Gathering at the Capital (3)
Four days had already passed since the massacre in that village.
I told Ellie that we had drawn the attention of the Seven Deadly Sins, and she furrowed her brow slightly as we discussed what to do next together.
To minimize the damage his authority could inflict, we rerouted our journey to focus on cities — larger ones, where his power would have the least room to run rampant.
As a result, most of the stops on our path became territories built around small or mid-sized cities of considerable scale.
Naturally, places that large maintained strict defenses and rigorous patrols, and the moment the guards recognized that we belonged to the Cumul family, they bowed their heads and waved us through without delay.
It went without saying that the lords who received those reports would immediately escort us to their own manors — that was simply the proper order of things.
And so, at long last, we arrived at the capital of the Holy Empire, Leona.
When we crossed into the capital's perimeter and saw that even the crests of the Four Great Families weren't enough to get us waved through, I had to admit the place looked extremely tight-knit.
And understandably so.
If the capital fell, the entire nation would fall with it. The strictness made sense.
Thanks to that, Ellie had to show the guards one of the Beast Tokens that only the heads of the Four Great Families possessed, and with that, we were able to pass through the boundary with perfect ease.
When I eyed the Token of the Four Divine Beasts with curious eyes, Ellie gave a soft snort of laughter and handed it over to me.
Her eyes said, Here. You can touch it.
She was making the exact face of a kid who'd just been allowed to read a comic book her older sister bought for her.
Though honestly, what was the big deal? She was actually young anyway.
It rose from my hand into the air — a token carved in the shape of a dragon coiling around a bolt of lightning.
I'd only ever known it from the game's lore files. This was my first time seeing the real thing.
I had heard that the heads of the other Great Families each carried tokens of different colors as well.
Just as I was turning the token over in my hands, the carriage came to a stop once more.
Someone knocked politely on the window, and Ellie lowered it to reveal her face.
The guard explained that while this was indeed a carriage from Cumul Territory, the capital required an unusually strict procedure, and asked if she could present the family's token.
"Here."
"Thank you."
Ellie retrieved the token from me and held it out to the guard.
But the guard, apparently finding the situation deeply suspicious, gathered his comrades and spoke up.
"From whom did you receive this token?"
At his question, Ellie replied that she had come with the Successor.
But the guard blocked our passage, arguing that he had never once heard of an Azure Dragon Successor being chosen.
In the end, I opened the carriage door, stepped out, and presented myself before the guard.
The guard looked me over and demanded to know who I was.
"State your identity. Who are you?"
"The Seventh Successor of the Azure Dragon. Lee Hyun."
"The crime of falsely claiming to be a Successor! How dare you defile those who have received the noble will of the Divine Beasts—!"
Yes, that's who I am. That's literally the point.
Diligence is admirable, but does the word flexibility not exist in your vocabulary?
"So, as I was saying—"
Crack-crackle!
Lightning's Nest has been proclaimed over the surrounding area!
"—that's me, sir. Guard. Let me introduce myself again. The Seventh Successor of the Azure Dragon, Lee Hyun. Do you believe me now?"
A golden-yellow domain unfurled itself around them.
It wasn't as if I truly needed to proclaim a domain, but I could feel it — my temper had gotten noticeably worse lately.
I was never like this at the start.
I really need to fix this hair-trigger temper of mine.
But when you get pushed around long enough, people start treating you like a pushover...
And honestly, this guard seemed like a good kid — just lacking in sense.
The dragon and sword — the unmistakable emblem of the Cumul family — was stamped right there on the token, and he was calling it a forgery.
Of course, I had no intention of actually unleashing my authority on a guard who was only doing his job, so I held the currents back from striking the men.
And then I swiftly gathered the mana back in, dissolving the domain.
The guards could only stare at me, faces frozen in a silent what in the world just happened.
Only when their companions quickly recovered and granted us passage was I finally able to climb back into the carriage and order the driver onward.
"Ha... those guards back there. That was way over the line. We showed them the Cumul family's token, and they still wouldn't let us through — they just kept nitpicking."
"You're telling me. Hard work is one thing, but they've got zero flexibility."
Having heard the words spill straight from my heart, Ellie giggled and said,
"You're right, Hyun. That's exactly it. I'll have to lodge a complaint when we get to the palace."
Strictness and sharp eyes are fine qualities, but if they stop every single traveler one by one like that, soon no noble will be able to enter the capital at all.
I could tell because even after we passed, that same guard was still obstructing another noble's entry.
At that rate, how many carriages could possibly get through in a single day?
If it was this bad, then yes — Ellie had every right to complain.
Before long we passed through the palace gates and underwent inspection yet again — but the moment we showed the token, we were through far more smoothly than before.
So the guard at the capital's entrance really was the odd one out.
At the palace, we finally stepped down from the carriage, and the Cumul family's driver was escorted away separately by the palace steward.
