Children of the Holy Emperor

[Calm yourself, my son.]

A voice that seemed to be conveyed directly to the mind rather than the ears.

“…Dame Sharon?”

Seongjin blinked his eyes.

Clearly, the one blocking his hand now had the appearance of Dame Sharon.

However, those eyes gazing down at him intently… They were not her original ones, but silvery-gray eyes that Seongjin knew very well, belonging to someone else.

‘…Huh?’

Before he even realized it, Seongjin was calling out to him.

“Father?!”

Then Sharon, no, the Holy Emperor spoke again.

[It’s not time yet. You don’t need to go that far now.]

The moment he heard those words…

Slowly, the unknown pulsation subsided, and the Aura raging in his arm calmly settled down.

The bizarrely expanded field of vision returned, and the elevated spirit that had been stretching out also instantly dissipated.

Now, there was no longer any twisted crack between dimensions or the thread-like trajectory of a soul left in Seongjin’s sight. Only the sight of Isabella trembling and looking at him remained.

‘…What was that?’

A feeling of his consciousness somehow vastly expanding.

He felt like it was something tremendously important that he shouldn’t miss.

As he tried to recall the sensation that had already disappeared with a dazed mind, the hand that had been pressing down on him lifted away, confirming that the strength had left Seongjin’s arm.

Seongjin looked up at this tall exorcist with renewed astonishment.

‘It’s still Dame Sharon, but…’

Although the outward appearance was that eccentric exorcist from the demon control squad, the air surrounding her now was clearly different from before.

That unique Aura that was thoroughly controlled yet also utterly natural.

Dame Sharon wasn’t originally someone with such a low level, but the current Aura operation that seemed to perfectly blend into the surroundings was almost at the level of a Decalon Knight. It was no wonder Seongjin had no idea until she got this close.

And above all, those eyes.

There couldn’t be another person in this world with such eyes.

This situation wasn’t so unfamiliar to Seongjin. Didn’t he feel exactly like this when the leader of Arenja possessed Commander Bruno some time ago?

[Hiiieek!]

Seeing the Demon King who had been screaming strangely without being able to say a word, it was certain. The one possessing Dame Sharon right now was definitely the Holy Emperor.

Thud!

At that moment, Isabella staggered and slumped to the floor. Her unfocused eyes, seemingly having received a great shock, were shaking wildly.

“I, I…”

The inquisitor, no, the Holy Emperor who had been looking down at her with a chilling gaze for a moment, opened his mouth.

[That one just left.]

“It can’t be…”

Isabella, who had been staring at the void with a dazed face, shook her head violently.

“That’s… impossible. I am… the Demon King of Dreams…”

Before long, tears began to fall from her eyes.

“I, hic! I am not… some mere human… N-no…”

And soon, Isabella collapsed, unable to support herself, and burst into sobs while scratching the floor with her nails.

The sound of crying, so sorrowful as if squeezing out all internal organs, of someone who had lost everything that supported their life in an instant.

Seongjin could instinctively tell.

That Isabella, who used to prance around the room with a needle stuck in her arm, was no longer there.

“Father.”

Seongjin stepped forward with determination and opened his mouth.

“Isabella is already a complete puppet of Sigurd Sigursson. Although he was driven away for now, as long as the connection remains, we don’t know when that bastard will return here.”

[……]

“A sense of self that has been eroded to that extent may be irreversible. Even now that he’s gone, she still believes herself to be the Demon King of Dreams, doesn’t she?”

Seongjin didn’t know how to sever the connection of a puppet. He had no idea how Riccardo’s connection was cut off.

And even if, by some chance, there was a way to successfully disconnect that guy and Isabella, would that be a good thing?

Even Riccardo, who thought of himself as simply an accomplice, frequently suffered from delusions and seizures, so could Isabella, who had lost her sense of self, endure that sense of loss?

“Sigurd Sigurdson, he is an extremely dangerous individual. It’s definitely not right for Isabella, but here, there’s no choice but to make a decision.”

At those words, Isabella raised her head and looked at Seongjin. Her turquoise eyes, filled with sorrow and fear, shook violently like a stormy sea.

Without avoiding that gaze, Seongjin finally uttered the heavy last words.

“…Father. Before bigger problems arise, we have to cut down the puppet here and now!”

Then the Holy Emperor lowered his gaze and stared at Seongjin intently.

Although he had said those words expecting condemnation or reproach, unexpectedly, the Holy Emperor’s eyes toward Seongjin were filled with a deep light of understanding.

[Yes. Your judgment is reasonable.]

“Then…!”

Pat.

