Children of the Holy Emperor - Chapter 377



Only Noblemtl

377. Mores Exploration Journal (5)

That morning.

Before becoming a model for a full-fledged portrait, Owen briefly discussed the composition and the painting with Amelia.

Then he received an unexpected request from the painter.

“You want to draw some magpie feather decorations?”

“Yes, Your Majesty. I was very impressed by the ceremony you held the other day.”

The exotic decorations not commonly seen in Delcross seemed to have inspired this talented artist with something powerful.

‘Mores was so harassed for being dirty… … .’

When Owen nodded bewilderedly, the young painter bowed his head with a bright face.

“Thank you, Your Majesty! Now just leave it to me! The majestic appearance that day, the halo that shone softly behind Your Majesty! I will show you everything without leaving anything out!”

It’s good to be motivated, but what? A halo?

‘My friend, the painter, doesn’t seem to have a good eye for it. Is it okay to leave it to him like this?’

As Owen looked dumbfounded, Amelia, who was standing next to him, added with a proud smile.

“Good idea. Let’s make the feathers all gold, and add a nice cape that blows in the wind along with long hair. It’ll be great!”

“That’s a bit… … .”

Isn’t that too much of a stretch? Was that really Amelia’s taste?

Owen wanted to dissuade her, but when he saw her sparkling eyes, he couldn’t bring himself to open his mouth. Perhaps the image of the finished portrait was already lingering before Amelia’s eyes.

“It will be even grander than the portrait of Remus the Great, who was called the full-body. It will definitely be a wonderful painting, brother.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

Owen had no choice but to nod.

“But is that okay? That guy is a painter hired by Mores. Mores seemed to really like the cormorant feathers. If he draws them without permission, won’t he get scolded later?”

Then Amelia looked up at him with her eyes wide open.

“Huh? Why would Mores do that? Oh, because it’s chicken feathers? That’s just a joke he makes. It was Mores who first suggested drawing feathers.”

“But you say I’m messy… … .”

“Well, they were a bit dusty after the long journey. I’m sure Mores’s personal maid has cleaned them by now.”

“… … .”

“Brother.”

As if sensing something in Owen’s expression, Amelia gently took his hand.

“It’s not messy. Each and every one of those feathers is a precious record. They are proof of my brother’s hard work on the Southern Front. How could Mores dare mess with them?”

Owen was half-believing and half-doubting what he heard, but there was no doubt in Amelia’s gaze as she stared straight at him.

“Perhaps Mores is a little worried about his brother. Ironically, some of the high priests are raising their voices saying that it is not right for the prince of the Holy Empire to follow the barbaric customs of the pagans.”

“… … .”

“Aren’t they the ones who have been anxious about finding fault with their older brother since before? So Mores probably wants to show them a more friendly and proper appearance for a while so that they can reduce their unnecessary resentment even a little.”

“…Amelia.”

At this point, Owen couldn’t help but ask her.

“How can you be so positive about Mores’ intentions? Even if he has lost his memory. Don’t you remember every single thing about how Mores treated us back then?”

“Brother… … .”

Owen was originally a simple-minded person and didn’t bother with useless things.

That’s why I’ve been ignoring the contemptuous gazes of others since before. I thought it was a natural restraint that a prince who suddenly came rolling in would receive. If I were to ask them out loud, my reputation would only get worse.

Then, all you had to do was pretend you didn’t hear it and ignore it. After some time, and if you showed yourself properly, wouldn’t the problem eventually subside naturally?

‘but…….’

Strangely enough, I could never let it go with Mores. They just got angry like children, raised their voices, and fought each other.

But that’s not all. Aren’t there still uncomfortable feelings that can’t be resolved with that alone, lumped up in your heart even after so many years?

It wasn’t like myself at all, so I was confused.

‘What do I want to do now? Did I say something unnecessary to Amelia? Why bother bringing up such trivial things from the past now? … .’

Now, he couldn’t quite understand what he wanted from Mores.

“Yeah. I see.”

