Chapter 258
Chapter: 258
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>Translator: penny
>Chapter: 258
>Chapter Title: Regina's Crossroads (2)
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They were heading to the Rift now, the Holy Emperor explained.
Unlike the place he had experienced in the imperial palace before, it was a highly stable space managed by a separate owner. So there was no need to worry much about motion sickness.
[Don't forget to bring the Ice Hearts.]
Only the soul would move, but it was a mysterious space where the items one carried were reflected as is.
Indeed, Seongjin had once experienced having his body exist simultaneously in both the office and the Rift. He didn't know the principle, but it was probably something similar.
"Hmm..."
As Seongjin packed three Ice Hearts into his bosom, he hesitated for a moment before slyly taking one out and placing it back on the table.
He had a hunch that it would be better to leave at least one in its original form. At that instant, a bright silver light flashed in the Holy Emperor's eyes.
[Why not take them all? It seems you'll soon have one more heart.]
"Pardon?"
[Don't you already know of another material?]
Seongjin tilted his head.
"That's true. Well, off the top of my head, it's that damned thing the Decaron Knight left behind..."
[Then he'll bring it to you.]
"Huh?"
Seongjin's eyes widened.
"Why would that old man do such a thing?"
[Didn't you get extremely angry at him?]
No, even so...?
[He probably won't want to greatly upset you. His ability to sense danger is more outstanding than you think.]
But he had already shown so much lax and foolish behavior?
[The moment you arrived, he instinctively sensed that his territory would safely overcome the danger. That's why he completely let his guard down.]
"...No way, he trusted me and did all those idiotic things?"
Seongjin was dumbfounded when the Holy Emperor pressed his forehead firmly against the bed.
[It's best not to think deeply about them anymore. The karma given to me is fixed, and there's not much time left.]
No, but thinking about that old geezer makes me angry again!
Father, while we're on the topic, shouldn't we do something to that old man too? I'm feeling so wronged...!
As Seongjin struggled, the Holy Emperor let out a small sigh.
[I have already taken measures against them, so now we just wait for the results. Don't worry about it anymore.]
"Pardon?"
[Now sleep.]
Smack.
Seongjin received a flick on the forehead weaker than usual, and his consciousness swiftly faded.
* * *
"Hmm..."
Clop clop.
Riding slowly at the rear of the pursuit squad, old man Vincent occasionally shivered from the chill that swept over him and finally let out a low groan.
"What's wrong, Lord Vincent?"
One of the Wolf Knights asked curiously, but he furrowed his brows stubbornly without answering. How could he explain this vague, enormous fear and anxiety to the young knight?
'All this started after the princes arrived.'
It had been hard to maintain composure even in front of Prince Mores, but after Prince Logan appeared before his eyes, that fear had become quite concrete.
Especially when looking at the back of the boy holy knight riding a white horse ahead, the intense fear made his hand holding the reins tremble. A genius sword master who strikingly resembled the Holy Emperor, even from the back of his head.
'Your Majesty...'
The day the Holy Emperor had unauthorizedly entered Sigmund territory and taken Princess Amelia away.
Old man Vincent didn't fully remember that day's events. Only a hazy impression remained of receiving a shock great enough to kill him instantly and engraving deep fear into his bones.
In any case, from that day on, the old man had handed over the count's title to his son and holed up in the territory.
He didn't even attend the annual birthday banquet. Just recalling the Holy Emperor's chilling gray eyes made his whole body tremble like an aspen tree.
Instead, from that day, the old man hadn't stepped foot outside the territory even once and devoted himself solely to training. He had no other way to calm his anxious mind except by swinging his sword and growing stronger.
'But it was all an illusion!'
He realized it the moment he saw the sons who so resembled the Holy Emperor.
The Decaron Knight had been caught in an unfathomable demonic obsession. At this rate, he would never overcome his fear or reach the realm of sword master.
-As expected, you're far superior to some useless Decaron Knight!
And Prince Mores' merciless evaluation kept circling in his head.
Finally, after much deliberation, old man Vincent turned his horse's head alone toward the Ice Wall Base.
"Sir Ilma. I have a place I need to visit briefly. I leave the pursuit squad to you."
Sir Ilma turned to him with a shadier expression than usual.
"Pardon? Lord Vincent. Where to suddenly..."
"The southern cliffs. I need to go back to the place where we caught that devil worshiper."
For some reason, he no longer wanted to give Prince Mores any cause for complaint.
Whether it was the glacier troll's ice or whatever. He had to find it and earn recognition of his usefulness from that arrogant young prince as soon as possible.
Otherwise...
