Chapter. 14. One Empire, Three Legends (34)
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“Otman, Otman! Can you hear me?”
[…-now! That deep-…thing!]
“Hello! Ottoman! I wrote it to be an auror!!! Hey, wizard team!”
[……..]
“Damn it. “It’s not working.”
Even when I was outside, Otman was worried about the magic jammer, but when I entered the Empress Palace, it was cut off to the point where I couldn’t communicate at all. That also happened after entering the Empress’ Palace, so it’s probably safe to say that something installed in the palace itself broke the message magic.
The professor looked around the interior of the empress’ palace, which was decorated neither too much nor too little, and pulled Gainax with difficulty.
….It is a strange sight.
Snake, crisp, crunch,
crunch –
Both the 1st Prince and I were in a state of complete disrepair, so there were blood stains everywhere we passed, and servants who came rushing out of nowhere were following behind us, wiping the long blood stains with blank eyes.
“Clothing. You are dirty. “The Empress is displeased.”
“majesty. The letter has arrived, check it. “I need you to confirm.”
A maid follows the prince, who is dragged unconscious, on his knees, wiping away his battered, blood-covered armor.
The butler sends several letters to the unresponsive prince, repeating the same words like a parrot.
“The tea tastes excellent. Ah, the level of hospitality befitting the empress’s palace. “Do you really recognize and serve noble people?”
“Long live the empire. May the empire live forever. If we become the prince’s servants, our family will rise to the top of the most powerful table. Long live the empire, oh empire-” A middle-aged man
sipping an empty teacup and admiring it. An old man muttering nonstop while licking the marble floor.
The first prince’s nobles, who were more ecstatic than the nobles in the castle city, were scattered here and there, expressing their own fantasies.
The professor passed between them with difficulty and climbed the stairs with exotic patterns engraved on them.
After passing through the banquet hall. A place that can be seen at a glance but is separate.
A throne room that opens up an entire floor of a huge palace.
A red carpet made a path between rows of imperial-style columns, and two ornate chairs were placed at the end of it.
One is for the emperor, the owner of everything in the empire.
The other one is his companion and mother of the nation. This is for the prince’s biological mother and the owner of this palace.
“I never thought a customer would come to visit us in this chaotic time.”
Empress Althena Tik Matrea. A woman who was once the head of a national tribe with the body of a woman, and was held in the arms of the emperor along with the tribe.
The Empress, with the black hair characteristic of the northern people and wearing a golden dress symbolizing the royal family, retained her beauty without fading even though she was past middle age.
“…come on in. “I will grant you a special audience.”
Kkeiik- Boom.
The throne room door closed and her eyes finally looked down.
****
….gulp.
The Empress’s servants and servants, who probably enjoyed this kind of private treatment, quickly left when they heard that an audience was granted. There was silence inside the closed door, and the Empress’s unusual prayer made those who encountered it naturally put strength on their toes.
With Gainax’s head still at his side, the professor fumbled in his pockets.
‘The curse does not react.’
First of all, the first verification passed. However, witches have a history of eluding the verification of priests who serve God. It was too early to feel relieved simply because the cursed flower did not react.
The professor’s hands are further inside his pockets. The moment I was searching for a solution for a situation like this.
“…It’s uncomfortable to watch as a mother. “Why don’t you just let that child go?”
The voice of the Empress, who was quietly looking at the two, settled in front of them.
“…You are asking a difficult request. “Unfortunately, my appearance is such that I have to look into the grave site right away, rather than having an audience with the royal family.”
“not. I also have eyes and ears. “Have you not seen the roar and light of your majesty digging up your land?”
Slurp.
Again. Again. Again. Sabak.
The Empress stood up from her splendid seat and gracefully approached the Prince and me, step by step. The boldness in those eyes. Small emotions fluttering between them. shake. Resignation.
‘….no. ‘Not this person.’
The moment I faced it, the thought ‘that’s not the answer’ popped up in a corner of my mind.
