Children of the Holy Emperor - Chapter 373



Only Noblemtl

373. Mores’s Exploration Journal (1)

Owen still vividly remembers the day he first met Mores.

A chubby child with a guilty look on his face, glaring at him with cold gray eyes.

-What is this?

Ironically, Mores was perhaps the most royal person Owen had ever met.

There must be something strange about the other Sunghwangga people treating a random country bumpkin who suddenly appeared like real family.

-Owen Lockwood. He came back from the dead, and he crawled all the way here.

Even after he had fully entered the Sung Hwang family, Mores stubbornly continued to call him ‘Rockwood’.

Thinking back now, it was a strange thing.

How on earth did he know his real last name? Owen had never mentioned it to him.

-Remember this, you idiot! I will never call you ‘brother’ again. A brat like you wouldn’t dare expect such treatment from me, would you?

The cold words Mores spits out every time you meet him.

By this point, even Owen, who was unfamiliar with the culture of the Imperial nobility, could understand.

That guy Mores, he really is a piece of shit.

* * *

That’s what it was like… … .

‘That guy Mores, isn’t he surprisingly good at interpersonal relationships?’

Owen had been thinking about that recently.

As I observed the boy by visiting the main palace every day, more people than I expected came to the temporary treatment room, worried about the sick Third Prince.

That tough-looking knight from the Royal Guard was a prime example.

“Your Majesty, how are you feeling today?”

“Very good, Sir Maria. Your father is treating you well. By the way, he said you don’t have to come here every time.”

“No. It is the duty of our resident knights to escort the lowly.”

“There are knights in the royal guard at the main palace, right? Think of it as a paid vacation, and train at the training ground. Don’t worry about me.”

Mores was as blunt as ever when dealing with the knight who had finally come to him. At least that was how Owen saw it.

“What kind of useless waste of manpower is this? And since Kyung, the most senior of the three, keeps coming to see me, aren’t the other resident knights also restless and following Kyung around the main palace?”

But in response to Mores’s reply, the knight smiled brightly.

“Thank you for worrying about our resident knights’ situation while they were sick. We were also very worried about you.”

“… No, what.”

Owen couldn’t understand her at all. How on earth could she possibly take that guy Mores’s words like that?

“Your Majesty. As you said before, I have compiled a list of new restaurants.”

The freckled knight is also a face Owen has seen often lately. She is particularly memorable, as her still young face is filled with an unmistakable affection and loyalty for the Third Prince.

“I heard that the Anatolian dessert shop that opened recently is particularly popular. I went there yesterday, and it is just as good as the best Brittany patisseries.”

“Um, a dessert shop?”

Mores furrowed his eyebrows slightly. It was a clear difference in temperature compared to the cheerfully speaking knight.

“Desserts aren’t that interesting, Sir Claudia. Do you happen to have anything that could be a meal?”

But the knight had a smile on his face, as if he was so happy about something.

“Probably. If not, just ask them to make a new menu! Hehe, let’s see if they do take-out, too.”

There was another young knight who came to visit her with similar frequency. Perhaps because of the large scar on his forehead, he seemed to have a somewhat dirty personality.

He, with an awkward expression on his face, asks Mores a question while hesitantly answering.

“As Your Majesty said… I have been training under the captain every day recently. How is my brightness now? Are there any noticeable changes?”

Even though he didn’t seem like a very social person, he seemed to have quite a bit of courage in asking.

But when Mores heard that, he openly rebuked him.

“What kind of nonsense are you talking about, Sir Carmen? What does Aura training have to do with brightness? You must have been training too hard lately. Why are you talking like that?”

“Yes? Mr. Woo! But clearly Your Majesty… …!”

“What? Mr. W? Mr. W? You, stay there for a moment. Where did Edith go? She was definitely here just now… … .”

“Huh! No! I will go and practice now, Your Majesty!”

“Why? I’ll give you a cup of tea. Drink it slowly and then leave.”

“It’s okay! I made a mistake!”

A young man with a sharp mind stands up straight and sweats profusely.

Mores continued to nag at him as if he were some kind of old-fashioned senior knight.

“Yes, you should work harder. If you’re going to talk about the brightness of your aura, you should at least be able to emit a steady amount of external energy.”

“But before… … .”

“What before?”

“… … .”

“What? Why? What?”

“… It’s nothing.”

The young knight left the makeshift treatment room with a very bewildered look on his face.

He really was a strange person, coming and going from here so frequently while blushing like that.

“But you.”

Suddenly, Mores turned his gaze towards Owen, and Owen, who had been resting his chin on his hand in a daze, raised his head in surprise.

“huh?”

