Children of the Holy Emperor - Chapter 409



Only Noblemtl

409. Head Tower (7)

Time passed like that day by day, and the day when Seongjin had to leave Hwangdo arrived.

But even though the morning of departure dawned bright, the air in Jinju Palace was as calm as usual.

‘Is it because I went there once before? I feel like everyone is like that on business trips this time.’

It seemed that only Sungjin felt a strange sense of excitement, both anticipation and anxiety. He tried hard to ignore the uneasy feeling and thought.

‘Yeah. I’m not going to Oji, so what could go wrong? I’ll finish quickly and come back right away!’

In the meantime, Seongjin had another audience with Seonghwang. Of course, because of the previous experience, Seongjin tried his best to reassure Seonghwang during the conversation.

“This time, it’ll be really easy. As I told you before, I’ve got some good information about Giacomo Milo’s hideout. If we can just successfully infiltrate, we’ll be able to capture him in no time.”

“infiltration.”

When Seong-Hwang pointed out the word that bothered him, Seong-Jin rolled his eyes in a slightly embarrassed manner.

“Uh, infiltration… Yeah, that’s what it is… … .”

“… … .”

“Just… a little trick… that’s what I meant! Even if we just go there with a bunch of knights, they won’t hand over Giacomo Milo’s new recruits just like that.”

Seongjin, who had said that, closed his eyes tightly.

Era, I don’t know. Let’s just get it straight!

Wouldn’t it be better to say something in advance and get scolded than to cause an accident and get caught later and get scolded?

“It’s just a raid on one of their small sects. Of course, Lord Marsain won’t allow it, so it’s a bit of a problem to sneak out of the group and try to hide. But still, what’s the big deal? My informant, Dasha, will follow.”

“… … .”

“This is nothing, father. What’s more important is what comes next! Once we catch Giacomo Milo, we’ll try to get some northern native nobles on the way back. They’ve been interfering with our business in petty ways, and Branch Manager Schmidt seems to be having a real headache these days.”

“okay.”

Fortunately, the Emperor did not ask for any more detailed explanations about ‘infiltration’. Instead, he tilted his head and asked,

“The northern native forces are not that easy. I think your party is a bit too small to put pressure on them with full force.”

“hmm…….”

Seonghwang’s point was valid.

As for the members of the monster task force, right now there are only Seongjin and Sir Robert.

Even if there were five or six more resident knights, including Marsain and Captain Bruno, following them, it would be difficult to regard them as a proper armed force.

In a way, it was a smaller group than the first business trip I had with the Wolf Knights.

‘But considering the work that goes into being an exorcist, that’s an excessive number.’

This is a case where we have to sneak into the lower-level organizations of the Repentance Church when we have the chance. So, considering that it is the prince’s business trip, we have to keep the number of people to a minimum.

‘Besides, I think things will turn out somehow in the North… ‘

Of course, since it was a completely unfounded premonition, Seongjin had no choice but to say this to Seonghwang again.

“I will be careful not to provoke the Northern Powers rashly. I will never do anything as dangerous as before. Really.”

“… … .”

Judging from his blank gaze as he returned, Seonghwang didn’t seem to believe Seongjin’s words very much. However, his face looked surprisingly calm.

‘I thought you might be a little worried this time, since I sent Lord Sharon away with Logan and Sisley… … .’

It was truly unexpected.

Anyway, Seongjin continued to talk about small things and then said an early farewell to Seonghwang.

“Then I will be off, Father. There will be a government meeting that morning, so it will be difficult to come and greet you right before I leave. I have entrusted the delivery of your lunch to Lady Katrina, so please do not skip your meal while I am away.”

Then, the Seonghwang gave a subtle look for a moment, and instead of greeting, he left an incomprehensible request.

“Mores.”

“yes?”

“For you, who lacks divine powers, to work as an exorcist, the role of prepared exorcism tools will be more important than anything else. So, please make sure not to lose the things you bring with you.”

“… … ?”

Seongjin looked puzzled for a moment, but soon nodded obediently.

Yeah, well, of course the tools are important.

* * *

Finally, on the morning of departure.

As Sungjin came out after finishing his morning exercise with light meditation, Amelia, who had arrived early to see him off, approached him with a smile.

“Are you feeling okay? It hasn’t been long since you got out of bed, so please don’t overdo it and come back safely, Mores.”

Amelia has prepared a thoughtful gift for Seongjin this time too.

“Sister, what is this…?”

“Now you’re a full-fledged exorcist, aren’t you? I’ve prepared some exorcism tools to help you carry them around.”

What she carefully handed to Sungjin was a small bag with a sturdy belt. Made of black leather with ornate silver embroidery, it was a very luxurious-looking bag.

“… This embroidery wasn’t done by you, older sister?”

From the neat design of the main deity engraved in the center of the bag to the scriptures embroidered in beautiful cursive script.

‘This is definitely not my sister’s work.’

Seongjin felt a little relieved. If she had tried to do all of this by herself, there wouldn’t have been needle marks on her sister’s fingers by now.

Then Amelia responds with a bashful smile.

“Haha, did you get caught? I wanted to embroider it myself, but I thought that if I touched it, the beautiful bag would be ruined. But I wrote the text myself.”

As expected, our older sister is the best calligrapher in the Holy Empire!

Seongjin proudly put a few exorcism tools in front of Amelia and hung his bag on his waist.

Now that I’m equipped like this, I look like a pretty decent exorcist.

“It goes well with the Knights Templar outfit. Thank you. As expected, your aesthetic sense is outstanding.”

