Chapter 142
Chapter: 142
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>Translator: penny
>Chapter: 142
>Chapter Title: The Holy Emperor's Reliquary (4)
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>The entirety of Delcross was blanketed in yellow crocuses honoring the founding Holy Emperor.
The festival of audience with the Holy Emperor's Reliquary, the first in nearly twenty years.
The capital's faithful reveled in the long-awaited festive atmosphere, praising the Holy Imperial Family for the unparalleled prosperity they had brought to Delcross.
Yet at the same time, a heavy mood hung over the Silver Rose Palace, home to the imperial princesses. An abrupt order grounding Amelia and Sisle, the two princesses, was to blame.
Amelia was deeply disappointed at missing her scheduled spearmanship lesson. But could her letdown compare to that of the youngest?
Sisle's eyes, red and swollen despite her astonishing physical recovery, had been tearfully puffy since morning.
"Sisle, don't be too downhearted. Everything His Majesty does has its reasons."
Amelia hugged her utterly dejected little sister and comforted her.
"What reasons? Fine, I get not being able to visit the reliquary. But why am I the only one banned from the special mass too?"
"That's..."
"If there's truly a good reason for all this, then why won't Father tell me anything?"
"..."
Amelia was at a loss for words. She didn't have any particular guesses herself.
She only vaguely recalled something Leonard had said in passing before her regression.
-Do you think your father can stop Rohan's brazen advances now? A man so constrained in every action and word—do you think he can properly persuade the other monarchs to stand against us by citing reasons?
"Constraints..."
She remembered the Holy Emperor's face, complex in expression as he fell silent and simply stared at her when she declared her intent to marry Leonard.
In hindsight, it seemed the Holy Emperor had intuited that her union with Leonard would lead to some unhappy end, one way or another.
That was why he had greatly increased her guard detail and issued frequent grounding orders to keep her in check. He hadn't even shied from the risk of worsening relations with Rohan, attempting to expel the prince from Delcross without justification.
Had Amelia not shown extreme sensitivity to the idea of being confined anywhere, the Holy Emperor might truly have locked her in the Silver Rose Palace until Leonard was deported.
And that tiny opening had led to an irreversible outcome.
Leonard’s loyal retainer, Romain, had used some underhanded trick from beyond the grave to successfully spirit Amelia away somewhere.
-Sister. It's not too late. Come back to Delcross with me. If you knew how Father is faring now, you could never just stay here like this.
Her wedding banquet, eventually held in Rohan.
The words of Logan, who had arrived from Delcross with an enormous dowry, his face grave—Amelia still couldn't forget them.
"Sisle, you know what?"
Amelia stroked her little sister's soft silver hair and continued.
"They say that in Grandfather's time, the entire Holy Imperial Family would visit the reliquary every year as an annual ritual. The whole family gathered before it to pray for the Holy Imperial Family's enduring glory and Delcross's boundless prosperity."
Sisle stopped sniffling and listened closely to the gentle voice.
"But at some point, Grandfather stopped holding the audience rite. Coincidentally or not, Delcross entered a period of stagnation for several years after that. You know about the incident where demonkin infiltrated the capital? Grandfather passed away around then."
"Why? Why did Grandfather stop the rite?"
"Who knows? He left no specific words on it, so we can't know the reason now. But if I had to guess... maybe from that point on, audiences with the reliquary lost all real meaning?"
"Lost meaning?"
"Yes. Like, perhaps the founding Holy Emperor's blessing suddenly vanished?"
It was a hunch she occasionally relied on, like intuition.
Wasn't it possible that the rite hadn't been held for twenty years because something was clearly wrong with it?
"Or maybe the reliquary itself has become something dangerous now?"
Otherwise, what reason could the current Holy Emperor have for outright banning the Holy Imperial Family from audiences?
At her words, Sisle's eyes went wide, and she whispered to Amelia.
"Sister, do you realize you just said something incredibly dangerous? The church elders wouldn't stand for it."
"Hehe. Really?"
"Of course! We can't deny the founding Holy Emperor's miracle. All the church's clergy feel it—that sacred energy flowing from underground where the reliquary is enshrined."
Sisle said that, then fiddled with the pink bunny eye mask hanging around her neck.
"And if there really were a problem, Father wouldn't have just shoved Seiser in there."
"You think?"
"Yeah. She's the most important person in the world, and she'll always be under Father's protection."
"...Really?"
Amelia, puzzled by the oddly definitive tone, suddenly sensed an ominous presence and looked up. Her senses, sharpened since beginning aura cultivation training, detected a large group—knights, by the feel of it—approaching the palace.
Moments later, her exclusive maid Mirabel, sensing the commotion, peeked out the window and yelped in surprise.
"Oh my? What's all this?"
"What's wrong, Mirabel?"
"Indeed, what could it be? Your Highness Amelia, Saint Aurelion Knights are outside the palace."
Amelia and Sisle rushed to the terrace together.
Just as she said, numerous holy knights had gathered outside, now encircling the Silver Rose Palace in a ring.
Not in their usual light armor, but in rare full battle gear.
Clad in gleaming silver plate mail, they carried massive silver shields emblazoned with a red sword.
It was the armament symbolic of the Holy Emperor's sturdiest shield: the Saint Aurelion Knight Order.
"...What in the world is going on?"
As Amelia and Sisle stood side by side gazing at the scene, a familiar voice came from behind them.
"Please don't be alarmed, Princess Amelia. Princess Sisle. The situation will be under control shortly."
The knight towering a head above the rest, Vice Captain Francis of the Saint Aurelion Knight Order, entered the drawing room in full armor as well.
