272. Divine Leviathan Empire (3)
The number of messengers, merchants, and spies from the Dukes passing through each gate of Paltennoia had more than tripled over the past few months.
By the time the Gate Defense Force’s fatigue complaints peaked, Fernandez also felt like complaining about exhaustion if he could.
He was practically buried under piles of documents. Most of the High Administrative Nobles of the Imperial Palace had been killed by the Emperor, and those who survived were largely corrupt, leaving the capital’s administrative situation in a vacuum.
“I’m tired.”
“Me too.”
“Shall we rest?”
“Let’s finish this first, then we can.”
“How many times have you said that now?”
“Three hundred and twenty-five times.”
“I don’t like you.”
“Me neither.”
Everiz and Fernandez exchanged casual banter while processing documents. Officially, Fernandez had no authority over any administrative tasks in the capital.
Everiz, as the Imperial Princess, was also the Minister of the Imperial Household. Before the Emperor’s corruption, she had been in charge of the Inner Court, making her the only remaining High Administrative Noble at this point.
Thus, Fernandez practically dragged her in, sat her down, and demanded she sign documents. Since Fernandez handled most of the work, Everiz’s role was simply to read through the sorted documents and sign them.
“Should I just stamp them all?”
“Someone has to review my work.”
“…Have you ever been wrong? In the past two days?”
They had been repeating a routine of staying up for two nights, sleeping for eight hours, and then staying up for another two nights.
Fernandez considered even that a waste of time, but Everiz had a more civilian-like physical condition.
It was a hellish schedule, maintaining the bare minimum recovery period to keep her in shape.
Even as they spoke, Fernandez’s eyes scanned the lines of the documents, marking them with red annotations. Approve, reject, finalize, return…
“Can’t you do this alone? You handle administration better than any Administrative Noble I’ve seen… Wait, aren’t you a priest? An Inquisition Officer?”
“That’s right.”
“Wasn’t the main job of an Inquisition Officer to capture heretics, tie them to stakes, and burn them?”
That was the common prejudice people of this era had. It was the perception the Church had spread about Inquisition Officers.
Inquisition Officers were supposed to exist through fear, achievements, and rumors. For them to reveal their identities directly meant that the existence of heresy had already been confirmed.
The Church had cleverly manipulated public perception of Inquisition Officers. Fearful, unstoppable, mysterious experts. The fear of an unidentifiable entity was meant to suppress heretical actions.
But it was a prejudice. Inquisition Officers spent most of their time at their desks.
“Analyzing the circumstances of heresy cases, estimating the hideouts of heretics, tracking them, and sometimes considering legal grounds or political dynamics when their identities are powerful. All Inquisition Officers fundamentally require administrative skills more than combat skills.”
“That’s surprising… I thought you just went around burning and tearing everything apart.”
“There are some who do that.”
Fernandez put down his pen and briefly thought of the Brothers of Diemonica.
-“Die! Heretical scum!!”
But even they only showed that side after being deployed on missions. Before that, they did their best…
-“If you can’t lift that, it’ll be hard to prove your faith!”
-“Don’t worry, brothers! Uryaap!”
-“Ma, Makto! Lifting it three times?!”
Hmm. Fernandez sighed briefly and picked up his pen again. The sound of rustling papers continued until Everiz stretched her back in frustration.
“This is a waste of time. Isn’t this something the next Administrative Office will have to handle anyway?”
“The problem is that the new Administrative Office, you, and I are all on the same boat, regardless.”
Fernandez firmly responded to Everiz’s grumbling. Everiz groaned.
With the Pope’s announcement that the Emperor had been corrupted by demons, Everiz’s position was extremely precarious, unlike Prince Robert, who had opposed the Emperor from the start of the war.
With Robert holding the real power of House Tremule, Everiz was nothing more than a fallen noble without backing. For her political and ‘biological’ survival, she had to align herself with the next Emperor.
Fortunately, Rene Philippa had enough reason not to kill Everiz. But that didn’t guarantee Everiz’s survival in the long run.
Once Rene’s reign was firmly established after the throne transition, there would be no further reason to keep Everiz alive.
