Episode 141
The task of destroying the Holy Sword was meant to fall to Charlotte Orhart in the future. It was a promise she had made with Dale when they were young. But circumstances had changed.
Dale turned his head away from the hero’s sword, which lay askew on the table.
“Since he appeared before me on the battlefield, I had no choice but to kill him. It was either him or me.”
“I’m not blaming you,” Charlotte replied, shaking her head.
“It’s just that you were quicker than my sword could reach him.”
”…”
“Can I ask you something?”
Charlotte’s question was met with a nod from Dale.
“Did the Holy Knight die painfully?”
“He must have. Watching his Holy Sword shatter and his noble house fall… he would have died slowly, in a hell of body and mind.”
“I see.”
Charlotte nodded bitterly at Dale’s response.
“Even the greatest genius of the Empire couldn’t be bested. From the first time we met, it was clear.”
Charlotte continued, “In the end, all I could do was rely on you, from start to finish.”
It was a past so distant that even they could barely remember it. Yet, how could they forget that day?
“Under the name of Saxon, you protected me, and under the name of Saxon, you defeated our Orhart family’s enemies… I promised to become stronger for you, but even that strength came from you.”
Charlotte laughed self-deprecatingly, in a world where she could change nothing by her own power.
“Still… thank you.”
Dale remained silent.
“Without you, I wouldn’t have been able to grasp anything.”
For the first time, she revealed her own inadequacy, unable to hide it. Silence descended like a feather.
In that silence, Charlotte gently took Dale’s hand. Her hand was as cold as ice.
“I’ve already sworn to dedicate my life to you and the Saxon family. I’ve done so until now, and nothing will change in the future. That’s the debt I owe you.”
Charlotte spoke.
“Even so…”
At that point, Dale understood the meaning of her hesitation. He simply knew. Her turmoil wasn’t something that had developed overnight.
“You want to leave the Saxon family.”
”…”
“You’ve come to seek your lord’s permission as my knight, haven’t you?”
Dale asked. Charlotte bit her lip and nodded silently.
“Then this is goodbye.”
“You’re letting me go just like that? Without asking why?”
“Because I trust you.”
”…Alright.”
The emotions she harbored weren’t selfish actions of someone who had finished their business and had no more use for him. Her anxiety, her secret hope that he would stop her, were akin to those of an adolescent girl.
The distance between them had grown so vast since then.
“Yes, I see.”
Seeing Dale’s response, Charlotte smiled bitterly. After smiling, she quietly stood up.
“When you call for me again, I’ll come running for you and the Saxon family without hesitation.”
“Yes, I know.”
“So, I’ll wait until then.”
A promise without a set date. With those words, Charlotte rose. The lace of her dress fluttered softly.
“Until you need me again.”
She turned her back.
Unintentionally, the image of Sepia turning her back on Dale overlapped with Charlotte’s retreating figure.
Even as he watched Charlotte’s back grow distant, Dale couldn’t reach out.
He could have stopped her. Just calling her name would have been enough. But he didn’t. Why? He didn’t know.
In the winter night, he recalled the memory of the sword that had felled Sir Bardel, the Holy Knight.
The endless chill and darkness filled the winter night world.
The next day, Charlotte was nowhere to be seen. She had left behind the custom-made black armor and sword of Saxon and quietly disappeared from the castle.
To those who were bewildered and searching for her, Dale simply said there was no need.
Sistine Papal State, the Holy City of Pucelle.
In front of St. Magdalene Square, the highest-ranking priests of the Goddess Church had gathered at the Apostolic Palace.
The Lord Heaven, who stood at the pinnacle of the church and the White Tower, along with twelve cardinals and the handmaidens of God, who were affiliated with the White Tower as ‘mages’ rather than clergy.
They had gathered here for one reason only.
The sacred relic of the first White Tower Master had been destroyed, and the perpetrator of this disgraceful act was none other than the successor of the Black Tower, the ‘Black Prince.’
“This is an unforgivable blasphemy against the church as a whole!”
“Moreover, the accursed Shadow Church has allied with the Black Tower, a wickedness so vile that even the depths of hell would be insufficient!”
One cardinal spoke, and voices of agreement followed.
“But, given the war, it might be somewhat inevitable for the Goddess to claim the lives of her servants…”
In the midst of this, Cardinal Nikolai couldn’t hide his discomfort and was sweating profusely.
“Cardinal Nikolai, are you defending the blasphemy of the Black Tower?”
“N-no, I merely meant to approach this unavoidable situation more rationally…”
“Rumors are circulating that you are involved in suspicious activities with the Black Tower’s successor.”
“That can’t be true!”
“Silence.”
