Children of the Holy Emperor

The line was fairly long, but their assessment did not take much time.

From the get-go, those affected by the Gray Plague usually experienced a decrease in consciousness first. There were none who were infected with the larvae of Lophellum and could still walk on two legs.

About half of the people who had filled the prison and courtyard of the capital guard were quickly assessed as they passed by the table.

First Phase: Jibril, the plague doctor from Lyora.

Dressed in almost perfect protective gear, she briefly scanned the patients. If she determined they didn’t have the Gray Plague, she immediately sprayed rose-scented perfume.

“Before standing before His Highness, thoroughly remove the foul smell to prevent disease! Foul smells are the root of all diseases!”

Damn charlatan Lyora plague doctor!

Second Phase: Trustworthy fighting dog Francis.

While incessantly coughing due to the strong perfume, he double-checked whether he felt the aura of demons from the patients passing by.

“You promised, Your Highness! To the commander, *cough*! Please properly convey my, *cough* efforts… *choke*!”

You good-for-nothing, only brag after you’ve done your job.

Third Phase: The bastard Demon King—along with Lee Seongjin.

The Demon King scrutinized the chests and heads of the people passing by and whispered to Seongjin.

[No Lophellum larvae, no inflammation. Confirmation complete. Hehehe.]

Feeling the pride emanating from him was rather uncomfortable.

Fourth Phase: Treasurer Masain.

He handed a few copper coins to the people who had been assessed and emphasized as he uncomfortably looked them in the eye.

“The one who saved your lives today is Prince Morres! Live without ever forgetting to be grateful. Understood?”

…Sir Masain, please stop! You’re making me want to die of embarrassment!

And finally, they received a loaf of rye bread and an apple from Sir Haven and Dame Claudia before leaving the capital guard.

With a puzzled expression, she was wondering whether this was a dream or reality.

After a number of people had queued and been processed, Dame Claudia quietly murmured.

“Is giving just a few copper coins really enough? That’ll barely cover a meal on their way home.”

“It’s appropriate,” Seongjin replied.

“If you can take these people to their homes and watch over them until they spend all the money, then more can be given. But…”

Unneeded favors can sometimes be poison to those who cannot handle it. It’s unfortunate, but that’s the limit.

“…Ah!”

Dame Claudia seemed to have an epiphany and looked at Seongjin with twinkling eyes.

She looks at me like that every time she’s hungry. Didn’t she sneakily eat a loaf of rye bread earlier?

Just when there were only a few people left in line, a burly middle-aged man rushed out from the building of the capital guard.

He was the tardy captain of the capital guard who just heard about the situation.

“What is, what is all this nonsense?! Why are you releasing all the prisoners?!”

Then, Dame Sharon, who had been monitoring the capital guard, stepped forward to intercept him.

“I am under the impression that I delivered an official document stamped with the seal for cooperation. Didn’t you receive it?”

“I did, but what do you mean by actively cooperating… furthermore, releasing the prisoners on your own! These people were arrested under orders from higher-ups! No one should arbitrarily…!”

“Hehe. If you don’t understand, let me explain again. Once the approval review by the Holy Council begins, the temporary emergency measures are deemed to be over. And the Heresy Tribunal has also withdrawn its hand by requesting a review rejection. So, no side has the right to decide their fate now. Hehe.”

“What kind of nonsense is this! Even if so, these people aren’t immediately under the jurisdiction of the Monster Special Task Force! At least until the Holy Council decides their policy, they should naturally be managed by the capital guard!”

The captain was right. Technically, the Monster Special Task Force was the third party meddling out of the blue.

“Isn’t it also not within the jurisdiction of the capital guard?”

“We must follow the temporary emergency measures…”

“But those measures are no longer under the jurisdiction of the Orthodox Church.”

“But ultimately, they should be imprisoned by the Heresy Tribunal…”

“Unfortunately, they’re not within their jurisdiction right now either. Then why are you interfering with the [official duties] of the Monster Special Task Force?”

“Krrrgh…!”

The captain’s face was losing its patience as he listened to Sharon’s thin, leisurely voice.

In the meantime, the last person hastily left the capital guard, leaving only dozens of unconscious patients in the courtyard.

*Thud.* The captain, drained of strength, slumped down on the spot.

‘Is it time to console him?’

Seongjin approached the captain.

“You’ve always worked hard defending the capital. Because we had our own [official duties] that we were desperate for, we couldn’t ask for your cooperation in advance. I apologize.”