‘That would be troublesome.’
Like it or not, Everiz was an Archangel. In a world where all four Archangels needed to be saved to rescue the world, it was wise for Everiz to secure her own survival.
Her merit as the sole Administrative Noble keeping the collapsing capital afloat would surely help her in the future.
Perhaps she would survive as a proxy lord of a small Imperial city.
“Ah… Sir Shiradast… please save me.”
“Speaking of which, what’s your relationship with Sir Shiradast?”
“He… saved me, didn’t he?”
Everiz blushed slightly and whispered. Fernandez stretched and sat up straight, looking at her.
“He alone stormed the Imperial Palace’s west tower, filled with terrifying demons and mages, breaking through traps, demons, and magic with his bare body…”
Fernandez could easily imagine the scene. Diemonica, eyes blazing, charging like an enraged bull.
-“Get out of the way, heretical trash!!”
No matter how you looked at it, it wasn’t exactly a charming sight…
“I was so scared and miserable. Suddenly being imprisoned, suddenly being subjected to strange magic…”
“Did it not work?”
“No. The incompetent mages’ magic couldn’t harm me. Before blaming their own incompetence, they started imprisoning and experimenting on me.”
Everiz’s eyes glazed over as she recalled the past.
Panicked that their dark magic didn’t work, the mages began kidnapping the princess for experiments.
They fed her terrible drugs, sat her on horrific magical formations, and endlessly chanted spells.
Then, a scream shook the tower.
* * *
“Your Holiness!! He’s breached the second floor!”
“How did he infiltrate here? What are you all doing!”
“We… we can’t stop him!”
For her, it was the first time…
It was a sight to behold. Seeing these ruthless humans, who seemed to have no blood or tears, trembling in fear.
The so-called “priests” kept coming up to the top floor of the tower to report the situation. A few floors had been breached. Some magic had been broken through. The trap zone was destroyed. The summoned demons had been slaughtered.
When all the measures of the mages failed, and the cult and high priests were gradually engulfed in panic, the final report came.
“Run away… Your Excellency. He’s coming soon…”
-*Crash!*
A blue-glowing iron sword pierced through the chest of the junior priest who was gasping and shouting. Blood splattered onto the cult leader’s face.
The priest, with his chest pierced, was pushed back and fell. From the dark gap of the open door, the sound of clanking chains could be heard.
“My path is guided by the Lord, even in the dark and deep night, I shall not wander lost…”
The door opened, and a giant man in tattered robes entered. Deep wounds between the torn pieces of his clothing oozed fresh blood.
The man pushed back his hood and scanned the surroundings. No, it wasn’t a scan.
Blood was flowing from his eyes. He couldn’t see.
When he revealed his face…
“Behold me. Heretics, witness your end. Tremble before your sins. I am the sword of the Lord—”
-*Crash!*
“And also His wrath—”
-*Crunch!*
With each word, another priest who approached him was crushed. Even without sight, his precise sword strikes, almost divine, accurately targeted his enemies.
“He’s alone! He can’t even see! Attack!”
The cult leader shouted, foaming at the mouth. At that moment, silence fell. As if waiting for him to speak, Zephis’s head tilted slightly in that direction.
Blood, as if cursed by magic, clung to his eyes. Slowly, the gap between them widened, revealing bloodshot eyes. It was a killing intent that even the demons of hell would fear.
“Repent.”
-*Crunch!*
That was it. The five high-ranking dark mages turned into corpses in an instant. Severed limbs flew around, creating a storm of blood, as the robed man walked forward step by step.
Everiz thought at that moment. If demons bring the blood of the innocent, this man paves the way with the blood of demons. Could he truly be an angel?
Perhaps, the true angels are not the bright, colorful, and spotless lights seen in holy paintings, but those who pave the path of hell with the blood of demons.
“Who are you?”
At her words, the man paused for a moment. Then, humbly, he bowed and broke the chains binding Everiz’s hands with his bare hands.
“I am a swordsman without a master.”
* * *
Listening to Everiz enthusiastically recount Zephis’s exploits, Fernandez could guess what Zephis must have thought at that time. Though it might have been somewhat embellished, if those words were true…
‘Brother Zephis must have been flustered.’
