Chapter 424
Chapter 424
Chapter 424
Zeke opened his eyes. 'Have I returned?'
Looking down, he saw Duke sleeping with his eyes closed. Zeke recalled the virtual world created by Duke's memories.
'That guy wrapped in bandages. What exactly is his identity?'
It might be a fictional being created by Duke's memories rather than a real person, but something felt ominous about it.
'Anyway, it's fortunate that I was able to obtain information about the abandoned continent.'
Just then, Duke, who had been lying down, suddenly opened his eyes wide.
"Gasp!"
Duke was startled and bolted upright.
He turned his head and looked at Zeke with vacant eyes, then clutched his head as if confused.
"Ugh. What happened?"
"Are you alright?"
Zeke approached Duke and took out a medicine from his inventory to hand to him.
It was medicine he had brought from the Naga city, effective for mental recovery.
Duke drank all the medicine Zeke had given him and steadied his breathing.
After pondering something while looking at Zeke, he nodded as if he finally understood and spoke.
"Phew... I remembered a forgotten memory."
Then he continued slowly.
"I thought the problem was my guilt over not being able to save my comrades, but apparently that wasn't it."
Duke pressed his temples firmly and said to Zeke.
"That thing about entering my memory earlier. That was really you, wasn't it?"
Zeke nodded.
"Yes, I unsealed Master's sealed memory and entered it directly." At those words, Duke sighed and said.
"To think you can enter someone else's memory and cause such chaos. The Fairy King gave you quite a strange talent."
Duke steadied his breathing and looked at Zeke.
"You saw him in the memory too, didn't you? That guy wrapped in bandages."
"Was it not an illusion but Master's actual memory?"
Duke nodded.
"Yes, unlike the memory you intervened in, I barely survived and moved forward to carry out my mission, chewing on my comrades' blood and flesh. To find the tower."
Zeke was surprised by this.
"I thought you returned by ship right away?"
"My heart's wish that I should have done that was probably reflected in the memory. At the time, I thought completing the mission by finding the tower was the way to not let their sacrifice be in vain. And I eventually found the tower."
Duke cleared his voice and continued.
"But that guy was in front of the tower. The one wrapped in bandages all over his body."
Duke's hands trembled again. But this time he took deep breaths to calm himself, then looked at Zeke and continued.
"The bandaged guy was like an insurmountable wall, no matter what I did. Even if I hadn't been exhausted, I wouldn't have been able to break through him and enter the tower."
"Was he that strong?"
From what he had seen in the memory alone, Zeke couldn't gauge the strength of that being. Duke steadied his breathing once more and spoke.
"His voice still echoes in my ears. It didn't sound like something a human would make. He told me to inform others not to come to this place as well."
Only then did Zeke realize that Duke's hands were trembling.
"When I opened my eyes, I was on the ship I had come on. While I was unconscious, the ship had already crossed the Dark Sea."
Duke rubbed his face with both hands and said.
"What happened after that is hazy in my memory. I wasn't in my right mind. I would sleep like the dead, then wake up to drink water and eat just enough rations to barely satisfy my hunger. When I finally came to my full senses, I had arrived at the Central Continent. It took over a year before I could speak normally and live daily life."
Zeke finally realized what had happened to Duke.
'The terrible memory that had disappeared left a deep wound in Master's soul.'
The fearful memory was lodged like a thorn, sealing his power. Having poured out everything, Duke showed a somewhat relieved expression and said.
"Phew, somehow my head feels clear. If it weren't for you, Zeke, I would have never recalled this memory and left it to fester inside forever. Thank you so much."
"Not at all, Master. It must have been a difficult memory to recall, you've really been through a lot. Please rest for now, and let's continue the story tomorrow."
Zeke stepped out of the room so Duke could rest.
'The final tower existing on the abandoned continent and the mysterious being guarding it.'
Zeke expected that the mysterious being was likely a guardian left behind by the dragons to protect the tower.
'If that's the case, with the Fairy King's blessing and the Great Dragon's blessing that I've received, it might not be such a great threat to me.'
The part about the abandoned continent needed more consideration.
'What's important now is that with the sealed memories unlocked, Master has properly faced his trauma. Perhaps, Master might regain his original level of skill.'
If Duke, who had joined Zeke's Black Sword Knights, regained his level as a Black Knight, his power and influence could increase several times over from before.
He had found a clue to solve Duke's problem through an unexpected method.
Pleased with this unexpected gain, Zeke tried to return to his room to calmly organize his thoughts, but he couldn't.
Surprisingly, Carus was waiting for him in the room.
"Zeke!"
Carus embraced Zeke with a welcoming expression.
"Since I touched the Knight of Salvation who received the Fairy King's blessing, I must have received a blessing too."
"You're still talking nonsense. I thought you were with Julius, when did you come here?"
At Zeke's words, Carus sat down, clicked his tongue, and shook his head.
"SIGH!, I'm having a headache because of that Julius. The man who once tried to assassinate me is now coming every day to persuade me that I should ascend to the emperor's throne."
Zeke showed a surprised expression at Carus's words.
"I thought Julius would support Prince Leo as the next emperor?"
Carus nodded at those words.
"That's how it should have been originally. However, given how the situation has turned out, Julius seems to be trying to convince other imperial nobles by putting me forward as I have the most legitimate succession conditions. After all, for old families, justification is the most important thing."
