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Chapter 263: Trapped
Lewis was stunned, but he still grinned, though it was a little rigid now. He couldn’t shake the bad feeling he got every time he saw Aldrian’s laid-back behavior. It felt as if Aldrian didn’t consider Lewis a threat at all. Maintaining his confident posture, Lewis asked Aldrian.
"What are you talking about? I’m completely serious. I can blow up the imperial palace and kill countless innocents with just a flick of my finger," Lewis declared. He wasn’t bluffing—he only needed to activate the talisman hidden in his pocket. With a simple touch of energy, the talisman would ignite, triggering the explosion.
"Well, I know you’d do it; I have no doubt about that. But have you ever considered whether the explosive powder will even work? If I know about your explosive powder, don’t you think I might have already secured it, keeping it out of your reach? That’s why I said you’re stupid," Aldrian said with a sigh. 𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘱𝘶𝑏.𝑐𝘰𝑚
"Young—" Emperor Durand wanted to say something, but he stopped when Aldrian gave him a confident smile. Seeing that smile, Emperor Durand, though still harboring some doubts, finally decided to trust Aldrian. It seemed Aldrian had already taken care of the issue, leaving no reason to worry about the explosive powder.
Lewis widened his eyes. Did Aldrian just say that the explosive powder he had buried in various parts of the imperial palace had already been secured?! Impossible! Even if Aldrian somehow knew he had buried the powder, there was no way he could know the exact locations. No one knew except him, and he was certain no one had seen him during the act. It had to be a bluff! That’s what Lewis thought.
With a cruel expression, he activated the talisman hidden in his pocket.
A split second later...
BOOM!!!
The palace shook violently as the deafening explosion reverberated through its walls. Screams of pain echoed, and a river of blood painted the palace grounds.
Lewis, stunned that his plan had worked, broke into a wicked smile before laughing in satisfaction. He glanced at the others, their faces frozen in shock. But when his eyes fell on Aldrian, he was met with nothing but a serene expression.
He felt confused. Did this man truly not value the lives that had just been lost?
Lewis could sense that at least a thousand people had become his victims, yet Aldrian seemed utterly indifferent. How could he remain so calm? Did he not care at all?
But it didn’t matter. He had already used his last bargaining chip and had nothing left to hold them back from killing him, so he had resigned himself to his death.
Yet suddenly, something felt wrong. He looked at his father’s expression and felt an overwhelming sense of déjà vu. It was as though he had already experienced this moment before. He could feel the talisman in his pocket, and when he touched it, he was shocked to find that it had returned to its original state, as though it had never been activated.
He glanced at Aldrian again, whose expression was still irritatingly serene. Without thinking too much, Lewis activated the talisman once more. The loud explosion reverberated throughout the palace, followed by the screams of agony from the victims.
He felt a twisted satisfaction at the sound of those death cries, but suddenly, once again, he was struck by that same feeling of déjà vu.
He looked around and saw the same expression on his father’s face, as well as on all of his family, the same expressions they had shown just a few seconds ago. A frown creased his brow as he couldn’t understand the unsettling feeling creeping over him.
However, when he felt his pocket, he could still sense the talisman was intact.
Taking a step back, he dropped to the ground, horrified. He tried to calm his mind, closing his eyes in an attempt to regain control.
"Yes, this must be an illusion! It’s just an illusion! As long as I can break it, I’ll escape from this place!"
He tried to circulate his devil cultivation manual, and with a shout and a surge of blaring devil energy, he released it all at once. His intent was to throw the surrounding energy into chaos, hoping to break the illusion.
"BREAK!"
After that, he dashed toward the exit of the room, desperate to escape the palace. As he moved toward the entrance, he didn’t see anyone, but he didn’t care—he just wanted to get away. Finally, he reached the imperial palace’s entrance and quickly broke through it.
However, just when he thought he was about to see the city’s scenery, he was shocked to find himself back in Hector’s room.
