29 – The Emperor Abandoned Me.
Chugigyeong Lerugio.
Even after leaving the palace gates in the carriage, he continued to shed tears.
It was incredibly moving.
Finally, the Goddess had answered his long-standing prayers.
“Your Highness Eos…”
In a corrupt sect where hope seemed to have vanished, he had fought fiercely.
After the death of the previous Pope.
The already corrupt goddess religion was rapidly deteriorating day by day.
From the current Pope to the chugigyeongs, the high-ranking officials and those who had connections with them.
Those who had embraced power claimed to be the servants of the goddess, yet they all were blinded by greed and committed all sorts of sins relentlessly.
Lerugio was afraid.
He couldn’t dare to oppose the organization, fearing the accusations, isolation, and expulsion that would be turned against him. He couldn’t dare to confront the overwhelming majority that had turned to the path of corruption.
He couldn’t even indirectly criticize them.
No matter how much he thought about it, it was an impossible task to handle alone.
All he could do was silently pray to the Goddess Aurora, begging her to punish the corrupt and secretly help those who had been trampled upon.
Every day felt like walking on a blade.
Due to the overwhelming stress, he had unknowingly gained weight, surviving on only one vegetarian meal a day.
Of course, among the ones tainted by greed, gaining weight was not such a bad thing.
It was because they had squeezed the blood of the believers, that they came to possess an appearance similar to those who had filled their bellies.
Naturally, they were considered as peers, and thus able to avoid isolation.
By burying their conscience deep within their hearts and sealing their lips, they were not rejected.
However,
The tremendous position that guaranteed a life as comfortable as a king in a small kingdom could never provide a sleep as peaceful.
It was because of the guilt of conscience, not being able to stand against evil for fear of death.
The words of the former Pope that lingered in his ears constantly, he had never had a day of peaceful sleep.
-Lergio, you are the only hope of the Goddess religion. Please, strengthen your heart.
To him, who lived cowardly despite knowing everything, the words of the former Pope were more uncomfortable than a fishbone stuck in his throat.
No matter how much he tried to put his finger in and pull it out, he could only barely touch the end, and it was firmly stuck, with no thought of coming out.
Damn inspiration.
Even though he had lived so selfishly, even in death, just a few words continued to torment him.
But this torment ends today.
Maybe, due to the overwhelming excitement that is still not subsided, he would spend tonight sleepless.
But now, there is hope.
Once the excitement subsided, surely he would be able to sleep as deeply as before inspiration died.
Lergio murmured alone in the rattling carriage.
“Inspiration, are you watching? Finally, Aurora has sent you the saint.”
Ignoring the rattling, Lergio looked out the window.
It was already an afternoon reaching its peak.
As befitting the capital of a vast empire,
Countless people hurriedly passed through the buildings that stretched beneath the blue sky.
It was an entirely ordinary and problem-free day, but it didn’t appear that way in Lergio’s eyes.
To those who shimmered in his eyes.
Various forms that ordinary humans would never see faintly overlapped.
Beasts and nameless creatures that seemed like demons were faintly embedded in people’s bodies, as if they were souls.
It was a result of Lergio’s ability.
He had the power to peer into the innermost thoughts of others.
When he wished to see their true selves, the desires and emotions harbored by others would take shape and be visible only to him.
It seemed like an extraordinary ability at first glance, but in reality, it was more akin to a curse.
The only time he had benefited from it was during his childhood spent in an orphanage.
One day, on a whim, he had used his ability on the director.
A grotesque creature with a wolf-like snout and countless sharp fangs had overlapped with the red-eyed demon-like figure.
That was why, even as the children he had been with one by one started to disappear, he always kept his mouth shut and lived obediently.
Lergio had sensed it.
That the children crying and throwing tantrums disappearing one by one was surely because of the director.
If it hadn’t been for the man harboring the hideous demon inside him, there would be no reason for the children to suddenly vanish.
And so, by chance, he had secretly revealed this fact to a middle-aged man dressed in white.
In that man’s face, Lergio saw a faint light that he had never seen in anyone else, and that’s why he felt certain that he could trust him.
It didn’t take long to confirm that the conviction was correct.
In less than a day, knights clad in white armor and soldiers wielding long spears flocked together.
As it turned out, the director was a human breed who secretly sold orphaned children to black magicians as experimental subjects.
On the other hand, the man with a faint light on his face was the high priest of the Goddess Church.
As a result, Lergio, with the high priest’s protection, was able to rise to the prestigious position of the Archbishop at a young age.
Of course.
If he hadn’t tirelessly mobilized the Order of the Knights, relentlessly weeding out corrupt priests and villains within the sect every single day, he could never have reached such a position.
-Remember. The unique ability that only you possess in this world is the utmost blessing bestowed by Aurora.
The high priest called this ability a blessing, but Lergio had never thought of it that way.
Seeing the truth was much more terrifying than he had imagined.
The man who had been smiling kindly had a hidden knife behind his back, intending to kill him.
And the revered clergyman, known as an adult, had actually committed unspeakable atrocities against young children for decades.
Losing faith in the appearance of humans was undoubtedly a curse.
And.
Since the day the high priest suddenly collapsed and screamed, that thought had become even more firmly entrenched.
It was a desperate experience to be able to see the truth alone and yet be unable to do anything about it.
The situation had worsened to the point of no return right after the death of the high priest.
The priests, who had been amiable, began to corrupt one by one.
Before they could even lift a finger, the command of the knights was unanimously taken away from them.
The Pope they elected was truly a manifestation of greed, so excessively worldly that he could be called the embodiment of avarice. His very existence was deemed a blasphemy against God, such a wicked being.
Pope Zekartes.
