Chapter 86: The Emperor Returns

“Yes?”

James questioned back with a shocked face.

Tie up the nobles?

“Impossible?”

“It is possible.”

If the Hongik Knights were intact, it would have been impossible.

But now that the Hongik Knights were shattered?

He could sufficiently bind their feet.

“Then go right now.”

“Right now? What about guiding…!”

“Luna is here.”

“Ah…”

“And do you think I don’t know the location of Wolhwa Palace? Or are you still doubting my identity?”

“No! I’m sorry, Your Majesty.”

James flinched in shock and prostrated himself.

“Rise.”

James, who had prostrated, stood at Gaon’s words.

And Gaon continued.

“If resistance is fierce, you may use force. There’s something to investigate first, so don’t kill.”

“…!”

James couldn’t help but be shocked.

Confinement alone would cause an enormous backlash.

Yet permitting the use of force?

As long as they didn’t die.

…Presumptuous, but may I ask one thing?

“What is it?”

“Are you perhaps planning to kill all the nobles who betrayed the kingdom?”

Every king in history had at least one epithet.

And Gaon, the 17th Emperor, had several.

One of them was ‘Iron-Blooded Monarch.’

Gaon’s iron-blooded rule recorded in history books was stained with blood and fear.

Those who challenged authority or harmed the state were thoroughly crushed regardless of status.

Even Great Mages or Great Sorcerers who had crossed the wall were no exception.

That was why he was curious.

How Gaon planned to handle the nobles this time.

“If they crossed the line, they die; if not, I’ll give them a chance for atonement. Curiosity satisfied?”

“Thank you! I will completely seal it off.”

“Yes, go.”

James bowed and leaped out of the carriage.

—Sky Knights! From now on, we seal Glory Hall under the command of His Majesty Emperor Gaon!

James’s voice then rang out.

And the entire Sky Knights with James began moving toward Glory Hall.

Right then.

“Grandfather.”

Luna opened her mouth, cautiously watching Gaon’s expression.

“Does ‘crossing the line’ mean betrayal…?”

“Yes, colluding with another kingdom crosses the line, and so does looking down on the royal family’s authority.”

“What if more than half have crossed the line?”

50% of the Varta Kingdom’s nobles had definitely betrayed, 30% were neutral.

Only 20% followed the royal family and kingdom.

And among the unconfirmed 30% neutral, there would be betrayers.

In other words, at least half had crossed the line.

“I’ll kill them all.”

“I see.”

“You seem worried.”

At Gaon’s words, Luna pondered for a moment before opening her mouth.

“Yes, I think there will be a lot of chaos.”

A noble is not alone.

They have many under them.

If not one or two, but more than half the nobles died and vanished?

Enormous chaos would ensue.

And the already poor kingdom situation would worsen further.

“Don’t worry.”

Gaon continued with a faint smile.

“Rather, them being alive would cause greater chaos.”

Would a normal noble choose betrayal?

The probability was very low.

Rather, if alive, they would create more chaos.

For the kingdom’s future, killing them was right.

“I suppose so. My thinking was short-sighted.”

Luna recalled the betrayers’ actions and nodded.

“No. Great chaos will come, so it was a valid concern.”

While having this conversation.

The carriage stopped.

“We have arrived.”

And Taylor’s voice came from the coachman’s seat.

“Let’s go.”

Gaon got off the carriage first.

And he looked at Wolhwa Palace visible ahead.

Memories of living in Wolhwa Palace came to mind.

It was stifling.

Wolhwa Palace was truly a beautiful place.

The building itself was beautiful, and the garden needed no mention.

Moreover, the small lake on the left and the antique pavilion.

It was a palace straight out of a fairy tale—Wolhwa Palace.

But Gaon’s life in Wolhwa Palace had been extremely stifling.

It had played a significant role in relinquishing the emperor’s seat.

It’s still the same.

And even now, after so much time, that feeling remained unchanged.

Wolhwa Palace was still beautiful but stifling.

Right then.

At Gaon’s appearance, two knights at the palace entrance arrived through the garden.

“We greet the princess!”

And they bowed to Luna who was with him.

“…!”

Luna glanced at Gaon with a slightly surprised face.

And then the knights greeted Gaon.

“We greet the envoy from Gardion.”

“We will guide you inside.”

After greeting, the knights turned and began guiding.

Gaon followed behind the knights and sent a message magic to Taylor.

[Wait for a moment.]

[Yes.]

Passing through the garden, Gaon arrived at the Wolhwa Palace entrance.

Arriving at the entrance, Gaon could meet a new person.

“Greetings. I am Chief Butler Peos.”

It was Chief Butler Peos.

“From now on, I will guide you.”

Then Peos turned around.

And Gaon followed Peos, walking while thinking.

…I feel like I’ve seen him somewhere.

For some reason, he looked familiar.

But the name wasn’t in memory.

Ah.

And at the sudden thought, Gaon exclaimed inwardly.

“What is your relation to Teret?”

Teret, who was the palace chief butler during Gaon’s time as emperor.

Peos had a very similar appearance to Teret.

Not just appearance.

The atmosphere was similar too.

“Perhaps the person you speak of…”

“The palace chief butler who served the 17th and 18th Emperors.”

“He is my great-grandfather.”

“Ah, that explains the resemblance.”

“…?”

Peos made a puzzled face.

And Luna, watching carefully, quickly opened her mouth thinking Peos might make a mistake.

“Chief butler, this is His Majesty Emperor Gaon.”

STEP!

At Luna’s words, Peos stopped walking.

But only for a moment.

“I’m sorry. I must have misheard…”

“You heard correctly.”