He felt like he was going crazy. He was standing in the exact same position as when he had been about to activate the talisman. His body trembled as he couldn’t sense any anomaly in his body or surroundings, yet he kept returning to this moment, trapped in a loop of events.
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Emperor Durand and the others looked at Lewis with confused expressions. They remained cautious about the explosive powder he had tried to detonate, but suddenly his gaze became unfocused, losing its light. He fell silent, his hand still in his pocket, and his other hand hanging at his side.
They didn’t know if this was another of Lewis’s tricks, but after a few seconds of him not making any move, they finally realized what had happened to him.
"He’s under an illusion!" they thought.
Emperor Durand glanced at Aldrian, who had maintained his serene expression since earlier. Aldrian must be the one who put Lewis under the illusion. He sighed and placed a hand on Aldrian’s shoulder.
"Young Aldrian, thank you again. Because of you, we’ve avoided a much bigger disaster. We’ve also uncovered the hidden dangers within my family. I—no, we, the imperial family, truly owe you more than we can repay. You’ve always been helping us, but I have yet to offer anything in return. I feel ashamed."
Aldrian finally smiled and looked at Emperor Durand.
"No worries, Your Majesty. I’m doing this because it aligns with my interests as well. With the stability of the empire, my work in the future will be much easier."
Emperor Durand smiled upon hearing Aldrian’s answer.
"Still, you’ve already given my family and this empire something we can’t simply ignore. Because of you, I’m still alive, and my family has been saved from the hidden dangers within, which turned out to be so close to us. So you don’t need to be so humble. Even if you try to deny it, I will still acknowledge everything you’ve done for me."
"It’s my honor, Your Majesty."
Imperial Consort Veronica had already placed her son on her lap, gently stroking his forehead. Lewis’s gaze remained unfocused, as though he were under immense stress in his mind. In this moment, Lewis was in his most vulnerable state; if anyone wanted to harm him, he would be powerless to stop it.
Emperor Durand walked over to Imperial Consort Veronica, his eyes coldly fixed on Lewis.
"Veronica, I will punish Lewis according to the imperial laws for traitors, and not even you can save him from it. Do you understand?" Emperor Durand said, his voice cold, devoid of any affection. He didn’t just feel betrayed; he was consumed with anger and sadness. Of all the people, his own son had turned out to be one of the traitors.
He also didn’t know how to deal with Veronica right now. He wasn’t sure if his wife was aware of all the madness their son and her blood family had caused outside. Emperor Durand thought this way, considering everything he had just experienced. All the recent chaos seemed to be connected to Imperial Consort Veronica.
Imperial Consort Veronica remained silent, continuing to stroke Lewis’s forehead. She knew she couldn’t save her son after everything Lewis had done. She also understood that her position would be shaken in the eyes of Emperor Durand. Although she hadn’t known about Lewis’s actions, they were still affecting her.
Aldrian looked at Imperial Consort Veronica with pity, already seeing the difficult path ahead of her. Her blood family and son had plotted a coup, even working with the devils. In the end, all decisions rested with Emperor Durand, and perhaps the rest of the family.
Aldrian glanced at the rest of the imperial family, who remained silent. They seemed unwilling to think about it for now, still uncertain whether Imperial Consort Veronica was involved in any way.
He could only provide Emperor Durand with the information as the basis for his judgment, ensuring that no wrong decisions were made, decisions that would lead to regret later.
Once Aldrian felt that his role here was complete for now, he turned to the people present and spoke.
"Your Majesties, Your Highness, I think I will excuse myself for now. I will return to the imperial palace later to assist with the investigation and the aftermath cleanup. I want to check on my mansion first, as I didn’t have time earlier. I need to make sure there’s no issue with my friends," Aldrian said, slightly bowing his head.
Emperor Durand nodded with a smile, and the others also smiled. But then Hector spoke to Aldrian.
"Sir Aldrian, thank you for saving my life. I truly owe you one."
Aldrian smiled at Hector.
"It’s my pleasure to be of help."
With that, he disappeared, leaving the imperial family in awe, as they marveled at the Aldrian’s mysterious methods.
