Forsaken Priest of the Hero's Party-Chapter 70: A Fathers Heart

Even after the Empress left, Princess Ardein was truly at a loss for words.

She had no idea what to say to her father, her mind was blank.

“Your Majesty, I...”

“Foolish child. You still cannot see the truth before your very eyes. Do you know how much pain you caused me when I heard you had disappeared?”

Still, Ardein, who was about to say something, finally properly looked at the Emperor’s face.

The old man was shedding tears. Not as an emperor, but simply as a father.

Seeing the old man crying like that, Ardein also couldn’t hold back and burst into tears. She bowed her head again and sobbed.

“I was wrong. I was wrong. Father, I’m sorry!”“Look at me, daughter. I’m old and tired. At this age, do you think this old man can bear the pain of losing one more child? Was I such a cruel father, for you punish me so?”

At the Emperor’s words, the Princess couldn’t answer and just lowered her head.

Without leaving a single word about where she was going, she left for Larpentia alone on a single horse. Only later did she realize how that must have looked in her parents’ eyes.

She thought she was being mistreated, but only after arriving in Larpentia did she realize that wasn’t the case. The world treated lepers as the root of evil, and the Emperor was protecting her, who could barely control her own body, against the prejudice of the entire world.

“But you left so confidently, and you’ve come back to your original state after encountering some miracle. Come closer. Let me see your face. This old man’s eyes aren’t working properly now.”

The Emperor reached out his wrinkled hand and stroked Ardein’s cheek. And also the tears that flowed down those cheeks.

He finally smiled. It was probably the first time he had smiled ever since Arsein’s death.

“It’s truly fortunate. The gods have forgiven you.”

“The one who forgave me was a god, but not the Trinity. That’s...”

“Enough. What difference does it make if a different God has forgiven you?”

The Emperor, who interrupted the Princess who was about to bring up the story of Kyle and the god he serves, let out a deep, deep sigh. After hesitating for a while, he barely opened his mouth.

“So I ask as your father. Can’t you forgive him too?”

“Who...”

“Edmund. Your half-brother.”

The Emperor gave a bitter smile. His child, his most cherished child, was killed by him.

The Secret Guard, the imperial family’s secret intelligence agency, had already thoroughly investigated this fact and submitted a report to him. The Secret Guard was also one of the secret forces left behind by the first emperor.

Edmund, who doesn’t even know of their existence, probably doesn’t even know that the Emperor has figured out that he was the main culprit behind the assassination of the Crown Prince.

“Did you know that child poisoned my son, your older brother?”

Upon hearing those words, the Princess’s eyes sparked with rage and a chill ran through her head.

She grabbed her sword with fierce eyes and raged.

“I will go and behead that damned unfilial son right now. I will complete my revenge for my elder brother. Your Majesty, if you just give the order, I will immediately...”

“At first, I also intended to do that.”

The Emperor took a sip of the tea that was set out before continuing.

Perhaps, rather than his throat being dry, he wanted to calm the burning anger inside him.

“But if I kill Edmund with my own hands, I will not only lose one more child but also the one to inherit the throne will disappear. So I couldn’t punish him. Since you ended up like this, if Edmund is also gone, the next owner of the throne would not be from our family.”

But he couldn’t forgive that child either.

So he didn’t allow him to be the Crown Prince.

The Emperor continued calmly.

“Later, when my head cooled a bit and I looked back, I realized that child’s crookedness was all my fault. It’s all my fault. My mistake. I shouldn’t have betrayed your mother in my youthful passion and made such a choice.”

As the empire’s situation was so unstable, the Emperor took concubines from various places.

They were all daughters of powerful people in the empire, backed by strong forces.

Since it wasn’t a marriage out of love, he relatively had less affection for those children.

He still wanted to cherish them as his children, but he didn’t even have the capacity for that.

Despite the Emperor’s efforts, the empire’s situation only got worse and worse, and he only kept hearing difficult news.

“If I had already decided to take concubines, I should have at least properly taken care of my children born from them. But I couldn’t even do that. Yes, I am just an old man who has only failed. At least when it comes to raising children, that’s how it was.”

