The Billionaire CEO Becomes the Youngest Emperor-Chapter 21 - 20. The madness of the Silver Girl

"Maybe it's my fate to end up like my father, isn't it?"

Adeline stood still, frozen in an icy calm. Around her, depraved eyes roamed over her figure, and the obscene thoughts of the lumberjacks seemed almost visible through their twisted expressions.

"Yes... that must be it. So what should I do?"

A slight shiver ran down her fingers, one of them tightening around the handle of the axe she had been using just moments ago.

"Maybe this is the price I have to pay for mocking that 'boy' I thought was a fool... when in reality, we were the ones dancing in the palm of his hand."

A bitter laugh rose in her throat.

"But you could have... you could have told your fiancee. Maybe..."

She stopped herself. What a ridiculous thought. Their engagement was nothing more than a political arrangement, nothing else. But now that she thought about it... that Lucian was truly insane. Fooling an entire empire for years—what an achievement.

She recalled his pathetic gestures, the bored expressions he wore when playing the fool.

All of the capital was now talking about the second gathering he had orchestrated. Word had spread like wildfire: he had been pretending to be stupid all along to expose corrupt nobles. The commoners were ecstatic. Day by day, Lucian's reputation soared among the people.

"Pfft."

A small smirk escaped her.

"Hell of an actor."

—"Huh? What the hell are you laughing at, you crazy bitch?" growled the armed man standing before her.

Adeline didn't answer.

Her employer's face twisted, turning red with anger.

—"I was gonna go easy on you, even though you're just a piece of noble trash, but now... you're really pissing me off."

He grabbed her wrist violently, yanking the axe from her grasp.

—"Bring her over. We're gonna have some fun."

—"Hahaha, boss, she might not survive that."

—"Maybe it's her first time, huh? A little noble girl like this?"

—"And maybe her last!"

—"HAHAHA!"

—"HAHAHAHA!"

—"..."

One by one, the laughter and chatter died down.

—"Uh... boss? What are you doing? Hurry up and drag her over!"

The leader was still holding Adeline's wrist... but his body refused to move. Thick beads of sweat rolled down his face.

—"Boss? What's wrong?"

The other lumberjacks cautiously stepped closer.

"Shit... I can't move!! That's impossible, at her age?!"

His heart pounded wildly.

"No... this can't be... Is this... aura?!"

A teenage girl, barely seventeen... How could she possibly wield aura?!

Aura—an energy derived from magic—belonged to seasoned swordsmen. Unlike a mage's spells, it strengthened the body and mind, enhancing strength, speed, and focus. Though distinct from pure magic, its potential was just as formidable, allowing swordsmen to rival mages on the battlefield.

Adeline had been stuck for a year in her swordsmanship training. She had never been able to awaken her aura.

Until today.

It wasn't an easy feat. Every human naturally possessed mana, but once one chose to use its derivative—the aura—it became impossible to use magic.

And even that sacrifice wasn't enough. No matter the training, no matter how extreme it was. Only talent mattered.

The proof?

In the entire Empire, only one person had managed to master the aura: Lyne Grace, the fencing instructor of the Thirteenth Empire.

But today, Adeline had just added her name to that list.

A fencing genius had just been born.

---

So the key was renunciation...

I would have loved to see the look on the professor's face when she finds out I've finally mastered that damn aura.

Adeline crouched down just as the man, now free of his restraints, collapsed on his butt.

— "Boss...?"

— "Boss, are you okay?"

A cold voice sliced through the air.

— "TOO LATE."

She picked up the axe from the ground.

Even though she had been brought low to the depths of her being, she was still a noble.

She could endure mockery. Accept the taunts. After all, they were justified.

But seeing them covet her body as if they were buying a simple service...

That was the line.

A thread snapped within her.

Up until now, she had clung to a faint hope... the hope that maybe, somehow, she could make it out...

That maybe, someone would extend a hand.

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— "Even when you said you loved me... was that just an act too?"

No one would extend a hand, because her house had been the first to betray the empire.

A resigned smile stretched across her lips.

— "She's crazy, this girl."

— "Boss, kill her! No one will care anyway."

— "This bitch has the nerve to look at us like that!"

