Chapter 733

“Yes. Carolus’s collateral line, Median.”

Eleonora nodded as she answered.

“Lineage, legitimacy, divinity, military power, and the support of the electors. In every aspect, she is the most suitable candidate to be the next emperor in this chaotic era. That’s why he explicitly stated that she should ascend to the throne after his death.”

Indeed, there was no one more fitting to occupy the vacant throne than her.

As a collateral descendant of Carolus and a descendant of the Twelve Knights, she had built legendary achievements and fame rivaling the Twelve Knights themselves, making her the empire’s strongest knight. The weakness of being a mixed-blood barbarian was something that could easily be overlooked, especially since she had personally slain Orhan.

Moreover, she possessed the divine blessing of both Elpinel and Astraea and had established favorable relations with most of the elector families, except for the Bien family. Where else could one find such an ideal candidate for the throne?

Landenburg was already set to have her as its new lord, and Pailoon would also support her due to the debt of gratitude for repelling the beastmen invasion.

Given her close relationship with Archbishop Elmain, the electors of the Elpinel and Shaulite Church Orders would also agree. The only one likely to oppose would be Duke Bien.

“It seems she herself has no idea, but if Leopold dies, she will ascend to the throne. Making her queen now is likely a preparatory step for that.”

Since she wouldn’t be able to handle the duties of an emperor without prior experience, it made sense to first make her queen to give her a taste of governance. That was Eleonora’s judgment.

“Hmm… Then we have no choice but to abandon the plan to assassinate Leopold.”

Given the logical and highly plausible reasoning, Belnesia had no choice but to agree.

Even if they killed Leopold, if Ha-shal-leur became the next emperor, their situation wouldn’t change at all.

‘…In fact, it might even get worse.’

The fact that Eleonora was alive was a royal secret. The fact that very few knew of her existence meant that she could be eliminated without any repercussions.

While Leopold was alive, such a thing wouldn’t happen, but if he were assassinated, there would be no need to worry about his reaction anymore.

At that point, they might not just keep her under surveillance but arrest and interrogate her on mere suspicion, or even eliminate her outright.

“The only option left… is to explain the situation to Peirus and demand that he come up with a solution to fix this mess. Since this situation arose due to his mistakes, he can’t ignore such a demand.”

The man who had advised them to lay low for a while to prevent the empire from collapsing had instead awakened a sleeping dragon and destroyed the imperial capital. He wouldn’t have a leg to stand on, even with ten mouths.

======[ Ha-shal-leur]======

After finishing my meeting with Eleonora and returning to the imperial palace, I boarded the carriage I had arrived in and headed to the Exra-shapel Cathedral.

I needed to treat the injury on my left arm as soon as possible, but if Rana saw me with a missing arm, I couldn’t even imagine what might happen. So, I had to choose the next best option.

“…So you came to see me.”

Lacey, whom I hadn’t seen in a while, was half-leaning on a hospital bed instead of sitting in her office chair, handling her duties.

“I thought I’d visit you while I was at it. How are you feeling? I heard you collapsed trying to block the Dragon’s Breath.”

Her dry white hair, pale complexion, and slightly trembling eyelids didn’t make her look well. It seemed like she’d be better off resting in bed rather than working in this state.

Though, considering she had tried the insane feat of blocking the Dragon’s Breath with a holy barrier, she looked surprisingly fine.

I had heard that her holy power had recently surged, but still, how could she even think of blocking something like that? It was beyond crazy.

“Thanks to Elpinel’s grace, I’m almost fully recovered now. Unfortunately, my fellow believers are vehemently opposed to me helping at the relief center, so I can’t assist there.”

Well, who would agree to let a patient lying in bed treat other patients? Even if she claimed to be fully recovered, it was obvious she was pushing herself too hard. Treating one or two might be manageable, but handling dozens or hundreds at a relief center would be too much.

“By the way, I heard you revealed the Holy Mark? The rumor is spreading even within the cathedral. They say the Saintess of Order has appeared.”

