Children of the Holy Emperor

There was no need to specifically search the imperial treasury records to know the original name of ‘True Salmon’ sword. Fortunately, the chief chamberlain Louis, who had just come in holding a pot of warm tea, gave a clear answer.

“The name of that sword is [Eungashi], and its nickname is [Acacia]. It’s a truly beautiful sword,” he said, as he set down a warm cup of tea at the Emperor’s table.

“The virtue bestowed by the sacred text on the sword is called [Repentance].”

It was said that adding the virtue from the sacred text to a treasure sword was a long-standing tradition of the Delcross royal family. Things like [Promise], [Sacrifice], or [Devotion], for example.

It seems that if you become a chief chamberlain, you know all the items in the imperial treasury. Truly impressive, isn’t it?

At Seongjin’s admiration, Louis chuckled softly, “Hehe.”

“How could that be the case? It’s just that this sword is special. It was one of the few weapons designated as a sacred relic, but it was stolen several decades ago.”

At the time, it was under strict supervision within the Theological Academy along with other holy artifacts. But, it vanished overnight, so to speak.

And the sword that was found again after a long search had become just an ordinary precious sword.

“It was an event that occurred 40 years ago. I was just an apprentice steward at that time, but it was such a famous event that I still remember it.”

It was an event where a sacred relic was stolen and lost its noble status. Both the imperial family and the academy were turned upside down.

High-ranking clerics and scholars from the academy had spent months making a fuss, but the noble status the sword had lost never returned. In the end, Eungashi was left abandoned in the imperial treasury amidst many people’s lamentations.

“So, I thought that Your Majesty choosing this sword might also be destiny,” said Louis, looking at the Holy Emperor with a soft smile.

The Holy Emperor, who had not known the full history, looked gravely serious. It’s understandable if it was a sword that had once been a sacred relic.

“A name that’s not so special after all. In that case, True Salmon is…”

Was that his concern?

Seongjin quickly shouted, “No! Eungashi or Acacia is definitely cooler!”

“…”

Looking all sour won’t change the fact!

***

After finishing his royal duties and on his way back to Pearl Palace, Seongjin decided to stop by the Tribunal. It was to meet Kenneth Diggory and the Black Prophets who were imprisoned.

With nothing much to do even if he went to the Monster Special Division, and the whole division strangely just staring at Seongjin’s face, he thought it might be okay to do some independent investigation.

Clip-clop. Inside the slow-moving carriage, Seongjin was lost in thought.

The accompanying knight Sir Masain who was traveling with him, discreetly observing his mood and remained silent. To his eyes, the prince’s face was quite serious, so there was no point in questioning why they were going to the Tribunal.

In truth, throughout the journey, Seongjin had different questions he really wanted to ask the Holy Emperor:

—”Did you keep an eye on Commander Bruno through Arenja?”

—”What do you mean when you say he wholly belongs to my karma?”

—”How much does Arenja know about me and the Demon King?”

—”What do you expect from me and the special monster task force?”

However, every time he faced the emperor, the words would not easily come out. Whether it was due to some strange premonition of Seongjin’s, or because of his sensitive intuition, he could sometimes sense an unexplainable, precarious atmosphere coming from the Holy Emperor.

—”Sometimes, even words spoken casually can shake and crumble the very foundations…” (Chapter 81)

Katrina’s words kept coming to his mind.

‘Is it just me, or does everyone look oddly tired these days…?’

After pondering for a while, Seongjin abruptly raises his hand and messes up his hair. Startled by this sudden action, Masain, who was on the opposite side, looked at him.

‘Ah, I don’t know! This is giving me a headache!’

Originally, such worries weren’t in Seongjin’s nature. 

Wouldn’t the Holy Emperor handle everything well anyway? There’s no need to add burdens by sticking his nose into the issues of a failed construction supervisor. 

Right, let’s not create any trouble.

Maintaining his health and staying out of trouble would fulfill his duties as a child, wouldn’t it?

While Seongjin was having these somewhat reassuring thoughts—thoughts that would have made the Holy Emperor sigh if he knew— the carriage arrived in front of the Tribunal.

It was a timely visit for Seongjin.

Three out of the six members of [Black Prophets] were soon to be released on bail until the Church Assembly was over.

Of course, Kenneth Diggory, the main culprit suspected of being related to the disappearance of a maid and a servant from his residence, was excluded.

So were Ashley and Jonathan, who hadn’t regained consciousness after receiving treatment for the Gray Plague.

“We know nothing about that disease, Your Highness.”

“Ashley and Jonathan have been under investigation elsewhere from the beginning.”

As the three individuals who were preparing for release hesitated to speak, Seongjin furrowed his brows.

Seongjin was now suspecting the Tribunal. Those two who were fine at Diggory’s residence were already implanted with a demon egg when transferred to the Tribunal. That means the implantation happened within the Tribunal’s prison.

If the two regained consciousness and testified, it would simplify matters. However, due to the random formation of salt crystals from the Gray Plague, all patients were mentally unstable, so it was uncertain if they would wake up at all. The only option left was to interrogate the inmates from the Tribunal.

However, no matter how much they were questioned, the three individuals knew nothing. It seemed that they were originally imprisoned in a different jail.

In the end, Seongjin had to let the three men go without any significant information.

“As you know, Your Highness, I was receiving treatment elsewhere at that time.”

The second person Seongjin met was Kenneth Diggory.

His complexion had considerably worsened; whether it was due to the hardships in prison or because of the dissertation he had recently submitted was unclear.

Kenneth claimed to have suffered a skull fracture after getting hit on the back of the head by Seongjin during the Bantra Moss incident. Thanks to the treatment, he had no particular hardships in the heretical tribunal.

