195. TA
●
Actually, it was a pretty enjoyable social gathering for the emperor.
Because of the dragon blood curse, a chronic disease that eats away at the body, the emperor’s external events are quite limited.
The fact that I personally attended the hero selection ordeal a while ago was due to the importance of the event, but I was originally in a position to lock myself in the imperial palace and only follow the advice of my doctor.
In that respect, even though it was a place filled with dark-hearted ghosts, it was a pleasant experience for her to come out to such a place.
Music playing, strong drink, greasy food and people talking.
Due to her limited stimuli of all kinds, these are always new experiences that give her unknown pleasure. I can’t give up
“Did you enjoy the party, Your Majesty?”
Sure.
Sounds like that just a while ago.
The soft smile on Cecilia’s 11-year-old face was wiped away by the voice she heard next to her.
From noble mtl dot com
“Bogut.”
“I’m sorry I borrowed your new friend on my own.”
It’s etiquette or something, it’s like talking to a friend.
So, just casually sitting in the seat in front of the emperor, you can see his ‘informal’ tendency.
It would be possible to punish by asking for blasphemy, but neither the Emperor nor Bogut cared about that.
The core of the Council of Elders.
The head of the imperial faction who gathered ‘everyone’ except for the Chancellor faction and the Imperial faction.
It’s a fact that Bogut himself and the emperor all know that he is the owner of power that could tear the entire empire into pieces if they were openly attached.
“This is a gift, Your Majesty. It must have been difficult to come this far.”
While the emperor looked at Bogut in silence, the words fell out.
“Breath of the mistletoe. It is a liquor called the treasure of the Far East of the Empire. At least it will do enough to relieve the pain.”
“…”
From the outside, it doesn’t look like wine at all, but it has a mysterious blue color unlike ordinary alcohol.
The liquid that flowed from the uncorked end of the wine was slowly filled into a glass placed in front of the emperor.
“So.”
Bogart said in an even voice.
“When are you going to fight?”
“…”
“Civil War. I’m going to try to raise one sooner or later.”
The emperor’s expression twisted.
‘…He’s pretty crazy.’
I already knew that the trend of the elders’ meeting, led by this man, was unusual.
However, I didn’t expect to reveal such an intention so calmly.
“Oh. Why are you looking surprised?”
The Marquis Bogart tilted his head and said.
“You already knew, didn’t you?”
Cecilia’s 11-year-old face twisted.
“…I don’t know what you mean.”
“Mr. From the beginning, it was the intention to use that side as a chess piece.”
“…”
“Your Majesty didn’t approach that side with pure intentions, did you?”
Those words fell one after another to the silent Cecilia.
“You made a wonderful composition once. Poor emperor. The head of the Council of Elders who is plotting an evil plot to devour the country. If someone I don’t know sees it, I’ll be fooled.”
“…”
“That man is especially weak to those who show kindness to himself first. If you recognize that he is a person around you, he is a person who cannot survive without being protected somehow. Aren’t you aiming for that? Cunningly. Like he digs into the weaknesses of others.”
Still, on the subject of putting a smiley expression on her face.
It is a series of verbal abuse.
The remarks that go beyond blasphemy and make you choke are pouring down all the time.
“…A monster that moves for a ‘purpose’, you are the same after all.”
Cecilia XI didn’t give a specific answer.
Instead, I just picked up the bowl Bogut had brought and emptied it all the way to the floor.
Seeing that, Bogart opened his mouth again.
“How brave you are, Your Majesty! After all, he has the spirit of a master of the empire!”
“…”
What kind of reaction is this? As the emperor narrowed his eyes and looked at the other person, other sentences flowed out one after another.
“What would you do if I was poisoned or something, to drink what Silence put out without question!”
“…Well.”
Cecilia, 11, sighed and replied.
“No matter how much you are, there is no way that you would commit such a heinous thing-“
“A lie.”
Before the emperor’s sentence was finished, the words fell out.
It was a bogut whose smile had been erased from his face.
A face with nothing on it.
Except for the light in her eyes that makes the air around her feel heavy just by meeting them.
That gaze scanned the emperor’s bare skin that was slightly protruding from the outside of his clothes.
Precisely, the glimpse down there.
A blood vessel that has been eroded by a curse and has turned dark.
“I thought I drank because I could do anything as long as I could erase that curse.”
“…”
Cecilia XI did not answer.
“Honestly, did you just not care if there was poison in it or not? After all, you can only last a month at the longest.”
“…”
To the end, the Emperor did not answer.
I don’t even feel the need to deny it.
“…Thanks for the gift, Bogart.”
Instead, he left those words behind and stood up.
“And let me give you a piece of advice to our Emperor, who cares so much about himself.”
As the emperor turned his back and tried to get out of his seat, those words continued to fall.
“Do you know what is the biggest factor that has allowed the Council of Elders to grow in power like this, Your Majesty?”
“…Have a good evening.”
The Emperor ignored it and tried to move on, but the other person didn’t seem to have any intention of stopping him.
“It’s a red night situation.”
“…”
“The reaction of the imperial family at the time was the worst. If the Duke of Tristan hadn’t bowed to the Guardians first and begged for help, he wouldn’t know how far the Red Devils would have burned the Empire.”
