Chapter 34

**[Sleep well, my baby, my cute baby]**

**[May the spirit protect you in your dreams tonight]**

**[Sleep well, my baby, all through the night]**

**[Dream sweet dreams of paradise]**

—

“At last, I have officially been appointed as the royal physician!”

Farewell to those days of persecution.

Aslan’s steps were particularly light today.

With the former royal physician, Isaac Petrovich, abruptly retiring and heading to a remote countryside for recuperation, Aslan took over his role.

Since the tenure of the royal physician was originally short, Aslan was not concerned about this change in personnel.

The important fact was that those colleagues who had looked down on him would no longer say a word to him going forward.

Public perception suggested that the royal physician must fulfill their strict duties, and if anything happened to the royal family, they would likely face execution for it; however, the reality was different.

As long as there was no fault on the physician’s part, punishments were mostly formal and one could take a short leave and return later.

Above all, the biggest merit of being the royal physician was receiving a formal noble title.

Aslan couldn’t help but smile ear to ear.

To make it even better, he would be in charge of the fourth princess of the Kaizen Empire, who had been kept hidden.

Since her position was far removed from succession rights, this fact made Aslan even happier.

He would have nothing to do with unnecessary political strife.

To live thin and long—that was Aslan’s life motto.

“Princess Esteria. May I have a moment?”

“…”

“I am Aslan Yebadov, the royal physician. I will be taking care of your treatment this month. I look forward to working with you.”

“…”

“May I… remove the bandages?”

Even with Aslan’s polite inquiry, the young princess remained silent.

Without the consent of the individual, Aslan could not proceed with the treatment.

Daring to touch the royal body was itself an impious act, hence there were always bodyguards or equivalent knights present during the treatment process.

Such a strict atmosphere during examinations was no longer nerve-wracking for Aslan, who was approaching his fifth year in the role.

However, this case was a bit different.

[Why are the Assassins here…?]

[Keep your words to yourself. Just focus on what you need to do.]

The emperor’s direct special unit, the “Black Star.”

In fact, the number of unit members surrounding Aslan reached around a dozen.

Even among the nobles of Kaizen, they were engaged in such secret operations that one would rarely witness them in a lifetime.

“I heard there is a tumor. In order to treat it, please allow me to touch your head.”

“…”

The princess’s silence. Eventually, Aslan turned around.

One of the members from the Assassin squad nodded.

Understanding it as permission, Aslan slowly unraveled the bandages that were tightly wrapped around the princess’s head.

The bandage seemed to have been wrapped around at least twenty times.

A child already having a tumor.

If it was just a simple sebaceous cyst, it would be a relief; however, if it were basal cell carcinoma, the situation would become complicated.

Especially considering the size, he could only hope that it wasn’t growing near the brain.

As the outer layer gradually revealed itself, Aslan stifled a groan.

‘This isn’t… like a tumor…’

Before he could express his surprise, a masked man handed Aslan a saw of terrifying size.

“Please ensure the remaining height does not exceed a finger’s length as you cut off both tumors.”

“Th-this is… a horn…!”

“It’s a tumor, Aslan.”

“Ah… yes…!”

The rough but alive blue-tipped saw was terrifying compared to the princess’s head, which was no bigger than a fist.

Aslan’s head was spinning from dizziness.

Am I dreaming right now?

If only it were a nightmare.

“Hurry up.”

“Ha… ha… yes…”

Under the urging of the Assassins, Aslan reluctantly brought the saw closer.

The princess showed no sign of flinching.

A tiny black horn protruded, no bigger than a pinky finger.

As Aslan tugged, the saw sharply scraped against its surface.

Screech.

He had only made a scratch.

The hardness of the horn was quite formidable, but the saw was no ordinary tool.

Screech.

Shutting his eyes tightly, he extended his hands forward, and the saw blade passed through a crack, producing an unpleasant sound.

Screech

Screech

Screechscreechscreechscreech

“Haahhaahhaah…”

Hanging precariously there.

With almost one sawing motion left, Aslan suddenly stopped his arm.

