamel, you won’t be able to govern the imperial territories. Your army may be the strongest in the world, but the Alliance is still only a small organization, and that’s not nearly enough to rule the imperial lands."

The empire was the pinnacle of civilized world bureaucracy. The Alliance Army, which had just started to emerge from a tribal system, couldn’t fully inherit the empire. The same went for Porcana.

‘The empire will be divided back into its old duchies and kingdoms.’

It was a predictable outcome, something anyone with historical knowledge could foresee. The empire would return to the state it was in before the Great Unification of the first emperor.

"I haven’t thought that far ahead. For now, I think I’m going to bring my army back to the west since I at least achieved my initial goal. My homeland is safe now and no one will be able to enslave my brothers and kin."

Urich felt relieved. He had completed his mission.

Varca stared at Urich’s face. The always burdened look on Urich’s face seemed to have lifted, making him look years younger.

"Urich, you might have completed your mission, but mine is just starting. Before the war broke out, I succeeded in venturing into the distant sea. We are building a port on an island where there are no people. If we start exchanging with a civilization that’s advanced enough to create intricate jade figurines, the crossing of the Sky Mountains will seem trivial compared to the changes that are about to come. In the future, the condition for being a great power may be less about how much land you control and more about owning the sea routes to the Eastern Continent, though that’s just my thought."

Urich's pupils trembled. He could feel his heart beating, which he thought had stopped.

"I’m sure you’ll make it happen. You’re a smart guy."

That’s all Urich could say.

Varca finished speaking and stood up, and just before opening the door to leave, he shouted, "There will always be a place in Porcana for a daring barbarian who loves adventure!"

Urich smiled instead of saying anything back.

* * *

A man who once held the highest position in the world had fallen to the very bottom of it overnight. Being a beggar on the streets would have been better than the position he was in now.

Yanchinus was dragged around naked, forced to crawl through Hamel’s square every day with a chain around his neck.

Though the people of Hamel hesitated at first, it wasn’t long before they started coming out to see the fallen emperor. Within a couple of days, people even mocked him.

"Your Majesty..."

"’Your Majesty’? Hah, he’s the one who ruined Hamel."

Though the plundering had stopped, the city of Hamel had completely fallen. All the wealth Hamel had accumulated was now in the hands of the Porcana-Alliance army.

"Cough."

The chains around his neck choked Yanchinus and made him cough, and his limbs were covered in wounds from being dragged along the ground.

"Move faster."

The warrior holding Yanchinus’ leash barked in an angry voice. Though he didn’t understand the language, he understood the meaning.

‘Is this how my life ends?’

He rolled his eyes and looked around to see the looks of contempt and pity.

‘Who could I even blame?’

He crawled on all fours, an action no different from a beast’s. The being that was once considered the noblest of all was behaving like something less than a slave.

Some of Hamel’s citizens took pleasure in Yanchinus’ fall. For some reason, it was strangely satisfying to see the once-proud emperor in such a state.

The emperor’s authority had hit rock bottom. Even if a miracle happened and Yanchinus regained Hamel, his fallen authority would never be restored.

"Ha, haha."

Yanchinus lay on his back and laughed. The warriors picked up clubs and beat the emperor, who once ruled everything under the heavens, like a dog.

Dying in battle would have been better than this. He had missed the chance to die as a noble emperor.

After crawling around the square all day, Yanchinus was thrown into prison at dusk, but his elbows and knees were so sore he couldn’t even sleep properly.

It was a humiliation he had to endure daily. He became a spectacle for the people, and as they lost their reverence, the citizens began throwing rotten fruits and vegetables at him. Unable to oppose the powerful Alliance Army, they directed every last bit of their anger on Yanchinus.