return – 2
‘Has there been an incident that the emperor himself sent a letter to at this timing?’
I pondered over the contents of the story, but nothing came to mind. In the first place, the emperor shouldn’t have been interested enough to send me a separate letter at this point.
I’ll just think of it as a moderately talented knight and move on, and then gradually move on to keeping an eye on him as I progress through the related story.
I didn’t even have the confidence to handle the emperor’s erratic personality and words and actions from the beginning to the middle of the story. It was definitely wrong, but I don’t know where it went wrong.
“Can I open it like this and check it?”
“okay. Before looking at the contents, be careful not to reveal it to us first. Ah, you know that the seal of the emperor must not be damaged, right?”
He stopped his fingers trying to remove the seal. Aurora, who saw my finger standing tall, closed her mouth as if she was speechless for a moment, then paused for a long time before muttering in an absurd voice.
“… … I did not know?”
“I didn’t know.”
“The letters bearing the emperor’s seal mean that His Majesty took charge of the entire process. From choosing stationery, to writing, to sealing the letter, and even the process of stamping. So, never damage it. I’ll keep it and return it when I have an audience with His Majesty the Emperor.”
“What if I lose something?”
“Do you want to hear it?”
“… … I’d rather not listen.”
I politely gave up. Aurora said that, but I didn’t want to look into the abyss just to satisfy my curiosity.
“It’s a pity that he gave me a word just in case. If I just skipped over it, it would have been really big trouble.”
Aurora rubbed her chest. I felt the same way. I never thought that mines could be hidden in a place like this. Moreover, it is not an ordinary mine, but an anti-tank mine.
There was no way I could have known the details, such as saying that the emperor’s official seal should not be damaged, and that it would be fine to keep it well and return it when you meet the emperor later.
I moved my finger more carefully. Gently tore off the emperor’s seal, placed it on the table, and untied the knot of the red string wrapping the parchment.
‘Do I have to return this string later?’
I stared at the string in my hand and put it down next to the weaver. It was just in case you didn’t know. If you take this as it is, at least you won’t lose anything.
A scroll made of parchment was a classy item even at first sight. It had a bit of elasticity that slightly bounced up when you touched it, but it was much softer than paper.
I want to know what springiness is on paper, but at least that’s how I felt.
“Wait. Isn’t there some kind of etiquette that we must follow when opening or reading this book?”
“Not very much.”
“Oh, are you really there?”
“Each and every action to be shown in front of His Majesty is determined by the norm. How to breathe, how to kneel, where to put your eyes, things like that.”
“… … .”
Suddenly, I felt like my throat was choking. The way you breathe and roll your eyes in front of the emperor must also follow the rules? really?
“However, those things only apply when you have an audience with His Majesty the Emperor directly in the imperial palace. You don’t have to worry about that here, so there’s no need to be nervous. You can just read anything. Instead, don’t treat it too lightly.”
“That is fortunate.”
It was a sincere statement.
I grabbed both ends of the rolled up parchment and slowly unfolded it. Letters painted in black ink caught my eye on the slightly ocher-colored surface of the paper.
ㅡGo to the Holy Land. Caecilia Libanus.
“… … ?”
I doubted my eyes for a moment.
As if three or four A4 sheets were attached vertically, only two sentences were written on the long parchment. There were even more characters combined with the emperor’s first and last name than the number of characters in the text.
I looked more closely at the parchment to see if I was looking at it wrong, and I pulled the scroll all the way to see if there were more letters written at the top or bottom.
But really, those two sentences were the end. An order to go to the Holy Land, and Caicilia’s own full name.
“What is it about, so serious?”
Aurora asked a sneaky question. The other knight commanders seemed to be curious about the same thing, but since it was a letter sent directly from the emperor, they didn’t seem to dare to ask.
“uh… … Just in case, is there any magic that hides the letters and reveals them only when certain conditions are met?”
“Well? i’m not a wizard There’s no way I know that. why? What is it about?”
I handed over the parchment without a word. Aurora, who received the parchment, read it and opened her eyes just like me, then made an expression that was half mysterious and half absurd.
This time, it was the knight captains’ turn to answer their questions. Aurora also turned over the parchment with a complicated face, and the knight commanders looked at it once and made the same expression.
