Chapter 307 Transcending Heart (5)

The desert. The border area where battles were taking place.

– Clang! Clang! Clang!

“Hut! Hut! Hut!”

The Venetiaan Holy Kingdom’s base in the desert was rowdy. Trainees, experienced soldiers, stretchers for the injured, staff pouring meals… There were people also moving around hauling firewood or fixing worn armor. Shouts and screams went back and forth among the orders and responses.

“Move, his Royal Highness is walking past!”

“Make way!”

“Get out of the way!”

“Eek!” The procession was chaotic.

It seemed extremely pompous for a procession headed to be interrogated by the crown princess. This was the first time Werner was showing himself since ‘that day.’

The people quickly moving around stood in place and showed their respect. Some of them gathered the courage to peek at the Prince Consort as well. All of them jumped in fright and lowered their heads. He looked like a severely ill patient as he sat on the wheelchair looking extremely thin and pale.

No- he was actually a critically ill patient.

“We are almost there, your Royal Highness.”

“Ah ah! Ugh……!” He let out a pained groan every time the wheels thumped.

The man had lost his right arm and right leg in the Temple of Boundaries. Vicarius Generalis Ronald Rupert, who had been there, had used his healing powers, but the cut off areas were burned by holy fire that it could not be healed.

The prosthetic limbs that the blacksmith at the base had rushed to make shook underneath the half empty clothes. Black metal with no decorations. It was a color and shape that did not suit his usual self.

Pale attendants and royal servants followed in a line behind him. Half of them looked extremely scared and full of tears. It was normal for them to despair with their master like this.

“Ah, ah ah ah…… It hurts……!”

His once beautiful voice was cracking. His breathing sounded raspy because his lungs had been filled with too much smoke. That too was difficult to fully heal because it was a ‘burn’ from holy fire.

“Quickly inform her Royal Highness. His Royal HIghness cannot be out of his bed for long periods of time!”

“Yes, yes sir!” A knight urgently went to fulfill that order.

Even the Vicarius Generalis had said this man’s survival was a miracle. It was a surprise that he didn’t die from shock in the Holy Room. Many people talked about how this was expected because he shared the blood of Holy Queen Elene. This was not a weird reaction. The Prince Consort was someone who had the people’s hatred, awe, envy, and affection all at once.

The rumor about how it was the Imperial Crown Prince of the Empire that had injured him like this had quickly spread. The people’s rage quickly spread like wildfire. The fact that the imperial family of an enemy nation dared to attack their Prince Consort made them shake with rage. Some people even gathered in front of the Royal Palace to cry. Many lit their flames for revenge as well.

The morale of the soldiers was extremely high because the Prince Consort had not returned to the palace and was staying in the desert base. It could not be helped. All of this.

“Please come in.” The knights guarding the entrance pulled back the curtain. The old attendant pushed the wheelchair in with a solemn look on his face.

Twelve Archbishops were standing in a circle with a fire in the middle, waiting for the Prince Consort. Crown princess Elise Venetiaan was stationed at the highest spot. She was wearing sturdy silver armor. Faint sparks of flames and the scent of war filled the room.

The attendants who saw the bloodied sleeve of a warrior flinched and lowered their heads.

“Our princess……”

“I called you because there is something I needed to confirm.”

“……”

“If you are guilty, I will judge you as the Agent of the Queen right here right now.” Her voice was cold. No greetings were exchanged between the father and daughter. Not even a cup of water was offered. Elise’s sapphire-colored eyes were extremely cold yet hot.

She had not slept properly since the battle at the temple. It was only her stamina as a Cardinal and her training until now that allowed her to deal with all this pressure. If Cornelisse had not safely returned to the Royal Palace, if Count Palatine Roosegaarde had not returned to look after the kingdom’s affairs… She was certain that she would have crumbled a lot earlier.

But these were thoughts she could not share with anybody else. She was the heir to the throne. She could not show any weakness.

“I will ask the question.”

“How could you be like this to your father……”

“Father, did you stab Jesse?”

Her question was as sharp as a poisonous dart.

The Prince Consort blinked his eyes as if he heard the most blasphemous thing in the world. Even the summoned priests’ eyes opened wide as they looked at the crown princess. Elise was not shaken. Her gaze was focused on her father as she waited for an answer.

“Elise?”

“The first person I saw when I entered the Holy Room was you, father. The Riester crown prince was attacking you. As I blocked him, I saw behind him…… I finally noticed Jesse.”

Elise’s eyes seemed to grow dim. She had clearly felt her brother’s ether beyond the labyrinth. It was only for a short period of time, but she clearly remembered the summer days she spent in Riester. That child’s warm aura felt as if it was just within her reach.

