Black Badger - Chapter 357



Only Noblemtl

357. Emperor (1)

“pretty.”

Those were the words Ami blurted out as soon as Hildebert left the control room.

“It’s so cool. Hilde is white and shiny.”

“What if that’s the real emperor?”

Yoon muttered, his eyes fixed on the screen.

Now they were all looking at the screen.

It wasn’t anything new. Before Hildebert and his men arrived, they were watching the man who appeared in the portal zone with their eyes wide open.

At a point when I was starting to get tired of watching, Hildebert showed up.

“It must be kept under surveillance.”

Yehyun said in an emotionless voice.

“I don’t know how a big shot like that could change the game.”

“I thought I heard the emperor was dead.”

Scar turned his gaze to You, who was glued to the screen.

“It seems that even Hildebert hasn’t confirmed for sure whether he’s alive or dead?”

“I didn’t hear the last moment in detail either. But I think it was something like that.”

Youga muttered.

I was half out of my mind.

But no one pointed out his condition. They were equally out of their minds. When You, who had been summoned, came running and opened his mouth wide and said that the man was the Emperor, the Badgers began to feel dizzy.

It’s absurd that a person just appears, let alone an emperor.

Just seeing the supposed emperor was too stimulating.

When Hildebert appeared in that situation, the humans couldn’t take their eyes off the white-haired man.

I’ve been talking about Hildebert throughout the mission anyway.

Originally, Hildebert was supposed to be included in this mission as well. However, his condition did not improve, so they inevitably went on the mission alone.

I didn’t tell Hildebert, for fear of making him feel deprived or frustrated.

A mission to return to the place where Shu Diamond was kidnapped, obtain a sample of the flower, and return.

The flowers had dried up and died, but only the creatures remained, so he returned suffering without any gain.

Anyway, they talked about Hilde throughout the mission.

On the way back, we continued to talk about Hilde’s condition and what might have been different if she had come.

Who would have thought that when you pass through the portal, someone called the Emperor would suddenly pop out?

Moreover, they heard from You that ‘Hildebert was the commander of the knights who protected the imperial family.’

The scribe said that Hildebert assisted the emperor more closely than anyone else.

A knight who stood silently behind the Emperor whenever necessary.

So, I couldn’t take my eyes off Hildebert when he faced the emperor.

“Let me go in and check.”

But Hildebert wasn’t as shaken up as they thought.

Although he was surprised, he quickly regained his composure. The white-haired man readily agreed with the commander-in-chief’s order to do his best to keep his opponent calm.

Then he changed his clothes and came back.

Hildebert returned to the control room with a clear, clinking sound.

Given the circumstances, no one commented on the outfit.

However, everyone understood why Ami was holding her breath.

Hildebert, who returned wearing the knight commander’s attire, was dazzling.

It was not a metaphor. In reality, he alone seemed to glow faintly in the darkness. His shiny silver armor blended seamlessly with his white hair.

The white garment he wore beneath his armor was embroidered with gold embroidery that seemed to match the color of his eyes. Several delicate gold leaves.

The earring on the man’s ear, which seemed to have no way of hanging anything, was also the same color as his eyes.

A golden earring dangling from the white hair.

The gold mixed in here and there with the white showed off its presence.

But the Badgers were more bewildered by the completely different aura of their opponent than by the flashy appearance of the youngest member who walked around plainly.

The usual relaxed atmosphere was nowhere to be found.

Eyes that don’t show even a single gap to stab.

A person who is clothed in authority that is not usually seen.

The seniors did not say a word to Hildebert until the inspector, with his heavy presence, left the control room.

It was only after he left that I came to my senses.

“What is the chain of command?”

Walker stood in the darkness and murmured ominously.

“If that man is the real emperor, wouldn’t there be someone who can give orders to Hildebert?”

“The empire is gone, but you are still the emperor?”

Sophia Carlock muttered, crossing her arms.

“There is no need to treat me like an emperor now.”

“That’s right. There is no country, no royal seal, and no throne to support the emperor’s authority.”

“But bloodlines are eternal.”

The badgers’ heads turned at You’s muttering.

The man who had interrupted the conversation wasn’t looking at them. He was still half-dead and waiting for Hildebert to appear on the screen.

Black hair that falls past her shoulders and eyes filled with clarity.

The bookseller touched his chin as he stared at the screen.

“The authority he was born with, the achievements he made.”

“I heard that you have lived on Earth for nearly a century. Isn’t it time to abandon your caste-based mindset?”

Assistant Gilbert suddenly opened his mouth.

“All men are created equal.”

“I won’t refute that, but the royal family definitely has something different about them.”

Youga stood under the screen light and answered.

“And everyone here, including Hildebert, has sworn allegiance to the Emperor.”

Silence came.

Delte and Kairos did not spit on Youu’s words.

A few of the Badgers turn their heads to look at the Titans. They have been strangely quiet since they saw the Emperor.

Ami looked at her subordinate, but the subordinate, who had his head up, seemed to have no intention of looking away.

A servant looking at the emperor with an incomprehensible face.

“ah.”

A small sound fell from Deltey’s mouth.

Everyone’s heads simultaneously turned to the screen.

Hildebert appears on the screen.

An overwhelming silence descended upon the control room. People watched the man walk into the portal zone, holding their breath.

