Married To The Enemy Kingdom's Illegitimate Prince-Chapter 134 — Four Portals
Chapter 134: 134 — Four Portals
"You’re here, Your Highness!" Dylan exclaimed, his face alight with relief as he spotted the grand duke.
"Dylan..." Lucian murmured, his voice distant, as if detached from the moment.
"I am glad you’ve recovered. However, if you need rest, we will try our best to handle this problem a little longer to buy some time," Glain said, bowing respectfully.
"Glain..." Lucian whispered again, his lips barely moving. Then, with a shake of his head, he grounded himself. "I’m fine. Report to me about the situation."
As Glain began explaining the crisis, Lucian felt a bitter laugh escape his lips. It was all too familiar- eerily so.
The visions he had seen while unconscious surged back into his mind.
A war against demons. A week of relentless bloodshed.
And then, devastation. Humanity had been wiped out, leaving only despair in its wake.
In those haunting memories, when he had realized the war was lost, he’d returned to the mansion with one last hope: to send Cynthia back to Eldoria, where she might be safe.
But fate had been cruel. She had died before his eyes, shielding him from a fatal blow.
He remembered the moment vividly.
Cynthia’s lifeless form crumpled before him, and her silver hair splayed across the blood-soaked ground. His chest had felt as though it were bound with unbreakable chains, tightening with every breath.
And then, the queen appeared.
[My, my, my. What a foolish girl. You should have let him die,] she had said, her tone dripping with disdain as she clicked her tongue.
"You... Why are you doing this?" Lucian had risen, his fists trembling with fury.
[Why? You don’t need to know.]
"Arisia.." His voice had faltered as he turned to the figure standing behind the queen—a figure he had loved and mourned.
[Yes, brother?] Arisia’s soft, familiar tone twisted into something foreign, mocking. It wasn’t her. It couldn’t be.
[They are demons,] Keal’s shadowy form had whispered, circling him protectively.
Lucian’s grip on his sword tightened.
"Then let’s kill them. There’s nothing left to save here."
His strikes were swift and lethal, and to his surprise, the queen and Arisia fell, their bodies bleeding out onto the cold stone floor.
He stared at them— his gaze merciless and cold.
No regeneration.
No trickery.
Just silence.
When he turned back to Cynthia, her body was still and lifeless.
"It seems everything I’ve done to save you was in vain..." he had murmured, his voice breaking as his hand brushed her still-warm cheek.
[More demons are approaching,] Keal had warned.
Lucian had risen, stepping out into the inferno. For hours, he fought tirelessly, his body succumbing to exhaustion as gashes and burns marred his skin.
Only one question lingered in his mind—why had she saved him after everything he had put her through?
For years, he had treated her with cold indifference, his behavior harsh enough to push anyone away.
Even if, on rare occasions, he had unintentionally shown her glimpses of care, it was never enough to outweigh the pain he had caused.
So why hadn’t she left him when he gave her the chance—when he offered her a way out through divorce?
The guilt of her death, caused by her sacrifice to protect him, weighed heavier on him than the wounds that ravaged his body, consuming him from within. And worse— she was smiling. He couldn’t understand how she could manage to smile even at a time like that.
[You can’t win against. Let me take over,] Keal had chuckled darkly, his presence invasive yet oddly comforting.
Lucian, his back to the ground, had stared into the blackened sky, smoke and fire swirling above him.
The memory of summer’s warmth had surfaced, unbidden. Cynthia standing in a field of flowers, her silver hair catching the breeze, her serene smile calling to him.
"Do whatever you want," he had finally muttered, surrendering himself to Keal.
And then... nothing. Everything faded to black.
When Lucian woke, the world was no longer ash and blood. He was in his bed, the physician checking his pulse. Cynthia— alive and unharmed— stood nearby, her voice steady as she explained the queen’s betrayal and the demons’ release.
Although in doubt, he realized everything he saw in his dream about her was different from everything he experienced with her so far. But he didn’t have the time to ask her anything. He needed to kill the demons properly this time.
"The king of Eldoria, Prince of Eldoria and crown prince of Selvarys has arrived, Your Highness," the butler announced.
"Let them in," Lucian ordered.
"What is going on?!" Valen shouted. "I believe I asked you to protect the land. Not ruin it by these demons! Everything is out of control here!"