Leaving Sir Ilma's puzzled gaze behind, old man Vincent spurred his horse forward with a hardened face.
* * *
Fog blanketed everything in sight.
In the heavy silence that completely swallowed even the sound of footsteps, Seongjin walked an invisible path following the Holy Emperor.
There were several positive effects to the soul separating from the body.
His anger didn't completely disappear, but at least it prevented his reason from being helplessly swept away by uncontrollable emotions.
Moreover, memories that had been hazy until moments ago felt a bit clearer.
So Seongjin asked the Holy Emperor as his intuition directed, following the strong hunch that he needed to precisely uncover the Holy Emperor's intentions regarding Sigmund territory.
[Father, can you tell me? What is the blessing you bestowed upon the countess?]
It had to be an enormously powerful blessing, enough to fill in the severely lacking parts of karma.
But Seongjin had yet to find any evidence of that blessing in the old lady's body.
She had lived a life of luxury, so being healthy for her age was natural, but compared to her husband, old man Vincent, she looked markedly aged. Wasn't she just an ordinary old woman who hadn't escaped aging at all?
The Holy Emperor gave an unexpected answer.
[I bestowed the blessing not on her body, but on her soul. So that she could occasionally dream even amidst extreme pain.]
[...Dreams?]
[Yes.]
Dreams? Why in that way?
He felt momentary doubt, but at least one thing was clear.
[In any case, you gave her a chance to breathe even in her suffering. Why?]
Sensing the dissatisfaction in his voice, the Holy Emperor paused and looked down at Seongjin.
[My son, what do you think is the difference between 'moving karma' and 'creating karma'?]
Moving and creating?
Seongjin tilted his head.
[Aren't they the same?]
The Holy Emperor nodded with a leisurely expression.
[Yes. At first glance, they might seem to have no difference. Both can start from the same foundation and produce the same results. Unfortunately, however, when discussing human karma, the impact of the two is greatly different.]
This stems from the perspective that ordinary humans are ignorant of the results produced by the movement of karma.
Saying that, the Holy Emperor turned and began walking again, parting the milky fog.
[Do you know this? That woman wasn't so vicious from the beginning. Even when she chased away her husband's illegitimate child, she didn't prevent providing the bare minimum of food, clothing, and shelter. And when she left behind a daughter upon her death, she didn't oppose caring for the remaining child in the count's residence.]
Is that what you call caring? She deliberately tormented her to wither away in even greater pain?
Rebellious words rose to his throat, but Seongjin held them back and listened to his next words.
[But as she spent her life waiting for her husband who kept wandering outside the territory, her malice grew uncontrollably. Then, upon seeing her grandson, who had perfectly inherited her husband's talent, show interest in Amelia once again, she thought this.]
That if things continued, grandson Orden too would have his heart stolen by a woman and follow exactly in Vincent's footsteps.
That Amelia would become the culprit ruining everything in Sigmund.
[Does that justify tormenting an innocent little girl like that? Not everyone who harbors murderous intent becomes a murderer!]
He burst out.
He really couldn't hold it in! Even as a soul, anger was anger!
Then, tap.
Lightly tapping Seongjin's forehead to interrupt his thoughts, the Holy Emperor continued.
[Yes. Even harboring hatred deep enough to kill her in one's mind countless times is clearly a huge gulf from actually laying hands on her. And I'm not demanding god-like fair judgment on your personal revenge.]
-You are still steeped in human ignorance.
Was it an illusion? He faintly heard a thought from the Holy Emperor.
As Seongjin tilted his head, the Holy Emperor's words continued.
[If we strictly follow principled justice, isn't it just as absurd for the agent of revenge to be someone other than Amelia?]
No, that's a bit!
[Are you saying those without the power to revenge should just take it lying down? That those nearby can do nothing for them?]
[My son. I'm not reproaching you for seeking revenge on that woman.]
Tap tap.
Soothing the seething Seongjin by patting his shoulder a couple more times, the Holy Emperor turned and resumed walking.
Flutter. Even in a space with no air currents, the hem of the Holy Emperor's white robe billowed as if in the wind.
[You must clearly understand just this one thing. You did not execute justice on behalf of Amelia.]
[...!]
[That woman undoubtedly met that end due to her own wrongs, but you must never mistake it for retribution you dealt in place of god.]
Seongjin bit his lip, but apart from his resentful feelings, he couldn't come up with a proper rebuttal.
[What about the other one you said you couldn't forgive, Lord Vincent?]
As Seongjin sullenly looked down, the Holy Emperor strode forward and continued.
