Children of the Holy Emperor

Despite the increase in unconscious patients, Dr. Ninnias seemed rather elated.

“It’s truly tiresome when they keep struggling while on the verge of death. It’s much better when they lie still like this.”

He chuckled and started to apply mashed herbs onto Calmen’s now noticeably swollen face.

In contrast, both Commander Masain and Lieutenant Kurt were visibly nervous as they gauged Seongjin’s mood.

Seongjin, who had suddenly knocked out a palace knight in one punch, now felt strangely unfamiliar to them.

“… Although he did do something deserving of punishment, Your Highness…”

“One could’ve been more gentle… that face is, ahem, is quite something!”

Why are they acting like this? I sacrificed my own fist to save a pitiable creature.

Especially Sir Masain, what’s up with that look in his eyes?

He’s the type who would’ve been the first to throw Calmen in jail for blasphemy!

Amidst this, Seongjin’s group received an unexpected visitor looking for the patients.

The commander of the Paladin Order of Saint Aurelion, Katrina, arrived with her lieutenant Francis in haste.

“…Commander Bruno.”

She gazed at the commander lying in the bed, his appearance so altered it seemed unbelievable. Katrina soon approached him with a somber face and carefully laid her hand on his shoulder, channeling a faintly glowing holy power into him.

Known for her indifferent attitude towards anyone other than the Holy Emperor, and nicknamed “The Iron Shield of the Holy Emperor,” it was unprecedented to see Katrina pouring her divine power so earnestly.

“Holy power isn’t very effective against the Gray Plague.”

Despite Dr. Ninnias’ warning, Katrina couldn’t easily remove her hand from the commander.

Looking at her with a somewhat sullen expression, Francis muttered to Seongjin.

“So that’s the unlucky commoner who became a knight commander. I heard he fought side by side with our commander. They had a complex relationship, according to her.”

Seongjin’s confusion deepened.

Complex relationship?

Well, considering Katrina’s current reaction, it does make sense.

But why hadn’t she searched for Commander Bruno even when he was in such a state?

Could this be related to the Holy Emperor’s indifference towards him?

“Anyways, it’s not my place to know. It’s all meaningless past relationships now. Yet to worry about our commander like this…”

*Sigh*

Seongjin, lost in thought, abruptly raised his head at the soft sound.

You crazy fighting dog, do you even want to be jealous of a critically ill person?

Just then, by chance, his eyes met with Katrina’s, who happened to be looking in his direction.

Seongjin awkwardly turned his head.

‘Is it just my imagination? Why is she looking at me so desperately, as if I’m the only hope? Of course, that can’t be the case…’

But that feeling wasn’t mistaken.

Katrina, who had turned her body away from the bed, slowly approached Seongjin with an expression of unprecedented urgency.

“Your Highness, I beg you. Please help Commander Bruno.”

“…?”

How am I supposed to help?

While Seongjin was puzzled, Katrina laid her hand respectfully on the breastplate of her light armor and bowed her head!

“There is no one who has served Delcross with as much sincerity as him. His loyalty to the imperial family is unparalleled. Please, Your Highness, bestow mercy upon him.”

“…”

In his bewilderment, Seongjin’s mind raced.

Surely she wasn’t asking Morres to directly heal the man, who had no divine energy to speak of. The only possibility seemed to be—

“…Are you asking me to personally request my father to help him?”

Katrina didn’t respond, but her head lowered even more, indicating that he was correct.

“Why don’t you ask directly?”

Seongjin genuinely wondered as he posed the question. 

She had been assisting the Holy Emperor for a long time, serving as his most trusted right hand. 

Yet, Katrina shook her head.

“That won’t be sufficient.”

“Insufficient?”

“Yes, Your Highness. Just because someone has a desperate wish, it doesn’t mean His Majesty can help everyone unconditionally.”

For a moment, a thought crossed Seongjin’s mind.

Having recently dealt with the Gray Plague incident, he began to suspect whether the Holy Emperor knew more than he let on. 

The real question was;

To what extent and how should the Holy Emperor intervene?

As far as Seongjin could perceive, the Holy Emperor was an enigmatic individual whose limits were impossible to gauge. If he were to take action with full intent, what problems could he not solve?

To what extent should he intervene?

Take the plague as an example. Even if he could cure every illness, it would be unsustainable for the citizens of Delcross to solely rely on the Holy Emperor for everything. 

If the Holy Emperor were to prevent and cure all diseases before they worsen, what would be the need for hospitals? For people to maintain public hygiene?

This would be a poisoned chalice, leading Delcross down a path of infinite regression.

Perhaps the Holy Emperor’s somewhat lukewarm recent reactions were not unrelated to this.

—His Majesty can’t help everyone unconditionally.

As Katrina had said, it seemed there needed to be certain [conditions] for him to act.

And she was implying that Seongjin himself had to take the initiative to fulfill these [conditions].

“Would my request serve as a [condition] for my father to help the Commander?”

When Seongjin asked, Katrina evasively averted her gaze and responded ambiguously.

“Sometimes, even words spoken casually can shake and crumble the very foundations, Your Highness.”

“…”

You can’t talk, huh?

“Well, that’s better than completely sealing my lips, Your Highness.”

Seongjin nodded and spoke, “I was also planning to ask my father for his help with that matter. I’m just not certain how much that will actually help. You’ve heard too, haven’t you? The Gray Plague shows little response to divine power.”

“You need not worry about that, Your Highness. The divine power emitted by the clergy and the power of His Majesty the Holy Emperor may seem similar, but they are fundamentally different.”

There was strong conviction in Katrina’s voice. It was clear she was saying that the Holy Emperor must have a way.

Seongjin nodded and stood up.

If the course of action is clear, there’s no need to delay.

