1695-chapter-133
Suze was the name of the first Grand Duchess? What did that have to do with her?
Elysia was confused as to why the Grand Duke kept calling her Suze.
“I didn’t expect you to be kept so in the dark about everything. I’m not even sure where to start explaining.”
The man looked perplexed. Since he bore Damon’s face, she found it hard to completely detest him. Was this intentional?
“Do you know why I died?”
“You joined forces with the Emperor… to defeat the dragon…”
As she spoke, she thought the story made no sense. How could they have united to defeat him if the first Grand Duke was himself a dragon?
“That’s how the rumor goes.”
Damon said with a bitter smile.
Elysia nearly reached out in shock but caught herself. This man wasn’t Damon. She knew that, yet she was almost deceived by his appearance.
“I founded the Caesar Empire. At first, it wasn’t even worthy of being called an empire.”
The empire was founded not by the emperor but by Grand Duchy Raphael? That was news to her.
“The current emperor is a descendant of my chief attendant.”
Elysia wondered what she was hearing. The Emperor was a chief attendant? Such a claim seemed unbelievable, and her mouth hung open in shock.
“What…?”
“The original emperors of the Caesar Empire were from the Raphael family.”
It was ridiculous. It was strange that no one remembered this. Even if history was written by the victors, there were records of previous emperors. It seemed impossible for all of it to have disappeared.
“My chief attendant Iker betrayed me.”
“…Betrayed?”
“He killed Suze.”
Hearing that the Grand Duchess was killed, Elysia was speechless. The pain on the man’s face as he spoke of his wife’s death was clear. He truly seemed to have loved his wife, a love that transcended species. Seeing him like this, she couldn’t help but acknowledge it.
…The first Grand Duke deeply loved his Grand Duchess.
“So, I swept across the empire. After all, it was a nation I founded, so I also had the right to destroy it.”
“The fierce Black Dragon ruled the world. A world enveloped in darkness… so it was your anger that caused all this.”
“So, they wanted to kill me for the death of my wife.”
However, the empire survived, and the imperial lineage still continues. If they had died then, there wouldn’t be an imperial family today.
“However, I couldn’t kill them. They had one last weakness of mine to exploit.”
Elysia felt she knew what that weakness was.
“The child of Suze and me.”
“The transaction between the imperial family and the Grand Ducal family…”
“No matter how proficient dragons are in magic, there’s one thing they can’t do. Do you know what that is?”
Magic was believed to be all-powerful. It was thought that with the talent of a wizard, one could live even better than the nobles.
“Saving people. Healing the sick is possible, but there’s no way to bring back someone who is dying. Even if you pour all the so-called life force, mana, into them, there are limits.”
Was he talking about the Grand Ducal family’s curse? The Grand Ducal family was notoriously short-lived.
“Is that related to the curse of the Grand Ducal family? The bloodline is short-lived?”
“A curse… One could think of it that way. Do you know why there are no hybrids of humans and dragons?”
She hadn’t even been aware that such hybrids existed.
“Because the weak human body cannot withstand a dragon’s mana and dies quickly.”
“So… the reason the Grand Ducal family dies early is…”
“Yes, dragons possess something called a dragon heart, which allows them to withstand nearly infinite mana, though humans don’t have a dragon heart.”
Even though she knew he wasn’t Damon, the way he acted like him made her heart flutter. He always scrunched up one eyebrow when something displeased him.
“Now, the blood has diluted enough that it’s manageable, but the human body deteriorates over time because it cannot withstand the power. As time passes, the mana grows and eventually explodes.”
The mention of explosion made Elysia flinch.
“One could say it’s a cursed lineage doomed to die young. That’s why I created the greenhouse…”
“The greenhouse?”
Was there a connection between the greenhouse and their lifespan?
“Unfortunately, the child Suze and I had was too much like me—both in appearance and in power.”
“That means…”
“The child was doomed to die before reaching adulthood.”