Then the demon king circled over Seongjin’s head and started nagging him.

[Isn’t it because it’s all black? What sense is there? It seems like it wouldn’t be able to do anything if it were just black.]

…shut up!

While Sungjin growled, Amelia walked briskly towards Owen, who was standing next to her.

“And this is for Owen Oraboni.”

Owen, who had been acting bashful until then, suddenly looked bewildered when Amelia brought him a gift.

What he received was a bag similar to Sungjin’s. It was a luxurious piece made of smooth, sturdy brown leather, with a verse from the poem of the martial arts poem engraved on it.

“What, you’re doing this to me too… … .”

As Owen, who had been blankly staring at his bag, made a sad expression, Amelia smiled at him sadly.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t take care of you sooner. When my brother suddenly went to the front lines, I was a child who was completely immature in everything. So I didn’t know how to appease my worries or how to pray for your safety.”

“Amelia… … .”

“But now I’m different. I know what I can do for my precious family, and I’ve learned to trust them and wait for them after doing everything I can.”

As Owen sniffled and said nothing in response, Amelia smiled and gently took his hand.

“I will pray for you every day, so please come back safely with Mores, Brother.”

Seongjin thought.

‘She’s an angel! As expected, our sister Amelia is an angel who came down to the underworld to shine!’

Amelia even prepared a gift for Red: an empty lamp with a small plate inside.

“I can’t carry the fairy’s plate on my travels, so I made a small space where the fire fairy can rest.”

Seongjin, who received the pretty lamp, was a little impressed.

If it looks like this, even if the Demon King is inside, he can just disguise himself as an ordinary lantern, right?

[Wow!]

As expected, the reaction of the Demon King involved was truly intense.

[What is this? What is this? It’s so pretty.]

The guy was circling around the lamp, making a fuss. As he was a guy who liked flashy things, he seemed to be quickly distracted by the lamp’s fancy decorations.

[That guy always talks about black stuff, but his taste is better than I thought.]

Seongjin firmly attached the small lamp to the side of the saddle.

Then, as if he had been waiting, the Demon King flies in and quickly lands inside the lamp.

[Hehehehe!]

Amelia looked at the sight with curiosity.

“Oh, my goodness. It seems the fire fairy likes the gift too.”

Seongjin sighed softly.

Demon King, you’re lucky that no one else can hear your foolish laughter. It seems like you still have the image of a mysterious fairy to my sister.

After saying a brief farewell, Seongjin was finally about to get on his horse.

“… Are you really planning to go horseback riding, Your Majesty?”

After returning from servicing the carriage with the resident knights, Masain asked with surprised eyes.

“Huh? Uh. Just until we get out of the zodiac.”

Once I was out of the grace of the zodiac, I planned to be comfortably cooped up in my carriage as before.

But now that I have built up my reputation as a prince, shouldn’t I at least show off my cool side in front of the people of the imperial capital?

“But the decline… … ?”

“Why, Sir Marsain?”

“No, I mean… … .”

Masain began to carefully look around, somehow trailing off, from the resident drivers checking the saddles and equipment to the workers moving busily around, moving the luggage onto the carriage.

“… What is this? Was there any luggage that hadn’t been moved yet?”

“Ah! That’s something that came over from the administration this morning. It says to handle it with care, so it’s probably a fragile exorcism tool like holy water.”

“Seongsu-woo? No way? That long, thin thing looks exactly like a coffin to me.”

“Shh! What’s that ominous sound? Come on! This is the last one, so let’s finish it up quickly.”

“Come on, hurry up… … !”

But nowhere was the dog he was looking for. Sir Marsain asked again with a slightly serious expression on his face.

“Come to think of it, I don’t think I’ve seen any of the wolfhounds lately.”

“Huh? Oh, Max.”

Seongjin scratched his cheek.

“Max went out to play for a bit. I think he wanted to run an errand for me and see a friend.”

“… Yes? Errands… … .”

“Don’t worry. He’ll come back whenever he wants. No matter how far away I am, he can find me.”

“… … ?”

Marsain’s questions seemed to be growing, but there was no more time to answer them. They had to hurry up and start their journey if they wanted to arrive in Regina today.

Kkiei-

As soon as the main gate of the palace opened, loud cheers surrounded Seongjin and his party.

“Your Majesty, Mores!”

“Savior of Bathurst!”

“Look over there! You said you were blessed by an ancient fairy, and there really is a little fire fairy hovering around you!”

The people of the Imperial City sincerely welcomed the fire fairy and prayed for the safe return of the saint. It seems that at some point, everyone became familiar with the existence of the ‘fairy’.

“… … .”

Seongjin, who was momentarily taken aback by the unexpected reaction, soon straightened his back and rode his horse into the cheers.

At least for now, he hopes to be seen as a proud member of the Seonghwang family in their eyes.

* * *

Whoa-

A wolf’s howl could be heard faintly from somewhere.

“That’s odd. There shouldn’t be any wild wolves around here.”

Ambrosius smiled softly at the siblings who had wide eyes and pricked up their ears.

“Don’t worry, my lords. Wild beasts dare not come near the cities of Cyprus.”

Logan and Sisley were currently on a boat with Ambrosius heading to the mouth of the Breeze River.

“Okay, now they’re all here.”

How far had he flowed with the current? When the tall gray tower opposite the lighthouse came into view, Ambrosius raised his hand proudly.

“Logan, Sisley. That building is the most famous historical site in Cyprus, the ‘Tower of Ambrosia.’”