***

Initially, the plan was to just drop by the office and briefly ask for a favor.

However, as he left the treatment room, Seongjin suddenly thought,

‘Why don’t I just bring Commander Bruno from the start? Telling His Majesty the Emperor to come and see the patient seems a bit cumbersome.’

The deteriorating condition of the Commander was also a concern. According to the Demon King, the ‘psychic crystals’ were still growing in his mind.

Despite the considerable time that had elapsed since the extraction, it seemed the disease was not stopping.

Anyway, nothing good would come from delaying treatment, so as soon as the Holy Emperor’s permission was granted, they planned to bring the patient before him.

‘Of course, there’s a chance he may refuse treatment…’

Still, Seongjin had an almost intuitive, ungrounded conviction.

In the end, the Holy Emperor would save Commander Bruno.

So, a somewhat strange procession formed behind Seongjin: not only the priest but also the commander and lieutenant of the Saint Aurelion Paladin Order, and even the resident knights carrying a palanquin.

The issue was how to explain the unusual composition of this visit to the palace guards.

However, Seongjin soon realized this worry was unnecessary. Upon their arrival, chief chamberlain Louis had already come out to greet them at the entrance.

After briefly glancing at the pitiable state of the Commander, he turned and led the group straight to the Holy Emperor’s office. It was as if he already knew why Seongjin had come to the palace.

‘Well, it’s something His Majesty the Emperor is involved in, so I guess it’s not surprising.’

Seongjin shrugged his shoulders and followed Louis.

“Have you arrived?”

Entering the office, the Holy Emperor greeted them in his usual indifferent manner.

However, what Seongjin saw was so unexpected that he had no choice but to momentarily stop in his tracks, taken aback.

‘What is he doing?’

That is to say—

Currently, the Holy Emperor turned his head in a direction that wasn’t towards the entrance, not even glancing at Seongjin and his group.

No, it would be more accurate to say that he couldn’t see them. This was because his eyes were wrapped in something that resembled a dark cloth, like blindfolds.

It wasn’t only Seongjin who was surprised by this unexpected sight. Masain opened his mouth with a blank expression, and even Francis widened his eyes and pushed up his glasses.

Only Katrina seemed to have a hint of what was going on, as she slowly moved to stand beside the Holy Emperor, as if assisting him.

Feeling momentarily disoriented by the strange atmosphere in the office, Seongjin spoke directly:

“I’ve come to ask for a favor, Father.”

“A favor.”

“Yes, I would like for you to heal someone. I brought a Grey Plague patient to the Pearl Palace yesterday. You probably already know who it is—”

“—Morres.”

The Holy Emperor cut him off, speaking in a firm tone.

“There’s no need for you to tell me that person’s name.”

“…”

“I have no reason to recognize his face, either.”

Seongjin blinked.

Ah, is that the purpose of the blindfold? I don’t fully understand the meaning.

“Don’t you understand?”

“Actually, I don’t.”

“When asked, ‘Why do you not see?’ he replied, ‘Thus, I do not pre-judge the direction in which my staff points.'”

“…Yes?”

When Seongjin stared blankly at the Holy Emperor’s face, the corners of his lips slightly lifted.

“…It seems you haven’t yet considered reading ‘The Introduction to Theology.'”

Seongjin turned his head awkwardly.

Ah, was that a reference from a book?

“Um, I’ve been making an effort to read it.”

Meaning, he’d only opened the preface.

He’d been discouraged by the small, densely packed characters that were barely legible even with a magnifying glass and had immediately closed the book.

“I see. Then it’s settled.”

He had thought he would be scolded more for not studying, but surprisingly, the Holy Emperor didn’t seem to mind much as he nodded his head. Then he slowly extended one hand forward and directed,

“Bring him here.”

The knights, who had been only moving their eyeballs until then, began to hesitantly move only after receiving a cue from Seongjin.

Soon after, the medium carrying Commander Bruno was placed in front of the Holy Emperor, who gently touched the commander’s chest as if measuring something. Seongjin clearly saw the corners of his mouth slightly twist for a moment.

Why? He suddenly thought of the harsh expression that Katrina had initially shown toward the commander.

Caught in a strange mood, Seongjin observed as the Holy Emperor softly sighed and opened his mouth.

“Is he important to you?”

It felt as if some sort of ritual was beginning.

Even though he didn’t know what specific steps were needed, Seongjin thought that he had to affirm the question in order to proceed to the next step.

After a moment of contemplation, Seongjin answered, “He is someone who will be important to me.”

Immediately, the next question followed.

“Is it right to save him?”

The answer to that question was easy.

“He is a person of worth, but has undergone undue hardship. Therefore, it is only right to save him.”

Then the third question was promptly thrown at him.

“Can you bear the consequences of that decision?”

“……”

The weight of this question felt somewhat different from the previous ones, so Seongjin couldn’t immediately respond and took a moment to think.

Is it possible for one person to completely bear another person’s life and future?

‘No, that’s not what it means. This is closer to a procedure that must be followed. Don’t overthink it.’

Seongjin quickly organized his thoughts and nodded.

After all, if the plan to help Bruno succeeds, he was prepared to take responsibility for Bruno’s well-being and even his welfare.

“His past is due to my mistake, so his future will also be my responsibility.”

It was at that moment.

Both the Holy emperor and Katrina simultaneously showed faint smiles on their faces, as if they were twins.

Seongjin suddenly realized.

Katrina Belphein. She was known as the Holy Emperor’s strongest shield, but in fact, she might be closer to being his mirror.

“Very well, Morres.”

The Holy Emperor’s calm voice continued.

“From now on, he will wholly belong to your karma.”

With that declaration,

A dazzling white light burst forth from the Holy Emperor’s fingertips.