[He piled up massive ice walls in the demon realm for the territory's safety, drove out heretics from the south, and lived busily his whole life. Then, on the rare days he returned to the count's residence, the steward would report to him like this. The child is doing well without issue.]
[...]
[So he thought. Was there any need to unnecessarily show interest and further disturb his already uncomfortable wife's feelings?]
So you're saying his neglect of my sister should be taken into consideration? Then whose fault is my sister's suffering?
Seongjin scowled and stopped following, so the Holy Emperor paused again and turned back. As if he knew exactly what Seongjin was thinking.
[Yes. It's hard to accept. Would you believe it if all this started from someone inadvertently 'moving karma'?]
The difference between moving and creating.
That's what the Holy Emperor had been talking about since earlier.
[Some arrogant person who learned of Amelia's existence thought this. Since he didn't inherit his father's sword talent, wouldn't it be much easier to inherit and manage the territory from him later if he properly made everyone in the count's residence aware of his father's stain?]
[...!]
[His mother, a noble from fallen Ortona, and his wife from a wealthy Anatolian family. As the conflict between the stubborn two reached its peak and the household grew chaotic, he thought of diverting this anger elsewhere.]
The Holy Emperor's calm voice echoed through the empty space.
[What that person whispered back then was just a few words.]
Mother, have you ever heard of that cursed clan that enchants people like devils? That girl's eyes look just like theirs.
Father, I'll handle the count's residence matters, so please don't worry about trivial things and focus only on safeguarding the continent's peace.
Seongjin's eyes widened in shock.
[Who do you think bears the greatest fault here?]
No, if that's true, the one who worsened the situation the most is undoubtedly...
[But even though 'moving karma' leads to such clear results, do you understand that its karmic weight is infinitely lighter compared to 'creating karma'?]
[...!]
Hendrick Sigmund, then the eldest son, soon learned that the Holy Emperor was desperately searching for his child. And that the half-sister he barely knew was his woman.
Fearing repercussions at last, he began disrupting guild members investigating the territory and systematically eliminating outsiders who knew of Amelia's existence.
And he incited his mother and the servants to torment the little girl to death. So that when the Holy Emperor later investigated upon learning the truth, it would appear as if the girl had sickly wasted away and met a natural death.
[Yet despite creating enough karma over years for others to receive punishment, he himself accumulated not a shred. He even truly believes without doubt that it was all for reviving the territory with minimal sacrifice.]
Emotionless, inorganic eyes and a calmly uttered voice. Yet Seongjin felt that he was angrier than ever before.
[If we strictly weigh the merits and demerits of his life stemming from his own 'good intentions,' his soul will undoubtedly tip toward merits. Watching that idly is quite difficult.]
-So even though I know well what the border count is scheming, I leave it be. I'm greatly anticipating the outcome.
A faint thought transmitted from him.
This time, it wasn't an illusion. Seongjin properly understood what he meant.
[...The one Father most wants to take revenge on is Hendrick, the border count.]
Since he didn't have enough accumulated for heavy revenge like on the former countess, he was waiting for him to 'create' sufficient karma and build up his deeds.
The Holy Emperor's eyes widened slightly as he looked at Seongjin, then nodded.
[Yes. I won't deny it. So I hope he somehow accumulates some great deed.]
The gray eyes, shining with bright zeal, sank into uncharacteristic darkness. And Seongjin faintly heard his unspoken true feelings once more.
-I am merely standing by as he commits an irredeemable great sin. Since I know the result clearly yet try to use it, fundamentally, I am no different from Hendrick, the border count.
Did the Holy Emperor know Seongjin was faintly perceiving his thoughts?
-Even so, I hate him. Enough to think it's fine for him to bear the full sin of arbitrarily moving karma 'knowing' the result.
He probably didn't. This was a man who never bared his emotions so nakedly toward his children.
It was just a momentary coincidence from Seongjin growing more adept at sensing thoughts, combined with his current state of not containing emotions as well as usual.
-Of course, I don't forget that this too stems from my personal grudge and is self-satisfaction.
Flinch. Seongjin suddenly trembled with an ominous premonition.
Doesn't this man resent someone even more than Hendrick, the border count? Namely...
[...Father, please tell me. Why did the border count bring in the potion carriages to the territory? What was he planning from the beginning?]
As Seongjin asked in a trembling voice, the Holy Emperor smiled bitterly and turned.
[You're not in a complete oracle state right now. I can't easily teach you such things.]
-If you knew, you'd surely try to stop me, wouldn't you?
[But...!]
It was as Seongjin tried to say more.
[It's best to end the talk here. We've arrived at our destination.]
As soon as the Holy Emperor finished speaking, the fog cleared, revealing a faded gray space before their eyes.