Children of the Holy Emperor - Chapter 434



Only Noblemtl

434. The Immortal Secretary (7)

That day.

The day when the red curse that had been persistently pursuing the capital finally covered the gateway fortress.

The hellish scene that had unfolded before Marsain’s eyes was still vivid in his mind.

-Ma, Masain… . Hurry… and dodge… .

The first to fall, covered in blood, was Masain’s dedicated maid. As a commoner without any divine powers, she would have been more vulnerable to the curse than others.

-Ah, Your Majesty the Marsain! Why are you the only one who is so fine? Please, please share the blessings of the Seonghwang family with us!

The faithful priest who had been praying for the people until just a moment ago suddenly turned around and grabbed the masonic man by the collar as he was consumed by the curse.

He kept criticizing Masain for monopolizing the grace of the Lord, and eventually fell to the floor, spitting out blood.

-Please take care of me. The only legitimate successor to the throne is Masain.

When even the commander of the knights’ guard, who had entrusted them with such advice, died shedding tears of blood, there was no one left breathing in the fortress except for Masain.

Ss …

And the red curse letters that covered the bodies of the dead.

“… … !”

But now, years later, those same letters were crawling over Mores’ small hands, like a swarm of relentless ants intent on dismembering their prey.

Martha was frozen solid.

I can’t approach.

Although he was a precious child who had become the goal of his life, and his heart was burning with worry about him, Masain still could not take a step towards the child.

‘Mores… …!’

In the end, Marsain could only stand there and watch as Seonghwang and Mores completely disappeared into the direction of the Blue Rose Palace.

* * *

Ominous rumors were on people’s lips.

-The impossible has happened. The Church of Rest has hidden itself in the heavily guarded basement of the Imperial Palace.

-They took advantage of the absence of the emperor to commit large-scale human sacrifice, and eventually brought something evil into this world.

People were tense at the first disturbing news they heard since the 17th Emperor came to power.

But as the Holy See remained silent and the Orthodox Church made no noticeable moves, the rumors soon began to die down. This was partly due to skepticism.

Of course, the Heresy Tribunal, which had to personally inspect the site where the heretical ritual was performed – the black altar, the countless corpses burned by erosion, and the heads of those who had died by the hands of the Holy Emperor – could not help but continue to cast suspicious eyes toward the Cheongjang Labyrinth.

There is no doubt. The fact that erosion has occurred means that something with magic has clearly appeared in that place.

And Prince Mores was present at the scene of the evil devil worship.

“So, for the time being, you must refrain from entering the Blue Jang Labyrinth, Master Masain.”

As Martha adjusts his attire, Cardinal Benitus warns him in a sharp voice.

He was the guardian of Marsain until she graduated from the academy, and until recently, he had been going back and forth to her ward’s residence and interfering with her affairs.

Martha looked back at the gaunt old man and sighed softly.

“That’s impossible. Don’t you know? My current workplace is the Blue Labyrinth.”

“If you do that, you should definitely change jobs and articles!”

“Your Majesty, I am now only a knight. It is impossible for me to adjust the guard’s schedule so suddenly and arbitrarily.”

Then the old man suddenly shouted.

“Why not? Aren’t you the true eldest son of the Seonghwang family, more precious than anyone else?”

“… … .”

Unable to respond to the stronger momentum than expected, the Cardinal strode towards Masain with brisk steps. His footsteps were heavy and did not match his small stature.

“I will take full responsibility. So from now on, Masain, don’t even think about setting foot in there!”

“Your Excellency, Cardinal.”

“Do you understand? Lord Marsain. What was wrapped around Prince Mores that day was undoubtedly the magic of the demon sect!”

Benitus is the head of the Inquisition. Having fought against the forces of evil for a long time, he knows the devil and the deeds of heresy better than anyone else.

“I know the ecology of those evil things. The ritual they performed over Prince Mores was clearly a ritual of emptying the vessel!”

“Emptying the bowl, what is that… … .”

“It means that it was a ritual that brought the devil directly into that body!”

“… … !”

As Martha’s face turned pale, Benitus continued to spew out frightening words with blazing eyes.

“And that large number of human sacrifices, that is definitely not a ritual that was prepared in a day or two. Perhaps Prince Mores was their target from birth! Master Marsain. Have you heard the rumors about the prepared ones that the underground sect talks about?”

“stop…….”

“A vessel prepared for the evil demon, blessed by the devil’s apostles! That might be the true identity of Prince Mores! No, since the descent ritual has already been completed, it might not be Prince Mores anymore-”

“Please stop!”

Masain, who had screamed, was gripped by great distress and held his head with both hands.

