Future Knight

Chapter 148

However, it was not enough to destroy the Zvezda ship.

Kang Chan thought everything was over.

His body had already reached its limit.

But it was Zikyon who finished it.

Moreover, the fact that he was alive now might also be thanks to her.

The explosion of a warship had the power equivalent to thousands of nuclear bombs.

The fact that he was intact amidst such an explosion was a contradiction. Without Zikyon’s help, it wouldn’t have been possible.

“You fool! It would have been enough for only me to die…”

Kang Chan grabbed his head and cried out.

The other Dragons couldn’t understand.

They couldn’t comprehend why Kang Chan was so grief-stricken over the death of a Dragon who wasn’t even of his own species.

* * *

Kang Chan, heading to the capital of the Visman Empire aboard the Red Mars ship, saw the whole world in black and white, steeped in grief.

To him, Zikyon was as precious as Jaina, and a world without her was something he could not accept.

He felt that if he turned around now, she would be smiling at him.

“Zikyon…”

Kang Chan, displaying signs of mental confusion, soon arrived in the skies above Bellaren.

Duke Sachsen, who had been dealing with the rebels, hurried out to greet Kang Chan and the Dragons.

Edelene was also with him.

Duke Sachsen knelt before Kang Chan with an expression full of respect.

A duke of a nation knelt without hesitation.

It was the utmost courtesy he could offer to the hero who had brought victory to the Continental Allied Forces.

“You are a hero to all of us.”

“Gasp! Your Grace!”

“Your Grace!”

Everyone was surprised by Duke Sachsen’s sudden action. But what shocked them even more was Kang Chan’s lack of reaction to the duke’s respectful behavior.

It was as if he ignored him.

The expressions of Duke Sachsen and his officials as they looked at Kang Chan were far from joyful.

But soon Duke Sachsen learned from Silpiris about Zikyon’s death and Kang Chan’s unstable mental state, and he quickly guided Kang Chan to his quarters.

The place was the summer palace, the most beautiful of the empire’s palaces, built for foreign royalty visiting the Visman Empire.

Edelene quietly watched Kang Chan, supported by Silpiris, head to the summer palace.

The man who had been her first love.

He was her first love and had helped her reclaim her lost homeland.

Therefore, Kang Chan was a deeply grateful person to her.

But she couldn’t boldly step forward to him.

Because she felt defiled.

She wanted to run and throw herself into his arms right away, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it.

Tears fell from her eyes without her realizing it.

Seeing her like that, Duke Sachsen asked with concern.

“Are you unwell, Princess?”

“Oh, no.”

Sachsen offered words of comfort to her sorrowful appearance.

“You have endured much hardship. As long as I am here, such a tragic event will never happen again in our empire, Princess.”

“You’re very reliable, Duke. I am not feeling well, so I must leave…”

“Oh, yes, Princess.”

Edelene hurriedly left as if she were fleeing.

* * *

A month had passed since the end of the war.

However, the empire was still filled with the stench of blood.

After the public execution of Green, the leader of the Green Elves, and Nemitz, the leader of the Dark Elves, a bloody purge of the traitors who had been their minions began.

The purge, which wiped out entire families, resulted in the deaths of countless people.

The guillotine of the execution grounds was now stained with the blood of humans instead of Green Elves.

Closed national facilities gradually regained their functions.

The broken imperial palace and city hall were rebuilt, communications that had been paralyzed were restored, and the kingdoms on the continent began to stabilize.

However, contrary to the continent’s growing stability, Kang Chan’s condition worsened.

He shut himself in his room all day, refusing food and drink, and did not want to meet anyone due to severe agoraphobia.

Of course, he didn’t take a single step outside the summer palace.

Moreover, he showed severe signs of mental derangement, talking to the dead Zikyon.

He sat in his room all day, staring blankly at the sky.

As if longing for the departed.

Several times, Loki and Erika had trespassed to speak with Kang Chan, but he hadn’t uttered a word to them.

He seemed as though he had thoroughly severed himself from the world.

While Kang Chan distanced himself from the world, a power struggle was in full swing in Bellaren.

A power struggle had begun between those trying to ascend Duke Sachsen to the new emperor and the first heir of the existing royal family.

It was only natural that Duke Sachsen, who had directly saved the continent, received the fervent support and cheers of the entire populace over a weak and incompetent heir with royal blood.

Although no results had yet been decided, it seemed only a matter of time before Duke Sachsen ascended as the new emperor.

Duke Sachsen wanted Kang Chan by his side.

This was because Kang Chan was the first Sword Emperor to appear in the continent’s history.

Additionally, he had a vague friendship with Dragons and even possessed immensely powerful warships.

Those immense weapons were created using alien technology.

They possessed such enormous power that they could make all the kingdoms on the continent kneel before the Visman Empire.

Who wouldn’t covet such power?

To Duke Sachsen, who had rapidly risen as the continent’s most powerful figure, Kang Chan was a necessary existence.

But conversely, Kang Chan could become a lethal poison.

If he started craving power, he would become an opponent that Duke Sachsen couldn’t handle.

Even Duke Sachsen, who had become the continent’s most powerful figure, had no way to stop Kang Chan.

However, fortunately, Kang Chan had no interest in power or wealth.

Duke Sachsen knew this well.

But he was still uneasy.