“Don’t you have anything to do? Since you’ve been back for so long, you should go out to various social gatherings and think about solidifying your position in the zodiac. Why are you just lying around here all day?”

It was only then that Owen suddenly realized.

If you think about it, you too were one of those people who went in and out of the temporary treatment room every day without hearing good things!

“ah…….”

Owen was momentarily shocked, but then remembered his purpose and took the golden elixir out of his pocket.

The reason he has been visiting the main palace every day recently is because he wants to feed Mores the ultimate elixir.

“Now, Mores. Look at this. This golden, splendid potion. Doesn’t it look as sweet as honey?”

“… That story again?”

The boy looked completely fed up.

“No. I told you I don’t want to eat it.”

“I told you this is really good. I worked hard to get it. Just one bite, just one bite… No, can’t I just have a taste?”

“If it’s that good, you should eat it all.”

“Oh, really… … !”

I don’t know how many days it’s been since I’ve been here in vain.

At this point, it would have been worth lending an ear to his sincerity, but the stubborn guy, Mores, was completely unmoved.

‘There really is no hope if things continue like this!’

Should I just feed it to him secretly? Owen hesitated for a moment.

But no matter how good the medicine is, if you give it to someone without their consent, how is that any different from attempted poisoning?

In addition, there was the problem of Marsain Kyung, who never left Mores’ side. He was a former knight commander who was rumored to soon become a Dekaron Knight.

Even though Owen is currently being hailed as a hero of the Southern Front, it would be next to impossible for the human to secretly mix the elixir into Mores’ meal.

“… … .”

Look at it now.

Sir Marsain was staring at the elixir in Owen’s hand with an expression that was somehow inscrutable. It seemed that he was suspicious of the source of the elixir.

‘In the end, it means that we have no choice but to persuade Mores himself.’

By the way, why do you hate this so much? This is the ultimate elixir. It’s an invincible recovery item that blows away all status effects and even death penalties!

“Oh, this is really good! I don’t know how to express it!”

As Owen, feeling frustrated, pounded his chest, Mores looked at him in bewilderment.

“… Are you an idiot?”

While they were bickering, one of the palace servants brought Mores a late lunch.

Owen looked into the tray curiously and saw that it contained a thin soup with a strange aroma.

“Is this tasty? It smells a bit strong for patient food.”

When I asked because it didn’t look very appetizing, I received a surprisingly docile answer.

“That’s because it has bear meat in it. Once you get used to it, it’s edible.”

“Oh, I see.”

Owen looked at Mores with a slightly curious expression.

Even though he looks obviously annoyed, seeing him respond to my questions somehow makes me think that something has definitely changed.

‘It’s amazing. I can live so peacefully with this guy.’

So, I guess I’ll just keep talking to you.

“By the way, bear meat? Mores, do you like that kind of thing? You used to eat only sweets every day.”

“What nonsense are you talking about? Of course I eat it because I like it.”

“Really? But why do you make such a face when you eat?”

Owen asked, hesitantly.

Do you really like it? I’m forcing myself to swallow it, but somehow it looks like I’m feeling very uncomfortable.

‘Besides, I feel like I have less energy than before… … .’

That’s when I thought about it.

Chaenggrang!

The spoon crashed to the floor with a loud crash. It wasn’t Mores who had thrown it, but rather the spoon had simply slipped from his weak hands.

“lowering!”

“Mores!?”

The two were terrified as they watched Mores staggering while sitting, but the Holy Emperor came running from the office and poured powerful divine power directly onto the boy.

Paaaaaaa-

The makeshift treatment room is instantly engulfed in bright light.

“Mores, are you okay?”

After a while.

At Seonghwang’s worried question, the boy who had been out of breath until just a moment ago opened his eyes wide and pretended to know happily.

“… Oh, Father. Are you here?”

Then, soon, his face becomes normal, and he clicks his tongue while looking at the messy floor.

“Oh, that precious bear meat soup… … .”

As I looked at that peaceful appearance, I couldn’t help but feel upset! My stomach turned inside out.

“Mores, you bastard!”

Owen found himself yelling at the boy without realizing it. It was something he would never have imagined doing in his old days.

“Is soup the problem in this situation? Don’t just pretend to be okay and eat it, but if you’re sick, say so in advance! If you do that, what will happen to the people around you! Huh?”

“Hmm? But it didn’t hurt much earlier.”

“Ah, this bastard… …!”

Kkaaaah-!

As Owen felt his blood pressure rising rapidly and grabbed the back of his neck, the Holy Emperor approached him as if he knew something and quietly poured his divine power into him. He seemed calm as if this wasn’t the first or second time this had happened.

Hwaaaa-

The divine power felt strangely familiar, and the Holy Emperor poured out his divine power towards the Masain Kyung who was beside him.