According to Ellie, they'd been given travel money to stay comfortably in the capital, and since our lodgings were inside the palace itself, it made no difference.
Well, well... such is the treatment of a Great Family, I suppose... truly on another level...
Thinking that, we stepped through the palace entrance and saw a crimson carpet spread across the floor.
I could sense the imperial steward waiting for us at the entrance, flanked by three maids.
"I am Jason, steward of the imperial household, entrusted with guiding the Lord of the Cumul family and the new Successor."
At his greeting, Ellie spoke.
"A pleasure. Have the other lords arrived?"
Jason inclined his head.
"Yes, my lady. The lords and Successors of the other three families arrived two days ago."
"I see... Then could you inform them that we have arrived as well?"
"I have already done so. Should His Majesty issue an order, I will relay it immediately. For now, please rest yourselves — you must be weary from the road."
"We shall. My thanks."
"Not at all. It is simply my duty."
From his words, it was clear he understood just how weighty his responsibilities were.
Watching him — so impeccably courteous, yet speaking his own mind in clear, measured tones — I felt the difference between him and that guard back at the gate hit me with full force. That was no trick of my mood.
And so, with the three maids trailing behind us, we walked the crimson carpet under the steward's guidance.
Seeing the interior of the imperial palace — a place I had only ever glimpsed inside a game — unfold before my eyes, too vast to take in all at once, was genuinely wondrous.
As I looked around, Ellie glanced at me and chuckled.
Then she gestured, as if telling me to lower my head.
When I obediently tipped my ears down and did as she asked, she leaned in and whispered an account of what I looked like from where she stood.
"You look just like a little kid. Wandering around with those wide, wonder-struck eyes. Hyun-ah, is it okay for a man to be this cute?"
"....."
Is this really happening?
If she's wearing rose-tinted glasses, they're welded to her face.
How on earth does a twenty-year-old man register as cute in anyone's book?
Of course, I didn't let that thought escape my lips. I just... awkwardly scratched my cheek and turned my head away.
And then, as we were walking along—
A man with silver hair cropped short appeared.
"What's this? Who are you people?"
Speaking down at us casually while demanding our identities...
Inside the imperial palace, no less?
Then there's only one answer.
And that silver hair — I had a very good guess as to who this was.
Sure enough, the steward bowed his head and spoke.
"The Third Prince."
"That's who *I* am. I asked who they were."
Seriously? He's a prince of the realm and he doesn't know one of the Four Great Families?
Granted, Cumul Territory had been quietly reducing its support to the bare minimum, so its presence had faded somewhat...
But if even a prince doesn't know us, something is seriously wrong.
To not even recognize a Great Family — just how much of a spoiled brat was this guy?
In the palace of the capital, no less.
The Emperor's own child doesn't know who Ellie is?
Ellie had been watching the scene unfold, and she bowed her head in greeting, revealing her identity.
"We greet the Third Prince, the third star among the heavens that guard the Empire."
I decided to simply follow her lead in greeting.
I didn't entirely understand what it all meant, but at the very least, acting this way would make it easier for her to formally introduce herself and me.
"We greet the Third Prince, the third star among the heavens that guard the Empire."
Once I finished my greeting, Ellie spoke again.
"I am Alice Cumul, Lord of the Cumul family, one of the Four Great Families of the Empire."
And then, following after—
"And beside me stands the Seventh Successor of the Azure Dragon among the Successors of the Four Divine Beasts — Lee Hyun."
Even facing a prince who had shown us not a shred of mutual respect, she introduced us with crisp, unwavering composure.
And there was something distinctly off about the way the man was looking at us.
"Hey. Lord of the Cumul family."
"Yes, Your Highness."
"Are you married?"
"....."
And there it is.
How does he never miss the mark? The trajectory of his degeneracy is flawless.
How is it that every last one of these people is so honest about their appetites?
For now, I'd hold back.
For Ellie's sake — and because if I stepped in, it would only make things awkward for everyone else present.
While I was thinking that, the answer to the prince's question left Ellie's lips.
"Not yet. However..."
"Then that settles it. Would you care to become my consort?"
There he went, cutting her off to push nothing but his own wants.
Still, she maintained her courtesy and expressed her refusal.
"I apologize, but I already have a lover."
At that, the prince spewed out his lunacy without a shred of hesitation.
Words with no filter whatsoever between thought and mouth.
"Then if that lover of yours were to... disappear, would you come to me?"
Those words were nothing less than a declaration that he would hunt down her lover and kill him.
He was saying he'd murder the man she loved just to have her.
What... what exactly is going through these bastards' heads?
I straightened my bent knee and looked the prince in the eye.
"I wasn't finished speaking. Why are you rising from your posture?"
"I am that lady's lover."
"What did you say?"
"I am Alice's — no, the Lady's lover. Any further behavior from you would be deeply unwelcome."
