NOVPUB
Chapter 251: The Emergency Situation?
Inside the imperial palace, Emperor Durand was with his family when he sensed a disturbance in the distance. At the moment, he was seated at a table laden with a lavish feast, surrounded by the main members of his family. To his right sat a beautiful brown-haired woman with blue eyes. She is his main wife, Empress Claudia. Beside her were Hector and Alderia.
On his left side sat his second wife, a black-haired woman with sharp features, Imperial Consort Veronica. Beside her was a young man with the same hair color as hers. He seemed timid, as his behavior made evident. Unlike Hector or Alderia, he kept his head lowered, as though ashamed, with his hands resting on his thighs, making him stand out in stark contrast to his half-siblings. He was the third prince, Lewis Doria.
Why were they gathered at this time, when it was uncommon for the family to meet? The answer was simple: Emperor Durand wanted to bring them together. After his curse was dispelled, he desired to spend time with his family—to chat, learn about their well-being, and nurture harmony in their relationships.
He had kept quite some distance from them while under the curse, but now he could finally interact with them without worry.
"What is that? Why is there a spatial crack unleashing elemental attacks?" Hector said, hearing the rumbling sounds of the disturbance. Although the spatial crack was far away, it was still within his range as a King-stage cultivator. In fact, everyone here could sense the disturbance—maybe except for Lewis, who seemed completely clueless.
"Are there some cultivators fighting? But there’s still no report, so whatever it is, I think it can be taken care of," Alderia said. That kind of spatial crack is not something created naturally—it must have been shaped by some kind of technique.
Emperor Durand remained silent as he sensed the spatial crack more clearly from his seat. He could feel that the elemental attacks held the power of Emperor-stage attacks, with some at the King-stage level as well. With such a scale of fighting, there should have been reports about the chaos by now, but he hadn’t received any. He found it strange but chose not to dwell too deeply on it. If there was no report at all, he would not pay it any further attention.
"Let’s ignore them. I think it has already been taken care of," Emperor Durand said. He then ate the food on his plate, the best quality meat from a wild beast.
"My emperor, about the succession—" Imperial Consort Veronica suddenly said, but she was quickly cut off by the emperor.
"Don’t talk about the succession at this time. It’s not good if we keep discussing this matter."
Imperial Consort Veronica fell silent and simply nodded. Truthfully, she knew that her son didn’t have the qualities to become emperor. But the fact that her brother had chosen his nephew—his purpose couldn’t be clearer. She knew her brother’s ambition for power, but there was nothing she could do about it. Though she was the consort of the emperor, she still had her blood ties to her family.
Because she was aware of her son’s condition, she wanted Emperor Durand to postpone the succession race. She wanted her son to gather more political support, knowing that he had already lost in terms of cultivation.
With Emperor Durand rushing the succession race, it was as if he were giving Hector the crown prince title, since most of the nobles viewed Hector in a positive light—very different from Lewis, who only had support from his older brother’s faction.
But if she could entice some of the nobles with their interests, it wouldn’t be impossible to sway them to support Lewis. Glancing at his mother, the third prince lifted his head and looked at her.
"Mother, it’s okay. If that is father’s decision, I can even forfeit from the succession race. I know there is no way I can compete with eldest brother," he said in a regretful tone. He then looked at Hector.
"I know you are the most suitable one to be chosen," he said, glancing at Alderia for a split second.
"You’re exaggerating, third brother. The succession race is still uncertain; we don’t know who will be chosen yet," Hector replied.
Hector didn’t know why, but he felt that something was off in the words Lewis had just said. With those words, it seemed like Lewis wanted to spark a dispute between him and Alderia. Fortunately, Alderia didn’t seem to care, likely because of his lack of interest in the throne.
Hector then fell silent and ate his food, not wanting to comment further on the matter. After hearing Emperor Durand’s reasoning last night, it seemed the situation would be more harmful to the empire if the crown prince title fell to his third brother. He knew that Grand Duke Gouvard was a man of great ambition, and due to his immense political power and strategic position, his father would have to be cautious.
The emperor’s steward observed their interaction with an expressionless face, but he, too, was thinking about it.
If Emperor Durand simply decided that Hector would be the crown prince, it would only raise the displeasure of Grand Duke Gouvard and his faction. Therefore, the emperor had to announce the commencement of the succession race, ensuring that the crown prince would be appointed "fair and square," based on the power they held at the deadline, which would be next year. While still under the curse, Emperor Durand had hoped he could hold on until then to appoint the crown prince.
The emperor believed that Hector would be the one to gain more support because of his achievements. It was better that way than having a weak and timid emperor who could be controlled by the nobles.
They continued to eat, but suddenly Emperor Durand paused and frowned. Empress Claudia looked at him with a puzzled expression.
"Dear, what is wrong?"
The emperor did not answer but instead touched his stomach as he felt a sudden discomfort. There was a burning sensation in his dantian and inner organs. However, he soon felt another sensation coming from his dantian and meridians.
"This... this is young Aldrian’s energy," the emperor thought.
It seemed that the remnant of the golden energy, which had slipped into the emperor’s body while Aldrian healed his condition and destroyed the curse, was still lingering inside him. With the energy still present, the emperor finally realized the source of the sudden discomfort.
"Poison!"
Finally, he detected something in his stomach—something foreign and sinister. With Aldrian’s energy combined with his own, the emperor tried to push the poison out of his system. The others, seeing this, looked worried. They seemed ready to help, and the emperor’s steward also wanted to intervene, but the emperor signaled them to stop.
After a few seconds, the emperor vomited some of the food he had eaten to the side. Mixed in with it was a black substance bubbling with corrosive properties.
"What is that?" Alderia asked, shocked by the disgusting substance that had suddenly appeared in the vomit.
"All of you stop eating—it’s poison!" the emperor said.
"What?!" the others shouted.
In the split second that followed, a few of the Imperial Crown Daggers appeared, surrounding the emperor. These were the emperor’s hidden guardians, who formed a protective formation to ensure his safety.
The emperor’s family didn’t pay much attention to them, but they immediately moved toward Emperor Durand to assist him.
The steward remained calm, quickly retrieving the communication artifact and sending out an announcement.
"To all imperial guards and knight orders, close the imperial palace, this is not a drill. I repeat, this is not a drill. From this moment on, no one is to enter or leave the palace. Secure all vital locations and await further instructions."
Once he finished speaking, not even five seconds later, the entire palace was shrouded in a protective formation, and all the soldiers of the imperial palace rushed out from their rooms or barracks. They sealed all the doors leading to the surrounding areas of the capital. Tension filled the air as the sudden announcement reverberated throughout the palace.
"Dear, are you really okay?" Empress Claudia asked, her concern evident.
"It’s fine. The poison hasn’t reached my vital organs yet, so I’m alright," Emperor Durand said, trying to reassure his family. However, despite his words, he was shaken inside.
"This poison nearly took me! I couldn’t detect it at all, and I can feel how potent it is—strong enough to kill me quickly! If not for young Aldrian’s energy still lingering inside my body, I’d be in a dying state right now!"
The emperor then took out his own communication artifact.
"I want the cooks’ department to report to me. If anyone has left the palace in the past two hours, bring them back here. I want to inspect them myself."
In the midst of this chaos, someone watched the emperor with trembling eyes.
"How is that possible?!"
