Chapter 123
For now, Chris thought about something else.
‘I wonder what Princess Yulian is thinking.’
She must have sensed the atmosphere in the banquet hall, yet she looked completely unchanged.
That warmth of hers didn’t seem like an act.
Which made it all the more strange.
A deep sense of incongruity filled him.
‘I need to dig deeper.’
Since he would be standing against Princess Yulian in earnest from now on, it was necessary to understand what kind of person she was.
Just then, an opportunity presented itself.
She had stepped out alone onto the balcony, seemingly to get some air.
Chris followed her and headed for the balcony.
But just as he was about to step inside—
Christian hesitated.
‘A veil of demonic energy?’
A faint barrier of magic had been drawn on the inside of the curtain, as if to block the view from within the banquet hall.
‘What’s she doing in there?’
It was a chance to uncover Princess Yulian’s secrets.
Chris discreetly manipulated his own demonic energy, carefully nullifying the veil’s security effect so she wouldn’t notice.
‘What the…?’
Chris’s eyes widened.
She wasn’t doing anything secretive.
Princess Yulian was clutching the railing and vomiting.
“Uugh. Hrk.”
With a look of utter disgust, as if she had faced the most revolting thing in the world.
The sight was so unexpected that Christian froze stiffly—completely unlike his usual self.
‘What are those scars?’
Yulian typically wore outfits that thoroughly covered her entire body.
But now, likely due to the vomiting, her clothes had come slightly undone, and on the skin that peeked through—there were countless small scars.
They weren’t the kind of wounds sustained in battle.
…Judging by their form, they were self-inflicted.
‘That’s far too severe for self-harm.’
It was as if—
As if she had tortured her own body.
Princess Yulian barely managed to stop retching.
Then she used dark magic to erase all traces of the vomit and returned to her original appearance.
The face known to everyone, that of the beloved and respected princess of the dark mage family.
And perhaps having sensed someone’s presence, she spoke with a slightly stiffened expression.
“Is someone out there?”
“…It’s Christian.”
“Ah, come in.”
Yulian dispelled the demonic barrier.
It seemed she hadn’t noticed that Chris had been watching her.
“What is it?”
“I came because I had something to tell you, Princess.”
“Call me sister.”
“…What?”
Yulian smiled gently.
“I told you before to call me ‘sister.’ We may be rivals, but I don’t think there’s any need to sharpen blades at each other.”
“……”
“To be honest, I don’t dislike you.”
Chris fell silent for a moment.
The image of Yulian from earlier came to mind.
Utterly tormented.
And at the same time, her face twisted with overwhelming disgust.
Who was that hatred directed toward?
And—
Why had Yulian made a contract with a Devil?
‘It wasn’t out of mere greed.’
That much was clear from what he’d seen earlier.
Yulian had her reasons.
Reasons that forced her to offer her soul to a Devil.
It wasn’t good news.
If she had done it for simple greed, there would be nothing to fear.
But if there was a deeper reason—
If there had been something that could drive a pure soul to corruption, and that made her loved by the Devil—
Then she would receive a terrifying “blessing” from that Devil.
“I don’t dislike you either, Princess.”
“Sister. If you don’t keep calling me that, I won’t keep talking to you, you know?”
“…Sister.”
Yulian chuckled.
A clear laugh, like that of a fairy.
“So, what brings my little brother to visit his big sister?”
“No particular reason. I just came to greet you.”
“Really? Thank you. Actually, I had something to tell you too.”
“Something to tell me?”
“Mm.”
Yulian nodded and whispered softly.
“Thanks for breaking Ashid.”
“!!”
Chris felt a chill run down his spine.
Though Yulian’s lips held the usual smile, an invisible wave of chilling hatred seemed to pass by.
“…I take it you didn’t get along with Prince Ashid.”
“Ah. He may be my brother, born from the same womb, but he’s not exactly someone easy to like, right?”
Yulian smiled faintly.
“If it hadn’t been you, I would’ve dealt with him myself. But human sacrifice? No matter how I tried, I couldn’t stomach the disgust.”
“…I see.”
Chris slowly nodded.
Yulian smiled playfully.
“Don’t make such a scary face. Like I said earlier, I don’t dislike you. I might even think you’re kind of cute? So I believe we could get along well—as sister and younger brother.”
Chris didn’t respond.
He couldn’t be sure if Yulian meant what she said.
‘I can’t read her.’
Considering Chris’s usual ability to read people at a glance, this was highly unusual.
‘Still, getting a glimpse of Princess Yulian’s inner self was a gain in itself.’
When he saw the abyss that stirred inside her, it was clear—she had received a genuine “blessing” from a Devil.
He had to stay on guard.
“Well then, shall we head out? You should come visit this big sister sometime. I’ll prepare sweet cakes and lots of that ginger juice you like.”
“…I’ll pass on the ginger juice.”
As they stepped outside, Chris tilted his head.
Something felt off.
The once-lively chatter had gone completely silent, even the music had vanished—leaving an eerie stillness.
Chris quickly realized the reason for the change.
A stranger had appeared in the banquet hall.
A massive, towering figure.
An aura sharp as a drawn blade.
A suffocating pressure filled the entire hall.
With a slightly surprised expression, Chris muttered the name of the newcomer.
‘…Marquis Shufen?’
He was the head of the Shufen branch family—foremost among the side branches—and commander of the 10,000-strong “Dark Mage Corps” that guarded the outer wall of the Dark Demonic House.