Not this woman. There was no evidence to confirm anything, but I thought it was not the case.
Sabak.
Finally, the Empress came close enough that I had to look up after collapsing from exhaustion. The professor let go of the prince’s hair as the woman approached him, bending down as if asking for something obvious.
The Empress’s dress, sitting on the floor like a woman in a woman’s house, flows down like a waterfall. The mother took off her son’s blood-stained helmet and laid his tired head on her lap, as if holding his little breath.
“Yes… my son. “Gainax has been defeated.”
Even though she was inside the empress’ palace, the vivid golden light was so dazzling that it surpassed the walls of the empress’ palace, so she also had no doubts about Gainax’s victory.
Because it was the same light held in the hands of the confident man who had fascinated her in her youth. Because he was the same light as the man who proved himself the master of the empire just by his presence, without even saying a word.
However, my son was defeated and fell to the ground by the man in front of him. He found something and arrived in front of her.
“You have a face that has something you want to ask.”
“….”
“As an outsider, it must be full of things I can’t understand. know. I was like that too. “The empire… is a country full of strangeness and complexity beyond what we think.”
The professor realized that the empress was feeling the same way as he was. Northern part of the empire. An empress from outside the realm of the empire. Likewise, those who were not citizens of the empire by birth and therefore do not have reverence for the empire and the emperor deep in their souls.
“You don’t look… regretful.”
“What should I regret? “If it happened this way, it was just decided that way.”
“What do you mean by decided…?”
“Empire. It means the Empire wants it.”
The Empress, who was wiping the blood from the Prince’s face with her sleeve, faced the Professor with her deep eyes.
“What did you encounter after crossing the borders of the empire?”
“…We have crossed the blue line and entered the Margrave’s territory.”
“okay. “What did you see there?”
“…Mute and Undead.”
“next. “At Wuthering Heights.”
“Chamber maids and… Named ones.”
“and. After passing through Haunuman, he came to the capital after condemning those who were destroying the empire. And he defeated my son, the closest person to the throne.”
“….”
“If you follow my footsteps, it will all be for you, but it will also be for the empire. Do you think all of this is a coincidence? Be pure from the moment you set foot on this land. Do you think that it was moved only by your own will?”
The professor could not easily reply to the Empress’s meaningful words. Was I manipulated? Guided by someone’s hand? Are you a witch? Or emperor?
‘Hyde Is there any trace of something getting into my head and changing the group’s course?’
[at all. How can I miss something like that when I open my eyes red?]
Hyde strongly denies this as if it is absolutely nonsense. If it’s not that guy, then it’s not true. However, as she said, the journey so far has been too… convenient to dismiss the Empress’s words as lies. From the empire’s perspective.
The Empress’s low laughter permeated the confusion and doubt.
“Hehehe. Not even my eyes. So did I. I have seen and felt many things while living on this land as the mother of the empire and as your Majesty’s companion. I couldn’t have known without knowing. do not worry. “All of this is not someone else’s will, but the will of this empire itself.”
“The will of the empire itself…”
“As you said. It means that this vast land has guided your path.”
From the Empress’s mouth, it sounded like a dreamy resignation. The secret stories of the empire flowed out.
“my son. Gainax, the first prince who symbolizes defeat, represents the will of those who want the empire to expand its territory and recreate its past glory. ”
“The power of the first princess, who controls magic and administrative affairs, is the will of those who want the empire to enjoy a peaceful era and maintain this prosperity without conflict.”
“The 3rd prince, who relies on the power of various local nobles, wants conflict within the empire and the will of those who want to gain the power of the empire in the meantime.”
“And the second prince. The prince who joins hands with the empire’s wealth is in the darkness of the empire. An enemy of the Empire who wants this country to fall apart and disappear into pieces. intruder. “The will of spies and misguided groups.”
.
.
.
.
“The power of the empire divided among each person. It is nothing short of an expression of the will of all the subjects of this empire. The royal family has its abilities and origins. Even his actions were created by the power that flows throughout this empire. If Gainax was defeated, the Empire. “I can’t help but think that this gigantic creature called the ‘Baltin Empire’ wanted it.”
