Chapter 145
Chapter 145
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 145
Chapter Title: Reader's Route 4
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Azadin felt pity as he observed their dire predicament.
‘High population density… and so few places where they can light fires. Even if food and supplies are stockpiled in the citadel, it won’t be easy to hold out for long. Not against Arael and the nagas.’
The Koral Sahar Citadel of Corasar Kingdom was defended by Holy Knights from the King’s Church and the Relief Knight Order, along with soldiers who had set up camp and were standing by. As Azadin moved forward with the citadel’s herald, cold stares stabbed into him.
The air changed markedly upon entering the audience chamber.
The jade throne of the Yaegas divine race. It was a throne crafted from a massive quartz crystal embedded deep within the earth. Seated upon that quartz jade throne was the current king of Corasar Kingdom, Ansetus IV.
Knights stood rigidly at his sides, and the king received him while seated upon the throne.
‘A perfectly textbook audience. It would be better to chat casually in private.’
There were things in the information or stories Azadin could provide that couldn’t be shared openly before everyone. Considering that, this rigid formal audience was inconvenient for both sides.
Of course, Azadin had been the one to request the audience, but that was merely a matter of protocol in approaching the king.
‘Should I have asked to meet in secret? Are they worried I might be an assassin? But the king’s expression looks grim. He seems exhausted too. Well, in this situation, he can’t exactly relax with his legs stretched out.’
King Ansetus IV of Corasar spoke first.
“Ahh. Quite bold. A Herald, coming here all alone. First, I’ll commend that recklessness.”
“Remove your mask. This is before the king.”
The maids demanded that Azadin remove his mask.
“Yes.”
Everyone was stunned when Azadin took off his mask. A large scar ran horizontally across where his eyes should have been.
“A blind man?”
“There wasn’t the slightest hint of it.”
“…….”
They all knew Azadin had entered casually, glancing around. Who would have thought he had no eyeballs?
“You may wear your mask.”
“Yes. Thank you.”
Azadin gratefully put his mask back on, appreciating the king’s consideration.
“So. Who are you?”
“I am the Emperor’s Herald, the 108th Herald Azadin.”
“The 108th Herald? Isn’t that the lowest rank? It seems Corasar is being taken lightly. To send the lowest Herald to meet the king of one of the Eight Kingdoms.”
Ansetus IV openly displayed his displeasure.
With the lowest of the 108 Heralds coming to see him, didn’t it mean they viewed him as an easy mark? That seemed to be his thinking.
“Our ranks are short-staffed, so I, who barely holds the lowest seat among Heralds, have dared to stand before Your Majesty and disturb your presence. I humbly apologize. Though it is presumptuous to say, our clan is currently divided into two factions waging a civil war, which led to this oversight. I beg you not to hold our shortsighted folly too harshly against us.”
“Civil war?”
“Yes. Rebels led by the traitor Arael are stirring up the nagas to seize Corasar’s Royal Throne and have used Nether magic to summon this storm.”
The audience chamber buzzed at Azadin’s words.
“The rebels… called this storm and incited the nagas?”
“…Terrifying.”
It meant that not the entire Herald Clan was united, but a faction within it had pushed Corasar Kingdom into this crisis.
It was no wonder the ministers looked frightened.
At that moment, a man who appeared to be a Holy Knight from the King’s Church stepped forward. He was a stern-looking middle-aged man wearing a monocle.
“Your Majesty! May I speak?”
“Sir Aldolf… Speak.”
“We must seize this heretic and torture him immediately.”
“You would dishonor a guest who sought me out?”
“The Herald Clan are vile, irreverent wretches who spew lies as easily as they breathe. We cannot trust a word they say. This is surely a ploy to sow disinformation and confuse our hearts.”
The knight called Sir Aldolf was insisting that Azadin must be killed.
“And look at those empty eye sockets! Yet he shows no sign of blindness at all. He must be using some wicked sorcery to replace his sight. Even now, he’s spreading corruption with his foul magic—we must seize and execute him at once!”
Azadin let out a scoff at Sir Aldolf’s words.
‘No, attacking me right now would only smear the king’s face. Is he in his right mind?’
Logically speaking, no matter how angry they were, killing a peaceful envoy who had come under a flag of truce would only bring them loss.
However, it was an effective way to unsettle a rationalist. Threats were useful in negotiations as a tactic to shake someone who always acted rationally, forcing them to yield more than they otherwise would.
‘Ah, I see. It’s not about shaking me—it’s about shaking the king.’
Azadin confirmed that no proper mana flowed from the throne.
The king sat upon it, yet the King’s Radiance did not emanate from the Royal Throne. From the King’s Church’s perspective, that meant King Ansetus IV was not a legitimate king.
And he could sense Sir Aldolf minding someone behind him.
‘The Corasar Cardinal, perhaps.’
