novelAlta Chapter 124: God is fair
Chapter 124: God is fair
A secret deal was made between the eccentrics, and the day of National Foundation Day finally arrives.The clear sound of brass instruments echoing beneath the blue sky of the empire announced the start of the festival.
Pollen fluttered brightly through the air, and the parade of the Imperial Knights and Guards, known as the flowers of National Foundation Day, finally began.
The knights lined up in more splendid attire than usual, led by their knight captains, and at the forefront was the successor to the empire, Cantares, riding his horse with majesty.
The parade grew larger as onlookers joined in at the end of the procession.
The people cheered, and Cantares smiled in return.
As the procession finally passed through the palace gates and lined up in the palace’s grand parade grounds, the Lord of the Caerleon Empire, the Emperor of the Holy Empire, finally appeared from the balcony of the specially prepared high seat.
“His Majesty the Emperor!”
The loud cries of knights and nobles filled the palace.
The Emperor responded with a gentle smile and nodded his head slowly.
Arendt, who was at the very back of the procession of the Third Order, recalled the impression the Emperor had made when he paid his respects.
Under the unusually clear weather, the monarch’s robes and staff, symbols of his authority, sparkled in the sunlight.
The Emperor’s face could not be seen clearly because his back was turned to the high sun. Only his slightly bent posture gave an idea of his age.
‘I heard that he was around the same age as Priest Lumiel.’
The silhouette seen from a distance looked older than her.
In the novel, he was an emperor with no presence in a peaceful era…
‘You must have had your own set of hardships.’
That’s what it means to be at the top and erase your own presence.
‘The monarch in these stories is usually portrayed as incompetent.’
Only by mediating disputes, resolving problems silently, and keeping oneself out of sight, could one be called a “peaceful monarch without presence.”
It may be extreme to him, but it was reality to them.
The Emperor would have another story to tell.
As he was thinking about that and just casually listening to the cliche, Arthur poked him in the ribs from the side.
It meant to focus.
The dull moment continued for a while, and the story ended with a blessing that sounded like an idiom. And then, finally, a procession of priests led by the High Priest lined up in front of the Crown Prince.
Priest Lumiel accompanied High Priest Theodore and stood firmly by his side.
As the gray-haired High Priest Theodore folded his hands before his chest and bowed his head, the priests in pure white robes began to recite a prayer.
“…Luce led this land to brightness with the blessing of light….”
Oh my god! Oh my god!
What is God?
A question that seemed like it could come out of a philosophy book kept popping up in a corner of Arendt’s head.
Originally, it was like something unknown in the world, but at least on this one, it wasn’t an abstract concept. Just looking at the pure white light shining on the praying priests, it was like that…
First of all, leaving aside the question of what God was, the divine power emitted by the priests of the Caerleon Empire was said to be particularly pure and was renowned throughout the world.
Was it because they called themselves the Holy Empire, or was it because they were humans protected by the hero Khan that the god Luce literally took better care of them…
Their divine power was stronger than that of priests from other countries, and their ability to handle divine power was also excellent.
In addition, the divine power of High Priest Theodore, who leads them, was said to be unparalleled and unrivaled among them.
While everyone was amazed by the pure white divine power displayed by the priests, Arendt was the only one who watched High Priest Theodore indifferently.
Divine power was a symbol of pure faith.
A power that only exists for those who truly follow God.
‘That old man is quite something.’
After realizing that Chernion’s appearance resembled Luce’s, he was the one who blocked all related information.
Arendt turned his gaze towards the statue of Luce carved out of white rock under the blue sky, visible behind the main hall.
Luce, who was holding a sword and looking down at his people with compassion, simply smiled and said nothing.
God… Yes, well. He could be an absolute being who benevolently looked down on this world.
At least on this stage.
‘That doesn’t apply to me, though.’
Whether it was the god of light or the god of darkness.
To the actor, the closed-mouthed statue was just a prop.
After the ceremony, a magnificent banquet was held in the palace. Beautiful music flowed, the finest wine and food were prepared, and at the same time, the Dragon Hall was opened.
“Wow…”
Everyone was amazed by the dragon’s majesty.
The decorations that displayed Neumann’s aesthetic sense also played a part in creating the atmosphere.
The walls of the hall where the dragon was displayed were hung with tapestries reenacting stories of ancient warriors, and golden dragon statues and candle holders decorated the hall splendidly.
And the great knight who had slain the dragon… Laius de Winfried was surrounded by men.
“You really are amazing for fighting something like that. Can you tell me more about it?”
“…Sorry, I’m working.”
“It’s okay. Feel free to chat.”
Although Laius expressed his discomfort, the Crown Prince appeared quietly, smiled, and squeezed his shoulder.
“Welcome, Your Highness.”
“In the series of events that have occurred, our knights have done very great things. Sir Laius de Winfried, in particular, has been very active, though he is still young.”
Cantares laughed, putting strength into his hand that was on the captain’s shoulder to keep him from leaving. Laius gave him a look of resentment, but of course he ignored it.
“Even without that, the fame of Sir Laius had spread to our kingdom. I would like to hear more about his exploits. Also, could you tell me more about the story of the evil god’s reappearance?”
“Captain Laius is a humble man, so if it’s okay with you, I’ll speak on his behalf.”
