Chapter 274

(274)

“Yes, Your Majesty. I will bring it from the office now.”

“Oh, I had indeed asked to leave it there. Then that settles it. I will go.”

We moved from the reception room to Jeilliris’ office.

The office, which had been bustling with various officials during the day, was quiet at this hour.

I didn’t know exactly what day it was, but it was likely near the end of the year or the new year, as everyone seemed to have left early.

Luxury candles and magic tool crystals emitted a soft light, and through the large glass windows, the view of the capital unfolded.

Bright lights lined the main street, and well-dressed men and women were walking hand in hand, gazing into each other’s eyes as they strolled.

Although it was hard to see clearly from this distance, they seemed to be quite fascinated by the sight of all the bright lights.

If such a crowd gathered, the constables must be on high alert for pickpockets.

Ah, how dreadful it is to think such thoughts while admiring such a beautiful scene.

I shook my head slightly to banish the distracting thoughts and asked.

“Are those… streetlights?”

Jeilliris nodded.

“Yes. Do you find it somewhat appealing? It collects light during the day and emits it at night. It also has a slight power to ward off the energy of corruption.”

Her voice was languid yet satisfied.

“Now, the darkness of night will not instill fear in my citizens.”

I smiled brightly, impressed.

“No one in this world besides Your Majesty could achieve such a feat.”

“Haha. Yes, of course.”

In a cheerful tone, Jeilliris reached under her desk and retrieved an elegant wooden box.

In that instant, the boisterousness from a moment ago faded away like smoke, and a tremor not befitting her voice crept in.

“I must say in advance, I did not make this from start to finish. This was my first time with such magic. I also borrowed content from a thesis written by a mage from the Ivory Tower and one from the Magic Guild in the Imperial Palace, as well as from Duke Sorelazie.”

“Since they are all Your Majesty’s citizens, everything made by them is Your Majesty’s achievement.”

I replied as usual, and Jeilliris frowned slightly as if she didn’t like something.

“!”

I was horrified to realize that the answer I had relied on for the past 40 years was ineffective, and I analyzed what she had just said again.

Only then did I realize what I had missed.

“Moreover, I am deeply moved by the fact that Your Majesty has put thought into this for me.”

I said nervously.

If this were not the case, I might get slapped for being overly self-conscious, and my head might spin.

I’m not joking; some of those who claimed to be close to Jeilliris before my return had actually died in such a manner.

Thump thump.

I suppressed my heartbeat and watched Jeilliris’s reaction.

She subtly turned her body.

The hem of her black dress stirred gently in the wind.

“Ha. It’s not that great. I just felt bad every time my expensive uniform was torn to shreds when I went into battle, so let’s not think about other things.”

Her golden eyes shone brilliantly, and her voice was clear yet chilling.

Anyone would think she was declaring a war.

But I noticed that her earlobes turned slightly red, and I could see her blood flow stabilizing, presumably due to the manifestation of blood magic.

I made every effort not to, absolutely not, smile as I opened the wooden box.

* * *

A gasp of astonishment escaped my lips.

“Oh my….”

Inside the box was a white uniform.

The uniform itself was slightly fancier than the one I was currently wearing.

But the magic imbued in it was something I could not fully comprehend even now.

Jeilliris gazed out the window as she spoke.

“I have already relinquished my armor, but the truth is that when a real war breaks out, I will only need to be on the front lines. You have always stepped up and burnt yourself out to suppress the calls to battle before then.”

The defensive and empowering magic was inferior to that of knight armor.

“It seems that since you dress so formally every day, it means you require authority when you step up.”

However, the core magic I felt from this uniform was not enhancement but restoration.

“Thus, I have put some effort into it.”

Tsu tsu tsu.

As I slowly touched the uniform, it was as if the threads unwound and seeped into my body, as if the ‘Invisible Hand’ gauntlets I wore had been turned into clothing.

