The Golden King (4)

Everyone among the Aragasa recognized Azadine, the famous figure.

But Azadine had no idea who she was. Judging by her age, she must’ve been a Messenger long before him and was later recruited by Manza-Jadek.

‘She made this grand entrance trying to look impressive, and if I say I don’t know her, it’ll sound like I’m picking a fight.’

He suddenly became curious about how she had lived and why she was serving Manza-Jadek.

Did she also know the secret of the emperor’s assassination that Manza-Jadek spoke of, and the true intentions of the Aragasa? Did she pledge her loyalty to the Golden King because of that? What kind of mindset would lead her to serve such a broken man?

However, Karzen seemed wary of Azadine.

“As an Aragasa, I’m far your senior. Keep that in mind. But to think you were granted the Golden Decree directly from the King…”

Azadine didn’t know how high the title of Gold Envoy was within Vthuma, but judging by the reactions from the page and Karzen, the captain of the royal guard, it must be quite prestigious.

“So, who are those with you? Your subordinates?”

“Yes.”

Shati answered immediately and adopted a humble posture.

Scott shrugged and said,

“You could say I’m the captain’s loyal companion.”

“Hm. A Naga and an Orc, huh? That’s an unusual pairing.”

Both Shati and Scott had used transformation magic to appear human, but it seemed they had been seen through. What was even more surprising was that they were allowed to be near the capital despite their identities being known.

But perhaps Karzen allowed it to gain leverage over Azadine.

In truth, multiple killing intents were now aimed at Azadine. Armed individuals were poised beyond the wall’s awning, ready to strike.

“So let me ask you—where do you stand? With the Senate? Or are you a traitor? Did your sister send you here on a mission? What trick did you pull to get the King to favor you so much?”

“Did the King really favor me?”

“Yes. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have received the Golden Decree. That’s…”

She stopped herself before saying more about the prestige of the Gold Envoy. It seemed she realized Azadine didn’t know the full significance of the title.

“I could consider you an enemy spy and have you eliminated right now.”

“You’re saying that when the Senate’s Messengers are likely to attempt regicide? You’d rather waste your strength fighting me, an innocent man?”

When Azadine brought up the other Messengers, Karzen’s eyes flickered. His words had clearly hit the mark.

Those who best understood how dangerous Messengers were… were none other than their own kind, the Aragasa. They knew how brutal the selection process was, and how perilous the missions handed down afterward could be.

And now, those Messengers were coming to attack.

Even if they were fellow Aragasa, those who had lived as loyal vassals receiving royal stipends like ordinary people would now have to face elite active-duty Messengers. Was she really going to waste strength on Azadine, another active-duty Messenger?

‘She is afraid, after all.’

“Regardless, I’m the one drawing up and executing the security plans. So whatever you are, you follow my orders. Understood? And we still don’t trust you, so stay at least 200 paces away from the King.”

“How can I provide protection from 200 paces away? And if the attackers are fellow Aragasa, they’ve definitely come prepared with Shadowsteel Blades. Do you have a countermeasure for that?”

“We’ve prepared Shadowsteel too.”

“That doesn’t answer how you’ll protect the King…”

“We’ve made shields out of Shadowsteel. Slaves will carry them and guard the King.”

“Shields made of Shadowsteel? Impressive. Then, could I possibly be supplied with some Shadowsteel Arrows?”

“Don’t be ridiculous. Do you know how hard it was to obtain them? Why would we hand them to someone whose identity we can’t confirm? What’s to stop you from using those arrows to shoot the King?”

“Why did you come to serve Manza-Jadek? Did he really lift the Curse of Servitude?”

Azadine found himself more curious about their loyalty to Manza-Jadek than their hostility toward him.

“Wait, I’m the one talking here and you just cut in with a question… Is that really what you want to know?”

“Yes.”

“……”

Karzen seemed taken aback by Azadine’s unexpected sincerity.

“You’re asking if he lifted the Curse of Servitude—yeah, he did. That’s why I’m still alive. He also revealed that the one who placed the curse wasn’t the Emperor, but the Senate. Better to serve the Golden King and earn good money than to be a Senate dog, working like one for barely any pay. You should—”

She stopped mid-sentence, about to argue how just and fulfilling it was to serve under the Golden King.

The title of Gold Envoy was that of a royal proxy. Not something given to just anyone. Whatever Azadine had done, it was clear he had completely won over Manza-Jadek’s favor.

And if he had truly decided to rise in rank under Manza-Jadek, he would inevitably become her political rival.

“I don’t trust you, so stay out of the way of the security forces. Or better yet, bring your sister Arael here.”

“You’re relying on Arael?”

“Yeah. The Senate’s already taken the throne of Korasar. If they take Vthuma too, it’s not unthinkable they could conquer all of Hubris. If that happens, Arael will just be a useless traitor who accomplished nothing.”

“That’s the reason you’re holding out hope?”

“Did you know? There’s a saying that children born under the Curse of Servitude become the greatest Messengers. Since you turned out so mediocre, the whole clan pinned their hopes on Arael.”

