CH 148

Yulec Yuno, the captain of the gatekeepers who defend the holy city of Torra, was walking along the castle wall to check the status early in the morning. The Imperial Capital had never been threatened since the start of the Eternal Rule, but now was not the time to be immersed in such complacency.

Even Captain Pavan Peltere of the Order of the Capital, Yulec’s distant superior, was on edge these days and urged him to stay on his guard at all times. It was the first time that Yulec had seen Captain Pavan Peltere on edge like this ever since he joined the Imperial Army.

As was usually the case in the military, the worse the mood of the superiors, the more sensitive the subordinates would become as well. The subordinates of the Imperial Army were also aware that the situation of the empire was quite unusual these days.

‘I can’t believe that His Majesty is returning.’

Yulec shook his head unconsciously. The fact that His Majesty was returning felt so unreal that people had made a saying in areas that were distant from the capital: ‘the emperor will jump to his feet.’ There were even people making shallow jokes on the periphery of the empire. Most citizens of the empire were already accustomed to an emperor who sat on his throne in complete silence. For this reason, most ordinary people like Yulec were concerned that the empire might fall into chaos when the emperor returned.

“Yulec!”

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Yulec heard someone call out his name from behind—It was Tyr, Yulec’s colleague who joined the military at the same time as him. Unlike himself, who joined the gatekeepers, Tyr was a talented friend who joined the First Division of the Imperial Army, directly under the Order of the Capital.

“Long time no see. What’s up? As far as I know, your position is way too prestigious for you to be keeping guard,” Tyr said.

“Long time no see, my ass. I saw you just a few days ago. And, I’m not keeping guard; I’m checking on the guards. The superiors are so on edge these days that any soldiers who are caught dozing around foolishly during guard duty might be killed.”

“Ah, because of that rumor about the emperor or something?”

“Yep. Have you heard anything about it?”

“Nothing other than the nobles wanting to punch the Regent and the Church dispatching two knight orders to figure out if the rumor is true.”

“Everyone knows that already. Come on, tell me if you know anything else. I need some room to breathe, man.”

“I don’t know much either. It’s the same for everyone, including our superiors as well. That’s why everyone is so nervous. No one is scared of a piece of glass that is easily seen—it’s the hidden pieces that people are scared of.”

“Hurry up and fuck off if you don’t know anything interesting. Why did you even come here in the first place?”

“Oh. Because the Order of the Capital is planning to send soldiers to find out the truth about the rumor as well. While they have already sent out the knight order, both the Church and the Order of the Capital are confused, since both the knight orders stopped reporting all of a sudden.”

Yulec’s face distorted upon hearing Tyr’s words.

“The Templars stopped sending reports?”

“Yeah. Why?”

“You dumbass. This is why the superiors are acting like dogs suffering from hemorrhoids! Do you think it’s normal for the knight orders to stop reporting all of a sudden? Military is a place where people freak out even if an ordinary soldier is just an hour late!”

Only then did Tyr make a perplexed expression.

Upon seeing Tyr’s expression, Yulec thought, ‘how did this guy become a soldier of the First Division that is directly under the Order of the Capital?’ Yulec figured that Tyr must have incredible talent to make up for being dumb.

“There’s no way that a knight order led by Templars would be wiped out. Besides, the knight orders that had been sent were no ordinary knight orders. They were the Order of the White Lotus and the Order of the Black Lotus.”

“That’s precisely why the situation is even more chaotic. Damn it… We are going to be hella busy for a while. You’d better get it together as well—at least until we know where the knight orders are at right…”

Yulec couldn’t finish his words; he noticed a group of horses approaching in the bright morning sun from the east. Being the captain of the defense force, Yulec was skilled enough to quickly figure out that there were about thirty horses in total—a number that matched the numbers of Templars in a knight order led by Templars.

“You may not need to be dispatched. I think the Templars are returning,” Yulec said.

“Wait. Seriously?” Tyr joyfully asked and stuck his head out as well.

Tyr could also see the group approaching the walls and smiled; he was glad he didn’t need to be dispatched. Then Tyr tilted his head in wonder as he counted the numbers of the horses.

“Why are there only thirty of them? Shouldn’t there be sixty since two knight orders were dispatched?” Tyr asked.

