trigger warning
mentioned of death, abuse and suicide
The stories he heard from some lower-ranking officials who shared the same dormitory and the events he witnessed with his own eyes today proved it.
Liviu Eurydin was living under constant threat of death.
Of course, every human being lives with the anxiety of not knowing when and where they will die, but the threat Liviu received was more explicit.
Just a few years ago, there were seven direct imperial descendants like Liviu in the Eurydin royal family.
The number decreased dramatically when the emperor began to gather them for education.
Reynaut II forced them into a harsh environment.
Strict and notorious teachers conducted the education with the full support of the emperor.
The children were treated like prisoners without any leniency.
Anyone who tried to help them received a punishment equivalent to death.
It was clearly an unreasonable abuse, but there was no one who opposed the emperor’s will.
Some nobles lost their positions and were driven to the outskirts of the empire while trying to persuade the emperor.
The first to leave the world was the eldest son among the imperial descendants.
The 13-year-old child, who failed the exam, was afraid of receiving severe punishment and committed suicide by hanging himself with a belt.
After that, other children died one by one.
It was not only because of the emperor’s abuse.
The causes were diverse, such as poisoning, suffocation, and ‘accidental deaths’.
Even though the signs of murder were clearly evident, Reynaut II did not actively search for the culprits.
The deaths of the imperial descendants were unified under an unknown disease.
Outsiders who did not know the internal affairs, fortune tellers on the streets, and swindlers who called themselves prophets spread rumors about the consecutive tragedies in the imperial family, saying that the emperor was paying the price of shedding innocent blood throughout the Augeiste Continent.
However, after the imperial relative and loyal collaborator, the Law Emperor, sent interrogators and the Holy Knights to carry out a purge under the pretext of expelling heretics, those who made such baseless claims disappeared.
The emperor rewarded Liviu with a palace and workers as if it were a reward, but the situation did not end.
Attempts to assassinate the sole survivor became more intense and frequent.
The people working in Liviu’s palace could not last for more than a month and died.
In the midst of such chaos, Liviu had no choice but to be vigilant.
There was always a faint smell of blood around Liviu’s body.
Just as his ankle was healing, his shoulder was injured, and when his shoulder was starting to feel better, he appeared with pale lips and a strange face.
Tebe thought that maybe it wasn’t his fault that Liviu injured his ankle during the selection test.
It was unfair to be falsely accused, but it couldn’t be helped as it was already in the past.
“I will take my leave now.”
The doctor who had just finished the requested diagnosis left without a care in the world.
Liviu was lying down, hiding his discomfort.
Tebe wanted to move Liviu to a shady corridor for support, but he couldn’t.
There were rules to be followed even in the palace.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
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It sounded like a plausible principle, but in other words, even if Liviu was dying in front of him, he could call a doctor but couldn’t directly help him.
“It doesn’t seem like a good idea to keep staring here.”
“I’ll handle it myself. Don’t interfere.”
“As I mentioned earlier, I am responsible for my student…”
“Enough, just get rid of that ridiculous gown in front of me. It’s disturbing.”
“Yes, yes.”
Liviu, barely regaining his composure, struggled to walk to the bench in the corridor.
Tebe was not unfamiliar with such desperation from Liviu.
Tebe’s hometown was known as the Kingdom of Steel, with a focus on training soldiers and technicians.
He had been an orphan since childhood and had to be sent to a training camp to receive education from the age of six.
He learned everything necessary for survival there.
The food provided was always scarce, so he had to take or steal someone else’s food to survive.
A strong child could lead a group, but that order could be overturned by a stronger child at any time.
The noble spirit that soldiers should have was nothing more than empty words.
The children were raised like fighting dogs that could tear someone apart once their leash was released.
The only rule they had to follow was the orders of the training camp commander.
Murder, lies, and mockery that occurred within the training camp were part of the education, and waiting for children who couldn’t adapt to the environment meant death.
Weakness was not tolerated.
Tebe thought that his life in the training camp might have gone beyond the normal category only after being deployed for the first mission.
His first mission was to infiltrate as a bodyguard in an operation to assassinate a nobleman who had incurred the king’s displeasure and erase any remaining evidence.
He had the opportunity to observe a wealthy and harmonious family up close until the operation was carried out.
A spacious and bright house and garden that did not allow any room for darkness, a young couple who lovingly watched their playful child running around in the garden.
Instead of trying to calm the crying child who claimed to have nightmares late at night, they would hold and sing lullabies to comfort him.
They built a separate house for him and hired a trainer to take care of their pet white deer, which was fed with clean fresh venison and honey every day.
It was not surprising that he was shocked by the discrepancy between his own world and theirs, but that did not change the unfair treatment.
Escaping from the military was not an easy task.
Anyway, Tebe had many opportunities to observe the lives of others, especially those in the upper class, while performing various missions.
The Mundebarde Empire was undoubtedly a powerful nation that held sway over the continent, to the extent that one would have to look back at history to find a comparable military and wealth.
It was natural for people to be curious about what kind of life the ruling clan, who governed such a powerful empire, led in the grand palace known as the most magnificent and beautiful in the world.
Even the rough soldiers talked about it as if it were a fairy tale.
They said they couldn’t lift their arms properly because of the weight of the cold jewelry on their wrists, or that they had never walked barefoot on the dirt floor.
Tebe also thought that one or two of those extravagant imaginations might actually be true.
However, Liviu shattered all those expectations.
“With this weather, I guess we’ll have to stick to theory classes for a while.”
