Chapter 127: Healing (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 127: Healing (1)
An auction house dealt in all manner of treasures, so tight security was an absolute necessity. The Kaiten Auction House was immensely popular among the nobility as an illegal money laundering hub precisely because of its ironclad security.
Kaiten Auction House hired only the finest individuals as security personnel. Background checks were thorough, leaving no stone unturned.
Yet even a place like Kaiten Auction House had a domain it could never probe: the Imperial Court.
It wasn't just Kaiten; no power in the world dared step into the domain of the Imperial Family. The Imperial Court was a sanctuary. Even the Nibelung family, second to none in prestige among the nobility, bowed their heads when attending imperial affairs.
And this was precisely why—
"This way, Your Imperial Highness."
—Kang Geomma had planted the Imperial Guard inside the Kaiten Auction House.
Even Kaiten Auction House could never vet the identity of the Imperial Guard.
*
About an hour earlier.
Victoria had entered Kaiten Auction House escorted by the guardsmen.
The auction house owner was away at Pertinax Auction House. Maki Kaiten had entrusted full security oversight to the Imperial Guard, completely unaware that it was a fatal miscalculation.
Even Victoria, who had entered the auction house under special orders from the Heavenly Sword, was flustered. She asked the Imperial Guard Third Officer:
"...Does the Imperial Guard take orders from Lord Heavenly Sword?"
"We always obey the command of the Imperial Family."
"Then right now..."
"This is entirely our own judgment. All of us owe our lives to Lord Heavenly Sword. If Your Highness wishes to punish us later, we will willingly accept it. But before that, please do what you must, Your Highness."
"..."
Victoria examined the faces of each guardsman.
It was no mere excuse to avoid blame. Their resolute eyes burned with a determination that defied death itself. Strictly speaking, they were revolting against the Imperial Family. Yet here they were, openly admitting their rebellion to the first in line to the throne. How could they be so brazen?
Victoria thought to herself.
Is this... the power of Lord Heavenly Sword?
If he had tried to solve everything through violence, would these guardsmen have sided with him—even briefly betraying the Imperial Family to whom they had pledged lifelong loyalty?
No.
Lord Heavenly Sword's violence was always reserved for judgment. He never recklessly wielded his blade simply because things didn't go his way—even though someone with his immense power could easily have dominated the entire world.
Bathed in the steadfast gazes of the guardsmen, Victoria finally felt the path she had to walk becoming clear.
Victoria wanted to become like the Heavenly Sword.
She wanted to emulate him.
"One day, I will hold you accountable," Victoria told the guardsmen as she retrieved the Imperial Court's treasures from the Kaiten Auction House vault. "However, I shall withhold any reprimand until after I succeed to the throne."
Victoria declared her resolve to the guardsmen: she would undoubtedly ascend the throne.
Even now, while the Emperor's power remained absolute, Victoria's declaration was nothing short of a coup.
Perhaps because of that, a thrill ran through every single guardsman. They lined up in unison and bowed their heads to Victoria.
"We obey Your Highness's will."
*
Episode. Healing
"Ha..."
A hollow laugh finally escaped from between the Emperor's teeth.
He was a man who maintained an impassive expression at all times. Even his daughter, Victoria, found it impossible to read the underlying meaning of that dry chuckle.
The Emperor muttered with a vain chuckle, "So, that's how it turned out, is it?"
The twitching corners of his lips flattened back into a hard line. Then, looking at Kang Geomma's retreating back, he spat out a single line:
"You got me good, Heavenly Sword."
Victoria bit her lower lip hard, her entire body trembling with a shiver. Her father's reaction gave her an indescribable chill.
The Heavenly Sword turned halfway around. Though his icy glare bound the Emperor like a tight rope, the Emperor remained composed.
"I never expected you to play it like this. Amusing... It's becoming extraordinarily amusing."
"One hit."
Kang Geomma said only that before turning his back once more.
"I only let it slide once."
There won't be a second time.
Kang Geomma gave his warning to the Emperor—just as he had done to Maki Kaiten, who was feigning unconsciousness on the side.
