Children of the Holy Emperor - Chapter 389



Only Noblemtl

389. Collision (6)

A heavy silence descends upon the heads of the cardinals.

Dismissed? The savior of Sigismund who returned with the Knight of Grace? The hero of Bathurst who made the most brilliant contribution in defeating the giant demon species?

Above all, what about the son whom the King took such great care of, even putting off state affairs?

“… That’s not right.”

After a while, it was Cardinal Kaplan who broke the silence and spoke. His dignified and refined appearance made him seem more like a high-ranking nobleman than a priest.

“There must be clear grounds for the dismissal of a paladin. As stated in the holy law, he must have serious disqualifications such as summoning demons or worshipping demons.”

“There’s a magical energy that he exudes! If that’s not the definitive evidence of devil worship, then what is?”

“Just because we sensed an ‘unfamiliar aura’ from Prince Mores, we cannot discuss his dismissal without any clear evidence. Perhaps some of the erosion may have remained as an aftereffect of forcing ourselves to fight the giant demon species.”

Cardinal Capran showed caution by not even carelessly using the word ‘Magi’. Unlike Cardinal Benitus who was known for his foul language and wild temper, he was always polite and respectful to members of the royal family.

“Besides, if Prince Mores had really committed such a crime, would His Majesty the Holy Emperor have protected him to such an extent?”

Perhaps it is not because he truly respects Prince Mores. He simply knows from experience that his position can be destroyed at any moment by the Emperor’s slightest gesture.

So, in the absence of Seonghwang, he had no choice but to be more passive. Even though he had the golden opportunity to strike down his grandson’s rival at once.

“The millennial kingdom ruled by the Lord’s representative is a sacred land that cannot be invaded by anything evil. Even daring to have such doubts can be considered blasphemy, so we should not rashly assume that it is ‘magic’ without evidence.”

It was an attitude of pretending not to know something that was obvious, but Cardinal Kaplan’s point was also something that could not be overlooked. Cardinal Cesare, who was next to him, nodded.

“That’s true. Delcross is the kingdom of the gods established on the earth, and a great nation that all the countries of the continent look up to. But if it becomes known that the prince of the Seonghwang family was dismissed for that reason, what will happen to the reputation of our empire?”

For Cesare, who was desperate to keep the Orthodox Church and Archbishop Wesker in check, Prince Mores’ position was of no use. Therefore, as the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, he could not help but be concerned about the opinions of other countries.

At the cardinals’ passive attitude, Cardinal Benitus’ face suddenly distorted.

“No! Is that something you, the closest servants of the Lord, can say right now? That bastard is blatantly walking around the palace! And while His Majesty was away, he even set fire to the palace! And you think that saving face is more important to you right now?!”

Benitus was jumping around so fast that he looked like he might burst into flames at any moment.

But the cardinals’ reaction was not very satisfactory. Even Cardinal Digory, who was huddled in the corner, was sweating profusely and adding his words in a timid voice!

“In such an important matter, I should first seek His Majesty’s will. It seems that it would be best to wait until He comes out of the prayer room… .”

Digory was terrified. He had recently managed to get his grandson Kenneth out of the zodiac, citing insufficient evidence.

But if we frame Prince Mores again here, there is no guarantee that the sparks will fly to his grandson.

“Oh my, this is happening…! Are you truly not ashamed before the Lord!”

As Benitus, whose blood pressure was very high, staggered, holding the back of his neck, Cardinal Capran calmly responded to him.

“Calm down, Cardinal Benitus.”

“You are closing your eyes to the truth that is right before your eyes, but you are afraid of the consequences that will come! How can I be calm after seeing such deception?”

“I am not trying to deceive you, Your Majesty. I am simply telling you that everything must be done according to the law.”

Cardinal Kaplan’s blue eyes, staring at Benitus, sink deeply. They were the same intelligent eyes that he had passed on to Empress Tatiana and Prince Logan.

“If Prince Mores truly has an inescapable disqualification, then at least bring evidence that is convincing enough to convince His Majesty the Holy Emperor, the representative of the Lord. Otherwise, I, Kaplan, will no longer tolerate the reckless slander of him.”

“Ahem… … .”

At that moment, Cardinal Meyer, who had been silent until then, let out a sigh. On the surface, it seemed as if the author of Kaplan was openly opposing the prince’s dismissal, but-

‘I want concrete evidence.’

It wasn’t difficult to guess his intentions.

