After the oath between No Scope and King was completed, the group chat fell into silence. Everyone was now waiting for information about Claudius Jahanam's past.
King
"Alright, I'll start the story. Let's begin from the moment Claudius Jahanam was born."
Fraud
"What's so special about his birth?"
Lamp
"You don't know? When the second prince was born, fortune-telling witches flocked to the palace just to read the lines on his palm."
King
"That's right. Just as Lamp said, even Claudius's birth alone was already something extraordinary to this world."
"How influential can someone's birth really be?"
Lyxander simply sat and watched. He had no intention of joining the discussion and would remain an observer.
Fraud
"Is the second prince really that special?"
King
"You know Yuraga, right?"
Fraud
"You mean Yuraga the 6-Star, the prophet who has never been wrong?"
King
"Yes. He's the one who reads the fate lines of every Jahanam prince."
King
"And he was also the one who read Claudius's fate."
Fraud
"So what was the result of the prophecy?"
King
"I wasn't born yet at the time, but I heard that on the night Claudius was born, the moon shone brighter than usual, and the clouds cleared from the sky, making the night unusually bright."
King
"Right after Claudius was born, Yuraga performed a prophecy by reading the lines on his palm. The moment he saw them, Yuraga dropped to his knees and began sobbing uncontrollably."
King
"'This child, this child… I have never seen palm lines this perfect. Someone born from a perfect bloodline, with a perfect body, and perfect virtue. Only the true God Yohan possesses such perfection.'"
King
"'He is not destined to become emperor—his fate is far greater. He is destined to become the bearer of truth for this world.'"
King
"That was Yuraga's prophecy about Claudius. After that, countless witches came to the palace just to witness the perfect palm lines that had only ever appeared on the true God Yohan."
Fraud
"Then what would happen if he died?"
Admin
"If he's really that important, how about we place bets on whether Claudius Jahanam survives or not?"
Fraud
"Hehe, sounds interesting. I'll bet ten thousand volar on No Scope's death."
No Scope
"You bastard. In that case, I'll also bet ten thousand volar on my own success."
Villain
"Kekeke. I'll join too—ten thousand volar on No Scope's success."
King
"I haven't even finished the story and you people are already acting crazy again."
Admin
"You're so boring. I'll bet too—ten thousand volar on Claudius Jahanam."
Doctor
"You have money to gamble but not to pay your debt?"
Admin
"Ugh. Come on, I'm rotating my funds to pay it off."
"These people…" Lyxander frowned. "Stop gambling, I want to hear the rest of the story."
Pup Dog
"So what happened next?"
King
"After that prophecy, Claudius grew up pampered and praised by everyone. He was considered the strongest candidate to become the next emperor."
King
"But something interesting happened when he was six years old."
Fraud
"What was it?"
King
"Surrounded by praise and pleasure, Claudius began questioning the happiness in his life."
King
"He felt the world was too beautiful to be real, and eventually he ran away from the palace to see the world's reality for himself."
Villain
"Oh? I didn't know this story."
Even Villain didn't know? If even a Head didn't know about this, just how important was this story to the Empire? That question surfaced in Lyxander's mind.
King
"It's only natural you don't know. The Empire worked very hard to cover up the disappearance of the second prince."
Pup Dog
"So what happened after he ran away?"
King
"After three months of searching, Claudius was finally found. His condition was miserable. He was extremely thin, and his body was filthy. But the most tragic part wasn't that—when they found him, he had just killed a man who was trying to force himself on a prostitute."
Lamp
"What?!"
Lamp
"How could someone born as the bearer of truth commit murder?"
Lyxander thought the same, as did the other group members. Wasn't it strange for someone considered holy to commit a sin?
King
"The Legion members who found him asked Claudius the same question."
No Scope
"So what was his answer?"
King typed for quite a while this time.
Claudius answered,
"If I didn't kill that man, he would have forced himself on that woman."
The guards then asked,
"Your Highness, that woman is just a prostitute."
And Claudius replied,
"So what? Will you ignore her just because she is a prostitute? Or because of her low status?"
The guards tried to argue,
"No, Your Highness. We simply mean it is improper for a prince to kill a commoner."
Once again Claudius answered,
"Improper? So you would ignore wrongdoing just because of propriety?"
The guards fell silent, and Claudius continued.
"In this world, there are so many people forced to live improper lives. Some must steal, some must be deceitful, and others are forced to kill just to survive."
"I had to kill one man to save one woman. Why? Why are we trapped in this cycle?"
"Why must we take another life just to live?"
"Why are all living beings trapped in endless suffering?"
"I don't like that. And I've decided to erase suffering from this world."
King
"Claudius once told me, holiness is not about never committing sin, but about never hesitating to commit one for the sake of others."
No Scope
"Kekeke. I think I'm starting to understand Claudius Jahanam now."
Admin
"Hehe, I really want to meet him. Should I come to Faulust?"
No Scope
"Please don't. I don't want to run into a 7-Star."
Admin
"I'm not even interested in meeting you."
Pup Dog
"Sorry to interrupt, but I want to say something."
No Scope
"What is it?"
Pup Dog
"I'll be one of Claudius Jahanam's escorts during his visit to Faulust."
No Scope
"Huh?"
No Scope
"Eeeeeehhhhhh?!"