The Skeleton King's Followers (7)
"Young Lord Isaac has rendered a great service, I see."
A faction that had been targeting the Emperor itself had been captured. What had begun as a simple hunt for Skeleton King cultists had ended with them seizing the very seeds of treason in their hands.
It was impossible not to draw attention. And yes—for apprentice priests, who could be promoted to higher ranks the more merit they accumulated, this was nothing short of a cause for celebration.
A joyous occasion, indeed…
"Can you please put away that blood-soaked rattle for once?"
Shuri hissed the whisper through glinting eyes.
Being summoned to the imperial palace alongside Isaac was one thing, but this lunatic had to go and pull out his bloodstained rattle right in front of the Emperor—again, like it never got old. Did he not see the imperial attendants' eyes trembling yet again?
How every servant and knight broke into a cold sweat the moment Isaac set foot in the palace—everyone knew it but this guy.
"More importantly, how did you even get it in here? Weapons are forbidden inside the palace…!"
"How? In my pants, obviously—"
Shuri clapped a hand over Isaac's mouth at once.
"Enough. Don't describe it."
He had no idea how the boy's behavior grew more deranged by the day. But that still didn't explain—why bring it here at all?
Reading the loathing in Shuri's eyes, Isaac tilted his head.
"Why do you think? His Majesty asked me to explain exactly how we caught them."
"You could explain it with words, with WORDS!!"
"Shut up, Buzzkill Shuri. You can't even manage one skeleton properly, and you had the nerve to let that skeleton come running to me?"
"Ugh, dammit."
"Do you have any idea how much I suffered for that?"
'You shut up.'
Shuri had a great many things he wanted to say, but he barely swallowed them and rounded on Isaac instead.
"Listen, because I'm right about this one. Carrying a blood-soaked object into the imperial palace? His Majesty could take it as blasphemy—"
"I, too, am most pleased and grateful that the gift is being put to such fine use."
No, Your Majesty, NO!
Do not thank this bastard! You're only encouraging his worst habits!
Shuri wanted to grab the back of his own neck and scream.
'Well… it's not that I don't understand.'
The Emperor was touched that the boy had treasured a gift bestowed by a Saint candidate a whole ten years ago. That alone would lift anyone's mood—but the gift's owner had also delivered the very criminal who'd tried to kill the Emperor. Of course the man would look on him fondly.
'Especially with relations between the imperial family and the Papacy souring further than ever.'
Since a decade ago, the imperial family had been steadily building up a military force free of the Pope's influence. Nothing could have pleased the Pontiff less. The only reason he continued to tolerate the throne at all was that the clergy needed the power of the Divine Dragons.
And within that uneasy cohabitation, to have in hand the one person who could hold the imperial family's power?
There were no words for how valuable that was. And if Isaac had actually brought the rattle with political calculus in mind—then he was a genuinely terrifying little creature…
"See that? His Majesty says he's grateful."
…Yeah, right. Like hell.
What made it worse was the Emperor's doting reaction.
"Though it has been ten years—perhaps it's time for something new. A proper reward for the young lord who caught the seeds of discord for Us."
Isaac's eyes lit up with something frankly terrifying.
"Then this time, a diamond rattle—!"
"STOP WITH THE RATTLES ALREADY!!"
Shuri's desperate whisper shoved Isaac's arm down as if begging him to restrain himself.
Perhaps the sight was charming, because the Empress burst out laughing.
"Truly the contractor of the Supreme God, I see. Remarkable. I was the one who made the request, but I never dreamed you would actually deliver the spy."
Isaac shot her a sidelong glance. The smiling lips, the tongue lavishing praise without hesitation—all beautifully gift-wrapped. But, well.
'I can see you seething underneath.'
Hardly surprising. She'd hoped to use this affair to frame the Crown Prince with treason and dispose of him—and that plan had just gone up in smoke.
In truth, what the Empress had wanted from Isaac this time was 'the capture of the Crown Prince, who had so insolently meddled in the Holy Empire's affairs.' But instead of seizing the Crown Prince, the boy had dragged in the Black Angel—the true mastermind. Of course she was furious.
More than that, Isaac hadn't merely kept quiet—he had deliberately let slip evidence that a mole existed inside the palace itself. There was no way the Emperor's sharp-witted loyalists would miss it.
In other words, from the Empress's perspective, she had tried to use Isaac like a cute little puppy and failed spectacularly. Her mood had to be foul…
"You did request a reward, did you not, young lord? Then in return for sparing His Majesty, might I offer my own gratitude directly?"