"Instead of complaining, why don’t you try helping?" Vincent smiled at the crown prince, trying to suppress his rage, seeing a crown prince who couldn’t even keep his mouth shut without complaining.
"This isn’t the moment to argue against each other," Alistair sighed. "Cynthia, why don’t you explain everything and what we need to do?"
Just then, within a violet light, Arlot and Edric appeared.
Seeing Arlot standing next to Cynthia, whispering against her ear, Lucian felt a little sting in his chest.
"Why not share what you have in mind with everyone?" He raised an eyebrow, examining the young man carefully.
"I will do that," Cynthia raised her hand. "So... here’s the plan," she began, inhaling deeply.
After half an hour, once she made sure everyone understood the plan and their roles in it, she locked gaze with every one of them.
"There should be no mistakes."
Everyone nodded and exited the room while Lucian stared at Cynthia in awe.
"What is it, Your Highness?" She asked.
"It seems you have planned this for a long time."
"O-Oh? No. I just had a... long time to think while you were unconscious."
"If you say so. Let’s proceed with the plan. Do you know where the portals are?"
Cynthia nodded.
"There are four of them I believe. Let’s go before it’s too late."
Lucian and Cynthia moved swiftly, the tension between them unspoken but palpable. The weight of his dream lingered in his mind, and as he glanced at her, he couldn’t help but see flashes of the woman in his vision—the one who had sacrificed everything for him.
As they approached the camps made by knights at the central market, protected by shields mages created from the monsters who growled and clawed, trying to make their way inside, the others were already preparing for the operation.
Maps were spread across the table, and markers denoted the known locations of the demon portals. Valen and Alistair were deep in discussion, while Vincent stood silently, observing. Among the knights, Suyou was helping them searching for the portals.
Arlot leaned casually against the wall, his sharp eyes tracking Cynthia’s every move.
"Your Highness, we’ve located the first portal," Vincent reported. "But... It’s filled with demons. They keep appearing one after another."
Lucian nodded.
"We’ll split into teams. The grand duchess will lead one group to the second portal. The crown prince will take the third. I’ll handle the fourth."
Cynthia hesitated, her lips parting as if to protest, but she quickly shut them.
"Understood," she replied, her tone firm.
Lucian studied her for a moment longer, his eyes narrowing.
"Be careful."
She blinked, momentarily caught off guard by his words, but then gave a small nod.
"You too."
The teams moved out, each heading toward their designated portal. Lucian’s group trudged through the thick forest, the air thick with the scent of burning wood and ash. His men moved in silence, their weapons ready.
As they neared their destination, Keal’s voice whispered in his mind.
[She’s stronger than you think, but you already know that, don’t you?]
Lucian ignored him, focusing on the task ahead.
The portal loomed in the distance, a swirling vortex of dark energy surrounded by grotesque, twisted demons.
"Positions," Lucian ordered, and his men fanned out, preparing for the attack.
The battle was fierce, the demons relentless. Lucian fought with everything he had, his sword cutting through the creatures with precision. His mind, however, kept drifting to Cynthia.
Was she safe? Was her group facing the same overwhelming numbers?
[You’re distracted,] Keal noted with a hint of amusement.
"Shut up," Lucian muttered under his breath, driving his blade into another demon.
Finally, the portal was within reach. With a swift motion, Lucian plunged his blade into its core, the dark energy dissipating with a deafening roar. However, the portal didn’t collapse yet.
"Use the spell now!" Lucian ordered while the mages behind began muttering the spell Cynthia had given them.
With the strong blow of their magic, the portal crumbled, disappearing.
"Retreat," he ordered his men, who were battered but alive.
As they regrouped back at the main camp, Cynthia and the others were already there.
She looked exhausted, her silver hair dishevelled and streaked with dirt, but her eyes burned with determination.
"All portals have been destroyed," she announced, her voice steady despite the fatigue.
Lucian felt a wave of relief but didn’t let it show. Instead, he approached her, his gaze softening.
"You did well," he spoke gently.
Cynthia looked at him, surprise flickering in her eyes before she offered a faint smile.
"So did you."
"But we can’t rest yet. We need to find the queen. She hasn’t been found yet."
"The queen? Why?!" Valen exclaimed, narrowing his eyes.
This content is taken from fr(e)ewebn(o)vel.𝓬𝓸𝓶