“…Prince Morres.”

The guard captain stood up brusquely, his face visibly frustrated, and began to argue.

“Your Highness! This is a difficult situation for us when you suddenly push us like this! Have you even considered our position of having to bring back all those people we’ve just released?”

“That’s not possible anymore. The temporary emergency measures have already ended. From now on, if innocent citizens are harmed, I will deem it as an arbitrary decision on your part and take appropriate measures.”

“Arbitrary decision? The orders clearly stated to arrest even those showing rashes!”

“Exactly, so why do you think you were told to arrest those with rashes?”

“That’s obviously because rashes are the initial symptoms of the curse…!”

“Exactly, the key point is that the rashes are initial symptoms of the Gray Plague.”

Seongjin interrupted the guard captain’s words and brought forward Jibril Seymour, who was standing behind him.

Jibril Seymour.

She was the same plague doctor who had once sprayed rose perfume on Seongjin and his party in court. She had been hastily invited when a familiar face was spotted during a visit to the Lyora Plague Association’s office.

Although she was clearly a charlatan, she was heavily armed in a hazmat suit and looked quite like a specialist.

“So, we sought advice from the Lyora Plague Association. As you know, they are a scholarly faction that has been recognized by the Holy Council for their expertise. To not trust them is akin to not acknowledging the authority of the Holy Council itself.”

The guard captain glared at Seongjin with a scowling face.

Hey, don’t get mad.

Since we dismissed the people who are under review by the Holy Council, don’t you need an excuse to tell the Council later?

“Also, thankfully, the deputy commander of the St. Aurelion Knight Order has personally stepped in.”

Seongjin pointed to a grumpy-looking knight who was frowning in the back.

“Isn’t a paladin who serves under His Holiness, the Holy Emperor  is the most reliable person to detect the curse of the devil. He was the one who first discovered the outbreak in the tribunal not long ago. In the past, he was able to save the life of a knight who had contracted the Gray Plague. It was all thanks to Sir Francis.”

The guard captain then tugged at his mustache and looked uncomfortable.

“Your Highness. The capital guards are merely following orders. Isn’t it the responsibility of the Heresy Tribunal to determine whether it is a curse or not? You’re ignoring all proper procedures!”

“Is that so? You may not have heard, but the Heresy Tribunal has already concluded that the Gray Plague is not associated with the devil. If you still unjustly detain innocent people and something happens to them, do you think the Heresy Tribunal will take responsibility? In the end, all the blame will fall on the inflexible capital guards.”

“…”

“By the way, it’s going to take some time for the Holy Council to mediate. What was your plan for managing all those people in the meantime? Would there even be enough food for them?”

People from the slums who can’t even get proper treatment anyway. Even if they hadn’t been brought here, they would have died in the slums, so the intention was merely to detain them loosely. However, the captain of the guard couldn’t bring himself to say that outright.

“…We’ve also been considering various measures. We’ve sent several official documents asking for cooperation to the 7th Knights Division…”

“In that case, there’s no need to send more official documents now that all problems have been solved. It’s a good thing, isn’t it? Just manage the remaining prisoners well.”

“……”

The boy’s face, which sneaked a sly grin while responding to every little thing, was annoyingly irritable.

The captain of the guard’s eyes narrowed slightly as he looked at Seongjin.

“Speaking of which, I had something else I wanted to ask you, Your Highness. Last night, some of the capital guards were seriously injured while on duty. What are your thoughts on this disgraceful event happening within the Empire where His Holiness’s law exists?”

“Oh? Did something like that happen? I hope the injured guards get the treatment they need. Ah, speaking of which…”

Seongjin frowned as he continued.

“Last night, the knight who was escorting my [guest] from Pearl Palace was also severely assaulted on the road. An assault on an Imperial [guest] and a group attack on an Imperial Knight, even drawing a sword on a member of the Imperial family who tried to stop them. How do you propose we deal with such rampant incidents within the Empire, where the law still exists?”

“…”

“Plotting to assassinate the prince after undermining the imperial family, they’re truly a nefarious group. I’m really curious to know under whose orders they were operating.”

“Uh….”

“One thing, I’m too busy with [official duties] to pay attention to this. So, I plan to delegate all investigations entirely to the capital guard. Can you handle it quietly, without any fuss?”

“…We will devote our utmost effort, Your Highness.”

The guard captain, with a drained expression, swallowed his saliva and retreated.

