Chapter 823 – Heaven’s Pain (2)
***
The first day of the Lunar New Year.
The 3rd Princess of Romania untied her praying hands.
Following the pope’s instructions, the Third Princess, Esmeralda, held out her Holy Grail, which she had received from her father, the Emperor. The pope greeted her with doubts and pity on her solemn face, and quietly stretched out her hand.
The expression he showed before the ceremony was nowhere to be found, and he was immersed in his sacred duties.
Jigsaw…
The pope moved the lightning that burned like a bonfire in the deepest part of the church and filled Esmeralda’s chalice with it. The lightning burned like a torch without extinguishing.
Hook…
The bonfire of the Church of Vesta faded as if it had moved to the Holy Grail.
The Pope bowed deeply.
〈… A pious pilgrimage.〉
Leaning her body down, she looked down at the unheated Torrent Chalice.
The ceremony of Cheontongjeol continues for seven days and nights.
Romania was a country founded on the plains by the first emperor with deep faith. Therefore, the ceremony of Cheontongjeol in commemoration of the founding was also based on tradition.
A pilgrimage to the Holy Grail by the imperial family.
This pilgrimage, which begins with the Order of God of Guanhua, which enshrines the lightning, is a ritual that moves through the 7 Orders of Romania, one by one, that supervise the country’s major and minor affairs.
A pilgrimage route that stretches from the church of God of Guanhua to the capital.
It was a week-long pilgrimage, but it couldn’t be said to be short.
This is because the royal family carrying the lightning strikes is not allowed to ride on horseback, let alone climb on the wagon.
With only his own footsteps, he walks the plains of the country day and night, holding the Holy Grail. And before the sun rises the next day, let the other members of the royal family join in.
The Festival of Heaven is a forced march that does not cover day and night, and as you have to pass through 7 churches, of course you need at least 7 members of the imperial family. If there were not enough personnel, the burden on each member of the imperial family increased accordingly.
Because there was no royal family left in the previous generation—because the emperor and her succession were annihilated while fighting——when Esmeralda was young, her brother once walked down the street for three days.
Not difficult for a warrior with well-trained limbs.
However, Esmeralda was an 18-year-old girl with a weak body and unable to use magic.
Except for the fact that she was a princess, she was nowhere special. However, Cheontongjeol is a ceremony that I have already experienced since I was growing up, and this year, as 7 members of the royal family gathered, there was little burden.
Even so, her heart was dizzy, it was only because of what had happened in the past few weeks.
─Clap.
As Esmeralda climbed her steps, the heroine with her stern face gave a court-martial salute.
〈… Princess.〉
Her escorts guarded her and formed her procession.
But there were no other pilgrims besides them.
Up to her last year her devout pilgrims had made her long procession after her, but now she could not hope for the presence of her companions.
How long is this pilgrim procession, and how many powerful nobles are with it.
The scale was also a factor that turned the ceremony of Cheontongjeol into a battle for position among the imperial family.
Proof that indolent nobles support the imperial family enough to join them on the pilgrimage. Proof that you have taken over the people’s mind. Lastly, who is the last batter to hand the thunderbolt to the emperor in the capital city?
A bird’s-eye view summarizing the trend of the succession competition.
That was the realistic value of the time-honored Cheon Tong Jeol ritual.
Even though Esmeralda was the lowest in the line of succession, the people’s support was high. That is why there were many pilgrims of her commoners who walked with her during her ceremonies.
Esmeralda was delighted with their visit.
It seems that her virtues and good deeds, which she always diligently kept, are being rewarded.
I was happy with that brief freedom of giving meals and chatting to those who followed me.
It was the reason why she waited for the Cheon Tong Temple, where she had to lie down for several days after her feet were swollen every time.
But this year, it’s just Esmeralda and her escorts.
It has to be. Isn’t she known as the good princess? It was only thanks to her escorts that she felt betrayed and no one came to throw stones at her.
A fly flew in and landed on the wagon.
It was because the groceries that he had been handing out to the pilgrims and struggling to collect were going bad.
〈… Black.〉
Ping Do swallowed her tears by biting her lip.
Esmeralda lamented the reality of the imperial family, which had lost her public sentiment, more than she did not have pilgrims.
She was silent about her past even though she forsook her humanity and started a great war.
Those who did not want to be silenced were ruled with blood and swords.
