Children of the Holy Emperor

“There should be no issue with those students.”

That evening, while observing Seongjin’s complexion, Masain cautiously opened the conversation. It was after he had already briefed the Saint Aurelion Knights about the incident at the Imperial Medical Wing.

Suddenly, Ashley Betcher, who had collapsed vomiting blood, was in a state of severe shock due to the exorcism of the evil spirit that had possessed her.

Fortunately, Logan quickly healed him with his divine power, but afterwards, Ashley reverted back to her initial state, resembling an empty puppet.

Jonathan called for a doctor, and soon after, Masain and the Saint Aurelion paladins rushed into the infirmary.

The plan was to request the help of an exorcist, but Francis was already on his way, leading the paladins urgently.

Considering how the Saint Aurelion paladins usually operate like the limbs of the Holy Emperor, Seongjin speculated that it was probably influenced by the Holy Emperor’s intervention.

Taking into account the interference from the twins, who were suspected not to be twins, and the deployment time of the paladins, it seemed reasonable to assume that the Holy Emperor had intervened the moment Ashley’s possession began.

“Anyway, in the capital, it seems impossible to avoid the eyes of that gentleman, no matter what happens…”

Upon arrival, Francis briefly examined Ashley’s condition and then, along with the paladins, took her and Jonathan away.

Jonathan, who kept looking back anxiously, seemed to be of some concern.

“The involvement of the Saint Aurelion paladins means that the students are now under the care of Dame Katrina. So, please set your worries aside, Your Highness.”

Masain reassured Seongjin again.

“Dame Katrina is a person of excellent character. Any matter she handles will undoubtedly be dealt with fairly and justly.”

Yes, if it’s Dame Katrina, somehow, I do trust her. After all, she is the Knight Commander who even the fierce Francis deeply respects.

Finally feeling a bit relieved, Seongjin could focus his thoughts on other matters.

It seemed that the Holy Emperor himself had exorcised the evil spirit that had possessed Ashley Betcher.

Even after returning to Pearl Palace, the Demon King, who had been shivering in Seongjin’s head for a long time, later admitted it.

[Yeah, your father came and went. Wow, that soul, even seeing it again, really…]

‘What happened to the evil spirit?’

[Of course, it died! I just touched it, and that pathetic thing’s soul was instantly crushed, leaving no trace.]

But at the same time, the Holy Emperor was said to be meeting foreign diplomats in the audience chamber. So, his body must have been in the main palace while his soul briefly visited the infirmary.

Last time, he followed Seongjin to the boundary of dimensions, so it seems the Holy Emperor has some easy method of astral projection.

Indeed, being a divine proxy, he is an individual who transcends normal understanding in many ways.

But leaving aside that almost inhuman individual, what about the twins who suddenly intruded during Ashley’s possession?

Herna and Gades. Could those extraordinary children also perform astral projection like the Holy Emperor?

However, the Demon King’s explanation was slightly different.

[Well, it’s hard to say those were proper souls…]

After pondering for a moment, the Demon King then gave an unexpected answer.

[There were certainly two different soul auras at that time. Thinking about it now, it seemed somewhat similar to the souls of those twins we’ve seen before. But it wasn’t a complete soul. Rather, it felt more like a fragment of a soul that had broken off from somewhere.]

‘…Soul fragment?’

Seongjin blinked.

Huh? That sounds familiar, doesn’t it?

[Yeah, right. It was a similar feeling to them.]

Arenja.

The spiritual surveillance network that watches over the capital from beneath the surface.

And then the Demon King strongly affirmed Seongjin’s speculation.

[Moreover, one of them was someone we’ve already met. Remember? When you climbed over the wall of the Imperial Palace, that one who told us to follow you.]

‘……!’

And then, the words the Demon King had said before flashed through Seongjin’s mind.

—Another one has appeared. A more powerful one… Huh? This one seems to understand us?

—That guy is asking you to follow him for a while. What will you do?

Was it one of the twins?

Herna and Gades are part of Arenja?

‘Whoa, wait a minute…!’

Seongjin felt his mind suddenly become alert.

‘No, think about it, it makes sense, doesn’t it? Why didn’t I suspect this earlier?’

The twins had known about the existence of the Demon King for a long time, and Arenja was also aware of the Demon King.

The twins are speculated to be high-level channelers, sharing quite a bit of information with the Holy Emperor.

Then, wouldn’t it be strange if they had no connection with the secret organization of channelers operated by the Holy Emperor!

As Seongjin grasped his head in self-reproach, the Demon King offered some consolation.

[Well, they are minors, after all.]

‘…….’

He couldn’t deny that he had let his guard down because they were just kids.

Anyway, now that he knew, verifying the truth of this matter was simple.

Without delay, Seongjin called for Commander Bruno to his room.

“Yes, Princess Herna and Prince Gades are unofficially part of Arenja.”

Soon after arriving in Seongjin’s room, the commander, gazing into the air and channeling for a while with Arenja, eventually nodded.

“It’s an internal secret known only to the insiders, not well-known publicly. Oh, and…”

The commander, focusing as if listening to something, added more.

“Yes, yes. They were also the ones who named that Reddy ‘Red.'”

“…Huh?”

[What?]

The Demon King was shocked.

[They did? Those little…! I’ll never forgive them! Aaaargh!]

As the Demon King noisily fumed, Commander Bruno provided Seongjin with a more detailed explanation.

“All internal agents of Arenja are high-level channelers capable of creating terminals of souls. They not only receive thoughts but also move parts of actual souls to survey every corner of the capital.”

