The Genius Tamer of the Academy

Chapter 223

Han Siha rode directly to the Imperial Palace with Won.

He didn’t fully trust the man named Berne.

He even kept his smartphone turned on in case Berne used the prince as an excuse to take them somewhere strange.

Fortunately, the place they arrived at was indeed the Imperial Palace.

However, there was this strange sense of discomfort in the air.

The eerily silent and unsettling palace greeted them.

There, Han Siha spotted a familiar face.

It was the president of the fan club he met during the Lantern Festival.

The little girl who was unusually enthusiastic—Princess Rubia—was standing there, looking far from okay.

She was deathly pale and filled with terror.

Han Siha dismounted his horse and rushed over to Rubia.

Something must have happened in this palace.

“What’s going on?”

“Well… it’s…”

Seeing Rubia unable to give a proper response, Han Siha’s expression darkened.

Her eyes were filled with fear, as if she had witnessed something shocking.

She couldn’t find the words, her lips trembling, but a quivering voice finally escaped from Rubia.

“His… His Majesty… is in pain…”

“What?”

“Some people… they came… and to His Majesty…”

Han Siha’s expression turned cold.

The palace was eerily quiet with no signs of life.

A chilling premonition crept up on him.

“Han Siha!”

Won’s voice called out from behind.

Han Siha shook off Rubia’s hand and immediately rushed into the palace.

As soon as he pushed the doors open, he saw Marcel sitting on the ground.

The prince, who always maintained his noble demeanor, was now pale and completely dazed.

And behind him, there was someone lying on the floor.

It was the Emperor.

Won, who had followed Han Siha in, froze in shock.

Marcel spoke in a desperate voice.

“Help, Han Siha. Do something.”

“…”

Han Siha gritted his teeth as he looked down at the Emperor.

Unfortunately, his condition was the worst.

It looked like he had been attacked, with blood continuously flowing from a wound in his abdomen, pooling like a wet puddle due to the sheer amount lost.

At the very least, he wasn’t dead yet.

“Ugh…”

The Emperor of Linia groaned in pain.

Han Siha knelt down before her.

“What the hell happened?”

Han Siha urgently asked as he tore at his white shirt.

It was Berne who answered.

“There was a sudden attack. It seems that poison was put in the meals of the royal guards.”

Not all of them ate it, but amidst the chaos within the guards, the palace was ambushed.

The surviving knights included only a few, Berne among them.

They had failed to protect the Emperor from the assassins.

From poison to assassins—it had to be an inside job, considering the heavy security of the royal palace.

Han Siha listened to Berne’s explanation and frowned.

‘This wasn’t in the original story.’

The Linian Emperor was destined to die during the war, but not this soon.

Han Siha urgently poured potion over the wound and inspected it.

“Ugh… Ugh…”

The Emperor’s face was already pale as she writhed in agony.

“Where are the palace medics?”

“They were attacked as well.”

“What a mess.”

The timing made sense, though.

This was the period just before the war.

It was the time when those who took bribes from dark mages started to run rampant within the palace.

There were always those lying in wait for opportunities, and he remembered several attempts at poisoning.

However, it didn’t seem like the Emperor was supposed to die at this point.

For Abaddon, it would have been a risky gamble.

‘Is it because he lost the Cube?’

‘Did he think things weren’t going in his favor?’

Han Siha hadn’t expected Abaddon, who should have been calmly preparing for war, to engage in such a direct confrontation.

This was likely the outcome of variables Han Siha himself had introduced.

Abaddon, who should have had all the Cubes by now, had failed to acquire even half, and he must have realized the power of the Cubes had weakened.

Han Siha felt heavy-hearted.

Although she was a tyrant, she was also a highly capable ruler.

The Emperor’s absence could critically alter the course of the war.

“Ugh!”

Han Siha tied the cloth tightly, and the Emperor groaned in pain.

He urgently commanded Berne.

“If there are no palace medics, find other healers. Search everywhere.”

“Yes, understood.”

“I-I’ll go too!”

Won, who was pale-faced, tried to follow Berne when suddenly, someone grabbed Han Siha’s arm.

It was the Emperor.

“…”

She slowly shook her head.

“Your Majesty… Your Majesty…”

Rubia cried, her eyes red with tears.

Han Siha looked down at the Emperor with a hardened expression.

He had known the moment he saw her.

The chances of saving her were slim.

The Emperor, aware of her own impending death better than anyone, blocked Han Siha, coughing up blood.

Han Siha spoke in a dry tone.

“Looking at Your Majesty, I thought Ardel’s future looked quite bleak.”

“Heh…”

Even in her dying moments, the Emperor of Linia frowned as if in disbelief.

Han Siha bit his lower lip tightly.

“But without Your Majesty, the Empire’s future will be even darker.”

The eighteen-year-old prince, the bribed ministers.

And the war that was inevitably approaching.

The Emperor’s face was full of concern, as if she could also see the future of Ardel.

Han Siha swallowed his bitterness.

The silent palace.

“Haa… Haa…”

The Emperor, who should have already passed, struggled to keep her eyes open and breathed heavily.

No one could speak for a moment.