Kaplan is the person who contributed most to creating an atmosphere in which the current Emperor, who inherited the ill-fated blood of Kornsim, could ascend to the throne without any trouble.

In the end, he made his daughter the empress and spared no effort in supporting the punitive expedition so that his grandson could become famous throughout the continent. All of these actions ultimately lead to the path to the next emperor.

To him, Prince Mores would be an unexpected rival to his grandson. Recently, the 3rd Prince was quickly regaining his reputation among his subjects, even being praised as the ‘reincarnation of Saint Bastian’.

“…How about organizing it like this?”

When the head and most senior cardinal of the congregation finally opened his heavy mouth, the younger cardinals stopped arguing and listened quietly to his words.

“Prince Mores’s dismissal will be difficult right now.”

“But that’s… … !”

“Benitus.”

Cardinal Meyer silenced Benitus with a heavy gaze and continued speaking in a soft voice.

“But it might be possible to nullify his appointment as a Knight.”

What was the basis for Sir Leander’s dogmatic decision to have Prince Mores join the Knights of St. Terbachia? It was the undoubted power of [Destruction] that his record showed.

But what about now? Isn’t it a situation where the prince can barely control his own body, let alone lift a sword? There are even rumors that he has lost all of his aura.

“So let’s ask Prince Mores to prove his power of [Destruction] himself. If he can truly demonstrate his power in front of everyone, it will be a chance for everyone to see whether or not that power is in the realm of evil.”

“… But, but there’s no way it would just reveal its true identity… … !”

“Since he has not been able to demonstrate the military prowess that a paladin should possess, why don’t you politely ask him to step down?”

That was the softest solution Meyer could think of.

If it were a picture of the prince resigning voluntarily, rather than a dismissal conspired by cardinals, wouldn’t it be seen as a virtue of humility by other countries?

As a bonus, you won’t have to endure the full wrath of the Holy Spirit when he comes out of the prayer room later.

“Your Majesty. I wonder if that isn’t too mild of a response… … .”

Benitus still looked dissatisfied.

However, Cardinal Meyer could not just sit by and watch him blatantly cross the line. To him, Benitus was a precious junior priest who had been with him through life and death, just like Archbishop Wesker.

“Benitus.”

He pretended to be stern and gave a stern look.

“Please stop acting so rudely. I will not tolerate any more light-hearted treatment of official documents bearing the royal seal.”

“But Your Majesty! That’s just what Your Majesty always sends… …!”

“I hope you will carefully consider the reason why I send you the same official letter every time. Do you not know that this is the last mercy that Your Majesty is giving you? Please do not take this lightly. It is all advice for you.”

* * *

“Hey, you crazy bastard!”

The next morning.

Owen, who had come to the palace, was furious at Sungjin. It was the first time he had shown a seriously angry face, even though he had only laughed after getting hit hard in the game.

“Playing with fire? Playing with fire? Mores, are you a child? A brat who can’t tell right from wrong? What the hell is this?!”

“No, I mean it wasn’t a joke… … .”

“Shut up! Do you even realize what you did? You bit all those people and did that, and then you got caught in the fire, what would have happened? You haven’t even fully recovered yet!”

“… … .”

Oh my god. I can’t believe there came a day when I was pushed aside by this idiot.

As Sungjin shut his mouth in a daze, Owen became even more excited and started to jump around.

“Are you listening? Huh? You, do this one more time, I’ll just… …!”

“I, my lowly self!”

Sir Martha, who had been fidgeting beside him, could no longer stand it any longer and took Owen outside to calm him down.

“Your Majesty. Prince Mores has also reflected sufficiently. So please calm down now.”

“You’re being too soft on Mores! You have to tell that troublemaker straight! Hey! Do you understand? Remember! You’ll never do something stupid like that again… …!”

The screaming voice fades away down the hallway.

Oh, it’s noisy. It feels like a typhoon just swept through.

But unfortunately, that wasn’t the end.

“Mores!”

Amelia, who heard the news late, ran into the room with tears in her eyes.

“There’s a fire? Are you hurt anywhere? Oh, your aura activity is so weak! Don’t do this! Lie down right now!”

“Sister… … .”

Seongjin ended up having to hold onto Amelia and explain for a long time that her father had cured her of her illness yesterday.

“So does that mean your fever won’t go up anymore?”

“Yes, that’s right, Sister.”

“okay…….”

Then Amelia asked with an anxious expression.

“But why isn’t your aura activity recovering at all? It still feels like you’re in a lot of pain to me.”

