Succeeding the throne (14)
T/N: Next chapter coming in a few hours!
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Three figures appeared above the high castle walls.
“Woohoooo—!”
“Long live the Emperor!”
“Long live the Empire!”
“Peace be unto the Empire, once again united!”
The crowd beneath the walls of the imperial palace erupts in cheers.
It grew even louder when Aristine and Tarkan raised their hands.
After seeing mom and dad do it, Actsion threw his hands in the air too.
“Wow!”
“Your Highness the Prince!”
“Long live Your Royal Highness!!”
Their chants were mixed with some laughter.
Aristine looked over the crowd and smiled.
Only a year ago, people’s faces were dyed with the vestiges of war.
There had been cheers of joy at Tarkan and Aristine’s wedding, a union that ended long standing hostilities, but there was a tinge of desperation imbued within.
A desperate hope that this marriage would bring peace.
And so, they cheered them on even more, hoping that their marriage would go smoothly and happily.
But right now, people’s faces were only filled with hopes, expectations, and happiness.
The desperation of before was nowhere to be found.
This meant that people were starting to feel relieved and trust that their everyday life was not going to change.
Aristine had never received royal training, nor had she been groomed to be the emperor’s successor.
But when she saw the people throwing their hands up in the air, chanting her name, and smiling, she thought:
‘I want to protect this.’
As the emperor, she wanted to protect the happiness of her people, and as Aristine, she wanted to protect the happiness of her husband and her son.
As if her feelings had been conveyed, Tarkan hugged her from behind.
As if to say, let’s be happy together, let’s move toward happiness.
When Aristine lifted her head slightly, he smiled down at her.
“Shall we go then?”
His voice whispered in her ear, and Aristine tilted her head.
“Go where?”
“To have fun, just the two of us.”
It was a continuation of what he said before the coronation began.
Aristine’s eyes widened.
“Now?”
“Now.”
Tarkan grinned at Aristine. It was a boyish grin.
“You’re impossible.”
Aristine shook her head.
But as she turned away from the castle walls, she handed Actsion to the nanny.
“Are you coming?”
Then she turned back, giving her husband a coy look.
“We’ve got to review how to use the bed.”
Tarkan blinked at his wife’s words then he covered his face with his big hands.
Honestly, he could never win against this woman.
And it would remain that way for the rest of his life.
“We need to review thoroughly though.”
Tarkan pulled his wife into his arms and whispered in her ear.
Aristine shivered, feeling his hot breath on her neck. Her cheeks flushed a heavy red.
But soon, she smiled provocatively and looked up at her husband.
Her slender arms wrap around Tarkan’s neck.
“I’m good at learning, you know.”
“Then I guess we’ll see how well you learn.”
They both started giggling, their noses almost touching.
Aristine erased the smile from her face and whispered in her husband’s ear.
“It applies in other areas too. Not just in bed.”
She ran a finger over Tarkan’s chin.
Tarkan’s face, which had had a relaxed smile until then, crumbled.
Wild desire flared in his eyes.
“Uwa!”
Actsion cried out, struggling in his nanny’s arms, but for once, it did not reach Aristine or Tarkan’s ears.
The first order of business for the two newly crowned emperors was accomplished in bed.
* * *
Nephther closed his eyes, the waves of deafening cheers flooding into his ears.
Even though the screams weren’t for himself, nor was this his coronation ceremony, all sorts of emotions came rushing into him.
He wanted to pass on the throne to his most outstanding child, Tarkan.
He knew it wouldn’t be easy.
However, Tarkan had expanded his power and consolidated his position faster than expected.
And in the end, Tarkan succeeded the throne.
In addition, now that Irugo and Silvanus had established themselves as one empire, Tarkan, along with Aristine, has become the successor to both countries as joint rulers.
In order to finalize this succession once and for all, Nephther stepped down from the throne earlier than planned.
‘You’ve achieved it.’
Harmony between the two countries seemed like a distant possibility.
But below, he could see the crowds of Irugoians and Silvanians who had flocked to see the two newly crowned emperors, rejoicing in unison.
His chest swelled to the point where it felt tight. Pride didn’t even begin to describe what he was feeling right now.
Joy, happiness, satisfaction, pride.
But for some reason, on this joyous day, the face of his eldest son who passed away before him, remained vivid in his mind.
‘Foolish brat.’
If he was going to give up the throne at the last moment and protect Aristine.
If he was going to die after doing that.
‘Why not give up a little earlier?’
After milling around, unable to obtain neither the throne nor Aristine, he left, just like that.
‘Wretched brat.’
As long as he was alive, he could have found another path.
He could have found new joys, new aspirations.
The fact that the child knew no other option than becoming king felt like a knife in Nephther’s heart.
Nephther opened his closed eyes.
He gazed at the crowd which was so dense that you couldn’t see the floor and let himself imagine.
Imagine that his son had survived and was watching his younger brother ascend to the throne.
‘You’re ridiculous.’
Nephther mocked himself.
As a king, the last thing he wanted was to do was lean on vain images and aspirations.
Even though he had already abdicated the throne, to think he was still consumed by vain delusions.
He had seen his son’s body with his own two eyes.
With that thought in mind, Nephther began to turn around.
But at that moment, a sheen of platinum-blonde hair flashed in the corner of his eyes.
He was sure of it.
Moreover, unlike Irugo, Silvanus was full of people with vibrant hair colors.
Even now, he could still see platinum hair in the crowd once in a while.
He must be imagining things.
Even as he thought that, Nephther’s eyes were searching for the figure that had flashed by.
‘Ah.’
His heart sank with a thud.
A pair of turquoise eyes, the same color as his own, were looking straight at him.
Shortened hair, a physique that was clearly different from that of Silvanians.
Gaunt, but undoubtedly his son’s face.
Even though people’s faces looked smaller than a fingernail, Nephther recognized it.
The image was weirdly clear.
A second passed, and Hamill’s face broke out in a grin.
Nephther, who had been staring at his son in a daze, came to his senses and clung to the castle wall.
“Your Majesty?”
A servant called out to him, startled.
“I have to go down.”
Someway, somehow, he had to get down there, now. That was the only thought on Nephther’s mind.
“There, Hamill is…”
Nephther started pointing to show the servant, but his words trailed off.
Hamill was nowhere to be found.
Instead, near his previous location was a man with platinum, blond hair waving his hand and cheering. He was a Silvanian.
“Are you talking about the late Prince Hamill?”
The servant’s words jolted him back to reality.
Hah, he scoffed, not knowing if he felt resentment toward himself or ridicule.
‘I guess even I have gotten old.’
Nephther closed his eyes and opened them a beat later.
“It’s nothing.”
Nephther turned away from the castle wall.
His somber golden robes shook heavily.
Advanced chapters available on Patreon 🙂
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I actually feel bad for Nephtar he loved his children
Feels like after-the-fact justification, considering how his kids turned out…one was used by his wife literally to death, one was hopelessly spoiled, one was so unloved she had to be pragmatic enough to betray her own mother, one was used to try to rape his daughter-in-law, and Tarkhan literally would not have survived to adulthood without Aristine…
Nephther made a lot of mistakes while raising his kids, but he actually loved them
The late queen was a horrible queen and mother, she didn’t succeed in any of them
Actually I feel bad for Nephther and all his kids; but not the disgusting queen.
I believe if Nephther and his kids weren’t royalty, they would have made a lovely harmonious family.
ps. 1) “As her emperor” her should be their or the, as I think from the context.
2) Does anyone feel that the characters they love are their kids? Like the ML and FL and any lovely character I like is adopted by me, and when they progress with their relationship and have kids I feel like a grandma really LOL