Isekai Tyrant

Chapter XI - The Plot at Hand

At the eve of the engagement party with Diane, Alexander suddenly went missing.
He was found emerging from the hedge maze, shaken and delirious. He was followed by an equally disheveled Ciri.

At the sight of everyone in the party, Alexander was found to have been drugged. And in his paralyzed state, Ciri had raped him.

The result of this sinful union was none other than Cadmael.

This time, the empire exploded with the scandal. The emperor collapsed in shock and became bedridden enough to retire. Soon after, he died.

Because of the relentless pressure from the Leonhart dukedom, the engagement between Alexander and Diane to become emperor and empress was dissolved and given to Ciri.

Two years after the incident, Alexander took Diane and married her as a queen concubine. Soon after, they had Alastair.

The nobles of the capital didn't know who to jeer at more; the crown prince who was born from sin, the prince who was born from a mere concubine, or the three adults who continued to be engaged in scandals from their hostile relationships with each other.

Despite being designated as the succeeding crown prince because he was the empress' son, not much was seen of Cadmael in his early years. He was regularly confined in his palace along with his mother. He could only be seen in glimpses during important events. It was only when he turned twelve he started appearing a lot.

This was different to Alastair who was regularly seen with both Emperor Alastair and Queen Diane who openly displayed their love for him.

Alastair resembled his father a lot; from his dark hair that seemed to absorb all light, to his sharp eyes of rubies, until his cold and serious demeanor. And just like his father, he was earnest and beloved by all his subjects.

In contrast, Cadmael was a direct copy of Ciri with his wavy golden hair thar seemed to reflect light, earning him a subtle halo. The only similarity he had with his father was the color of his eyes which were framed like the prominent and innocuous golden eyes of his mother's.

Yet the most striking difference between the two half-brothers were their disparity in ability and skill.

In this world, though rare attributes, light and dark magic have been proven to not be able to co-exist within a person. The only exception to this rule is the Augustin imperial family.

Every child in the family is guaranteed to possess both. However because of the repressive nature between the two, one attribute will always tend to be more dominant to another.

If the prince or princess manifests magic where light dominates, they are bestowed the name 'de Sol' which represents the sun in the realm of the daysky. But if darkness dominates, they are then bestowed with 'de Lune' of the moon in the realm of the nightsky.

Yet despite this fact, Cadmael could only conjure light. Not even any of the other more common magic attributes.

On the other hand, Alastair did not only manifest both. He also managed to possess the four primary magic attributes and a secondary one.
The nobles had finally found who to secretly mock more.

From their studies to relations, Cadmael was constantly overshadowed by Alastair.

Although Cadmael hid his frustration expertly from high society behind his angelic facade back when he was still a prince, his explosive bouts against his servants to express his anger was mentioned in the novel.

Cadmael was greatly jealous of Alastair, and the two always butted heads. The hate cultivated with their unhealthy rivalry drifted them apart further than the already existing rift between them because of their parents.