“You will become the emperor one day. So you must stay strong. You cannot be defeated by a mere disease.”

  That is my first memory. That was the word my father said to me.

  I was raised to be a strong and independent ruler. Yet, betraying everyone’s expectations, I was nothing but a frail person.

  Although I overcame the disease, my body became weak. I have been bedridden since then. At first, I could at least move around by myself. However, gradually, I became paralyzed. Then, I constantly fall into a coma. The frequency was increasing, and so was the length.

  I was too young to understand at that time. The reason I could hold out at first was due to the constant supply of divinity from the priest. However, the amount required for me to stay awake was increasing exponentially.

  Then, it came suddenly. The conflict between my father's supporters and the clergy erupted.

  I was the center of it all. They want to use me to undermine my father's position.

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  My father, too, understood it.

  He could have abandoned me and chosen my elder sister as his heir. But he refused. My sister, too, refused to give up on me.

  Even during that bloody day, ignoring her safety, while I was in a coma, my sister sent me to the underground escape route with her close guards.

  She and a few other people acted as bait to distract the pursuer.

  I was not even aware of it, as I was in a coma.

  When I woke up, everything was already settled.

  It was a relief to me that my sister was unharmed.

  Then, when the clergy faction decided to stop supplying me with divinity, my father had no choice but to send me to the sanctuary.

  Under normal circumstances, it was akin to an exile. However, in my case, it was the only way to preserve my life.

  The sanctuary, the place filled with divinity, the place where death does not exist.

  By staying there, I might not be able to recover, but my condition also could not deteriorate. In that place, I could recover if I received the divinity, an amount that only the saintess could possess; that was what I was told.

  During that time, my father said that only the saintess could help, but she also fell ill. Even though she was getting better, she was controlled by Duke Ellon, our enemy.

  Thus, I was sent to the sanctuary while in a coma. I was accompanied by the knight commander, Duke Raven.

  Father sacrificed his safety for me.

  My mother and sister also fought their own battles. It was later that I heard she even attempted to enter into an engagement with the central noble to maintain my position. I even robbed my sister of her happiness.

  I was a pathetic man from the beginning to the end.

  In the end, I even robbed this world of its light.