Children of the Holy Emperor - Chapter 414



Only Noblemtl

414. Lee Seong-jin’s Exploration Journal (3)

This time, the number of people Mores organized was smaller than expected.

In addition to his close associates, Marsain and Captain Bruno, there are four resident knights of the Pearl Palace. Sir Liber, an exorcist. And a dedicated maid and a groom.

Adding Owen and Bartoza to that, it’s a small group of barely ten people.

‘It’s great that my father has allowed me to go on this business trip.’

Now that Ortona has fallen, the North can be considered almost a lawless zone. Therefore, not only merchants traveling between territories, but even nobles who rarely travel to the North usually bring with them an escort force that can easily surpass a platoon.

But what on earth is Mores’ confidence?

‘Of course, he’s not that great of a skill set.’

Mores, who had regained his Aura, was a strong Aura user who surprised even Owen, who had been rolling around on the Southern Front for years.

Owen, who quickly masters Aura with the help of the status window and occasionally uses items and skills, has a reputation as being ‘undefeated’. However, even he sometimes gets the feeling that it’s not easy in front of Mores.

‘It might not be that easy. Maybe that guy is stronger than me?’

Just looking at the events of the day he was summoned to the Holy Assembly, it was clear that the momentum with which he had suppressed the Knights in the Great Hall was something that not only Owen but even the most senior knights would have a hard time imitating.

What on earth happened while he was away from the palace that made Mores, who had never had a single Aura, rise to such a level?

-What should I say? The neighborhood I used to live in was a bit of a rough place.

Suddenly, the image of the baby goat speaking lonely flashed through his mind, but Owen shook his head to shake it off.

‘Well, Mores is your father’s son. Logan, like his father, is renowned as a swordsmanship genius. No matter what, family members tend to have similarities.’

For a moment, Owen felt that he was the only one who was left behind because he was not related by blood, but then he began to worry about the circumstances that made that scoundrel Mores so strong.

I heard that you’re already close to the 8th floor of Aura. It’s not like you’re getting help from the status window like Owen, but is that a level that can be reached with normal effort? Unless you’re extremely desperate…

‘Wait a minute! Is there really no way for Mores to get help from the status window?’

Guest ID users with milestones can easily solidify their positions and gain strength through the status window.

Then, what if, just in one chance, Mores really is a newbie?

‘If you hurry up and complete the quests and get some useful skills like me, it’s not completely impossible to reach the 8th floor in a few years!’

Of course, there is a condition that the progress must be much faster than Owen, who was busy with quests every day for his family.

‘Surely not, Mores is really… … .’

Then, again, as if it had been waiting, the image of a small mountain goat appeared in my head.

-All my colleagues who worked together with me died. In the end, I was the only one who survived.

A bitter voice and small hooves sticking out without any protection.

No, but that can’t be. Mores has never left the palace, so there’s no way he could have suffered a crisis that would have resulted in the loss of all his comrades…

“Your Majesty. What are you thinking?”

Owen came to his senses at the sound of Sir Marsain’s voice.

I looked around and saw that everyone had already finished eating, and I was the only one sitting blankly in front of the campfire, holding a bowl of stew.

“Are you feeling unwell? I am worried because you both seem to be feeling unwell today.”

Then the middle-aged knight standing next to him stroked his handsome mustache and opened his mouth.

“Don’t worry too much, Your Majesty, Sir Marsain. I will bring you some warm Melbourn and some light refreshments right away.”

“Oh, would you please do that? Thank you as always, Captain Bruno.”

“Don’t worry. It is my life’s mission to make sure you get all your refreshments.”

Owen stared blankly at the man who was spouting strange words with a calm expression.

You said your name was Captain Bruno. I heard you were a Dekaron Knight who once served as a captain. But why is your life’s mission ‘to provide refreshments for the prince’?

But the behavior of Edith, Mores’s personal maid, was even more bizarre. She searched through her luggage, took out tea leaves and a teapot, and then shamelessly handed them over to the manager!

“Oh! I’ll take care of that, but please be careful not to disturb the tea leaves even a little, Miss Edith.”

“Yes, I understand, sir.”

Why? Isn’t driving a car the job of a dedicated maid?

‘Wait a minute. Now that I think about it… … .’