Amelia, who had been silent for a moment, slowly nodded.

Her gray eyes, which looked just like Mores’s in the painting, met Owen’s with deep understanding. It was a mysterious gaze that seemed to see through the essence of everything.

“Do you really want to reconcile with that girl, brother?”

“… … !”

“If it had been someone else’s business, my brother probably wouldn’t have had such worries. If it hadn’t been for that kid in the first place, the past events wouldn’t have left scars on his heart.”

Owen’s younger sister, who had been unusually smart for her age, not only understood Owen’s feelings well, but also accurately pointed out his inner thoughts that he didn’t even know he had.

“You can pretend to cover it up and do well, but my brother thinks that’s not enough. Maybe that’s not true. He always wants to be sincere to his family.”

“I, I… … .”

“Yeah. That’s why I’m thinking that I want to face that kid properly right now and let go of all the pent-up feelings in my heart.”

Amelia’s eyes looking up at him were filled with affection and trust.

“Thank you for not giving up on Mores and still being so sincere to him. My brother is truly a kind person.”

* * *

To others, it seemed like he was just resting and doing nothing, but in fact, Sungjin was struggling and trying various things on his own.

The horrors of Gehenna.

It wasn’t the kind of fire that could be extinguished just like that. It wasn’t something that could be just shaken off somewhere.

then-

‘There is no other way. I must control it according to my will!’

The reason why Seonghwang, who always comes running whenever he suffers from a high fever, leaves the last spark unextinguished.

Seongjin instinctively understood this without having to hear a separate explanation from him. So whenever he came to his senses for a moment, he tried his best to control the aura in his danjeon that was left in the speck of dust.

‘this……!’

But the results weren’t all that great. If you touch the danjeon clumsily, the interval between the fevers will only get shorter, and you’ll end up losing consciousness again.

Before I knew it, a month had passed by in a flash.

I wasn’t sure if the fires of Gehenna could be controlled. I just had a vague feeling that it was not far away.

But there was no other way for Sungjin. He could only cling to that one thread of hope that he would be able to get his Aura back someday, that everything would work out in the end.

‘Hey! Tell me, Demon King! Isn’t this the flame you used before? How on earth do you control it?’

When Sungjin, who was feeling frustrated, asked this question, the Demon King simply sobbed without answering.

What the hell is wrong with this guy? I don’t know how to appease him. I’m sick of eating bear meat soup all the time!

To tell the truth, bear meat wasn’t really Seongjin’s taste, but there was nothing else he could do for a guy who was so stuck in a salt crystal.

The good news is that every time you share your taste buds, the Demon King stops sobbing and focuses on the sensation.

‘I can’t give up bear meat… … .’

There was another thing that was bothering him while he was having such a headache. It was Owen, the bastard who would come to the treatment room out of the blue and scream at him to take the medicine.

Contrary to expectations that his face would be awkward when seen in person, he didn’t look any different from how he looked in the Pangea Chronicles. What’s more, he was quite the pushover in real life.

‘Is that guy crazy?’

Although he didn’t show it outwardly, when he first saw the thing the guy took out as a cure, Sungjin was inwardly very shocked.

That cure was the very thing that Owen had brought back with him when he went to meet the goddess Justitia!

‘This crazy guy! How on earth did you get that item, and why are you handing it over like this? It’s an essential item for some important quest?’

What’s worse, the cure Owen offered was of no use to him.

Seongjin knew that instinctively, but unfortunately, it was extremely difficult to properly explain it to him. He had no basis other than his own intuition.

“No, what I’m saying is, at least try it out to see if it works!”

Look, this clueless guy ends up like this.

“But there is still that one possibility!”

Seongjin really felt uneasy watching the guy who was crying so loudly without even paying his rent.

‘No, you idiot. The possibility is secondary.’

Is this kid in his right mind telling you to try out that precious item? If you do that and it just evaporates into thin air without any results, how are you going to deal with the aftermath?

Seongjin, annoyed, turned his head away and replied bluntly.

“Yeah. No. And that looks really bad.”

