CHAPTER 338: CHAPTER 213: CEZAR: MOM, I’M HERE TO KILL YOUR WHOLE FAMILY

It was the morning of July 29th, in the Imperial Palace of the Whale Terrarium.

With a "clang," the white-haired youth pushed open the door and shuffled into the King’s chamber.

Cezar looked up to see Empress Carolina sitting on a leather chair in front of the bookshelf, gazing down at a wooden photo frame. Turning his gaze, he saw the old King, hair white as snow, lying on the bed with hands folded on his chest, sleeping serenely.

"Mother, you called for me?" he finally spoke after a moment of silence.

"I heard from the guards that you protected the town from a beast tide last night?" Carolina asked.

"Yes, it was I."

Cezar nodded.

Carolina set down the frame in her hands and lifted her head: "You’ve grown... I’m surprised that the leopard in my memory, as frail as a girl, could achieve such feats."

She paused briefly, then continued with a slight reserve:

"But something was strange about last night... The Royal Court Team told me it’s unlikely that the grooves on the mountain were caused by a Christmas Sled, yet the commoners at the scene said the Red Dragon wasn’t there. So, I’m quite curious, how exactly did you accomplish such a thing, Cezar?"

Cezar looked out at the swirling, falling maple leaves outside the window, remaining silent for a moment:

"I have no need to answer you."

"Why?"

"Stop playing dumb, Mother. You sent the assassin, didn’t you?" Cezar asked, "Can’t you stop? Why must we be at each other’s throats?"

Carolina was silent for a long while. Suddenly, she said: "Did you know that in every royal generation, only those who inherit the ’supernatural protection’ can wield the White King’s Staff?"

Cezar was taken aback and shook his head.

Carolina said: "The supernatural protection is passed to the most suitable potential King within each generation’s royal bloodline, so a few years ago, the King’s protection was stripped from him and chose you instead."

"The protection, it chose me?"

"Yes, and because of this, the King lost his immunity to all poisons and contracted the Black Death not long ago."

"I see, there has only ever been one ’supernatural protection’ all along." Cezar whispered softly.

"Yes, throughout the years, he kept you locked in the castle under the guise of frailty to prevent others from discovering that you had inherited the protection from him, destined to be the next King."

Pausing slightly, Carolina continued:

"And now, in the entire world, you alone possess the right to wield the staff; even the King himself has lost this privilege.

"But to protect you, to prevent others from marking you, he has kept the White King’s Staff by his side all these years, enduring the staff’s mental corruption, keeping this secret from the public from beginning to end."

She sighed softly: "He loves you dearly, hoping you grow up safely."

Cezar remained silent.

"But the supernatural protection has another rule; when the bearer dies, the protection transfers to another suitable person." Carolina said, "Your brothers need the protection within you to wield the White King’s Staff... because without it, they cannot become true Kings."

"So, only if I die," Cezar said, "do they get the chance to inherit the protection and wield the White King’s Staff."

"Correct," Carolina lowered her eyes, suddenly revealing a slight smile, "your two brothers have already agreed that after your death, regardless of who is chosen by the protection, he will become the new King, and the other will support him until the end of his life. Such a united pair of brothers, I’m proud of them."

Cezar asked in a low voice: "What about Father? What wrong did he commit?"

"Do you know why I poisoned the King?" The Empress turned her head to look at him.

Cezar thought for a moment: "Someone with the ’supernatural protection’ is immune to all poisons. You were testing him—if my father contracted the Black Death, it would mean the supernatural protection had transferred to me. If he didn’t, there would be no need for you to act further, as knowing the protection hadn’t transferred would suffice to put you at ease."

Carolina nodded: "Exactly, if the protection hadn’t transferred, there was no need for the King to die, nor could he fall ill; if it had, then your father had to die, hence he would fall ill... This was a win-win strategy for me; whatever outcome was reasonable."

"You’re truly vicious... Mother." Cezar said lowly.