At first, she thought that it was shaking and in pain because of the test in the labyrinth. She too had been in pain from seeing the illusions of her family and just thought he was facing a similar trial. She only realized that she was wrong after escaping the labyrinth and exchanging blows with the crown prince.

– Claaaaaang! Clang, clang, clang!

‘My goodness, Jesse……! Jesse!’

Her judgment had been too slow from the shock of seeing her dying father. The child in a sea of blood did not move at all. She did not feel his ether at all anymore. Not even a little bit.

It was the first time she felt fear like that.

‘Ah ah ah! Why is my younger brother in such a state?! Why?!’ She had screeched. She was so shocked that she could not even cry.

The overloaded crown prince had almost lost all rationality. He could not understand anything and his orange eyes had lost their focus. He just fiercely attacked as if he was a beast that was born to kill her and her father. Baaaaaang!

“……I saw injuries from being stabbed on his body. He was bleeding profusely and a dagger was on the ground.” Elise did her best to sound firm. She bit the inside of her lips to prevent herself from gasping whenever there was a break in her speech.

“Ha……”

“Were you the one who harmed him? If not, why did you go through the labyrinth?”

That was the crown princess’s instincts. The bloody weapon and her deceased younger brother. She had been basically certain after seeing the crown prince running wild.

Her father had come all the way in there to kill that child. It was all her fault. Elise had swung her spear as if she had gone crazy.

– Booboboboooooooooom……! Bababaaaaang……!

‘Aaaaaaaaaaaah! Aaah!’

It was her fault for not being able to send her father back to the palace. It was her fault for not cutting him off sooner. No, even long before that… When she started to learn about her father’s abuse when she turned nine……

‘Oh Almighty God―’

‘Vicarius Generalis! Please take my father and leave! Now!’

– Ruuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuumble!

It was all her fault for not being able to do anything since then. It was her fault for being unable to give up her affection and memories with her father. Her mother was someone who was always understanding and forgiving whenever she made a mistake. She was the ideal Queen who was always kind and merciful.

The problem was that she was not free to notice Elise’s mistakes. But she could not whine and ask the leader of a kingdom to look after her. It became even harder to have personal time with her mother since her insanity progressed.

Her father had always been the one to fill that empty void. That was why she could not cast him aside. The young Elise had longed for warmth. She loved him, the one who would kiss her cheeks and compliment her. That was why her heart had been lacking the momentum to do something about her father.

22 years had passed like that. They were all just feeble excuses.

“……The crown princess’s theory is not the truth.”

This was just her karma for being extremely useless and terribly foolish. It was the ending she deserved for knowing her brother’s pain but choosing to be selfish. It was her fate to be unable to protect either of them. They were both important to her, but now they had ended up becoming a murderer and his victim.

“The reason I entered the labyrinth…… It was only because I was worried. If you remember, I had desperately asked you to take your Personal Guards with you that day.”

“……”

“While I was unable to fall asleep because my dear daughter’s face kept popping up on my mind, I recalled asking if I could go to greet you on your way back.”

“……”

“I also clearly remembered you telling me not to come out of the room, but…… I am a father.” The Prince Consort weakly smiled as he spoke. He had lost an arm and a leg, he had a large scar by his eye, and after barely regaining consciousness this morning, he looked extremely weak.

But Elise did not respond. The man continued to speak.

“I borrowed an attendant’s clothes, put on an old robe, and hid in the second waiting room. It hurt me that we said goodbye like that…… So I went to at least hopefully get a look at your face.”

“Are you telling me that the Vatican soldiers just let you in like that?”

“That part…… I do not clearly remember. My deepest apologies.” Werner smiled bitterly.

Elise felt oddly anxious. He did not usually react like this. Her father was someone who already had answers planned in advance, someone who always had an excuse ready. She could clearly tell that he was just pulling a fast one whenever she looked back on the situation, but it was always like that. That was why it was weird that he was saying things that were unfavorable toward him. ‘He doesn’t remember?’

“Where was I? Ah…… I went through the labyrinth and entered the Holy Room to find that child there. I’m talking about Jesse.” He could feel everybody go quiet and focus. The Prince Consort slowly blinked.

“But for some reason- my son did not recognize me. He had a dagger in his hand and his whole body was covered in blood. It was a terrible sight…… It felt as if he had not completely escaped from the test of the guardian spirit.”

“My goodness.”

“I heard that the guardian spirit was a monster that consumes people.”

“Didn’t they say they look at a person’s plate? If not everybody manages to get past the test……” The Archbishops standing around ominously whispered.

Elise clenched her teeth and raised her hand. The room quickly became quiet.

