Chapter 137 – In the Middle of the Storm (1)

Chapter 137 – In the Middle of the Storm (1)

“I demand justice for His Majesty!”

Most of the nobles of the empire were the successors of the nobles from the old kingdoms or local natives that had gathered under the banner of the emperor. The emperor protected their wealth and honor in return for them obediently gathering under his banner in the name of mankind.

While the administration of the capital was handled by electing someone from among the people selected by the Church, the local administration was handled by these people. If the Church was said to be the head of the current empire, it was no exaggeration to say that the House of Peers would be the limbs of the current empire.

In the middle of such a House of Peers, Heretia shouted once more.

“I demand justice for His Majesty!”

Rymer massaged his forehead with a troubled look on his face. This meeting was originally called in order to increase the internal crackdown against the chaotic rumors that had been shaking the empire internally, as well as to gain the strong cooperation of all the nobles. Follow the latest novels at novelhall.com

However, it was ruined very quickly when Heretia claimed that there was a controversy hidden in the incident of His Majesty’s assassination.

“Miss Heretia Helwin, are you being serious right now?”

“Didn’t reliable evidence that would arouse suspicions come out from the Vatican already?”

“But...”

Chairman Rymer looked at Heretia, speechless.

“The matter of the Regent being involved with the assassination of His Majesty is not something that can be claimed so lightly.”

Rymer honestly wanted to ask Heretia if she had about two more lives. The Regent Barth Baltic was not only the supreme commander of the famous Imperial Army and the former Grand General who represented the administration, but was also the strongest man in the empire based on his individual power alone.

He did not sit on the throne of the emperor, but he was practically the emperor considering the fact that he held both power and authority in the empire. Heretia was basically saying that she wanted to point a knife directly at Barth Baltic.

“Of course, I’m not suggesting that the Regent is directly involved in the assassination of His Majesty. I’m just asking him to explain something that I don’t understand about some of the marching orders he gave to the military at the time,” Heretia said.

“Miss Helwin, even if there is something that you don’t understand about what happened, that was forty-seven—no, forty-eight years ago. How could the Regent remember what happened that long ago and explain it all?”

“Why wouldn’t he remember it? After all, it was the day of His Majesty’s death. My father remembers that day quite vividly, and he was only an eight-year-old boy back then. He remembers what he ate for breakfast that day and he also remembers the moment when he heard the shocking news. I don’t think I’d ever forget it until I die either.”

Helwin said and took out a letter and placed it on the table.

“This letter is a written order that I recently obtained by chance. I can’t tell you how I acquired it, but what’s written in here is a command for the troops to march into the Imperial castle. With the Regent’s signature on it! Isn’t it possible that the absence of the guards due to the marching order led to His Majesty’s assassination?”

The nobles thumped the table in agreement.

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On the other hand, Rhymer felt dumbfounded. The emperor had been moving toward the northern front at that time, and the order for the troops to march was nothing new.

‘The opponent was none other than His Majesty. Who would even dare to try and harm him?’

In Rhymer’s eyes, Heretia only seemed to be throwing a tantrum. But then something suddenly passed through Rhymer’s mind.

‘This cheeky noble.’

Heretia was by no means a stubborn young girl nor was she a fool. She was known to be so wise that she was called the reincarnation of Harmon Helwin, the heretic genius of the Helwin family. Heretia was not the type of woman to pick a fight with the Regent with only such a document that no one even knew the origin of.

With such a thought, Rhymer began to observe Heretia’s behavior differently.

It was only natural for there to be factions, even in the House of Peers. There were first-generation founding nobles, who were all powerful people who worked for the emperor during the founding era. Then there were the second-generation meritorious nobles who were recognized as nobles for their contributions during the period of the empire’s stabilization and foundation. Finally, there were the third-generation religious nobles composed primarily of Priests who were influenced by the Church or retired from the Church after the assassination of the emperor.

