Five Broken Blades by Mai Corland

Author:Mai Corland
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Zaffre Publishing

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

EUYN

CITY OF RAHWAY, YUSAN

G

ods on High, Mikail’s plan could actually work.

I just had the hat on my head a second ago. I know with absolute certainty I did. And now I see it on Tiyung. Not only that—I didn’t feel it being removed.

I never saw her coming.

Admittedly, I was focused on a rather large man with a giant scar on his face trying to juggle and hating every second of it, but even knowing she was about to remove my hat, I didn’t know it was missing until it was too late. With Sora so close, she could’ve easily kissed me before I realized the crown was gone.

This could work.

It could actually work.

I sit back, stunned. All of us are shocked. Even Mikail. He was correct: this girl has skills I’ve never seen before. A million scenarios of the future hit me all at once as ruling Yusan becomes a real possibility.

But there is one significant issue with his plan. While some people know about the power of the Dragon Lord’s relics, only royalty know about the curses. The four other relics exact terrible prices for their use. It’s why Khitan, for example, can’t just become a country of solid gold. The ring causes enormous pain with its use, and the alchemy works by pulling iron out of the wearer’s body. The more it’s used, the greater the pain and the closer to death the person becomes. For the crown, it’s a little different because, unlike the other relics, it doesn’t change anything at the whim of the user. It simply protects.

When the Dragon Lord left for the Heavens and gave his crown to the first Baejkin king, it was sealed with their mingled blood, creating the center ruby. Therefore, it is said that the crown can only be worn by the bloodline. And that is the reason we’ve only had Baejkin rulers for a thousand years.

Of course, this is a foundation myth to solidify the rule of my forbearers and control any attempts at rebellion, but I also happen to believe it’s true. Around a hundred years ago, there was an attempted coup. The general of the palace guards decided to usurp the throne. With a blade to the prince’s throat, he forced the king to give up his crown. But once he crowned himself, the general’s body disintegrated to ash—everything but his head. The king stooped down and simply took the crown off the traitor’s head; the coup ended as quickly as it had begun. All the palace guards who’d rebelled knelt at the king’s feet and were later subjected to lingchi. Order was restored. Yusan lived happily ever after.

I would think it was all a legend, a story that conveniently took place outside of recent memory, to reinforce the divine right of the Baejkins. Except there was an aftermath of the coup. The king was so outraged at being betrayed by his own guard that the ten traitors’ heads were placed on pikes, including the general’s—the greatest dishonor.

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