A formidable 7-star powerhouse.
Alongside Marquis Langham, one of the strongest figures in the entire Dark Demonic House.
‘Why would Marquis Shufen be here?’
He was far too high-ranking to attend a simple banquet celebrating a young lord’s title.
‘Could it be…?’
Just as Chris’s eyes widened at the thought—
Marquis Langham, seated at the head table, spoke.
“What brings you here, Border Duke?”
“I came to report something. There’s been an incident near Gold Cross.”
At those words, murmurs filled the hall.
Everyone sensed it was something serious.
“What happened?”
“The ‘Shaking Black Death’ has broken out in Gold Cross.”
“!!”
The Black Death.
A horrifying plague.
The problem was the modifier “Shaking” before it.
It wasn’t a natural outbreak—it meant a Black Death unleashed through black magic.
It is even more deadly and brutal in form than the ordinary Black Death.
“What? The Shaking Black Death? How could such a thing happen?”
“Couldn’t this be some sort of misunderstanding, Your Excellency?”
The vassals of the house voiced their doubts.
Marquis Shufen shook his head.
“Our Dark Mage Corps confirmed it. It is indeed the Shaking Black Death.”
“Who in the world would commit such an atrocity?”
The vassals looked utterly confused.
“The exact perpetrator remains unknown. But what matters most is the reaction from the Gold Cross.”
Marquis Shufen’s eyes gleamed like lightning.
“Pentahel III, the High Pontiff of Gold Cross, has pointed to our Dark Demonic House as the culprit behind it.”
“!!”
“How dare they frame our Grand Dark Demonic House with such slander? This is an intolerable insult.”
Marquis Shufen turned to Marquis Langham.
“For the honor of our Dark Demonic House, I request permission to mobilize the Dark Mage Corps and punish the scum of Gold Cross.”
Everyone instinctively swallowed.
It was the prelude to a storm of blood.
And so—
The tragedy of Gold Cross, known as the “Fall of the Star,” began. The first prelude to the coming Age of Ruin.
* * *
‘It’s finally begun.’
Chris’s gaze darkened.
The flow of history matched what he had originally experienced.
More than thirty thousand innocent lives would be lost due to this incident.
The plague outbreak—
And the casualties from the conflict between the Dark Demonic House and Gold Cross that would follow.
The problem was—it wouldn’t end there.
‘This incident will cause Gold Cross to fall into irreversible corruption. And as a result, the Four Kings' Star will gain immensely from it.’
It must be stopped.
The very first priority was to prevent the clash between the two factions.
‘A war between the Dark Demonic House and Gold Cross would play right into the hands of whoever orchestrated this.’
Following the urgent report, the banquet was adjourned, and a family meeting was convened.
Given the potential for an all-out war, even Nordian unusually attended the meeting.
However, He merely sat in the back as an observer, signaling his intent to entrust decisions to Marquis Langham, who took the central seat.
At first, the vassals cautiously watched Nordian, but soon raised their voices with strong opinions.
“We must raise our army immediately and in full force!”
“How dare they try to frame our Dark Demonic House with such baseless accusations!”
The mood of the meeting was mostly hawkish.
After all, it was as if Gold Cross had spat in the face of a house that had done nothing wrong.
Of course, there were a few who advocated for caution.
“We must not underestimate Gold Cross. Though they’ve been unstable lately, they remain one of the core pillars of the Union. If things go wrong, our Dark Demonic House could suffer immense losses.”
The major forces of the Crusade Union are as follows.
The Karn Empire.
The Holy Empire.
Gold Cross.
These three were referred to as the Triumvirate of the Union.
There were other forces with smaller size yet not to be underestimated—such as the ‘House of Swordsmanship,’ the ‘Mirror Ice Palace,’ the ‘House of Divine Healers,’ the ‘Fanatic Cult,’ the ‘Round Table,’ the ‘Sky Mage Tower,’ and the ‘White Tiger Regiment’—but the core of the Union lay in those three great nations.
Gold Cross’s military strength was somewhat inferior compared to the other major nations, yet it still couldn’t be taken lightly.
“To suffer such an insult and remain idle as Magi?! If we join forces with the Venomous Demonic House, Gold Cross is well within our reach!”
“If we move together with the Venomous Demonic House, it’ll turn into a full-scale war! We’ll need His Majesty the Demon King’s approval!”
“Then we just need to obtain it, don’t we?! Even the ‘Demon King of Blueflow’ wouldn’t oppose this!”
“The Venomous Demonic House won’t oppose cooperating either!!”
At that moment, Marquis Langham tapped the table.
“That’s enough. Everyone, calm yourselves. We are in the presence of the Family Head.”
“……”
All the vassals fell silent.
Marquis Langham turned to Nordian.
“My Lord, what decision would you have us make?”
“Kuhuhu, why ask me such a thing? I’ve said this many times—this old man has entrusted full authority to the Marquis. If the Marquis believes war is necessary, then proceed. This old man will follow your judgment.”
“……”
The vassals glanced at Nordian.
From their long years of serving him, they could tell that he was not pleased with the direction their discussions had taken.
Sure enough, Nordian spoke again.
“However, perhaps because of my old age, there’s one thing I can’t help but be concerned about.”
“What would that be?”
“What do you think it is?”
As the vassals exchanged uncertain looks, Christian opened his mouth.