Just the thought of his face tainted with desire made my head ache as if it would shatter in an instant.
But the headache soon subsided.
It was because I had recalled the face of Eos, the infamous Crown Prince and the first Prince of the Mercian Empire.
Having always been busy with the execution of villains throughout the continent, today was the first time I had seen the face of the Crown Prince.
Truly, it was the first time I had seen such a bright light emanating from a person.
Moreover, that radiant light enveloped his entire body.
There was no doubt that this sacred power surpassed even that of the previous Popes; there was absolutely no room for doubt.
It was certain.
The infamous Crown Prince, known for committing all sorts of atrocities and even killing people, seemed to be the saint who had recently performed the miracle of the White Night in the capital of the Empire.
That’s why I had rushed towards the prince like a flaming comet.
Furthermore, from the gap in the heart-shaped mark on his chest, a dazzling light was flowing without hesitation.
The feeling I had when I laid eyes on him was indescribable.
It was so moving that tears flowed uncontrollably.
So, I even knelt down as if worshiping a god.
Finally, I had come face to face with her.
The decayed goddess and the great saint sent by the goddess to save this world!
But then, in an instant, Lergio’s face, which had been filled with deep emotion, hardened like a tooth that had bitten into a pebble.
Sss…
With one hand covering his mouth, and urgently reaching for the curtain, it was because Saint Eos’s shocking words whispered in his ear came to mind.
– To think that someone so foolish and reckless could be a disciple of the Chugigyeong, how disappointing. I will be coming soon, so never act recklessly and wait quietly. If by any chance you speak about me, you will pay the price.
Inside the carriage, which had become quite dark with the curtains drawn.
Lergio clasped his hands together in a reverent manner and prayed to Eos.
“I will wait to the best of my abilities, Saint!”
***
Disciple Lergio was truly a stubborn person.
No matter how much he was told to get up, he refused to do so easily.
In the end, I had no choice but to pretend to be a real saint.
Whispering quietly to wait obediently, he finally got up and cautiously withdrew.
At the command of the saint, who revered the emperor to the extreme, to the point of forgetting all etiquette and leaving in a hurry, he would undoubtedly wait indefinitely.
A lightning bolt in the clear sky, a saint who unconditionally claimed to be the emperor.
How could such a person become a disciple?
I thought about his two shining eyeballs.
The idea that a madman, if he had belief, could even bring about the destruction of the world, didn’t seem entirely wrong.
Sniff-
In the quiet reception room of the Imperial Palace.
After a while of silently calming his startled heart, he slowly took a sip of tea.
“Have you found the mastermind who tried to poison me?”
The emperor cautiously opened his mouth.
It seemed as if there was a significant determination, as the atmosphere had completely changed from before.
“I haven’t found it yet. Please wait a little longer.”
The Emperor naturally changed the subject, as if he didn’t expect any answer.
“Tomorrow morning, I will summon you.”
It seemed like these words were what he really wanted to say.
“……”
The brief sentence without the words ‘where’ and ‘why’ made it impossible not to ponder the speaker’s intention.
“There has been a clash with the elves at the southern border. The Imperial Army and the elven forces are in a standoff. Instead of tomorrow morning, go there after receiving the seal of approval from the elders. Go and stop the war yourself.”
It was such a bewildering statement.
“……”
Unable to find the words to say, I blinked my eyes for a while.
A clash with the elves…
At this moment, it was definitely something that should not happen.
But what? Am I being told to resolve it?
Thump! Thump! My heart raced.
This overwhelming feeling, as if walking in a deep abyss where nothing was visible, was not because of excitement or exhilaration.
It was because of the intense fear that I could easily die if I made a wrong move.
No. The probability of dying was higher than the probability of survival, which inevitably led to this extreme fear.
Eos Caldevrion.
There is undoubtedly noble elven blood flowing in this body.
However, that was not an absolute condition for establishing a friendly relationship with the elves.
On the contrary.
Weblea, the stepmother of Eos, was an elf with exceptional abilities that only appeared once every thousand years.
She was also the possessor of extraordinary beauty, to the extent that even the renowned elves were envious.
Despite being only twenty years old.
She was the most precious idol of the elven kingdom, receiving overwhelming support and love from numerous elves as the next king.
But she abandoned her homeland for the love of a mere human who hadn’t even reached the age of twenty.
Enveloped in a sense of humiliation that could not be washed away and a feeling of betrayal that could not be erased throughout the elven kingdom, she could only tremble with anger.
On top of the long-standing hatred for humans, how would the elves perceive the fruits of Weblea’s love with a human?
They would probably feel so disgusted that they would want to kill her.
Of course, the perspective of the elven king, who cherished his daughter so much, might be slightly different.
But in the eyes of most elves, I would be nothing more than a detestable target that should be hit as soon as it caught their attention, whether it rained or snowed.
So I would never go.
“I cannot follow.”
“Go. Stop the war with your own hands and come back.”
But somehow, the emperor, with a strong determination in his eyes, stubbornly insisted.
“You must know how much the elves hate me. If I go, it will only lead to war.”
As I continued to refuse, a deep anger eventually appeared in the emperor’s eyes.
“It’s a command. Will you not obey?”
Placing the royal command in my mouth meant that I would eventually face the punishment for breaking it.
“Do not evade the responsibilities of the royal family any longer.”
If I stubbornly refused like this, there was no choice but for me to leave the country.
“Only you can do this in the empire. So go. Save the people who will bravely prevent the war and pay for the sins you have committed.”
From Noble mtl dot com
“……”
It seemed that the emperor had finally decided to abandon me.
It was strange how he had been treating me so well until now……
Like a mother who buys delicious food and new clothes for her child right before abandoning them.
The emperor must have shown me his last favor as well.