“Rest assured, with this flame resistance, you will be fine even if you unleash flames; you will not find yourself naked, and even if it is torn and damaged, it will mend itself. It will even restore your body.”

“Excuse me?”

“Even if your head is severed, at that moment the clothing will cling to you and weave your flesh and veins together.”

I had heard that there was a similar magic tool among the divine artifacts of the Eastern Continent.

But that was literally a divine artifact, something directly made by the God of Radiance or the ancients.

The Holy Emperor Jeilliris declared resonantly.

“I will not allow you to die where I do not know…”

However, that declaration was cut short, and she cleared her throat once more.

“No. That is enough. I do not need to speak in a roundabout way… I wish for you to return alive. Even if you are broken, torn, and tattered, I will somehow keep you alive, and I will hold onto your soul if it tries to depart your body; I wish for you to return only alive.”

The candles in the office were not very bright, but Jeilliris’ face was reflected in the glass like a mirror.

She looked down upon her city, Solentalouon, as if it were a delicate glasswork that could shatter at any moment.

I shifted my gaze to a vertical stance and summoned the energy of incantation, while also drawing up the power of Az adequately.

“Is it you?”

Jeilliris turned to me, and I met her golden eyes directly and spoke.

“Your Majesty, I will not keep you waiting long.”

Jeilliris lightly swallowed her breath.

Her sharp, hazel eyes flickered like a candle in the wind.

I slowly opened my mouth.

“Though it may be awkward to say it, it feels as if the position of royal noble is one that continues to bear debts.”

The debt to Sorelazie for staying up night and day researching for me, the debt to Rudi who mastered martial arts for me, and the debt to Lady Trentia who risks her life for me.

“However, it seems this debt can only be repaid with victories, not tears.”

And the debt for having lost to you that day.

“Your Majesty, I will become stronger.”

I had realized that I could greatly enhance the power of flames using shards of Az.

After a few practice rounds, I should be able to handle it quickly.

Could it be that one day, I would stand beside you?

I dared to dream such a dream.

Jeilliris smiled again.

“Yes, I will not keep you waiting long.”

Her red lips formed an arrogant arc, a very, very languid smile.

“Oh, there’s one more thing I wanted to say.”

With a light nod, silver hair swayed, and amidst the large snowflakes falling from behind the glass, Jeilliris cast a shadowy and cunning expression on her face.

“Yes?”

I reacted like a fish hooked on a line, and in that moment, the bell tolled far away in the cathedral.

The sound of the bell was so loud that I could not hear her voice properly.

“Happy birthday, Brother.”

So those words were surely a figment of my imagination.

* * *

The New Year’s mass had just ended.

Jeilliris had returned to the Imperial Palace first, and I decided to stay at the church to handle a few things.

“Duke Valencius! I love you!”

“Duke Valencius! May the blessings of the Lord be upon you!”

These were not the words of the construction guild leader who had bribed me to secure contracts, nor were they from court nobles who had bribed me for royal transport businesses, nor from law uniform nobles who had bribed me for employment.

One side was the Pope who had once tried to burn me at the stake, and the other was the Saint who had sent the Holy Knights to imprison me.

“Haha. I am truly humbled that the great representatives of the Lord have elevated this humble servant so high.”

Pope Argos gazed at me with wise eyes.

“Your Grace, what a humble remark! Thanks to you, the grace of the Lord can shine brightly over Doroysen and the minor kingdoms beyond.”

Interpreting that, it meant that because I had effectively half-destroyed Doroysen, I had been able to wrap all the churches and parishes of the Western region, which had been in a state of semi-independence, under my control.

“Furthermore, we have recently signed an agreement with the highly devout Republic of Lanzo and can share prayers and sacred objects with the brothers and sisters there; days full of joy await us.”

Interpreting that, it meant that because I had defeated Lanzo, I was now holding the leash on the Archbishop of Lanzo, who had been acting freely, and was able to seize advanced prayers and sacred objects.

