I Plotted The World Destruction With The Male Lead - Chapter 25

As the number of guides dwindled, royal family members who suffered from a lack of guidance began to emerge. It became common for royals to fight among themselves—sometimes to the death—to claim a guide.

It was during this time that the practice of imprinting on guides was born.

The emperor had attempted to change the treatment of guides, but by then, their numbers had already declined to an irreversible extent.

For centuries, efforts had been made to improve their treatment. No one saw guides as slaves anymore; in fact, those who awakened as guides were considered lucky.

Yet, the shortage persisted.

Some royals saw this as divine punishment—a curse from the gods for mistreating the guides, who were meant to be the consorts of demigods.

“I understand your point, Empress, but Van is the heir to the throne,” Dael said. “Even if his compatibility rate with that guide is high, do you truly expect it to surpass ours?”

If the rate was at least comparable, that would be fortunate. But if it was too low, Van’s right to inherit the throne might need to be reconsidered.

The emperor knew that Eleanor had awakened as a guide for this generation, but he never assumed she was the only one.

After all, in every generation, at least three to five guides appeared.

He had expected this cycle to continue. Now, seeing Van’s rash decision to imprint, he felt yet another wave of disappointment.

“Your Majesty, Your Highness, the preparations are complete.”

The voice of the court magician drew Dael and Luria’s attention.

Eleanor and Van stood near the testing device.

Carlyle had only used the imperial testing device once in the original timeline—when he ended things with Charlotte and felt uneasy about it.

Before their engagement, Carlyle had tested his compatibility with Charlotte using a similar device in the North.

At that time, Charlotte had cheated.

She had bribed the court magicians to manipulate the results, making it appear as though her compatibility with Carlyle was higher than Van’s.

It was a dangerous gamble—but one worth taking, given the scarcity of guides.

Charlotte had assumed she was the only guide to awaken in that generation.

Van and Carlyle had never told her about Eleanor.

She had been confident that even if she falsified the numbers, Carlyle would never find out. Unlike Van, he had never received proper guidance in his life.

In reality, Van and Charlotte’s compatibility had been 57%, while Carlyle and Charlotte’s was even lower—42%.

When Carlyle eventually discovered the truth, he was furious.

Charlotte had wept, insisting that it was too late, that they had already consummated their relationship, and that nothing could be undone.

“If you abandon me, my father, the Margrave, will never let this go…”

Charlotte’s desperate voice had echoed through the chamber.

But Carlyle ignored her. He left the bedroom without hesitation, determined to find Eleanor. That was when a soldier appeared with urgent news—Eleanor had escaped with Van.

‘If I had ignored my family’s deaths and stayed… would Carlyle have cast Charlotte aside and made me empress?’

Of course not.

Carlyle was not that kind of man. He might have favored Eleanor, but he never would have given her a position higher than a concubine.

Because she was a commoner.

Even though Carlyle’s royal lineage was more distant than Van’s, he still needed a noble-born empress. Eleanor might have been adopted into a noble family, but she could never hide the fact that she was not truly one of them.

Carlyle had been so bothered by her commoner relatives that he had ordered their deaths.

He had never once considered making Eleanor his wife.

At best, she would have been a cherished concubine—one he could conveniently ignore whenever the empress tormented her. A concubine to use as he pleased.

Just the thought of it made Eleanor feel as though blood was pooling in her chest. She bit her lip, remembering how the original novel had described Carlyle’s true thoughts—how he had reduced her existence to something so pitiful.

The emperor, his expression unreadable, turned to the magician.

“Do not just check Lady Hawk’s rank—measure her compatibility with the duke as well. That can be done, correct?”

“Of course, Your Majesty.”

The magician bowed smoothly before leading Eleanor and Van forward.

Carlyle knew that no matter how high Eleanor and Van’s compatibility turned out to be, Dael would not be pleased.

As soon as the results were in, he planned to reveal Charlotte’s existence.

An A-rank guide’s location in exchange for a deal concerning Eleanor—that was his strategy.

“Place your hands here.”

Van stood to the left of the crystal orb, Eleanor to the right. They pressed their palms against the smooth surface.

At first, the orb remained a solid, inky black. Then, the darkness faded, revealing a golden glow.

The magician announced the results.

“The guide’s rank is… C-rank.”

The magician, his eyes turned completely white from using magic, spoke in a hushed voice.

Dael swallowed a breath, waiting for the next words.

“…The compatibility rate between the two is…”

The magician, staring at the ceiling as if reading from the air, hesitated. A flicker of shock crossed his face.