After offering businesslike nods to the Emperor, the Immortal Archer and the Sword Princess fell in beside Kang Geomma.
"Victoria," the Emperor spoke to his hesitating daughter. "A choice always carries responsibility."
"..."
Victoria parted her lips slightly, then stared back at the Emperor with steadfast eyes.
"I know."
She, too, turned her back on the Emperor.
"That is something my Master always emphasized to me."
"Good enough, then."
"Farewell."
Victoria left Pertinax Auction House behind as well.
The room that had been bustling with people was instantly reduced to only three.
One Emperor.
And two traitors: Pertinax X and Maki Kaiten.
"...Ha, haha."
Though he was an emperor who possessed the entire world, the only ones remaining around him right now were a couple of foolish cowards.
* * *
As soon as the incident was settled, the details of the nobles' money laundering were announced to the public. This was thanks to my classmates having already mapped out the framework while Choi Seol-ah and I were camped near the auction house.
Three powers—Joaquin Academy, the Hero Association, and the new faction of nobility led by Nibelung—worked together to publicize this disgraceful affair to the world.
Although the wording intentionally excluded the "Imperial Court,"
– The Imperial Court is definitely involved in this, right?
└ Exactly. One look at the list and it's obviously the Imperial Court's faction.
Collective intelligence easily deduced who was pulling the strings from behind the scenes. The nobles' long history of misdeeds undoubtedly made it even easier to guess.
– Wow... Lord Heavenly Sword's class, kicking even the Imperial Court in the shins now...
└ He really is a dragon risen from the gutter.
– But thinking about it, isn't it ridiculous? Why do nobles get to wrap themselves in immunity and all kinds of tax cuts just because they're 'heroes'?
└ Next up: a commoner.
└ LOL, found the offended noble.
└ Pathetic. Absolutely pathetic.
– The Brazilian parliament just introduced a bill for a republic lol. They're doing a national referendum, and I'm 100% in favor of a republic.
└ I heard Argentina is doing it too.
└ France's presidential debate is centered on republicanism too. This is simply the tide of the times.
└ Révolution! Révolution!
– Personally, I feel like the world is finally normalizing...
└ For real, lol. Why should we keep dragging inherited discrimination along forever?
Even the people who used to turn a blind eye to the nobles' corruption seemed exhausted now. Even the Outer Gods, whom they considered allies, were at the point of condemning the implicated nobles.
As a southerly wind began to fan the embers that had barely been dying down, the nobles grew deeply restless.
On top of that, Parsi Academy, which had once stood at odds with Joaquin Academy, joined in.
– We, Parsi Academy, have concluded our decision to reject children from noble families implicated in corruption.
The nobles' anxiety escalated even further.
From the start, Joaquin Academy had taken the lead in purging rebellious noble factions. Noble houses relied on hereditary succession, which required forging social networks from a young age. But Parsi Academy, which was supposed to play that crucial role, had barred its gates shut. The nobles were trapped in a desperate, inescapable dilemma. Thus, they sent desperate pleas for help to the Emperor, but...
"My apologies. His Majesty has stated that he will refrain from public activities for the time being."
They were shut down at the door by his spokesperson, Royal Steward Garyeon.
The nobles fell into despair. Meanwhile, their domain shrank with each passing day. There was no retreat. Their heels were already dangling over the edge of a cliff.
The only way for the nobility to preserve even the barest minimum of their privileges was...
[Breaking News: Head of the Galahad Family sends silent vote of sympathy toward Brazilian Republic, 'Shocking']
To yield to the surging tides of the era.
Would you believe that all of this was a south wind set in motion by a special admission student who had lived under the stigma of being lowborn?
* * *
Rumble! The sky split open as dark clouds growled fiercely.
Pitter-patter, thud-thud. Heavy rain beat savagely against the glass.
A prelude announcing the start of the monsoon season.
Ryozo wiped the fogged-up windowpane with the heel of her hand.
"..."
Then, she turned her head.
Kang Geomma lay sound asleep in bed.