The faint creaking sound of armor.

A silver outfit that reflects light.

Hildebert took a couple of steps in and stopped in his tracks.

A silence that could explode.

Dozens of cameras, with no blind spots, captured the faces of Hildebert and the man who resembled the emperor.

Golden eyes that seemed to shine and white hair that fell over a gleaming uniform.

Neatly-groomed golden hair and bright, sparkling sky blue eyes.

It was the emperor who broke the awkward silence.

A faint smile spread across the face of the man who seemed emotionless.

The blue eyes contain the golden eyes of a knight.

“Hildebert.”

A soft but rich voice resonated.

“My sword.”

***

The reason I didn’t kneel down on the spot was because he was too far away.

It was also because I knew of Jaeyeon’s creepy mimicry skills.

When Jae-yeon transformed into something, he forgot about Ah. He even forgot that he was himself and transformed into the object he wanted to become. Only fragments of Jae-yeon’s identity remained.

Such abilities gnawed at the spirit of reenactment.

But Colton was the only one who could wake me up from that state of loss, so in reality, it wouldn’t change anything if I were to doubt him now.

Just thinking about it helped me pull myself together.

The moment the portal zone door opened, my sinking heart calmed down.

“your majesty.”

I called my lord.

The exact same face in my memories.

The last time I saw him. When I faced him, heavy emotions and memories poured out and I felt dizzy. My brain and heart felt like they were going to burst. It was as if someone had cut out the past and placed it right before my eyes.

But all those feelings and thoughts were calmly collected and did not explode for the exact same reason that triggered their outburst.

Is this you?

I wanted to shout that.

If that’s true, why did you come only now?

What happened after the Dimensional Traveler activated?

What about those who remained?

What about the Crown Prince, the Princess, and the Archduke Jacques?

A dragon appeared, breaking the pillars of a building that boasted of its sturdiness like reed stems… .

Kisses.

Those I could not save.

The knight who made the most foolish choice, choosing to stay behind instead of saving me.

The knight with purple eyes’ last words rang in my head.

‘I’m sorry for carrying such a heavy burden on you.’

The sensation of my body and heart that had been falling apart came back to life.

‘But you will make the right decision, my little sunflower.’

“your majesty.”

I barely regained my composure.

I called him while keeping my distance.

A fire that is only lit where the emperor is.

They turned off the lights throughout the vast portal zone to make it look like they were conducting an inspection, which created an eerie effect where it seemed as if a spotlight was shining down on the Emperor.

I looked at the person who raised his head slightly as if to tell me to speak.

“I’m sorry for keeping you waiting for so long.”

“You must have been waiting for a long time.”

The man spoke in a voice that sounded like he had just woken up from sleep.

A voice I know well.

A familiar tone.

“I’m sorry for making you wait so long.”

“The body is….”

“There’s no problem for now.”

He looked down at his hands and answered.

“Except for the fact that I have almost no magic left. And if you exclude the illness that hadn’t fully healed by the time I drew the dimension travel, then I’m in embarrassingly good shape.”

“What is there to be ashamed of?”

“I handed everything over to my youngest son.”

My heart sank at the man’s indifferent remark.

I tried my best not to shake my hands.

If the person in front of me was the real emperor, he would have pretended not to know about my futile efforts.

In fact, the man standing in the middle of the portal zone continued talking as if he had not noticed the singularity.

“I’m the only one who came out.”

“…your majesty.”

At this point I had to ask.

What happened?

If it were me in the past, I would have checked those things before approaching him, kneeling down, and kissing him.

Although he was still a person whose mind was unknown, I stayed by his side for quite some time.

I knew that this level of disloyalty would be forgiven.

“How did you get here?”

“You must know the amount of magic a dragon possesses.”

The Emperor understood my question exactly.

“It completed the mission and reactivated the dimensional movement that was fading away. However, it wasn’t perfect because it was unintentionally activated during the duel with Kisis.”

My heart, which had barely calmed down, started beating again.

“We were all swept up in that imperfect dimensional shift. I wasn’t in a state where I could clearly perceive the situation. My last memory was the entire place collapsing inward and everything being sucked into the shift.”

ah.

“Then Archduke Jacques and Lord Kissis… .”

“I was sucked into the Dimensional Movement. After that, it was dark, and when I regained my memory, I was standing here. I don’t know the life or death of the others. Did they get chewed up by the Dimensional Movement, fly to another dimension, or arrive here late like me?”

The emperor who said so raised his head and looked at me.

A sharp gaze pierced through me.

“But judging by your expression, it seems none of those who were swallowed up by the dimensional movement have reached here.”

I was out of breath.

Only after forcefully swallowing what was blocking my prayer did my voice come out.

“yes.”

Was it hope that took my breath away or despair disguised as hope?

“I’m sorry.”

“You still have the habit of apologizing for things that don’t need apologizing.”

The emperor showed a faint smile.

Then he held out his right hand to me.

A hollow hand with a ring mark left on it.

“Now there is no place to kiss.”

I walked towards him.

Without hesitation, I closed the distance and stopped at a familiar distance. I knelt down on one knee before my master. After assuming a posture of submission, I held his hand and lowered my eyes.

Place a kiss of submission on his fingers.

I swore allegiance to him.

“His Majesty the Emperor.”

He said with his eyes downcast.

“My lord.”