“Yes? Th-Then…!”

Peos stammered and looked at Gaon.

Gaon asked with a smile.

“Teret should have kept a portrait of me from my youth—have you seen it?”

“…!”

Peos couldn’t help but be shocked at Gaon’s question.

Come to think of it!

That was because in the Bring family mansion, Peos’s family, there were portraits of successive emperors.

Naturally, there was also the portrait of the 17th Emperor Gaon.

He had thought him familiar, and now he saw he closely resembled the portrait.

Peos immediately prostrated and shouted.

“Peos Bring greets His Majesty Emperor Gaon.”

“Nice to meet you.”

Gaon responded to the greeting and waved his hand.

Then Peos stood.

“Let’s go right away. I’m curious how much my great-grandson has grown.”

“Yes, I will guide you immediately!”

Peos began walking again with an incomparably brighter expression.

And a while later.

Knock knock.

“Your Highness, it is Peos.”

Arriving at the office, Peos knocked and shouted.

“Come in!”

Lepra answered, and Peos opened the door.

And stepped aside.

A faint smile settled on the lips of Peos who had stepped aside.

Gaon and Luna passed Peos and entered the office.

And as the two entered, Lepra stood from his seat and opened his mouth.

“Welcome…!”

But Lepra stopped mid-greeting.

“…?”

And made a puzzled face.

“Your Highness…?”

Doug, who was with him, called Lepra softly with a puzzled face following his reaction.

But Lepra did not answer Doug’s call.

He merely looked at Gaon with a flustered face.

And Gaon smirked at Lepra’s reaction and opened his mouth.

“It’s been a long time.”

“S-Surely…”

Lepra stammered at Gaon’s greeting.

And Doug shouted toward Gaon with an absurd face.

“Envoy, what is this…”

But Doug had to stop shouting mid-way.

“I-Is it Grandfather?”

Because of Lepra’s following words.

Grandfather?

“Yes, you’ve grown well.”

Gaon laughed heartily and answered.

And Lepra prostrated and shouted.

“Third-generation descendant Lepra Varta greets Grandfather.”

Glory Hall.

***

Even though the meeting had ended, numerous nobles still remained in Glory Hall.

Naturally, there were no royalist nobles.

Neutralists were few, and most followed Duke Smich.

“Gardion sending an envoy…”

“Why did they come?”

“Indeed.”

The reason they hadn’t left and remained in Glory Hall was because of Gardion Magic Tower’s envoy.

“Could it be to support the kingdom…?”

During the conversation, one noble cautiously offered an opinion.

Then the nobles conversing frowned or shouted with slight anger.

“Nonsense!”

“Why would Gardion support now?”

“If they were going to, they would have long ago.”

“There must be another purpose.”

The noble who first spoke shut his mouth at the pouring rebuttals.

Right then.

“Everyone must be flustered by the sudden situation.”

Smich opened his mouth, and everyone stopped talking and focused on Smich.

“That’s why I sent the Hongik Knights. To properly grasp the situation…”

Trailing off, Smich grinned and continued.

“I even ordered to send him back if he had bad intentions. And since the Court Magic Corps commander is going with them, there will be no issues.”

“Oh!”

“As expected of the Duke!”

“We believed in you!”

At Smich’s words, the nobles began cheering.

And at their reaction, Smich smiled as brightly as possible.

Right then.

“Duke.”

Smich’s close aide approached.

“What is it.”

“That is…”

The aide trailed off and reported in a voice small enough for only Smich to hear.

“Hongik Knights Commander Jed and Vice-Commander Max are dead.”

“…What?”

And Smich questioned back with a face asking what that meant.

“What do you mean.”

Then Smich frowned.

And right that instant.

CREAK—!

Glory Hall’s main door opened.

And knights began pouring in.

“W-What?”

“Sky Knights?”

“Why is the knight order here…”

It was indeed the Sky Knights.

The knights began positioning themselves throughout the hall.

In a form encircling the nobles.

And one noble shouted.

“What are you doing! Do you not know what this place is!”

Of course, the knights showed no reaction to the noble’s shout.

“Hah, have you lost your fear!”

The noble continued shouting at the silent knights.

“By His Majesty’s order.”

This time, an answer to the shout rang out.

The noble turned his head to look at the entrance where the voice came from.

Sky Knights Commander James entered and continued.

“You must stay quietly here until His Majesty arrives.”

At James’s words, the nobles looked at Smich.

And Smich opened his mouth.

“Can you handle this? The current situation?”

“…”

James let out a groan.

Then the nobles’ eyes flashed.

And James smirked at their reaction and said.

“For reference, the use of force has been permitted.”

James raised his sword.

And planted it in the floor, releasing aura to dominate the surrounding space.

“Keep that in mind.”

No noble could open their mouths.

Smich was the same.

Thus, silence flowed.

The silence did not last long.

Nobles began gathering in groups of three or five and talking.

James paid no attention.

The order was to seal Glory Hall so they couldn’t escape.

He focused only on the seal.

Time passed like that.

And a while later, a knight outside entered and approached James.

And reported in a quiet voice.

James flinched and then smiled brightly.

Smich, who had been watching James, frowned.

What report made him react like that?

That instant, James shouted.

“Everyone, show proper etiquette! His Imperial Majesty has arrived!”

“…?”

Smich couldn’t help but be puzzled at James’s shout.

Lepra had arrived, so why etiquette?

Wait…

At the sudden thought, Smich slightly frowned.

His Imperial Majesty?

The Varta Kingdom had lost its empire status long ago.

Naturally, the title of emperor had vanished too.

Yet His Imperial Majesty?