A person’s heart could always change.

Was it the unease of the powerful, or the greed of the powerful?

Duke Sachsen couldn’t bear to envy what Kang Chan had.

What Kang Chan had was something that even Duke Sachsen could never possess.

If Kang Chan came into his hands, it would be the best possible outcome, but if he slipped away, there would be nothing more unsettling.

He would surely tremble in anxiety every day.

That was the ugliness that came with the name of power.

* * *

“Ump! Oomph!”

“Princess, are you all right?”

“I’m fine, I just feel a bit queasy after lunch.”

“You’ve been looking unwell lately. I will go fetch a doctor immediately.”

At the mention of a doctor, Edelene flinched and grabbed the servant.

“No, I don’t need a doctor. Continue with your work.”

“Yes? Yes, Princess.”

After sending the servant away, Edelene rushed to the bathroom, washed her face, and stared at her reflection in the mirror.

‘No, how could this happen…?’

Instinctively, she knew she wasn’t alone.

She hadn’t had her period for some time now.

And the only man she had lain with was Benziller.

‘I can’t believe I’m carrying that bastard’s child…’

She was terrified.

She feared people would find out she was pregnant.

If it became known that Benziller was the father, not only her position in the royal family but the child’s life could be in jeopardy.

The child could be killed at birth, and she might be exiled to some remote place for the rest of her life.

‘What should I do? What should I do?’

She couldn’t continue to pretend ignorance.

As time passed, her belly would grow, and eventually, the truth would come out.

Edelene was anxious.

No matter what, she wanted to protect the child’s life.

She desperately needed someone to discuss this with.

But there was no one she could confide in.

Her only friend, Jaizen, had not yet returned from the battlefield.

‘Who can I turn to for help? Who…?’

As she pondered, a face popped into her mind.

‘Kang Chan…’

He was the only one she could confide in about this.

She would rather die than tell her first love, but she would do anything to protect the life growing inside her.

She hastily wiped her face with a towel and hurried to the summer palace where Kang Chan was staying.

She knew he had locked the door and wasn’t seeing anyone, but that wouldn’t stop her.

Climbing walls was nothing for her in her wild past.

Arriving at the second-floor balcony, she saw Kang Chan, emaciated and blankly staring at the sky.

He looked no different than when his former lover, Jaina, had died.

The only difference from that time was one thing. Back then, he had the comfort of his friend Zikyon by his side, but now there was no one to console him.

Edelene gathered her courage and approached Kang Chan, speaking to him.

“Um… I’m sorry for visiting so suddenly.”

Unlike before, she used formal speech with him. Now, he was someone worthy of her respect.

However, Kang Chan didn’t react to her words at all.

“I have something I need to discuss with you, which is why I came here. Please, I beg you, just listen to me…”

“……”

Despite her earnest plea, Kang Chan remained silent.

Still, clinging to a last shred of hope, she began to tell him her story.

“I… I’m actually pregnant. It’s the child of that man from Earth…”

Upon hearing Edelene say she was pregnant, a slight expression appeared on Kang Chan’s otherwise blank face.

He knew well that she had been Benziller’s plaything.

But to think she was pregnant—it was unbelievable.

Both he and Benziller were Earthlings, and Edelene was from this star.

“You’re the only one I can talk to. Please help me.”

As Edelene burst into tears, she grabbed Kang Chan’s arm and shook it.

Then, for the first time, Kang Chan, who had been as still as a stone, opened his mouth and spoke to her.

It was the first time in nearly a month that he had conversed with someone.

“What exactly do you need help with?”

When Kang Chan spoke, Edelene was overjoyed, feeling as if she could fly.

Fearing he might shut his mouth again, she hurriedly answered.

“I want to have the baby!”

“You want to bear the child of your enemy?”

“Yes!”

“If an unmarried maiden has a child, everyone will suspect it’s Benziller’s, won’t they?”

Edelene was startled when Benziller’s name came up. She had never imagined that Kang Chan knew his name.

“Do you know him?”

“Of course, I know him well.”

To Kang Chan, Benziller was his rival.

Kang Chan was the ace of the Allied Forces, and Benziller was the ace of the Imperial Army.

“Do you really have to give birth to his child?”

“What sin has the child committed…”

As Edelene sighed and caressed her belly, Kang Chan felt an unfamiliar sensation.

Her current demeanor was exactly like the mother he had longed for so much.

Maternal love.

It was something he had never experienced, having been abandoned as a child.

“If that’s the case, you must choose.”

“Choose what?”

“Will you choose the child, or will you choose the comfortable life in the royal palace?”

Without the slightest hesitation, she answered.

“The child.”

“Is that so?”

Kang Chan sighed deeply and said.

“Then, come with me.”

“Huh? Where to?”

“To a place where you can raise the child without anyone’s interference.”

“Where is that?”

“Raksha continent.”

“Raksha continent?”

Even as a princess who had completed all her formal studies, Raksha continent was an unfamiliar name she had never heard before.

“I’ve never heard of that continent. Where is it?”

“You’ll know once you get there.”

Although she was a bit worried, she decided to follow Kang Chan’s words because she trusted him.

“Alright. When are we leaving?”

“Today, right now.”

“R-right now?”

Edelene was greatly surprised at Kang Chan’s determination to leave immediately.

She had never expected him to be in such a hurry.