I held back once more.
Just in case — because he was a prince, and I feared Ellie might bear the consequences.
"Ah. So it was you, then. Do you sleep well at night?"
Ha. Son of a— this bastard is openly announcing he'll send assassins.
I'm confident I could kill even the Empire's shadow operatives...
But that was beside the point. I had held back as long as I could.
Without gathering my energy, I let it pour out as it was.
Sensing my power, he flinched violently and shouted at me.
"Ha! You dare unleash such murderous energy before the imperial family?!"
"Third Prince. Apologize to Ellie and to me."
"Me? Why should *I* apologize?"
"It seems Your Highness still doesn't understand where your place lies."
Crack-crackle...
I walked toward the prince, electricity crackling to life around me.
With every step closer, the volume of the currents swelled.
Crack-crackle!
Crack!
"You wretch! How dare you bare your power before me!"
At the same moment, the Third Prince revealed his own trait.
White energy gathered around him, radiating outward.
Just as our standoff left everyone frozen, unable to move in either direction—
Ellie approached me and spoke.
"Enough. Hyun. Withdraw your authority from the Prince. I'm fine."
"But—!"
"Enough. Hyun."
Looking at her expression, I grimaced slightly and drew back every last thread of my power.
But the Third Prince was still flaunting his trait at me.
"My lover has withdrawn his authority. Withdraw your trait as well, Your Highness."
"Not until you promise to marry me. Then I'll put this trait away."
.....
Before long, Ellie's face twisted as well, and she refused him.
"Your Highness, did I not tell you I have a lover? To say such things even in front of him — it is repugnant."
"You too, then... I see. So the offer of the Third Prince is worthless to you all?"
Just as I was considering unleashing my authority once more—
The click of heels echoed through the hall, and a woman with long silver hair appeared.
"Light Sion Leoric!"
The woman's voice rang out the Third Prince's name.
With emerald-green eyes, she looked at me and said,
"Successor. I apologize. I will apologize in my younger brother's stead. Please, I beg you, calm your wrath."
"Sister! I am the one being insulted right now! How does this make any—!"
Cutting him off mid-sentence, his sister continued.
"Sion! What utter nonsense is this, before a Successor no less! The Successor is the one who protects this nation! Honoring him with proper treatment is our duty!"
"If that thug is a Successor, then am I not a son of His Majesty the Emperor's own blood?!"
"...And if the Successor's wrath, provoked by you, puts this nation in danger — what then?"
"Could you lead armies into the Tide of Corruption and annihilate the demons and their command structure yourself?"
"...Pardon?"
Caught off guard by the sudden turn, he echoed her blankly.
But I already understood exactly what she meant.
"If Sion's conduct drives the Successor to such fury that he refuses to fight in the Tide of Corruption — what becomes of this nation's fate?!"
".....!!"
"Right now, you have insulted a man who is no different from a hero of the Empire — and you tried to steal his beloved."
"...You... heard all of that...?"
"I did. Even when I wished not to, it reached my ears. And I will not let this matter pass lightly. Sion."
"I will speak to His Majesty directly myself. Until the Emperor's command arrives, you will not stir one step from your room."
Hearing his sister order him confined to his chambers, the prince immediately moved to resist—
"...! Sister, why must I—!"
But the princess, clearly done listening to him, shifted her gaze to the steward and continued.
"Silence. I've heard quite enough. Steward — I will personally escort the Successor and the Lady to His Majesty. Unless the Emperor's own order says otherwise, see that my brother does not leave his room."
"I shall obey, Your Highness the Princess."
"Forgive my late introduction. I am Elmine Saint Leoric, First Princess of the Empire."
The princess, Leoric, said,
"I am sorry, Successor, Lady Cumul. Whatever harm you have suffered because of my brother, the imperial family will take responsibility and make proper amends."
It figures. When one abnormal person splatters filth everywhere, it's always the sane ones left behind who end up working twice as hard to clean it up.
If the prince had never said those things to us in the first place, the princess would never have had to bow her head like this...
"Please rise, Your Highness. This is even more uncomfortable for us."
"But..."
"You said His Majesty the Emperor is waiting. Was that a lie?"
At my words, the princess flinched and shuddered.
Then Ellie stepped forward, looked at me, and spoke.
"Hyun. The Princess has done nothing wrong."
"...I apologize. It seems I failed to control my temper."
The whole incident had begun because I'd lost my composure, so I steadied my emotions and apologized to her honestly.
At that, the princess wore a pale face even as she managed a smile.
"I am truly sorry."
Recognizing my own fault, I apologized once more, sincerely.
Because truthfully, what I'd done was hardly different from that degenerate's behavior.
Only at my contrition did color finally return to the princess's cheeks, and she accepted my apology.
"It's truly all right. Please raise your head, Successor."
"...Yes."