Among these, the founding faction had the largest number of members in the House of Peers. However, they could no longer play any role other than being a show of hands during election processes once the Church began to gain ground. The meritorious faction resisted this trend, but they, too, became silent as their numbers decreased.

The Helwin family was close to being a member of the founding faction, but they often worked with the members of the meritorious faction due to the presence of Harmon Helwin. When Harmon Helwin was executed and declared an apostate, the Helwin family hid among the founding factions while remaining silent.

But the Helwin family once again started rising—this time as the leader of the meritorious faction. This happened after Heretia became the head of the Helwin family.

Helmut slumped on the sofa with his hands pressed against his forehead.

“Damn apostates... There are only heretics and corrupted ones left...”

“Your Holiness. Do you want me to light up some more incense for you?”

The Priest quickly approached Helmut and placed an ashtray in front of him. Helmut stared at the ashtray for a while, but then soon shook his head.

“No, it’s fine. It’s nice to breathe in some fresh air after a long time. I should think about this matter while my head is clear. It’s not easy to defend the empire that His Majesty left behind from the apostates. Perhaps I’ve lived way too comfortably until now...”

Helmut stared blankly at the ceiling, then opened his mouth again.

“I should first clean up internally. I’ll have to make amends with the Saintess, and then I will propose a definite investigation about this prophecy about the emperor’s return. Everything will be better once I get rid of the source of the rumor.”

“Yes, Your Holiness.”

“And ignore the request to demand an explanation from the Regent. Those damned noble bastards have no idea just how crazy the Regent is just because he has been quiet until now. They probably thought that I would like it if they decided to try and shake Barth Baltic’s position; after all, there’s the religious faction within the House of Peers. Go and send them a warning to come back to their senses.”

“Yes, Your Holiness.”

Then the Priest suddenly stopped as he picked up the documents sent in by the House of Peers.

“Um, Your Holiness. If the rumors turn out to be true...”

“What?”

“I-I mean, there are a lot of people who babble like that. So, I was wondering what would happen if the people were to ignore the truth and worship one of the apostates as the emperor...”

Helmut snapped back at the Priest as if he had just heard the most ridiculous question.

“If that happens, then I’ll rip that apostate’s head myself. That would make me feel quite good.”

The Pope going out of his way to punish someone had never happened before. The Priest shuddered in fear unconsciously. Most incidents were taken care of just by sending some Templars from a knight order. If not, dispatching some Bishops was enough to handle the situation.

But the Pope coming forward was a whole different story.

The Pope, who directly administered His Majesty’s Grace, held enough power to confront the entire Church on his own. It would be a catastrophe for his enemies if he decided to step forward himself.

But in the end, the Priest couldn’t bring up the question that he really wanted to ask.

‘What if the real emperor is returning?’

The Priest thought that it would be the Pope rather than the opponent who would end up facing a disaster if that time comes.

***

Crunch!

As soon as the crunching sound rang out, purple bodily fluids splattered over Juan’s face.

Juan wiped the bodily fluid off of his cheek and shook off the corpse of the Priest from Thornbush Priest Organization that had been pierced through by his fist. The Priest who had transformed into a strange mutation fluttered and scattered without his body remaining whole.

Juan looked around at his surroundings. He was inside a cavity made by huge and bizarre monsters from the other world. The ceiling, walls, and floors were all made of corpses that were impaled and glued together, but none of them had a proper human form.

Then someone showed up.

It was Haild.

“I think that everything has been sorted out now. There’s no one left here.”

Juan made a surprised expression upon hearing Haild’s words.

“Is the entire city clear?” Juan asked.

“The ones who had been controlling Kaleb were the Priests from the Thornbush Priest Organization, and the rest were visitors from the Crack. They all ran away as soon as they heard that His Majesty had appeared. They even blocked the door completely. As a result, the Priests from the Thornbush Priest Organization couldn’t even escape. Most of them were hiding in this temple that Your Majesty just wiped out.”