“hmm.”

Seongjin closed his mouth with a slightly complicated expression.

The aura has clearly returned to Sungjin’s control. If he meditates and recovers his aura now, it will probably return to its previous state in less than half a day.

But Seongjin was currently being extremely cautious.

His aura is now fused with the fire of Gehenna. If it were activated, wouldn’t it perhaps emit a strong magical energy?

However, since the Holy Spirit is absent, there is no one to consult about this problem.

‘I don’t have any divine powers, so it’s not like I can sense magic.’

So, Sungjin was currently trying to keep the aura tied to his danjeon as much as possible.

I would like to try out the changed aura right now, but there is no other way to ensure safety.

“Mores… … .”

At that moment, Amelia’s clear eyes began to well up with tears again, as if she was thinking about something.

“Please don’t hide it and tell me exactly what’s wrong with you. Even if you’re sick, you try to hide it until the end because you’re afraid that others might worry. You’re a kind child.”

“no…….”

Seongjin couldn’t hide his bewildered feelings. What on earth does this older sister think of me?

But, with deep regret and sadness flashing in his eyes at the same time, Seongjin had no choice but to surrender.

‘Well, I guess it’s okay to show a little bit of aura, right? Since you can’t feel magic like me either.’

After confirming that there were no other people around besides Marsain and Owen, Sungjin carefully gathered the aura of his dantian into his fingertips. It was the technique of ‘spreading a small sword curtain’ that he had learned from Logan a while ago.

Activating the aura of your entire body is risky, but it would at least be possible to release some of the aura of your danjeon in a visible form.

“Okay. Look, Sister. My aura is fine.”

Hururuk.

Soon, the aura materialized at Sungjin’s fingertips, creating small flames. Unlike the original gray aura, it was an ominous aura mixed with dark red light.

“… … !”

Amelia’s eyes widen in shock.

Seongjin, who caught a glimpse of her, quickly continued speaking before she could be more surprised.

“It’s a bit strange, isn’t it? I think it’s the aftereffects of the fever. That’s why I’m being careful not to activate it until my father confirms that it’s okay.”

Blink.

At that moment, Amelia blinked her long eyelashes and shook off the remaining tears, muttering in a trembling voice:

“…black devil.”

“yes?”

String-

Why? Although he hadn’t expected such a reaction, Sungjin felt his heart strangely swell at Amelia’s words.

“No, Sister. If you say… you’re a devil all of a sudden… .”

The end of the words tremble slightly and become slurred on their own. The feeling of trying to speak clearly and clearly being colorless, as if one’s own voice somehow belongs to someone else, is awkward.

But her subsequent reaction was a little different from what Sungjin had expected. Amelia suddenly smiled brightly and grabbed Sungjin’s hand tightly.

“That’s right! That’s really fortunate, Mores!”

“…uh?”

When I met her gaze in bewilderment, Amelia’s eyes were suddenly filled with an indescribably intense emotion.

“Yeah. You finally got your aura back!”

“that…….”

“And didn’t it transform into something so wonderful? What a beautiful aura of light, rippling with life!”

…Is this lady serious?

Seongjin, who was dazed for a moment, soon felt a shock as if he had been hit hard on the back of the head.

‘That’s right! That’s right. I forgot about my sister’s taste in chuunibyou!’

So, to this person, wasn’t the word ‘devil’ just a compliment among compliments meaning that he was incredibly cool and awesome?

Seongjin felt a sudden release in his spirits and answered cautiously.

“Isn’t that a little… strange? I’ve never heard of a person’s aura being this color… … .”

But Amelia nodded, reassuring Seongjin instead.

“It’s okay, Mores!”

“Huh? What’s okay… … .”

“You don’t have to worry about your Auror. This is definitely the Auror you were meant to have someday!”

“… … ?”

What is that unfounded confidence?

But there was no hesitation in Amelia’s subsequent praise.

“Just wait and see. Soon, this beautiful aura will become a symbol of your strength. It will be an inescapable fear and disaster for your enemies, and an even stronger weapon and support for your allies.”

“uh…….”

“So don’t worry, Mores. Your aura isn’t strange at all.”

The affectionate gaze that returned gently was the same as before. Seongjin felt strangely relieved by this and eventually had no choice but to smile back at her.

“… Yes. I really hope that happens, Sister.”

It was sincere.

Lee Seong-jin, who had never prayed even once in his life, prayed deep in his heart that day for the first time that this wind would reach someone.