That’s why I dream. There are so many subjects of the empire that it is difficult to express them in numbers. The power that comes from them all in its most authentic form. Because Gainax resided in a form similar to that of an emperor.
That’s why I’m resigned. If her son was broken by someone else, she thought it was also the will of this great empire.
‘This is the power of the empire that maintained peace and prosperity for five centuries…’
God, but also shape. The essence too. A god who doesn’t even have scriptures for that belief.
As long as that status is maintained, treason is impossible. Subjects make up the absolute majority of the empire. Because more than half of them will never want war and violence.
In this way, peace is maintained, and the people of the empire further hope for peace, and the origin is strengthened, leading to the peace and well-being of the empire.
If there was a territorial war, the two nobles’ territories becoming one would be the way to the prosperity of the empire, and if there was a rebellion, the disappearance of that family would be for the well-being of the empire.
A nation that strengthens itself and proliferates.
That was the identity of the enormous power involved in the emperor and the empire.
“Well… there’s something I don’t understand. Why did I defeat the first prince? I am an outsider, not a subject of the empire or even an aristocrat. Also, the current chaos is out of bounds, but if it is also the will of the empire, what on earth is all this for…”
“Yes. It’s strange. The origins of all subjects of the empire were already divided into the number of members of the royal family. What will lead you to this capital and traverse it… I want to know that much.”
A woman possessed by a great power and swept up in the fate of an empire.
Empress Althena Tik Matrea liked the strange man who appeared through the storm of fate that made even the Iron Blooded Woman who once led a powerful group give up.
Because she also felt strange. The wind that should have been the frost that brought spring to fruition turned into a storm. In a blizzard. Because it has grown into a fierce winter that threatens to freeze everything in the empire.
Grumbling.
She presented the professor with a small decorated necklace that was hanging around her neck.
“This is…”
“Go to the imperial palace. Originally, no one was involved in the battle for the throne. Even the royal family cannot enter the imperial palace where His Majesty resides, but if it were you. “If you have broken the empire’s path of defeat… you may be able to break through that chaos and reach His Majesty’s side.”
A decoration given by the Empress. The small lion head decoration was an item for the royal family that protected the wearer from traps, ancient magic, and sorcery installed throughout the imperial palace.
“Go. Your Majesty the Emperor knows everything. Go answer your questions and do your job.”
The professor could see the relief in her eyes. That her son escaped from the heart of this fierce storm. A look of relief that the Empire’s gigantic hand did not grasp her flesh and blood.
The woman once called Sanghyeol was no longer here. There is simply a woman who finally embraces her son, who is free from the fate that was created with his birth.
The professor took the symbol of the royal family from the hands of the empress and stood up.
“…Be careful. For almost 10 years. Even me and the empress, his spouse. I have never seen His Majesty the Emperor in person. something…. “Something is happening in the imperial palace.”
A feeling of foreignness that even the empress, who had no idea what a witch was, could feel it.
Before leaving the throne room of the empress’ palace, the professor looked back at where the two were for the last time. The Empress was quietly whispering in his ear in a low, gentle voice just as she had last recited an old legend from the North at her young son’s bedside decades ago.
“It’s all over. Only now. It’s all over, Gainax. “My son.”
“….Fuhu huh uh…. Oh my…you…. I…. The empire is me….”
“Let’s stop. That’s it for now. I thought that climbing to the top was the only way to be free… but heaven helped me. Now he lives as Gainax, not as the 1st prince. Gainax Agdan. Finally… life has returned to being called just a name.”
A son who barely came to his senses and an old mother sitting on the floor and stroking her grown son’s hair.
A prince who was raised from birth to be destined to become an emperor, and who escaped his bondage by being denied his entire life.
“….”
After taking in the sight, the professor left the Empress Palace, which had been disfigured by the fragments of the Aurors.
