Children of the Holy Emperor

‘…Did I come out for no reason?’

Pushed around by the crowd and stuck in a carriage for tens of minutes, Seongjin was feeling a bit regretful.

The two escort knights were anxious as if the congestion was their fault. Particularly, Dame Claudia had been fidgeting in her seat, stealing glances at Seongjin and looking somewhat uncomfortable.

Why is she like that? Is she hungry?

Seongjin pondered for a moment before speaking.

“Then, since we’ll be late anyway, shall we just eat and then go home?”

That way, he could skip dinner and find some time for training.

“Will… expensive ones be alright, Your Highness?”

“Go anywhere you want to eat. I’ll pay for everything.”

Suddenly, Dame Claudia’s eyes began to sparkle.

She must have been starving.

“This is a hugely famous restaurant on Destete Street. It’s one of the few places where you can taste genuine Flanders-style meat pies!”

The place Claudia had led them to was a rather large and reputable-looking restaurant.

Even though it wasn’t yet dinner time, it was already bustling with people, proving that it was indeed a popular place.

“…Is it alright to bring the Crown Prince to such an common place?”

Dame Maria looked around, bewildered. It was clearly not an upscale restaurant with private rooms for distinguished guests.

But Dame Claudia was adamant.

“What use is formality before absolute gourmet? We don’t need any elaborate course meals. Freshly cooked, piping hot food is always the tastiest!”

Her argument was quite persuasive.

So they selected an available table.

“Here, you must try the traditional Flanders-style pork pie! The crispy pie filled with a thick layer of juicy pork is just incredible!”

“Is, is that so?”

“Yes. And you must have it with cheese. Flanders-style cheese has a unique charm different from that of Carthago!”

“…….”

Dame Claudia, it seems, have a genuine passion for clothing and food.

He had seen many unexpected sides of her today.

The dish she highly recommended was definitely worth it.

“Wow…….”

Dame Maria, who couldn’t hide her discomfort while waiting for the food, was mesmerized the moment she took a bite of the pie. It was that delicious, a true Flanders-style meat pie.

“Hehehe. How is it? It’s amazing, right?” Claudia asked, looking pleased, her freckled nose wrinkling with delight as she took a big bite of pie.

So Seongjin decided to see the outing in a more positive light. Maybe this was the leisure that the Holy Emperor had mentioned.

As they were about halfway through their meal, the restaurant suddenly filled with customers. It was nearing dinner time.

With the national festival approaching and many foreigners arriving, he spotted people in exotic attire.

Next to Seongjin’s table, a group of foreigners dressed in flashy, snug clothes, adorned with glittering decorative buttons, took their seats. They were men from Brittany.

Wait? Their outfits looked familiar.

“They seem to be people from Brittany.”

Claudia muttered with food in her mouth.

Ah, it was the style he’d seen at the Salon de Merci. The latest trend on the continent.

Seongjin observed them with curiosity.

They all had a strong aura of magic. The flashy yet shallow swords each of them wore indicated they were likely knights escorting some high-ranking person.

Their surly expressions were strange, with smoothly shaved chins and flushed cheeks.

Is this what fashion has come to? In a few years, will all the people of Delcross look like that?

Seongjin shuddered at the thought of the pearl-decorated imperial knights with painted cheeks.

While he was pondering this, the Brittany men began to order their food with an arrogant attitude, soon starting to talk loudly among themselves.

“The crude food here, no matter how hard I try, I can’t get used to it. These imperial bumpkins don’t know how to cook.”

“That’s true. Tender sparrow dishes with Rohan’s red wine would be the perfect match.”

“Ah! Since the first day in the imperial capital, I’ve been homesick!”

They were openly insulting Delcross in the middle of the capital.

Their gall was astounding.

“How odd that they can gain weight eating this kind of food.”

“Ahaha! You mean that famous pig from the imperial family? The one that’s notoriously insane…”

“Right. Look at the one who calls him a Prince. Even the Delcross fools are laughable when you see them.”

Suddenly, Claudia looked at Seongjin with a start, fearing that the prince, unable to control his temper, might do something rash again.

Seongjin smirked and quietly put a piece of pork into his mouth.

People talk ill even of their king when he is not around. Why would I get angry at them one by one when they don’t even know who I am? This is all because of that bastard Morres.

Speaking of which, that jerk Mores, how badly must he have messed up to be cursed at by foreigners?

At that moment, the Demon King, who had been quiet until now, suddenly asked Seongjin,

[Can you hear what they’re saying?]