However, the masked man couldn’t allow him to rest.

The masked youth sharply yanked the princess’s horn and casually extracted it.

“Please take care of the other side too.”

The cross-section of the horn vividly filled Aslan’s sight.

Simultaneously, an overwhelming stench of blood filled the air.

But the liquid pouring from the cross-section was not blood-red; it was a perfect black.

The viscous liquid slowly trickled down, brushing against the princess’s eyes.

Simultaneously, the princess’s eyes blinked unnaturally.

It looked as if she was shedding tears.

Aslan nearly lost consciousness at the sight of the black water of original sin flowing down.

“Hurry up.”

Yes, this must be a dream.

“Hurry up.”

Aslan picked up the saw again.

Even if the liquid spurting from the princess’s head splattered on his face,

he kept sawing away.

Screechscreechscreechscreechscreechscreechscreechscreechscreech

—

The Demon Lord broke the truce, and the citizens of the Empire anticipated black clouds looming over the world again, but fortunately, as the Demon Lord decided not to cross the border, the situation was temporarily settled.

The nobles, who did not want any further chaos, pressed the imperial court and the military, wondering what on earth was happening, but they reaped no tangible results.

“It’s just a temporary measure. Taking hostages… will not solve anything.”

Keeping Princess Esteria alive without killing her bought Kaizen unexpected time.

Of course, as Barro had stated, this was just a temporary measure to suppress the Demon Lord’s wrath — akin to a dam that could burst at any moment.

Ironically, Airogen was not unaware of this fact.

“The Mazaks fundamentally lack familial affection. There is definitely something with Tenevrayia; we just do not know the identity of that ‘something.’”

“I just commissioned the Assassins to investigate.”

Airogen fiddled with the horn with interest.

“The cross-section isn’t smooth.”

“The Mazak’s horn is a kind of skull protrusion. Its hardness is considerable since nerves and blood vessels are distributed within, so it wasn’t easy to cut off.”

“That must have hurt quite a bit,” Airogen muttered.

“Fifteen years… fifteen years will likely be the limit of his patience.”

“Do you think that guy would wait that long?”

“Otherwise, what can we do? We hold the cards.”

Airogen sneered.

“Tenevrayia and Esteria.”

What on earth are you two?

The emperor recalled a woman who had visited the Imperial Palace three years ago.

She had applied to meet the emperor alone while heavily pregnant.

Having faith in only a token left by the emperor, the woman came from the countryside without a carriage and settled in the furthest corner of the Imperial Palace.

The child she gave birth to had golden hair, and the emperor became convinced that Tenevrayia was the very woman he had searched for desperately at that time.

And one day,

one day he had planned to receive them as honored members of the royal family.

However, the heartbreaking lullabies sung by Tenevrayia at night reached the Assassins’ ears, and the emperor could no longer delay the investigation of the mother and child.

“There is nothing easy in this world.”

The woman who saved him from the flames of war turned out to be the Demon Lord’s daughter, and

the one who had been his father’s general in his childhood had now become his own servant.

“There is truly nothing unchanging in this world.”

If it had not changed, it meant that it had been eradicated.

Instantly dying.

Instantly forgotten.

The emperor still felt burdened by his position.

Yet, it was a task that no one but him could accomplish.

Airogen tightly clenched the horn, his fist held so tight it was drawing blood.

For the time being, he could only hope that the Demon Lord would play with her granddaughter’s horn.

“Barro.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Send a letter.”

“Yes, a letter? To where…?”

“To the holy nation of Alphenheim. Attach a statement that the Empire fully supports the twenty-year plan to overthrow the Demon Lord.”

—

**[Sleep well, my baby, my cute baby]**

“Mom.”

**[May the spirit protect you in your dreams tonight]**

“I had a bad dream today.”

**[Sleep well, my baby, all through the night]**

“It was a dream where everyone in the world hated me.”

**[Dream sweet dreams of paradise]**

“Mom won’t abandon me, right?”

[……]

“Even if I can’t walk, even if I can’t see ahead, please don’t leave me.”