“Are you saying that it was the guardian spirit that attacked my brother?”

“I’m not sure, your Royal Highness. However, that was all I could think of at the time. I was worried that my dear daughter would also be harmed by the guardian spirit…… Ahh!” Werner suddenly curled forward. He seemed to be feeling phantom pain in his cut off shoulder and side.

His old attendant quickly pulled some painkillers out of his inner pocket. Another attendant offered him some water. His pale face slowly settled after quickly consuming the medicine.

The crowd looked extremely tense as they waited to hear what else he had to say.

“Jesse…… My son stabbed me. He stabbed a dagger right here……”

He covered his stomach in a weak voice. The extremely shocked Archbishops covered their mouths.

Elise thought to herself. She had also seen the injury on her father’s stomach. She also knew that the dagger rolling around on the ground was a Riester dagger.

But this was a lie.

“It was not because he recognized me. He mistakenly thought that he was still in the labyrinth…… And he swung the dagger without knowing who was talking to him.”

“……”

“He is a pure child with a good heart. There is no way he knowingly did that. However, the prince also lost his consciousness after attacking me…… That is what happened.” The Prince Consort put a sad expression on his face as he finished speaking.

Basically, he was saying that he lost his arm and leg to the crown prince who ‘misunderstood’ after seeing the situation. His beautiful face now had a scar that healing power could not fix. He would have mental scars and suffer from phantom pain until his dying breath, and this started both large and small skirmishes in the border. Numerous soldiers had already been hurt more than Werner and lost their lives.

Elise’s teeth were shaking as she looked down at the Archbishops. The old man who she made eye contact with gasped and bowed.

“Please test my father’s words.”

“Excuse me? Ah yes, your Royal Highness.”

The old man calmly cast his Holy Domain. ‘Paaaaa……!’ Werner’s eyes opened wide. But he could not stop this flow of holy power. The Archbishop’s Divine Oracle echoed out.

[Oh benevolent Almighty God. Please forgive this sir for his false words.]

“……”

“……”

“……”

But nothing happened. The golden circle silently spun.

Elise slowly opened her mouth. Her father was speaking the ‘truth.’ This could not be happening.

She immediately pointed to the next priest.

“You try it.”

“As you command, your Royal Highness.”

‘Paaaaa!’ The second Holy Domain also lit up the tent.

The results were the same. Elise looked at her father in astonishment. He did not show any special reaction than to send her a sad gaze. The crown princess shot out order after order. Third, fourth, fifth…… All twelve Archbishops confessed for the Prince Consort’s sins.

The Almighty God did not give any answer. There were no lies to her father’s words.

“Ha, ha……”

Elise looked around with her pupils shaking.

Then that meant that her father’s mind had been modified. An extremely strong priest at the Archbishop level or higher had strongly brainwashed his thoughts to make him believe it to be the truth.

Her father must have secretly given the order. It had been about six hours since he woke up, so someone who entered his tent during that time……

“……”

“……”

Flinch. The crown princess realized that everybody was looking at her. Everything she had experienced throughout her life suddenly felt chilling and uncomfortable. She tightly clenched the spear to her right.

All of the Archbishops gathered here had something in common. Their diocese was not far from the border area and they were all people that Jeanine had specially selected for not having any relations with her father.

But if her father had managed to buy them all out, what did that mean?

– Clunk!

……If she could not easily believe even the religious figures in remote areas who did not care for power… Then just who could she trust?

“Your Royal Highness.”

“Your Royal Highness?”

“Your Royal Highness!”

Elise quickly walked out of the tent. The flustered religious figures called out to her but no words reached her. This was extremely irresponsible of her. She knew that she could not act childish like this.

But she was scared. Such weak thoughts were dying her mind black. She bit her tongue to hold back a gasp. She was scared of herself for feeling scared.

She had to reveal the truth. She had a younger sibling to protect. Then she needed to get stronger. But even out here-

“Gasp, ugh.”

She was scared of her father, who even had his evil hands reaching all the way out here to the border region. She found it dreadful and chilling that he carried such poisonous thoughts in his heart despite ending up in his current situation. The reality that she could not even hold a funeral for Jesse because the other side had taken his body away made her feel miserable. The fact that she had to fight together with people she could not trust to protect her back made her despair.

But she could not stop her father. Even in this moment when the Empire proclaimed war and the Empress was headed here to the battlefield.

“Jeanine! Jeanine, are you here?!”

The crown princess sent all the soldiers away and rushed into her tent. The surprised attendant ran over to her. Her tears started to pour out like a downpour.

Elise called out her brother’s name and wailed.

—

Translator’s Comments

Fuck! This bastard is thorough!