Children of the Holy Emperor - Chapter 462
Only Noblemtl
462. Congratulatory remarks (2)
Seongjin’s mind was much more at ease because Seonghwang did not ask any questions or reprimand him.
But he soon had to face another challenge: Sir Martha, who had died with a pale complexion from not sleeping at all all night.
“… Hey, are you okay? Sir Marsain?”
Seongjin stuttered without realizing it.
It must have been a lot. The prince who had gone out to get some fresh air didn’t come back no matter how long I waited, so I couldn’t help but feel nervous and anxious.
That’s why he seemed to have been so upset that he ended up loitering around the village entrance and ended up staying up all night.
“Your Majesty! Where the hell have you been… …!”
As soon as Martha saw Seongjin, she tried to scream like usual.
But before I could finish speaking, I clutched my stomach because the moment the extreme tension was released, the stomach acid poured out.
“omg?”
Seongjin, who was terrified, took him in front of Seonghwang without warning.
“No, your Majesty. I’m really fine… Wait! Answer me quickly! Where on earth have you been all night without saying a word… …!”
… cool.
Surprisingly, as soon as the Holy Spirit touched his forehead, Masain fell asleep as if he had fainted. Perhaps, like last time, his soul had been forcibly blown to another dimension.
“Mores. When Marsain wakes up, we must face him properly and have a conversation.”
The Holy Emperor poured out his divine power over the silent knight’s head and gave him soft advice. It was a very difficult request.
“Um, Father. But that’s a little… … .”
“… … .”
“…all right.”
Thinking about the reaction I would have to face from Masain in the future made my eyes darken. But what can I do? Since I have committed a sin, I have no choice but to answer obediently.
Other than that, everything went smoothly.
Like Masain, Sungjin and No. 21 also received a lot of divine power healing from Sunghwang. They didn’t suffer serious injuries, but they had a lot of minor scratches that they didn’t know about. They were also secretly tired from beating up assassins all night.
Dasha also received proper treatment from the Holy Emperor. Fortunately, her injuries themselves were not that serious, but instead, her body was very weak due to hunger and lack of sleep for several days. Perhaps because of this, Dasha could not open her eyes right after the Holy Emperor finished treating her.
“I think it’s probably because of mental fatigue. I must have been pushing myself to my limits without any break in tension for the past few days.”
Seongjin nodded at No. 21’s words.
“Really? Then let’s wait until Dasha wakes up and then slowly leave for Regina.”
Giacomo Milo was caught and his father was safely reunited. So there was nothing more urgent? So Sungjin calmly started working on the paperwork while waiting for Dasha to wake up.
“Newbie, what is that?”
Owen, who had been to the Pangea Chronicles again, was loitering around Sungjin’s room carrying a bunch of food.
“I’m working on the business plan.”
“Business plan?”
“Yeah. I have to return Oliver’s ‘junior top business license’ and officially receive investment from the palace.”
The standards for a business that the palace directly invests in are not that simple. Although Amelia has simplified the process and greatly increased efficiency, that does not mean that the content can be poor.
But who knows when Oliver, a country bumpkin, will finish all the procedures?
“Oliver needs to start a proper business as soon as possible and supply teosinte grown using the ‘Martian method’ to the entire continent.”
This was a win-win for everyone. Oliver would get the palace investment without much effort, and Sungjin would get to pocket a hefty consulting fee.
But what caught Owen’s ear was a word that seemed familiar yet unfamiliar.
“… Masain farming? What the heck is that?”
“Oh, from now on, Oliver will grow teosinte using the method provided by Sir Marsain. And he will share all the profits from the sales with him. It’s a kind of agricultural technology fee, you could say.”
Then Owen looked puzzled.
“But how is that possible? Brother Marsain, you’ve never farmed before, right?”
Seongjin bared his teeth evilly at that innocent question.
“Of course, there is no such farming method in the world. It is all a fraudulent contract.”
“… Huh?”
“But it’s too late. Sir Marsain has already signed the papers I gave him! I told you to be careful from the beginning so you don’t regret it later.”
Sungjin lifted his chin and shook his quill. Got it, Owen? You should take note of it. If you carelessly sign documents that you don’t know anything about, like Sir Marsain or Logan, your life can be ruined in an instant.
“Just imagine. What terrible things will happen next. Someone unknown to Sir Marsain will commit atrocities on the continent, selling his name and making a fortune.”
“… … ?”
“And while Sir Marsain is letting his guard down, that shameless man will sneak into the bank and pile up money from unknown sources in Sir Marsain’s account.”