None of that matters anymore.

— "NO ONE IS LEAVING HERE ALIVE!"

A mad smile stretched across Adeline's lips, as if she had lost the last shred of reason she had left.

— "What? You..." one of the lumberjacks tried to speak.

But suddenly, they all froze. Petrified.

Murderous intent.

The basic technique of the aura. A simple emanation of her will could freeze anyone of a lower level.

Axe in hand, Adeline slowly approached the human statues, a sinister chuckle echoing through the air.

— "Hehe..."

Then suddenly—

BOOM!

A ball of pure red fire shot towards her.

— "Huh?!"

With a swift flick of her wrist, Adeline sliced the ball in half, letting it explode behind her.

— "You crazy bitch! What the hell are you doing?!"

At the camp's entrance, Livia Red stood, draped in her official white magician's robe.

Upon seeing Livia, the manic look in Adeline's eyes softened slightly. Her aura faded, and the petrified men, still dazed, began to regain their senses.

— "Trash. What are you waiting for? RUN, if you want to live."

They didn't need to be told twice.

As they scattered in all directions, Adeline slowly made her way toward the exit, her gaze fixed on Livia.

— "Move, if you don't want to die, Livia."

She was going to hunt them down and kill every last one of them.

Her voice was icy. Detached.

But Livia didn't budge an inch. A provocative smile on her lips, she crossed her arms.

— "I think that's my line."

— "Very well."

No sooner had those words left her mouth than Adeline's axe was already at Livia's throat.

She really wanted to kill me???

But... it was just an illusion.

Three spells had been cast simultaneously by Livia: an illusion, flight, and camouflage.

Now, Livia was perched high up, watching Adeline with a sharp gaze.

— "I didn't think you'd become a psychopath over a few insignificant problems."

Adeline sighed. Her body relaxed slightly.

Then, in an instant, she vanished from the ground.

Using her aura, she performed an inhuman leap to reach Livia in midair.

— "How many times are you going to surprise me?" Livia chuckled. "You've mastered the aura, huh? Guess it took that to face me."

A burst of bright red energy erupted from her body. It wasn't aura, but solar mana, a raw and natural power source.

On one side, an icy cold and an unreadable gaze. (Adeline.)

On the other, a wide grin and overflowing excitement. (Livia.)

— "Well..." A spark of delight flickered in Livia's eyes.

— "LET'S START THE SECOND ROUND!"

---

Duke Darius's Office

— "You crazy bastard!"

Iris screamed in rage, slamming her fist on the table separating her from the man sitting across from her.

Darius Voldrek, unmoved, raised his tea cup to his lips with almost exaggerated elegance.

— "Please don't shout. I like to savor my tea in peace."

— "Go fuck yourself!!"

Iris's eyes sparked with fury.

— "You want to kill our little brother and let unknown external forces enter the Empire?! Have you lost your mind, Darius?!"

The man stared at her for a moment, then a cold smile slowly stretched across his lips.

— "When you scream like that... I almost want to crush you."

A shiver ran down Iris's spine.

!!!

!!!

— What the... ? Am I going to die?!

Suddenly, Darius's expression shifted completely.

His eyes shone with a disturbing light.

— "You feel it, don't you?"

His voice echoed oddly in the room.

— "HAHAHAHA! YOU FEEL IT, DON'T YOU?!"

Iris didn't dare respond.

Her familiar, resting on the table, collapsed in an instant.

But she... she had to survive.

Darius stood slowly, his hands clasped behind his back.

An invisible vice seemed to tighten around her.

— "You feel that power, don't you?"

His voice vibrated with madness.

— "And that's only a fragment of the power the Great Masters entrusted to me."

The pressure was unbearable.

— "This is the kind of absolute power you could have... if you join us."

— This is no longer Darius... This isn't human strength...

And then, suddenly...

— "Oh... Finally. I was getting impatient."

The pressure van

ished in an instant.

Iris gasped, clutching the edge of the table to steady herself.

Darius gave her an amused look.

— "If you want to leave a final message to our parents, let me know. I'll inform Lucian... and he'll handle your commission soon enough. HAHAHA!"

Lucian...!