Episode 326
“I’m sorry.”
thud.
As soon as Baros finished greeting, he immediately hit his head on the floor and begged for forgiveness.
There was no need for long words.
Lame excuses are one of the things the emperor hates the most, so an honest apology was the best.
“Do you know why I called you?”
“Yes. I have undermined Your Majesty’s authority through my greed. Please punish me.”
thud. thud.
Baros’s forehead quickly became stained with blood as he repeatedly hit his head on the floor. However, despite the extreme performance, the heavy atmosphere that oppressed Daejeon did not change.
“…A lot has happened recently. But the changes in you as a result are unexpected in many ways.”
Baros swallowed his saliva as the words sounded both hopeful and despairing.
“Breaking a taboo can be offset by bringing in the enemy of that taboo, but violating the emperor’s authority cannot be forgiven by any excuse.”
At the emperor’s next words, Baros’ complexion turned pale, and with a dull sound, a human head rolled in front of him.
Baros’s eyes trembled slightly when he saw brown eyes that had lost their luster under plain brown hair.
“You know who it is, right?”
There’s no way you wouldn’t know.
A training instructor at the Imperial Special Inspection Department and someone who manipulated orders at his own request.
Could this be my end?
My heart was pounding and my vision became blurry.
But he did not forget what he had to do now.
thud.
Baros’ head hit the floor once again.
“…I’m sorry. I ask for your forgiveness.”
Asking for forgiveness only made the emperor angry.
Baros hoped to save his fate by keeping himself as humble as possible.
Excited.
Excited.
The moment when the sound of my heart pounding as if it was going to burst rang louder and louder in my ears.
“…I’ll give you one chance.”
Baros looked puzzled at the emperor’s unexpected words.
widely.
Before I knew it, a report had been brought before me by an unknown person.
When I looked at my blood-covered forehead, the report contained something unexpected.
It was a diplomatic document full of lengthy rhetoric, but one sentence caught my eye right away.
A representative of the imperial family?
Cardinal emeritus?
For a moment, Baros’s eyes wavered.
“It seems like the black snake has completely swallowed Seongguk, just as you said.”
Huh.
‘They said they would show me the results.’
A muffled groan came out, but the emperor continued speaking in a calm voice, as if he had not heard the sound.
“Go to the Holy Kingdom. And represent the will of the empire there. Your achievements will be reflected in the succession to the throne.”
How could I refuse the opportunity given once again?
“Hwang Eun is devastated.”
thud.
Baros hit his forehead on the floor again and congratulated himself on surviving and preserving his path to power.
The wound on my forehead didn’t hurt at all.
“What do you think?”
Daejeon, where Baros withdrew.
In the empty space, only the emperor’s voice rang quietly.
Soon, as if it was obvious, an answer that rang in the air came back.
– No discomfort has been reported in the Holy Kingdom yet.
“It means it’s dangerous.”
– Yes that’s right. I’m not sure how far their magic reaches.
“As expected…. Let the other royal family members, except Baros, stay in the imperial palace until the investigation is completed. Especially Clid.”
– Yes, I will tell you that. If so, the 2nd Prince….
“This is the group I chose. Whether that group is a group that cuts flowers or throws away, you must take responsibility yourself. Use Seongguk as a channel to connect with them, but monitor them at all times. Related matters will be kept confidential for the time being.”
– Yes, I understand. But are you going to leave the successor qualifications the same?
“…If the Emperor of the Empire can also serve as the Pope of the Holy Kingdom, it will become a flower group that will last for 10,000 years. We still have to wait and see.”
– …yes. Everything is as your Majesty wishes.
* * *
“Baros headed to the Holy Kingdom?”
A young man with a huge body and angular face asked back with a dark frown.
“Yes, Your Highness”
“What is the punishment for stealing a ghost?”
“…It seems like it wasn’t there.”
At this, the young First Prince Clid van Ares’ complexion became even harder.
“The Emperor… Why?”
The voice that came out as if he was talking to himself was filled with deep doubts and anxiety.
Recorder Clumbel, who was reporting in front of him, also hardened his complexion as he thought the same thing.
“No way, His Majesty has already made up his mind…”
The cross scar that stretched from his forehead to his lips twitched, revealing even deeper anxiety.
“…No, that’s not the person.”
Is it an expectation or a certainty?
Even the person who spoke is not confident in the words he said.
– majesty. I have a message from Your Majesty.
The shouts of the escort driver were heard outside the door.
It feels kind of cheap.
“come in.”
Clid tried to suppress his anxious premonition and summoned the knight.
“Until further orders, all members of the royal family have been ordered not to leave the palace. Especially Your Highness.”
After hearing the knight’s words, my complexion couldn’t help but harden even more.
“Send Baros to the Holy Kingdom? Put me on forced probation?”
A voice mixed with anxiety and anger.
The bloody spirit of 1st Prince Clid, who boasts unrivaled military power among the princes, suppressed the article he was reporting.
“…I don’t know the details. Your Majesty, please forgive me…” Only
after the imperial knight, who had barely withstood the force of the top knight, let out a groan, did Clid realize his mistake and threw up his hand.
“Okay. Let’s go.”
“Yes, yes. Thank you, Your Royal Highness.”
After the knight disappeared, Clid looked to the side with a deep sigh.
“…What do you think it means?”
However, Clumbel, who was asked a question, could not easily answer.
No matter how much I think about the current situation, it is difficult to see it in a positive way.
“It looks like Baros did something…”
Clid recalled the face of his half-brother, whom he had seen when he returned from disappearance.
A snake-like guy who pretends to take care of the people around him, but in reality only sees them as objects to be used.
Or should I call him a lizard, since he was the kind of guy who would pass on the blame and shoo it away whenever something went wrong?