“I didn’t reveal it; it was revealed. Listen to me. I just prayed once after seeing the state of the capital, and then the divine light burst out!”

I complained with a tone of utter frustration, but Lacey just smiled.

“It seems Astraea is very fond of her saintess. Can I be a little jealous?”

“This goes beyond fondness; it’s almost obsession. It’s a bit creepy.”

I hadn’t even told Lacey this, but Astraea had even sent me a direct message. This wasn’t the kind of miracle you’d show to someone without a shred of faith.

“It must mean that you are the most suitable executor to spread Astraea’s will on earth. To emit such divine light without even a speck of holy power, that’s a miracle only a true saintess could perform.”

“Is that so…?”

“Yes. I, the foolish one, should probably resign from my position as Archbishop and hand it over to you.”

…No, I wouldn’t take such a position even if it were offered.

I’m already having a headache from being pushed to become queen; why would I want to add more to that?

“Absolutely not. I’m already burdened with a troublesome position; becoming Archbishop on top of that… Just the thought gives me chills.”

“Haha. I was just joking. By the way, show me your arm. You came here for treatment, right?”

Lacey chuckled and reached out to grab my left prosthetic arm. It was more of a wooden stump than an arm.

“Right, just a moment.”

I unlocked the shoulder latch and removed the Ice Blade, then set down the fake left arm that I had been moving with life force techniques. The empty space where my left arm should be was finally revealed.

“The regeneration is happening, but it’s incredibly slow… It must be due to the curse from the Ice Blade that seeped in through the wound.”

Lacey carefully examined the cross-section of my shoulder, assessing the extent of the injury.

“Once we remove the remnants of the curse, the recovery speed will increase significantly. In this state… I think it will take about two weeks to fully heal.”

“Two weeks…”

It was an ambiguous period—long yet short.

“I could restore the appearance right now, but it wouldn’t mean the inside is healed, so you wouldn’t be able to move a single finger. Even a minor impact could shatter the arm. If you need to use your arm immediately, it might be better to look into a prosthetic.”

Lacey, who had been emitting pure white divine light to purify the curse and accelerate the healing, advised softly.

“A prosthetic… Right, I should look into that. Anyway, thanks for the treatment.”

“Don’t mention it. It’s only natural.”

After treating my arm, I exchanged a few more words with Lacey and left the cathedral. Neither of us was in a situation where we could afford to chat leisurely.

—

The next place I visited was Asha’s workshop.

I wanted to ask why the armor and sword I had ordered hadn’t arrived on time and, if possible, request a prosthetic arm as well.

And as soon as I arrived at Asha’s workshop, I immediately understood why my order hadn’t been delivered.

‘…It’s completely destroyed.’

Asha’s workshop, which had been growing larger by the day, was now reduced to a single hastily constructed small building, with everything else in ruins. No wonder the delivery was delayed.

[It takes a long time to build wealth, but losing it happens in an instant.]

Such a philosophical statement didn’t suit the situation.

‘This is no time for jokes. My armor and weapons might have been destroyed along with this workshop.’

I scolded Hersela and pushed open the door to the small building.

“Who is it? We’re not accepting customers right now—Oh, Ha-shal-leur! Welcome!”

Asha, wearing safety goggles and assembling something inside, turned her head and, recognizing me, beamed and hurried over.

“Long time no see, Asha. I was worried you might have been hurt when I saw the workshop destroyed… Glad to see you’re unharmed.”

I waved my right hand lightly as I greeted her.

“Hurt? My body is fine, but my heart is already in tatters…! That unfinished dragon, that wretched creature, dared to destroy my entire fortune…!”

As she spoke, her anger flared up, and she gnashed her teeth with such intensity that it seemed they might break. The deep, dark racial hatred she exuded was reminiscent of Lacey facing a heretic—truly terrifying.

“Uh, yeah. That’s unfortunate…”

I took half a step back and expressed my condolences.

“That lizard…! I will definitely find it, tear it to pieces, and throw it into a furnace. I swear…!”

…I’ve never seen Asha this angry before.

A dwarf who’s lost their money is truly a fearsome being.