A simple, brute charge, smashing demons and showcasing Diemonica’s power to the world. That was fine, but when asked who the civilian was, he must have been flustered.
Uh… I was excommunicated from the Inquisition Office, did I get too heated? Zephis probably thought that, stammered, and just answered that he was a mercenary.
But to Everiz, it wouldn’t have seemed that way. A hero who defeated the wicked with overwhelming power and rescued the princess trapped in the spire. And yet, without even revealing his name, he simply called himself a mere mercenary, showing humility.
It was like a knightly romance straight out of a painting. Everiz’s sparkling eyes were quite burdensome.
“So, by the way. Are you close to Sir Zephis?”
“Sort of… I was directly taught martial arts and experience by Brother Zephis.”
“So you’re like his disciple!!”
Everiz exclaimed cheerfully, straightening her back.
“Then, by any chance, do you know Sir Zephis’s preferences? Like his type of woman?”
“Probably not… I don’t think he has a particular preference for women…”
At those words, Everiz’s face turned pale.
“Was he… a man who preferred men…?”
“No, what are you talking about? I don’t know if Brother Zephis took a vow of chastity, but at least in front of me, he was chaste.”
In reality, all members of the Inquisition Office seemed that way. He had never seen or heard of an Inquisition Officer expressing interest in the opposite sex. The Inquisition Officers he knew could be categorized as follows:
Enmagika.
-This is a heretical relic! We must collect it!
-Take it to the sealed sanctuary! We’ll be busy for days. Hehe.
Heretica.
-Hehe, if I tear this, you won’t be able to sell your comrades, will you?
-Don’t repent yet, heretic. You can do that on the pyre. Hehe.
And Diemonica.
-Oh… Brother Sergio lifted 350 pounds with one hand 12 times! Praise be!
-Macto Superlaudo! Brother! Your faith has doubled!
He had never seen those guys talk about women. As Fernandez was lost in thought, Everiz spoke with a smile on her face.
“Then you can help me!”
“Huh?”
“I’ve seen a few devout knights like Sir Zephis! But none of them stayed single for life!”
“Even so, why should I help you?”
“Because you’re a dark mage?”
Everiz’s eyes shone like a lion’s. She laughed slyly, lowering her voice.
“Because you were the one who crushed the Imperial Palace in one go.”
“…I don’t know what you’re talking about. That was the Emperor…”
“You might convince Sir Zephis of that. But not me. I know the magic you used.”
“…What are you talking about?”
“That massive magical power that covered the sky of the Imperial Palace. The pillars of magic shaped like a hand… I don’t know why… but I’ve seen it before. A cruel, terrifying mage. A harbinger of destruction, death, and slaughter. I had a vision of that.”
It was said that the dark mages’ magic didn’t work because of the Soul of the Archangel.
Then, naturally, he should have expected that the soul would awaken. Fernandez’s eyes turned cold.
“Do you remember your past life?”
“…Past life?”
“No, it’s nothing.”
Perhaps the soul’s assimilation hadn’t deepened to that extent yet?
But because of that ambiguous assimilation, some memories of the shocking scene might have returned. In her past life, she had witnessed the magic that even the archangels feared.
Then, she had to be kept close. The other archangels had solid support bases and left with more than one leash… but Everiz didn’t.
Her status was merely a disowned noblewoman, and if she strayed from the plan, a means to control her was needed.
“I’ll have to seriously consider Brother Zephis’s preferences.”
“Hehe, you understand my sincerity!”
“You’ll have to be prepared. He’s someone who’s never thought of anything but killing.”
“Do I look weak-willed to you?”
“Very reliable.”
Fernandez could marry Rene Philippa. If it was necessary for the plan. Therefore, Zephis wouldn’t be able to avoid such a situation either. Because it was necessary for the plan.
-You bad boy.
‘I’ll take that as a compliment.’
Fernandez shrugged and picked up his pen again.
Anyway, there was a mountain of work to do, and at least the preparations for the coronation had to be completed before Rene Philippa entered the Imperial Palace in a few days.
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