Chapter 124
Chapter 124
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 124
Chapter Title: 39. The Usurper, and the Usurper's Heir (2)
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He was a man who suited the title of Emperor to perfection.
The first time I laid eyes on him, his gaze had been arrogant, his expression resolute, making his presence seem overwhelmingly intense.
But upon seeing him again, his eyes softened, his face filled with benevolence, rendering his aura endlessly gentle.
Depending on the angle, he could pass for a deeply erudite scholar or a valiant general.
It was as if he had been crafted by gathering all the virtues of a true sovereign.
It was astonishing that a single human could wear so many different faces.
But I had already encountered someone like him before.
So long ago that my memories of it were hazy,
back in the days when I was still a sword,
the founder of the Burgundy family, whom I had met while gripped in the Sword Sovereign's hand.
The Emperor bore an uncanny resemblance to the Foresight Emperor.
Not just in appearance and demeanor, but even in his very presence.
Since the Emperor's arrival, the nobles hadn't so much as drawn a proper breath.
Dukes of great power, marquises of high renown—they were all the same.
Even standing straight, none dared look directly up at the dais.
In a banquet hall filled with so many people, not a single one escaped being overwhelmed by the Emperor.
It was a situation I couldn't comprehend.
This wasn't the coercion wrung from authority; it was the natural submission to a human who had reached unimaginable heights.
In an era where transcendence was beyond reach,
where even the feats inherited from ancestors couldn't be fully wielded,
where even the descendants of the Sky Sovereign, who had relatively intact transmissions, didn't dare dominate the world.
Only the Emperor stood at that lofty pinnacle, gazing down upon the world.
A flurry of questions raced through my mind.
Power alone couldn't provide answers.
That meant the Emperor's soul rank and strength were in no way inferior to mine.
All that remained was to observe with my own eyes and uncover the reason.
Fortunately, time was on my side.
The New Year's banquet had only just begun, and it would be quite a while before the envoys from minor kingdoms stepped forward.
Or so I thought.
My expectations were dashed.
"So, the Leonberg delegation has arrived."
The Empire's dukes hadn't even finished their greetings, yet the Emperor suddenly mentioned our delegation.
"Where are they?"
It wasn't a question.
His gaze was already fixed on us.
No—precisely on me.
An immense pressure bore down on me.
It felt like the entire world was crushing me.
Kneel. Prostrate yourself. Worship.
It was as if someone were relentlessly demanding my submission.
Amid that horrific pressure, I pondered.
Resisting wasn't impossible.
The Emperor's rank was remarkably high for this era, but it wasn't so overwhelming that a mere glance could force me to my knees.
If I braced myself fully, I was confident I could withstand even if he poured out all his power.
But I didn't.
I refrained from using the swordmaster's strength, or the power of my accumulated deeds and rank—not a single one.
There was no need to reveal all my cards to the opponent right away.
I simply stood bare against the Emperor's pressure.
The reaction was immediate.
The world spun before my eyes.
My legs trembled uncontrollably.
A ringing filled my ears.
"Kuh."
A groan escaped me unbidden.
To onlookers, I must have looked quite unseemly right now.
And that was exactly what I wanted.
I hoped the Empire's nobles would see me as a nobody shivering in awe of the Emperor's majesty. I hoped the Emperor would view me the same way.
"Step forward to the dais."
Pretending to submit to the Emperor's command, I moved to the front of the dais.
The ordeal was only beginning.
Even after positioning me and the delegation before the dais, the Emperor said nothing for a long while.
He merely scrutinised us with impassive eyes, over and over.
I endured before him, concealing even the slightest leak of aura or flicker of emotion.
How much time passed like that?
Just as the Empire's nobles and foreign envoys began murmuring in confusion at the Emperor's peculiar behavior, the crushing pressure vanished as if it had been a lie.
I collapsed onto my rear with a thud.
As if my tension had snapped and I'd crumpled.
It would have been hard to fake if I'd tried, but fortunately, bearing the Emperor's presence bare-handed had left my body thoroughly drained.
Thanks to that, my movements looked utterly natural.
Flick.
The Emperor waved his hand.
A gesture to withdraw.
The delegation's knights supported me.
Staggering, I exited the banquet hall.
That was the beginning.
The New Year's banquet lasted a fortnight.
My delegation and I had to attend every single day.
Not by choice.
The Emperor's herald had personally come, earnestly requesting—no, commanding—our attendance without fail.
It was undoubtedly the Emperor's will.
Day after day, without exception, he had us stand before the dais and watched.
He said nothing. He simply observed.
Then he flicked his hand, dismissing the guests.
We didn't even have a chance to present the tributes Shiorin had painstakingly brought from the kingdom.
We were dragged about like dogs.
The Empire's nobles gossiped endlessly about it.
Some said it was punishment for our knights defeating theirs, an affront that demanded retribution.
Others claimed it was chastisement for overstepping by abusing the insignia of an imperial high noble without knowing our place.
