Chapter 101
---------------
Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org
---------------
Chapter 101
Chesa swallowed hard, her throat constricting.
The task ahead seemed far more daunting than she had anticipated.
Merely by entering the empire, the crown had grown so delighted that it was singing fairy songs without pause.
'If I win the tournament and wear the crown... won't all hell break loose?'
Petals shimmering and butterflies fluttering seemed to be just the bare minimum.
On top of that, singing and dancing as well...
Imagining the crown dancing, Chesa couldn't help but grimace inwardly.
Even if I obtained the crown, I would need to avoid actually wearing it on my head.
The crown's song continued for a long time.
It persisted even after the Holy King vanished.
When the song suddenly cut off, the people's faces showed unmistakable disappointment.
Chesa thought of Hailon.
Had he stopped the song?
The Holy King's subtle boasting while mentioning Hailon kept coming to mind.
That nauseating pride in having even that formidable Heretic Inquisitor under his control.
Yet when a real problem arose, he was the first one Hailon sought out.
'And he's supposedly the Holy King, yet he doesn't even possess the holy power of an ordinary priest.'
If he lacked ability, he should have stepped down long ago—she couldn't fathom why he clung to power so desperately.
She had already suspected the Holy Empire was not what it claimed to be.
But now that she was here facing it directly, the reality seemed far worse than her imagination.
Chesa was suddenly struck by a suspicion.
'Could it be that the crown can't handle him, so he's being sent outside the empire?'
At that moment, Kieran, who had been conversing with Daren, approached with long strides.
Chesa belatedly observed the men of House Basilian.
Though all were lost in the lingering echoes of the song, the Basilians alone wore blank expressions.
Kieran in particular seemed irritated.
Despite his outward smile, Chesa could clearly sense his frustration.
Kieran led Belzeon and Chesa into the carriage.
Hata, who had been waiting quietly inside, started to bark but shrank back upon seeing Kieran's menacing expression.
Kieran shut the carriage door with a thud and roughly swept his hair back.
He laughed bitterly.
"Ha..."
His short, hollow laugh carried unmistakable anger.
Belzeon, holding Chesa, asked.
"Is he taking interest in us because of the Heretic Inquisitor?"
"There's that, but also because we're Basilian."
Kieran laughed dryly as he spoke.
"The Holy Empire is the one who assigned us the mission in the Black Forest, after all."
"...!"
Chesa made an effort not to show her surprise.
I had wondered why the Basilian Family ended up confined to the Eastern Region, but I never expected the Holy Empire to be involved.
I thought it was the work of the Palen Empire.
I wished he had explained in more detail, but unfortunately, that was all.
"Belzeon. Take Chesa for a walk around the grounds and come back. The Holy King, you...."
Kieran stopped mid-sentence.
'It seems I was about to curse.'
He glanced at Chesa's expression before correcting himself.
"The Holy King might have done something to where we're staying, so we need to check."
He added, casting a sideways glance out the window.
"Take Theo along too. He's irritating."
His tone was so cold that Theo would have shed tears if he heard it.
Hata, who had been waiting for an opportunity in the corner, began paddling her front paws.
It was her way of saying not to leave her behind.
Last time, I had entrusted Hata to the Twins while I spoke with Kieran and the Fairy.
But somehow, after that, Hata absolutely despised the Twins whenever she saw them.
"Those monsters are demons!"
The words that the disheveled Hata had cried out echoed repeatedly in my ears.
Chesa quietly extended her hand, and Hata, as if she had been waiting, bounded over and nestled snugly into Chesa's arms.
Kieran let out a soft laugh upon seeing Chesa holding the puppy.
"Chesa."
His crimson eyes, all irritation wiped away, shone with a gentle light.
"That song from earlier—was it a Fairy's song?"
Anticipating that a situation might arise where the Crown danced and sang, Chesa told him the truth as a warning.
"The Crown sang it."
"Ah, the Crown...."
He lowered his eyes as if lost in thought for a moment, then murmured softly.
"This is troublesome.... My Chesa is so popular."
Kieran made a vow in a voice tinged with affection.
"I'll have to work harder too."
At his determination, Chesa laughed quietly to herself.