When a guy like that not only confessed his faults but also said he would take advantage of them. Clid was actually shocked to the core. This was because they thought their competitors had grown further.
In this fierce competition, where only death or a miserable life worse than death awaits the loser, the competitor’s advance was not at all pleasing.
And in the current situation, it seemed like those concerns had become a reality.
“…It is prohibited to make hasty guesses, Your Majesty. Please first find out information about the current situation.”
“Yes. That should be so. But how can I if I keep my mouth shut by His Majesty’s
orders…” “Isn’t there His Highness the King of Dongyik? He was with Prince Baros recently, so wouldn’t he be able to give me at least a small hint?”
“…He was Baros’ godfather. Going by the maternal side, he is also his maternal uncle.”
“His Majesty King Dongyik is not a person who is concerned about blood ties. As long as there is a possibility that he may become emperor, he will try to retain at least a small connection.”
“…I guess so.”
I couldn’t help but sigh that he was the only person who could get the information.
A person who always approaches you with a smile, pretending to be friendly even though you have no memories or ties together.
So, when I was young, I mistakenly thought that he was the better person among the royal family’s relatives, but now I know for sure.
Of all the trash related to the imperial family, if I were to choose the most untrustworthy person, he would be the first.
But now there was no alternative.
“…Connect communication to Dongwangbu. No, directly to Dongyikwang. So that no one else can find out.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
* * * [haha. I understand the purpose well, but this is a difficult question for me to answer, right?]
The sight of King Gerard von Aserian with a sly smile was, as expected, annoying.
However, Clid did not show any such sign and lowered his head with the same expressionless face as always.
“Please tell me at least what you can. If you do, I will not forget your kindness.”
[Hoo. The famous first prince bowed his head. Hmm… I can’t help it then. I have no choice but to tell you at least a little.]
When I saw King Dongyik’s blue eyes shining slightly in the communication sphere, I felt anxious.
Every time that mysterious author’s eyes lit up, the results were not very good.
‘I’ll have to listen carefully.’
Even though I decided to do so, the content of what he said was not something I could accept with such filtering.
[His Majesty the Emperor wants to control the Kassel Tower through the 2nd Prince. And the result is the declaration recently announced by the new Pope of the Holy Kingdom.]
Holy Kingdom!?
‘What a holy country!’
King Dongyik’s answer exceeded his expectations.
The biggest reason why the Ares Empire was unable to expand further and stopped growing after establishing itself as the hegemony of the continent.
“Are you saying that the Kassel Tower has begun to control the Holy Kingdom?”
[well. I don’t know the details, but considering the current situation, I guess it’s true to some extent, right?]
“I know that their magic is poisonous to the divine energy. But how…”
[How could I know? Maybe I’ve found an ancient vision that was lost, or maybe there was something else to it. But one thing is certain: they moved the Holy Kingdom as His Majesty wanted and as the 2nd Prince requested.]
“Then…”
[The 2nd Prince’s move to the Holy Kingdom should be seen as part of that.]
“Then, now is the time. What is the context in which the royal family was banned from going outside during that period?”
[Well, I don’t have any information… I can only guess.]
“You mean guess?”
[Hmm. I don’t know if I can even say this. [There is no basis for this…]
King Dongyik’s troubled expression brought out Clid’s impatience.
“If you tell me your opinion, I will never forget your kindness to my nephew.”
By blood, he is a distant relative, and in fact, the second prince’s mother is the younger sister of King Dongik. In other words, it also meant that it would be difficult to say that the first prince, Clid himself, and King Dongyik were close friends.
But those words were enough to make King Dongyik laugh.
[Ahahaha. Yes nephew. My nephew wants it so much, but I have to tell him my opinion. Of course, I don’t think that’s a good thing to say to my nephew.]
“Yes?”
Clid’s eyes shake.
King Dongyik, whose eyes were shining subtly as he looked at them, soon hardened his complexion and lowered his voice to whisper.
[I am talking about it. I think His Majesty the Emperor has chosen the 2nd Prince as his successor. The emperor of the empire that swallowed the Holy Kingdom. Wasn’t it the imperial family’s long-cherished wish for a long time?]
Kwajik.
At those words, a cracking sound came from under Clid’s feet.
It was the sound of a crack in the marble floor he was stepping on. Although he tried hard to control his facial expressions, he was unable to control the power expressed along with his anger.
However, rather than making up for his mistake, Clid ended up showing his emotions.
“Your Majesty is not the type of person to do that. Even if it is necessary, you are the type of person who will adhere to the principles of succession that you personally instructed!”
[The emperor is a person who does anything for the benefit of the empire. Doesn’t your nephew know this well? If the second prince makes a contribution to the castle while you are tied up in the imperial palace, the outcome of the succession battle will ultimately be…]
King Dongyik trailed off, but the afterword naturally appeared in Clid’s mind.
‘no! ‘Damn it!’
Although there was no evidence, it was very persuasive.
He bites his lip until it bleeds.
[nephew. I think my nephew shouldn’t just stay in the palace.]
King Dongik’s words that stimulated Woohwan brought him to his senses.
“But why are you telling me this? If you leave it alone, it will be more advantageous for Baros, who is your real nephew.”
It was a situation worthy of suspicion.
however.
[Hehe, what are you saying? Doesn’t your nephew know that guy Barros? Do you think they will give him more convenience just because he is his maternal uncle?]
That’s right.
Because he looks exactly like you.
King Dongyik’s words were certainly persuasive.
[So, nephew. I will help you later…]
A long story continued with eyes that were subtly shining.
The gray light shimmering in King Dongyik’s blue eyes could not be seen beyond the communication port.
…Therefore, recognizing the Ares Empire as the representative of humanity, the Holy Kingdom elevated the representative of the imperial family to an honorary cardinal to share in the glorious future of humanity….