[Didn’t you say you’d appease them? Why are you threatening?]

‘Threatening without even raising a fist? Considering the situation, that was quite a mild way of appeasing them.’

[…]

The real issue starts now.

Everyone lying here is suffering from the grey plague. From now on, I have to decide who to save.

In the past three days, almost 150 people were roughly dragged in by the capital guards.

About half of them, those who could still move, had already left this place.

Seongjin scanned the courtyard and prison cells, quickly surveying those who were lying down. He then selected around ten people who were unconscious due to illnesses other than the grey plague.

After having Jibril and Francis check on each of them, he sent them to the Imperial Medical Center. Now, only those suffering from the grey plague remained within the capital guards.

“…Will you extract the eggs from all of these people? Time is running out..”

Seeing still around 50 people remaining, Masain asked with a worried look.

Seongjin provided a clear criterion.

“Tell the guards to give them water. Exclude those who can’t swallow.”

Soon after, the guards of the capital, each carrying a bowl of water, began to pour water into the mouths of the prisoners one by one.

While Seongjin was walking around inside and outside the prison giving various orders, the guards were somewhat flustered but were following his instructions.

Since the entire monster-specialized unit was operating smoothly under his command, naturally everyone recognized this young boy as the ultimate authority. Even the captain of the guard simply watched as the prince wandered around issuing orders.

Moreover, although he didn’t assert his status or authority, his words carried an inexplicable weight. Nobody felt like opposing him.

Thus, another ten or so people who could barely swallow water were selected. Now, only those truly in the late and middle stages of the Gray Plague remained in the prison.

“Take those we’ve filtered out to the medical chamber and begin the extraction process.”

After giving that command, Seongjin turned away without hesitation.

Those already advanced in the Gray Plague stages appeared to have no hope of recovery.

Their brains were filled with inflammatory crystals, and the Demon King had confirmed that their brains were completely damaged. Even at a glance, their bodies had hardened like wooden logs; they were barely breathing.

Whether that was a reversible change was another issue. Either way, those who couldn’t even drink water had no chance of survival, especially since intravenous nutrition wasn’t an option with the current medical technology.

In that case, handing them over to both the Heresy Tribunal and the Orthodox Church would be beneficial for everyone.

It might seem callous, but Seongjin thought it was the best course of action.

‘From the Heresy Tribunal’s point of view, they may not want these people, but if another department takes them away, that could hurt their pride. However, if I simply reduce the numbers a bit, they are more likely to accept.’

The Orthodox Church was no different.

If they smuggled out all the prisoners, the church’s credibility would be diminished, and the desperate Orthodox Church might again invoke emergency measures.

However, if a significant number of confirmed Grey Plague patients were left behind, the likelihood of quietly waiting for the evaluation to end would increase.

If the initial  aim was about half of the total performance from the beginning, ‘then I should be satisfied with just about a quarter of that half.’

While Seongjin was lost in various thoughts, Masain was engrossed in a strange sentiment as he studied Seongjin’s face.

He had cautiously expressed his dissenting opinions since Seongjin moved the Monster Special Task Force in the morning.

“If Your Highness is concerned about the fate of the falsely arrested imperial citizens, it would be appropriate to lean toward rejecting the deliberation by exerting pressure on the council now. If it’s rejected, everyone will be released. Otherwise, you risk making both the Orthodox Church and the heresy tribunal your enemies.”

“But then, those who were wrongly implicated would suffer, and the early-stage Grey Plague patients would miss their treatment window, wouldn’t they?”

“Even so, I disagree. If Your Highness intervenes and personally decides the life and death of these innocent citizens, there will inevitably be those who later shift the blame onto you, exploiting their deaths. Moreover, there will be many who question your judgment and pour criticism on your qualifications…”

“Sir Masain.”

Having grown up watching his father fight bloody battles of justification with brothers and sisters, the activities of Seongjin appeared to Masain as perilous endeavors that could jeopardize his own standing.

Yet, the young prince was surprisingly resolute.

“Matters that will happen later can be dealt with later. For now, let’s focus only on how many people we can save.”

“… “

The young prince, who seemed to be brimming with a commitment to help the citizens at great risk, was now ruthlessly dividing those who would live from those who would die. That demeanor was unnervingly cold.

Masain felt that this young prince seemed exceedingly unfamiliar yet, on the other hand, oddly familiar, making him inadvertently shake his head in disbelief.