Chapter 171: 092. Kasim Derian -1 (Part One)
The heavily disguised Holy Emperor, Kelt Olfolse, was currently hiding among the nobles.
His emotions fluctuated all over the place while staring at his seventh grandson, who was currently perched up arrogantly on the throne.
Just how long had it been since the last time he came across a moment so thrilling and satisfying like this one?
His seventh grandson, the mangnani, Allen Olfolse, the child who tried to rape a lady-in-waiting and blasphemed against Goddess Gaia…
That individual had long disappeared by now.
No, wait – his former self must’ve been a ruse all along. Without that explanation, the current situation could not be explained at all.
The boy merely losing his memories couldn’t have been the truth. As expected, he had been hiding his true self all along.
That had to be it. Because the Seventh Imperial Prince before Kelt’s eyes came across as the most ideal candidate to become a ruler of a nation. He must’ve been hiding his sharpened fangs only to bare them at this very moment.
Kelt remained hidden within the ranks of the nobles and quietly observed their atmosphere.
All the nobles were completely out of it. Even then, their eyes were gleaming in the light of confidence.
Because, they also knew.
They knew that the boy before their eyes would be the one to shoulder the burden of the Holy Emperor’s position in the future.
Every single one of them had become entranced by the boy’s charismatic display unfolding right before their eyes and could no longer deny his greatness.
‘It’s been decided.’
The successor to the Holy Emperor…
White Olfolse was definitely unsuitable. He was simply too wishy-washy.
What about Luan, then? Or Hilda? There was no doubting that those two possessed the qualifications to become an excellent Holy Emperor.
However, they hadn’t yet displayed such a strong charisma capable of entrancing everyone like this, nor did they prove that they possessed unrivalled strength.
The one who could drive out the Vampires, maintain absolute authority and at the same time, possess enough strength to protect his subjects…
The one with the status of a Saint, and even beloved by Goddess Gaia.
“…Allen Olfolse.”
Even if Kelt chose to hand over the throne of the Holy Emperor to his seventh grandson right now, there shouldn’t be any problems as far as he could tell.
Kelt grinned deeply while tightly clenching his fists.
“Who do you think is the truly corrupt one between us?”
The Seventh Imperial Prince asked.
The intimidated members of aristocracy and clergy paid close attention to every word the boy spoke as their faith grew larger and larger.
They then started eagerly answering his call.
“Without a doubt!”
The surrounding gazes focused on the nobleman who chose to speak up. He was one of the loyal retainers who had served the Imperial Family for a very long time.
While bowing his head, the nobleman finished the rest of his sentence. “They are guilty of perverting the truth. They have gone against the will of Gaia and committed too many acts of impropriety!”
Once one person spoke up, the rest swiftly followed suit as well.
“Although we must concede that their connection to the Third Imperial Prince isn’t fully confirmed, they still opposed Archbishop Raphael and his troops who were dispatched by his majesty the Holy Emperor as his trusted envoy. That crime alone amounts to treason!”
The once-divided nobles were uniting under one banner. It was the same story for the members of the clergy, as well.
Without a doubt, the Priests sent by the Church of Caiolium must be hiding among their ranks right now. However, even they had become entranced by the boy prince.
They were all entranced by the miracle taking place before their eyes, and by the majestic air he emitted.
The Seventh Imperial Prince corrected his sitting posture on the throne after listening to the loyal retainers. He scanned the nobles and asked them once more, “In that case, what do you think we must do?”
The retainers all spoke in one voice.
“We must punish the Church of Caiolium, your highness.”
The Seventh Imperial Prince smiled.
He extended his hand forward and made a declaration. “Send a communique to the Church of Caiolium at once. I shall grant them a grace period of ten days.”
His voice reverberated throughout the imperial audience chamber.
“Order them to surrender quietly.”
All of the nobles raised their heads and stared at the boy prince.
He enunciated each and every word clearly as he continued to address them, “They dared to slander the grandchild of the Holy Emperor, labelling me as a heretic. Even their deaths will not be sufficient enough to pay for their sins.”
He stared back intently at every noble present, deliberately holding their gazes as he spoke what’s on his mind.
“However, I shall be merciful by lightening the sentences of those willing to surrender peacefully.”
The boy prince was decisive.
The ones surrendering would still be punished, but their sentences would be less severe. However, if the Church of Caiolium chose not to surrender, then…
“If anyone wishes to oppose me, they shall die at the hands of the very holy army that they fear so much.”
…Then, the commander of the holy army right before their eyes, Allen Olfolse, would personally step up and subjugate them without mercy. That’s what the nobles thought.
“And finally, the three cardinals of the Church of Caiolium responsible for this event shall be made to shoulder all the responsibilities. Is there anyone among you who wishes to express their dissent?”
Allen’s voice reverberated throughout the chamber, prompting the members of the aristocracy and clergy to bow their heads in unison and speak in one voice.
