Independent Path (4)

Azadine felt a sense of pity as he observed their troubled expressions.

‘The population density is high… and there are few places where they can make fires. Even if they have food and supplies stored in the fortress, they won’t be able to hold out for long. Especially since their opponents are Arael and the Aragasa.’

Inside the royal fortress of Coral Sahar, the Holy Knights of the King’s Church, the Holy Knights of the Rescue Knights Order, and the soldiers were stationed and waiting. As Azadine moved alongside the fortress messenger, cold gazes were directed at him.

The air changed distinctly as he stepped into the audience chamber.

The throne of the Yaegas God tribe. It was a massive quartz throne embedded deep into the earth. Sitting atop this quartz throne was Ansethus IV, the current king of the Korasar Kingdom.

Knights stood on either side as the king remained seated on the throne to greet him.

‘A perfectly formal audience, huh? It would have been better to speak comfortably in private.’

Some of the information and matters Azadine had to share could not be discussed openly before an audience. Considering that, this kind of formal meeting was simply inconvenient.

Of course, Azadine had requested an audience, but that was merely a matter of courtesy when addressing a king.

‘Should I have requested a private meeting instead? Or are they worried I might be an assassin? But why does the king’s expression seem so grim? He looks exhausted. Well, given the situation, it’s not as if he can afford to relax.’

King Ansethus IV of Korasar was the first to speak.

“Ah. How bold. A Messenger. To think you would enter here alone. I must first commend your recklessness.”

“Remove your mask. You are in the presence of the king.”

The attendants demanded that Azadine take off his mask.

“Yes.”

When Azadine removed his mask, everyone was shocked. A deep scar ran horizontally across where his eyes should have been.

“Blind?”

“There wasn’t a single hint of that before.”

“……”

Everyone had seen Azadine confidently scanning the surroundings and walking in without hesitation. No one had expected that he lacked eyes.

“You may wear your mask again.”

“Yes. Thank you.”

Azadine was grateful for the king’s consideration and put his mask back on.

“So. Who are you?”

“I am Azadine, the 108th Messenger of the Emperor.”

“108th? The lowest rank? It seems Korasar is being mocked. To meet the king of the Eight Kingdoms, they send the lowest-ranked Messenger?”

Ansethus IV made no attempt to hide his displeasure.

Wasn’t sending Azadine, the lowest-ranked of the 108 Messengers, a sign that they didn’t take him seriously? That was how he seemed to interpret it.

“I sincerely apologize for my unworthiness in standing before Your Majesty’s throne. However, our clan is currently divided in civil war, and under such circumstances, we have lacked the resources for proper considerations. Please do not hold the thoughtless actions of my people against us.”

“Civil war?”

“Yes. The rebels led by Arael have incited the Nagas, used Nether magic, and summoned this storm in their attempt to seize the throne of Korasar.”

As Azadine spoke, the audience chamber erupted into murmurs.

“The rebels… summoned the storm and roused the Nagas?”

“…That’s terrifying.”

Not only was the Messenger Clan not united, but part of it had taken actions that had placed the Korasar Kingdom in this dire situation.

It was no surprise that the retainers were terrified.

At that moment, a man who appeared to be a Holy Knight of the King’s Church stepped forward. He was a stern-looking, middle-aged man wearing a monocle.

“Your Majesty! May I speak freely?”

“Sir Aldoph… Speak.”

“We must capture and torture this heretic immediately.”

“You suggest dishonoring the one who came to meet me?”

“The Messengers are vile, irreverent creatures who lie as easily as they breathe. Nothing they say can be trusted. This is surely an attempt to mislead us with false information.”

The knight, called Sir Aldoph, was shouting that Azadine should be put to death.

“Furthermore, look at his eyeless face! And yet he moves as though he sees perfectly. He must be using some foul sorcery to replace his sight. Even at this moment, he is spreading corruption through his wicked magic! We must capture and execute him immediately!”

Azadine chuckled at Sir Aldoph’s words.

‘If they attack me here, it’ll only disgrace the king. Is this man sane?’

Rationally speaking, no matter how angry they were, killing a diplomatic envoy who had come peacefully would do them no good.

However, shaking a rationalist’s confidence was often an effective strategy. Threats could be useful in negotiations to unsettle a rational individual and extract greater concessions than normal.

‘Ah, I see. He’s not trying to shake me. He’s trying to shake the king.’

Azadine noticed that there was no proper flow of magic from the throne.

Although the king was seated there, the Light of the Crown was not radiating from the throne. In the eyes of the King’s Church, this meant that King Ansethus IV was not a legitimate ruler.

And Sir Aldoph seemed to be conscious of someone behind him.

‘The Korasar Cardinal, huh?’

Azadine spotted a clergyman behind Sir Aldoph, smiling triumphantly, and let out a bitter chuckle.

“We don’t have the luxury to engage in political squabbles right now. Your words are quite meaningless.”

“What?!”

“Arael’s goal is the throne of Korasar. Once the Nagas break through the fortress, she will appear and make a bid for the throne.”