Azadin gave a wry smile upon spotting the cleric smirking triumphantly behind Sir Aldolf.
“We don’t have the luxury for petty political squabbles right now. Such pointless words.”
“What?!”
“Arael’s goal is Corasar’s Royal Throne. Once the nagas breach the citadel, she’ll appear to claim it.”
“B-Blasphemy!”
“Absurd!”
The Yaegas jade throne was a powerful magical relic that chose its own master.
The idea that the soulless blasphemers of the Herald Clan could claim the throne was an intolerable heresy to the King’s Church.
“This man is a madman! Execute him immediately!”
The King’s Church faction clamored to kill Azadin, but he cleared his throat while looking at King Ansetus IV.
“With all these interrupters around, perhaps dismiss the audience or let us speak privately.”
“What?! You dare mock our Church?!”
The King’s Church clerics raised a fuss. But raising their voices in the king’s audience chamber was an affront to his dignity.
‘Looks like even the Corasar king is completely cornered.’
A new Yaegas king had to prove his worth.
With the King’s Radiance failing to activate, the capital Koral Sahar was flooding, nagas were invading, and they were isolated without even calling for reinforcements—this situation.
It was as good as saying the king lacked the qualifications to claim the throne. That was why the King’s Church clerics acted so brazenly even in the king’s own court.
“Very well.”
Ansetus IV accepted Azadin’s proposal.
Arranging a private meeting with the Emperor’s Herald, infamous as an assassin, would be an enormous risk for any king.
Yet he chose a tête-à-tête with an assassin over speaking before the King’s Church clerics who lurked like beasts ready to bite.
The retainers began objecting at once.
“Your Majesty!”
“The Herald Clan are all treacherous, vicious assassins!”
“Please reconsider!”
The moment a private meeting was mentioned, chaos erupted. That was precisely why Azadin had requested one.
‘The king has it rough. With them butting in at every turn, how can he even talk?’
Azadin sympathized with the king’s plight in granting the private audience.
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They relocated from the audience chamber to the king’s private quarters.
There were armed knights present, but these were the king’s personal guard.
“So, we’re alone. Surely you don’t plan to assassinate me?”
“No, Your Majesty. I thought it might involve sensitive matters.”
“Sensitive matters?”
“The King’s Radiance isn’t functioning properly, is it?”
“Indeed… Not something to discuss before retainers and knights.”
“The clerics already know, which is why they’re charging at you so fearlessly, isn’t it? Sir Aldolf, was it? What’s his position?”
“My nephew.”
“Nephew? Normally…”
“Those of Corasar royal blood are sent elsewhere.”
The King’s Church was where royals and nobles without inheritance rights took vows. Thus, clerics of royal birth were not assigned back to their home kingdoms.
If royal scions were placed nearby, they would inevitably gather supporters domestically and stir up trouble to return.
“But that one’s a bastard. And even if not, I have plenty of weaknesses.”
“The King’s Radiance failed because a Nether ritual was performed right here inside. It’s not Your Majesty’s fault.”
“…….”
It was probably the one thing Ansetus IV most wanted to hear right now.
“So. What do you propose, Herald?”
“…My prediction is that Arael has already infiltrated the citadel.”
“What? Why do you think that?”
“Because otherwise, it doesn’t add up. She’s someone in whom the Emperor’s traits manifest extremely strongly. You know there’s a bastard child of the Emperor among the Herald Clan, yes?”
“You mean the bloodline of Emperor Yaeslat.”
The King’s Church desperately rejected the Emperor, but Emperor Yaeslat had been the most powerful Yaegas divine being since the founding of the Eight Kingdoms.
The living sage-god who had claimed all Eight Thrones alone and ruled the world with the strongest King’s Radiance.
It was an open secret that his bloodline flowed among the Herald Clan.
“You’re saying this woman called Arael is a descendant of the Emperor?”
To be precise, no one knew exactly how the Emperor’s bloodline continued or to whom. It was certain that it flowed through the Five Great Houses of the Herald Clan, but who else might have received his blood through marriages or affairs was unknown.
Only when it later manifested as a trait did people go, “Ah, so this one carries the Emperor’s blood.”
“Yes. That’s why she’s aiming to sit on the throne herself. Sidestepping these nagas, no less. To do that, she must already be waiting near the throne.”
“That logic applies just as well to you. There’s no guarantee you aren’t a spy she planted to seize the throne yourself, is there?”
“That’s a reasonable suspicion. So all I can do is work hard to resolve this situation and prove my sincerity. For starters, please allow me to investigate the throne and its vicinity. I want to know how they disabled the King’s Radiance.”
“…Couldn’t it simply be that I’m unworthy, and the King’s Radiance went dark?”
“There have been plenty of tyrants and dark rulers in history, but the King’s Radiance has never gone out entirely.”
*You’re not that much of a tyrant or dark ruler.*
That was what Azadin was saying.