Before Seongjin could say anything more, a hand was placed on top of his head.

And a voice was heard softly.

[I know well that you will never hesitate to make a choice in the face of adversity,]

Pat pat.

The light gesture of patting his head had a strangely reassuring aspect to it.

Seongjin, who had been standing in a daze with a feeling of his strength draining away, finally realized that he had been unnecessarily tensing his whole body.

[But my son, you don’t need to be driven to make such a choice yet.]

“Uh…”

[Isn’t it okay to entrust that burden to someone else sometimes?]

Consoling Seongjin like that and patting his head a few more times, the Holy Emperor slowly approached Isabella.

[Your brother cooperated with that one of his own will, but what about you?]

“I, I…”

Isabella, who had turned pale, trembled and couldn’t properly continue her words. The Emperor, who had been looking down at her, let out a small sigh.

[…It may already be too late, but what needs to be done must be done.]

And in an instant, Seongjin couldn’t believe his eyes.

Because the Holy Emperor, drawing his shotel like lightning, directly stabbed the sharp silver curved blade into Isabella’s crown!

Splat!

“…!?”

Splash.

Isabella’s body limply fell backwards, spewing out a fountain of blood.

An enormous amount of bleeding spread out in concentric circles centered around her body.

Shocked by that sight, Seongjin just blinked and blankly stared at the Holy Emperor.

“Uh…”

What? I definitely thought he was trying to stop me from cutting down Isabella, but why did he suddenly do it himself…?

Could it be that not bearing the burden alone and entrusting it meant…

“Are you telling me to leave some of your share when taking revenge in the future?”

[……]

After looking at Seongjin with a strange expression for a moment, the Holy Emperor was about to open his mouth when Dasha rushed into the study and shouted.

“Your Majesty, something seems off! It was too easy, and the ones watching from afar… Aaaahhhh!”

She couldn’t continue her words and gaped at the gruesome sight of the study reeking of blood, and the Holy Emperor slowly bent down and touched Isabella’s fallen head.

Soon, a bright light burst from that hand, and Isabella’s complexion, which had been as pale as a dead person, instantly brightened.

Her blood flow had completely returned and her breathing became steady. If someone who didn’t know saw her, they might think she was sleeping on the floor.

At that moment, a puzzle piece fell into place in Seongjin’s mind.

Riccardo, who was found without a single wound along with evidence of strangely excessive bleeding.

“Did you perhaps do the exact same thing to that bastard Riccardo before, cracking his head open?”

[……]

That’s right, this person.

‘Wait a minute, then the one who severed the connection between the Storyteller and Riccardo was possibly…?’

Seongjin looked down at Isabella lying in a pool of blood with renewed astonishment.

That appearance that seemed to be in a deep sleep, and now likely to be extremely harmless.

Didn’t he say there was no need to choose yet?

‘I see…’

Perhaps as long as this person is in front of me…

I…

At that moment, Dasha, who had been carefully examining outside the window, muttered.

“The presence is getting closer, Your Highness. We need to withdraw from here first, so please hurry. Lady Knight, follow me as well. Quickly!”

Dasha probably had no idea that Dame Sharon was the Holy Emperor.

“Ah, wait a moment. There’s something I need to leave here.”

“Pardon?”

In front of the puzzled Dasha, Seongjin grinned confidently and took out another medallion from his bosom.

***

“Dominico[1]. There was an intruder at the townhouse. Riccardo was badly injured, and Isabella is currently unconscious.”

At the Scarcepino main residence.

Dominico, who had been working diligently until dawn, nodded his head without taking his eyes off the documents even at the informant’s report.

“I see.”

He spoke as if he had already expected it.

“Is it the Milo Company or the Dark Cult?”

“Well… We only managed to observe from a distance, so it’s not certain. But the Dark Cult’s emblem was left at the scene.”

Dominico glanced at the small medallion presented by his personal informant, Olivier, and then stuck his nose back into the documents with a largely uninterested attitude.

On the day Young Master Riccardo collapsed in the garden.

After finishing the aftermath of the social gathering, Dominico had entered the main residence with all the security team escorting him.

As a result, the security at the townhouse mansion inevitably became lax, but neither Riccardo nor Isabella said anything about the reduction of security personnel.

“I should contact Grand Prince Siegmund. It seems Isabella has fallen ill and unfortunately will not be able to attend this birthday celebration.”

“Haha.”

Olivier, who let out a hollow laugh, crossed his legs and sneered.

“How cold. This is about your siblings, Dominico. Aren’t you worried?”

At those words, the turquoise eyes that looked frigid glared at Olivier through the glasses.