Having accepted my apology, the princess gathered up her dress and strode ahead of us, leading the way.
Of course, just as we were moving to follow her—
"Hyun. You and I are going to have a talk in your quarters. And it won't be a pleasant one."
"...Why...?"
"What do you mean, why? Who told you to throw your authority around whenever you please? You're getting scolded."
"...I'm s—"
"Don't even try apologizing. We were going to have this talk eventually anyway."
It was the first time I'd ever seen Ellie turn dead serious over something I'd done.
...Hah.
That damn prince.
Useless to the very end.
And so, as we walked on—
We arrived, at last, before an enormous set of doors.
The imperial steward, standing before them, looked to the princess and said,
"I shall announce the arrival of His Majesty's guests."
"Proceed."
The steward had the soldiers standing at the doors open them, stepped inside, and reappeared before us shortly after.
"Please enter. His Majesty the Emperor awaits."
With me, Ellie, and the princess standing at the doors, the soldiers slowly pulled the massive panels open.
Beyond them sat a man on the highest seat, a woman beside him, and a young man seated at her side.
Presumably the Emperor, the Empress, and the First Prince.
Below them, a white-haired man knelt on one knee, and beside him, a young woman with pink hair held the same posture, watching us.
Finally, there was a man with red hair like sculpted flame, and next to him a man with orange hair.
In another corner sat only a middle-aged man with sky-blue hair — Florence was nowhere to be seen.
That man, no doubt, was Gerald Crystal, Lord of the family that served the White Tiger.
I carried my steps into the council chamber, and once we had all entered, the great doors boomed shut behind us.
I took my place beside Gerald, dropped to one knee, and paid formal respects to the Emperor.
Ellie, a step behind me, also knelt on one knee in salute.
Unlike the rest of us, the princess ascended the short flight of steps and took the seat beside the Empress.
Only when she had finally settled into her chair did the Emperor speak.
"So. You are the Successor of the Azure Dragon."
At his words, I spoke.
"Yes, Your Majesty. The Seventh Successor of the Azure Dragon — Lee Hyun."
"Good. This is a joyous occasion. A vacant Successor's seat has been filled at last."
"I am honored."
"Even so, I must know your trait. I apologize if this seems like doubt, but every Successor seated here beside you has passed through this same ritual."
The Emperor had every reason to regard me with suspicion.
No ruler can afford to simply trust the word of a self-proclaimed stranger appearing in his own capital.
Every Successor had undergone this process.
Even those standing beside me now.
"Then I shall ask."
At his words, I bowed my head and answered.
"Yes. Ask, and I shall answer."
"What is the name of your first trait?"
I took a single deep breath and opened my mouth.
"The name of my pre-evolution trait was... The One Watched by the Heavens."
At the implication in my words — that my trait had since evolved — a look of genuine astonishment crossed the Emperor's face.
Even the Successors beside me wore the same expression.
And though the word heavens had been spoken, naturally, nothing happened — the attestation was complete.
In the meantime, the stares directed at me were growing rather heavy.
The people on either side, and even the Emperor gazing down at me from above — it all made the weight worse.
...Stop looking at me...
So this was how shocked they were, that they couldn't take their eyes off my face.
Ellie, of course, who already knew the truth, simply regarded me with calm composure.
"And might I hear the name of your post-evolution trait?"
When the Emperor's second question descended, I answered with my head held high.
"It is called... Authority of the Azure Dragon."
.....!
A first trait bearing the name of one of the Four Divine Beasts, emblazoned without shame.
"Haha... at long last, the sun shines upon our Empire... to think one of our Successors would come to bear a trait named for a Divine Beast himself."
Of course, the Emperor was swept up in the moment —
but he wasn't wrong.
Successors each receive traits named for one of the authorities their Divine Beast governs.
But the odds of evolving into a trait bearing the Divine Beast's own name were vanishingly small.
Knowing that, the Emperor's joy was only natural.
That is — if the princess hadn't had something else to tell him.
With news to deliver to the rejoicing Emperor, the princess descended the steps and spoke.
"Your Majesty. I have a report."
Sensing the gravity in the way his daughter bowed her head before him, the Emperor withdrew his smile.
"What... have you gone and done this time."
"The Third Prince, Sion, insulted the Successor of the Azure Dragon and the Lady who is his contracted partner and beloved."
.....
The Emperor let out a long sigh, then spoke.
"Bring the Third Prince, Sion, before me here. That is an imperial command."
For a father to summon his own son by formal decree—
it meant his fury ran deeper than the sea.
If only this could make that bastard a better person...
I sincerely prayed that this incident might be what kept the Third Prince from falling to ruin.
Truly, I did.
Before long, the doors opened, and a silver-haired man stepped into the council chamber.
The man at the center of it all, summoned by the Emperor's decree — the Third Prince, Light Sion Leoric.