Civil Servant in a Romance Fantasy - Chapter 926



926 – A Farmer’s Daily Life – 3

The Emperor—no, I received a request for prayer from Mr. Gilbert, a young man living in Ausen.

A man who lost his mother at the age of 10 and had to overcome the crisis of death without anyone to rely on. A man who gained everything by ascending to the throne as emperor, but lost what was most precious to him. Since it was a request from such a man, I accepted the request without any calculations.

If the Emperor had asked for prayers for the Emperor’s concubine, who was a member of the Imperial Family, I would have thought about it for a moment, just a moment. A living saint moving for the current Imperial Family? Just think about it for a moment and you will know what kind of scene this would be.

However, the emperor asked for prayers not for the empress but for his mother. Of course, the superficial reason was that it was a formality unbecoming of an empress and so on, but anyone could sense that his heart was for his mother.

‘Then I have to listen.’

If the Emperor comes forward as young Mr. Gilbert, I too can respond as young Karl.

The public’s gaze? The excessive closeness of the royal family and the adults? That doesn’t matter. I can’t abandon my proper human duties just to consider such things.

In the first place, do I have time to restrict my actions by worrying about what other people think? If not now, then when will I enjoy power? Since I live a life where I am often beaten by the emperor, I have to boost my self-esteem whenever such an event occurs. Otherwise, my mentality won’t be able to handle it.

However, it was good that they decided to pray for Gilbert’s mother, Celden, just for the sake of the situation.

‘What should I do?’

I’m really worried about how to proceed with the prayer.

First of all, even if I prayed in an ordinary way without any specialness, the emperor would be happy. The prayers of a living saint are more effective and wonderful than any other form. If we kneel before the tomb of the situation and pray earnestly, everyone will be happy.

Still, I wondered if it was right to end it like that.

‘It would be difficult to say that he only prayed during the Gyeonggeong period.’

When I prayed at the tomb of King Gyeonggeon. Actually, I just went there and prayed. However, King Gyeonggeon was a duke who was recognized for his faithfulness during his lifetime and was given the name of Gyeonggeon. He was even the father of the current Duke of Chenes, King Hyeonmyeong.

This means that the management of the tomb of the great king was more perfect and sacred than expected. It was so excellent that it was doubtful whether it was at least the tomb of a blessed person or a tombstone made yesterday. In such a situation, the great king personally prepared the procedures for prayer.

When I went to the tomb, all the high priests from all over Chenes, including the Archbishop of Chenes, were gathered there, and all kinds of holy objects and holy water were mobilized, which was truly amazing. Honestly, even if it was Hyunmyeongong who prayed instead of me, Enen would have listened.

‘It’s a bit much to tell this to the Emperor.’

But this was a voluntary preparation by the wise man. It wasn’t me who said, ‘Since it’s an adult praying, prepare the table extravagantly.’

But, mentioning the voluntary preparation of the wise man to the emperor is no different from pressuring him by saying, ‘You should do this much for your mother.’ If the current emperor heard those words, he would have gnashed his teeth and emptyed the imperial treasury to invite the Pope.

So, rather than relying on the Emperor’s hand, I must prepare my prayers by my own efforts, even though I am neither particularly devout nor well-versed in doctrine.

‘It would be better to shine the cross at this time.’

Suddenly, I felt resentful of Enen. Rather than shining the cross in an ordinary place of worship, wouldn’t it have been better to shine it in a place for the occasional prayer? No matter how much I think about it, that seems like a better path for the greater good.

However, it is crazy to pray without any preparation, expecting the third cross of Enen. At least, you should prepare insurance before hoping for a miracle. It is the act of a madman to rush in and see without insurance.

‘Should I ask the eternal blue sky or Constantina?’

I had that thought for a moment, but shook my head and shook it off.

Now, thanks to the Council, the Eternal Blue Sky and Constantine are recognized as gods to be worshipped, but during the lifetime of the Emperor, the two gods were nothing more than pagans. Even Constantine, who was respected by the Dawn Cult, was officially a pagan.

In his lifetime, he only knew Enen, but in his prayers for Enen, the eternal blue sky and the miracle of Constantina appear. To anyone who looks at it, it seems more like an insult than a prayer for the deceased.

‘This is a headache.’

What would be the best method? The emperor would be satisfied if I just prayed normally, so there was no need to prepare for the worst, but if I were to pray anyway, I would like to do it in a flashy way.

Should we call the Archbishop of Ausen and have a joint prayer? No. He is already full of regrets because he failed to retire. It would be difficult to ask for a personal favor from someone who has a grudge and get into debt.

Then, mobilizing Jangsaeng-i? That’s not a very good idea either. I’m the only one who knows that Jangsaeng-i, as his name suggests, has gained the power of longevity. Besides, praying for the deceased to have longevity is no different from teabagging.

– Benevolent human. Benevolent human.

‘hmm?’