He placed a hand over his heart and bowed politely to the two princesses.
"I apologize for not warning you ahead of time. This is merely His Majesty's order to prepare for any contingencies, so please don't worry."
Sure enough, Captain Katrina stood at the front of the knights, directing them. Her presence was proof that this was all at the Holy Emperor's command.
And beside Katrina was an exorcist clad head to toe in black.
Amelia recognized him from her occasional visits to see Morres. Sir Sharon of the monster response team, was it?
"...Now."
The exorcist, who had been staring blankly into space, spoke, and Katrina nodded before stepping forward.
"Grand Formation Three: Demonkin Defense! All knights to your positions!"
At Captain Katrina's order, the holy knights swiftly and uniformly formed ranks. Soon, a pointed spire-shaped formation encircled the Silver Rose Palace.
Finally, *thud*.
Standing firm at the spire's center, Katrina slammed her shield into the ground and assumed position facing the main palace.
It was the ever-reliable, steadfast image befitting the iron shield guarding the Holy Emperor.
And then.
"Granius Pattern Two: Deploy!"
At her shout, beams of white holy power unfurled in unison, erecting a massive sacred barrier around the Silver Rose Palace.
>* * *
>Lately, Archbishop Wesker had noticed his white hair increasing noticeably.
Not content with fretting over the gray plague for weeks, he now had to make some unheard-of woman into a saintess at the Holy Emperor's command. And once he did, this Seiser turned out to be an utter handful.
Half-hearted in doctrine studies, perfunctory at special masses.
All she did was trail after Lady Sisle all day.
Even now, during the momentous audience rite after twenty years, she was lost in a daze.
"...Are you listening, Saintess?"
"Oh, yes, yes. I just go and receive the blessing, right? Yes, yes."
"..."
No matter how many times he explained the rite, he got responses like that. This woman was clearly not right in the head.
But once Seiser—actually, once she entered the corridor housing the Holy Emperor's reliquary—she seemed to snap to attention.
"Uh, wait a..."
*Thud*. Wesker eyed the firmly shut door with worry.
That flustered demeanor to the end. Even if the founding Holy Emperor showed mercy, could this woman properly receive the blessing?
Though it was the Holy Emperor's order, Wesker couldn't shake his anxiety that it was too much.
Especially since this was the first time anyone outside the Holy Imperial Family, without a saintess's mark, had attempted the rite.
But moments later, when the saintess emerged, Wesker breathed a sigh of relief.
Proof that she had properly received the founding Holy Emperor's blessing: her eyes, shining with radiant gold, stared straight at him.
An incomparably powerful and sacred aura poured from her body like a waterfall. All the clergy observing the rite from outside bowed their heads, overwhelmed.
And then.
[I shall go straight to the imperial palace. Let no one follow.]
A voice reverberated deeply in his mind, shaking his soul, issuing the command.
>* * *
>The imperial palace's main hall stood empty, unguarded. Everyone had been cleared out since morning.
"I thought she might come straight here, and sure enough, not a step off prediction."
The Holy Emperor spoke as the woman strode boldly into the office, radiating overwhelming presence.
He had prepared for the slim chance that Cadmos would head straight for Sisle, but it seemed the once-unyielding founding Holy Emperor prioritized venting five years of humiliation over practicality.
Then Seiser—no, Cadmos—reprimanded him in a dignified voice.
[Such arrogance, child! I pitied you and showed such consideration, yet where did you sell your respect for your ancestor?]
The Holy Emperor replied coldly.
"Ancestor? You dare carve that mark on my child's body and still expect my respect?"
[What insolence is this?]
Cadmos couldn't hide his displeasure, his eyebrows twitching.
"You're still so high and mighty. Clearly, five years of reflection weren't enough."
[...What did you say? I was about to show you mercy, yet you dare...]
Cadmos bared his teeth with a growl. Flames sparked from his vertically slit golden irises.
Right after the saintess's mark appeared on Sisle's body.
This insolent descendant had sealed Cadmos's soul in the church basement without a word, and now their first exchange was mockery about insufficient self-reflection.
*Thud!* The main palace shook violently from Cadmos's wrathful aura.
The terrace doors rattled as if about to fly off. Papers scattered, and furnishings crashed to the floor.
[A child doomed to die anyway!]
"..."
[Left alone, she would have been taken by some evil thing and died someday! I pitied her and sought to protect her from them!]
His outburst carried not just anger, but a hint of grievance.
Cadmos had been forced to meet his end as the founding Holy Emperor, against his will, considering the negative impact his excessively prolonged life would have on Delcross. Yet his soul lived on, perfectly intact.
Thus, he would occasionally borrow the bodies of his descendants or other saintesses to live anew.
At first glance, it resembled a demon possessing others, but he had his own standards.
He took only the bodies of descendants whose positions were unstable due to lacking holy power, or those fated to die soon. He also took the bodies of kind-hearted women willing to serve others, yet destined to be branded witches and killed for their extraordinary deeds.
The souls he encountered dissolved powerlessly upon contact with his divinity, but he paid it no mind. Doomed lives and fading souls, after all.
Thus, twenty years ago, he had marked a child fated to die as a hostage in a foreign land. And five years ago, he marked another he believed would be possessed by evil and become a scourge to the empire.
In a sense, it was his way of protecting descendants doomed to miserable ends.
But.
"Don't judge rashly with your shortsighted view. It will never come to that."
Twenty years ago.
The descendant who had miraculously escaped Cadmos's grasp was still alive and well, smirking as he said those words.