“Have you awoken, Your Majesty the Emperor!”
“Sniff…finally, finally have you awoken, heart of Astes.”
The heart of the Empire, Emperor Agares von Astes, slowly registered the lifting veil of darkness.
“Your Majesty Agares!!”
Agares slowly raised his right hand.
“Could you…please shut up? It’s so noisy….”
The men’s voices calling for the emperor abruptly fell silent. After a brief moment of silence, the whispers of the retainers began anew.
“It’s really His Majesty the Emperor!! He has completely come to his senses!”
Such frivolous words could not be believed to come from the emperor’s mouth.
But the retainers were overjoyed to hear it.
After all, Emperor Agares had always had a rather playful demeanor.
“I said quiet….”
Agares mumbled weakly as he quickly gathered his thoughts.
“How long have I been asleep?”
At Agares’ question, Marquis Kairos, who was to his left, immediately spoke up.
“Well over six months, Your Majesty.”
“…Is that so.”
Agares took a deep breath.
The emperor’s wrinkled face furrowed deeply.
“I’ve left the Imperial Throne vacant for too long.”
The most important matter came to mind.
His body was aging, and the speed at which his mind worked was slowing down.
So he had been planning to hand over the throne soon. But right after making that resolution, he had lost consciousness for nearly eight months.
“Call for Schwarze and Brigitte.”
“Understood.”
In the emperor’s palace, a few individuals began to gather in that grand location.
Only a handful of nobles had heard the news that Emperor Agares had regained his senses.
With the Empire quiet, the emperor felt that now was the time to tie the knot on the succession of the throne.
Brigitte stole a glance at Duke Yuma walking beside her, his black coat billowing as he ascended the stairs.
Despite the magnificence of the palace adorned with countless golden embellishments, the man with a rather bored expression examining the world remained reassuring.
But there was an entity that halted Yuma’s dignified stride.
“We pay our respects to Duke Yuma, the Grand Marshall who defends the Empire.”
The knight guarding the palace bowed sharply.
Kuwa—boom!
No, all fifty knights before the emperor’s palace knelt on their right knees as a show of respect.
It was in honor of the Grand Marshall who protected the Empire.
“However, you cannot enter this place. Only Princess Brigitte may enter.”
The utmost show of courtesy perfectly separated the formalities. And from the royal perspective, it was only natural.
Yuma gestured with his chin towards the door.
“Go ahead.”
“Sure, I’ll be back.”
Brigitte entered inside.
*
Brigitte gazed at her older brother, who sat on the left side, two years her senior. The 26-year-old First Prince Schwarze.
The Prince.
“You’re here early.”
“Yeah.”
Schwarze replied nonchalantly.
“Don’t worry, just because Father has awakened doesn’t mean I’m suddenly interested in the Imperial Throne I’ve already given up on.”
Schwarze continued his words.
“I’ll admit it. I lost to you.”
Princess Brigitte silently listened to Schwarze’s words.
It seemed like Schwarze didn’t expect a reaction from her either.
Thus, the two siblings waited in silence for their father’s call.
Creak—
About five minutes later, the door opened, and Marquis Kairos, who had always been like the right-hand man of Emperor Agares, made his entrance.
“Both of you, His Majesty has summoned you.”
Brigitte and Schwarze stood up at the same time, without bothering to argue about who would go first.
They opened the door and entered the Emperor’s chamber.
Silver hair.
Agares, with his overly long hair slicked back, scanned the children he hadn’t seen in a while.
“It’s been a while, Schwarze. Brigitte.”
Agares looked back and forth between the two.
Both Schwarze and Brigitte leaned in closer to Agares.
“Are you alright, Father?”
Brigitte examined Agares’ wrinkled face.
“How is your health, Father?”
Schwarze scrutinized Agares’ body.
“Yeah, while waiting for you, I heard from my vassals. A lot has happened while I was unconscious.”
Who conveyed everything that had happened in the Empire to Agares?
Right now, in the Emperor’s chamber, aside from the two royals, all other retainers and officials had withdrawn. Only one attendant remained by the Emperor’s side.
Schwarze and Brigitte simultaneously looked at a nobleman. It was the one who had just opened the Emperor’s chamber door, and also a high-ranking noble who had been present at the last Seat of Prophecy.
It was Marquis Kairos.
Brigitte slightly furrowed her brows.
‘If Marquis Kairos has conveyed the happenings in the Empire…’
There was a high probability that the news of Duke Yuma defeating God Incrinew had also been transmitted.
Agares slowly opened his mouth.
“Yuma.”
And he mentioned the name of a man.
“Who exactly is he?”
Agares gestured towards Marquis Kairos with his chin.
“Kairos told me. His unbelievable achievements.”
Two months.
It had been a stormy time for both Yuma’s group and the Astes Empire.
“The fact that they shattered the Empire’s greatest force, the Ten Pillars of the Empire…”
Agares’ gaze turned towards First Prince Schwarze. Schwarze, with his blonde hair, lowered his head deeply.
Beside him, Brigitte also shook her white hair and inclined her head.
“The unavoidable bloodshed that occurred during the two of your power struggle… Yeah, I guess we’ll just brush that aside for now.”