As soon as Cantares said that, people started gathering in twos and threes with their eyes sparkling.
Laius whispered in a small voice.
“…Your Highness. I know it may be presumptuous of me to ask, but who taught you such things…”
“Who else could it be? Your proud apprentice knight.” Chapters fırst released on novelhall.com
“…”
Laius couldn’t help but swallow a sigh at the obvious answer.
Cantares, who had changed his expression and made a serious face, began to tell his story in earnest.
“We will probably be formally documenting this and sharing the information with our allies soon, but I think it would be a good idea to give you a brief update in advance.”
It was impossible to perfectly copy his skills, but it was possible to at least give the old-fashioned and blunt captain some credit.
‘He said it was a play or something.’
Without having to come up with such a grand reason, that’s what politics was all about.
And there was one who stood back and watched all this… the apprentice knight, Arendt von Eckhart.
‘It seems like things are going well.’
People’s attention was focused on Laius, and Cantares conveyed the necessary information to foreign officials with efficient speaking skills, and occasionally even listened to each and every story the other person told.
Everyone who settled here was a big shot.
Every single word could become information.
‘I was a little worried that Captain Laius might say something useless.’
That also seemed to have been a learning experience.
Although Laius showed signs of discomfort, he was doing his job by nodding at the Crown Prince’s words or occasionally adding comments.
Although he was old-fashioned, he was not a dull person.
Although he didn’t like the idea of being credited for things that weren’t his own, he realized that that was Arendt’s intention.
He must know that only by drawing attention could Arendt move more freely.
‘That kind of sacrificial spirit is truly worthy of a protagonist.’
Everything went smoothly.
Except for just one thing.
“Hey, you’re really scary.”
“What is it?”
“Your story is completely missing from there.”
Llewellyn, who had come up to him without him noticing, began to exclaim in admiration.
The guy who’s been following him around and babbling since earlier was honestly just annoying.
“Well, that’s true. I don’t really like that kind of thing.”
“Then what do you like?”
“Money.”
Llewellyn burst into laughter at the answer that came back without a moment’s hesitation.
“What the heck? You’re being so honest.”
“I like to stand out and be the center of attention, but I hate wearing clothes that don’t fit.”
Arendt waved his hand.
“Shouldn’t you be going to the captain’s side rather than me? You were wondering who defeated the dragon.”
“Of course, Captain Laius is a great person, but I’m sure we’ll have a chance to talk separately someday.”
Llewellyn drank the champagne in his hand in one gulp.
“The clothes don’t fit… I don’t think so. Do you really have no intention of coming forward?”
“Of course. It’s better to be in the shadows to do dirty and deadly things.”
When the main character was in the spotlight, the supporting actor’s job was to quietly hide in the shadows at the corner of the stage.
The main character of this story was, after all, Laius.
“So stop following me. I’m on duty.”
The Imperial Knights were attending the banquet as escorts for the guests. However, since a foreign prince was following Arendt around, the number of strange glances was increasing.
“You don’t like it? Why should I stop? Anyway, I have nothing to be afraid of anymore. I’ll do whatever I want. Oh, do you want a drink?”
“Didn’t you hear that I’m on duty? What are you going to do? I could cause a scene right here, right now. I’ve heard that I’m crazy, so it’s not worth making a fuss here.”
“He’s truly a great kid in so many ways.”
What scared him was that it didn’t sound like a joke.
Arendt turned his attention away from Llewellyn and looked back at the banquet.
In a magnificent hall, there were ladies and gentlemen adorned with jewels of all kinds, and distinguished guests from all over the world were conversing to the refined music created by the best musicians.
‘Good.’
In particular, Arendt liked the look in the eyes of his seniors who were looking at that damned bastard (him) who might have an accident at any moment… and the flustered faces of some familiar nobles who quickly turned away as if they had seen something disgusting.
At that moment, the entrance to the hall became noisy.
Arendt and Llewellyn also looked up and looked in that direction.
“His Majesty the Emperor is entering. Everyone, please pay your respects!”
Those near the door quickly bent down.
Llewellyn also quickly put down his glass and straightened his posture.
Soon the Emperor appeared in the hall, leading a group of attendants, and it was naturally Cantares who stood at the front to greet the Emperor.
“Hello, His Majesty the Emperor, Lord of the Caerleon Empire.”
As he offered his respect first, the other people enjoying the banquet inside also bowed and placed their hands on their hearts.
Arendt followed them, but also glanced up to examine the Emperor’s face.
‘Philip Al Caerleon.’
This was Arendt’s first time seeing him up close.
The gentle smile on his face showed wrinkles that naturally reflect the passage of time.
Cantares seemed to have inherited his beautiful black hair and blue eyes, but the Emperor had a gentler air than the Crown Prince, who was still young and sometimes gave off an overbearing air.
“Make yourself comfortable. I have no intention of disturbing you.”
His tone of voice used to appease people was also like that.
The emperor gently dissuaded the guests who were offering their services and looked around the hall carefully as if looking for someone.
And after a while, the monarch’s gaze fixed on one place.
“Uh?”
Llewellyn, who was nearby, made a dumbfounded sound. Arendt also furrowed his eyebrows slightly with a hint of bewilderment.
The emperor was looking straight at him with a kind smile.
It was a moment when something unexpected happened while everything else was going according to plan.