Chapter 199
Chapter 199
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 199
Chapter Title: Responsibility for the Saintess's Death
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“‘Saintess’—the responsibility for her death lies entirely with the Empire.”
Phiroyan declared stiffly toward the emperor, his face rigid.
“Responsibility...”
But the aged emperor maintained a nonchalant demeanor.
Propped on his throne, chin resting on his hand, he smiled faintly as he spoke.
“The bishop has a talent for making jokes sound serious.”
“...A joke?”
Phiroyan’s eyebrow twitched.
“Are you dismissing my words as mere jest right now?”
His voice brimmed with anger.
“Wasn’t it a joke? Responsibility, you say—why should I and the Empire bear that?”
“Are you truly asking because you don’t know? The ‘Saintess’ met her end at the hands of another hero. Right here, in the Empire’s academy. Your Majesty cannot pretend ignorance of that.”
Phiroyan knew full well his argument was forced.
Yet he had to press on like this.
Only then could they evade suspicion.
‘This incident was undoubtedly the Holy King’s will.’
Otherwise, the ‘Saintess’ wouldn’t have suddenly gone mad.
Cardinal Lupera must have done something under separate orders.
Phiroyan had to conceal that fact thoroughly.
“Hmm.”
The emperor frowned, as if offended by Phiroyan’s words.
“Is that Aier’s will?”
“I believe so.”
Phiroyan answered the weighty question with confidence.
“If you seek an apology for this regrettable affair, I shall give one.”
The emperor spoke as if bestowing a great favor.
Phiroyan inwardly rejoiced.
‘It worked!’
An apology had come from the emperor’s own lips.
That meant the Empire would take responsibility for the ‘Saintess’s’ death.
Phiroyan moved to seize the moment and push further.
So that Aier could extract even greater gains.
Having lost the ‘Saintess,’ he intended to demand compensation beyond that.
But the emperor was no pushover, as Phiroyan had hoped.
“However, the child who killed the ‘Saintess’ was not one supported by the Empire.”
“What do you—”
“If you must assign blame, it should fall not on the Empire, but on Sion, who supports Seo Woojin.”
A glint flashed in the emperor’s eyes.
“Be content with the apology. Demand more, and I shall not stand idly by.”
An intense aura emanated from the old man’s frail body.
Not mana.
It was the absolute dominion born of the emperor’s supreme authority.
Phiroyan bit his lip.
‘This is as far as it goes?’
Pressing further, as the emperor warned, would only backfire.
“I shall convey Your Majesty’s words to the Holy King.”
“Withdraw.”
The emperor’s dismissal.
Throughout, he had treated Phiroyan with courtesy, but beneath it lay disdain for Aier.
“Farewell.”
Phiroyan observed the formalities and exited the audience chamber.
“...Are you alright?”
One of the Holy Knights waiting outside asked cautiously.
Phiroyan’s expression was that grim.
“What of Lupera?”
“She has not returned yet.”
Phiroyan’s eyes narrowed.
‘Even after so much time...’
He worried something might have gone wrong.
“Return to the lodgings for now. Prepare to depart for Aier the moment the cardinal returns.”
“Understood.”
The knights surrounded Phiroyan and began moving.
‘That matter must succeed without fail.’
He prayed Lupera would complete her mission safely and return.
* * *
Lupera staggered out of the Sky Tower.
She hadn’t truly been harmed by Martes.
He hadn’t attacked—hadn’t even touched a hair on her head before sending her away.
But simply sitting face-to-face with the Magic Duke and conversing had been immense pressure for her.
Even free of the Sky Tower’s thick mana, she still felt something crushing her shoulders.
‘I must hurry back...’
The mission was a failure.
In hindsight, success had been impossible from the start.
To think he already knew she planned to sneak in.
A near-prophetic ability.
As long as that existed, stealing the egg from the Sky Tower would forever be unattainable.
Lupera ignored the strange stares from passersby and slowly made her way to the lodgings.
‘I wonder how the bishop fared...’
Phiroyan, summoned by the emperor, must have felt pressure no less than hers.
Perhaps he’d faced tremendous difficulties.
But Lupera wasn’t overly worried.
Phiroyan’s faith and loyalty to the Holy King were unshakable.
No matter the emperor’s intimidation, he would endure and see his will through.
Rather than fret over Phiroyan, she needed to worry about countermeasures for her mission’s failure.
Lupera took each step with effort.
How long had she walked?
At last, she reached the lodgings.
‘You’ve returned.’
She sensed Phiroyan and the Holy Knights’ presences inside the mansion.
Lupera’s expression eased with relief as she entered.
“Cardinal!”
The Holy Knights rushed to her side, startled by her weary appearance.
