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Chapter 410: Star, the Prezias (2)

[The Arcadian Imperial Army surrounding Clio City has been forcibly sent back to where they came from.]

...

Reading the chain of messages popping up before him, Treville’s jaw dropped to the floor. ‘The planet has been completely freed from the control of <Horoscope>? How is this possible?’

Although ‘Divine Twilight’ had sent twenty-seven Star Signs plummeting from the sky, Arcadia was the domain of <Horoscope>. Taking a planet from it was a completely different story. ‘Divine Twilight’ essentially showed that he was strong enough to fend off the Zodiacs and was confident that he would never lose in a fight against them.

[The Celestial ‘Unknown Ancient Celestial’ is summoning her scattered subordinates and followers from all over the civilization Arcadia back to ‘Eos’!]

...

[The Society <Horoscope> has branded the independence of ‘Eos’ as treason and will be sending a punitive expedition against it!]

[The Arcadian Empire has labeled ‘Eos’ as a planet of high-treason criminals and is discussing its extermination.]

[The Inspection Bureau of the Arcadian Empire is planning a conquest against ‘Eos,’ which the Revolutionary Army is currently occupying.]

[The Arcadian Imperial Army....]

[All the defense systems...]

...

Treville gulped down his saliva. The messages that popped up before him would greatly influence Arcadia’s state of affairs. Hence, he couldn’t just take them lightly.

‘And they’re keeping me captive...!’

“Although we’ve captured you, they won’t consider you valuable enough to negotiate for,” Chang-Sun said, realizing what Treville was thinking. Seeing the surprise on Treville’s face, he chuckled. “Why do you look so shocked? Have you already forgotten who I am?”

“Ah...!” Treville slowly nodded in realization. Chang-Sun was a Celestial who had gone through <Transcendence>. He was more than capable of seeing through his mind.

“What... are you planning to do with me?” Treville couldn’t understand why Chang-Sun bothered making Procyon leave him here.

“Well, that’s not up to me to decide.”

Treville wasn’t expecting that answer. However, before he could ask what Chang-Sun meant...

「What is your relationship with Jan Prezia?」

Tap, tap―!

... Jin Prezia slowly walked up from behind Chang-Sun. Despite emitting bone-chilling ice energy, his eyes were blazing up as he stared at Treville.

“H-how do you know my grandfather’s name...?”

「So you’re his grandson, not his son...」

Jin’s bitter smile looked so plaintive that Treville had trouble speaking.

「What about Jan? Judging from your tattoo, you seem to be his first grandson... How could he let his own grandson become the apostle of an idiot who isn’t even a Zodiac? At your age, you should be learning how to lead your family or studying abroad in other civilizations. What in the world happened to the family?!」

“Jin,” Chang-Sun said.

「Talk to me. What could have possibly happened to the family that you’re out here doing mundane—!」

“Jin!” Chang-Sun shouted.

Only then did Jin realize that he was grabbing onto his grandnephew’s shoulders and pressing down on him. His ice energy was about to freeze Trivelle up.

Trivelle looked at Jin with trembling lips, his breath visibly white.

「... I’m sorry. I embarrassed myself.」

Jin clenched his fists and took a couple of steps backward.

“Who... are you? Why are you talking about my grandfather with so much disrespect?” Treville asked, trying his best not to stammer.

「Disrespect? Can’t I call my brother by his first name? He’s over ten years younger than me!」

“What are you talking about? My grandfather didn’t have any older brother... W-wait!”

Treville recalled a memory from his childhood. Around the time their family’s vassals and butlers had all left, making their lives difficult, he coincidentally picked up a book about their family tree and noticed an unfamiliar name.

“Grandpa! Grandpa!” Treville ran over to his grandpa with the book in his arms.

“What is it?”

“There is a name on this book that I’ve never seen before.”

“A name you’ve never seen before?” Jan repeated.

“Yes! It says that you have a brother who is a lot older than you! It’s my first time hearing about him!”

“...”

“... Grandpa?” Treville said cautiously.

“Oh, I’m sorry, my Treville. I’ve embarrassed myself.”

Treville still hadn’t forgotten his grandfather’s teary eyes back then.

Even as their family fell due to external pressure, Jan’s resolve remained strong, never yielding to despair. However, it wavered during their conversation. That had to be why Treville still vividly remembered it along with what his grandfather had told him.

“I don’t remember a lot about him since we didn’t really run into each other much, but I do remember one thing. He was the only one who embraced me with warmth when everything was cold and desolate.”

“His name was...”

「My name is Jin Ladish de Prezia Sande.」

“...Jin Prezia.”

「I was the fool who was supposed to become the 91st head of the Prezia Family until a stupid choice forced me to leave.」

“He’s your granduncle.”

「I guess that makes me your granduncle.」

“Ah!” Treville could see his grandfather from Jin.

「Let me ask you again. What in the world happened to our family while I was away? Why didn’t Jan do anything about it?」

Remembering all the humiliations and contempt that he and his family had to go through, Treville clenched his teeth. “... Grandfather has passed away.”

「What?」

Jin’s eyes widened in shock.

* * *

Jin couldn’t help but be surprised when the worst he could imagine turned out to be true. The Prezia Family was among the five most prestigious families in Arcadia. No matter how much their family fell, what they had built over the years wasn’t something that could just disappear.

One of their legacies was [White Wolf’s Breath], the outstanding technique of the family’s head. Practicing it alone could put one on the threshold of <Exuviation> and <Transcendence>. In other words, after earning enough insights, its practitioner could surpass the level of demigods and aim to become a Celestial.