The Emperor finally managed to say something, her voice strained.

“Han Siha.”

She didn’t call for Marcel or Rubia.

The Emperor called for him.

“Yes.”

Han Siha leaned closer, and the Emperor whispered in a voice that had grown rough.

“Take care of the prince….”

Her gaze alternated between Marcel and Rubia.

Han Siha wondered why she had sent Berne to call for him, especially since there must have been other reinforcements available.

But now, he understood.

If the palace was no longer safe, where would be the safest place?

Castica’s territory.

The Emperor’s request to protect the prince was also a plea to hide him somewhere secure, away from danger.

“Yes, leave it to me.”

Han Siha stood up, leaving the Emperor behind.

Marcel and Rubia were still trembling in fear, their minds in disarray.

Han Siha wasn’t the type to be a loyal subject.

He had no intention of suddenly playing that role now, nor did it suit his personality.

However, having come this far, he felt a strong sense of responsibility to keep them alive, at least as a human being.

There was no more time to waste.

“We’re going to Castica’s territory.”

Han Siha helped the two onto his horse.

* * *

It was practically a night escape.

Han Siha left Won and the Emperor with Berne and placed Rubia on his own horse.

He then rode with Marcel towards Castica’s territory.

It was, of course, the dead of night when they arrived.

“I’m back.”

Bang, bang, bang.

Han Siha knocked on the tightly closed mansion door.

“…”

No response.

Bang, bang, bang.

“It’s urgent.”

Damn it.

Han Siha clicked his tongue, preparing to break the door down if necessary. He struck the doorknob with all his might.

Bang!

The noise was louder this time.

Servants, awakened by the commotion, rushed out in a hurry.

“W-What’s going on?”

“Open the door.”

A servant who recognized Han Siha from behind the iron gate hesitated with a bewildered expression.

They had thought it was some thug causing a ruckus at their doorstep, but it was the young master of the house himself.

Han Siha furrowed his brow and said sternly.

“I won’t say it twice. Open the door before I break it down.”

“P-Please wait!”

The servant was torn, wondering if they should wake the Count at this late hour, when suddenly—

“Sigh.”

A low voice interjected abruptly.

“What’s with this rude behavior?”

Han Siha turned his surprised gaze towards the source of the voice. Han Taesu, his voice thick with sleep, had his hand on the doorknob.

Click.

He opened the door, but did not easily let them inside.

Han Taesu blocked the entrance and glared at Han Siha.

“I asked what kind of rudeness this is.”

“I need to come in.”

“You’re impossible to talk to.”

“That’s nothing new.”

Han Taesu, intent on correcting his insolent son’s attitude today, took a deep breath.

But that intention quickly faded.

The moment Han Taesu saw those standing behind Han Siha, his expression turned icy.

“…”

Marcel and Rubia, bloodied and bruised, looked as if they had gone through hell.

There was no need for further explanation.

Han Taesu swallowed hard and spoke.

“Come in.”

* * *

Marcel, though visibly shaken by the events that had transpired in just one night, managed to maintain a composed expression.

He knew that, even though Rubia was in shock, he had to keep his wits about him.

The Empire was founded after a long war against dark mages.

Though it was a young empire, he believed its fate now rested on his shoulders.

No matter how he pondered, the conclusion was the same.

The current palace was far too dangerous.

Marcel, with great difficulty, conveyed the Emperor’s wishes.

“Her Majesty told us to flee.”

In her dying moments, the only person the Emperor trusted was Castica, and Marcel had followed that trust by seeking out Han Siha.

He didn’t regret his decision.

Even in this dire moment when the world seemed to be collapsing, Han Taesu stood as unyielding as ever.

Marcel looked at Han Taesu and spoke.

“Therefore, we intend to stay here for a while.”

It wasn’t a request or a plea for understanding.

It felt more like a declaration of intent, barging into someone else’s home.

Han Taesu, however, did not seem bothered in the slightest.

Unlike Han Siha, who lacked loyalty, Han Taesu had been a steadfast subject of the Emperor since the founding of the Empire, obeying every command without fail.

The Emperor was dead, and now Marcel was the next in line.

There was no way Han Taesu would refuse Marcel’s words.

But then—

“No.”

Han Taesu expressed his stance briefly.

“…What?”

Marcel’s eyes widened.

There was no place for him to go.

In this situation, where no one could be trusted, if even Castica abandoned them, they wouldn’t survive.

Marcel, stunned by Castica’s apparent betrayal, couldn’t find the words.

His trembling voice finally managed to emerge.

“Are you telling us… to return to the palace?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“To return to that unsafe place… where all the royal guards have been killed?”

“Yes.”

Han Taesu nodded, maintaining direct eye contact with Marcel. He then added an unreadable expression.

“However, I will go with you.”

Castica had not abandoned the royal family.

As long as the Empire stood, that fact would never change.

Han Taesu’s approach simply differed from Marcel’s.

Vacating the palace now would be precisely what the enemies wanted.

No matter how dangerous, the Empire could not be relinquished.

He would not let the palace fall into the hands of those unscrupulous invaders.

With his fingers interlocked, Han Taesu declared resolutely.

“We are going back to the palace.”