“… … ?”
“As the business grows, the amount of money will inevitably increase exponentially. At that point, there will be no more ways to handle it. Sir Marsain will climb on the ever-increasing pile of money and cry out in extreme dizziness, but no one will truly listen to his voice, which has already faded away.”
“… … ?”
“In the end, the innocent Masain Sir will be unable to get off the pile of money for the rest of his life and will scream terribly because of one mistake in signing. Isn’t that terrifying?”
Hehehe!
As Sungjin let out a sinister, muffled laugh, the Demon King sitting on the small brass bowl let out a deep sigh.
[… Lee Seong-jin, what are you doing now?]
Shut up! In times like this, all you have to do is laugh evilly along with me. You devil king who can’t read the mood!
“hmm…….”
Owen looked extremely confused. After all, he had previously signed documents he didn’t know well at Sungjin’s request.
“Anyway, things look pretty good.”
“That’s right. This is so annoying.”
“But do you really need to be busy here? We’ll be heading back to Regina soon anyway. Then, leave it to Branch Manager Schmidt like before. He’s probably a better expert than you when it comes to business, right?”
“well…….”
Seongjin put down his quill pen and furrowed his brow.
“Actually, I thought about that, but I feel like I’ve been taking advantage of Branch Manager Schmidt too much lately.”
He has already entrusted not only the salmon business but also the northern economic reconstruction project to him. In addition, he has recently been acting as Seongjin’s alibi and personal secretary.
Even though he was held in check by the ‘Devil’s List’, it was too cruel to increase his workload any further.
“When I return to Regina, I think I’ll hire a new secretary while I’m at it.”
It would be nice to have someone by your side to gather primary information and move people around instead of Seongjin.
Seongjin tilted his head for a moment, then soon picked up the quill pen and rested his chin on it.
“Well, I’ll think about it later. Anyway, I’ll stay here today so Dasha can get some rest. In the meantime, I’ll just take it easy and do some work.”
* * *
[You have two choices.]
Dasha was dreaming now. A dream from her childhood that had happened so long ago that she had completely forgotten it.
[If you make a name for yourself here, you’ll soon be sold to the Primrose Redemption Hall. You’ll have a hard time there at first, but you’ll gradually be able to expand your influence in the Asane underworld.]
Yeah, I remembered.
It was the day Dasha entered an orphanage run by a monastery. She was sitting there, dejectedly waiting for the priest in charge, when suddenly a woman she had never seen before came into the room and spoke to her in a friendly manner.
‘Who are you? Are you the priest here?’
Even as a child, Dasha was very suspicious of the woman. After all, she was dressed entirely in black and even had a black veil over her head.
[You have talent. A talent that can capture people’s hearts, secretly find their weaknesses, and eventually manipulate them all. Those who have exploited you cruelly will soon kneel at your feet, one by one.]
“… … .”
Dasha frowned involuntarily. Even though she was still a young girl with a wet head, she was at least aware of the notoriety that the Primrose Oratory had on the continent.
It was a dark time, and the world was overflowing with poverty. Orphans like her were constantly emerging, and it was a well-known fact that many of them were flowing into the red-light district.
Besides, Dasha had a rather fair face, so I had imagined that if I was unlucky, my life could turn out that way.
But to say such hopeless things to a child he just met, isn’t that priest really inconsiderate?
[Don’t like it? Then there are other options.]
“…What is that?”
[If possible, try to live quietly and not be noticed. Then, you will be selected by the Hand of Oberon before you turn ten. They will recognize your talent at first sight and train you for a long time. One day, you will become one of the greatest assassins produced by the Hand of Oberon.]
Assassin? That was an unthinkable choice.
[You will always bring death. Blood will never dry on your hands, and the corpses of people will pile up like fallen leaves behind you. Eventually, you will become the most faithful messenger of death, and you will be able to make the entire continent tremble in fear of assassination.]
“and…….”
The young Dasha was momentarily speechless at that terrifying prophecy. In terms of gaining power on her own, it may seem like a better option than the pleasure district, but if it were true to her words, it would also be a very bleak and miserable life.
[But whichever you choose, it will be difficult for you to live with your original name, ‘Dasha’.]
… have you ever told your priest my name?
At first, that thought crossed Dasha’s mind, but she soon forgot about it completely. The choice she was faced with now felt too heavy for her young age.
Perhaps the woman’s prophecy could have been dismissed as mere nonsense, but her voice, strangely piercing into his mind, had enough power to shake the young girl’s soul.