‘Of course, they’re making such a loud racket. How could I not hear?’

[…You can hear that?]

‘……?’

What is he talking about?

As Seongjin was puzzled, the gossip at the next table was entering a new phase.

“By the way, I heard a lot of young royals who have just come of age are coming to this year’s coronation party?”

“It would be nice if our Prince Charles finds a good match this time.”

“Yes. If he can snag one of the princesses of Delcros. Then he would become the son-in-law of the Holy Emperor!”

“Rumor has it that the first princess, Amelia, is quite beautiful?”

Seongjin unconsciously furrowed his brows, and one of the men, with a bowl-cut hairstyle, began to talk nonsense, waving his hand.

“Beauty? What’s the use of that when she’s of low birth?”

“Low birth?”

“No, she’s the princess of the imperial family……”

Shh. The bowl-cut haired man lowered his voice as if sharing a big secret.

“Actually, the first prince and first princess of Delcross can hardly be considered proper imperial family members. Because they were raised improperly, they only came into the palace under the name of being the Holy Emperor’s children. Everyone who presents themselves before the Holy Emperor’s face won’t say anything.”

“Really?”

“Of course. Those so-called royals rolled around in the dirt with commoners most of their childhood, quite unworthy to be treated as royalty. That’s the truth.”

“Ha ha, that’s true. No matter how beautiful a woman is, if she’s of low birth, it’s a different story.”

The more these bastards talk, the more they seem to have no limits to their words.

Clang. Seongjin slowly placed his utensils down on the plate, feeling something boiling up inside.

“And that’s not all. Do you think that princess is really the Holy Emperor’s biological daughter?”

“What? What are you talking about?”

As if enjoying the shocked reactions of those around him, the bowl-cut haired man grinned.

“You know? There’s a rumor that the first princess’s mother was actually a prostitute. If that’s true, who in the world can assert that her father is really the Holy Emperor?”

Clatter.

Seongjin was on his feet before he even realized it. They say that when a person gets too angry, they become calm, and that was exactly Seongjin’s condition.

His whole body felt hot as if blood was boiling, but his heart rate slowed down, and his mind settled.

“Watch what you say! Someone might hear something that could cause trouble!”

“No, no. There’s a point to it. Considering her mother never received an official investiture, it’s not an outrageous story, is it?”

“Oh, I heard the current Holy Emperor was quite a playboy. Indeed, something like that……”

Thump, thump.

Seongjin started to walk towards the bowl-cut haired man.

Startled, Maria and Claudia, who were with him, belatedly stood up to follow Seongjin.

[Hey, hey. Calm down, okay? Hey, Seongjin!]

The Demon King began to panic, his voice urgent.

[Just bear with it a little. Huh? I know you’re angry, but if you mess up now, you’ll end up in an irrecoverable situation!]

What nonsense. Who says I’m going to mess up?

I’m just going to ‘politely’ protest their rudeness.

[Ah! His eyes have gone mad again. Are you planning to kill them all?]

…What does he think of me?

Seongjin snorted and stopped in front of the bowl-cut haired man.

The bowl-cut haired man, who had been blabbering nonsense, blinked up at the sudden approach of the young boy.

“…What can I do for you?”

Looking at the boy’s fierce eyes and sullen expression, it seemed that the matter was not particularly good, but nonetheless, he asked courteously. The boy’s attire and demeanor seemed like that of a noble’s child.

More than anything, there was an undeniable intimidation or a kind of dignity about this boy that subtly emanated from him.

And Seongjin kindly responded to his question, welcoming the boy’s visit to Delkros with a gesture of goodwill.

“Come on. Bark your nonsense again, you bastards.”

At that moment.

Those who were seated at the table, the Brittanians, and even the escort knights behind Seongjin, all looked at him, their eyes wide in disbelief.

“……!”

“Brittania language……!”

“Could he have heard everything we said……?”

Even Dame Claudia stammered.

“How, Your Highness! How did you speak Brittania like that……?”

What’s all this noise about?

Noticing the odd reactions around him, Seongjin slightly raised an eyebrow, and the Demon King explained with a sigh.

[You just spoke in that strange foreign language.]

…What?

[You spoke in the language of Brittania. Understanding is one thing, but how could you speak it so naturally?]

It wasn’t the Empire’s common language?

He was sure that’s what he heard.

As Seongjin narrowed his eyes and looked around, the Brittanians, who had been frozen until then, began to speak one by one.