Terminals of souls.

The incomplete soul fragments that the Demon King saw were actually small terminal devices created from parts of these psychics’ souls.

They used such devices for safety reasons. If something happened to the terminal, their souls preserved inside the palace would remain safe.

Moreover, Commander Bruno added that completely detaching and moving one’s soul involves significant risks.

‘Then why does the Holy Emperor, unlike other members of Arenja, roam around using his soul directly instead of creating terminals?’

If it’s possible for the twins, wouldn’t it be possible for the Emperor as well?

Lost in thought, Seongjin was interrupted when Edith entered the room and quietly set down a teacup. She had brought tea without being asked, sensing the conversation might be lengthy.

‘Edith is improving!’

Seongjin felt a sense of pride.

Edith, who used to be oblivious to such nuances, seemed to have learned a thing or two after the recent increase in the maid staff at Pearl Palace.

“Today’s soul terminals you encountered are likely belonging to Princess Herna and Prince Gades. They are stronger channelers than other internal agents and are quick to detect anomalies in the palace,” said Commander Bruno, lifting his steaming teacup.

“They mainly live outside the palace, so they are on the boundary between internal and external agents and do not have official duties. After all, they are still quite young.”

Seeing the noticeable cheer on his face as he spoke, Seongjin couldn’t help but ask, “Do you like tea, Commander?”

“Haha. Embarrassingly so, Your Highness. I often enjoyed it when I worked in the palace. It was a rather simple pleasure.”

The hardest part of living outside the palace was not being able to drink good tea, the commander said while idly stroking his sharply angled mustache.

Indeed, the more he was observed, the more he seemed to possess noble characteristics.

“Of course, I didn’t like it from the beginning. Just touching the tea would stir up various gossip. Those who mocked me for my humble origins, saying I didn’t even know how to drink tea, later scoffed that I was pretending to be a noble.”

“How did you come to like it?”

“If I was going to be ridiculed anyway, I thought it was better to enjoy what I wanted. Once I thought that way, suddenly the tea tasted good.”

Indeed. He was a person of strong mentality, having endured in the palace all the way to becoming a commander despite his commoner background.

“Anyway, Your Highness. The same goes for the soul that possessed the academy student today. Arenja says it was not a complete soul but closer to an incomplete terminal made from a fragment of a soul.”

“What does that mean?”

“Yes, the art of creating soul terminals. Whoever that person is, they must also be a high-level channeler.”

Seongjin frowned.

“And their real soul is still alive and well.”

“Exactly.”

Commander Bruno nodded, took a sip of his tea, and…

“Pffft!”

He dramatically spat it out!

“…Edith?”

As droplets of tea splashed everywhere, Edith silently sweated and avoided eye contact.

Edith, it seemed, had made no progress in the art of making tea.

* * *

The most admired young ladies among the Delcross noblemen recently were two people.

The beautiful rose of the palace, Princess Amelia.

And the elegant flower of the social circles, Isabella Scarcepino.

All the noblemen hoped to be chosen as their partners at the ball, and they would spend sleepless nights just to brush past their gowns once.

However, just for one day.

On the main banquet of the annual birthday celebration, no gentleman dared to ask them to be their partners, as their partners for that day were always predetermined.

But now.

“…You’re attending with a different partner this year?”

Isabella’s face contorted oddly as she read the reply from Pearl Palace. She had sent a letter to coordinate dress codes, only to receive an unexpected response.

“Oh my, really? Isn’t that a good thing? Our beautiful Isabella with that unsightly prince, even if it’s Her Majesty the Queen’s command, how could that be appropriate?”

“…….”

A naive maid chattered without understanding the situation.

Indeed. Since Prince Morres reached the age to attend the ball, Isabella always accompanied him to the birthday banquet as a sign of respect for the engagement talks.

Of course, it wasn’t pleasant. The prince was not only unsightly in appearance, but his manners towards ladies were atrociously bad.

The only reason she accompanied Prince Morres was due to the intense pressure from Queen Lizabeth.

Passing this role to another fiancée wasn’t feasible either.

Julia Meyer would come to the ball in knight’s uniform, more like a farmhand, and Lady Balua was merely a child who had just weaned off her mother’s milk.

“Finally free, Miss! Now you can truly enjoy the grandest ball in Delcross!”

‘Freedom…’

It was true.

But the mere thought of that disgusting prince ruined her appetite.

Yet, oddly enough, her pride was hurt to attend with someone else.

“So, Miss, who will you go to the ball with now? Perhaps the renowned Archduke Siegmund… Eek! How wonderful!”

Ignoring the jumping maid, Isabella left the room.

As the most famous person in social circles, she didn’t like the idea of proposing a partner first, and with the ball approaching, she had no suitable candidate in mind.

So, in a rush, she thought about asking her older brothers for help, but…

“I can’t leave Olivier alone. Sorry.”

Her eldest brother, Dominico, who was already engaged, refused.

“You know, don’t you? I don’t attend the birthday celebration every year.”

Riccardo, her second brother, also gently refused with a kind smile.

“Why not?”

Isabella asked, puzzled.

The second brother she knew was extremely sociable. He enjoyed drinking, romancing, and engaging in conversations with people from various fields.

He was the most welcomed guest in all the salons of the capital, and the regular meetings he organized were coveted gatherings that the influential heirs of Delcross eagerly sought invitations to.

At his sister’s question, Riccardo lifted his head, his eyes briefly unfocused, as he stared off into the distance. Then, with a smile that was somewhat ambiguous, he answered.

“Regrettably, I cannot enter the palace.”