Chapter 225

In between, maids and attendants came in to replace the hot water.

Of course, neither Valenciaunos nor Cariosa were the kind of people who felt ashamed to show their nakedness or something equivalent to it to those of lower status.

As flames flickered and extinguished several times, Valenciaunos shuddered in pain throughout his body.

As his heartbeat settled, he felt countless scrapes, as if saltwater were seeping into them.

All at once, his body tensed, and delicate muscles split across his soft, pale skin like that of a child.

Cariosa, observing the pained expression on Valenciaunos’s face, smiled sweetly yet teasingly once more.

“Does it hurt?”

She traced her finger down from just below his chest to just above his abdomen.

Every time Valenciaunos’s nails brushed against his countless scrapes, he gritted his teeth, while Cariosa gazed intently into his eyes.

“Does it hurt?”

His golden eyes were solely fixated on her.

Unknowingly, Cariosa licked her lips once more.

“Valenciaunos.”

With his indifferent white hair and greedy yellow eyes, broad shoulders, and a body that was both solid and delicate, tempered by dragon’s blood on the outside and the essence of spirits on the inside, he was the most noble man in the empire.

“You suit me.”

He had to reach that level to match the side of someone who could become the lord of the East.

“Not yet. Both you and I.”

“Huh?”

“I should have shown you that first.”

Cariosa called over a maid standing to the side and had her tear open the documents Valenciaunos had brought.

“Ah, yes. I should have shown you this first. Is this alright?”

Then, she pressed her forehead and let out a noise of realization.

The document, written in beautiful script, was an appointment letter.

[Recognizing Cariosa Summerlin Asenorta as the ruler of the Nayt Archipelago.]

“Within the empire, you are a duke and the vassal of Jeilliris, but in the Nayt Archipelago, you are an independent lord. Under these circumstances, I must grant you this level if you are to stay.”

“You certainly have a knack for leaving me speechless.”

“I cannot live shackled to some lord after becoming the Grand Duke of the Empire. To possess me, you need to be at least a king.”

“The Nayt Archipelago is the place where pirates are most numerous. I will have to wipe them out, fortify the area, and relocate the citizens for me to act like a king, right? Shouldn’t I ignore the central region for about 40 years?”

Valenciaunos smiled faintly.

His white teeth briefly revealed beneath his red lips before vanishing, and his yellow eyes crescented like a new moon.

There was still tension in his solid neck, and clear bite marks from her could be seen on his long collarbone.

He squinted his yellow eyes as he spoke.

“Are you unable to wait that long?”

Cariosa chuckled, biting Valenciaunos’s finger.

“I’ll finish it within twenty years and return.”

Valenciaunos wore a strange expression that seemed to coexist with the thoughts of attempting whatever he could and “I’ll wait,” and Cariosa stared intently at his face before ordering her maid to fetch towels, warm fresh water, and a shirt.

“I’ll just have the army turn back, and I’ll try to endure as long as I can. To begin with, much of the army will have to return due to vassal control, but when the second anomaly occurs in magical realms, I can probably get the knights to help.”

“Thank you.”

“Go wash up. I’ll give you clothes. Is it painful?”

“Knowing this, you leave me in this state…!”

“I can’t even get up, so wash up as you please. If you need hair oil, use mine. I’ll have the clothes sent later.”

As Valenciaunos left the tent, he turned back three times: when passing the middle fence and when exiting the encampment’s wooden fence.

Each time, Cariosa contemplated whether to order the knights to bring Valenciaunos back.

* * *

Good news spreads quickly, but bad news spreads even faster.

The news that the capital of the great Solletarass Empire had been devastated by anomalies reached the powers across the continent almost instantaneously through agents.

The empire, which occupied the northern part of the vast Southern Continent and amassed wealth by pioneering the southern dark lands beyond the Great Desert.

Sultan Baphomer of the Amir Dukedom selected his words while sipping from his cup.

