Children of the Holy Emperor
chapter-180

After leaving Regina, Seongjin’s group enjoyed a smooth journey for a while.

During that time, they could stay at proper village lodgings about once every two days. However, as the villages gradually became smaller in scale, from the seventh day of their trip, it was camping every day.

Thanks to that, apart from the “Little Saint Aurelion,” they couldn’t find any noteworthy souvenirs.

Well, the Sigismund Territory was said to be quite a large domain, so there must be at least one thing worthy of being a souvenir, right? If not, he could just extort it from that Orden fellow.

Suddenly, Orden, who was across the campfire, shuddered and looked around from side to side.

For a simple-minded fool, he sure had good intuition.

The journey was now entering its tenth day.

As they moved far from the Imperial Road, it was about time for bandits disguised as slash-and-burn farmers or gangs of thieves consisting of Ortona refugees to appear, or so he had heard.

Perhaps it was thanks to boldly displaying the banner of the Wolf Knights at the forefront, but no one dared to block the path of Seongjin’s group. As a result, the journey continued to be peaceful to the point of being uneventful.

Of course, there was someone who trembled with baseless anxiety.

“Your Highness is here, yet it’s been so quiet for days, something is…”

“Huh?”

“Ominous! Could it be that accidents will come crashing down all at once?”

What kind of nonsense is that, Sir Masain?

If someone hears that, they’ll think I get involved in incidents and accidents every single day.

[Don’t tell me you’re going to deny it? Where did you sell your conscience?]

Shut up! You’re a defective Demon King who has forgotten his role and is prattling on about conscience!

Of course, there were minor changes along the way.

First, the numerous merchant groups moving in the same direction scattered one by one to find their own paths. And from the seventh day of the journey, only Seongjin’s group and the Milo Caravan were left alone.

Around that time, Giacomo Milo, the caravan master, came to see Seongjin with a gift to pay his respects.

Until now, it must have been somewhat ambiguous as they were mixed with a large number of caravans. But now that they were going to be companions all the way to the Sigismund Territory, he seemed to feel the need to properly greet the prince at least once.

Through Schmidt, the branch manager in Regina, Seongjin already knew that Caravan Master Milo was a demon contractor. So, taking this opportunity, he thoroughly examined the caravan master along with the Demon King, but…

[Hmm. There are traces of demonic energy left in his soul, albeit faintly. But this is something only I can detect because of who I am. It’s not enough to present as evidence of a contract to the Heresy Tribunal.]

Demon contractors, once they succeed in summoning, communicate with demons in the Demon Realm through a kind of mental connection called a contract, without having to keep the demon summoned in reality.

This operated on a different mechanism from constantly summoning a demon into reality, so even if a contractor had in-depth conversations with a demon, it didn’t result in the contractor himself emanating demonic energy, it seemed.

[Well, it’s a different story if they use the demon’s power to manifest strongly or directly summon the demon.]

‘…It’s tricky, huh?’

If it were up to him, he’d prefer to just swiftly kill the caravan master and shove the corpse that had undergone putrefaction as evidence.

However, doing so would lead to a slightly awkward problem.

If he testified that he knew the caravan master was a demon and executed him, he would have to present sufficient grounds to convince the Heresy Tribunal.

Otherwise, Seongjin himself would be suspected of being in cahoots with a contractor or branded as a demon worshipper and subjected to an investigation alongside him.

On the other hand, if he claimed he didn’t know the caravan master was a demon, he would be sued by the tribunal for the crime of killing someone without reason. After all, the result would be that the victim just happened to be a demon contractor.

The best scenario would be for the caravan master to die without Seongjin’s involvement.

‘Is there any way to kill him naturally, accidentally? Or should I try hiring an assassin without getting caught?’

[Don’t you have the option of just normally collecting evidence in that head of yours?]

Well, there was also the easy method of Seongjin personally assassinating the caravan master using Aura Concealment. It was just that he intended to reserve this as a last resort if possible.

No matter how well he concealed his aura, it would probably be impossible to completely evade the eyes of Commander Bruno and the Emperor.

Above all, hadn’t the Emperor told him before?

-Occasionally, it’s okay to entrust that burden to someone else, don’t you think?

