Episode 323 – New Pope Austin Fluid I ascends to the throne.
The news only gave the common people of the world the impression that a new denomination had a new leader. Those who are well-versed in the church’s circumstances only have hopes that the corrupted temple will be purified a little.
However, the declaration of cooperation with the Horse Empire in the coronation speech shook the rulers of the world.
Among them, the emperor at the imperial palace of Aserian, the center of the Central Continent, who first heard the news, summoned the second prince, Baros, who had been virtually driven out to the Eastern Kingbu.
“Did you call me, Your Majesty?”
Baros, with a haggard complexion, lifted his head with difficulty.
Perhaps because he had been through a lot of emotional distress recently, it was even more difficult for him to bear the pressure from the emperor.
Fortunately, it seemed to be a call with good meaning, as expected.
“They have already shown results. Seongguk has shown an attitude that has never been seen before.”
As the emperor’s calm words released his suppressed feelings, Baros’s face brightened slightly.
“…I heard.”
“Yes, that’s right. As I promised, I will allow you to win the lottery from now on.”
“Hwang Eun is devastated, Your Majesty.”
thud.
Perhaps the mind of the Absolute will change?
Baros immediately hit his head on the floor and expressed his gratitude.
But it seemed like not all good things happened.
“A promise is a promise, so I keep it. However, one serious concern has arisen because of that. Do you understand what it is?”
The calm tone, without any change in emotion, contained scary content.
The moment I fell into complete darkness and now gained the light of salvation. In this situation, I had to avoid opening my mouth hastily and ruining everything again.
But no matter how desperately I tried to think about it, I couldn’t think of what it was that I was worried about.
then.
“…I have no clue. I’m sorry, Your Majesty.”
Baros closed his eyes tightly and continued speaking clearly.
It is better to confess than to hastily pretend to know. There was no pride to show in front of the emperor.
Fortunately, that judgment seemed to be right.
“The new Pope, who is said to have lived his entire life uprightly by principles, has changed one of the biggest principles of the denomination. Do you still not understand what is wrong?”
Baros’s pupils couldn’t help but widen as he heard the emperor’s next words. Only then did I understand what that meant.
“that…!”
The emperor looked at him blankly, as if asking him to speak.
“…It means that they found a way to brainwash even the divine power.”
Baros’ body trembled slightly due to a horrifying premonition.
And then an even heavier voice fell on his head, which was still facing the floor.
“That’s right. How do you plan to control those guys now?”
With those words, a heavy silence fell in Daejeon.
And only then did Baros realize the biggest reason why he had been summoned.
‘This is a test.’
If there really wasn’t a way to stop their magic, the emperor wouldn’t have allowed his reinstatement. Rather, it is clear that he punished them, kicked them out, and prepared to hunt them again.
In other words, these words were just a process to reflect on oneself.
And to put it another way.
‘A chance to prove my abilities.’
Baros clenched his fists and took a deep breath, infusing courage into his chest.
Soon, a flash of inspiration like lightning found the best answer.
“You don’t have to control them.”
“does not exist?”
“Yes. If they keep their promise, it will be advantageous to the empire. If they do not keep their promise, we can uncover their work and destroy the status of the church. Either way, the Holy Kingdom, which was the only obstacle to our empire, will fall.”
Baros proudly raised his head and tightened his neck to look straight into the emperor’s face.
Then the emperor with an ambiguous expression asked back.
“Are you going to leave alone those who will become Sim Bok Ji-hwan?”
“If the kingdom collapses, all we have to do is reveal that the work was theirs and make it public in the world. Those who fell under their magic will leave clear traces and it will not be difficult to secure evidence, so it is entirely possible with the added guarantee of our imperial family. .”
And at that moment, Baros saw the corners of the emperor’s mouth slightly rise and knew he had given the correct answer.
“It is clear that you have not lost your intelligence.”
Furthermore, the emperor once again confirmed whether he had been brainwashed.
“Good. From this moment on, the battle for succession to the throne will begin again. But keep in mind, after next year’s harvest season, the successor will be decided, so you will have to show everything you have in it.”
In addition, an unexpected deadline reduction was notified.
‘why?’
I was embarrassed.
The end date of the imperial succession battle, which was notified to the recorder and the princes, was brought forward by more than a year.
‘Do you think you have cleared away the obstacle to becoming a holy nation?’
It wasn’t that pleasant.
He had lost quite a bit of his score due to his recent mistake. Moreover, since the emperor does not consider merit twice for the same thing, once his reinstatement is confirmed, his contribution to the kingdom will not be converted into points.
The Emperor’s words soon followed as if to prove that guess.
“You’ll have to work a little harder to beat your brother.”
Baros had no choice but to grit his teeth and turn away from the spot.
* * *
“How’s the work going at McLane?”
[Heulheul. Why are you being so hasty, prince? There must be plenty of time, right?]
Despite Baros’ urging, the old man in the communication port just smiled slyly.
Normally, he wouldn’t shy away from psychological warfare, but right now, he wasn’t in the mood to leisurely argue.
bang!
