Chapter 130

Human affairs are complicated. Justice and injustice can’t be neatly measured and divided with a ruler.

In such matters, the Lord does not take anyone’s side. If He has a side at all, it is humanity. Therefore, I should do the same.

Carefully observing our reactions, especially Roka’s, the knight spoke.

“…It’s not too late even now. Ardein is finished. The Temple will win, and the Princess will never recover. No, she might not even be able to save her own life.”

“The Master is always lacking. Right now, you have no one under your command. Hey, blue wolf. If you submit to the Prince, you could be immediately valued. You could secure the highest position.”

Roka didn’t seem interested at all. Well, she had already turned down the position of Saint in the Aldehir Church.

By the way, do they still think Roka and I are the Princess’s subordinates? If that were true, we wouldn’t have left our posts and gone to the Citadel in such times.

“Even birds choose their trees carefully. How can you build a nest on a broken tree?”

“That Prince doesn’t seem like a good tree either.”

Roka scratched her head and replied.

“You’re supposed to be the strongest under that person. So what, it’s nothing special.”

“What, what?”

It seemed like a casual remark, but it must have hit a nerve. The knight flared up in anger.

In truth, if this child were truly interested in fame and power, she would have contacted the Church Country, not the Prince.

If Roka were to join the Prince’s side, it would mean the Third Prince gains some strength. The minimum power needed to become independent from the Church Country’s control.

From what I see, the Church Country wouldn’t like that. The Chancellor said that what’s happening now is a confrontation between the Church Country and the Empire.

The Prince is just a figurehead; what’s really behind him is the Church Country. It’s clear they won’t let the Emperor’s seat, which they went to such lengths to seize, become independent again.

“…Well, if you won’t switch sides, do as you please! I was trying to be nice and talk to you!”

“So, what are you going to do? It might be a bit delayed without me, but it might already be too late? The Empress could be taken hostage, do you have time to talk to me more?”

Well, we’re not on the Princess’s side…

Regardless, it’s hard to ignore that the Empress is in danger. Her status is so high that it’s a bit awkward, but regardless of status, someone in need should receive help.

“I’ll tell you the Empress’s exact location. It was originally my mission to find out.”

She casually spat out the location, but it didn’t seem like it came from goodwill. There was no guarantee it was the Empress’s real location.

Favors from someone who doesn’t like us aren’t trustworthy. There might be a trap. But sometimes, you have to pretend not to know even if you do.

I glanced at Roka, and she nodded. She must have read my mind and answered immediately.

“Are we going?”

“Will you follow?”

“I’ll follow you anywhere.”

Roka infused a bit more lunar magic to completely paralyze the knight and then returned to me.

I’m grateful, but it’s starting to sound a bit scary.

“Then, let’s go.”

She is the mother of Princess Ardein, so we can’t say there’s no connection. If her life is in danger, morally, we can’t just ignore it.

Roka also nodded. Come to think of it, this child also learned something from the Princess. I don’t know exactly what, but there’s no denying she owes her.

“I also want to repay my debt quickly.”

Even if it’s not a life-saving favor, if I can settle the debt by using some strength, that would be good, right? Roka didn’t seem to have any complaints.

We headed to the Rose Palace.

*****

Surprisingly, the knight readily admitted defeat. Roka subdued her using the same technique she used to paralyze me on the Artabus Ship.

After stashing the woman named Milenia like a sack in a corner of the hallway, Roka and I headed to the Rose Palace. In such battles, the Lord does not take anyone’s side.

As His servant, I cannot ignore His will and take any side, but there are things I must do.

When two whales fight, they rarely drive each other to death. Even if one whale defeats the other, the loser usually escapes with injuries.

The ones who truly suffer are the small shrimp caught in the fight. The whales fight, but it’s the shrimp whose bodies burst and die. In every fight, the powerless suffer the most.

‘Thinking like that, it’s a bit strange.’

In this case, the shrimp is the Empress, which is somewhat peculiar. Perhaps it’s because this fight isn’t an ordinary war but a coup to seize the throne.

“That Prince, I didn’t like him from the first impression. I knew he’d do something like this.”

The knight from earlier knew more than I thought. The Church Country is hiding behind and pushing Prince Edmund, the Emperor’s son, to the forefront.

Even if he ascends the throne, it would be meaningless if all his followers are dead.

Unless they’re the Emperor’s close aides, there’s no need to kill every servant or maid. In fact, the Imperial Palace was quieter than expected, and according to Roka, there wasn’t much bloodshed.

This fight is a clear act of rebellion, and there’s no reason or need to kill unnecessarily. If they kill everyone, the state affairs will be paralyzed from tomorrow.

The Temple’s goal isn’t to destroy the Empire but to possess it. There’s no need to kill people who will become theirs anyway.

Then perhaps the Prince, or the Church Country behind him, is confident of their victory. Should it be called confidence? Just hearing the plan, it felt palpable.

Sniff sniff. Roka kept sniffing.

Whether it’s because she’s a Master or because of the Firefly Meringue’s power, the child’s sense of smell, which was already good, is now even better than her sight. She sensed something far away.

“There’s a wolf smell where we’re going.”

“Wolf smell?”

“It’s been a long time since I smelled it… but it’s definitely not from our tribe.”

Wolf smell.

Is it from the Church Country’s side? Or the Empire’s? Either way, I hope we can communicate.

Actually, I hate watching fights the most. It’s not a battle that can be divided into good and evil; only victory and defeat. If you win, you’re justice; if you lose, you’re a thief.

But I have to watch even if I hate it. Turning away in disgust from this reality is not what a priest of God should do. If I wanted to do that, there was no reason to leave Pumpkin Vine Village.

A peaceful, safe village where people live by their own strength. A place where no one starves, whether the harvest is good or bad, a place full of kindness.

I left that place not because I disliked my hometown, but because I was no longer needed there.

“Smell of blood.”

Suddenly, Roka, who was walking ahead, stopped. She looked around and frowned.

“There’s a smell of blood. A lot of it.”

“Suddenly? Then…”

“People are dying right now. Not where we’re going, but somewhere else.”

Boom! The floor of the Imperial Palace shook in response. It seemed like a huge battle was happening far away.

Even we, so far away, could feel the shockwaves. It’s a fierce battle. Roka muttered and continued.

“With the smell of iron, it’s probably a fight. It’s not the kind of thing the Lord would worry about.”

Certainly, it seems like an equal clash of power. Massacres happen when one side overwhelms the other, so such a strong clash wouldn’t occur.

Still, uneasy, I asked Roka. But the child just shook her head.

“Can we stop it if we go now?”

“It’s too late.”

“So quickly?”

But without any way to intervene, the battle that erupted somewhere quickly subsided. Lives were lost in an instant.

It’s already too late; all we can do is collect the bodies.

That’s also important, and if necessary, it’s something I should do.

But if there are living and dead, which to prioritize is a no-brainer. Let’s go to the Rose Palace first and come back later to collect the dead.

‘Is this fight worth having at such a time?’

What are the Empire and the Church Country thinking? Yesterday, the Citadel almost fell, and today, Elvenheim fell. Do they really need to fight each other on a day like this?

Or do they really not know? That knight Milenia earlier, though her status didn’t seem low, knew nothing about Elvenheim’s fall…

Already, many people have died. Was it worth such sacrifice? The words honoring the dead are always beautiful, but the dead never return.

I just hope no one regrets it.