“You even brought back sacred objects as a symbol of reconciliation and peace, and have donated them to the church like this. How could one not admire your devotion? The students of the theology department will be very pleased.”

Argos pointed to a winged spear and some mass-produced sacred objects reminiscent of Lanzo’s scriptures placed on one side.

I had never expected that such a stern-looking old man could smile so brightly.

Interpreting that, it meant that due to my plundering the sacred objects from Lanzo, the ongoing research on sharing divine power and the enhancement plans for purification magic at the Academy had made significant progress.

“Haha. I do not know where to put myself at the praise from Your Grace.”

It seemed that this exchange had reached a point, and Matteo subtly opened his mouth.

“Your Grace, the research on sacred objects that has been conducted independently has yielded some results. The first method is a reverse field approach, but it still needs more research, while the second method can be implemented right away.”

“Oh! What is it?”

“It is a method of collecting divine power through the gaze of radiance and radiating it around.”

As soon as I heard those words, Jeilliris’ streetlights came to mind.

“If combined with the streetlights Your Majesty is currently installing in the capital, we should be able to achieve good results. With that light, the evil hordes lurking in the night will suffer greatly!”

Corruption is even scarier because it progresses gradually among ordinary people.

If the divine power is spread around to prevent ordinary people from becoming infiltrators, then the number of newcomers to the corruption cult would decrease, and they would slowly wither away.

Matteo nodded.

There was a hint of discomfort in his gentle gaze, and I quickly opened my mouth.

“This discovery was made within the church, so affairs of the secular world shall be handled by the imperial family. Let the imperial family take care of everything from manufacturing to guild matters and academic cooperation with the Academy.”

As soon as I finished speaking, the Saint and the Pope both sighed in relief.

“Thank you, Your Grace.”

There have been many priests in history who tried to engage in trade using sacred objects and ended up losing their divine power.

Even for the greater purpose of fighting against infiltrators, the very attempt to analyze and mass-produce grace given by God was blasphemous.

Even now, there were considerable voices in the cathedral worrying that Matteo might lose his divine power.

Thus, it was my duty to shoulder such matters and take the blame and any potential divine retribution if something went awry.

There were things I needed to ask as well.

“Saint, my sister has recently acquired two rare items for research. They may be related to the recent emergence of the great evil, and she is likely to present them to many priests, but may we expect a bit of leniency in discernment?”

Matteo’s face stiffened.

“Hmm…”

I was quite a powerful royal, and the presence of the High Priest Infiltrator who had withstood my ominous aura was being watched very closely by the church.

However, if I were to seize that arm and purify it, it would certainly make Sorelazie cry, bring down lightning on the cathedral, or bring out lightning while crying.

He wore an expression of difficulty for a moment, and I pulled out a piece of parchment from my pocket and handed it to both of them.

“This is a proposal from my sister to the church.”

Pope Argos’s eyes widened at the amount.

“It is too great a sum to refuse.”

We laughed amicably while drinking fragrant and expensive tea.

Yes.

As we converse and negotiate like this, we can solve any problem one by one.

Thus, those who cannot communicate should be roasted.

* * *

“Your Excellency, the High Priest!”

“Oh! Your Holiness!”

“Is it true that Duke Valencius has become so powerful?”

“Blasphemous words, but perhaps you, Your Holiness, as well…”

The High Priest stumbled, seemingly about to collapse as black smoke and powder poured from his entire body.

Red flames, like a dragon’s tongue, viciously burrowed deep into the body under its master’s will.

The hulking priests supporting the High Priest also emitted smoke from their hands.

The High Priest spoke in a sinister voice.

“Little Solletarass has become too powerful.”

“Then.”

“As always, Solletarass must be dealt with by Solletarass.”

One of the priests cautiously spoke up.

“I will arrange a meeting with Justianus, Your Excellency.”

The High Priest nodded.

“Then do so.”