[Heart of the King]

(Here's tonight's chapter~)

Chapter 38: [Heart of a King]

"When that fellow Aragon Roland first came here, he was following a wreck of a ship. What a pity... that ship truly should never have docked on this island. In the end, the entire ship was swallowed up... As for that fellow Aragon, I brought him here. It was here that he and I came to an agreement on certain terms of a deal." Chris spoke somewhat vaguely.

But even that much of a hint was enough!

Of course Du Wei had read the history of the Roland Empire! In fact, during his first few years in this world, the tutor Count Raymond had found for him had taught him many things. Du Wei had also read the biography of the Empire's founding emperor... He had treated that sort of thing entirely as a novel.

Aragon Roland. The great founder of the Roland Empire... To Du Wei, his life could practically have been called one of those wish-fulfillment legendary novels from his previous life!

This Aragon had the same incredible luck and bizarre encounters as so many novel protagonists. To put it in a fashionable phrase from his previous life: his luck was so powerful it nearly defied the heavens! His life was as tough as a cockroach's!

The biography described the founding emperor's experiences in great detail. Aragon had been born into a declining noble family. He was not even the eldest son of that family, but his father's third son. He had no right to inherit a title, and from childhood, he had loved adventure.

At sixteen, he left home alone to seek adventure. Aragon had joined several mercenary adventuring bands. He was a young man filled with romantic dreams of adventure.

And that era was also the age when the continent possessed the greatest spirit of adventure! Unlike now, when only the thornflower banner of the Roland Empire flew across the entire continent.

The Roland Continent of that age was a Warring States era, divided among nations great and small. Local wars never ceased across the continent. Large and small states devoured one another; warfare, conspiracies, schemes... it could be said that it was an age that forged heroes and legends.

After spending several years muddling about in a mercenary organization, sixteen-year-old Aragon became fascinated with maritime adventure.

At that time, Aragon was twenty-one. He was already an outstanding swordsman, and he had accumulated quite a bit of savings during his years as a mercenary. So he invested all his wealth in a merchant ship and embarked on the adventure of sea trade.

Yet his very first voyage dealt Aragon a crushing blow. His ship encountered a disaster at sea, and the entire vessel was destroyed. Only he himself miraculously escaped with his life.

All historians believed... that if not for that shipwreck, this great founding emperor of the Empire would most likely have become a successful maritime merchant in the end... rather than an emperor!

Yet because of that, after his dreams of sea trade were shattered, Aragon returned to his hometown. His father had died, dividing all his property among his sons... and Aragon received the smallest share.

His father had originally been nothing more than a low-ranking noble with a minor title, so the inheritance he left behind naturally was not much. Yet Aragon then did something that, in the eyes of others at the time, was practically ruinous... He sold off all his possessions and organized a small private army.

This act of squandering his entire fortune drew ridicule from everyone, because the place where Aragon's hometown lay was a peaceful country on the edge of the continent, far from war. There was simply no need for the protection of a private army.

Then, Aragon won his gamble! Less than half a year later, war broke out. That small country became embroiled in a conflict between great powers, was swallowed up within a month, and then became a prize fought over back and forth by two major nations.

Both of Aragon's brothers died amid the chaos of war, while their manor and farms were burned and plundered clean by disorderly troops.

But Aragon led his private army into the forces of one of those great nations and was granted a fairly high military post.

After that, Aragon began to display his extraordinary ability!

He demonstrated astonishing martial prowess. On the battlefield, he even killed an enemy general in a single stroke—a senior knight renowned across the continent. Afterward, Aragon amassed countless military merits in the war...

When the war ended, he was granted a title and a fief... land countless times larger than the territory his father had once possessed!

Yet to everyone's surprise, Aragon refused the summons of that great nation afterward. He left the army and instead threw himself into the embrace of the Magicians' Guild... In less than a year, he had actually earned the qualifications of a magician!

Three years later, war erupted once more. By then, Aragon was already a high-level magician!

Throughout history, no one had ever managed such a thing!

Someone had once asked Aragon why he had become a magician... This young noble had answered at the time: "My army needs magicians to fight alongside it... Unfortunately, magicians are too scarce. I couldn't recruit any, so I could only learn magic myself."

When war broke out again, the country Aragon belonged to was at one point driven into dire straits. Even its capital was besieged by the enemy for three full months. The king issued an order for every noble in the country to lead their private forces to the king's aid... and Aragon's private army was the last to arrive.

