Chapter 141
Chapter 141
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 141
Chapter Title: The Imperial Siblings
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Killing the Holy Sword Master was supposed to be Charlotte Orharhart's role. That was the promise she and Dale had made as children, but circumstances had changed.
Dale turned his head, leaving the Hero's sword hanging askew on the table.
“As long as he appeared before me on the battlefield, I had no choice but to kill him. I had to kill him before he killed me.”
“I don't intend to blame you.”
But Charlotte soon shook her head.
“It's just that you were faster than my sword could reach him.”
“…”
“Hey, can I ask you something?”
Charlotte asked, and Dale nodded.
“That man, the Holy Sword Master… did he die in pain?”
“He must have died in immense pain. His holy sword shattered, watching his county fall… he would have slowly died in a hell of both body and mind.”
“I see.”
At Dale's answer, Charlotte nodded bitterly.
“I suppose I'm no match for the greatest genius in the Empire. Not since the day we first met.”
Charlotte continued.
“In the end, from start to finish, I could do nothing but receive your help.”
A past so distant that even the two of them could barely recall it. But how could they ever forget what happened that day?
“Protected by you in the name of Sachsen, the enemies of my Orharhart family defeated in the name of Sachsen… I promised to become stronger for you, but in the end, even that strength was something I received from you.”
Charlotte laughed self-deprecatingly. In a world where there was nothing she could change with her own power.
“Still… thank you.”
Dale remained silent.
“Because without you, these were all things I could never have obtained.”
Revealing her own unconcealable inadequacy for the first time. Once again, silence descended like a feather.
In the silence, Charlotte quietly took Dale's hand. Her hand was as cold as ice.
“I've already sworn to dedicate my entire life to you and House Sachsen. I have done so until now, and nothing will change in the future. That is the debt I owe you.”
Charlotte said.
“Still…”
And as her words trailed off, Dale understood the meaning of her hesitation. He just knew. The turmoil she felt was not something that had appeared overnight.
“You want to leave House Sachsen.”
“…”
“And for that, you've come as my knight to receive your lord's permission, haven't you?”
Dale asked. Charlotte bit her lip silently and nodded.
“Then this is farewell.”
“You're just going to let me go like this? Without even asking why?”
“Because I trust you.”
“…I see.”
The feelings she held in her heart were not the selfish actions of someone who was done with her business and had no further use for him. The anxiety she felt, and even the inner hope that he would ask her to stay—it was, quite literally, no different from that of an adolescent girl.
At the distance that had grown so vast between them, unlike before.
“Yes, I see.”
Seeing Dale's response, Charlotte also smiled bitterly. After smiling, she quietly rose to her feet.
“When you call for me again someday, I will come running for you and House Sachsen without hesitation.”
“Yes, I know.”
“So, I'll be waiting until then.”
A promise with no set date. With those words, Charlotte stood up. *Swish.* The lace hem of her clothes fluttered.
“Until the day you need me again.”
She turned her back.
The image of Sephia turning her back to him inadvertently overlapped in his mind.
Even as he watched Charlotte's back recede into the distance, Dale could not reach out his arm.
He could stop her. Simply calling her name would be enough. But he didn't. Why? He didn't know.
He just recalled the memory of the sword that struck down the Divine Sword, Lord Badel, on that winter night.
Before he knew it, an endless, biting chill and darkness filled the world of the winter night.
***
The next day, Charlotte was nowhere to be seen. She had left behind the custom-made Sachsen black armor and sword, and had quietly departed the castle.
To the bewildered people searching for her, Dale told them there was no need.
***
The Papal State of Sistina, the Holy See City of Füssel.
In front of Saint Magdalena Square, in the Apostolic Palace, the highest-ranking priests of the Goddess's faith had gathered.
The Celestial Lord, who stood at the pinnacle of the church and the White Magic Tower, the twelve cardinals, and even the Handmaidens of God, who belonged to the White Magic Tower not as clergy but strictly as 'mages'.
They were gathered here for one reason only.
The holy relic of the first Master of the White Magic Tower had been destroyed, and furthermore, the perpetrator of this shameless act was none other than the heir of the Black Magic Tower, the 'Black Prince'.
“This is an unthinkable blasphemy, an unforgivable provocation that insults the entire church!”
“Moreover, that cursed Shadow Church is in league with the Black, an evil so profound that the very depths of hell would not suffice!”
One cardinal spoke up, and a flood of voices rose in agreement.
“B-But, as long as a war is being fought, is it not somewhat inevitable that the Goddess will claim the lives of her servants…?”
Amidst them, Cardinal Nikolai could not hide his bewilderment, sweating profusely.
“Cardinal Nikolai, are you daring to defend the blasphemy of those Black bastards!”
“N-That is not it. I am merely trying to approach this most unavoidable situation more rationally…”
“There are rumors that you have been making highly suspicious movements alongside the heir of the Black.”
“How could that be!”
“Silence.”
It was then. Breaking the silence, the Celestial Lord finally spoke. An immediate hush fell over them.