“Inform the bishop...”
She lacked the energy to explain to them.
She needed to meet Phiroyan quickly and share what had transpired.
“Escort the cardinal.”
Sensing the dire situation, the knights carried her to Phiroyan’s room.
Knock knock.
“Enter.”
A thoroughly exhausted voice came from within.
“The cardinal has returned.”
The Holy Knight opened the door, and Lupera entered slowly.
“...Judging by your face, it seems you failed.”
Lupera’s condition was plainly poor.
“I’m sorry.”
She bowed her head.
She couldn’t bear to meet Phiroyan’s gaze.
“Tell me what happened.”
At Phiroyan’s prompting, Lupera recounted everything from start to finish.
“Heh—”
Having heard it all, Phiroyan let out a hollow laugh.
“They say the Sky Tower’s master is foremost among the Empire’s Five Superhumans. Indeed, no exaggeration.”
He couldn’t blame Lupera for the failure.
“And you, Bishop... how did it go?”
Lupera asked cautiously.
Phiroyan’s expression looked as poor as hers.
“The emperor offered an apology for the ‘Saintess’s’ death.”
“That emperor?”
Lupera was stunned by Phiroyan’s words.
The ruler of the continent’s mightiest nation promising an apology?
She smiled brightly.
The emperor she knew wouldn’t end it with mere words.
He would surely pay a fitting price.
Aier would reap immense benefits from it.
“Truly fortunate. This should offset any reprimand for the mission’s failure...”
Mid-sentence, Lupera tilted her head.
Despite the perfect turn of events, Phiroyan’s face remained dark.
“What happened?”
“It was an empty apology. He shifted the true blame from the Empire to Sion.”
Only then did Lupera understand Phiroyan’s grim pallor.
‘Damn it.’
She cursed inwardly.
“This matter is beyond our control now. We return home, report to His Holiness the Holy King, and follow his will.”
Lupera agreed with Phiroyan.
“We’ve prepared to depart immediately. Let us go.”
Phiroyan rose wearily from his seat.
And shortly after.
Word reached the imperial court that Aier’s delegation had left the Empire.
* * *
“What is this?”
Seo Woojin blinked at the creature before him.
He’d been discussing the incident with his comrades when someone from the Sky Tower arrived unannounced.
The Magic Duke Martes wished to see him.
It was unprecedented, but he assumed it concerned Seong Yura’s death or the battle with Strain.
Leaving word for his comrades to wait, Seo Woojin headed to the Sky Tower.
But upon arrival, the situation differed from his expectations.
“What does it look like to you?”
Martes gazed at Seo Woojin with curiosity.
“...Well.”
She had thrust something at him the moment he arrived.
A fluffy ball of fur the color of the sky.
“Not a... rabbit, I think.”
At first, he thought it was some crafted fur toy, but its wriggling proved it alive.
No facial features visible, leaving him clueless.
‘Definitely not any animal I know.’
If it were something ordinary, she wouldn’t have summoned him to the Sky Tower just to show it.
“What is this?”
Seo Woojin repeated the question.
Martes smiled beautifully and handed him the fluffball.
“Take it.”
He wasn’t keen.
Who’d casually accept an unknown thing, not knowing what might happen?
But seeing Martes’s expectant expression, he couldn’t refuse.
With an inward sigh, he extended his hand.
Poof—
It felt like touching the finest silk, incredibly soft.
‘Oh...’
The sensation brought an involuntary smile to Seo Woojin’s face.
“Do you like it?”
“Yeah. The feel is great.”
Just stroking it seemed to melt away stress.
“It’s yours now.”
The abrupt declaration made Seo Woojin tilt his head.
“I need to know what it is before I can accept...”
He knew she meant him no harm.
He trusted she wouldn’t give him something dangerous.
Still, he couldn’t blindly take an unidentified object.
“Fuiratheon.”
A name he’d never heard.
‘Is that even a name?’
As Seo Woojin stared blankly, Martes continued.
“It hatched from the egg carried by the Ma-mok.”
He flinched.
The Ma-mok was the cursed world tree’s stem.
Something from its egg felt unsettling.
But Martes shook her head with a reassuring smile.
“It’s a divine beast infused with wind. It will be of great help to you.”
His eyes widened at “divine beast.”
Divine beast...
That sounded far from ordinary.
“A being revealed to the world after two thousand years—raise it well.”
“W-Wait. Hold on.”
Flustered, Seo Woojin held out the Fuiratheon—or whatever it was.
Divine beast or not, he had no time to raise something now.
A full-grown one, maybe—but a newborn? When would he even use it?
Yet Martes showed no intent to take it back.
With a firmness he’d never seen, she said,
“You must accept it. For your sake—and the world’s.”