Tebe said to Liviu, who was sitting lifelessly with a towel covering his eyes.
“No need. Don’t do something unnecessary.”
“It means that I need it. After retiring at the right time, my dream is to marry a beautiful lady, but if my skin gets ugly because of the summer sunlight, it would be a problem.”
“I don’t care about your pathetic marriage plans. If you’re not going to take the class seriously, just leave.”
“That’s not possible. After all, only the Emperor has the power to appoint an educator, right?”
The towel fell from Liviu’s face as he raised his head like lightning.
Despite receiving a fierce glare, Tebe just laughed and spun around.
“It’s not all about pushing forward.”
“What do you know…”
“I don’t know. I don’t really think about it. But since I’m getting paid, I have to work.”
“In order for that to happen, you need to maintain the best condition and listen to my classes, right?”
“Whether I listen or not is up to me. If I can’t concentrate, it’s probably because your classes are boring.”
Tebe frowned deeply.
“Is it really that boring?”
“Uh-huh.”
“Let’s try to make it more interesting then. Well, if you don’t like it, you can ask His Majesty to kick me out.”
“Do you think His Majesty has nothing better to do? Dealing with a child’s tantrums.”
“But you’re his family, right?”
“Hmph.” Liviu chuckled.
Every time he was called to the Emperor’s residence, it was Caelup who greeted him.
It had been a long time since he had a face-to-face conversation with the Emperor.
Whether it could be called a conversation or not was uncertain.
‘My father continues to disappoint me until the end.’
On the day of his father’s funeral, the Emperor said those words in front of a grieving Liviu and his family.
The eyes shining with malice and the twisted mouth became a nightmare in Liviu’s mind.
People said that the Emperor had given up on him.
They said that because even the Crown Princes, who had placed their hopes on him, couldn’t meet their expectations, they turned their backs on him and let him die.
Liviu thought they were wrong, but as time went on, his certainty waned.
The Emperor acted as if he had completely forgotten about his existence, occasionally inflicting inexplicable rewards or punishments.
The Emperor’s intentions, which he vaguely knew, became obscured by a thick fog.
Whether the Emperor hated him or gave up on him, it didn’t matter anymore.
Liviu just… didn’t want to die as meaninglessly as the other Crown Princes.
Tebe checked the water clock installed behind the corridor pillar and clapped lightly.
“It’s time to finish the class. Let’s meet next time in a place with walls and a roof. I’m not sure where to choose yet. How do other educators usually do it? Should I go to your palace, Liviu?”
“Do as you please. Just know that I’ve never had a class in my palace.”
Liviu retorted without hiding his unsatisfactory.
He used the record room that only high-ranking secretaries could access or the research rooms provided to educators, each using a place that suited their position, but Liviu had no obligation to inform Tebe about all of that.
.｡*.｡*.｡*
And on the day that Tebe declared that he would have indoor classes, it coincidentally rained in the morning.
Liviu spent the morning reading the books he had brought from the library the day before.
They were journals related to continental warfare, and Liviu was so engrossed in them that he completely forgot about the arrogant educator.
Absent-mindedly, he looked up from the book and remembered that fact, causing him to raise an eyebrow.
He expected Tebe to send someone to announce the location of the class by lunchtime, but there was no news even as he ate his lunch in his room.
Could it be that Tebe was trying to slack off? Liviu frowned.
Regardless of his position as someone who was being thoroughly ignored in the palace, negligence in palace management was severely punished.
If he could use this opportunity to drive Tebe away and leave the position of educator vacant by exploiting his irresponsible attitude, Liviu had nothing to lose.
He sent someone to Tebe’s lodging to check on what he was doing and continued to stay in his own room.
Coincidentally, shortly after the messenger left, a slave knocked on the door.
“Lord Liviu, the swordsmanship educator has arrived.”
Liviu sighed with regret as he looked out the window.
It was raining, and because his room was in the deepest part of the palace, it was difficult to clearly see the situation beyond the main gate.
“Did you verify his identity?”
Those who entered the palace had to have a means to prove their identity.
Slaves had the mark of the royal family burned into their flesh, while nobles and officials revealed who they were through clothing or metal medals engraved with their family’s mark.
In rare cases, when a commoner from Hanmi Han, who had no family to speak of, entered, they were required to carry a certificate with the royal seal made on parchment.
“No, he said he left the certificate at his lodging…”
Liviu clicked his tongue.
Unless he was trying to make trouble for others, he was like a screw loose, so there was a good chance he would do something like that.
“What did he look like?”
“Short black hair, dark blue eyes… I think. He looked a bit young. He wasn’t that tall, either. He was slightly taller than me.”
Both black hair and blue eyes were common genetic traits in Ausste, especially in the Mundebarde Empire where various ethnicities mixed.
There was a reason why the royal family avoided the ordinary.
Liviu grabbed his longsword that he had leaned against the bed.
“Take him to the study. Just in case, assign a guard.”
Glynn’s skill was so good that it was a waste for him to be a gatekeeper.
Liviu had witnessed his skillfully subduing the assassins who had infiltrated the palace.
He could be considered the only useful presence in this palace.
Thanks for translating!! Also, d o you know if the Raws are completed? If they are, how much chapters are completed?
Hello Levionne! Captured Life contains 9 chapters in total including the epilogue. For further details you can check out the raw link we provided.☺️
Okay, thank you. I’ll check out the raw. 🙂
Liviu’s family sure is… complicated…
Thank you for the chapter ❤️