Children of the Holy Emperor
chapter-169

Isabella had awakened.

Upon hearing the news, Seongjin set aside his busy schedule and rushed to the townhouse from the morning. As he was planning to leave the capital for a while, he didn’t want to leave even a slight risk factor behind.

However, when Seongjin actually faced Isabella in the drawing room, he was a bit puzzled by the unexpected situation.

‘This is surprising.’

He had thought she would completely collapse after losing her sense of self, but Isabella seemed more intact than expected.

Of course, it was only on the surface.

[Her soul is extremely blurry. She’s definitely not in a normal state.]

According to the Demon King’s assessment, she looked unstable enough to drop dead at any moment.

But despite her hollow eyes, unlike Riccardo who had shown only utter despair, a glimmer of hope could be seen in her.

‘Could it be that she still thinks there’s a chance for a comeback?’

On the other hand, the way she rubbed and tugged at her skirt with her left hand was clearly Isabella’s habit when she was nervous, which Seongjin had seen several times at Salon de Merci.

Seongjin carefully examined her presence.

It wasn’t the Isabella he had first met, but it was also completely different from Sigurd Sigurdson, whom he had encountered when he secretly infiltrated the mansion some time ago.

‘…Father did it!’

Seongjin had to admit that it was right to keep her alive.

He didn’t know what the point of striking the top of her head was, but anyway, the Holy Emperor had cleanly cut out the Puppetmaster from her.

“Hey, Sigurd Sigurdson. You look healthier than I thought.”

At the casually thrown greeting, she avoided his gaze while breaking out in a cold sweat. Oh, look at that?

“He has left me, Your Highness. Now, I am Isabella…”

[She’s lying.]

Even without the Demon King’s words, the moment Seongjin saw her eyes darting around, peeking at his reaction, he realized.

‘She’s maintaining her sanity precisely because she thinks of herself as Sigurd Sigurdson!’

Unlike Riccardo, who had half-heartedly maintained his hollow ego and completely collapsed as soon as the supporting personality disappeared, Isabella’s perception of herself as Isabella was already faint.

Then, what Seongjin had to do was clear.

[What are you trying to do?]

At the Demon King’s puzzled question, Seongjin smiled in a way that looked mean-spirited. Then, he began to berate her, lowering his voice.

“Don’t make me laugh.”

To roughly summarize what Seongjin did afterward:

First, reinforcing the idea that she was Sigurd Sigurdson.

Second, nevertheless, properly persuading and controlling her from recklessly doing something stupid.

[Persuasion? Even though you threatened to kill her?]

‘Shut up!’

Of course, he admitted that the process wasn’t entirely peaceful and beautiful communication.

Anyway, with just a slight hint, the timid Isabella trembled.

Seeing the light of hope slowly fading from her eyes, Seongjin thought:

If she tried to become Isabella Scarcepino for a long time, whether voluntarily or involuntarily,

Surely, someday, even if she partially recovered her incomplete sense of self, she would be able to avoid collapsing.

Then, Seongjin suddenly realized that he was relieved by that thought and was briefly seized by a strange feeling.

***

Preparations for the trip to the North were proceeding smoothly.

For the time being, he decided to take only Edith as his dedicated maid. Since she was also a fairly strong Aura user, she wouldn’t have much trouble even if they went to a cold region.

However, Seongjin was a bit worried about the “gall bladder-flavored tea” she would serve during the trip. Well, Commander Bruno would manage it well.

‘By the way, haven’t I become rather picky about taste these days?’

Considering that the tea he drank at the Scarcepino’s wasn’t to his liking at all.

It was probably because of Chief Chamberlain Louis and Commander Bruno. After experiencing the ultimate taste that tea could produce every day, at least in terms of tea, his palate might have transformed into a sommelier-like delicate one. At this rate, wouldn’t he become unable to drink tea anywhere?

He glared at Commander Bruno, who was standing beside him for no reason, and he stroked his mustache in puzzlement.

As for the members of the Monster Special Task Force, it was decided that Sir Valerie and Dame Sharon would accompany him.

Of course, both of them planned to disguise themselves as resident knights to hide their identities as Inquisitors and Exorcists.

“I’m thinking of bringing a banned book as a pastime. If I read something like that, no one will suspect me of being an Inquisitor, right?”

Seongjin looked at Sir Valerie, who was babbling like that, with somewhat pitiful eyes.