The place where his eyes are directed is the imperial palace.
The origin of all the golden energy that overflows in the capital. It was the center of the empire.
****
Meanwhile. Outside Ol Amperia. As madness spreads, the castle city begins to recreate the nightmare of Teldmaier from long ago.
Kkwaaak –
The nobleman with the highest power around and owns a large and tall mansion. On top of the spire of Duke de Gaulle’s residence, a girl wrapped in various bundles was pulling a rope.
“…I can’t just sit still like this. I am… I am Lucilla Aedran! She is the future heroine who will lead the Gold Geyser caravan and the person who will spread the fame of the Aedran family by establishing the Golden Law throughout the world! Ouch! Wow! can do! can do!”
Lucilla, with tears in her eyes, was trying hard to forget her fear, slapping her cheeks vigorously on the rooftop of a narrow spire where she could fall to her death if she slipped even one step.
Lucilla Aedran. She was a cautious and cautious person. Although there was a maid walking around in the building right next to the corner where Idrasil hid her, smashing rat corpses and cleaning them repeatedly, the elemental magic that hid her in seemed to be of an excellent level even to a non-expert, so it was not the same as usual. If it had been her, she would have just hid there until the rest of the group finished this whole thing.
but.
Hung Hung Hung Hung-clunk!
“Good Joe! Caught!”
A strange impulse. An unknown attraction. And the worry about the companions who grew out of the lights of the Aurors flashing in the night sky and the noise of battle.
“…Aedran does not leave his dealings in the hands of others. There must be something I can do. I’m sure there is. Beyond that wall!”
And a level of confidence that even one would consider strange. The confidence that came with a faint golden shimmer.
Lucilla threw a rope hook made of a broken candlestick from the high spire towards the castle wall.
Rattling.
The battle, in which aurors rained down everywhere, even damaged the walls of All Amperia, the dwarf’s masterpiece.
Coincidentally, the part close to the spire that Lucilla had climbed had collapsed, creating a point where the spire was higher than the castle walls.
Strange coincidence. A strange impulse. The result of a coincidence that seemed to want to drag her into it.
“I, Lucilla Aedran, have learned to sell flowers rather than arrange them, and I am more familiar with top carts than carriages! I can do it…. Everyone calls me a legend and all, but I will truly become a legend!”
Buuuung-!
Above the heads of those swept away, the castle city stained with madness and carnage.
The shadow of the girl whom everyone in the capital called a ‘legend’, even if it was just a joke. With that terrifying scream, it flew into All Amperia.
By chance, the 1st Prince’s knights organized the other knights to a place where they became safe.
To the place adjacent to the passage leading to the imperial palace.
Inside the castle walls. The elf was looking for the wizard and his party on another spire. Following the disfigured saint and the object of her mission, she went to the imperial palace.
“Uh fuuuuu! Oh Ottoman! “If this continues, we will die!”
“If you run faster than the Guard Knights on your feet or call Miss Neria to help me, I will listen to your complaints!”
“Phew, Nell, for when you meet a witch-”
“Then shut up and let the current flow! It looks like the Guard Knights plan to cut down anyone who approaches the imperial palace! That Notum is floating just fine, so why are you like this-”
“Notum is a troll and a lump of fat! “I have nothing but bones!”
“Gwu fufu! That’s rude. teacher. Notum is a beautiful female with plenty of muscle.”
“Ah Okay! Al-Puhup! Okay, so catch it! “I’m swimming – purr!”
Fuwaaaaak!
After encountering the Flower Empress, who was shaking with fear, she was on her way to the palace where the 2nd Prince’s mother, Empress Terenua, was located.
Otman Aldrich Notum, caught by the Guard Knights and fleeing after being swept away by Ottman’s water that filled the narrow hallway.
The people who had gathered in the capital by chance and necessity were moving as if guided by some will.
The imperial palace. It is the starting point of all these forces and events, and a place filled with gloomy and dazzling energy.
Following each person’s own path created by some great will.
To where the emperor is.
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