“…”
“Thanks to such a lack of leadership, there must have been quite a few nobles who felt distrustful of the imperial family. Those guys are all attached to the Council of Elders.”
Anyway, it doesn’t seem like he’s going to let go.
The emperor sighed inwardly again.
“What do you want to say, Genga, Bogart?”
“No. His Majesty is really curious about what will be different from back then.”
Bogart continued with a grin.
“The red night will come soon. Again. Even more… Flashy than before.”
“…What?”
“Perhaps, if I start a civil war, it will be around then. Even before”
“…”
The Emperor’s expression went blank at the proud declaration of rebellion.
“…”
He’s crazy.
There is no other way to express it.
At the emperor who was making a fish-eye expression, Bogut winked slightly.
“Please take good care of me.”
Bogart spat out those words as he gulped down his wine.
It’s an elegant look.
Undoubtedly.
It was a gesture that only those who went mad with clear eyes could make.
●
[…So, why are you coming out alone like running away?]
In the carriage leading out of the imperial palace, Caliban whispered those words.
It wouldn’t be so wrong if you saw me riding in a wagon and running out as soon as the social gathering was over.
“There are a lot of things I need to prepare… But the start is just around the corner.”
[Still, there are people who followed you to the imperial palace because of you.
You mean Elnor and Elijah.
Certainly, if you act alone like this without saying a word to that side, you will be scolded later.
Still, there are reasons for everything.
“First of all, my schedule is busy. It’s unreasonable to ask you to follow all of that…”
I have to shoot Elfante within two days and move on to Seonghwangguk right away.
First, I want to ask Walter, the dean of the Divine Faculty, for one thing.
For the second time, go to the Holy Kingdom and ask Archbishop Luminol for one thing.
And more than such a busy schedule.
“…Elijah strangely avoids me.”
In this main quest, anyway, he’s the main character, so I tried to prepare him straight.
It feels like he stubbornly refuses to meet at all.
I don’t think I did anything wrong, but why?
‘…I don’t think it matters much, but,’
It is ambiguous to even call the third ordeal actually an ordeal.
Unlike the previous ordeals that involved terrifying activities such as being thrust into a dungeon or thrown into the middle of a forest infested with monsters, this is literally all about ‘inspection’.
Is this person really someone who can’t die even by touching the holy sword? A close examination of it.
There is nothing I can do to help.
[…Well, I saw it myself, so it’s not impossible.]
“Yes?”
[Because I saw both things that made me feel good… And things that broke my heart at the same time. Probably not insane Leave it alone.]
“…”
I’m not sure what you’re talking about.
As I was tilting my head, Caliban smiled and opened his mouth as if telling me not to pay attention.
[So, what are you preparing this time?]
“…Well, there are a lot of things to do.”
Didn’t Archbishop Luminol play a lot of pranks on me throughout this ordeal?
Revenge for that… I’m going to prepare a ‘stage’ to use in the final ordeal.
While thinking that, I fiddled with the lion head breastplate in my chest.
Because without your help, it’s going to be pretty hard to put this into the red devil.
[…]
“…Why?”
I throw a counter-question at the silence that comes back with a rugged look even though he answered the question in earnest.
Caliban replied in a voice filled with displeasure.
[If you dare to answer the second question, the first question is that you don’t want to say much either. Yes?]
“…”
[Maybe he’s trying to do something with my breastplate that he brought back from the imperial palace. If you’re going to find that weird guy who’s doing something like Walter, you’re trying to give it something.]
“…”
[Tell me. You’re thinking of doing something with my mementos. You’re trying not to tell me what to decorate.]
“…”
I heard that Seodanggae recites the Poongwol in three years.
Befitting the person who hangs out closest to me, he knows all about my inclinations.
It’s scary, scary,
“…”
Actually, I don’t mind talking about it.
I feel like I’m making this guy do some nasty things.
Just as Valcassus and Caliban were applied to the Soul Linker, a breastplate should also have a ‘catalyst’. So I can use it the way I think.
The problem is that there are conditions that must be preceded for that.
＜ Iten Info ＞
[ ▲ Tatiana Grazel ] [ Processed ]
[ Specialty: Curse ]
[ Form: Spirit ]
[ Machining Options ]
▶ Subordinate to Familiar
▶ Applies to items as enhancement materials
▶ Resummoned in full form (disappears after 1 use)
“…”
I let out a sigh as I looked at the window floating in front of me.
“Hey, Caliban.”
[Hmm?]
“…Have you ever trained a woman?”
A terrifying silence was transmitted from within the Soul Linker.
Continuing to talk without paying attention.
“…Look at him, that, what. Do I have to use it through ‘education’?”
[…]
“I need your help.”
[…I feel it all over again.]
Caliban replied in a subdued voice.
[You seem to be getting further and further away from being a real human bastard.]
“…Always be wary of the influence of the Fallen Seal-“
[No, I don’t think that’s the problem.]
“…”
[Even if you didn’t have that, you’re not just a human child.]
Stop talking harshly.
He is not human anymore, now he is the storm that is aproaching.