Before that, the armies of the enemy and their own country had already fought each other to utter exhaustion.

Without question, Aragon's arrival came at the most exquisitely delicate moment.

In the final great battle, Aragon himself once again slew the enemy's commanding general, a grand knight! Then, in the clash of magical power that followed, Aragon actually unleashed a forbidden-spell-level magic, blasting the enemy nation's chief court magician to death on the spot!

The tide of war turned sharply... Afterward, the war ended, and the government of that nation, its vitality severely damaged, was practically controlled by Aragon! At that point, the king had no choice but to grant Aragon the title of duke.

A year later... the king died of illness. (Historians had always disputed this matter. Most privately believed that the timing of the king's death was simply too "coincidental." It happened precisely when Aragon's prestige had reached its peak. The old king's death, coupled with his leaving behind no direct descendants, placed the nation's highest authority in the awkward position of having no heir. Although no historical records explicitly documented it, their wording subtly implied that this affair was likely linked to the great founding emperor by countless hidden threads.)

The one who benefited in the end was, without a doubt, Aragon.

He married the old king's niece from a collateral branch of the family, then elevated his wife as queen!

Three years later, the queen died of illness, and Aragon was formally crowned king!

In the history that followed—

Aragon Roland was fashioned into an invincible commander. Leading his armies, he was victorious in every battle, destroyed countless nations, and unified the entire continent in less than fifteen years, planting the thornflower banner in every corner of this land! With his own hand, he created the great Roland Empire that endured to this day!

All of it sounded exactly like the story of a standard legendary novel, didn't it?

Du Wei desperately searched his mind for every detail he could remember about the founding emperor's life...

Clearly, according to what Chris had said... Aragon had encountered this demon's servant when his first maritime adventure failed...

And afterward, Aragon had suddenly risen like a meteor across the war-torn continent... precisely after that maritime adventure had ended!

Clearly, the founding emperor must have gained some kind of benefit from his deal with this demon's servant!

Thinking of Aragon's nearly miraculous life, and his towering achievements...

And now, when this demon's servant spoke the word "deal" to Du Wei...

Du Wei suddenly felt the heart that had been calm for over a decade begin to pound!

"Dear little noble, your heart is beating." Chris smiled at exactly the right moment.

Du Wei took a deep breath. "Esteemed Mr. Chris... My heart is beating... because I am being tempted by a demon!"

The strange smile on Chris's face deepened. He suddenly raised a hand and made a light gesture. Behind them, Vivian and Joanna both gave a muffled groan at the same time, then collapsed softly into unconsciousness.

"Our transaction won't be known to anyone else." Chris smiled. "When they wake up, they'll forget everything that happened here. They'll even forget me."

The opportunity was right before him!

Du Wei's breathing quickened. "A transaction... Tell me, what can you give me... and what do you intend to take from me?"

Chris did not answer Du Wei's question directly. He said slowly, "Don't you want to ask what I gave Aragon back then?"

"I think I can guess some of it." Du Wei pondered for a moment before answering slowly.

What had Chris given Aragon?

The first thing Du Wei thought of was Aragon's earth-shaking strength! Martial skills powerful enough to rival a Holy Knight's! And the formidable magic of a High-Level Grand Mage!

Those two things had allowed Aragon to stand among the strongest at the pinnacle of the continent! On the battlefield, he could kill the enemy's mightiest warriors and defeat their mages! He had successfully forged the image of an invincible commander, making countless soldiers follow him unto death with almost worshipful devotion!

And at the same time... Du Wei suspected something else.

That was... historical records stated that Aragon had fought countless battles throughout his life, yet seemed never to have suffered any injuries! Even in old age, he had been free of illness and pain, dying one night in his sleep.

His life had been almost perfect.

"Other than powerful martial skills and magic, did you also give him a body that was nearly immortal?" Du Wei probed.

"Not immortal—a body without any fatal weakness." Chris smiled. "When Aragon left this place, I dug out his heart. His body left here, but his heart remained in this place forever. That was why it became very difficult for him to suffer any injury! No matter how fatal the wound or deadly the poison, it could not harm his heart... His heart remained at my side."

The corners of Du Wei's mouth and eyes twitched at the same time!

His heart?

"You don't intend to take my heart too, do you?" Du Wei looked at Chris with ill intent. "What did you keep his heart for? Don't tell me you made it into food? Pan-fried or grilled?"