Thinking back, it was the same when preparing meals. Only the poor resident knights were busy, while the dedicated maid was leisurely cleaning up the fallen leaves around the campfire.

I can’t figure out what the maid is following me for.

‘But it doesn’t seem like she’s very diligent in serving her master. Why does Mores keep such a maid by his side?’

In the midst of the confusion, a faint humming sound is heard from the other side. It was Aria, softly humming by Captain Bruno while brewing tea leaves. It was as if each and every act of service to the prince was a great joy to him.

Naturally, this question arose. What on earth does Mores mean to Director Bruno?

“… … .”

Owen put the cooled stew into his mouth with a sheepish expression.

I realized once again that I really didn’t know anything about Mores.

* * *

Since leaving the grace of the zodiac, there has been a strange tension among the Sangju Knights.

Owen, who had noticed the change a long time ago, asked them the reason outright while they were having dinner together.

Since he had been familiar with the soldiers on the southern front, it was easy for him to quickly become friendly with the knights.

“What’s going on? It seems like everyone has been glancing at that article for a while now.”

Owen was pointing to a young junior knight. A young man with a long scar on his forehead, and a slightly ill-tempered appearance.

“Ah. Did you notice, Your Majesty?”

The one who answered was the senior knight in charge, Sir Kurt. He glanced at the young knight with a cheeky smile.

“His name is Carmen. Actually, I’ve been watching him for a while to see when he’ll explode.”

“explosion?”

“Yes. Sir Carmen may look fine on the outside, but isn’t there something wrong with his personality? Let me tell you about his brilliant record… … .”

“Hey! Is this how everyone is going to be!?”

Sir Carmen, who couldn’t stand it any longer, suddenly got up from her seat. It seemed like she was getting very upset after being stared at by her colleagues for several hours.

Of course, regardless of his feelings, the Sangju knights were merciless once they found an excuse to tease him.

“Hahaha! Then that’s right! Did you see it just now, Your Majesty?”

“You win, Sir Claudia. That guy just said ‘Mr. Lee’!”

The one who was picking out coins one by one was a mid-level knight named Sir Vincent. Judging from his name, which was popular in the North, and his accent, he was probably from Sigismund’s Lands or a nearby area.

“I told you so, Sir Vincent. It doesn’t take half a day for that temper to explode.”

The one who happily receives the money is Sir Claudia. She is a cheerful-looking knight with a round face covered in freckles.

“… That wasn’t the case.”

And finally, Sir Carmen. Her already blunt face is now completely darkened.

It was a pity that he didn’t realize that the more he resisted, the more amused his fellow knights became.

“No, I heard you right! Sir Carmen, I was about to curse you so badly just now!”

“Don’t make assumptions! I just sighed a little loudly… …!”

“What on earth were you planning to say? Are you going to commit another blasphemy today?”

“No! Absolutely not!”

Buzzing. It was a truly unsettling atmosphere, not befitting of a palace knight. Of course, Owen liked this atmosphere better than the strict discipline of the palace knights.

“Why? What did that guy do before?”

“Oh, your Majesty! Would you like to hear it? Well, back when I was going to Sigismund’s Territory with the Wolf Knights. My goodness, this guy was so fearless… … .”

“My lady! Sir Claudia!”

Among the group, there was one person who was holding his own. That was Sir Robert, who had just joined the new monster task force.

“… … .”

He looked at the resident knights pitifully, as if they were foolish squires, then began to unpack and take out a few miscellaneous items.

“I have something to share with you during this intermission. In a few days, we will be moving away from the grace of the zodiac and into the lawless zone, a land where devil worshippers run rampant.”

What he gave everyone were simple exorcism items. Things like weapons and small amulets that could be easily used without having to know how to use them in detail.

“Is this holy water? How do I use it?”

“It protects the soul just by carrying it on your body or keeping it in your mouth. Or you can sprinkle it directly on the demon.”

“Sir Robert. What about this wonderful painting?”

“It is an amulet inscribed with Granius’ protective spell. Keep it inside your clothing, Sir Claudia.”

As Owen was carefully examining the items that Sir Robert had brought out, he noticed several spinning top-like objects that had lost their bearings.

“What are these for? They look like toys.”

“Oh, my lord. I guess they are all useless.”

Sir Romer answered Owen’s question with a puzzled look.