Then, Sir Marsain bowed his head politely and expressed his gratitude.

“Thank you, Your Majesty. Thanks to you, my chronic gastritis has improved significantly recently.”

Owen had a feeling he knew something.

How much mental anguish must Mores have caused for such a powerful Aura user, who is at the level of a high-level knight, to develop chronic gastritis?

* * *

Owen, who had failed to feed the elixir to Mores again today, left the temporary treatment room with a slightly complicated feeling.

But just as he was about to leave the lobby of the main palace.

“Eww! Save me!”

A familiar scream was heard from afar. It was the scream of the Varsha minority tribe, a scream that was not often heard in the zodiac.

“When on earth are you coming back, Owen!”

Oh, Bartoza. I forgot about that guy.

Owen clicked his tongue and turned toward the sound.

Eventually, the cowardly Bartoja, who had caught the eye of Wakana Tousai, suffered from extreme fear as soon as the Great Tribal Council was over.

So she grabbed Owen’s trouser leg and clung to him desperately, begging him to take her with him on his way back to the zodiac.

This was the result.

He, who had been following Owen around restlessly every day, was now screaming in the palace courtyard after being crushed by a giant wolf.

“Look at this, Owen! The chief of Delcross is raising such a monstrous monster!”

A monster? It’s a bit big, but it’s just a normal wolf.

As Owen approached them, the wolf that had been happily playing with Bartoza lifted its head and sniffed Owen.

Sniff sniff!

Then, something unexpected happened. The wolf suddenly lifted its snout and began to howl mournfully into the air.

Awww-!

I couldn’t understand English at all.

“Oh! Owen! Purma’s old friend!”

In the meantime, Bartoza ran away in a panic and hid behind Owen. It seemed like only yesterday that he had come to seek revenge on the Purma tribe, but the more I watched him, the quicker he was at changing his stance.

Aww-! Squeak! Squeak!

“Owen! Please, do something about that monster!”

In front, a wolf is howling loudly, and behind, an annoying Bartoza is clinging to you, trembling.

Owen scratched his head in embarrassment.

“Why is there a wolf roaming around the palace courtyard? Isn’t it dangerous?”

Seeing the knights of the palace guards leaving it alone, I wonder if it is something that someone in the palace is raising.

I held out my hand, hesitantly, and as if by magic, the wolf stopped howling and came closer.

Then he sticks his nose into Owen’s hand and sniffs again. Despite his fierce appearance, he doesn’t seem to be aggressive towards people.

“Huh? That’s strange. Max isn’t the type of guy who would be so friendly to someone he just met.”

At that moment, a maid carrying a large dog food bowl approached and opened her mouth. She was Mores’s personal maid, whom Owen also knew.

“Perhaps I smelled Prince Mores from the lower ranks.”

“The smell of Mores?”

“Yes, Your Majesty. This wolf-dog is the dog raised by Your Majesty Mores.”

“okay?”

As he stroked the back of its neck, the wolf-dog did not avoid his touch and stared at Owen’s face with his amber eyes.

There was no sign of tail-wagging or petting. It was more like a noble attitude, as if the dog was just tolerating this much out of consideration for its friendship with its owner.

‘Now that I think about it, he kind of resembles that guy Mores… … .’

Click.

As Edith placed the food bowl on the floor, the wolf-dog took Owen’s hand away and began to eat leisurely. He was a really strange dog.

“Hey, he’s not an easy guy.”

“Yes, Max really knows how to make fun of people. Even me, Barshain, is like that. If I show even the slightest sign of clumsiness, I’ll be treated like Max’s toy in an instant.”

???.

While waiting for the dog’s meal to finish, Edith told Owen the story.

“His Majesty Mores instructed me to keep Max away from him for a while. Since then, Max has been coming to the palace courtyard and crying while looking for His Majesty.”

I never imagined that Mores would raise a dog. Judging by the way he desperately searches for his owner, he must have been very cute.

“But why are you separating the dog? Even though he’s in the hospital bed, everyone comes to visit Mores.”

“I heard it’s because Max is extremely sensitive to the aura of decline. So you’re probably worried that he’ll be affected by it and get sick.”

“Are you sensitive to aura?”

Owen’s eyes widened at the unexpected answer. But the maid’s subsequent explanation was even more absurd.

“Yes, my lord. I heard that Max uses Mores’ aura to transform greatly?”

“Transformation… what… … ?”

I can’t understand what you’re saying even after hearing it.

While Owen was dumbfounded, Edith added her explanation with an even more serious expression on her face.

“Yes, my lord. I will transform. This dog is none other than the divine beast of the gods, [Wind], praised by the world.”

… Huh?