Not counting their family’s first primogenitor, five of their members had obtained Divine Classes in that way. From what Jin remembered, Jan was a genius among geniuses. He was expected to master [White Wolf’s Breath] and become the newest Celestial from the family in four hundred years.

‘There is no way I wouldn’t know.’ Jin clenched his teeth. ‘I was... jealous of Jan at the time.’

At the age of four, Jan had not only perfectly memorized the theory behind [White Wolf’s Breath] but also reached four stars in the technique. As the genius of the generation, he mastered every martial that he ‘tried’ and even created his own.

Jin would be lying if he said that his position as the family’s heir wasn’t threatened by his monstrously talented younger brother. However, Jin wasn’t a man of such a small caliber that he would harm his younger brother simply because he was anxious. Hence, he tried to overcome the difference in talent using a different method.

‘The [Seven Cryptical Books of Hsan]... I thought they would be the answer I was looking for,’ Jin recalled.

The curse activated every midnight. Jin believed that it was the only way to make up for his lack of talent. Thanks to the book, he could actually get stronger. Since he and his brother were called geniuses, the Prezia Family were naturally praised and expected to reach a new golden age.

The compliments intoxicated Jin, but it also made him anxious to reach a higher place. He wished to grow stronger and obtain a Divine Class, thinking only then would he stop being an embarrassing older brother to his younger brother. Moreover, it would allow him to put his family on a pedestal. However, it ultimately made him lose his way.

‘That got me trapped in the Changgwi Cave.’

Jin never stopped searching for a way to return to his family, but he believed that he didn’t have to worry even if his return was delayed because of Jan’s talents and nature—no, in truth, he thought it would be best for Jan to lead the family instead of him.

“Our family has been branded as high-treason criminals,” Treville said.

「What...? Our family committed treason?」Jin asked in surprise.

With his teeth clenched, Treville shook his head. “We would never do that, and we never had a reason to either. The Prezia Family made great contributions to the founding of Arcadia. People would have continued to respect and praise us even if we did nothing. Besides, Grandfather is—!”

「Yeah, Jan wasn’t really the aggressive type.」Jin nodded. He and his brother had very different personalities. Unlike Jin, who was belligerent, Jan loathed fighting.

「Why are we branded as criminals, then?」

“We were framed,” Treville answered bitterly.

「Framed? Is the Imperial Family behind it?」

“Yes.” Treville nodded.

「Why would they do that...? They wouldn’t be able to find more loyal allies than us.」

Just like their long history and vast area of influence, Arcadia had very complicated power struggles in central politics, the most famous of which was the one between the Imperial Family and the nobles. Through it all, the Prezia Family supported the Imperial Family for generations.

During the generation before Jin’s, the Imperial Family even had a huge internal conflict about succession. The Prezia Family stepped up and put an end to it, allowing the Imperial Family to maintain their power without causing discord in Arcadia. Why would the Imperial Family frame such a loyal family?

Treville’s head drooped. “... They found our family’s power and prestige burdening. It was already too late when I discovered it.”

Jin gritted his teeth, realizing that the Prezia Family was treated like a dog. They were discarded as soon as the hunt ended.

「They were worried about our family turning our backs on them.」

“That’s right.” Treville nodded with a heavy heart, his eyes slightly reddened. “The Inspection Bureau and Arcadian Imperial Army had already made a move before we could do anything about it.”

Jan, a commanding officer on a battlefield at the time, was arrested on the spot. The Arcadian Imperial Army then ambushed the other family members and killed them one after another before they could convene their vassals and soldiers.

「... What about the Star Order? Did <Horoscope> just watch the Imperial Family do that?」

“They did. Considering their lack of action, they were probably colluding with the Imperial Family at the time.”

「Everything we offered until now was for nothing...」 Jin’s eyes filled up with murderous intent. 「What happened after that?」

“Unlike the other elders, who were sentenced to death after several trials, Grandfather was sentenced to having his ability to use mana disabled.”

“If your granduncle was with our family at the time... maybe we wouldn’t have gone through any of this.”

“Where have you been all this time?” Treville asked as he remembered Jan’s not-so-last words. “Grandfather spent a long time looking for you.”

「... I have no excuse for what I did.」Jin shut his eyes. No matter what he said right now, it wouldn’t be able to make up for his karma.

Continuing his story, Treville told Jin that his father desperately tried to revive the fallen family but passed away in a foreign land due to unknown causes. Their vassals scattered all over Arcadia because of the price they had to pay despite their loyalty, and his grandfather spent the rest of his life apologizing to their family.

Eventually, as the last heir of the Prezia Family, Treville joined the Star Order to rebuild their prestige.

“If Mother hadn’t been the pillar of the family, the family would have already crumbled,” Treville added, ending his narrative.

Jin could feel fury and sorrow rising within him but didn’t vent them out. He was a Dread Undead, an envoy of death. He brought extreme coldness everywhere he went.

He would ensure he would get his revenge with a heart as cold as ice.

「... Master.」

Jin turned to Chang-Sun, who listened to them in silence.

Chang-Sun nodded. “My subordinate’s family is my family. I’ve been actually wondering how I should attack the Imperial Family, but it seems I don’t have to worry about it anymore.”

「Thank you. I won’t forget this.」

Well aware that Chang-Sun would never go back on his words, Jin could finally look at his grandnephew with a lighter heart.

「Then go down on one knee in front of me right now, Treville.」

Treville’s eyes reflected Jin’s solemn expression, which made him seem fit to become the head of their family.

「I will appoint you as my apostle. You are to spearhead bringing down the Imperial Family.」