So Dasha asked her, as if she was clinging to her without realizing it.
“Then what should I do? If I live differently from what the priest said, what should I do in the future to protect my name until the end?”
[… … .]
The woman did not answer right away, but Dasha felt a faint smile appear on her face, hidden behind the veil.
[… Yeah. I see.]
The woman slowly bowed her head, caressing Dasha’s cheek affectionately. Soon, the strong scent of roses emanating from her came closer, and the black hair flowing down her shoulders made a cool friction sound.
And then, in Dasha’s ear, a sweet voice flowed like the devil’s whisper.
[Then, show me how to drive out the abbot with your own strength. Then, another new path will open up for you.]
…are you serious?
How on earth could a little orphan girl who had just entered the monastery do something like that?
As he stared up at her in disbelief, the woman caressed Dasha’s forehead with an elegant gesture.
[Don’t worry. I’ll give you a little blessing. So that one day you can safely reclaim your name.]
Congratulations?
[Dasha. Remember clearly the scent of death. And entrust your fate and all the missions that fate has assigned to you to him. Then death will probably… … .]
That was the extent of my memory.
When Dasha came to her senses, she was being led by the hand of a priest she had never seen before into a shabby restaurant where orphans gathered.
It was quite some time before I realized that there was no priest in this monastery who wore all black.
* * *
The conversation with the mysterious black woman gradually became hazy in Dasha’s mind.
but-
‘We must kick out the abbot.’
The more time she spent at the monastery, the more firmly this idea became established in Dasha’s mind, as the orphans she was living with disappeared without a sound one after another.
The priests watched the abbot carefully, and his office was visited by suspicious visitors every day. While the abbot’s hands were filled with precious rings, no one cared about the whereabouts of the poor orphans.
It was clear. The abbot was hiding some terrible secret.
“Wow, that’s scary. Dasha, do you really think the priests are right? Are you really going to hell because you didn’t pray to the God they gave you?”
Ramira, who was blowing on her red, swollen hands, whispered to Dasha. She was a new friend she had made at the orphanage, and she was a friendly girl who was willing to hang out with Dasha, who had a different skin color from others.
“That’s not it. The abbot is clearly selling the orphans off somewhere.”
“Sell it? Where?”
“Probably Regina’s Sleepless Castle or Primrose. They buy orphans like us cheap there and make us suffer like hell for the rest of our lives.”
“Eek! Really? Then, what should we do?”
At Ramira’s fuss, Dasha looked at her protruding cheekbones.
“… Well, you’ll probably be okay, right?”
The reason Dasha could give a definitive answer was simple: sadly, Ramira was one of the ugliest children in the monastery.
No one would want to buy her, except perhaps the freckled boy Peter.
“Profit! Thank you so much, Dasha! That’s such a comforting thing to hear!”
“Oh! If you’re really grateful, why don’t you let this go?”
“Shut up! You black Barsha bastard!”
“What are you talking about? You Anatolian ground dog that eats dirt!”
After a long fight and back-and-forth, the two made up while sharing a piece of bread they had secretly hidden.
“So what are you going to do now?”
“Yes. First, we need to find evidence to report the abbot to an external church.”
The chances of the monastery finding a solution on its own were slim. As long as the abbot, the most powerful figure in the monastery, remained firmly in office, it was obvious that the priests here would have no power.
“Evidence to accuse the director? How can we do that? Can’t we just find a good person among the priests on rotation and ask them to help us?”
“No one will listen to you if you appeal like that. Who would believe the words of those orphaned kids who are framing the director without any solid evidence?”
Moreover, if the whole story of this incident is revealed, it will cause great damage to the reputation of not only the monastery but also the church. It is too burdensome a matter for a single priest to roll up his sleeves.
‘therefore…….’
It would have been better to prove to the church that the abbot had committed a minor crime. For example, he had embezzled a small amount of church property, or he had broken some of the monastic rules. It would not have caused such a big fuss, but it would have been a crime that could easily be dismissed.
Dasha, who had to mature earlier than others, unfortunately instinctively understood the nature of such a church.
“Oh, Dasha! It’s the abbot over there. He’s with suspicious guests again!”
“Shh! Don’t look at me carelessly, Ramira. You’ll get dragged away and beaten for no reason.”
Dasha quickly lowered her head and pricked up her ears to eavesdrop on their conversation.
In her ears, the words of blessing that a mysterious woman once whispered came to her mind like an auditory hallucination.
-Dasha. Remember clearly the scent of death… … .