It was the ugly side of the Holy Empire that now even a child in the countryside of the mountain valley knew about.
‘… Don’t deny the truth, Esmeralda. All the rumors in the world are true.’
There was too much evidence to justify it. I don’t know, but the rest of the imperial family, who tried to catch them all as conspiracies, turned blue.
Of course, the voice condemning the imperial family also reached Esmeralda.
After a long and long deception, Rominia’s bloody fraud came to an end, and the imperial family of the time had to pay the price for the tyranny.
It was a very painful arrow of criticism for the princess, who had only her innocence.
‘… Father, why… ?’
Not everyone knew this, even if they belonged to the same royal family.
Even more so, if the public criticism is true, it is the emperor’s job to erase the unfavorable history of Romania. Would such a secret reach the ears of a princess with low succession rights?
Killing innocent people only for national interest and deceiving the world for hundreds of years?
Had he known, Esmeralda would never have endured.
Is it only the emperor and some of his aides who know the truth?
‘… Looking at the atmosphere at the court, even my older brother didn’t know.’
As there was no one who stood out, she seemed to have been appointed as the first prince.
Even he acted as if he was genuinely flustered, then began to exude a bloody atmosphere. The emperor did not inform the first emperor of the secret history of Romania.
If that was all, he might still be okay.
‘It would have been better if the secret had been handed down while inheriting the throne… ‘
The reality was not like that.
Regardless of the emperor’s inner thoughts, the first prince seemed to have decided to think so.
This is because, on the 6th day of this Cheontongjeol, the royal family in charge of the Church of the Rich God, who directly delivers the Holy Grail to the emperor, was none other than the last stone of the last stone, the prince.
Needless to say, it was the prince who was dispatched as an emissary to Atlantis, which became the center of the problem a while ago.
The truth of the miserable history inherited only by successive emperors.
The only prince among the royal family who was told the truth.
For this reason, rumors were spreading around the Festival of Heaven that the emperor had visited the prince as the crown prince, and had only passed on the secret to him.
Esmeralda was no longer proud of the plains of her country, nor of the Holy Grail held in her bosom.
All I can think of right now is the safety of siblings who are 4 years older.
Esmeralda sobbed all the time until the day went down and dawn broke, until her sore feet were torn apart.
【… …】
A pair of eyes were watching from high up in the sky as the girl’s back dripped tears into the glass containing the lightning.
***
I looked down into the hall where the party was being held like a festival.
“What kind of festival is going on?”
“It’s probably not a festival, but a funeral for a fallen imperial authority.”
Dana in a dress said. It was a red dress that was tailored to my taste—it felt like I was following my girlfriend out shopping to see and answer in person.
We are at the sixth halfway point of the Tian Tong.
It was a large city close to the capital, where the main school of the Pomona Church, the god of fertility, was located.
What is the name of the city Coquerium? Fuck I don’t know It won’t matter too much.
Rather, I marveled at the party hall on the first floor from the hall on the second floor, divided like a duplex department store.
“So whether or not the imperial family is running a marathon to the bone, are they partying? The greats do it too.”
This is a fantasy land where life can easily become a dog’s joke if you have room in your life.
Just like the pirates whose trademark is the straw hat, I’ve learned enough that nobles from another world go crazy over banquets. I’ve been attending a lot.
But the royals are fucking crazy, and the nobles are having a party right before the goal line.
Damn it comes This is the new military drug. Fuck it… Fucking never change…
“If the imperial family had run the country properly, wouldn’t it have been a problem~?”
Likewise, Laliluru, dressed in a party dress, said a word. The exposure is high and the back is hollow, so as a husband, I’m worried about it, but I don’t want to tell him not to wear it.
I said while drinking a free drink.
“You said there was no problem? What are you talking about again?”
“Think about it. There aren’t many nobles who work really hard like your seniors♡? Maybe the royal family members aren’t that busy either?”
Lalilura put her mouth on the glass I was drinking. She tipped her glass slightly and let me drink.
Perhaps because it was a sweet drink, even my junior, who doesn’t like alcohol very much, tasted it while rolling it with her tongue. I smiled at the awkward drunken look.
“Are you saying that if you’re comfortable all year round and suffer a lot one day, you’ll become unplayable?”
“Unplay, unplay… ? Uh, maybe.”
Lalilura hesitated as she nodded, wondering if the term was unfamiliar.