Using the excuse of being too busy taking care of state affairs, he couldn’t properly give affection to the children. That’s what the Emperor regrets the most.

Nevertheless, what helped was that the two children born from the Empress, Arsein and Ardein, were so clever. Even when things were tough, the Emperor always felt energized just by looking at his first and second child.

Visit frёewebnoѵel.ƈo๓ for the b𝘦st novel reading experience.

“You know what? Honestly, I thought that between you and your elder brother, whoever became the emperor would do better than me. Arsein had good political skills. Unlike this father who barely passes as a monarch, he was a child who knew how to hide a knife in his smile from a young age. If that child became the emperor, I thought I could happily lay down my burden and retire...”

Ardein couldn’t say anything.

She just silently accepted the inner thoughts her father was revealing.

“You too, Ardein. You had talent. The talent to lead people. The talent to dominate others. The talent to bring victory in war. Even if your qualities as a monarch were not outstanding, your qualities as a general were exceptional. I sincerely thought it would be fine even if you became the emperor.”

He just had one wish.

No matter which of the two became the emperor, he hoped that the siblings would not turn against each other.

He hoped that the brother and sister would rely on each other and run the country well.

If Arsein became the emperor, he hoped Ardein would become a general and assist him, and if Ardein became the empress, he hoped Arsein would become the prime minister and assist her.

If they did that, he thought they could complement each other’s shortcomings and create a better empire.

Just thinking about that gave the Emperor strength no matter how difficult reality was.

Still, if he did his best, wouldn’t he be able to pass on a better empire to his son and daughter?

“I thought you two could rely on each other, depend on each other, make up for each other’s lacking parts, and do much better than me. But...”

“My elder brother... for me...”

“Enough. Let’s not talk about that.”

The Emperor put down his teacup. His eyes were deep and profound.

He put his hands behind his back and slowly continued.

“Ardein. I won’t last long. That mysterious light is telling me. I, whose firewood of life has already burned out, even if the flames rise again, it will only be embers.”

It was a story Kyle had already warned that while it was possible to enjoy longevity, it was impossible to extend one’s lifespan. The Princess solemnly nodded.

Even though his time was short, the Emperor didn’t fear his death. Others might have, they might have used the position of Emperor to search the world for a cure, for a way to obtain immortality, but not him.

“So I, who will die soon, cannot decide what will happen after my death. That would be arrogance. What comes after will be a future for you and Edmund to solve, and I can only make a request. If you respond to blood with blood, in the end, no one will be able to escape the shackles of resentment, but my words may just be nagging to you.”

He coughed and continued.

“Let the past in the past, my dear daughter. You and Edmund are ultimately one family. If family members keep killing each other, what will be left in the end? They say there are no parents or children in front of power, but does that mean people should be like vipers, not recognizing their family and tearing each other apart?”

“I couldn’t forgive that child, but I hope you can forgive him. That’s the only thing this father is asking of you. Even if you don’t listen, I won’t even have a way to know, but I still hope you can do that. I know it’s difficult, but can’t you get along well with Edmund?”

Ardein couldn’t answer. In her heart, she wanted to behead that unfilial son with her sword right away. But when her father dissuaded her, she herself didn’t know what to do.

The Emperor did not force an answer and instead changed the subject. Even if he heard the answer he wanted here, what good would it do if her heart didn’t change? By then, he would already be buried in the imperial tomb and wouldn’t be able to appear even in dreams to admonish her.

The reason he didn’t allow either Ardein or Edmund to have the position of Crown Prince was that both of them were unfit to be emperors. This old father had hoped that the siblings would rely on each other to lead the country.

So the little time he had gained was not entirely in vain. In fact, the Emperor already knew what he had to do. He knew the answer but did not pursue it.

Even though he knew the right answer, he deliberately wanted to test his two children once. So for now, it was enough that his daughter had engraved his request in her heart.

“Yes, I’ve only talked about myself too much so far. Let’s hear your story too. I’m curious about what miracle you encountered to heal yourself and hold onto my lifeline a little bit.”