“You should be truly thankful to me.”

“…Huh?”

Kenneth looked blankly at Seongjin, who was acting rather haughty despite being the one who had injured him.

At the time, Kenneth had acted like a complete lunatic, but now he seemed to have returned to being a well-mannered young man.

Does this guy remember feeding two of his servants to Bantra Moss? At the very least, he can’t deny that he tried to use Ashley Becher as bait right before my eyes.

And yet, he spoke to Seongjin with a pitiful face.

“I’m truly thankful, Your Highness, for stopping me. I don’t understand why I acted that way when I think about it now…”

What is up with this guy?

As Seongjin’s expression turned grim, Kenneth flinched and lowered his eyes.

“I know it’s meaningless to say this now, but we, the ‘Black Prophets,’ were simply a humble gathering exploring the mysteries of this world.”

They had initially formed their group two years ago as an energetic social club to read forbidden books behind their professors’ backs and discuss various questions.

However, everything changed a year ago when a person called the “Sage” appeared.

At first, the members did not easily believe the self-proclaimed ‘one who had reached the truth of this world,’ but the more they knew about him, the more appealing he became.

Above all, the black mass he brought was something that couldn’t possibly exist in this world. The members gradually started to believe that it was a mystery of this world.

And sponsorship from Morres started roughly around then.

“Exactly as the Sage said! If it’s the Emperor, he could share our mysteries.”

Seongjin suddenly recalled Kenneth’s shouts in the Diggory family’s underground chamber.

So, the one who first brought that Bantra Moss spawn here was that ‘Sage.’ And for some unknown reason, he mentioned Morres to the Black Prophets.

Who the hell is this Sage?

“In fact, I don’t remember much about the Sage,” Kenneth said, sweating. He felt Seongjin’s increasingly piercing gaze.

“But it’s true! Although we were definitely charmed by him, thinking back, I don’t have a clear memory of his face or voice! I even don’t remember how we first met him!”

Kenneth’s face was almost tearful.

And at that moment, Seongjin recalled the words that Haven spoke when he woke up from the gray plague.

– Who was she?

– Hm? Maybe I was too drunk, but I don’t clearly remember her face now. Just that she had long, beautiful hair.

Was Haven really just drunk that day?

Kenneth looked further into this ‘Sage,’ but there was little information to be had.

The last time Kenneth met the sage was the day he sent an invitation to Prince Morres.

Before meeting him, the Black Prophets simply planned to continue ignoring him while taking the prince’s sponsorship money. However, the sage directly advised Kenneth to invite Prince Morres to their gathering.

-“Even if you see what’s in that prince’s eyes, would you still be able to act that way? Heavy restrictions always entail great potential. You are more than qualified to step into the mysteries of this world.”

That was the inside story behind the sudden arrival of an invitation to Morres.

‘…Hey, Demon King.’

[Hmm, it seems to be true. His heart rate is fast, but it looks like it’s just emotional fluctuations.]

The lie detector was working hard today as well.

Seongjin wrapped his head in agony, took a glance at Kenneth, sighed, and left the visiting room.

He definitely had to dig deeper into this sage, but he had no idea where to start.

The investigation into the Gray Plague wasn’t even proceeding properly yet.

Ah, it’s frustrating. So frustrating.

He suddenly wanted to swing the Nutcracker around in the training ground.

But as soon as he went to the training ground, even more troubling stories awaited Seongjin.

“I have a feeling it wasn’t just a coincidence,” said Commander Bruno cautiously, sharing his story.

Apparently, he met someone who resembled his first love from his childhood before contracting the Gray Plague.

“Didn’t you say you don’t remember anything?”

When asked about the initial progress of the illness, Commander Bruno had stated that he hardly remembered anything. At Seongjin’s question, the commander’s face reddened.

“That’s because… at that time, I thought I was just dreaming…”

“Ah.”

Certainly. Saying, ‘I had a good dream where my first love appeared,’ is indeed awkward.

“But as days go by, I keep thinking that it wasn’t a dream. Her face is blurry, but her voice is still vividly in my ears. Of course, my memory at the time isn’t intact, so I can’t be sure.”

“Is it possible that she was your first love?”

“Impossible. She definitely died during the Ortana civil war long ago.”

“Hmm…”

Seongjin stroked his chin, lost in thought.

The person resembling Commander Bruno’s first love, the gorgeous beauty Haven met.

And the sage who captivated the Black Prophets.

[…Something smells fishy, right? It feels like the ‘Charm’ that demons use.]

At the Demon King’s words, the commander nodded.

“Exactly. As Sir Red said, the more I think about it, the more I can’t shake off this ‘Charm’ feeling. But there can’t be any demon race in Delcross.”

[Who the hell is calling me ‘Red’?]

“My apologies. Sir Red.”

[Ack!]

Seongjin raised his hand to stop the two who were anxiously talking.

“So, do you remember what she said?”

“Nothing much. I just remember feeling completely relaxed because she was comforting me. So… “

—”I know your pain better than anyone else. You don’t need to blame anyone anymore. Forget everything, and after you sleep well for a few days, everything will get better.”

“… something like that… Ah, that doesn’t mean I resent the Holy Emperor or anything…”

Although the commander belatedly rambled on with excuses, Seongjin nodded his head with a generous smile.

I get it, you sir. Even if you’ve been sincerely loyal to the imperial family, who wouldn’t harbor some resentment after living as an outcast for years? If it were me, I would still be unsatisfied even after venting all my frustrations.

“Yes, even if you vented your frustrations a few times, I understand.”

“That’s not what I meant…”

“Don’t worry. I know. I know it all.”

“…….”