“Didn’t I tell you, Olivier? They haven’t been my siblings for a long time.”

***

The next day, morning.

Orden rubbed his temples, feeling a headache at the urgent news delivered early in the morning from the Scarcepino family.

The story that Isabella suddenly collapsed yesterday and would not be able to attend the birthday celebration.

It was already ridiculous that they had threatened to be partners out of the blue while sending the emblem of the Dark Cult, but this was also infuriating in its own way.

Although he didn’t want to attach meaning to every single thing, Orden himself was still a celebrity enjoying the highest popularity in the Empire.

But now he had abruptly lost his partner and had to attend the birthday celebration alone. What kind of humiliation was this!

“Well, even popular men have days like this, don’t they? Cheer up, Lord Orden.”

Leaving behind Herman’s consolation that sounded like provocation, he received an unexpected contact while preparing to attend the grand mass with a gloomy face. It was a summons from the saintess called the Goddess’s small blessing.

Arriving at St. Bastian’s Church in a daze, Saintess Sisle greeted him together with Prince Logan.

“Greetings, Your Highness, Your Holiness.”

Orden politely bowed and then glanced at Prince Logan standing slightly behind.

The genius holy knight evaluated as the most promising swordsman in Delcross along with himself.

His Aura activation, which could be clearly sensed, was similar to or slightly lower than Orden’s. Considering that he was several years younger, it was undoubtedly a phenomenal achievement.

But for some reason… Whenever he saw him, he sometimes felt a vague fear that there might be more to him than that.

I thought it was a clear and small lake, but upon entering, it felt like an unfathomable ocean where I couldn’t find my footing.

‘The princes of the imperial family all have some discomforting aspects about them.’

Orden thought that way as he recalled Prince Morres, who always curled his lips unpleasantly whenever he saw him.

However, if he knew what thoughts Logan had in his mind right now, he would have been astonished.

‘He’s a rare young man these days. His innate qualities as a swordsman can only be described as heaven-sent.’

Logan was looking at Orden with quite a satisfying gaze.

‘On top of that, he’s a serious fellow who never utters any nonsense. He’s a splendid young man who seems to have painted the virtue of practicing what he preaches!’

If Seongjin had known, he would have probably been annoyed and said, “That guy is just simply ignorant, you old geezer!”

“Young master Siegmund.”

A voice as transparent as a crystal was heard above Orden’s head as he bowed.

“I’m sorry for suddenly calling you here like this. If it’s alright with you, Young Master, may I ask you for a favor?”

At those words, Orden raised his head and looked at the small, snow-white princess in front of him.

Unlike Amelia, who had a wide range of expressions, this girl had few expressions, like a delicate doll, but…

‘Those eyes…’

Unknowingly, a layer of his heart’s guard crumbled when he looked into those clear, gray eyes that resembled Amelia’s.

He knelt on one knee to meet the little princess’s eyes and answered,

“Yes, Your Holiness. Please give me your command.”

At his uncharacteristically soft voice, Herman, who was standing next to him, looked at him in surprise.

“As you know, Young Master, today will be my first birthday celebration. So I need the help of someone as excellent as you.”

Originally, the Orthodox Church planned to introduce Sisle at this birthday celebration where the continent’s major figures would gather. However, unexpectedly, a new saintess appeared recently, so they decided to announce the two saintess simultaneously.

The problem was that Seo Yi-seo hadn’t properly learned court etiquette, let alone dancing.

What a disgrace it would be if she made a big mistake at an event where the empire’s prestige was at stake. On top of that, there was even a bomb named Cardmos mixed in there!

-I will escort her. I’ll keep a close eye on her without taking my eyes off her for a moment, as we don’t know when or what kind of unexpected situation Cardmos might create.

As the strongest swordsman in the entire East and the youngest Sword Master, Logan felt a sense of responsibility to take control of this troublesome variable first.

-Then what about Sisle?

When Seongjin asked, Amelia pondered for a moment before answering.

-Come to think of it, I did hear some news about Lady Scarcepino being involved in some kind of accident…

That’s how Orden was abruptly summoned to the church.

“Young Master Siegmund. Would you please be my partner at the birthday celebration?”

As a small, white hand reached out, Orden held it up and answered with sincerity.

“It would be the honor of my life to be Your Holiness’s escort.”

Of course, it was his utmost sincerity.

If he served the saint with all his heart and soul, perhaps Amelia, who loved her siblings, would smile at him once more.

It was a bonus that Logan, who was standing behind him, nodded his head in satisfaction at that sincere answer.