The silence that settled in the living room continued for quite a long time. Around the time each cup was emptied and refilled twice, it was Aurora who broke the silence and spoke first.
“Could there be something more?”
Aurora picked up the parchment with a face full of emotions she might be feeling right now.
“No matter how you think about it, at most, there is no need to write and deliver a single word of order to go to the Holy Land. There must be something more here.”
“I am of the same opinion, my lord. I think it would be more accurate to attribute some magical treatment to this letter.”
Iris affirmed that. It seemed that the thoughts of the rest of the knight commanders were not very different.
“Then, the first question is this. Why are you asking me to go to Raphaella’s kingdom?”
This time the reaction was mixed.
Aurora and Iris looked like they had no idea why they were in the Holy Land, while Claudia, I, Rize and Erica had expressions that reminded me of something.
I had to talk anyway, and maybe now is the right time. The decision was made quickly. After exchanging glances with each other for a long time, it was Erica who eventually carried the gun.
“Maybe it’s because of what we’ve been through.”
Erica told us everything that happened right after we defeated Arachnainera.
While trying to find an antidote for Claudia, who was poisoned, Stella, the Heresy Judge of Rafaella Castle, and her combat nuns appeared.
The fact that Stella declared us heretical and surrounded us with battle nuns.
Then, saying that he was a heretic, he unbuttoned his holy clothes to reveal his breasts and secrets, and when it was determined that I was not a heretic, he said that he could not admit it and made me knead his chest.
Lastly, after telling me that I felt divine power, I went crazy and cured Claudia and told her to come to the Holy Land because she would let me meet the Pope of the Sun.
Even after the explanation was over, Aurora and Iris were silent for a while.
“… … Erica, to sum up your words.”
Suddenly, Aurora held her forehead.
“Delta was judged heresy by the Heresy Judge of Raphaella’s kingdom, and the method of judgment was to reveal her clothes and massage her breasts. Is this sound? Before that, you uncovered your clothes and showed me your nipples and pussy?”
“I’m a little concerned about the words you used, but you saw it correctly for now.”
“Is that woman called the Heretic Inquisitor a pervert? Or do you have exhibitionism or something?”
Even Aurora herself, who said that, was far from normal.
The dress exposed her side breasts, collarbones, and even her armpits, and she didn’t wear a single piece of underwear under it. There was no persuasiveness even if I tried to talk like that.
Besides, didn’t the knight commanders also wear lingerie that matched their own hair color and translucent see-through dresses that showed off their bare skin?
‘It’s like saying that it’s holy clothes.’
Not only Aurora, but the other knight commanders didn’t raise any questions about Erica’s calling it holy wear, a crazy outfit that would expose her nipples and secret parts intact if the wind blew.
From my point of view, it was fifty steps and one hundred steps.
“If the Heretic Inquisitor promised to allow us to meet the Pope of the Sun, it is highly likely that the Holy Land has already delivered the news to His Majesty the Emperor. So His Majesty must have sent this letter too.”
“So fast? It will take a long time from the place where we subdued the monsters to the Holy Kingdom… … .”
“Maybe something counted. Among the highest level magics, there is space movement magic, so even divine spells—”
“Exactly.”
A third person’s voice was heard from somewhere. It was the first voice I heard.
Reaction was quick. The knight commanders drew their weapons in an instant and aimed them at the source of the voice, and the maids immediately clung to Aurora and wrapped their bodies around her.
By the time I barely reacted and started to move, the knight commanders had already finished preparing to fight.
“Who is it? This is the mansion of Lord Aurora. If you do not reveal your identity, I will consider you an enemy.”
In front of the huge window in the parlor, stood a woman wearing a gray and silver robe pulled over her head. The curvature of the body was clearly visible even over the puffy robes.
“Please drop your weapon. I am not the enemy.”
“It will be up to you. I won’t speak long. show up The conversation or whatever will happen after that.”
“… … All right.”
A slender hand in a leather glove headed for the robe that hid her face. The soft sound of taking off the robe was heard, and the rich gray ponytail hidden under it spilled down the back.
Her purple eyes caught the light from the chandelier and glowed purple. Jaan, like a jewel, slowly passed us by. There was no hostility in that gaze.
“My name is Selene.”
The woman opened her mouth with an expressionless face.
“I am the Heretic Questioner belonging to the Pope of the Moon.”