“Instead of suspecting you, wouldn’t they immediately report you to the Heresy Tribunal?”

“Haha! I guess you’re right!”

Once Seongjin had caught him reading a banned book, Sir Valerie had an attitude of having nothing to lose. What the hell are you saying in front of the Holy Prince of the Empire, you good-for-nothing Inquisitor?!

Among the team members, only physician Jibril was left in the capital. They couldn’t have the entire department leave their posts all at once.

And above all…

“Next week is the academic week of the Lyora Plague Society, Your Highness!”

Physician Jibril proudly said, shoving a small booklet toward Seongjin.

“Renowned masters of the Lyora School from all over the continent gather for the birthday celebration events. We take this opportunity to present our research findings for the year and discuss rare cases. It’s an important conference that I must attend!”

This year’s issue was “The Latest Findings on the Effect of Perfumes Derived from Bulbous Plants on the Prevention of Febrile Illnesses.”

“A recent paper from Anatolia has created a big buzz. Traditionally, bulbous plants were known to be unsuitable for treating febrile patients because they grow close to the ground and absorb geothermal energy. So, perfumes made from rose family plants were always used for febrile illnesses. They were said to be 1.5 times more effective. But according to recent studies, the perfumes of bulbous plants and rose family plants…”

“Ah, I know the answer. There was no significant difference in the effects of the two perfumes, right?”

At Seongjin’s words, Jibril’s eyes widened, and she asked:

“How does Your Highness know about a paper that was just published?”

Because both would have zero effect. Multiplying zero by anything still results in zero!

Why are you conducting such useless research and producing garbage data, you quacks?

Masain and Commander Bruno – although they were disgusted to learn that Dame Sharon was coming along – would naturally accompany Seongjin.

As for the other resident knights, it was decided that Dame Maria, Dame Claudia, and Calmen would join.

‘Unofficially, Dasha will probably come along too…’

Great! It was a small but well-organized group!

Seongjin smiled contentedly after finalizing the list of names.

Come to think of it, this was the first time he was leaving the capital since coming to this world. It wasn’t even a picnic. It felt a bit exciting, too.

“Even if it’s not Delcross, there are many places worth visiting with interest.”

The Holy Emperor had said that once.

Seongjin suddenly reflected on his recent life.

Interactions with his siblings were increasing, and he was planning a long trip, albeit for investigation purposes. Couldn’t it be said that he was faithfully living his life as Morres to some extent, as the Holy Emperor wished?

‘But now that I think about leaving, I feel a bit strange.’

Feeling somehow sentimental, Seongjin scratched his cheek for no reason. It seemed he had become too accustomed to life in the capital without even realizing it.

***

At the Asein branch of the Guild.

In a small training ground next to the dormitory, a boy was diligently swinging a wooden sword. It was Aslan, who had been under the Guild’s protection for some time now.

“Phew. I finished 200 thrusts, Miss Paula.”

The boy, who had grown taller, said while wiping the sweat from his forehead.

Living in the Guild with plenty of food, he suddenly began to grow rapidly, and now he had the appearance of a quite sturdy young man.

“Oh, good job. Come here and rest for a bit.”

At Paula’s mumbling words with a pipe in her mouth, Aslan put away the wooden sword and approached the shade where she was.

“By the way, this year’s birthday celebration just passed by. I really wanted to go to the capital and see His Majesty.”

As the boy spoke while wiping his sweat with the hem of his top, Paula waved her pipe.

“Sheesh. You’ve barely started as an Aura user, and you’re already talking about the capital? You’re barely in time to aim for next year’s initiation.”

“Sigh…”

A sigh escaped involuntarily, and resentment toward the branch chief welled up.

The Asein branch chief of the Guild, Justin Astros, was a man of many secrets. It was hard to see him during the day, as it was unclear what he was doing.

Even on the rare days when he showed his face at the Guild, he would half-heartedly check Aslan’s posture and then disappear somewhere again. Wasn’t his attitude too insincere for someone who claimed to be Aslan’s swordsmanship teacher?

Aslan soon gave up on learning anything from him and obediently accepted the help of the Guild members. Most of them were skilled and generous with their teachings.

Everyone was a good person, except for the branch chief.

Among them, Paula, who had retired as a mercenary not long ago, was a particularly good teacher with ample experience in teaching juniors.