It was indeed fast. While the Grand Ducal family usually died prematurely, at least after reaching adulthood.”
“Iker proposed a deal when he realized it. I had no choice but to stop. He knew the only way to calm the power down. Truly, after my son took the medicine Iker provided, he calmed down.”
“The imperial family knew something even a dragon didn’t?”
“There have been hybrids of humans and dragons before. Iker had seen them. That’s why I placed him in the position of chief attendant.”
“He betrayed you.”
“In the end, I had no choice but to step back. What Suze wanted to protect until the end was our child.”
Elysia now understood the secret dealings between the imperial family and the Grand Ducal family. Essentially, the imperial family had been blackmailing the Grand Ducal family, holding their lives hostage. They had submitted because they wanted to survive.
“If he didn’t take the medicine that Iker provided… my son would suffer. He would cry out, thrash about, feeling as though his head was about to explode.”
“So Damon, too…”
“The stronger the power, the greater the pain becomes the older one gets.”
Damon had never shown signs of pain in front of her. If she had known… what then? What could she have done if she had known?
“Having you, Suze, there must have been no pain.”
“You keep calling me Suze, but I’m not your wife.”
If Suze was the name of the first Grand Duchess, why did he keep calling her Suze? Elysia couldn’t understand.
“There’s only one way to survive without the medicine from the imperial family.”
Hearing that there was a possible solution, Elysia’s head turned quickly.
“My wife, Suze, was a special human. Humans called people like my wife ‘the bride of the dragon.’ She could handle the power of a dragon and even bear children safely.”
Damon had said that not just anyone from the Grand Ducal lineage could have children. The moment a child was conceived, the mother’s body was put in jeopardy.
“But such humans are almost non-existent. Suze was a unique woman. You could say the only one.”
Was he here to boast about his wife? Certainly, it was clear that the first Grand Duke loved his wife dearly.
“My wife was an unusual human. She had the power to calm the rampant mana, which is why she could bear a dragon’s child without any issues. Before she died… our son didn’t suffer.”
“Suze isn’t just a name then.”
“You’re quite perceptive.”
He had called her Suze.
“Do I…. have the same power?”
* * *
It didn’t seem to be just because she resembled Suze… There must be another reason. She had always suspected it. Damon always spoke truths disguised as jokes. He said her presence was precious and that she was necessary.
“And… it’s activated through touch.”
No answer came from the man. That alone was confirmation enough—why was Damon kind to her, why he married her, and why she was still alive…
“I’m needed… that’s why he keeps me alive.”
“Before I died, I left records for my descendants to find Suze. Only then could they break free from this cruel cycle.”
By now, Elysia was no longer listening. All the kindness she had received had reasons behind it. She had been deceived, foolishly believing that he might actually care for her.
“The reason you created this greenhouse… it was for your descendants? In case they found a Suze.”
“The medicine from the imperial family ultimately has its limits.”
Even from this brief interaction, it was clear this man wouldn’t harm his wife or descendants.
“What exactly is Suze? And the purpose of the greenhouse as well…”
“The greenhouse was made for my children. Though it ended before it could serve its purpose.”
“Children?”
“Do you remember me saying the hybrid of human and dragon is unstable?”
Wasn’t the greenhouse meant to exacerbate that instability?
“You might wonder how Iker could have killed my wife. It was while I was creating this greenhouse, concentrating too much power here.”
The greenhouse, created by a dragon said to possess infinite mana, required such effort that it drained him. It seemed implausible, just a normal-looking greenhouse on the surface…
“A body that cannot control power is like glass, and it breaks easily. Suze and I feared that. We feared our child would die. That’s why we created mechanisms here to stabilize the power. This place is essentially a treatment room.”
“…Treatment room?”
Who would think of turning a greenhouse into a treatment room? It was a completely unexpected answer.
“This space can sever the cursed lineage.”
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