“It’s called a gyrocompass to find magic. I just happened to get a few new ones, but for some reason, they all seem to be useless on this trip.”

“hmm.”

But Captain Bruno, who had been staring intently at the gyrocompass, secretly put one of the small tops into his pocket.

“… Captain?”

As Sir Robert looked at him with surprised eyes, Captain Bruno shook his head with a slightly red face.

“Big. Isn’t there a chance that something like that could happen?”

“… … .”

Everyone thought it was strange.

What is the one-in-a-millenium situation where you might need to use a replacement toy top?

“But is it okay for us to keep these? As far as I know, the Holy Assembly strictly limits the number of blessed exorcist items so that only those who are qualified can possess them.”

Sir Marsain asked cautiously. The picky Inquisition could easily accuse you of apostasy for possessing exorcism items without a permit.

Then Sir Robert slightly shakes his head.

“Don’t worry about that. The Holy Assembly has already given permission for everything. Prince Mores has repeatedly told me that we must prioritize the safety of our party before we set off.”

…Mores?

Owen instinctively looked back at the carriage where Mores was resting. At the same time, he realized that the resident knights beside him were also looking in the same direction as him.

The eyes of those who had been lightly flirting until just a moment ago were now filled with a light of faithful trust.

“… … .”

For a moment, Owen felt as if he had caught a glimpse of another side of Mores that he didn’t know about. What on earth does Mores mean to them?

-Lee Sung Jin will always be my friend! So I trust you! A warrior’s guts never lie!

Suddenly, the image of the ranger with tearful face appeared in his mind.

Surprisingly, Owen knew a little friend who elicited a similar reaction from others.

– We will not forget our leader who always shined in times of crisis. Pure-blooded Mashunamu, this Hatasu Titi will always remember you.

A guy who drew true trust from the Shield Warrior, who was always serious but distrustful of people, as if it were a lie.

Yes. Just like Lee Seong-jin who led the guest ID users.

‘… No, what am I thinking right now!’

Owen shook off his head, which was cluttered with random thoughts.

It must be because of the absurd report from No. 9. Since that day, I’ve been thinking of Mores as a newbie for no reason, and I’ve started to see more and more newbies in guys I have no connection with.

From then on, Owen tried to deliberately let his mind wander. Once he started doubting, he felt that he was gradually moving away from rational judgment.

Thanks to that, when Owen arrived in Regina that evening, he was able to completely erase thoughts of Newbie from his mind.

The strange thing happened when I arrived at my accommodation.

“What? What’s going on?”

Mores, who had been stuck in the carriage all day, continued to groan as if he was feeling unwell even after arriving at his lodgings.

It was only a short time after he got out of bed. Naturally, I couldn’t help but be worried.

“What’s wrong with you? Are you okay? Where else does it hurt?”

But even though I was worried, the response I got was quite surprising.

“Hey. Be quiet… you idiot.”

You little brat! Do you find everything this big brother says funny?

“Hey! If you’re in pain, just say so! Don’t be so frustrated and do it alone!”

“Don’t be so excited.”

It was just then.

What Mores did was to extend his hand with a frown on his face.

Kuung!

For a moment, Owen felt a shock that made his heart sink.

“what……!”

This time, it wasn’t his mistake. Mores was really just calmly showing his little palm to him, just like the newbie had done!

“Let’s talk tomorrow. It’s nothing. Go and get some sleep.”

Mores continued to say something, but Owen, already in shock, heard nothing.

Is that guy Mores really that newbie?

really?

“Huh?!”

Owen hurriedly took a step back, his mind starting to dizzy.

“Then you seem tired. Get some rest! See you tomorrow!”

Owen, who had just given a brief greeting, turned around and stormed out of the room.

And the deep confusion and self-loathing that followed made me tear out my already free-spirited hair.

“… I really didn’t think so… Is it really true?”

What should I do now? Is there really no other way than to ask Mores directly? But how? What should I say?

That night, Owen couldn’t sleep at all because his thoughts were so disturbed.

And the next day.

Owen, who headed to the restaurant with a pale face, encountered Mores, who was sipping a glass of Melbourne after dinner with a noble demeanor.

“What’s wrong with your face? Are you a sleepover at your age? You’re such a grown man, you’re being sensitive about strange things.”

“… … .”

I’ve always thought this before, but Mores is a guy who only picks out annoying things to say.