At that time, the Emperor didn’t get angry at Seongjin, who had tried to kill Isabella. If that was the kind of person he was, Seongjin felt that he would respect whatever choice he made.

‘So all the more reason I can’t make Morres a reckless murderer.’

When he had family members who cherished and worried about him so much, he couldn’t ruin Morres’ life just for the sake of taking the easy path, could he?

‘By the way, there’s something that concerns me a bit…’

Would the demon contracted with Caravan Master Milo be able to recognize the Demon King fellow in Seongjin’s head?

In fact, the demon branch manager and his subordinate, the goat guy, kept tilting their heads at the demonic energy emanating from Seongjin, didn’t they?

[They won’t easily notice since I’m not summoned in this dimension like those guys. But if they deeply synchronize with their contractor, most of them will eventually realize it, right? The demonic energy we emit seems to be more distinct than I thought.]

Come to think of it, the sharp reactions that high-ranking clergy members, led by Cardinal Venitus, showed towards Seongjin came to mind.

If you think about it, Seongjin was a prince who exuded demonic energy even stronger than a human contracted with a demon. It made sense that they couldn’t help but be wary and hostile towards him.

***

As the journey grew longer, Seongjin’s group and the Wolf Knights became increasingly close to each other.

Especially during mealtimes, they would gather around the campfire without distinction and chatter noisily.

Among them, the most popular person was undoubtedly Lorang, the minstrel who had recently joined the group by chance.

At first, he was frowned upon as an unnecessary freeloader, but with the friendly nature typical of an entertainer, he naturally blended in with the knights before anyone knew it. In terms of making the travel atmosphere cheerful and lively, he was certainly earning his keep.

The Wolf Knights, in particular, greatly enjoyed Lorang’s songs.

He said he had a few hit songs, so maybe their taste wasn’t completely hopeless after all.

“Lorang, your songs often convey a bold spirit that can’t be easily found elsewhere.”

“Comparing the pain of heartbreak to the feeling of an arrow piercing the heart! You are truly a genius!”

“The part where a beautiful woman steals Fernand Braque’s heart in an instant is absolutely overwhelming. Listening to that song, it’s as if I can vividly see the scene of Emperor Remus leading his army like a whirlwind and charging through conquered lands in the old days!”

Why does a love song convey a bold spirit? What the hell kind of songs is that guy writing?

And regarding Lorang, Dame Claudia, who had decided to teach him about [trashy novels], made this assessment.

“Lorang. Love songs don’t seem to suit you very well. Why don’t you try writing war epics from history or mythology instead?”

“War epics…”

“Your songs sometimes overflow with an out-of-place intensity and grandeur. On the other hand, they lack the natural attraction and excitement that should naturally emanate from love songs.”

The young artist frowned and agonized.

“Natural attraction, excitement… Those all sound like good words. But aren’t they far from being trashy?”

“First, a proper love has to blossom, then there’s the fun of it descending into trashiness.”

Asserting as such, Dame Claudia wrinkled her freckle-covered nose bridge.

“Well, if you insist on writing love songs, why don’t you try having a proper romantic relationship first, Lorang?”

Kwang.

The deeply wounded young man staggered from the shock.

‘…What the hell are they doing?’

Dame Claudia, am I mistaken in thinking you seem to be enjoying this?

Seongjin clicked his tongue and headed out to the wide field next to the campsite.

It was already dark, but he still planned to find time to train with his sword before going to bed. He hadn’t had a chance to move his body all day, being stuck in the carriage.

Of course, instead, he focused solely on meditation while sitting, resulting in some gains. He had finally completed the 7th layer of Aura.

Commander Bruno was extremely amazed.

-Your Highness. That’s truly remarkable. I don’t know how you manage to meditate without losing concentration while constantly being shaken irregularly inside the carriage.

Drawing out Nutcracker, Seongjin stepped onto the field, where Masain, who had come out earlier, was diligently swinging his sword, sweating profusely.

Since visiting the logistics transit center together in Regina, recently, for some reason, he had been intensifying his personal training, even cutting back on his sleep. It was as if he was determined to become a Decalon Knight at any moment.