Sensing something unusual, Dael pressed impatiently.

“What is the result?”

The magician’s voice trembled.

“N-Ninety-eight percent…”

A profound silence fell over the court.

The emperor and Empress Luria’s compatibility was only 77%, and even that had been considered an extraordinary match—so much so that high society had buzzed about it for years.

But 98%?

Such a thing was unheard of.

The stunned emperor shot to his feet from the throne.

“Is that true?”

The magician, still dazed, his pupils still pale from magic, seemed to doubt it himself. He quickly rechecked the results.

But the numbers did not change.

“I-It is confirmed! Their compatibility rate is 98%…”

“Impossible!”

The one who exploded in anger was Carlyle.

He strode forward, nearly grabbing the magician by the collar. The magician, his eyes now returning to their natural color, instinctively stepped back in fear.

“I-It is the truth, Your Highness…”

This was not entirely unprecedented.

In all of imperial history, there had been only one other recorded case of a compatibility rate in the 90s—a single, legendary pair.

The eldest daughter of the first emperor and her guide.

She had later ascended as the second emperor of the empire.

Dael, whose mood had plummeted just moments ago, suddenly found himself elated. He couldn’t even close his gaping mouth.

A 98% compatibility rate? That far outweighed Eleanor’s low rank.

“Such a high match! This must be a pair destined by the heavens!”

Compatibility wasn’t just a measurement of affinity—it indicated how much of the guide’s ability the partner could absorb.

Even if Eleanor was only C-rank, it didn’t matter. If she could provide complete guidance, then she could fully support Van, despite his immense power as a royal.

Dael now looked at Van and Eleanor with a completely different perspective.

With a chuckle, he clapped Van’s shoulder approvingly.

“Well, it seems the results are clear! With compatibility this high, further tests are meaningless! I had wondered why Van rushed into imprinting, but now…”

Van avoided Dael’s gaze, feeling a twinge of guilt as he glanced at Eleanor.

He had expected a high compatibility rate, but not this high.

Meanwhile, Carlyle—who had been eagerly waiting for his plan to fall into place—felt as though the ground had collapsed beneath him.

‘This can’t be happening!’

Eleanor wasn’t even looking at him anymore.

Even Empress Luria had stepped down from her throne to personally congratulate Van and Eleanor.

The Western nobles—whom Carlyle had painstakingly gathered to support him—were now visibly uneasy.

With such a high compatibility rate, there was no doubt that Van would be the next emperor.

And their support for Carlyle? It could easily turn into a political disaster.

“Congratulations, Your Majesty!”

One of the western nobles hurriedly offered praise, prompting Carlyle to turn toward him.

But it wasn’t just one noble—soon, countless others followed suit, rushing to congratulate the emperor and Van.

Carlyle now had no way to suggest testing his compatibility with Eleanor.

Nor could he reveal Charlotte’s existence.

Even if he found Charlotte now, the emperor would never agree to trade Eleanor for her. In fact, Dael might even actively sabotage Carlyle’s attempt to claim Charlotte, seeing him as a rival to Van.

Carlyle’s gaze locked onto Van, standing proudly beside Eleanor.

He could not forgive Eleanor.

Not for awakening the god and sending him back in time—but for imprinting with Van.

It was that betrayal that he could never accept.

‘Eleanor… should I kill you?’

In the past timeline, Van had never properly wielded his power.

Even though he had received guidance from Empress Luria, it had only been a temporary measure, never allowing him to fully develop his abilities.

Among the royal family, only two had ever received true guidance—

Dael and Carlyle.

Carlyle had never seen Van use his full strength before.

That was why, when he had sent monsters to attack Eleanor and Van, he had been shocked to see Van effortlessly destroy them.

Van and Eleanor could not be left together.

Carlyle could not allow Van to receive more guidance.

But in his current position, there was no way to separate them.

Only two guides had awakened in the empire—

And as someone who had personally experienced Charlotte’s guidance, Carlyle could not accept losing Eleanor.

Yet, when he considered Van’s growing power, he knew—if he couldn’t take Eleanor, then the only option was to kill her.

Even if it meant he would never receive guidance again.

Carlyle’s darkened eyes suddenly met Van’s gaze.

Van instinctively shifted, subtly shielding Eleanor from his sight.

His crimson eyes gleamed, sharp and dangerous—like a beast marking its territory.

‘I will not lose to you.’

Right now, it seemed like Van had everything—Eleanor, the throne—but Carlyle had already possessed them once before.

He would not lose them again.

Eleanor. The empire.

They all belonged to him.