“Are you from the empire? But I don’t detect a Delcross accent at all.”

“I’ve never seen a foreigner pronounce Arrhc so naturally.”

“Could this man be a Brittanian native?”

‘Uh……?’

Seongjin blinked in confusion.

These weird, muffled sounds. It was a foreign language he had never heard before?

[Tsk. So you were unaware. Well, that explains it.]

The Demon King clicked his tongue.

Out of curiosity, Seongjin turned to the bartender and spoke again.

“I am not a Brittanian. I am a proper imperial citizen. How dare you utter such nonsense within the Empire’s capital, are you out of your minds?”

Oh, it worked.

Maybe that Morres guy was surprisingly proficient in foreign languages?

Given the sudden unexpected dialect, he became quite curious about how this mechanism worked.

But Seongjin had previously used the Empire’s common language as naturally as Korean, even though he had never learned it. Adding a language or two more didn’t make much difference.

Right now, he had more pressing matters to attend to.

With a tense face, Seongjin slowly met the eyes of each of the Bretonians, looking at him and spoke slowly.

“You just blasphemed the Holy Emperor, His Majesty, by calling him a wastrel. This can be seen as an insult to the Lord and a challenge to the authority of the Empire.”

Admitting that the young Emperor had lived a bit recklessly in his youth was one thing. But he was not someone who should be called a wastrel by riffraff like you! Huh?

Caring for his children even in his busy life isn’t something just anyone can do!

That gentleman is my father, and I respect him!

“And you dared to wag your filthy mouth about the most noble princess of the Empire. Do not think that this insolence towards the Imperial Family can be easily overlooked!”

Even I want to immediately bow down to praise my sister who has descended to this world, but what are these pathetic beings saying now? Lowly? Falls short?”

It would be good to engrave this clearly in their pathetic head. Understand?

Our Sister Amelia is an angel!

[…You’re surprisingly obstinate, aren’t you?]

Why is this guy picking a fight again?

At Seongjin’s words, the Brittanians’ attitude clearly turned hostile. They all stood up from their seats, each reaching for their swords at their waists.

Seongjin could feel their aura intensify as they prepared to unsheath their weapons. Comparing them with the knights residing in Pearl Palace, they seemed to be roughly at the level of an intermediate knight.

Maria and Claudia were about to step forward and draw their swords too, but Seongjin quickly raised his hand to stop them.

It would be problematic if their side was the first to draw a weapon.

“What’s this? A fight?”

“…Seems like they’re about to draw their swords?”

“City Guards! Contact the guards quickly!”

At this point, the other patrons in the restaurant couldn’t ignore the conflict between the Brittanians and Seongjin’s party. With guests hastily avoiding the scene and staff running around trying to manage the situation, the restaurant quickly became chaotic.

“I would have spared you if you’d just prostrated and begged, but you’re making a big deal out of this.”

“Why? Getting cold feet now? You were the one who started this.”

“You really intend to draw swords in a public place? It’ll become troublesome when the city guards arrive.”

“The one who will be troubled is you. We are the escort knights protecting the honorable Marquis Rabijuri’s son. What a diplomatic outrage towards a foreign guest!”

“To mention diplomatic outrage after publicly insulting the Imperial Family…”

Seongjin’s frustration turned into a hollow laugh, and the bowl-headed man smirked.

“That’s just your claim. Can you prove it to the guards? Is there a witness here cultured enough to understand such a refined language as Brittania, you Delcross bumpkin?”

These bastards?

They’re running their mouths thinking no one can understand?

“Now that you understand your situation, leave before the guards come. If you close your mouth and leave quietly, I will forgive your rudeness thus far.”

So that’s what he meant.

Seongjin smiled smugly at the bowl-headed man.

“Ah, is that so? I must have misunderstood. I’m sorry about that. You guys were just gossiping about the young lord, and it seems I’ve misunderstood, right?”

“Gossip… What?”

“That’s how it was. You’re saying that such injustices have been publicly committed at Marquis Rabijuri’s place! Treating the knights harshly and skimping on their wages? Anyway, the higher-ups are even more stingy.”

The smug smile vanished from the bowl-headed man’s face.

“What, what nonsense are you talking about!”

“When the city guards arrive, I’ll ‘properly’ testify. These poor fellows were just airing a bit of their grievances about their own lord’s tyranny. I’m the one who misunderstood their complaints, and that’s what caused this trouble. Right?”

The Brittanian men stood agape.

What’s this guy going on about?