“No, we do not, your highness.”
“Very good. With that, I declare the conclusion of this inquisition.”
Flinch!
The nobles and the priests all went rigid in their bowing posture.
Meanwhile, the Seventh Imperial Prince stood up from the throne and walked dauntlessly right past them, the sounds of his footsteps softened by the red carpet below.
The holy undead knights scattered away as brilliant light particles dissipated from existence.
Harman broke away from the ranks of the nobles and followed the Seventh Imperial Prince out the door.
Only after those two had left the audience chamber did the nobles and priests finally realise something – that this occasion was supposed to be the prince’s inquisition…!
They had completely forgotten about it.
All they could do now was to belatedly turn their heads and stare dazedly at the doorway the Seventh Imperial Prince used to exit.
**
(TL: In 1st person POV.)
I glanced at the shut doorway to the audience chamber and sighed deeply in relief. While doing that, I couldn’t help but notice the muscle ache already starting to hit me from every corner of my body, which forced an unhappy tut to leak out of my mouth.
“I knew it. A single branch isn’t as effective as the actual world tree itself.”
I was already acclimatised to Amon’s skull to some extent by now, but even then, I barely managed to withstand its backlash despite borrowing the power of the world tree’s branch.
Oh well… At least it’s perfectly usable during short bursts, so there’s that.
I started walking down the corridor while feeling slightly rueful, and Harman followed me from behind.
He addressed me, “That was amazing, your highness.”
“What was?”
I glanced back at him.
He grinned widely and replied. “I’m referring to how you managed to captivate the opposing nobles and clergymen, your highness. Not only that, you…”
Harman shifted his gaze towards one of the palace’s windows. The holy undead legion stationed at the palace’s plaza was dissipating away while scattering brilliant motes of light.
Despite the late hours, the subjects of the empire were still gathered around the palace gates and outer walls. They were all kneeling and still praying with their hands held tightly before them.
“You even managed to captivate the subjects as well.”
“I got the idea after remembering what happened back in Aslan, you see.”
I recalled what happened during the fight against Nasus the Lich, the leader of the Black Order. More specifically, what he said back then.
He said the existence of the holy undead was more than enough to make him question his own beliefs.
In addition, all of the slaves held captive in the temple started calling me ‘Lord Angel’ and worshipped me after I defeated the grim reaper version of Nasus.
My ‘could it work?’ idea turned out to be the right answer.
The holy undead might be disharmonious existences to the denizens of this world, but there’s no doubt that they also possessed a mystifying and sacred aura.
Such creatures had made their grand entrance as the guardians of the Imperial Family, who were charged with the protection of the empire’s citizens, so it wasn’t all that surprising to see the masses mistakenly believe that the holy undead were indeed an army sent by the goddess.
I muttered softly, “I’m sure their awe will dissipate soon enough.”
“Soon enough, your highness?” Harman smiled awkwardly. “But faith, once engraved deep within a person’s heart, won’t change so easily.”
“Faith my foot. I’m neither a god nor a Saint.”
I decided to not pay too much heed to what he said.
With this, the only remaining business at hand was to enjoy my much-deserved break.
We finally reached the doorway to my quarters. I spotted Charlotte before the door, smiling gently and bowing her head to me. She must’ve arrived here ahead of us and waited.
She spoke up, “Thank you for your hard work, your highness.”
“Hey, thanks for your help earlier.”
I expressed my gratitude to her. It was due to her efforts that I didn’t run into any friction with the Paladins guarding the city’s gate.
Charlotte opened the door to my quarters.
But it was right at that moment Harman decided to say something else, “By the way, I guess it’ll get very busy for you soon, your highness.”
“Busy with what?”
I turned my head and stared at Harman.
He replied with a wry smile on his face. “The matter with the Church of Caiolium, of course. They will not surrender, after all.”
“Probably. But what does that have to do with me?”
The Holy Emperor should have no trouble handling the matter with the Church of Caiolium all by himself. Now that the opposition from the subjects and priests have been thoroughly taken care of, I figured no one would mind even if the old man slaughtered the Church’s higher-ups after the latter group unwisely decided to not surrender.
That’s what I thought.
But then, Harman began tilting his head this way and that. “Your highness, didn’t you say it yourself?”
“…?”
My head suddenly became blank after his question hit me in the brain. Because, I had abruptly recalled what I said back in the audience chamber.
The holy army would subjugate the Church of Caiolium.
Hang on, wasn’t it the right thing to say at the moment?
I mean, if it’s the Holy Emperor’s army, they should easily be able to…
“…Ah.”
Huh. I made a seriously stupid mistake just now, didn’t I?
Which was…
-If anyone wishes to oppose me, they shall die at the hands of the holy army that they fear so much.
That statement could be misunderstood as me wanting to personally step forward and subjugate the Church of Caiolium.