“B-Blasphemy!”

“Ridiculous!”

The Yaegas Throne was a powerful magical artifact that chose its own ruler.

The King’s Church could not accept the idea that a Messenger, a soulless and irreverent being, might claim the throne. To them, it was outright blasphemy.

“This man is insane! He must be executed at once!”

The King’s Church members were fervently calling for Azadine’s execution, but Azadine merely cleared his throat and looked at King Ansethus IV.

“With so many interruptions, perhaps I should request a private conversation. Or would Your Majesty prefer to dismiss the audience?”

“What?! You dare mock our church?!”

The priests of the King’s Church continued their fervent demands. However, raising their voices in the king’s presence, in the audience chamber, was itself an act of disgracing the king’s dignity.

‘It seems the King of Korasar is completely cornered.’

The Divine King of Yaegas must prove his legitimacy.

With the Light of the Crown failing to manifest, the capital, Coral Sahar, was submerged, the Nagas had invaded, and the city was isolated, unable to call for reinforcements.

This was as good as saying that the king was unfit to sit on the throne. That was why, even in the royal audience chamber, the clergy of the King’s Church acted with such blatant disrespect.

“I understand.”

Ansethus IV accepted Azadine’s proposal.

Arranging a private meeting with an Imperial Messenger, one known for assassinations, was an enormous risk even for a king.

However, rather than holding discussions in front of the King’s Church clergy, who were constantly waiting for an opportunity to tear him down, he preferred taking his chances in a private meeting with an assassin.

As expected, the retainers immediately objected.

“Your Majesty!”

“The Messengers are all vile and treacherous assassins!”

“Please reconsider!”

The mere mention of a private meeting threw them into an uproar. This was precisely why Azadine had requested it.

‘Being a king seems exhausting. How is he supposed to have a conversation when they keep interrupting?’

Azadine felt a measure of sympathy for the king, who had no choice but to grant his request.

They moved from the audience chamber to the king’s private quarters.

There were still armed knights present, but they were the royal guards.

“So, we’re meeting in private. Are you planning to assassinate me?”

“No, Your Majesty. I simply thought this would be a sensitive discussion.”

“A sensitive discussion, you say?”

“The Light of the Crown isn’t functioning properly, is it?”

“…Indeed. This isn’t a conversation to have in front of the retainers and knights.”

“The clergy already know. That’s why they are treating you with such blatant disrespect. That Sir Aldoph—what is his relation to you?”

“He is my nephew.”

“Nephew? Normally…”

“If a member of the Korasar royal family lacks a claim to the throne, they are sent elsewhere.”

The King’s Church served as a refuge for royalty and nobility who had no inheritance rights. Because of this, royal-born clergy were rarely assigned to their home kingdoms.

If such individuals remained, they would inevitably gather supporters and attempt to reclaim a position of power.

“But that one is a bastard. And even if he weren’t, I do have many weaknesses.”

“The Light of the Crown is not functioning because a Nether ritual was performed here. It is not Your Majesty’s fault.”

“…”

That was, perhaps, exactly what Ansethus IV needed to hear at that moment.

“So then, what do you propose, Messenger?”

“…Based on my predictions, Arael is already inside the fortress.”

“What? Why would you think that?”

“Because otherwise, none of this makes sense. She is a being who exhibits the Emperor’s traits very strongly. You are aware that there are imperial bastards among the Messenger Clan, aren’t you?”

“You mean the bloodline of Emperor Yaeslat.”

The King’s Church did everything it could to reject the Emperor, but Emperor Yaeslat was the most powerful member of the Yaegas God tribe since the foundation of the Eight Kingdoms.

He was a living god-king who had once ruled the world with the strongest Light of the Crown, claiming the thrones of all Eight Kingdoms for himself.

It was an open secret that his bloodline still ran within the Messenger Clan.

“So, you’re saying this woman, Arael, is a descendant of the Emperor?”

Strictly speaking, no one knew exactly how the Emperor’s lineage had been passed down. It was well established that the five great families of the Messenger Clan carried his blood, but beyond that, it was unclear who else might have inherited it through marriage or illegitimate relations.

Only when someone later exhibited certain traits would people realize, ‘Ah, this one must be of the Emperor’s bloodline.’

“Yes. That is why she intends to claim the throne herself, bypassing those Nagas. To do that, she must already be near the throne.”

“That logic applies to you as well. What guarantee do I have that you are not a spy planted by Arael to take the throne yourself?”

“That is a reasonable suspicion. Which is why I must work hard to resolve this situation and prove my sincerity. First, allow me to investigate the throne and its surroundings. I want to understand how the Light of the Crown was disrupted.”

“…Could it not simply be that I am unworthy, and that is why the Light of the Crown has faded?”

“There have been many tyrants and incompetent kings throughout history, but the Light of the Crown has never completely vanished.”

In other words—he was neither a tyrant nor an incompetent ruler.

That was what Azadine was implying.