And beside him, Commander Bruno had caught Calmen and was in the middle of a guidance duel.

The longsword, swung with the sheath, deftly dodged the guard and fiercely struck Calmen’s shoulder.

Bam!

“Argh!”

Rolling on the ground, Calmen, covered in dirt, panted heavily.

“Agh, fuck! I said I won’t! Why do you keep hitting me under the pretext of a duel when I said I won’t?!”

“If you did something wrong, of course you should be hit!”

Oh, it wasn’t a guidance duel but just a beating? What did he do wrong this time?

As Seongjin blinked and watched, Calmen, noticing his gaze, turned to Seongjin with reddened eyes.

“Tsk! What are you looking at over there…!”

Before he could even finish his words.

Smack!

The commander’s longsword struck the back of his head.

“Ack!”

Letting out a final scream, Calmen collapsed on the ground, unable to get up.

And Commander Bruno, who had knocked out his disciple with a single blow, rushed to Seongjin and prostrated himself.

“I am truly sorry, Your Highness! I will give him a stern warning after this!”

“…”

Seongjin sighed.

This was really like an anger disorder that couldn’t be easily controlled as one wished.

Looking at Calmen lying there with pitiful eyes, a large lump was already swelling on his head.

“…Who did he curse at this time?”

“That… I’m ashamed to say it was the vice-commander of the Wolf Knights…”

Commander Bruno lowered his head even further.

Although most of the group got along well with each other, Calmen, in particular, frequently clashed with the Wolf Knights.

His unsociable personality, which was already quite rough, kept colliding with the northern knights whose tempers had become coarse from fighting against the bitter cold.

The problem was that it couldn’t be easily resolved by Calmen’s will alone.

Recently, Calmen had become extremely docile compared to before. When he encountered Seongjin, he would awkwardly pay his respects and carefully lower his gaze to avoid eye contact as much as possible.

It was evident at a glance that he was trying his best to mind his manners and not offend anyone.

However, there were exceptions to that, which were when his emotions were agitated for any reason.

Not only when he was angry but also when he was extremely focused on something, such as during training. In such cases, blood would rise to the top of Calmen’s head, and he would spew curses indiscriminately, regardless of who he was talking to.

Then, when his anger subsided, he would fall into self-loathing and become even more dejected, and the stress from such interpersonal relationships would lead to an even greater outburst of anger the next time, creating a vicious cycle.

“It’s probably because he grew up in that kind of environment since childhood.”

According to Commander Bruno, when he first met Calmen, he was a vengeful little boy who didn’t hesitate to hurl double the curses at his abusive stepfather who beat him while swearing.

As it turned out, Calmen’s family had been the most notorious foul-mouthed household in the neighborhood for generations. So, before he could even babble, he learned to curse first, Commander Bruno made an excuse for his disciple that wasn’t really an excuse.

“That attitude comes out reflexively before he even thinks with his head. That’s why I’ve warned him many times, but it can’t be fixed just by beating him up.”

As a result, his squire days were also a series of hardships. He would often talk back to senior knights and get beaten or punished. In the end, he couldn’t fit in properly with the knight order and had to volunteer for a remote palace guard duty.

There were reasons why he applied for the Pearl Palace duty despite his animosity towards Morres.

“I’m sorry… Your Highness. I… will never again…”

After regaining consciousness for a moment, Calmen bowed his head deeply and apologized to Seongjin.

But even he himself seemed to lack confidence in his own resolution, as his voice gradually trailed off.

‘Hmm. This is really troublesome as it is…’

There was a limit to how much Commander Bruno could discipline him in advance and go around apologizing.

For a grown knight to be in this state when it came to organizational life, could he properly function as a person?

He was afraid of him causing an incident, so he could take him to official events, but still.

Lost in thought, Seongjin unconsciously muttered.

“Oh my, this is worrisome. You should just be a permanent guard at the Pearl Palace, don’t you think?”

“…!”

As Calmen widened his eyes and raised his head, Seongjin showed him a warm smile.

Yes. What can you do? I, with my big heart, will have to take this guy in.

Patting his shoulder, Seongjin asked in a casual manner.

“By the way, Calmen. Do you happen to know who Pavlov is?”