"Neither." Chris seemed unconcerned by the mockery in Du Wei's words and merely answered calmly, "I kept his heart by my side as a memento. The heart of a true king... a king's heart... Is there any more interesting collectible than that?"

Du Wei sighed... Though he felt the matter was certainly not as simple as Chris claimed, there was nothing he could do if the other man did not intend to tell the truth.

"So you only kept Aragon's heart?" Du Wei frowned. "There were no other conditions?"

Chris's answer was simple. "No. Only one heart."

Seeing Du Wei's puzzled gaze, Chris added with a smile, "To personally create a king, then hold his heart in your hand... You cannot imagine the pleasure in such a thing, my dear little noble!"

Du Wei sighed.

"All right, then. What do you intend to take from me?" Du Wei smiled. "If you want my heart, I can't promise I'll agree."

"No, no, no. One king's heart is more than enough for my collection. I don't like doing the same thing twice." Chris smiled. "Besides... after so many years, my power has been fading and weakening. I'm afraid I can no longer give you power as great as Aragon's. When Aragon left this place, he took half my magic with him! Otherwise, did you think a knight could so easily become an outstanding mage?"

No wonder... Du Wei whistled.

"And that fellow Aragon ultimately broke our agreement as well. There were still some final clauses in our transaction that he never fulfilled." Chris shook his head. "So I discovered that this sort of one-time transaction was far too risky for me. If you leave this place and refuse to do as we agreed, there is nothing I can do, because I am a prisoner confined here. I cannot leave this island. So... after my transaction with Aragon, I came up with a method... I would divide future transactions into several parts, rather than give you all the benefits at once."

"For example?"

"For example... I can let you have a little taste of sweetness first, my dear little noble. Then you must do certain things according to my demands. Once you have done them, you return here to see me, and I will give you a new reward!" Chris smiled cunningly.

"A taste of sweetness? What sweetness can you give me?"

"Whatever you want." At that moment, Chris's smile was truly evil!

His voice carried an indescribable allure as well!

"I can give you anything! It may not be too powerful, but it will still be enough to tempt anyone! If you enjoy women, I can give you a pair of Charm Eyes! Then, whenever you gaze at any woman, she will surely fall madly and wholeheartedly in love with you! Take these two female mages, for instance. If you like them, all you need to do is look at them once, and they would even be willing to strip naked and dance before you! Even if the woman you desire is a holy maiden devoted to the gods... with a single glance from you, she would take off her divine robes and display her beautiful body before your eyes, allowing you to do whatever you wished..."

Uh... that did sound rather tempting...

Du Wei sighed... It was indeed a fine offer, but it did not seem enough to make him nod.

"You know, I am a noble. I don't think I should lack women." Du Wei tactfully expressed his meaning. "And I'm not the kind of man who is particularly lustful."

"All right... If you are not so urgently in need of women, I can replace your heart with a dragon's heart! Your body looks very weak right now... Well, after receiving a dragon's heart, your body will rapidly grow strong! You will possess the mighty physical strength of a dragon! You can become an invincible warrior on the battlefield! I can even... give you a small additional gift... such as allowing you to use a small portion of dragon-language magic."

Du Wei imagined himself turning into a powerful, muscular brute...

Uh, better not...

"My apologies, but I truly have little interest in war. Great martial strength does not make me feel any safer... In fact, judging from history, most powerful warriors merely serve as hired fists for those who wield real power."

"Then I'll give you power." Chris thought for a moment. "If you like power, I can give you the ability to see through other people's hearts. Your eyes will be able to pierce every disguise your opponents wear, and your ears will directly hear the voices of their souls! That will give you the earliest advantage in the political arena... With your clever mind, you will become an outstanding figure of power in the shortest possible time!"

"I am the eldest son of the Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Imperial General Staff." Du Wei curled his lip. "The first heir of the Roland Family. Do you think I will need to worry about my future status and power? Before long, my father will become the commander of the Empire's military, perhaps even the Imperial Chancellor. And I may very well inherit everything he has! So, I'm sorry, but this proposal of yours cannot move my heart either."

Du Wei was lying, of course.

But Chris had been trapped on the island all this time, so naturally he did not know that Du Wei had long since been stripped of his position as heir within the family!

Even an ancient monster like Chris, powerful and wise as he was, could not help growing a little irritated.

"Little noble! What exactly do you want?!"

(Du Wei answered: I want recommendation votes...)