"His Majesty must have taken a liking to your younger brother."
Some fool even blabbered that it was a blessing, an honor to catch the Emperor's eye.
Regardless, I focused on my task.
While in the banquet hall, I continuously observed the Empire's dignitaries.
Whether capable or incompetent, loyal or blinded by self-interest. No matter whom they followed.
I indiscriminately checked the status windows of every imperial noble I could, compiling a roster of the Empire's aristocracy.
I passed the collated information to old Nicollo, who then classified them based on it.
Who would aid the kingdom,
which ones posed threats.
Who would side with the 3rd Imperial Prince as a puppet.
But above all, I focused on scrutinising the Burgundy bloodline.
Five imperial princes.
Only the 3rd was a filial hound.
None of the others were pushovers.
Even the 5th, whom I'd deemed distant from the succession, had already awakened his talents and was building his faction.
No matter how I thought about it, it seemed unlikely for the Empire's disaster to bloom such devastating talent.
But Nicollo and Jean Katrin thought differently.
They argued that the other princes were so evenly matched in excellence that even a fool like the 3rd had a shot.
That none of the princes would bother with the 3rd.
That building him a faction would be enough to ignite the strife among them.
The problem of how a wastrel like the 3rd would build a faction was for the pen-pushers to handle.
I was overwhelmed just dealing with the Emperor.
Even after humiliating myself by collapsing on my ass, he grew not lax but fiercer with time—now, I couldn't endure without resisting.
Yet I held out to the end.
The banquets had now reached the 12th day.
In the interim, guests had visited the 15th Palace a few times.
The 2nd and 5th Princes.
They each pleaded for support—not for themselves as minor kingdom backers, but for the Montpellier marquisate's backing.
And I gladly obliged.
In the process, I had to sell the Montpellier name twice more, already pawned off to the 3rd Prince, but I didn't care.
After all, they were the ones who'd deal with the fallout, not me.
Two more days passed.
The fortnight-long banquets were now on their final day.
Just endure today, and this tiresome farce would end.
Feeling somewhat relieved, I headed to the banquet hall.
The Empire's nobles smirked upon seeing me and the delegation.
Some sneered that we were rushing off in disgrace after failing to capitalize on our fleeting fame.
Others mocked us as the epitome of biting off more than we could chew, having tarnished our kingdom's dignity by defeating a few knights.
I snorted.
There was no dignity left to tarnish anyway.
The kingdom was already in tatters from the Empire—what did this humiliation matter?
Besides, I'd already achieved my purpose here.
I'd seen and experienced the Empire firsthand, glimpsed the Emperor's true face to some extent.
That alone was ample gain, and I'd even forged ties with the 3rd Prince. Meeting the Sky Sovereign's descendants was a bonus.
No matter what they prattled, I'd taken everything worth taking from the Empire—nothing lost on my end.
All that remained was to end this clown show today and leisurely depart imperial territory.
But things don't always go as planned.
This was exactly such a case.
"I pray you return safely to your kingdom."
Until now, he'd never spoken a word to us, but for some reason, the Emperor offered parting words with a feigned benevolent smile—otherwise, everything was as usual.
Yet in that moment, I felt an inexplicable foreboding.
The instant we left the banquet hall, I ordered Shiorin.
"Pack only the bare essentials and get out of the capital."
"Your Highness, what is this all of a sudden..."
"I have a bad feeling."
Instead of explaining, I urged her to hurry once more.
Sensing my unusual demeanor, Shiorin wasted no more words and prepared to depart the capital.
The moment preparations were complete, I led the delegation out of the palace.
I exchanged distant glances with the Sky Sovereign's descendants in lieu of greetings.
"Your Highness, what in the world is going on?"
The knights, belatedly questioning me as we took to the road in the dead of night, asked for the reason.
"The Emperor is plotting something."
"Plotting what exactly..."
"I don't know precisely. But I can assure you it won't bode well for our journey home."
Abandoning even the carriage, with old Nicollo on horseback, we hastily fled the capital.
We traveled by the faint moonlight for some time.
Then, far behind, the sound of hooves began to echo.
Soon after, heavily armored knights appeared.
White plate gleaming even in the darkness, helmets shaped like hawks.
"Your Highness! It's the White Hawk Knights!"
They were the imperial knight order that had been utterly routed by the Iron Lions.
"Where are you off to in such haste!"
A White Hawk knight blocked our path via a detour, his voice sharp.
"If you're knights, you won't refuse our challenge!"
In that moment, I realized.
This was just the beginning.
The White Hawks' pretext was vengeance for their past defeat.
But that wasn't all they sought,
and they weren't the only knights who would bar our way.
Every knight order our kingdom's knights had crushed in the past half-year would soon charge at us.
Protest was futile. They had their justification.
Just as we had challenged them,
they had the right to challenge us.
Even if what they truly craved wasn't mere vindication, but the lives of knights.
"Your Highness! What shall we do!"
To Erhim Kiringer's cry, I answered resolutely.
"Break through!"