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Chapter 32
After saying those words, the Empress Dowager Ekaterina closed her eyes for the last time. The princess she had cherished so much, Terezia, had not been seen since visiting yesterday.
It was because her mother had strictly warned her to stay far away from the weak and useless Emperor Purka and the devil in human skin, Dr. Vincent.
Just as Ekaterina had predicted, Emperor Purka slowly lost his mind.
He had never actually told Dr. Vincent that he wanted to live forever.
Back when he was a young prince, hiding in the gardens from his brothers’ coldness and everyone else’s disregard, a man who seemed as beautiful as a god had appeared before him.
That man had gently said his name was “Vincent,” and promised Purka he would grant any wish he wanted.
If he wanted a father, Vincent would be his father. If he missed his mother, who had hanged herself, Vincent would bring her to him.
If he wanted a friend who would listen, Vincent promised him a friend. One day, he even promised,
“I’ll make you emperor.”
Even though, at that time, Purka hadn’t even wanted the throne.
But Dr. Vincent would always ask,
“Poor prince, don’t you want the throne?”
And Purka always gave the answer Vincent seemed to want, just so he wouldn’t be disappointed.
He was the only one who ever looked Purka in the eye and listened to his story. Purka was afraid Vincent would leave the palace, so he always said he wanted it.
Maybe words really do have power, because before he knew it, everything had changed.
By the time twenty-seven years had passed since he first met Vincent, Purka had become the Emperor of Bastia—obsessed with “conquering the Western Continent” and “eternal life.”
For those two goals, Purka had spent eleven years sacrificing his empire and himself for human experiments.
The emperor looked down at Vincent with his large, dark eyes.
“Doctor, you’re a god who never ages… but I’ve become an ugly old man.”
“It couldn’t be helped, Your Majesty. The crown prince is still young, and the resonance doesn’t match, so we couldn’t continue the transfer experiments.”
“If the imperial heirs keep dying, rumors of a curse will spread. Isn’t that what you fear most, Doctor?”
Curses create fear, and fear leads to curiosity.
Vincent, who had continued his experiments for centuries by changing his identity and name, disliked that sort of attention.
“For the experiments to continue, the empire must be at peace. There can’t be any disturbances like rebellions…”
Vincent’s violet eyes glinted as he said quietly,
“But a few more rebels wouldn’t be so bad. If we have more test subjects, the results will be even more meaningful.”
“You said only those of my bloodline are likely to resonate with me. No other test subjects could survive the transfer, even if you found one, because of the resonance issue, right?”
“…That’s true. But if it’s Lenister blood, it’s different. The first lord, Enoch Lenister, was a demigod—God’s soul in a human body.”
In the silence, Vincent continued.
“Until now, the Lenisters’ blood never showed any special powers, so I didn’t pay attention—”
Vincent took off his monocle and slowly raised his eyelids.
His kind, noble eyes stared at the emperor. He didn’t look like a devil at all.
“If you mean ‘that child’ Your Majesty spoke of, he might survive the experiment. If his resonance doesn’t fit, we can force it to match.”
“That child… do you mean Noah Lenister?”
Purka’s fingertips trembled. At last—finally, his dream would come true!
“Noah Lenister is someone with a powerful, noble soul and tremendous magic, but was born into a normal human body. With his soul, magic, and body out of balance, he’ll have a short life.”
“…A short life? My new vessel? No, that can’t be! I won’t allow it!”
The emperor was horrified. Vincent spoke unusually seriously.
“Through experiments, we’ll strengthen Noah Lenister’s body. He might die if he can’t endure it… but since he’s fated for a short life anyway, there’s nothing to lose by trying.”
“Good… good! Do whatever you want, Doctor.”
“A strong body with a mind that commands all living things to obey. The authority of Enoch Lenister, the first lord. Your Majesty will be able to use all of that in Noah’s body.”
Vincent’s words sounded like the sweetest temptation.
His inferiority complex about his illegitimate birth, and knowing he’d never have become emperor if his brothers had lived, made Purka desire this power even more.
“You will reach the realm of the gods, Your Majesty. Ruling as emperor forever—that is your destiny.”
Purka didn’t care about the safety of his people. To him, the empire was just a tool for achieving “eternal life and conquest.”
That’s why he was always ready to offer up test subjects to Dr. Vincent. And Dr. Vincent called those test subjects “criminals” and experimented on them freely.
For sixty years, since the previous emperor’s reign, Dr. Vincent had continued his human experiments. After Noah’s power awakened, the secret project was renamed “Cheongmyeong.”
By now, Purka was half-crazed and no longer cared about Dr. Vincent’s true goal or identity.
His lifelong inferiority complex—his deep, bitter defeat—could be changed into victory. Whether Vincent was a devil or a god didn’t matter to him!
Vincent Gunter had already achieved ultimate wisdom and could seize the throne if he wanted.
But his goals were even dirtier; he only cared about his research.
The dumber the emperor, the easier it was for Vincent. So all the qualified imperial heirs had been removed. The previous emperor even agreed to use his own sons as test subjects.
Purka never asked or wanted to know why Vincent devoted his whole life to research.
As always, he simply obeyed Vincent Gunter’s decisions.
For Purka, this was a chance to obtain a strong and beautiful body. He demanded several times that the former Count Lenister give up his son.
Of course, Purka never mentioned the experiments or the Lenister power to the count.
“Give me your son, Hardin. Think carefully.”
“No matter how many times you ask, I refuse. You already have Crown Prince Zeros.”
“Zeros is useless. He’s my and the empress’s son and the crown prince, but he has no special power. But your son is different.”
The emperor calmly spoke madness.
“I’ll adopt Noah as my son and pass on my legacy to him. Think about it, Hardin—your bloodline becoming emperor of Bastia! What a great honor!”
What kind of emperor abandons his own son to make an adopted heir?
Even if he was the ruler, he couldn’t govern the empire without a legitimate claim to the throne.
This wasn’t normal. Even if Purka was despised for being illegitimate, he was still the previous emperor’s blood.
The nobles would never let the royal line die out.
Hardin had already figured out the emperor’s low desires.
Although he couldn’t compare to his son Noah, Hardin possessed the Word Spirit and was extremely intelligent, with an almost frightening insight into others.
As someone nearly prophetic, Hardin saw the future.
In that future, Noah would live, but he and his wife would become nothing but bones in the earth.
In the end, Hardin made his decision.
“I will give my son to Your Majesty.”
Hardin, his black hair neatly tied, smiled calmly.
He had always obeyed the emperor like a dog, so he had no right to refuse.
He had always rejected any orders related to human experimentation, so the emperor stopped pushing. But Purka’s obsession with buying his son couldn’t be stopped.
“Give me the throne. Then I’ll give you my son without protest.”
“Hahaha! I’ve always thought so… Hardin, you really are crazy.”
The emperor realized Hardin was mocking him and replied coldly.
“Unless I rip your belly open, I will never give up the throne.”
Hardin lowered his head a little and smiled. He didn’t even try to hide his amusement in front of the emperor.
“Go to the church where the late Empress Dowager is buried and beg. Tell them you need my son because you’re too useless to endure.”
“H-Hardin Lenister!!”
“If Your Majesty kneels, bows your head, and kisses my feet—I’ll accept your terms.”
But the emperor never did it. He couldn’t.
“You begged the empress dowager on your knees to be adopted, but now you’re afraid to let your precious knees touch the ground in front of a subject?”
“Y-You bastard!!”
At the emperor’s shout, Hardin’s gaze turned cold.
“My wife and I will accept death—but we’ll never go alone!”
Hardin glared at the emperor with eyes as sharp as a blade.