'It seems you're already putting in more than enough effort.'
What more could he possibly do—it was almost frightening to consider.
***
"Theo."
Theo's face was utterly vacant, as though his soul had departed.
Standing at a distance, he only came to his senses after Belzeon called his name three times.
"Theo!"
"...Ah, yes!"
When Belzeon shouted a bit louder at the end, Theo startled and responded with a jerk.
At his abrupt reply, passersby glanced back curiously.
Belzeon made a brief request of him.
He asked if Theo would accompany Chesa and himself on a tour of the Holy Empire.
Theo nodded seriously.
"It would be dangerous for mere children to wander about alone."
As the heir to House Basilian, Belzeon already carried responsibilities befitting an adult.
He would likely handle any crisis far more deftly than Theo could manage.
Yet to fulfill Kieran's orders, Belzeon feigned agreement with the notion that they were children.
Thus, two people, one fairy, and one beast-kin set their course toward the Grand Temple Square—the essential destination for all who entered the Holy Empire.
The expansive Grand Temple Square was paved with small marble mosaics.
Using fragments of white and blue marble along with gold-leafed stone, the emblem of the Holy Empire had been rendered in colossal scale across the floor.
One would marvel at the symbol, and upon encountering the magnificent Grand Temple erected at the far end of the ornate square, would involuntarily gasp—overwhelmed by the majesty of the divine.
As they walked toward the square, Theo chattered loudly.
"That wondrous hymn was truly magnificent, was it not? It must have been crafted so that all visitors to the Empire could hear it without feeling excluded."
Theo rejoiced, saying his heart still raced from the beautiful chant.
"And for the Holy King himself to visit in person! That I should witness His Majesty so closely in my lifetime... it was the glory of my house."
Even the Marquis Nemea would find it difficult to meet the Holy King directly.
For Theo, a younger son of the marquis's house, it was a rare moment he might never experience again in his entire life.
"To think a First-Rank Holy Knight possesses such extraordinary power. I must revere Hailon even more from now on."
Theo's eyes gleamed brilliantly.
It was a sparkle that seemed incongruous with the bear's massive frame.
"Thanks to Hailon, the Holy King showed great interest in House Basilian as well. Perhaps Chesa truly will receive the Fairy Queen's crown."
Unfortunately for the excitedly chattering Theo, Belzeon had little interest in anything he was saying.
After half-listening and finding the noise tiresome, he fired off a single remark to silence Theo.
"Will you report all of this to the Marquis as well?"
"...."
Theo, who had been excitedly prattling on, froze with his mouth agape.
He slowly lowered his gaze.
The sound of children from the Pure Child Prayer Ceremony wandering about and laughing cheerfully echoed from various corners.
Yet Theo and Belzeon did not laugh.
Theo, despite his enormous frame, shrank inward.
He offered a quiet, small apology.
"...I apologize."
It was all Theo could say.
Belzeon glanced at the now-silent Theo with a cold expression and strode ahead without waiting.
I understood Belzeon's position well enough, but still....
'It does bother me a little.'
I rested my face on Belzeon's shoulder and watched Theo falling behind.
Unlike his earlier excitement, he now appeared melancholic.
As I continued to glance back, Hata in my arms tapped my leg with her foot as if to tell me not to worry.
Theo dragged his feet and followed at a considerable distance.
We were walking with such a gap between us that we hardly seemed like a group at all.
A Holy Knight passing by caught sight of Theo and acted as if they knew him.
"Theo?"
Theo, who had been staring at the ground, lifted his head in surprise.
"Ah...."
They didn't seem to be close.
Theo's expression darkened further.
Regardless, the Holy Knight placed a hand on Theo's shoulder in a familiar manner.
"Hey, it's really good to see you! Feels like just yesterday we were preparing together to become Holy Knights. Time flies, doesn't it? What brings you to the Holy Empire?"
"I'm here as a guard knight...."
"Pfft!"
The moment he heard the answer, he burst into laughter.
"You're something else. With that backing, and you're just a guard knight? You're still as foolish and incompetent as ever. Though I suppose it's fortunate in a way."
The Holy Knight snickered mockingly.
"That there's actually a place willing to hire someone like you."
---------------
Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org
---------------