"Does Prince Leo rank lower than you in succession?"
"Not exactly, but the Rom Empire's succession rights are more complicated than other kingdoms. Succession rights aren't given to a single bloodline but also to the prince-electors, and when you look at it, everyone is connected by blood relations, so the family tree is quite tangled. So I'm just slightly ahead."
After thinking about something at Carus's words, Zeke asked a question.
"Is that how Abel Draker, no, Abel Jiemens also got succession rights?"
Carus nodded and answered.
"Right, I didn't know the details either, but when I met Julius this time and heard how it happened, it was quite complicated."
"How is it complicated?"
After contemplating, Carus looked at Zeke and answered.
"Strictly speaking... the Jiemens family can be considered the founders of the current Rom Empire."
Zeke's eyes widened at those words.
"What do you mean Jiemens founded the Rom Empire? What's that about?"
"It's quite a long story. Do you know about the Seven Kingdoms that existed in the Central Continent before the Liberation War?"
Zeke nodded.
"I know somewhat. That the Thebea Kingdom is the only one of the Seven Kingdoms that remains until now."
"That's good. Most knights don't even know about the existence of the Seven Kingdoms."
Carus continued.
"During the Liberation War, dragons destroyed most human records, so there's almost no remaining data about the Seven Kingdoms. We only know that Thebea has continued as a kingdom since then. But... another one of the Seven Kingdoms has been revealed."
Zeke's eyebrows twitched upon hearing Carus's words.
"Don't tell me it's Jiemens?"
Carus shrugged and said.
"That's right, the Jiemens Kingdom. It was one of the superpowers leading the most powerful magic knight order at the time. It was a time when magicians wielded stronger power than knights. It was also when knights preferred wearing magical artifacts rather than Aura awakening techniques, which took longer to learn and were less efficient."
Zeke recalled looking into Terakan Draker's memories through the Holy Grail, where he was being chased by Jiemens' magic knights.
'Right, those Jiemens knights. Armed with magic armor and swords, each one of them had power equivalent to a Blue Knight.'
Of course, it was impossible to compare their power with today's knights who use Aura Blade.
No matter how strong the magical equipment they used, it was difficult to match the reaction speed of a knight trained in Aura.
But since there were only basic Aura awakening techniques at the time, it wasn't as easy to train in Aura as it is now, so using magical equipment was indeed a more efficient method.
"The Jiemens Kingdom disappeared after the Liberation War, then reappeared when the Holy Kingdom was expanding into an empire."
Zeke asked in surprise after hearing Carus's words.
"Are you saying Jiemens helped Holy King Geo Lubern?"
Carus nodded.
"Yes, at that time, Jiemens provided considerable funding to the Holy Kingdom, helping to lay the foundation for imperial expansion."
At that moment, Zeke noticed something and said.
"Don't tell me, did Jiemens withdraw after the Holy Empire was created?"
"You're quick to catch on. That's right. Because of that, the Holy Empire fell into division not long after it was created. When the Lubern dynasty was eventually driven out of the empire, the Pope designated qualified families and had them elect one emperor through voting."
"Are those families the prince-elector families with succession rights?"
"Correct. Many prince-elector families were troubled by the Pope's decision. They had to be mindful of other families and it was important to consider the Pope who held the greatest power."
"If Jiemens was among the prince-elector families, they would have tried to manipulate other families to become emperor somehow."
"The Pope knew that too. But everyone knew papal authority would be threatened if Jiemens became emperor. So the Pope chose another prince-elector family. That's the current Constantinus. Once the Pope's supported family was decided, other prince-elector families joined their side."
"Jiemens must have been furious. Since Constantinus, who had less power than them, got imperial authority."
"Exactly. The Pope ultimately tried to control the empire freely while putting Constantinus in front. During this time, Jiemens faced near extinction from attacks by the Pope and other prince-elector families. What do you think Jiemens did?"
After thinking for a while, Zeke spoke.
"They probably tried to draw Constantinus to their side. By mixing blood to absorb the family completely."
Carus snapped his fingers.
"Jiemens started hiding their name. They began manipulating many things cleverly from behind Constantinus. Due to Jiemens' influence, the conflict between imperial and papal authority deepened and eventually tore apart the Holy Empire. The Holy Empire split into the Holy Kingdom and Rom Kingdom, and other kingdoms gained independence as well."
"The Rom Kingdom grew into the Rom Empire by absorbing other prince-elector families. Jiemens' influence must have been present in that process."
Carus nodded at Zeke's words.
"Nevertheless, they chose to keep controlling Constantinus from behind rather than stepping forward themselves. Do you know what Jiemens did in this process? They erased their name from history. That's why these behind-the-scenes stories don't remain in the Holy Empire's history."
Hearing Carus's explanation, Zeke could understand Jiemens family's goal.
In his previous life, Ramon Jiemens used Abel to take over the Draker family, and tried to seize the empire by putting forward Cain who had obtained Caligula's power.
If things had gone according to plan, Jiemens could have swallowed the entire continent whole while keeping their name hidden from the world.
Zeke looked at Carus and asked.
"Are you saying Julius told you all this?"
Carus shook his head at that question.
"Some of it was from Julius, but I heard the deeper story from someone else."
"Someone else? Who are you talking about?"
Carus looked at Zeke and spoke.
"William Jiemens. The heir of Jiemens."