I Became a Barbarian's Bride - Chapter 124
“The former Empress collapsed from the shock after learning that the maid was pregnant with Katun and never recovered.”
“……”
“It seems that the former Empress and the current Emperor had a very close relationship. The Emperor cherished the former Empress to the point that, after the birth of the Crown Prince, they no longer shared a bed.”
Hearing this, Kagan let out a bitter laugh.
“So, while his frail wife was left alone, he couldn’t even control himself and ended up impregnating a maid with the princess?”
His voice was so cold that it sent chills down the man’s spine.
Unable to lift his head properly, the man continued his report as best as he could.
“…Y-yes. That seems likely. Anyway… according to an old woman who retired after serving as a wet nurse, the relationship between the maid and the Emperor was more of a clandestine affair. The Emperor had provided some favors through the wet nurse… and in return, the maid agreed to keep silent.”
“But after becoming pregnant with the Emperor’s child, her greed took over, huh?”
“Yes, probably… After that was revealed, the Empress died and….”
The man trailed off.
It was too cruel a fact to put into words.
He didn’t want to believe the reality of what had happened to their Katun, which is why he had double-checked the information several times.
To the people of Xieman, the Kagan was like the night sky, both a god and the vast land they walked on.
Meanwhile, Katun was the light that illuminated the otherwise dark world of Xieman.
The most fanatical of the pureblood extremists would rant that they didn’t want Xieman’s bloodline tainted by that of a foreigner, but the man thought it was nonsense.
Katun was the moonlight.
Without the moonlight, no matter how keen their night vision might be, Xieman would lose its way in the darkness, wandering endlessly until it decayed and disappeared.
The previous Katun had been the same.
In exchange for losing her sight, the former Katun had gained the ability of the oracle.
She warned Xieman of impending dangers, foretold ill omens, and informed them of the best times to harvest crops before a storm or typhoon struck.
Whenever she predicted a fortunate direction, going that way always led to something beneficial for Xieman.
Whether it was resources, food, or the discovery of new ecosystems.
The current Katun was no different.
While he had briefly been away on orders to Roshan, she had accomplished countless feats.
She saved dying people and revitalized land where even a single blade of grass had struggled to grow.
When he first came back here, the man had to turn back to the city gates just to reassure himself that this land was truly Xieman.
“How long do you plan to stay silent?”
After waiting for what seemed like forever, Kagan finally prompted his subordinate with a chilling tone.
The man swallowed hard, fidgeting with his fingers and rubbing his face.
“I apologize. So… um, it seems that Katun’s mother was given poison to terminate the child, along with an imperial order to take her own life.”
“…What?”
“But somehow, Katun survived, and her mother passed away as a result.”
“……”
Kagan’s expression hardened fiercely.
“With all due respect, Orlan mentioned that her congenital frailty is most likely due to complications from the time she was still a fetus.”
“Fetus?”
“Yes. If too many medications meant to prevent childbirth are taken…”
Suddenly, the words of the physician echoed in his mind.
At the time, he’d entertained the thought, though it had seemed unlikely. But now, hearing it confirmed left a sour taste in his mouth.
“…I see, so that’s what happened.”
Kagan’s golden eyes slowly began to tint red.
At the same time, the air around him grew denser, making it increasingly difficult to breathe.
The man, still bowing, took slow, deliberate breaths.
The reason their Kagan could reign as king in this warlike world was due to his overwhelming physical power.
Their king had undergone brutal training from childhood, which occasionally turned him into a heartless, merciless war machine.
“Continue.”