It was a matter of Master-level experts from the Empire falling in battle.
It couldn’t possibly be such a simple issue.
However, given the current situation, the Emperor judged that it was better to set it aside for now.
It was the Emperor’s judgment.
Since the time he halved the Ten Chosen.
So many things had happened in the Empire, things that an existence named Yuma had accomplished.
“After killing the previous Ten Chosen under the one who tried to dominate the city of Arkan, the Sword God Chronos.”
“He single-handedly killed the Black Dragon that swallowed the body of Count Rubelt and pretended to be the Count, devouring the local populace.”
“He defeated the Conqueror King Kament and eradicated over 400 of his warriors alone, leading the war against the Barbarian Nation Pineon to victory.”
“The one who killed the God Incrinew, whom this Empire had trusted until now. Is it really true that all these achievements were made by that Yuma?”
The Emperor, who had awakened after eight months, asked.
Princess Brigitte slowly opened her mouth.
“It’s true.”
Brigitte uttered what she had to say.
Not to her father, but to the Emperor of this Empire, Agares.
“Yuma, he is my sword, Your Majesty.”
“Hmm…?”
Agares clicked his tongue.
“My beloved daughter.”
There was majesty in Agares’ blue eyes.
Royal blood.
The charisma of the bloodline that governs the nation.
“A sword can be called a sword only if the owner can control it. You cannot become the owner of this Yuma.”
Agares sighed.
“Nobody in this Empire can be the owner of that person.”
Brigitte fell silent.
Because the Emperor’s words were true. A plain fact.
“I must treat him as a benefactor.”
“…What?”
As words she never expected came from Agares, Brigitte made a rather astonished sound.
Agares continued without caring.
“Brigitte, did you come here with that Yuma?”
“Yes.”
“Let him in.”
There was no hesitation in Agares’ decision.
Creak—
And according to the Emperor’s will, Yuma entered.
Step by step…
His steps were dignified.
Gray hair. And resembling the royal blood of the Astes Empire, those ‘blue eyes’ looked deeper with a darker hue etched within, imprinted in Agares’ mind.
Agares raised the corners of his mouth.
“Are you Yuma?”
Yuma nodded.
“Yeah.”
Still, it was before the Emperor of the Empire. As a modern person, he tried to bend his knees and bow, but his body did not respond.
<Noble Dignity>
– In this world, you are the most noble existence.
– A noble person does not bow before anyone.
The trait of nobility had not taken a break at all.
“I am the Emperor of this nation, Agares.”
“You are Yuma.”
“Have a seat.”
Yuma sat before the Emperor.
“Nice to see you, Grand Marshal of the Battlefield. It brings me great joy to have someone like you in the Empire.”
Agares gazed intently into Yuma’s eyes.
“I believe it is because of you that I was able to awaken from my deep slumber.”
“What do you mean?”
“God, Incrinew.”
At Agares’s words, the eyes of the three others, excluding Yuma, widened.
“My loss of consciousness was the doing of that god.”
Agares continued, retracing his memories.
“A weary body over sixty years old. Fatigue was a daily occurrence. But that day, my body was unresponsive, as if standing before Medusa. Then I heard someone’s voice echoing in my head.”
– Emperor, let me rest for a moment.
– There might be some bloodshed, but ultimately, it will result in the Empire gathering exceptional talents.
– By the time you regain your senses, the next Emperor will likely be determined.
– One of the two will be dead.
– The First Prince and the First Princess could both be dead, leaving you to choose among the riffraff.
At the end of those incomprehensible sentences…
“My consciousness faded.”
Agares turned his head toward Marquis Kairos.
“If Marquis Kairos’s explanation is accurate, then logically, that sinister voice echoing in your head would belong to God Incrinew.”
Yuma used the Search Eye skill to observe the Emperor and Agares.
[Lv.62] Agares von Astes
Race: Human
Alignment: Neutral
Class: Emperor, Swordsman
Rank: Intermediate Sword Expert
Innate Traits: Royal Blood, Pressure, Special Perception
It seemed that he had indeed regained his consciousness properly.
There were no elements of concern.
Curious about what Special Perception was, he pressed to find out that it was the ability to have exceptional intuition.
The power to distinguish whether a person would be helpful or harmful to him.
‘Looks like that doesn’t apply to gods.’
Agares looked at Yuma and continued speaking.
“I would like you to stay by Brigitte’s side.”
At Agares’s words, Brigitte’s shoulders trembled. She likely didn’t expect such a sudden statement from the Emperor.
During the time Brigitte and Schwarze were coming, Agares was in a state of inner reflection.
After hearing from Marquis Kairos about the conversation between God Incrinew and the First Princess Brigitte at the Seat of Prophecy.
And after confirming that Kairos’s recounting was true through magical communication with Duke Balzac, he was able to easily decide on his successor.
“I will step down from the throne of the current Emperor and allow the situation to unfold.”
This time, all three of them, excluding Yuma, trembled in their shoulders.
“Brigitte will become the Empress of this land.”
“…Father.”
Brigitte’s pupils shook violently.
It was already a predetermined matter. However, the weight of it being declared directly from the current Emperor made all the difference.
It was the moment when the next Emperor was decided.