“The reigning emperor of Solletarass is said to be a transcendent being, but national power is not dictated by a single emperor. If the capital is in this state, it will take at least four years to stabilize, and at least twice that to revive the economy. During that time, the great lords will begin to fend for themselves, and the empire will effectively become a confederation of kingdoms.”

Thus.

“The ones who have long impeded us will finally fall.”

“Sultan. If so—”

“Caesar. We should finally be able to uproot that detestable old fool.”

“We’ll incite the nomadic tribes to weaken the Sycarioius family and the southern houses of the Solletarass Empire.”

The Sultan nodded and commanded that the sacrificial offerings for that day be brought forth.

“Spare us!”

“Ahhh!”

“No! No!”

He drew out a ceremonial dagger for sacrifice and shed his ornate garments.

“Who among you will be the first to embrace the divine?”

As the Sultan of the south prepared for human sacrifice, the great king of the east was preparing for piracy.

“So, the White Shark has left the East to land onshore, you say?”

“Yes, Your Majesty. There are reports that he was gravely injured due to the magical realm incident in the imperial capital.”

“Even if it’s not true, it seems he’ll be tied up there for a while.”

“We need to hastily send troops and citizens to settle in the Three Isles.”

“Indeed. We cannot allow Solletarass to advance any further. This current young emperor will most likely be wary of Cariosa and seek to impede his expansion. This is an opportunity that heaven has granted us.”

“In that case—”

“Gather all the pirate captains. I shall grant letters of marque.”

As the great king of the east prepared for piracy, the lord of the west ground his teeth.

His homeland, the Land of Ransō, had already been invaded by the empire’s greedy great lords countless times.

“This time, we must convey the spirit of freedom and equality to them.”

“The nobility of the empire are essentially not human but of heterogeneous races. The oppression by those heterogeneous races over the common people has not ended there.”

“Let us teach them the spirit of freedom, justice, and equality, true to our human nature.”

The Land of Ransō was a nation of pure humans lacking hybrid nobility of heterogeneous races.

It was a result of thoroughly suppressing heterogeneous beings since they had collapsed a millennium ago.

‘If magical realms are opened in the imperial capital, and the demigod emperor has vanished and hasn’t returned for four months…’

The people’s support was high, and the lord bore the responsibility to meet those expectations.

The lord decided to fulfill both personal revenge and obligations as a politician.

“Prepare for war.”

As the lord of the Land of Ransō began war preparations, the sword king of the Doroysen Kingdom readied for the onset of war.

“My son. You shall go.”

Doroysen was a nation to the west of the empire, facing the Instrumentum amidst a small kingdom in between.

It was a land unsure of when Marcus’s mechanical knights might cross the border.

Fortunately, under the Sword Master King who had lived for 260 years, all the knights and lords were united, but the kingdom was thrown into chaos after the king was seriously injured while subduing the magical realms.

“I’ve heard of Marcus’s downfall.”

“I’ve heard that as well.”

“Recently, a meteor fell. I shall send the troops under the pretext of surveying the borders. You will lead.”

And that internal chaos would be redirected outward.

“I will serve as headquarters.”

* * *

“For a long time, we’ve been slowly devouring the national debt.”

“It has been a time of disgrace.”

“It is time to repay that debt.”

When the crown prince of Doroysen stepped out of the royal castle, the merchant nobles of the Zahan Alliance gathered together and raised a toast.

“To us!”

It was a world in which monetary power was dragged along by military strength.

No matter how much money a merchant earned, if a knight came asking to borrow, he had to lend whatever was requested, with the terms and timing left entirely at the knight’s discretion, and there was nothing to be done if the knight failed to repay.

“The fall of the capital will begin to shrink the exchanges between provinces.”

“That will be the time to infiltrate the empire.”

“The massive market will all fall into our hands.”

South, east, west.

Sultan, great king, sword king, lord, merchant noble.

Power holders across the world descended upon the corpse of the empire.

Yet, what they did not realize was that the empire’s bandit had no intention of dying quietly.

* * *

“I will definitely wipe out all these beasts!”