So put it away. I will never eat it.

“Kwaaah!”

When Owen finally grabbed the back of his neck and fell, Sungjin looked at him and furrowed his brow.

So, instead of wasting your time here, why don’t you find something more productive to do for yourself while you’re in the Zodiac? You idiot!

Then one afternoon.

Owen, who appeared with a slightly different expression than usual, pulled the armchair next to the bed and plopped down on it as usual.

Then, without answering, he started glancing at Seongjin.

‘What is this guy doing?’

Seongjin, who couldn’t stand the awkward atmosphere, asked Owen first.

“What? Are you here to force me to take medicine again?”

“… If I force you, do you plan on eating it someday?”

“no.”

At Sungjin’s firm answer, Owen sighed as if he had lost some of his energy.

“Yeah, well. I knew that. Just forget about it. It’s already out of my hands.”

For a moment, it seemed like Owen and Sir Martha exchanged a glance, but Sungjin’s mind was elsewhere.

‘Yeah. So you’re not recommending the treatment anymore?’

That’s a relief. I’ve been sweating bullets all this time from rejecting people.

Seongjin felt a little relieved and buried himself deep in the bed.

“hmm.”

Perhaps it was because of the recent nagging that Owen had taken off his old light armor and was wearing his proper Delcross attire. Of course, his long hair was still flowing and a couple of buttons were undone.

I glanced at the bright red landmark revealed through the gap in my shirt that was inadvertently opened, and Owen hurriedly buttoned up his shirt and made an excuse.

“Oh, my outfit isn’t that neat? Sorry. I’ve been paying attention to it lately, but I guess it’s been a while since I’ve worn clothes like this, so I feel stuffy.”

I didn’t really intend to point out the outfit. Well, at least they plucked out all the dirty chicken feathers.

But seeing as he was being overly cautious, it seemed like Owen was still keeping in mind what Sungjin had pointed out a while ago.

“…I told Edith to trim the chicken feathers. You can get them when you come over later.”

Then, as if he had heard something unexpected, Owen stared at Seongjin for a while with wide eyes.

“you…….”

“What. Why, what.”

“No. Amelia was right… … .”

“huh?”

“Well, so you’ve really changed a lot, haven’t you?”

Seongjin frowned for a moment.

‘What is this guy trying to do all of a sudden?’

But perhaps because he was completely free from the pressure of having to refuse the treatment, Sungjin’s heart was more generous than ever.

“Well, I’m sorry if I’ve been too harsh on you so far. I’m sure you know how to do it, but I think I may have been a bit too harsh.”

“…ok?”

“Let’s see. While we’re at it, let’s think about if there’s anything else I should be sorry about. First of all, I heard that you and I fought a lot in the past, and I’m sorry that I don’t remember what I did wrong.”

“What?!”

Knock knock!

Owen jumped back in his chair in surprise. His face was so hideous, as if he had seen a ghost, that Sungjin began to feel a little offended.

‘No, this kid! Even if the person apologizes!’

But as they say, you have to pull out the bull’s horn at once. Seongjin, who somehow couldn’t shake the feeling that the right timing had come, continued to speak, holding back the bitter words that were about to burst out at any moment.

“Well, if there’s anything that’s been upsetting you, tell me everything. I’ll listen first.”

“… … .”

It was just then.

Owen’s expression seemed to soften, and soon he burst into the same mischievous laughter we’ve seen in the Pangea Chronicles!

“Haha. It wasn’t like you or I fought over something special. I don’t remember the details either. It’s all in the past anyway.”

That was Owen’s true heart.

As Carrie said before, all those pasts suddenly felt like nothing more than childish fights.

Just as the eternal snow piled up high can easily crumble with just a little vibration, it seemed that the tangled mass of emotions could melt away like snow with just a little trigger.

“Hahahaha!”

Owen’s cheerful laughter echoes throughout the treatment room.

“… … ?”

Sungjin and Masain looked at each other in confusion, but Owen paid no attention to their gazes and continued to laugh heartily for a long time.