While I was thinking like that alone, a yellow calf the size of my palm flew in.

She was a mid-level spirit of the land that operated under the world tree of Cattleya.

– Female human. Find the benefactor human. Go to the restaurant for a long time.

“It’s already like that.”

I got up from my seat because it was a summons to come eat.

– Okay, since you mentioned it, I’ll go first.

“Okay, thank you.”

I blankly stared at the earth spirit flying away again.

There are still some spirits who are shy around humans, but some have become accustomed to humans and have even started acting as messengers. From my perspective, I’m just happy that there are more guys to play with children.

…

‘government ordinance?’

Come to think of it, Sanghwangbi’s grave is in a national cemetery. And the national cemetery has become one of the playgrounds where spirits are active.

Spirits, circumstance, prayer.

‘good.’

A good idea occurred to me.

***

His hands dutifully sprinkled the dust, but his eyes stared into space.

It’s been a few days since Gilbert left, but I still haven’t gotten over it.

‘Prayer.’

After hearing the report from Sir Roman, I hoped to pray for Selenden. Since I had not been able to hold a proper funeral for Selenden, who had suffered so much, I wanted to give him a send-off that was appropriate for his status─no, more reverent and magnificent than anyone else’s.

But I don’t deserve it. It’s shameful that someone who wasn’t a good husband is now acting for Selene. At the same time, asking for favors from the pillars of the empire after abdicating is confusing the chain of command.

So, I decided to leave everything up to Gilbert’s decision and remained silent.

“I asked Saint Charles to pray.”

“Are you… praying?”

“Yes, Your Majesty. I heard that you recently offered a prayer for the Duke of Gyeonggeon. There is precedent, so there shouldn’t be any problems.”

“okay.”

Surprisingly, Gilbert came to visit shortly thereafter.

With the words that the prayer for Selenium had been decided. With the words that he had personally asked the saint.

‘I guess you can become a better emperor than me.’

An emperor who asks a living subject for a favor on behalf of his dead mother. An emperor who, unlike me who left everything behind and moved forward, embraces everything and moves forward.

An emperor who pursues what is truly important rather than the emperor’s authority and face. This is the emperor you seek, Gilbert. An empire led by such an emperor would be more beautiful than anything else.

– Croak!

‘ah.’

While unconsciously moving my hand, I accidentally threw the food at Pride, who was pecking at it.

Thanks to that, Pride had to get hit with a handful of Moi all over his body. It was too much violence for a small chicken’s body to handle.

– Crunch, crunch! Crunch!

From noble mtl dot com

“sorry.”

At the sudden disaster, Pride stopped eating and flapped his wings, as if protesting what was happening.

This was my mistake, so I apologized right away. Being assaulted by Moiro is not only painful, but also humiliating. If I were a person, it would feel like getting hit with a steak or bread the size of your torso.

– A twisted curve.

Luckily, Pride folded his wings on my apple and pecked at the moi again.

In the meantime, seeing them eat the food that fell on their bodies, I don’t know if they are being generous or simple.

‘The prayer of an adult.’

Anyway, as soon as the little commotion died down, the consciousness flowed back to a prayer for Seleden.

Selene. When you died, I had to send you off alone, as the empress of the empire, because I was neither a proper husband nor a powerful emperor. Although I observed the minimum protocol, it was literally the minimum. How could the wife of a living emperor, an empress who did not commit a crime and died, receive such a ceremonial level of formality?

But unlike me, who was an incompetent and inadequate husband and emperor, Gilbert is a capable and excellent son and emperor. That is why he prepared this gift for you.

‘Thank you, Seleden.’

Go and give me such a wonderful son.

“thanks.”

Then, without me knowing, a sound escaped my mouth.

Thank you, Gilbert, for growing up so well under this incompetent father.

***

I visited the national cemetery as a preliminary inspection before praying.

“This is the tomb of His Majesty the King.”

The tomb of Sanghwangbi is located in a more remote place than expected. If it weren’t for the caretaker who appeared as soon as I entered the imperial quarters, it would have taken quite a while to find it.

Thank goodness I came to do a preliminary inspection. I almost got lost in a strange place.

“Hmm.”

And as soon as I saw the grave of Sanghwangbi, a sigh came out of my mouth.

– Ah, benefactor human! benefactor human!

– Benefactor human! Hello!

– Nice to meet you! Nice to meet you!

Because there were a considerable number of spirits wandering around the tomb of Sanghwangbi.

It wasn’t just low-level spirits that were at the level of fireflies, but there were also quite a few mid-level or higher spirits that could communicate.

‘Was it like this?’

I’ve heard that the national cemetery has become a playground for spirits, but… I never thought it would be this bad…

– A benefactor? Why?

As I blankly stared at them, one of the spirits tilted its head.

“Can you go and call your king? Any one will do.”

I cautiously asked that spirit.

Go and get your parents. I have something to tell you.