Ryozo sat beside his pillow. With a gentle touch, she stroked his forehead. A faint warmth met the back of her hand.
He really overexerted himself lately.
As the semester neared its end, so much had happened. They had survived two Apocalypses, not to mention Kang Geomma's rampage in between.
You really are a strange person.
It was confusing whether he was being swept up by the world's storms or if he was the center of them.
But whatever it was, it didn't matter.
As long as she was with him through any storm.
...Only...
Her eyes almost turned slightly melancholic.
Suppressing her sorrow, Ryozo rose from the bed, moving very slowly so as not to wake Kang Geomma.
As she stepped toward the door, she took off her slippers as well, worried that the sound of her heels tapping against the floor might wake him.
It was the first deep, sweet sleep he had enjoyed in a long time.
Up until yesterday, even though Kang Geomma hadn't shown it, he had been harboring deep anxiety.
Thanks to Princess Victoria, he had secured the item. But the job wasn't finished until it was safely delivered to Auditore and Chloe was fully cured.
It all ended successfully.
Rather than delivering it himself, Kang Geomma had dispatched professors from the Joaquin Graduate School to Auditore. Given the tense global situation recently, he had to be cautious with his movements.
Crrreaak...
Ryozo looked through a sliver of the doorway one last time, gazing at Kang Geomma sleeping peacefully under the indigo light cast by the moon, before walking down the stairs.
Their house was a two-story building—a quiet structure formerly known as "Korean Sushi." Noticing that Kang Geomma seemed fond of it, Ryozo and Abel had bought the shop the moment it was listed on the market, even paying a premium.
"And to think you used to say you hated even the smell of fish..."
Sometimes, Kang Geomma found peace in preparing fish. His memories of working part-time at a Japanese restaurant before entering Joaquin Academy must have left a truly profound impression on him.
"Huh?"
It was right after she stepped off the landing.
A faint light greeted Ryozo.
Who could it be at this hour of the night? Unless someone was completely out of their mind, no thief would dare break into the Heavenly Sword's house.
She peeked her head out to make her presence known, and someone in the kitchen glanced back at her.
"Ah, I'm sorry."
It was Uncle.
"What are you doing awake at this hour?"
"I just felt restless. Thought I'd do something for the first time in a while."
Uncle was sharpening a sashimi knife on a whetstone. It was Murasame, the knife Geomma usually enjoyed using.
Geomma used to sharpen it religiously, but it seemed he had been too busy lately. Uncle must have noticed and decided to do it for him.
"Am I disturbing you?"
"Disturbing? Nonsense. Take a seat."
"Thank you."
Ryozo slipped her feet into her slippers and sat down at the counter seat. Regardless of whether she was there or not, Uncle continued to sharpen the blade.
Shhhk, shhhk.
Ryozo rested her chin on her hand and watched the process.
Rumble... Outside, the dark clouds continued to growl softly.
Beneath the lonely light cascading from the ceiling...
"How long are you going to pretend you don't know?" Uncle asked out of the blue.
Yet Ryozo wasn't flustered in the slightest. She answered nonchalantly, just as she always did.
"So you knew that I knew."
"When you get old, your intuition is the only thing that sharpens."
"I wish Geomma inherited half of your intuition, Uncle."
"Being dense is that kid's entire identity."
"Fair point."
Ryozo idly rubbed the surface of her water glass with her index finger.
"That Geomma is in pain..."
She confessed truthfully to Uncle, Ho Ak-hyeon.
"Actually, I knew from the very first moment I saw him."
"..."
The scraping sound against the whetstone ceased.
Uncle slowly raised his eyes and looked at Ryozo.
"Because he had the same eyes I had back then," Ryozo said. "That's why I fell for him in the first place."
"...So you stayed silent for ten years?"
"Yes." Ryozo gave a faint nod. "My mother told me..."
Ryozo knew.
She knew why Kang Geomma showed evasive tendencies in certain situations.
And why he occasionally went wild or lost his memories.
"She said that when it comes to depression, silence is the best comfort."
And so, she wanted to protect him for the rest of her life—this man who could hold the entire world beneath his feet.