If he could deny it, he would have denied it over and over again. But, as Cardinal Benitus said, Marsain saw with his own eyes the sight of something evil invading Mores’ body.

That was so painful.

The fact that Mores, who was still a child, was going through such a big thing, and that he himself was not there for him.

And even though it wasn’t Mores’ fault, he had an ominous feeling that he would never be able to completely shake off his fear of the child again.

“… … .”

After a moment of silence, Benitus added in a slightly more subdued voice.

“Master Marsain. I know very well that you cherish your remaining blood relatives. However, that does not mean you should deny the reality that is plainly visible to your eyes.”

Kwak.

The old man’s withered hands grabbed the man’s collar like pitchforks.

“Do you really not know? If His Majesty the Holy Emperor had not intervened that day, Prince Mores would certainly have become a conduit for something evil and terrible to Delcross.”

“… … .”

“No, maybe it’s not completely over yet.”

Benitus’ eyes, staring intently into Marsain’s, sparkled with a strange light.

“Even now, I can faintly sense the filthy magic within the Blue Rose Labyrinth. So how can I know? That evil thing might still be tenaciously surviving, waiting for its chance within Prince Mores’ body!”

* * *

“…Your Majesty the Empress.”

“…Mr. Masain.”

In front of the Blue Rose Labyrinth, Masain met an unexpected person. It was Empress Lisabeth, who could not stand the uncomfortable stares of those around her and reluctantly took steps to at least pretend to see her child.

And behind her stood an old man whom I had never seen before.

Bow.

The two people who were originally awkward with each other turned around after making appropriate remarks.

“Why did I have to come to see the Empress at such a chaotic time?”

As soon as Martha disappeared from sight, the old man, Senator Galen, whispered to the Empress in a small voice.

“No, no.”

“But, mama. Why are you stopping here? Didn’t you come here to see the prince?”

In response to the old man’s question, the empress gave a slightly uneasy expression instead of answering.

“What on earth is so confusing?”

“That’s good. There’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you, Senator Galeno. That kid… … .”

Empress Lisabeth hesitated for a moment, then carefully brought up a long-standing question buried deep in her heart.

“Is it really ‘that’ child that I gave birth to?”

The doubts that had been buried in his heart like sharp thorns had swelled and festered for a long time, finally reaching the point where they were oozing pus instead of blood.

So, I ended up asking questions that I would not have been able to ask in the first place.

“You should know better, Senator Galeno. I was never meant to have children.”

But after meeting Seonghwang, she ended up having Mores as if it were a lie.

She couldn’t just be purely happy and say it was a miracle. After she had the child, there were many ominous signs that had been constantly bothering her.

Even due to the long and difficult labor, she did not remember the moment when her child was actually born.

“Haha, you thought of something like that? Don’t worry, trust me, Lady Lizabeth. I was definitely by your side the day Prince Mores was born.”

“… … .”

“It was truly a grace from the Lord. Do you still not believe in that beautiful miracle, Miss Lizabeth?”

Galeno gently comforted her, deliberately calling her by her friendly childhood nickname.

“The Lord said that miracles would occur, such as flames in the cold and grass growing in the desert. In order to show this to the world, wouldn’t it be natural to first prepare the ground that is cold and dry? So the Lord himself caused the young lady’s infertility to happen through his apostle.”

“… So Mores is a child given by God?”

“Of course, my lady. Prince Mores will surely become the next Holy Emperor. He will rule over all things in this world, and he will be admired by all. Under his power, the apostles of the Lord will finally regain their freedom.”

Senator Galeno smiled warmly and looked into the Empress’s trembling eyes. His young lady, who always stood firm on the outside, but was more fragile on the inside than anyone else.

“Do you understand? Your child, Prince Mores, is such a person.”

But Lisabeth was no longer listening to Galen’s lengthy explanations, because there was one word in particular that particularly caught her ear.

“The next… success… … .”

A very vivid and sweet word that is deeply engraved in the mind.

“Yes. Mores, if only that kid could become the next Sung Hwang… … .”

A faint light of hope gradually appeared in Lisabeth’s eyes as she quietly muttered.

“That would be perfect evidence indeed. Proof that I gave birth to a child of a true saint, not a corrupt one!”

* * *

When Martha arrived at the playroom, Mores was not the only one there.

“Don’t go too high, Mores. It’s dangerous.”

“huh!”

In the center of the room, large pieces of furniture and toy horses were piled up in a strangely stable structure.

It looks like the perfect thing for a child who likes high places to climb. The person who built that structure that reaches all the way to the ceiling must have been Prince Logan.

