Chapter 82
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 81
Chapter Title: Banquet (6)
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Wilfried felt unjust for no reason.
'A proper Zahav only shows up after getting so old.'
But putting it another way, no matter who it was, it meant the next emperor. Which implied his own children wouldn't have to go through the same hardships he did.
He decided to think positively and internally patted his chest.
That was when a savage aura suddenly erupted from Enoch.
"Huh?"
Raw, unrefined power. An uncontrollable blaze. The moment when ferocity overtook intellect.
It felt like a beast that had been lying indifferently had just risen and started growling.
He was shocked that this was the reaction of the young man who, until moments ago, had been enjoying the banquet so obediently (by Zahav standards).
His senses, dulled by the knowledge that this was the man who had crushed one of the disasters that devoured parts of the empire, sharpened once more.
For a moment, Wilfried thought the Zahavs were at it again and instinctively tried to muster what little strength he had left.
But then his eyes met Enoch's, and he understood everything.
Eyes filled with pure wariness and bewilderment.
It wasn't hostility toward Wilfried or burning rivalry.
He had simply sensed the power Wilfried was unconsciously emitting—the miracle dormant in his bloodline.
It was like a leg straightening when you tap your knee, saliva flowing at the sight of delicious food, or being drawn to an attractive member of the opposite sex.
An instinctive realm beyond his own will.
Like a beast that had never encountered a worthy opponent bristling for the first time before a clearly larger and more threatening presence.
'Even intelligence agencies struggle to grasp everything inside Calypso Territory... but from the reports, it seems he wiped out the black mages' main base and the assassins' guild.'
That Enoch had unconsciously raised his aura to confront Wilfried wasn't just due to a simple difference in power.
In truth, Enoch entering combat readiness subconsciously wasn't because of Wilfried's strength, but the contradictory nature of that strength.
'No way... did he instinctively sense it? The secret of the imperial family's Bloodline Ability.'
The imperial family's Bloodline Ability, publicly known, was succession—and indeed, the power passed down through Ortentia's blood was succession of ancestors' strength...
But the key wasn't succession itself, but 'what' was being succeeded.
There existed a power granted only to those who ascended the throne.
Thus, Wilfried heightened his wariness toward Enoch in a different sense, but it soon melted away.
'No, that can't be.'
The truth was passed only to the emperor and the saintess of the Pantheon.
Without someone telling them, there was no way to notice it—and if anyone had, it would have been obvious long ago.
In other words, Enoch didn't know yet. He had merely felt an incongruity with his sharp instincts.
As Enoch's aura naturally subsided shortly after, Wilfried smiled with a mix of relief and exasperation.
"Ah."
And then he noticed. While everyone else knelt, Enoch alone stood rigidly, too focused on Wilfried.
Under the piercing glares from around him, Enoch made an awkward face and tried to bow clumsily.
Wilfried stopped him and spoke.
"Haha! Don't trouble yourself too much, Enoch Zahav. Young lord of House Zahav and the empire's new hero. A slight ignorance of etiquette doesn't diminish your battlefield exploits."
"Uh, um. Thank you for your leniency?"
Enoch tilted his head uncertainly.
At that sight, the tension in the banquet hall eased.
Because it had successfully framed it not as a challenge to the emperor's authority, but as a young man's innocent mistake.
"Come now, everyone rise. And musicians, resume your performance. Today's protagonist isn't me, but the Grand Duke of House Zahav here."
With those words, Wilfried lightly patted Enoch's shoulder. Taking it as a cue, sighs of relief and whispers gauging the emperor's intent rippled through the hall.
And just as the paused music was about to resume...
Gazing at what might be the last banquet of his reign, Wilfried smiled lightly and spoke.
"Oh right. Before we enjoy the feast again, we should handle what needs handling quickly. My time left isn't much, after all. Hahaha!"
The nobles hesitated, unsure whether to laugh at the emperor joking about his own lifespan.
For now, the musicians grimaced and lowered their hands poised to play.
The emperor's voice couldn't be drowned out by mere instruments.
Enoch blinked in confusion at the unexpected turn. Seeing how utterly different this was from the previous Zahavs like Cain, Wilfried raised his voice with a kindly smile.
"Enoch Zahav! Loyal house of the empire's merits, long-standing pillar of the south, patriarch of the grand house that guards humanity from the progeny of tragedy! Kneel!"
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Enoch, who usually spoke bluntly to everyone except Jevella, did so only as calculated behavior.
Reverting to common sense, Enoch belatedly recalled court etiquette and knelt on one knee before Wilfried.
A basic courtesy any noble performed... but when a Zahav did it, it became profoundly moving in itself.
Wilfried, who had grown tearful with age, suppressed his rising emotion and spoke.
"You repelled the disaster of the west, the Wild Hunt!"
Honestly, this was astonishing even to Wilfried.
Survival was the best one could hope for against a disaster. He had abandoned any expectation of such a victory back in his youth upon ascending the throne.