At that moment, the Lord Heaven broke the silence. A hush fell over the room.
“Cardinal Nikolai’s words have merit.”
“Your Holiness…”
A man who had ascended to the pinnacle of the White Tower and the church after the previous pope was assassinated by treacherous cardinals allied with the Empire.
“Though the destruction of the sacred relic is an unforgivable act for our church, the Imperial family holds the ‘Great Demon Alliance’ led by the Black Tower’s successor in high regard. In fact, Prince Mordred and Princess Kiara are personally heading to the Northern Demon Realm as representatives of the Imperial will.”
”…”
The previous White Tower Master, who had declared resistance against the Empire, was dead, and the man who had taken the church’s throne was now a puppet of the Empire.
“If our church were to rashly break the Great Demon Alliance, His Majesty the Emperor would not tolerate it.”
The church had long claimed that the conquest of the Demon Realm was the Goddess’s mission, and there were still monks in that land claiming to be the Goddess’s servants. With the Imperial family also involved in this cause, it was impossible to reverse the situation.
In other words, the situation had reached a point of no return. At the same time, the church couldn’t stand by and watch its prestige plummet with the destruction of its sacred relic.
“Then what should we do…”
One cardinal asked, and the Lord Heaven replied.
“We must do what needs to be done.”
“Do you have a different plan in mind?”
“The development of the Demon Realm is the will of the Sistine Twin Goddesses, and thus, it is only right that our church should lead this sacred endeavor. In other words…”
The Lord Heaven continued.
“We will take over the entire Demon Realm development project being conducted by the Saxon Viscount in the name of our church.”
After all, there was nothing easier than using the name of God to take what belonged to others.
Without a moment to feel the absence of Sepia and Charlotte, desires began to converge on Dale’s territory.
High-ranking elders of the White Tower and numerous cardinal-level bishops acting on the Lord Heaven’s will.
But even more than that, there were other guests who stirred the entire Empire.
After the Empire had unified the continent, the most silent figures from the deepest parts of the Imperial Palace… the golden bloodline itself was making its way to Dale’s land.
Thus, amidst the shifting political landscape centered around Dale’s territory, his most reliable ally finally began to move.
The greatest black mage on the continent, standing at the pinnacle of the Black Tower, the Black Duke.
In the frozen wasteland where icy winds howled, the wheels of the carriage finally came to a halt. Along with it, the countless guards escorting the carriage also stopped their movements.
The velvet drapery of the carriage bore the emblem of a two-headed golden dragon.
The Twin-Headed Dragon, the sole flag symbolizing the Empire itself.
“We humbly greet Prince Mordred and Princess Kiara.”
Before them, the Saxon father and son, along with the nobles of the Demon Realm, bowed their heads in unison.
In the silence, two figures stepped down onto the frozen ground of the Demon Realm.
“Raise your swords!”
“Salute the Prince and Princess!”
The Iron Cross Knights raised their swords in unison, and amidst the ranks of knights, two figures clad in golden uniforms emerged.
The silent figures of the Imperial family, the two who carried the golden bloodline.
“It is an honor to meet you, Black Duke.”
“Princess Kiara.”
There was a woman for whom no other words seemed fitting than the title of Imperial Princess.
And then, a man clad in a golden uniform, with a sword at his side, appeared.
“Prince Mordred.”
“Ah.”
With a polite nod to the man in black, the seventh prince, Mordred, turned to face him.
“So, you’re the so-called ‘Black Prince,’ the one everyone’s calling the greatest genius of the empire?”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“Haha, the greatest genius of the empire is just a mere child. What a joke our country has become.”
”…”
Mordred’s words dripped with mockery, yet no one dared to challenge him. Dale was no exception.
“It’s all thanks to that damned hero from another world.”
He didn’t hold back, openly belittling the ‘hero of the empire’ in front of everyone.
“That wretched bastard wiped out all the strong warriors on the continent, and now a mere child like you is hailed as the empire’s greatest genius?”
He spat out his words without a care for royal dignity or decorum.
“Mordred.”
It was then that a voice cut through the tension.
“Please, choose your words more carefully.”
”…I apologize, sister.”
The fifth princess, Kiara, broke her silence, and Mordred fell quiet at her gentle reprimand.
“Please forgive my brother’s rudeness. He’s still inexperienced in the ways of the world and didn’t mean to be disrespectful.”
“Not at all.”
Dale shook his head, bowing respectfully.
“Oh, how could that be? I’m deeply impressed by the reputation of Prince Dale, the one hailed as the greatest genius of the empire.”
Princess Kiara smiled warmly at Dale, her expression unreadable.
“And I’m also intrigued by the future you will bring to this empire.”