“Come to think of it, you’re right.”

Yulec and Tyr’s expressions changed from time to time as the horses got closer to the walls. The Templars weren’t sitting on the horse—rather they were lying on top of the horses like corpses. When the group finally came close enough to the walls that Tyr and Yulec could recognize their condition, Yulec pushed Tyr’s back with a stiff face.

Only then did Yulec and Tyr realize that they were the first ones to witness the worst news of the Capital.

“Tyr… immediately go and report to someone… be it someone from the Church or one of your superiors… tell them that the knight order… no, I don’t even know who they are… but tell them that thirty knights were turned into ashes and then loaded on the horses and sent back.”

***

“...All thirty of them are alive?”

Helmut groaned. It was right before breakfast when he heard the news. It was good news that the Templars had returned, but they looked like human-shaped piles of ashes rather than humans. It was difficult to even identify who each Templar was, since they suffered from full-body burns while wearing armor.

They would have certainly died if it wasn’t for the Grace that had been granted to them. However, Helmut couldn’t tell whether or not the fact that they were still alive was fortunate, considering their terrible condition.

“What about the Order of the Black Lotus?”

The Priest who delivered the news shook his head at Helmut’s question. The most terrible piece of news that the Priest had delivered to Helmut was that the Order of the Black Lotus that he had sent to kill the fake emperor did not even return at all. It was difficult to expect the return of the Order of the Black Lotus, given the condition of the members of the Order of the White Lotus, who were sent back relatively peacefully.

“Who the hell is this bastard!” Helmut shouted in anger.

“There was something that one of the Templars said; however, it was barely intelligible,” the Priest spoke cautiously.

“And what is that?”

“Well…”

The Priest looked perplexed as if it was difficult for him to say anything. When the Priest told Helmut what the Templar had said after hesitating for a long time, Helmut made a dumbfounded expression, almost as if he had been hit in the head.

The words that came out of the Templar’s mouth were brief, but they were enough to shake Helmut’s base beliefs as a Pope.

“Who else heard his words?” Helmut asked in a trembling voice.

“...the Saintess heard them and commanded me to report them to Your Holiness.”

Hellmut collapsed on the sofa.

It felt like his whole world was collapsing—the world that he believed would never be shaken no matter what type of crisis came to be.

***

The news of the return of the Order of the White Lotus quickly swept through the Capital in just an hour. The Church tried to keep the news a secret, but the story about a knight order led by Templars being dispatched to find out about the returning emperor was one of unprecedented interest.

The return of the Order of the White Lotus couldn’t be concealed, and the Saintess Ivy Isildin moved faster than anyone else.

“Please hand me a new bandage.”

The underground ward of the Church was full of Templars who were groaning in pain. Lenly handed over the cut bandage to Ivy. Ivy removed the old bandage that had wrapped around the Templar’s wounds, causing thick pus and blood to cover Ivy’s hand. But Ivy continued to replace the bandage as if it wasn’t a big deal.

“Saintess, perhaps it is better to use a healing Grace rather than touching such a thing…”

“The healing Grace doesn’t work well on burns anyway. Burns need to be kept especially clean.”

The other Priests didn’t seem to like Ivy’s comments, since pointing out the limitations of Grace was the same as pointing out the limitations of the Priest who used that Grace.

However, Ivy didn’t even budge and even frowned upon seeing the Priests’ reactions.

“Please go back if you don’t intend to help.”

The Priests hesitated but did not go back, since they were people who wanted to come under the banner of the Saintess who was growing in power. When Ivy scolded them, the Priests eventually began to take care of the Templars as well, despite their hesitation.

Ivy sighed upon seeing such a sight. Sitting next to Ivy was Lenly, who was expertly wiping off the pus being released from the wounds of a Templar and replacing a bandage. Lenly already seemed to be accustomed to this kind of work that involved taking care of the wounded knights.

“Did you hear about what happened, Captain?” Ivy asked.

Lenly listened to Ivy in silence.

“The knight order attacked the supposed emperor. No one knows how it happened, but their spears broke like canes and the power of their Grace turned into flames that engulfed them the moment they attacked.”

“It must have been terrible,” Lenly answered.

