SILHN Chapter 45🎗🎗

A Father’s Disappointment

“If this sword uses life as a price for its power, then I believe it is better that Your Majesty does not use it.”

“Hmm, no. No. You have only just woken up. It’s not good to overexert you when your health is already poor.”

“No, I just learned that I could use this power. When I saw Brian, my… my brother, in danger, I did it without thinking…”

“Hmph.”

The Emperor gave a dissatisfied grunt, looking at the unconscious Brian and the trembling Empress Cleo. As his gaze fell upon her, the Empress spoke quietly, her eyes filled with venom.

“…Your Majesty, it is a blessing to the Empire that our princess, who was not supposed to wake, has woken safely and gained a sacred power that can kill demons. However, the princess has never held a sword before, and it didn’t even react to you, Your Majesty. Even the knights who have held the sword said it was strange. We should investigate it just in case…”

“Empress!”

“I am only speaking out of concern for you, Your Majesty. The princess said the sword spoke to her in her dreams, but what other proof is there besides her word?”

“Then, Empress, are you trying to claim that this sword is a demonic sword?”

“It’s not that, it’s just that we should investigate it more…”

“The princess used this sword to save Brian.”

“……”

“And a mother, instead of showing gratitude, is picking a fight?”

“T-that’s not it at all!”

The Emperor’s eyes were icy. He didn’t believe the Empress’s innocence. If things had gone well, if she had played the game to his liking, he would have pretended not to know she orchestrated it. He might have even backed her up, just like yesterday.

But the situation had turned into this disaster. And above all, because of the Empress’s mistake, the Emperor himself had been in danger.

“Right, you said you called the High Priest, Empress.”

“Y-yes, Your Majesty!” Margid, the High Priest, who was standing behind the Empress, immediately knelt in a panic.

“Tell me, do you believe Princess Titania is tainted by a curse and in need of your purification?”

“N-no! On the contrary, she is filled with the grace of the gods!” Margid muttered desperately. The Empress glared at the High Priest with bloodshot eyes.

The Emperor narrowed his eyes and asked, “Is that so? Then what about what you claimed yesterday?”

“I have never officially stated that Her Royal Highness the Princess was ‘truly cursed’! I only said that ‘if everything Her Majesty the Empress is saying is correct,’ then it might be necessary to confirm if Her Royal Highness the Princess is cursed!” Margid said, turning his face away from the Empress.

“However, that… as the young duke said, not everything Her Majesty the Empress claimed was correct, and so…”

“So Titania has no problem?”

“Y-yes! That’s right!”

“And the sword has no problem either?”

“I have confirmed with Your Majesty that the sword eliminates demons. There are countless types of swords in the world, and only a few can hold the gods’ blessings. Just because a sword reacts to its owner doesn’t necessarily mean it is evil!”

“The High Priest Margid’s words make sense.”

The High Priest Margid sighed in relief. He was clearly on the Empress’s side when things went well, but now that the Emperor was displeased, he was quick to abandon her and save himself. The Emperor looked at the Empress and said,

“I will ask you again, Empress.”

“……”

“Did what the Empress truly found in the basement of the Rose Palace prove that it cursed Princess Titania?”

Grind. The Empress’s lips tore, and a thin stream of blood trickled down. She glanced at the still-unconscious Brian. Then she closed her eyes once, as if to calm herself, and opened them again.

“…That.”

The Empress spoke in a calm voice, as if she had made up her mind.

“That was… just a maid who dared to steal from the Rose Palace. When she tried to steal a sword, she had an outburst of madness and made a fuss about a strange sword… ”

Grind. The low sound of grinding teeth could be heard again. Yes, if I had known this would happen, I would have planned it more meticulously.

“…I tried my best for the safety of the Imperial Palace, but my efforts have only endangered it. I am too sorry for my actions to say anything more, Your Majesty.”

Tears welled up in the Empress’s eyes. She looked pitiful.

“However, please look at Brian’s state, Your Majesty. That child is always sincere toward you. The result wasn’t good, but he just tried too hard to catch a prey worthy of your glory…”

“Tsk! Then he should have succeeded!”

The Empress’s face, which she had been trying to make gentle, fell again. She seemed to realize what the Emperor’s displeased gaze meant.

The Emperor had always cherished Brian because he was proud of his son, a talented hunter and swordsman who was not inferior to the Duke of Castner. But now, Brian was here, disgracefully passed out and having wet himself in front of me, who had used the power of the sword and showed no fear. He couldn’t even wake up now.

Even though Brian wasn’t an adult yet, he was much bigger than me, who was small and frail for my age. If I hadn’t been here, things might have been different. The Emperor must have heard the report that a demon was chasing Brian when he came here with the Empress. He probably brought the Royal Guards to catch the demon and save Brian.

I had prepared a performance for the Emperor. Even if he knew this curse incident was a plot orchestrated by the Empress, he would pretend not to know and cover it up. Proper evidence and witnesses were useless.

What was needed was a reason for the Emperor to be disappointed in Empress Cleo and Prince Brian. A reason to punish them even if he knew the full story. If Brian had been standing here proudly, saying, “I was trying to catch a prey to symbolize your glory,” the Emperor’s expression might have been different. He might have even suggested covering it up for Brian’s sake. After all, Brian was the one being chased by the demon, not the Emperor. He might even have been satisfied if Brian had just bluffed and glared at Raymond, saying, “If you had given me a little more time, I could have caught it.”

However, in front of the young Duke Raymond, Brian had been so scared that he fainted and wet himself, and he still wasn’t waking up. The Emperor was deeply disappointed. This disappointment could not be soothed by anything short of Brian hunting a demon of that size himself and presenting it to the Emperor. Especially since I was here—I who had woken up from the dead and challenged the demon, using the sword’s power at the cost of my lifespan. His actions were simply inexcusable.

The Emperor yelled, “Empress, you will be confined for the time being! Step down from all your duties.”

“…Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Brian loves hunting so much, yet he couldn’t even stay awake in front of a demon. It would be better for Brian to give up hunting now.”

“Your Majesty! It was just a mistake! His courage was excessive…”

“It seems he is greatly weakened by this incident, so don’t let him leave his room for a while. Tsk!”

“Your Majesty!” The Empress wailed.

What must have hurt her the most was not the fact that she had been trapped but that the Emperor now looked at Brian with such disdain.

Ignoring the Empress, the Emperor spoke to Raymond. “Young Duke Raymond. So you’ll take care of the rest of the demons that have invaded the palace?”

“Yes. While I trust the Imperial forces, additional damage may occur due to the sudden attack. With your permission…”

“Good, you have my permission.”

“Thank you. And that item the Empress called evidence is very dangerous, so I would appreciate it if it could be disposed of as soon as possible.”

“Ah! Right, that thing. You deal with it immediately. And also investigate those evil creatures that dared to target the Imperial Palace.”

The Emperor seemed to remember something and came up to me, stroking my head.

“You’ve been through a lot. I don’t even want to imagine what would have happened today if you hadn’t woken up safely! It must be a blessing from the gods to the Imperial family that you could use such a precious power at this time.”

Since when have you been a kind and generous father to me? I smiled brightly at the Emperor, who awkwardly patted my head.

“Of course, Your Majesty!”

“Good. Your face is pale. Take care of yourself.”

I watched the Emperor swagger away and bowed deeply.

Just then.