“… … .”

It was quite unusual, since Logan usually nags Mores about leaving his toys lying around rather than making a mess of the playroom like this.

As he watched his brother do what he was doing, Logan sensed his presence and turned his head.

“Ah, Brother Marsain! You’re here.”

“Yes, but isn’t it time for your lesson right now, Your Majesty?”

“I decided to cut back on classes for a while.”

… How on earth did she do it? Despite the Emperor’s repeated dissuasion, I heard the Empress pushed ahead quite strongly.

Then Logan blushed a little embarrassed.

“I’m embarrassed to say that at this age, I threw a tantrum in front of my mother.”

While the King was away from the palace due to his unreasonable request, trouble broke out between Mores and the King.

As Prince Logan, who has a good personality, he naturally feels a great sense of responsibility for this.

“So I told Mom that I was worried about Mores and couldn’t eat.”

“… … .”

Wasn’t that more of a threat than a slap? Marsain thought to himself.

It was understandable for the Empress to take a step back. She had already learned from experience that when her son started to worry about something seriously, he would really go without food or drink for days.

“Ahahahaha!”

Fortunately, Mores had regained his usual cheerful self. Perhaps it was because he had been able to play with Logan to his heart’s content for the first time in a long while, but he was hanging on to the structure and shaking his body in a particularly cheerful manner.

-Even now, I can faintly sense the filthy magic in the Blue Rose Labyrinth. So how can I know? That evil thing might still be tenaciously surviving, waiting for its chance inside Prince Mores’ body!

For a moment, Cardinal Benitus’ warning flashed through his mind, but Marsain tried to erase the memory and quietly watched the child play.

“Stop jumping, Mores. It’s dangerous.”

“Ahahaha! I don’t like it!”

“hey!”

As the place was as bustling and friendly as before, Masain gradually regained peace of mind.

The only strange thing is that sometimes Logan would have a serious expression and pour out divine powers to Mores.

“What’s wrong? Logan, I’m not hurt.”

“That’s because you don’t know better. If you keep jumping from such high places, your legs will eventually hurt and you won’t be able to sleep properly.”

“Huh? Really?”

Logan looked as if he was worried about something, or maybe he was wary.

But as always, Marsain could not properly fathom the depths of his precocious younger brother’s heart. He could only vaguely guess that he was very concerned about Mores.

So the evening passed, seemingly peacefully.

“Mores, stop playing and come down.”

As the outside began to darken, Logan held onto the violently rocking horse and spoke to Mores.

“It’s almost time to go to bed.”

“No. I’m going to play more today! You won’t come tomorrow because you have class.”

“It’s okay. I’ll come tomorrow too.”

“hmm…….”

Then Mores seemed to think for a moment and then blinked innocently.

“But I can’t sleep yet?”

“Then should I give you a ride in the shuttle?”

“hmm…….”

Mores, who was tilting his head again, answered.

“Yeah! Okay!”

“Okay, I got it. Just wait a minute.”

Logan, who had left the room like that, looked back for a moment with concern. He was a little worried about Mores, who was sitting precariously on the middle of the tall structure.

But soon he glanced at Masain and thought.

‘Well, it’ll be okay. Brother Masain is here too.’

So when the two were left alone in the playroom, Marsain watched Mores play blankly.

At that moment, the child was struggling to climb higher, moving his arms and legs.

“…lowering.”

“huh?”

“Why do you like high places so much, Your Majesty?”

It was a question that came out of nowhere. It was a habit Mores had shown since he was a baby, and it was also a question he had never asked before because he didn’t expect to get a proper answer from a young child.

But unexpectedly, Mores answered obediently.

“I’m practicing.”

“Practice, okay?”

“Yeah. Then, you’ll be able to do well even when you climb to higher places later!”

“… … .”

Practicing for the future? I thought it was quite an unexpected answer for something a child might have said.

“But, damn it. If it’s just practice, isn’t that enough? Anything more is dangerous… Huh!”

Suddenly, when the child lost his balance and stumbled, the startled Martha rushed over and stretched out her arms towards Mores.

It was at that moment that a red string was seen crawling quickly through Mores’s covered shirt.

Ss …

“… … !”

Masain’s body froze in place.

“uh?”

Mores passed by between my outstretched arms-

thud!

He fell to the floor and hit his head hard.

“… … !”

“… … .”

Mores didn’t burst into tears like before. He just looked up at Marsain with a slightly blank expression, as if he was surprised by a situation that normally wouldn’t happen.

The child’s eyes were strangely calm.

The moment he met those deep gray eyes, for some reason, Marsain felt a chill run down his chest.