Separately from his position as emperor, Wilfried placed a hand on Enoch's head with genuine respect and began listing his feats.
"You granted Grand Duke Ignatius, who endured a grave duty without sleep for over a millennium, a blessed slumber inscribed with the name of the gods—and in his stead, shouldered a task not your own!"
"An unbreakable body single-handedly withstood endless hordes of death, while blazing flames granted rest to ancient heroes! At the same time, even the dragon Mortheus—who dominated an era despite being a traitor—was repelled alongside Grand Duke Ignatius awakened with the morning sun!"
"Enoch Zahav! I hereby declare in Ortentia's name, in this place, that you are the one who truly brought dawn to the west where the sun had set!"
The nobles' eyes widened; they knew Enoch had defeated the Wild Hunt with Ignatius but not the details.
Adriana smirked with satisfaction and rivalry, only to get scolded by Cornelia.
Pausing briefly to maximize the response, Wilfried lowered his hand from Enoch's head and extended it toward him.
A gesture that could mean either "take my hand" or "receive this."
Following long custom and etiquette, Enoch quietly grasped Wilfried's hand and rose.
Wilfried beamed contentedly at Enoch standing before him.
A bit clumsy at first, but flawless etiquette from midway on!
Not particularly difficult protocol... but when performed by a Zahav, it was another story.
Zahavs were infamous for forgetting anything uninteresting within three seconds.
In other words, Enoch respected Wilfried's praise and the authority behind it!
...Of course, it was a misunderstanding. Enoch had merely followed ingrained habits from his past life mechanically.
Unaware of this, Wilfried was simply delighted with Enoch.
A stark contrast to Cornelia, who still feared him.
In a gentle tone, Wilfried spoke.
"Enoch Zahav. As emperor of the empire, I shall duly reward your merits. Speak whatever you desire. If commensurate with subjugating a disaster, I shall grant anything."
By protocol, Enoch would humbly decline once, and Wilfried would then bestow the pre-planned reward as if reluctant.
'House Zahav's been financially strained lately, from what I hear.'
Wilfried knew the western expedition was for Ignatius's commission, and the secret trip to the capital was to seize assets disguised as a merchant guild by black mages.
Beyond immediate relief, he planned overly generous tax benefits for the next decade.
As he mentally reviewed the details...
Bang!
The banquet hall doors burst open with a clamor, and a bloodied knight tumbled in.
Unable to stand properly, he dragged himself across the floor and shouted in a voice hoarse with urgency.
"T-Treason! Treason, Your Majesty! The Second Prince has allied with black mages and is summoning an evil god in the capital!"
"What...? Explain in detail! In detail!"
Wilfried recoiled in shock at the unforeseen news. The knight clung to his fading consciousness and continued.
"The Academy... they're using its students as sacrifices for the summoning! It hasn't fully manifested yet, but the guardsmen knights can't hold it off! I don't know which evil god it is, but its divine power is unnatural... If the students are fully offered as sacrifices, then..."
The knight fainted before finishing.
Naturally, the banquet hall erupted in chaos.
The Academy was an educational institution directly run by the imperial family, trusted by nobles to send their children there.
In short, more than a few nobles in the hall had children at the Academy.
"Your Majesty! We must swiftly... rescue the Academy students! Whatever scheme those black mage scum are plotting, without sacrifices, the ritual will surely fail!"
"Foolish talk! Sacrifices are the core of ritual magic! Disrupt the ritual itself before extraction, maybe—but you can't pull out intact limbs alone! Tragic, but better to mercifully end those offered before the ritual completes..."
"Are you telling me to kill my own son with my hands?! I can't do that! I can't... How could a father..."
The hall descended into pandemonium. But soon, it was forcibly silenced.
Not because Wilfried invoked his imperial authority.
Whoosh.
An aura rising from Enoch's body, resembling soaring flames.
Under his control, it burned nothing—but the instinctive fear from its terrifying heat and boundless swelling power silenced them.
"Your Majesty. Did you not say to name my desire?"
A voice so calm it was unbelievable from the man who had forced even nobles with potent Bloodline Abilities to shut up.
Enoch stared straight at Wilfried and spoke.
"Forgive the rudeness of harming your son with my own hands."
"......"
Wilfried opened his mouth to reply but promptly shut it.
The moment he saw the golden eyes blazing fiercely, the murderous intent swirling in their depths, he realized.
No words could stop Enoch now.
Just moments ago, Enoch had been an impeccably courteous youth unbelievable for a Zahav.
But not anymore.
Even Wilfried, who had watched generations of Zahavs, felt chills at this blinding madness.
Undoubtedly, this Enoch was the most Zahav-like of them all.
Wilfried had only one thing to say.
"First, I'll confirm if the Second Prince truly allied with the black mages. If it's true..."
Wilfried squeezed his eyes shut.
"...I permit it."
At those words, the beast that had held its breath throughout the banquet laughed.