There it is. She weighs profit before pride.
Whisper caught the Empress's intent at once.
The Emperor's voice shifted—subtly, dangerously.
"There is no need for the Empress to go so far."
He had not become master of this great empire for nothing. At the tension that transformed with a single syllable, the vassals swallowed hard.
But the Empress only smiled and pressed her case.
"Please, Your Majesty. I was the one who entrusted the commission in the first place. I insist on repaying him myself. The young priest is quite endearing, after all."
At the look in the Empress's eyes as she gazed at Isaac, the Crown Prince flinched harder than anyone.
Among the imperial family and great nobility, a gift was never merely a gift. The moment Isaac accepted something from the Empress, he was bound to her, inevitably.
Which meant closeness with the Empress could only make an enemy of the Crown Prince.
Just as the prince's lips parted to intervene—
"I am deeply honored, Your Majesty the Empress, but I already accepted my reward from His Highness the Crown Prince. Anything more would be unseemly for one who serves a god. Please, accept only my gratitude."
Isaac beamed. The message, roughly translated: I don't want a present from you, so get lost.
The vassals who caught the meaning went pale.
Shuri, on the other hand, looked stunned in an entirely different way.
'…When exactly did you arrange a reward with the Crown Prince?'
He had never heard any such thing. Though admittedly, from the Empress's perspective Isaac was still a mere child—she could hardly have known how far ahead the boy was thinking. She smiled, faintly off-balance.
"So the priest with the Supreme God fancies the Crown Prince, does he?"
You will regret that.
Needless to say, Isaac was well aware the remark had been swallowed whole.
And so, having worked the room, Isaac extracted himself from the imperial palace.
It was some time later that Shuri finally asked.
"You sure it's fine to make an enemy of the Empress?"
"What, you want me to hold hands with the Pope instead?"
"……"
Why did this bastard hate His Holiness the Pope so much, anyway? Granted, House Eshua preferred the Crown Prince to the Empress as well, but still.
"Well, thanks to you, His Highness the Crown Prince was practically moved to tears."
"Right, so it's all fi—"
"It is NOT all fine!"
"!!"
The moment Isaac stepped out of the palace, a crowd of priests was waiting, swarming in as if they'd been lying in ambush. Isaac glared at them with eyes that promised no mercy.
"Ugh! What is WRONG with you Gold priests and your obsession! No wonder nobody likes you!"
"Watch your mouth! Hand over the Tutelary God of Gold you stole!"
Evidently acting on the Gold Cardinal's orders, they had come to reclaim the deity Isaac had run off with. Normally Isaac would have abused them thoroughly with holy arts, but inside the imperial palace, divine arts were forbidden to anyone outside the imperial bloodline!
"See? No holy arts for you here!"
"Hand over the Tutelary God, you thief! Do you even know what kind of god that is?!"
Sparks flew from Isaac's eyes. They had lain in wait precisely where he couldn't use holy arts—the bastards had come prepared!
"You rotten, spineless cowards! And you call yourselves clergy?!"
Which side is the spineless one here, exactly?
"Besides, I don't have the Tutelary God anymore. Gave it to someone else."
"Don't lie! The tracking rite points straight at you! We know everything on your body—hand it over!"
Shuri's face at that moment was a sight to behold.
On my—excuse me?
…Don't tell me. Like the rattle. In his pants. A GOD??
'What did the Tutelary God ever do to deserve this?!'
Soon the Gold priests had Isaac surrounded.
"Hand it over. Today, we take it back."
At that, Isaac's mind went into overdrive.
"Can't have it! I promised it to the imperial family, you rat-faced bastards!"
"!"
The Gold priests flinched. And no wonder—no matter how mighty a Gold priest might be, the property of the imperial family was untouchable. Isaac had invoked the throne precisely to make them give up…
"Don't be absurd. Since when would the imperial family accept a god belonging to the Papal house?"
"At least lie believably—!"
But then it happened.
"That is correct. The object is to be kept in the Emperor's palace garden."
"!"
"Your Highness the Crown Prince!"
At the Crown Prince's appearance, the Gold priests bowed their heads in flustered haste. The prince, however, glared at them with unmistakable contempt—a look that said get out of my sight.
"Attempting to seize an object that has entered the imperial household. The Gold faith has forgotten its place."
Isaac, reading this unexpected windfall, dove right in.
"Yeah! The Tutelary God is being kept in the Crown Prince's palace garden! Isn't that right, Your Highness?"