It makes sense I didn’t understand it because it felt like an election campaign. Our Laliluru seems to have brightened up a little in politics.
Even from the point of view of the imperial family, rolling hard from time to time would not be a big loss.
“Even when I was living, it was a trend that it was okay to have some fun because it was an anniversary.”
“Still, it seems to be going too far… “
Veronica, who brushed her hair to the side of Tyrsi’s bitter laugh, also sighed.
They also omit the dresses below.
The outfits that made everyone want to take them to their rooms after they finished were impressive. In the first place, it’s only natural that I say a word or two among wives in underwear.
“To be so blatant, um… That… “
“… A kind of protest. Nobles, full of dissatisfaction.”
Of course, Fran and Nefertiti are also there.
As you can see, the whole family has gathered in this city.
Why are you here? It’s obvious.
Staying in the capital was subtly dangerous, and being too far away from the capital was not good because it made it difficult to intervene in an emergency. So I settled in this city.
I covered my eyes with my hands like a middle school patient.
‘It’s contradictory, but being in the most dangerous place is the most effective for me.’
The more dangerous the future, the higher the probability that it will appear as a foreknowledge.
That’s why it was efficient for me to stay close to the danger, and my wives came with me because I couldn’t get hurt and fall as I had heard in the scolding earlier.
Elders and Odelia are also active in their respective positions.
“Emperor… Didn’t you say your official speech was at the end of the Festival of Heaven?”
Fran whispered as she approached me. It is Fran’s way of not using honorific titles until the end.
“Yes. They said they had something to declare by attaching a lightning bolt to the palace.”
Our plan was to deliver one last blow in the name of Baron Sellustia (fake), who until then had been known as the emperor’s hooker. Attending this party was part of that.
‘It was fortunate that the Cheontongjeol was a national event, so foreigners could come to celebrate.’
After receiving the letter from Elizabeth, he came as a representative of the Gildart family.
Inmaek was such a great thing.
“Husband. How many days has it been since the Day of Heaven started today?”
“Day four.”
The Torpedo Chalice is coming through her pilgrimage. The royal family in charge of the 5th day will receive the Holy Grail this morning, so the royal family in this city will depart within tomorrow.
──And we will pursue that last Holy Grail.
I listened to the conversation between the nobles on the first and second floors.
—Even if the pilgrimage is a pilgrimage, it is a pilgrimage to show our sincere advice to His Majesty the Emperor.
-It will be a minister. Shall we even ride in a wagon?
─It’s a day that is the foundation of the nation, so you have to be so disrespectful to use it.
—Still, nobles of this size gathered together and marched. The pilgrimage is the first in history.
-It would be nice if His Majesty the Emperor would also recognize our loyalty…
─From now on, it’s not too late. We need to make sure things are settled and take action abroad.
─That’s right. It is not a problem that can be solved simply by asking for clarification. Someone has to take responsibility, and even if all the rumors are true, we need to fully affirm it to secure our position…
─Shhh. You have to be careful with your words.
─Ike.
They seemed to hide the contents of the conversation by using magic items in their own way, but I could hear their plans in detail. It is thanks to the synergy between Odin’s eyes and the sensitive five senses.
‘The purpose is a candlelight protest, no. Is it a beacon demonstration?’
It wasn’t just a coup, but there wasn’t much difference from the expected deadline.
I clicked my tongue. I had a report from Oftum.
‘The imperial family is still not taking action.’
What do the remaining descendants of the stars plan to decorate? Even when my family put their heads together, there was no plausible answer. Now I was just waiting impatiently.
Also, I will not be a wild carnivore. A pet dog that just impatiently eats whatever the owner gives it is comfortable and the best.
When I regarded the time of endurance as painful, did Heaven take care of it?
An unexpected situation then occurred.
The person the old man gave me approached me pretending to be a third-rate viscount enjoying a party.
I tried to pretend to have a comfortable conversation, but his expression was different. It meant an emergency. Fran quickly took the glass from my hand.
As I got ready to listen, the old man’s spy whispered in a low voice. … Oh, that’s right. I didn’t really realize the seriousness of the problem, so I narrowed my eyes and asked again. 〈… By the way, what if there is no Holy Grail?〉 Damn nimmy, it’s urgent. I hit my forehead. ‘Let’s move. I need to find out what’s going on.〉 The humiliation of being cut in line by insects… I will never forgive you!
