Chapter 155
Chapter: 155
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>Translator: penny
>Chapter: 155
>Chapter Title: Birthday Celebration (4)
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[How about it? Shall we dance too? The first dance is important, isn't it?]
Nyam nyam. Cadmos, who had been completely absorbed in his meal, turned to Logan, who stood there with his arms crossed, and asked.
"Have you lost your mind?"
Of course, he could only receive Logan's scornful glare in return before turning his head back toward the food.
[Look over there. Since you won't dance the first dance, those young ladies are just watching and waiting like that. So pitiful.]
He was right. Not only the Delcross nobility but also the young ladies among the foreign dignitaries invited from abroad—all of them were gazing at Logan with eyes full of admiration.
It was just that since he hadn't danced the first dance with a partner yet, they hesitated to ask him boldly and could only steal glances.
Perhaps Logan was the most person at tonight's banquet.
He was a leading candidate for the next Holy Emperor and had earned the favor of people across the continent through his diligent subjugation of sea beasts.
Considering that many subjugated nations fundamentally harbored resentment toward the Empire, this was quite an exceptional case.
However.
"While I'm off dancing, who knows what mischief you'll stir up? I'm not leaving my post so recklessly. Mind your own business."
But with the man himself being so stubbornly uncooperative.
[...Anyway, you're so rigid.]
Cadmos clicked his tongue.
[Hey, descendant.]
"Don't call me descendant so casually."
Logan's face was utterly stiff as he shot back curtly. Cadmos eyed him carefully for a moment before asking.
[Why on earth are you so angry at me? Even if I look like this, this body drove out the demonkin from the continent and laid the foundation for the millennium Holy Kingdom. Shouldn't you show at least a bit of respect?]
Even someone as arrogant as Cadmos couldn't help but feel a little bothered by Logan's consistent animosity from the start. After all, he quite liked this descendant among the others.
But Logan's blue eyes, turned toward him, were coldly sunken.
"Respect? You expect a lot. What exactly have you done that's so praiseworthy?"
[What did I do so wrong?]
"If you're that curious, I'll tell you. Pretending to speak for the Lord's will on your own to create a saintess—doesn't seem like you have much faith. Why did you establish such an absurd founding ideology as 'fully realizing the Lord's Kingdom on this land' when founding the Empire? Because of that, the entire continent has suffered from the Empire's interference in internal affairs for a thousand years. Do you even have a brain?"
[Hmm...]
If pressed like that, he had nothing to say.
He had merely imprinted a mark first to make possession easier, but people started revering it as the saintess's reincarnation on their own—what was he supposed to do?
Well, it was true he let the misunderstanding stand because it was amusing.
As for the founding ideology, he'd left it to his key subordinates at the time.
-The grander the ideology we promote, the better!
-Let's make everything the will of God! That way, everyone will accept it easily!
And before he knew it, he had become a demigod who liberated the continent from demonkin by the will of God.
[Founding a nation isn't that easy, descendant.]
Cadmos admonished him gravely.
[From the era of the Three Ancient Dragons to the 'Primordial Covenant' thousands of years later. Do you know how much suffering humanity endured under the demonkin forces that dominated the continent? To rein them in, drive them out, and eventually form proper nations, various compromises were necessary.]
"Fine, let's say that was unavoidable given the circumstances at the time."
Logan furrowed his brow and continued.
"But afterward, you ruled stably for 300 years without issue. Couldn't you have corrected the mistakes during that time and led the Empire in a better direction? If that was too hard, you should have at least passed the throne to a proper successor! Why did you choose that blood-mad lunatic as heir and plunge the entire continent into war?"
The second Holy Emperor, Remus, was also known as the "Blood Holy Emperor." Because wherever he went, internally or externally in Delcross, a storm of blood followed.
The first thing he did upon ascending the throne was to execute all his blood relatives who might threaten his position. After that, he slaughtered every subordinate who opposed him without mercy.
Having thus purged the Empire on a massive scale, he then turned outward, launching conquest wars to subjugate various nations across the continent. He didn't hesitate to shed blood in the process.
[That was a misunderstanding too. Remus wasn't originally that reckless.]
Cadmos replied with an awkward expression. Divine power stirred with his emotions, and for a moment, a golden scale pattern flickered on his forehead before fading.
[I chose him as successor because he was quite clever. But after inheriting my divinity, he changed due to the side effects—what could I do?]
"Side effects?"
[Yes. For an ordinary human to handle divinity beyond their capacity, their body and mind inevitably suffer, leading to early death or madness. Remus, being my descendant with some potential, at least stopped at that level.]
Logan, incredulous, asked back.
"You knew that full well and still passed it to him?"
[He desperately wanted it! And it was an unavoidable choice to maintain the Empire. Once the nation stabilized, I could slowly recover the divinity later.]
Cadmos picked up a pastry and continued his excuse that wasn't quite an excuse.
[Even after that, when children with denser divinity were born, most lost all emotions completely. You're freely criticizing Remus now, but if you'd inherited that much divinity, things would be very different for you.]
Over the past few centuries, Cadmos had gradually recovered the divinity, diluting it significantly, and most of what remained was concentrated in Holy Emperor Nate, he explained.
[Your father's case is exceptionally rare. That child's bloodline has a unique innate ability specialized in observing and regulating himself from multiple angles. So he rarely goes mad and doesn't lose himself easily.]