While dedicating himself to training alone with the help of others, Aslan heard an amazing story from Paula. One day, the branch chief, who was quite drunk, had told her:

“That guy Aslan has quite a natural talent. If we just hand him a sword, he’ll eventually reach the Squire level on his own, right? Then, we’ll send him to the Imperial Palace at that time.”

How absurd it was to lure him as if he would pass the initiation test!

“At this rate, when will I be able to join the Imperial Palace Knights?”

As Aslan muttered in a dejected voice, Paula glanced at him pitifully and patted his shoulder.

“The branch chief is a lousy person, but his eye for talent is undeniable. If he says you can do it, you can. You’re talented and diligent. You’ll definitely become a knight soon.”

“Yes…”

“Stop worrying and let’s go have lunch. Put away the wooden sword and come.”

Aslan nodded and stood up.

As he was walking alone towards the warehouse, he heard the sound of someone’s conversation from the half-open warehouse.

“This is very different from what we initially discussed, isn’t it?”

‘…Branch Chief?’

What kind of change of heart was it? Recently, Branch Chief Justin had been staying at the Guild for several days without disappearing somewhere, meeting various people.

It seemed another guest had arrived. But why were they in the warehouse instead of the Guild Master’s room?

“What exactly happened? You said it was a formation that binds souls? Didn’t you assure me that it would definitely work properly this time?”

Aslan was startled by the branch chief’s rarely agitated voice. It was unlike his usual lazy and drawling tone.

And what? Binding souls?

With an ominous premonition, Aslan held his breath and quietly listened to the conversation.

“What I initially gave you was definitely a leash. But what is this?”

Next, he heard an unusual deep voice.

“You split a single leash in half and even heat-treated it again afterward. As a result, the circuits are completely misaligned. It can’t possibly function properly like this.”

“That couldn’t be helped. What you gave me looked like an ornate necklace. How could it be suitable for disguising as a prisoner’s restraint?!”

The two seemed to be arguing with something placed on the table between them.

Their figures weren’t clearly visible through the gap in the door, but at least the object they had between them was clearly in sight.

‘That’s…!’

Aslan immediately recognized the familiar object.

Although it was completely broken in half.

‘It’s the handcuffs Bart was wearing!’

“I hid it in molten iron and further concealed it with thick iron. Otherwise, he would have instantly recognized that this was an object from the Imaginary World.”

“You did something unnecessary. If you had used the original form as I told you from the beginning, you could have easily trapped the Guardian inside the Homunculus.”

“But I had to be careful. The moment he noticed, everything would have been over!”

“As I’ve said repeatedly, the circuits of the Imaginary World cannot be hidden by adding something to them. The reason he didn’t recognize it this time was likely because the circuits were already damaged, rather than because you covered it with iron.”

Then, a soft sigh followed.

“When do you think he will come into a puppet’s body for such a long time again? Because of your unnecessary caution, we missed a golden opportunity that may never come again.”

“Hmm…”

Aslan, pale as a sheet, took a few steps back.

He couldn’t fully understand the conversation, but one thing was certain: it wasn’t good news for Bart.

‘I need to warn Bart… warn His Majesty!’

At that moment, creak. The warehouse door suddenly opened wide without warning.

“But wait a minute. What have you been eavesdropping on so interestingly, little Aslan?”

“…!”

Aslan’s feet froze at the eerie energy flowing from the warehouse.

Despite his endlessly light impression, Branch Chief Justin was a Sword Master. There was no way he hadn’t noticed the boy approaching the warehouse from the beginning!

“B-Branch Chief. Why on earth…?”

Didn’t you say you were His Majesty’s old friend?

Justin was watching the boy, whose mouth was stiff and tightly pressed by Aura, with an amused smile.

Then, a man approached from behind him and asked:

“Shall I dispose of him as is?”

Only then could Aslan properly see the guest’s appearance.

He was a tall man, comparable to Justin. He wore a luxurious robe embroidered with delicate patterns and a flashy half-mask on his face that one would expect to see at a festival.

“No. Bart knows this kid. He occasionally asks about his well-being through informants. It would be problematic if he simply disappeared.”

Then, Justin turned around and asked the guest:

“There’s a simpler way. Can you erase this kid’s memory?”

“Of course, I can.”

Beyond the half-mask, cold blue eyes emitted a chilling light.