“Half a year! You have to produce results within that time!”
When this winter passes and next year’s harvest comes, everything will be decided.
In that case, victory had to be consolidated sooner than that.
[half a year? It looks like the emperor has decided to decide everything next year, right?]
Baros’s face distorted again at that strange question.
“Didn’t you say you would give me the throne? If you can’t do that, you guys will have to look for the prince and Yeon who have the right to succeed again!”
[It looks like our prince has become anxious. But the work has already started, so all you have to do is wait. Don’t worry.]
Baros’s patience exploded at the tone of his speech as if he were handling a child.
“If I don’t become the crown prince, do you think I will die alone? You won’t be safe either!”
There was no room in his growling voice.
This was due to growing anxiety over whether they had come into contact with his half-brother, Clid van Ares.
but.
[Hmm. I told you not to get excited and just wait. Everything you wish will come true. You must have also seen Seongguk’s work?]
“That makes it even more untrustworthy. Are you saying that McLane is just more difficult than Seongguk? That it takes so much time!?”
[You probably know that everything has a pros and cons. You have lost your composure so much, Prince Baros.]
I know that what the other person said is not wrong.
And because Baros knew that, his expression became even more distorted. It was because he had an ominous premonition that the red-haired young man in his mind at that moment would stand in his way again.
“If you do this, at least give some results! That’s why Logan McLane is getting on my nerves!”
That nervous shouting brought an unexpected answer.
[Ah… Haha, that’s right. I made that promise. Well, fortunately, I think I can listen to that right away.]
“…What?”
[Logan McLane. He is a person who walks the path of reverse heaven. Naturally, it instills anxiety in those who stand at the top of the world.]
“What kind of bullshit is that?”
It was a fascinating but completely incomprehensible answer.
[It means that those whose fates will be most distorted by him will inevitably feel that he is intrusive.]
Listening to the explanation only increased the uneasiness.
bang!
“Stop saying nonsense and come up with a proper reason!”
[If you feel a great deal of anxiety while looking at him, it means that you, Prince Baros, are the antipodes. If I say it this way, will you understand? If it were a just destiny, you should be at the top of the world.] I
still didn’t understand, but that grandiose expression calmed Baros’s heart a little.
Standing on top of the world?
“…Does this mean that I am destined to become emperor?”
[You can see it that way.]
“…Then who is he? If he is the one who will prevent that fate, he should be dealt with first!”
[haha. If you kill him now, your fate, which is already deeply involved with him, will also be twisted. We will create the right flow, so don’t worry too much, prince.]
“There is no time anymore!”
[Half a year. Keep that in mind. You can expect good results.] I
felt like my stomach was going to burst at the baseless assurances following the unknown words, but there was nothing more I could say.
Jump and jump.
Baros’s frustration was evident in his steps as he walked through the corridors of the imperial palace.
Normally, he would have smiled softly and simply accepted the greetings of the servants, but he just walked hastily towards his destination, ignoring all the attendants and officials who bowed their heads one after another.
“Did you say that it was Luisa who went from the East King’s Department to the McLane royal family?”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“What do you think they are using?”
“…Officially it is known as a story about export and marriage.”
“I know that.”
The prince’s irritated voice seemed to have lost his composure.
Leos, a handsome man with blue hair, spoke with a small sigh.
“Once the marriage with the King of McLane is made, the Eastern Kingdom will attempt to directly interfere with McLane’s regime. As King McLane, this is an opportunity to gain connections as the king of the four corners of the empire, so he cannot easily refuse it or reject it at once. .”
“Is that all?”
Leos quietly bit his lip at the prince’s words.
‘There is too little information.’
To make matters worse, right after the 2nd Prince went missing and came back, they even had to hide it from him.
How can we make inferences when they didn’t even tell us who the ‘those’ who infiltrated the kingdom were in the first place?
Although it felt like his mouth was burning, Leos came up with the best answer he could right now.
“If it’s to cause confusion in McLane, it’s not enough. It will take a lot of time. If that’s the case, then ‘they’ are doing something other than the officially known princess’s work, and the information I have on that matter is “There is not much. I need to know even a little bit…”
So give me the information.
It was an indirect appeal, but Baros just shook his head again.
“I can’t give you any information about them. The less people know, the better.”
You need to cut off the tail in case something goes wrong in the future. Training with a cancerous being of the empire would be a fatal loophole in an emergency.
But I couldn’t just wait like this.
“We can’t just sit still. What can we do right now?”
“yes?”
“I can’t wait for them to finish their work. I have to take care of it myself.”
At those words, Leos’ face suddenly clouded. This was because traces of past failures overlapped on the prince’s hurried face.
But he couldn’t refuse.
“At this point, there is only one thing that can cause chaos in McLane. But if it fails, the consequences will be significant.”
“what? “Tell me.”
Now was not the time to talk about this and that.
“Isn’t Princess Luisa at MacLane Palace right now? If she’s wrong there…”
Leos’ voice gradually became quieter, and along with that, Baros’s eyes gradually narrowed. It flashed with an insidious light.