Rudi watched as Valenciaunos tore the border inspection notice sent by the Doroysen Kingdom into shreds and tossed it into the hearth, then kicked the Doroysen envoy who delivered it away.

He exhaled roughly, and Rudi moved closer and held his hand tightly.

For a moment, the inside of the white gloves felt weakly pressed, but soon returned a firm sensation, and Rudi tried to conceal a bitter smile as she asked.

“Are you alright?”

“Ah. Thank you. I’m alright.”

Valenciaunos was working literally like a superhuman.

He constructed a massive tent city to accommodate hundreds of thousands of citizens from the capital in the blink of an eye.

‘I even led an army of 300,000 before the return. Just think of it as a military camp.’

He scattered promissory notes among merchants to gather grains.

‘Let’s not fear going into debt. If I’ve borrowed this much, I am in charge.’

He stabilized law and order by maneuvering various military factions, including four knight orders, the academy student council, student thugs, the central knights, Marcus and the mechanical knights, and the Changkai of Purioaito.

Good things like rationing and identifying infiltrators were all done in the name of the church or Jeilliris, while oppression and conscription were all done in his name.

‘If I try to protect myself, everyone will target me. The church and Jeilliris need to protect me.’

“Valenciaunos! At this rate, we’ll go bankrupt!”

“Valenciaunos. The supply of sheep to Wyvernfit has been cut off. There are some sheep saved for patients. Can I confiscate those?”

“Your Majesty. Lady Lysena has submitted her thirteenth request for troop movements.”

“Your Majesty. The southern nomadic tribes have begun to show violent movements at inappropriate seasons.”

Rudi felt her head might burst even just listening to such words.

However, she dared not pity her lord.

His cheeks were pale, his eyes deepening, and his gaze becoming grim, but Valenciaunos’s golden eyes still blazed like flames.

“Sister. How ready are we?”

“We received a sign. If we pull an all-nighter, we can dismantle it by tomorrow morning.”

He did not handle the tasks assigned to him inertia.

“Hadrian. First, bring in a loan from the Zahan Alliance. Later, the debts made in my name will be nullified by His Majesty.”

“Understood, Commander. For now, let’s take only half of that lamb and send the wyverns to Wyvernfit in other provinces for a while.”

“Deliver this document to Lady Lysena. It’s 40% of the shares of the largest offshore harbor in the northeast.”

“I’ve already granted permits for fortifications to Marquis Caesar. There must be dukedoms behind him; send assassins. We must show those who dare to look at the empire the bitter taste of harsh punishment.”

He devoted himself to the empire that Jeilliris would govern, as he did for her.

“Your Majesty.

“Rudi. I’m truly okay.”

Valenciaunos repeated those words like a prayer.

Once Jeilliris returns.

“In fact, this mess has made things better.”

“What?!”

“Every great lord has developed a sense of crisis regarding infiltrators, the Corruption Church, heretical beliefs, and the illegitimate offspring of the imperial bloodline.”

“Oh.”

“The hardest part when fighting together is instilling the awareness that the enemy is genuinely dangerous, but that has been successful. Once Your Majesty returns, the empire will unite.”

Rudi unconsciously gulped and asked.

“What about the other kings who are moving now?”

Valenciaunos muttered languidly.

“They were always going to be eliminated eventually. There’s no need to complain about a little advance in that regard.”

It was too serious to be a joke and too light to be sincere.

“Moreover, this entire mess arose due to Your Majesty’s absence.”

“Yes.”

“In other words, once Your Majesty returns, we don’t know what will happen.”

* * *

The greatest dark magicians of the Ivory Tower, researchers of the magical realms, and the finest craftsmen of the royal magic guild, along with the highest-ranking clergy of the church, gathered under the magical realm.

“Today has finally come.”

“You all have worked hard.”

“Whether this will be the end or the beginning remains to be seen.”

I gazed at them, trying hard to suppress the bubbling excitement.

They had achieved a feat in the past three months that would have taken 300 years in ordinary circumstances.