Carolina broke into a smile, one as innocent as a young girl’s.

"It’s all your fault, Cezar... You, this dirty, hybrid life being born into the royal family, and your father telling me to treat you just like my two sons. Luckily, he had the sense to lock you up; otherwise, I might have strangled you when you were much younger."

"You’re so kind."

Cezar murmured softly.

Carolina averted her gaze contemptuously towards the old King lying on the sickbed:

"All these years, he’s been trying to keep Li Qingping in the Terrarium, knowing that even if it meant breaking all the rules, standing against the Royal Court, Li Qingping would surely protect you."

Her voice lowered: "It’s truly ironic... The King loved you so much, pondered for you in every conceivable way, yet ended up dying because of you."

Cezar remained silent.

Seeing he had no words, Carolina looked at the old man sleeping on the bed and continued:

"And that Shark, I didn’t expect that the King would go to such lengths, placing an Eternal Abyss Shark by your side. This old fool is truly insane; he’s capable of doing even that."

"So, from the beginning, there was no room for redemption. From the moment I inherited the protection, Father had to die, and you would definitely kill me, right?"

"Yes."

"I was a mistake from birth."

"Correct."

"Because I was born, the protection transferred to me, so Father fell ill."

"Correct."

"I shouldn’t be alive, right, Mother?"

"Correct."

"Who is my biological mother?"

"She’s dead, you don’t need to know her name."

"Alright, this will be the last time I call you ’Mother,’" Cezar suddenly looked up at Carolina: "Bitch."

"Bitch?"

Carolina was taken aback, seemingly not understanding the term.

"Yes, it’s something Li Qingping taught me. He said that in the Eastern Countries, it’s a term used to describe women like Mother." Cezar slightly curled his lips, using a tone reminiscent of casual conversation, "I once loved you dearly, but now..."

At this point, Cezar’s tone suddenly turned cold:

"Bitch, I’m here to kill your entire family."

Carolina was stunned.

Cezar raised his head, gave her one last look, then slammed the door as he left.

In the hallway, Li Qingping was holding a Crystal Ball, waiting quietly outside. Seeing Cezar come out, he silently followed him.

After a brief silence, the little Shark in the Crystal Ball suddenly spoke: "Cezar, you shouldn’t use foul language."

It paused: "Even if you’re darkened, you must have class. You mustn’t let Li Qingping lead you astray."

Cezar pondered: "Yaguba, didn’t you once tell me? Calling someone like Li Qingping a pig isn’t an insult. So... calling Mother a bitch isn’t an insult either, not really foul language."

Yaguba hesitated: "True."

"So, you really think I’m a pig?" Li Qingping sighed and gestured towards himself.

The little Shark nodded.

Cezar shook his head: "Just joking around."

Li Qingping sighed: "Alright then, let’s cut the chit-chat and discuss how we’re planning to escape when the Whale’s Mouth opens."

"I think a shift in strategy might be in order."

"A shift in strategy?"

Li Qingping lowered his gaze, looking at the Shark in the Crystal Ball.

Yaguba nodded and patted the water surface with its tail:

"They expect us to escape through the Whale’s Mouth and eliminate us in a place where no one knows. They’re certain we’ll escape... so by then, the Royal Court Team will definitely be guarding near the Whale’s Mouth, and the security around the Empress will be weakened."

"So you mean..."

"We find a way to create a diversion on August 1st, seize the Empress, or one of the Princes, and use them to compel the Royal Court Team to back down."

After speaking, Yaguba spread its fins: "Of course... if we fail, we’ll have to bide our time and wait for my friends to come support us."

"Friends?" Li Qingping raised an eyebrow, "There’s more than one Eternal Abyss Shark?"

The little Shark thought for a moment, covering its mouth with its fin: "Hmm... let me keep that a secret for now. I feel like if you knew the kind of friends Sharks might invite over, you’d be astounded."