Chapter 560

That day, the nobles gathered in the audience hall of the Imperial Palace couldn’t take their eyes off the woman standing next to the Emperor.

A black-haired female knight dressed in the Empire’s knight uniform. With her rare dark skin and fierce blue eyes that gleamed like a wild beast, she exuded an aura so sharp it felt like she could cut you just by touching her. She was a beauty unlike any other.

In this era, there wasn’t a single noble who didn’t know her identity.

The Sword of the Starry Sky, Count Median.

The greatest contributor to making Leopold the Emperor and the Empire’s strongest swordsman stood before their eyes. By her side was Jin, her longsword, which had become her symbol.

This alone was proof that she enjoyed the Emperor’s complete trust and favor.

According to Imperial law, anyone other than the Emperor’s personal guards being armed in his presence was considered an act of treason.

Thus, allowing her to be armed in such a setting was a clear sign that the Emperor trusted her completely—enough to stake his life on her.

“Count Median… has she returned from the Holy Kingdom?”

“I heard she arrived in the capital, but I never expected her to appear at a political meeting…”

The nobles, unable to hide their shock, huddled together and whispered about her sudden appearance.

Even those who knew she had returned to the capital hadn’t anticipated her showing up at a political meeting.

“A woman who doesn’t even tend to her own territory… what business does she have here?”

The Hersela they knew was a typical warrior with little interest in politics. Unless it was directly related to her, she rarely appeared before the nobles.

In other words, her presence at the meeting was a clear sign that something related to her was about to be discussed.

“…What do you think, Duke Bien?”

“Hmm… It seems His Majesty has a matter he wishes to push through.”

Duke Bien gazed at Leopold seated on the throne and let out a thoughtful hum.

He had a fairly clear understanding of Leopold’s intentions. By bringing Hersela, who had just returned, into the meeting, Leopold was signaling his intent to push through an agenda the nobles would likely oppose.

‘…It would be best to accept today’s agenda and move on.’

Duke Bien wasn’t afraid of Leopold, but he was wary of Hersela.

A madwoman is unpredictable, and doubly so when she’s strong enough to take on an army single-handedly.

It was best not to provoke her. If confrontation was unavoidable, at least avoid making an enemy of her.

When she was just a master-level swordsman, she was one among many, and even when she defeated the Beast King, she was still just an individual with limits.

But now, she was a force of nature—a typhoon or tsunami wearing human skin. It was wiser to avoid her than to confront her.

‘She’s a natural disaster. Not someone to oppose, but to avoid. She has no interest in politics or power, so as long as we’re careful when she appears, that should suffice.’

Having already given up on opposing her, Duke Bien could calmly observe her, unlike the other nobles.

Soon, the political meeting began.

======[ Hersela ]======

The meeting was tedious. Leopold, as discussed the day before, emphasized the need to strengthen their military forces in response to Rotholandus’s warning and declared that he would grant the Imperial Diocese the authority to form a Holy Legion.

Naturally, the nobles opposed this. They argued that there was no reason to grant such authority to the Church in a place that wasn’t the Holy Kingdom.

Of course, since Lacey was also present at the meeting, no overt criticism was voiced.

Anyone with even a passing interest in current events knew that after Lacey went to the Holy Kingdom, the Church factions that had opposed her were completely crushed.

Moreover, while Lacey was merely a saintess of a single Church Order in the Holy Kingdom, in the Empire, she was the Archbishop who had unified all nine Church Orders.

With such a woman glaring at them, no noble would dare to openly criticize the Church and risk being burned at the stake.

Thus, the nobles used every rhetorical trick in the book to express their opposition in the most roundabout way possible.

“Your Majesty, the duty of a priest is to serve God. It is the responsibility of us lords and knights to eliminate threats to the Empire. While we understand your concern about the enemy’s movements, if you trust us, we swear on the honor of the Empire’s nobility to devote ourselves to eradicating the Empire’s enemies.”

On the surface, it sounded like the words of loyal subjects willing to sacrifice everything for the nation, but in reality, it was a plea to lift restrictions on their private armies rather than empower the Church.

“I am well aware of your loyalty. However, granting the Imperial Diocese the authority to form a Holy Legion is a condition set by the Holy Kingdom for normalizing diplomatic relations. It is a matter I must approve given the current situation. You all know how foolish and reckless it would be to wage war without priests, do you not?”

No noble could oppose Leopold’s explanation. They didn’t dare.

If they carelessly voiced opposition and risked ruining the recently restored diplomatic relations with the Holy Kingdom, they would undoubtedly bear the full brunt of the blame.

In any case, they were experts at self-preservation.

Thus, the agenda to allow the Imperial Diocese to form its own Holy Legion passed as Leopold and Lacey intended. The specifics of the military’s size would require further discussion.

The next agenda was to mobilize all men in the Empire as reserve forces and train them regularly.

It was an agenda I had proposed, but it was difficult to implement hastily.

The Imperial family couldn’t afford the cost of leading such an initiative, and shifting the burden to the nobles would likely lead to demands for expanding their private armies.

“It is a matter requiring significant expense… but you all just swore before me. You pledged to devote yourselves to the Empire with the honor of the nobility. Thus, I trust that you will willingly make this sacrifice for the Empire’s well-being.”

Leopold seemed intent on shifting the burden to the nobles while preventing them from demanding concessions in return.

If this agenda had been brought up first, it would have been impossible, but during the discussion about the Holy Legion, the nobles had already given Leopold the justification he needed to pressure them.

“Y-Your Majesty, but that is…”

“Hmm? What is it? Surely you didn’t make a false oath before me?”

The nobles were caught between a rock and a hard place.

While it was a rhetorical expression, they had sworn to devote themselves to the Empire, and now, if they argued for their own interests, it would be as if they had lied before the Emperor.

Of course, under normal circumstances, the nobles would have shamelessly brushed off such rudeness. Even if they changed their stance, Leopold lacked the power to punish them, and Duke Bien, the head of the noble faction, would have defended them.

But the situation was different now. A powerhouse capable of slaughtering everyone in the room within seconds was glaring at them with blazing blue eyes.

Yes. That would be me.

I stood next to Leopold as he had requested, exuding a faint killing intent to lend authority to his words.

If Leopold gave the order, I was ready to turn the nobles into ghosts on the spot.

I was deliberately controlling the intensity of my killing intent, so they only broke out in cold sweat. If I had unleashed it fully, they would have wet themselves, fainted, or even died on the spot.

The nobles who had been about to argue shut their mouths tightly the moment they met my gaze. For some reason, even Duke Bien remained silent.

“It seems there are no objections. As the ruler of the Empire, I express my gratitude for your boundless devotion. You are truly the exemplars of the noble bloodlines that govern the Empire.”

Leopold smiled triumphantly, as if daring them to voice their complaints. It was less a sincere commendation and more a mocking gesture, given that he had orchestrated the situation.

The nobles had to exert all their effort to suppress their twisted expressions.

“Your nobility and loyalty will be recorded in the Empire’s history and passed down to future generations.”

With the Empire’s Greatest Sword backing the Emperor, no one could oppose him.

The nobles, sensing the immense loss they were about to incur, turned as pale as patients with incontinence trapped in a building with no restroom.