Logan had heard about the Cornsheim clan's blood flowing in him.
Even among older high-ranking clergy, some still viewed the Holy Imperial family with suspicion for that reason.
[On top of that, that immense divine power continuously restores his brain and body, which might be damaged by the divinity, to perfection.]
Crunch.
Cadmos said that much, then paused to chew his pastry.
[But consider this. What about the generation where that unique blood thins out?]
Then he turned to Logan.
His golden irises contracted sharply, the pupils elongating vertically into slits.
[If that bloodline's blood dilutes, and a child with barely any divine power inherits even a portion of it—what do you think happens?]
"......"
[They'd probably become a monster with not a shred of emotion left. Even more ruthless and cruel than Remus, the 'Blood Holy Emperor.']
Cadmos's gaze, saying that, fell upon the siblings dancing merrily.
[So to endure it, they might have to become something other than human. Or use a unique workaround like your father. Either way, the process won't be smooth.]
"...Then what are you, exactly, Holy Emperor of the Empire, who calls himself not human?"
Logan, silent for a moment, spoke lowly.
"You haven't lost your emotions like them, nor been consumed by that divinity. Yet you knew Remus would turn out that way and did nothing. You even knew he'd kill your nursing infant son and still let it happen. And you claim to handle that divinity properly, unlike your descendants?"
[.......]
As Cadmos fell silent, Logan's face twisted sharply. He spat at Cadmos like he was grinding his teeth.
"The more I learn, the worse you seem."
* * *
Amid the beautiful melody, Leonard stared blankly at the center of the banquet hall, lost in thought.
'...This might be tougher than I expected.'
His noble lady partner from Rohan kept giving him hints, but his gaze wouldn't leave the dancing siblings.
To be precise, from Imperial Princess Amelia, gracefully gliding through the banquet hall.
Her pale, glowing cheeks and fluttering rose-gold hair brimmed with vibrant vitality befitting her age.
Meanwhile, the red dress skirt unfurling like flower petals in sync with her movements was fatally seductive, like a temptress from ancient myths.
A woman embodying starkly contrasting charms simultaneously.
"This is just..."
Even before leaving with Prince Mores, that radiant smile she'd flashed him lingered in his mind.
Yet her clear gray eyes toward him had been utterly cold.
Where had that pitiful girl from last year's birthday celebration, just fallen in love, gone?
"I bragged so much to Romain, but this is really bad."
Connecting with the prince was the issue; he'd never worried about the princess. He was confident he could captivate any woman at once.
But this princess now...
Feeling an inexplicable thirst bubbling up from within, Leonard unwittingly tugged at his collar.
Clap clap clap clap.
At some point the dance ended amid loud applause, and the music flowing through the banquet hall shifted to something gentler.
Gulping down drinks in dejected succession, he heard the click-clack of heels approaching him directly.
Casually turning his head, Leonard's eyes widened. There stood Imperial Princess Amelia before him, beaming a smile so dazzling it made his head spin.
"My brother was rude earlier. You're Leonard from Rohan, right?"
"Yes, that's me."
Replying with a slightly hoarse voice, the princess curved her lips gracefully.
"I saw you at last year's birthday celebration too, Prince. Finally getting to make the request I've wanted to since then."
A slender hand slowly extended toward him.
"If it's alright, would you dance the next song with me?"
She asked shyly, but her demeanor exuded the dignity of a lofty queen. There was no way to refuse.
Feeling a strange surge welling up inside, Leonard kissed her hand.
"...Of course. I'd be delighted to, Amelia."
And he could no longer deny what he'd been trying to reject since earlier.
That he, Leonard, had fallen for this beautiful woman at first sight.
After several dances had alternated and the banquet's atmosphere reached its peak.
The Empress, seated at the head table, nodded, and suddenly the orchestra's performance halted.
The laughing and chatting crowd fell silent, all turning their gazes forward.
Before the brightly lit stage stood Archbishop Wesker. It was to publicly announce the Empire's pride—the saintesses—to the continent's dignitaries, as planned.
"Several years ago, after Saintess Grazie returned to our side, she toured the nation, serving the faithful."
Her clear voice echoed through the entire banquet hall without aura amplification.
"And recently, another saintess has come to Delcross by the Lord's will—this is the Empire's glory and the continent's fortune! Now, the two saintesses will bestow blessings upon all attendees at this birthday celebration!"
It was something that often happened at past Holy Emperors' birthday celebrations.
A simple event where the saintesses offered blessings and displayed divine power.
But Cissle's face, stepping forward to the stage, was unusually tense.
[Descendant. Has your resolve not changed?]
Cadmos asked, facing straight ahead. Cissle nodded and replied.
"Yes. I'll proceed as planned."
[Can you handle the aftermath? This will be unprecedented since the founding; we can't predict how the Orthodoxy will react.]
Cissle bit her lip hard.
As Cadmos said, this declaration would likely cause an uproar like never before.
But Brother Mores had clearly given her a solution. After much deliberation, no clearer path seemed available.
"Yes. I can handle it. So please help me."
With her mind set, the girl lifted her head and slowly stepped forward.
Receiving everyone's gazes, Cissle scanned the crowd with a slightly tense expression, mentally repeating the words Seongjin had taught her countless times.
And then.
"What a truly beautiful night."
Her crystal-clear, transparent voice, carried on unconsciously arisen aura, rang out amplified, embedding clearly in everyone's ears.