Chapter 184 – Snake Under the Feet (2)

Chapter 184 – Snake Under the Feet (2)

Juan sighed as Heretia snapped at him.

“We don’t have to tell the people of Torra about this.”

“Then where are you going to go with this? All the eyes in the capital are on you, the emperor now. If you really want to do something secretly behind everyone’s back, at least do a celebration ceremony for your triumphant return or a coronation ceremony!”

The suggestion of the celebration ceremony had been raised by Heretia since the first day Juan had returned to Torra. It wasn’t only the people of Torra; people all over the empire were wondering what the returned emperor looked like. The rumor about the emperor’s enshrined body being stolen had also spread throughout the empire at the same time, which had created even more gossip.

The only way to settle everything down was for Juan to show his face to the people through a public ceremony. A lot of rumors and gossip would continue even after that, since Juan’s current appearance was very different from the publicly known appearance of the emperor, but there was a clear difference between seeing the emperor with their own eyes and not.

However, Juan frowned and then shook his head.

“I already told you that I don’t want a celebration ceremony.”

“Why can’t you just do it once when the people in Torra are all so desperate to see your face? The attitude of a leader trying to hide his face shakes the foundation of the government. People have been suspecting and spreading rumors that the reason you can’t show your face is either because you have a deadly disease, are suffering from a terrible epidemic, or have a horrible sexually transmitted disease. I bet you’ll want to show your face right away if you find out what the people have been talking about you.”

“...You sound just like Harmon. No, I actually think that you might be even worse than him. Anyway, I have made my intention very clear.”

“You have syphilis on your mind,” Heretia derided.

.

“Ouch, that’s an awful thing to say. Perhaps you’re the one who has personal feelings about this.”

“What?”

“I heard that the Saintess and the Captain of the Imperial Guards were in favor of committing treason. In a way, you can blame the Saintess for losing your legs. It’s only natural for you to be upset upon finding out that the Saintess is safe.”

Heretia glared at Juan and then opened her mouth.

“Their opinions were different from mine, but I eventually agreed with the final decision. I was the one who suggested a vote, and I wouldn’t have suggested it if I wasn’t ready to accept either of the results. I don’t intend to say anything like ‘I told you so’ to the Saintess even for a second.”

But Juan answered Heretia in a calm manner.

“Really? I have a feeling that you do.”

“Your Majesty.”

Haild, who was quietly listening to Heretia and Juan’s conversation from next to them, carefully opened his mouth; he had a feeling that the situation might get worse if their conversation continued any further.

“This underground structure feels quite similar to the bases of the Thornbush Priest Organization that we occupied together. I’m used to fighting in underground structures, so I think I’ll be fine even if I have to go alone.”

“If we are talking about an underground battle, I can definitely fight too,” Sina also stepped forward.

Juan stared at Sina for a while.

“There’s no need for you to step forward,” Juan said.

“Isn’t this why you called me?” Sina asked.

“Well, I did consider asking you for a favor.”

“I want to meet the Saintess and Lenly Loen. Besides, I feel like this incident has something to do with you.”

At that moment, Haild opened his mouth again.

“Come to think of it, why didn’t Your Majesty call Anya and Horhell? I think both of them would be highly suitable for underground battles.”

Heretia was the first one to shake her head upon hearing Haild’s question.

“Anya killed Lenly Loen’s younger sister on the battlefield. Her name was Ledna Loen and that lady was the Deputy of the Order of the Capital.”

“...She was Lenly Loen’s younger sister? I thought they were only distant relatives or something.”

“They were on bad terms because of their extremely different ideologies, but family is still family. If Anya has to meet him, it would be better for Anya to meet him under the bright sun as His Majesty’s loyal subordinate, instead of as a necromancer in the nasty and dark underground. As for Horhell... I recall His Majesty telling me not to call him.”

Juan nodded.

Sina nodded.

“There’s no way there would be no interference in this kind of place. Let’s move forward with caution.”

Haild also nodded.

Although the underground structure was not in the form of a general dungeon, there could still be many monsters that could live in such harsh environments, such as the undead and many types of indeterminate beasts—not to mention the possible existence of traps.

Sina and Haild slowly walked forward while relying on the glimmering purple light.

***

Haild and Sina arrived near their destination half a day later with almost nothing happening, other than Sina being startled a few times due to the optical illusion caused by staring at the purple light.

The two were exhausted to the extent that they had a terrible headache. It was especially tiring for their eyes to move forward in the dark with only a dim purple light.

“...So there’s nothing interfering with us,” Haild muttered dejectedly.

It was a good thing that they didn’t have to waste their energy on battles, but it was nerve-wracking to move forward with the concern of something popping out at any time.

“No, I definitely felt a few presences on our way. I’m sure that there is something down here, but I don’t know if it is ignoring us or avoiding us,” Sina said as she shook her head.

Haild agreed with Sina. At first, he thought that Sina was on edge because she had suffered from optical illusions due to staring at the purple light, but later on, Haild also felt clear signs of some presence that made it hard for him to ignore them.

But in the end, nothing interfered with them.

“Anyway, they are said to be around here somewhere. If we look through each room one by one...”

“Who Are you?”

At that moment, a voice came from beyond the darkness. Haild and Sina tried to approach the voice in relief, but soon came to a stop upon feeling a sudden murderous intent.

“I asked who you were.”

If the owner of the voice was either the Saintess or the Captain of the Imperial Guards, there was no way that they wouldn’t know that someone was coming to rescue them. Besides, the opponent could clearly see that Sina and Haild were humans since they were exposed by the purple light.

Then Sina suddenly thought that Haild’s grotesque appearance might be making the opponent wary of him. She stepped forward and opened her mouth.

“I am Sina Solvane, the Captain of the Order of the Blue Rose. This is His Majesty’s... knight, Haild. Are you Lenly Loen, the Captain of the Imperial Guards?”

Instead of a response, they only got silence.

Then, after a brief moment of silence, the opponent opened their mouth.

“I apologize for the inconvenience, but the condition of my eyes is pretty bad right now. But it seems like you have the equipment meant for a Templar with you, while I can feel the energy of the Crack from the other person beside you. As far as I know, both of you are people who are against His Majesty.”

Sina looked at Haild with a perplexed expression. Haild seemed frustrated, but he couldn’t find a reasonable excuse.

As Haild and Sina’s answer was delayed, a low and quiet sound of a sword being unsheathed could be heard from beyond the darkness.

Sina had heard about Lenly Loen’s famous tales of heroism as she was also a graduate of the knight school. While she thought that Haild and herself were also just as skilled as Lenly, he was not an opponent they should be fighting against in the first place.

“Wait, let’s have a conversation first before we do anything unnecessary. If we were not the people sent by His Majesty, how could we have found this place in the first place?” Sina asked.

“It doesn’t matter how you found this place. All I know is that I must carry out my duty.”

‘The duty of protecting the saintess.’

A man quietly walked out from beyond the darkness. The sturdy man with his eyes wrapped in bandages gave off an intense energy just by looking at him.

Without any choice, Sina and Haild were forced to raise their swords; they just hoped to be able to overpower the opponent without getting injured.

It was at that moment that another voice was heard.

“Everyone put down your swords,”

A woman approached them from behind Lenly.

While everyone stared at her, the woman scratched her head and then glared at the three as if she was annoyed. Her black eyes stood out to the extent that they felt foreign even in the dark.

“You all just can’t do anything without me, can you?”