“There is some truth to Cardinal Nikolai's words.”
“Y-Your Holiness…!”
The man who had risen to the pinnacle of the White Magic Tower and the church's power after the previous pope was assassinated through the betrayal of cardinals colluding with the Empire.
“The destruction of the holy relic is an act our church cannot forgive, but the Imperial Family already holds the cause of the 'Grand Demonic Alliance' led by the Black heir in high regard. Indeed, are not Prince Modred and Princess Kiara personally heading to the northern Demon Realm to represent the Imperial Family's will?”
“…”
The dog of the Empire who had volunteered to sit on the church's throne after the death of the previous Master of the White Magic Tower, who had declared his resistance against the Empire to the very end.
“If our church rashly breaks the Grand Demonic Alliance, His Majesty the Emperor will not tolerate it.”
The church has already declared that pioneering the Demon Lord's lands is the Goddess's mission, and there are still monks on that land who call themselves servants of the Goddess. Furthermore, with the Imperial Family itself participating in this cause, the situation cannot be reversed as easily as flipping one's palm.
In other words, the situation has already reached a point of no return. At the same time, they cannot simply stand by and watch the church's prestige, which has plummeted to rock bottom with the destruction of its holy relic.
“Then what else are we to do…”
A cardinal asked, and the Celestial Lord answered.
“We must do what we must do.”
“Do you have something else in mind?”
“The pioneering of the Demon Realm is solely the will of the Sistina Sister Goddesses, and therefore, it is only right that our church should be the one to lead that holy endeavor. In other words…”
The Celestial Lord continued.
“We shall take over and carry out the entirety of Viscount Sachsen's Demon Realm pioneering project in the name of our church.”
After all, there was nothing easier than robbing someone of their possessions in the name of God.
***
With no time to even feel the void left by Sephia and Charlotte, the writhing desires aimed at Dale's territory began to converge one by one.
High-ranking elders of the White Magic Tower and bishop-level cardinals acting on the Celestial Lord's will.
But beyond them, there were other guests who sent ripples throughout the entire Empire.
After the Empire unified the continent, the pinnacle of this nation who had remained silent in the deepest part of the imperial palace… the golden bloodline itself had made its way to Dale's lands.
Therefore, amidst the turbulent political situation centered around Dale's territory, Dale's most reliable ally finally began to move.
The greatest black mage on the continent, who stood at the pinnacle of the Black Magic Tower—Lord Black.
***
On the frozen earth where a biting wind raged, the wheels of a carriage finally came to a stop. Likewise, the innumerable escorts following the carriage halted their movements in unison.
On the velvet drapery hanging from the carriage was an engraving of a two-headed golden dragon.
The two-headed dragon, the sole national symbol representing the Empire itself.
“We humbly greet Your Highness Prince Modred and Your Highness Princess Kiara.”
Before them, the Sachsen father and son, along with the nobles of the Demon Realm, all bowed their heads.
In the silence, a pair of feet stepped down onto the frozen earth of the Demon Realm.
“Raise your swords!”
“Salute Their Highnesses, the Prince and Princess!”
The Iron Cross Knights raised their swords in unison, and from within their ranks, a man and a woman clad in golden uniforms appeared.
The beings of the Imperial Family who had remained silent until now, the man and woman who had inherited the golden blood.
“It is an honor to meet you like this, Lord Black.”
“Princess Kiara.”
A princess of the Imperial Family, a woman for whom no other description seemed fitting.
Furthermore, a man wearing a golden uniform with a sword at his side revealed himself.
“Prince Modred.”
“Ah.”
Ignoring the respectfully bowing Lord Black, the Seventh Prince, Modred, turned to the person beside him.
“So, you're the 'Black Prince' they're all making a fuss about, the greatest genius in the Empire?”
“That is correct, Your Highness.”
“Haha, to think the greatest genius in the Empire is just a brat like this. What a joke this country has become.”
“…”
Modred spat mockingly, but no one dared to object to his words. Dale was no exception.
“It's all thanks to that damned Hero from Another World.”
Instead, he paid no mind and openly disparaged the 'Hero of the Empire' in front of everyone.
“That damn bastard wiped out every strong fighter on the continent, so of course a brat like this gets praised as the Empire's greatest genius or whatever, right?”
He spewed profanities without any regard for the dignity or grace of a prince.
“Modred.”
It was then.
“Please, choose your words more carefully.”
“…My apologies, sister.”
The Fifth Princess, Kiara, who had been silent, spoke, and at her words, Modred quietly shut his mouth.
“Please forgive my brother's rudeness. The boy is still inexperienced with the ways of the world, so he has unintentionally committed an offense.”
“Not at all.”
Dale shook his head and showed his respects.
“Oh my, how could that be? I am more deeply impressed than anyone by the great renown of Lord Dale, who is called the greatest genius in the Empire.”
In front of the respectful Dale, Princess Kiara gave a bright smile.
“And furthermore, about the future you will bring to this Empire.”
With a smile whose true meaning was impossible to discern.