“More likely, it’s fear. The Senate’s best assassins will come. Facing them is daunting.”

“Damn right! We weren’t exactly top performers among the Aragasa! That’s why we ended up under Manza-Jadek. Making money, enjoying life, having children, raising them… We lived like normal people. My kids didn’t have to suffer through the inhuman selection process of the Messenger Clan. And now we have to fight those fresh, elite Aragasa? What the hell is Arael doing—sending a half-baked little brother instead!”

Karzen trembled with a mixture of anger and fear.

The life of the Aragasa was never normal. A clan famed for hitting the first arrow with the second. Though they were born with extraordinary spatial awareness and strength, such feats weren’t possible without intense training.

To serve as the Emperor’s Messengers, the Aragasa pushed their children to the brink. Karzen only realized how wrong that was after hearing it from Manza-Jadek.

Now, forced to face the Aragasa again, she couldn’t guarantee victory.

To fight monsters who had dedicated their entire lives to battle and killing…

Back when she was a Messenger, no matter how fierce the opponents, she had no fear—because she had nothing to lose. But now, she had too much to lose.

“I want to see my children grow. I want to see them live full lives, not as Aragasa. But… damn it, I have to earn the salary Manza-Jadek gave me.”

“Is what Manza-Jadek said really true?”

“Yes. If you’re still a Messenger, then you have the Emperor’s Voice, right? Ask him yourself. He won’t lie.”

“……”

[It is true.]

The Emperor’s Voice answered Azadine’s question succinctly.

“You admit it rather easily.”

[To claim the title of the Emperor’s Voice while telling such petty lies to exploit a Messenger’s loyalty would only tarnish the Emperor’s honor.]

“Then why are we, who assassinated the Emperor, still trusted as Messengers?”

[It is true that you were the ones who slew the Emperor, but that alone is not reason enough to resent the Aragasa. When we were created, it was during the early reign of the Emperor. Back then, the Emperor never doubted his ideals. But many things happened.]

“What kind of things?”

[That is…]

The Emperor’s Voice began to recount the events of the past.

Emperor Yaeslat grew furious when even the royal family and the Yaegas God tribe focused solely on physical pleasures and turned a blind eye to the people’s suffering from exploitation.

Despite injustice covering the world and tormenting the people, they simply said it was still better than submitting to the powers of the Nether and the Kurt. So they clung to their pleasures.

Unable to bear it, Yaeslat overthrew his own kind and stood alone as a unique being—Emperor.

Yet even as such a being, he could not eliminate the world’s evil. And then, something happened that deeply wounded his soul…

The Emperor created a relief zone to care for leprosy patients and supported it.

He alleviated their pain, halted the progression of the disease, and healed them when enough miraculous energy gathered. The lepers praised the Emperor and loved him more than anyone else.

But during a year of plague… while the Emperor was using his miracle power to stop the epidemic, children began disappearing near the leper relief zone.

Investigators discovered that some of the lepers who had fled into the Emperor’s relief area believed a superstition that consuming children could cure them, and had abducted and eaten the missing children.

A wound that would never heal began to form in the Emperor’s soul.

Had the evil been clear and overt, he wouldn’t have been shaken. But those who committed horrific acts under the delusion of good, driven by ignorance and superstition, left a scar greater than any evil.

Beyond the lepers, many other fools carried out atrocities without malicious intent, and with each one, a deep darkness settled over the Emperor’s soul.

Eventually, the Emperor reached a conclusion.

Ignorance was also evil. For evil sprouts from what was unknown, those who did not know must be taught.

But in trying to teach others, he inevitably came to realize something:

Human intelligence varies. Some, no matter how much they were taught, lacked the innate intellect to comprehend.

And the aging of humans—how it turned even the wise into the most foolish and vile—tormented the Emperor.

To achieve virtue and justice, overt evil posed no obstacle. But how could one uproot evil if the very soil it grew in—inner weakness—remained?

The Emperor devised a plan to euthanize all illiterates.

Those who could not read, understand the law, or grasp numbers and logic—he would eliminate them painlessly to purify the world.

His vision of justice became tainted with madness.

In the end, the Emperor’s beloved, the one he loved most and who loved him most in return—Harkonia, the leader of the Messenger Clan—drew her sword.

There was no heroic battle, no shadowy assassination.

The Emperor willingly offered his heart to the blade of his lover.

[That is why we, the Voices of the Emperor, do not blame you Messengers for your actions.]

Spoke the Emperor’s Voice.

[What must be upheld are the Emperor’s ideals and mission. The Emperor who created us would have approved of your deeds. For that is precisely the role he wanted for you, the slayers of the Heavenly Kings.]

When the Heavenly Kings went mad, the Emperor needed a final line of defense—and so, he welcomed the Aragasa as his Messengers.

But now, with the Emperor gone, the Messenger Clans had begun aligning with once-feared forces of evil, all to seize this world for themselves.

If the Messengers stopped the Emperor when he went mad… who would stop the Messengers when they lose control?