"…So it seems. The Crown Prince's garden it is."
The Gold priests' pupils convulsed.
Didn't you just say the EMPEROR'S garden?! Which is it?!
"It just changed."
Are you kidding me, man?
"Any attempt to take the young lord Isaac's property will henceforth be regarded as an attempt to take MINE."
"…?!"
Dammit all—the Crown Prince is taking Isaac's side?
'What is even happening right now?'
Shuri, equally dumbfounded, put the question to the prince directly.
"…You're keeping a god of the Gold faith in the Crown Prince's palace?"
House Eshua aside, the imperial family despised Gold more bitterly than anyone. Why would—
But the Crown Prince looked at Isaac with utter indifference.
"Well, if it's young lord Isaac, one unused garden is hardly a loss. Use it as you please."
Shuri's jaw dropped.
The Crown Prince's palace garden—restricted, heavily guarded, effectively the finest vault in the empire. And he was just… handing it to Isaac?
Isaac, too, gave the Gold priests a look of pure, spoiled fortune.
"You heard him. Get lost, you rats."
And so, grinding their teeth, the Gold faithful withdrew.
For Shuri, the whole affair was beyond absurd. Because now that he thought about it—Isaac had been scheming the entire time to keep the Tutelary God out of Gold hands. And the moment the imperial household's business came up, his eyes had gleamed with suspicious interest…
'Don't tell me he latched onto the Crown Prince… just to protect the Tutelary God?'
And I'm the one getting harassed by Kina because of that worthless God of Wealth?
Wasn't Kina even now ranting and raving about visiting House Eshua for the New Year?!
Shuri watched Isaac bow gratefully to the Crown Prince.
"My, my, how generous of you, Your Highness. That garden—we may use it freely, yes?"
Shuri's pupils trembled.
You insane brat, at least make the fake politeness consistent!
"Very well. That garden shall admit you and you alone."
Crown Prince, you too! Doesn't something feel off to you?!
Oblivious or indifferent, Isaac's lips curled in satisfaction.
'The Crown Prince's garden means I can plant magic herbs without anyone catching on. I can practice magic!'
It was no Magic Empire, but the imperial family did use magic—bound as they were to the Divine Dragons. A stash of magical materials on the grounds wouldn't raise many eyebrows.
And frankly, have you seen the Crown Prince? Nobody was going to question a little magic from that household.
'Worst case, I just wail that my Skeleton King mana went berserk. Done.'
In that very moment, Isaac noticed the Crown Prince's hair was soaked through.
"By the way, milord? Why ever are you so dripping wet?"
The way you address people, I swear!
Shuri pressed a hand to his forehead in agony, but the Crown Prince accepted the towel a maid brought without a flicker of concern.
"I was diving in the pond."
"Diving…? Why the pond?"
But the Crown Prince answered as if it were none of anyone's business.
"The New Year approaches. You will both return to your homes—be careful."
"I beg your pardon?"
"At the apprentice graduation, the Pope intends to bestow a title he withheld at the Ordination."
"!"
Then came the warning.
"Beware the Pope. Having taken first place in the Pentagon, you will hardly be left in peace—and…" The prince's expressionless golden eyes flashed fiercely. "The other faiths appear to be searching for something. And the clue they seek seems to be the God of the Penal Code. The one who holds it—you—may become their target."
"!"
With that, the Crown Prince vanished, and Shuri spun on his heel, declaring he couldn't stand another minute attached to Isaac.
"Ugh, forget it. I'm going to pack."
"Pack?"
"It's the New Year—I have to go back to the Eshua main house! You'll be stuck in the capital anyway, so at least I get a break from your face from winter till spring…"
"What are you talking about? Why would you stop seeing me?"
"You're staying in the capital!"
"I'm going back to Eshua too?"
"WHAT?! WHY!"
At the despair written across Shuri's face, Isaac snickered. The boy's remark had gotten under his skin anyway.
'Did he say the God of Blue is being held captive?'
It probably wasn't what Isaac suspected it was… but a trip to the Eshua main house would let him assess the Chief God of Blue firsthand.
'And since I'm due to meet the Holy Spirit at the New Year, I might as well hold a three-way summit with the God of the Penal Code.'
At Isaac's words, Shuri let out a sigh like a dying man.
"Right. If you're coming home anyway, I suppose there's no need to deliver this letter."
"What? What letter?"
"One came from home. One for me, one for you."
Shuri held out the letter to Isaac.
"Grandmother Melissa wants to see you."
…Son of a bitch. Is there any way to run?