Given that research on space and dimensions had been nearly nonexistent, forcibly opening a closed door from the past wouldn’t have been easy.

“What are you staring at?”

Leading that research was Sererassie.

Indeed, the royal family had to spearhead this research, causing her to perform an unwanted tightrope act between the church, which was a thorn in her side, and her eternal home, the Ivory Tower.

“Out of gratitude.”

Looking up, she shyly smiled with a face more gaunt than my own.

Seeing her genuinely reliant on the staff she usually carried for show made me feel an immense sense of guilt and gratitude.

“You must have truly overturned the capital, to say such a thing.”

Sererassie lightly smiled as she stepped forward with a wide silver plate filled with diamonds and magical circuit designs.

It was a circuit that contained the space magic tricked over the past few months.

The genius magician, framed by the ruined docks, overflowing canals, and ruined buildings, lifted her gaze.

I, Matheos, Lady Trentia, Rudi, Gestarte, all swallowed nervously.

Sererassie lightly struck the ground with her staff.

Sparks flew, and at that moment, a swirling mass of turquoise light in the sky trembled mightily.

Boom!

Thunderous sound erupted, and waves of golden energy surged forth.

Ripples appeared in the sky, and the turquoise magical realm crackled under constraints as that force scattered and disappeared.

“By heavens.”

“Ohhh.”

Kwah-dok, kwak-ji-jik!

Golden energy sliced through the entrance to the magical realm like a blade.

It was as if a golden sword were breaking through the magical realm.

I beamed at Sererassie with a bright smile.

The genius magician who could manipulate not only lightning and earth but also space appeared dismayed.

Her differently colored eyes spun in various directions.

What is happening?

I hurriedly approached her, whispering.

“Sister. What’s wrong?”

Sererassie trembled, her lips fluttering.

“I haven’t done anything yet, have I?”

“What?!”

Then who is doing what over there?

The question quickly emerged and faded.

As far as I knew, there was only one person in this world capable of tearing apart a magical realm like that.

Boom!

A great sound reverberated, and golden energy spread through the sky like waves, drawing circular lines.

The turquoise was entirely devoured, and ultimately torn apart and vanished, leaving the sky above the capital once again a clear blue.

From that sky, my twin slowly descended.

Her sunlit white hair flared like jewels, her golden eyes gleamed as if stealing the sun, and her red lips bore a languid smile.

She was unmistakably my emperor, recognizable anywhere.

“Your Majesty!”

I sprinted towards her, calling out loudly enough for everyone to hear.

In doing so, I would also subtly reveal that I held no lingering attachment to the power I had enjoyed in the past few months.

“Valenciaunos!”

Jeilliris descended directly toward my embrace, and I instinctively opened my arms.

The thought that it was sacrilege to fondly twirl an emperor had already left my mind.

“I’m so sorry. I was so late.”

From her hair came the mixed scent of sunlight, lemon, and black tea, her body felt lighter than I anticipated, and her warmth was as comforting as a dragon or cat.

“Your Majesty, I am grateful just to see you return safe and sound.”

Jeilliris embraced me tightly before looking into my face.

Pride, guilt, gratitude, concern, satisfaction—all emotions flickered across her gaze before dissipating.

“You’ve grown stronger. It must have been tough. I won’t be surprised, so speak honestly. How many years did it take for you to return?”

“Y-yes?”

“To tire someone of your caliber, it would have taken years, no? Was there perhaps a war?”

I squeezed my eyes shut and then opened them.

The inside of the magical realm often had different dimensions of time and space.

I had searched for the core for a week, yet when I stepped outside, mere minutes would have elapsed.

In other words.

The flow of time that Jeilliris perceived based on my complexion must have been indeed over a year.

Jeilliris raised her eyebrows lightly.

“Seeing your reaction, it seems it hasn’t been as long a time as I thought. Then the restoration of the capital will be a bit easier.”

“Restoration… you mean?”

“I shall show you right away.”