“I can’t even imagine what it would have been like. I’ve seen the charge of a knight order led by Templars several times before, and to me, it seemed impossible for anyone to be able to block them… I heard that all thirty of the Templars are suffering greatly from the burns. The Priests had been sticking around to try and heal them, but they say that the Templars probably won’t be able to hold a sword ever again in the future.”

“I’m sure everyone already knew the risks and expected such injuries.”

“...I suppose so. They are Templars, after all. But I highly doubt that they expected their opponent to be the emperor… the fact that the opponent injured the Templars to this extent, while still sparing their lives means that he is a man with a lot of power and skills. It also means that the opponent could have easily overpowered the Templars without hurting them so much like this.”

“Some people think that receiving mercy embodies weakness,” Lenly continued speaking quietly. “The opponent probably could have sent the Templars back without such serious injuries. Maybe even a loud shout would have brought the Templars to their knees too, just like how His Majesty spoke through your voice.”

“Are you talking about the time I first met you at the Imperial Palace, Captain? I have no memory of that time.”

“At that time, His Majesty certainly borrowed your body and spoke to me—that’s the reason I am standing by you to protect you.”

“Then why didn’t His Majesty do that again this time…?”

Lenly fiddled with the handle of his sword and opened his mouth.

“His Majesty said that he would only give a warning three times.”

“You mean the prophecy about the lies, sword, and the walls? Back then… it was a little different. I was still conscious and felt like I was speaking without even realizing that I am. Maybe that really was a prophecy…”

“I heard that the previous Saintess occasionally made such prophecies as well. Perhaps that’s what happened to you, too. The two destroyed knight orders may have been referring to the first part of the prophecies.”

“Are you saying that the Templars are a lie?”

“No, it’s the Church.”

Lenly didn’t even hesitate before claiming his suspicions about the Church. The Saintess was speechless since Lenly’s meaning was very clear.

“You’re not saying that we, who serve His Majesty, are wrong… are you?”

“His Majesty didn’t create the Church. Neither did he write the scriptures, nor did he teach the Templars. All he left behind was the empire, the knights, and the people. Maybe it’s time that we go back to that era.”

The Church and the Templars serving the emperor was something that was already rooted deeply throughout the empire. The people all over the empire were already used to the Priests wielding the power and the Grace granted by the emperor, and the Templars fulfilling their duties more actively than the Imperial Army.

The world without the Church and the Templars mentioned by Lenly was something unimaginable to Ivy, who had just turned twenty this year.

At that moment, Ivy was startled by someone who suddenly grabbed her hand—it was a Templar whose face was severely damaged from the burns. However, Ivy was soon able to recognize the identity of the Templar.

“Captain Dembel? Captain Dembel, are you awake?” Ivy asked.

Dembel mumbled some incomprehensible words. Ivy hastily brought a Priest to use a healing Grace around Dembel’s chin so that he could speak. Because a Grace was only granted with the permission of the Pope, Ivy was not granted any Grace.

Dembel mumbled while letting out a groan as soon as his tongue was recovered with the help of the healing Grace.

“I don’t need slaves… or thieves who take advantage of stolen power…”

“Dembel? What are you talking about?”

“You must all stop imitating gods… and put down everything that you have stolen…”

Dembel murmured and barely managed to continue speaking.

“...Go back to being humans.”

***

The traces of soot on the exterior walls of the Magic Tower looked as if ink had been sprayed on a white canvas.

Juan looked at the traces left behind from a room located in the periphery of the Magic Tower. Juan had thought that innocent victims might have suffered from the flames earlier, but Entalucia’s breath control was exquisite enough to minimize damage—not to mention the Magic Tower’s walls were strong enough to provide some protection.

The only victims of the flames were the Templars from the Order of the Black Lotus, who were all turned into lumps of charcoal.

At the same time, there were no complaints or protests from the Magic Tower about the damage. Rather, they began to study the scorched traces on the walls with joy, since they felt that they had obtained rare research data.

Juan turned his back against the window. Now that the warning has been sent, the Church would have no choice but to start moving. Juan had already sent a message to Nienna, Hella, and Anya.

“Then…”

Juan found this situation funny.

“Shall we commit treason?”