Dreams of the Holy Knight - Chapter 21

Dreams of the Holy Knight - Chapter 21

Doubt prevented her from thinking about the incident for a moment, and her hands trembled.  Not wanting anyone to see her shaking, she held her hands behind her back. She felt a great warmth gently wrapping around her own hands. 

 “Are you saying it could be successful?”  

As if to reassure her, Noel held her trembling hand and released it, standing next to Liliana while looking at Velita.  His expression also hardened.  

“Hmm, first of all, you need a lot of magical power to activate this magic circle.  However, there are conditions for black magicians to use their magical powers.”  

“Are you talking about human vitality?”  

“That’s right, Saintess.  The problem is, at a scale of this size, they would need ridiculous amounts of people for each operation.  I think the experiment was slow because it was difficult to find that many people.”  

“……  I'll have to call Karus to investigate the slave traders and traffickers.  Are you saying that there are still people who are installing them under the water and using them?”  

Evgena was furious as she crumpled the paper.  Velita shrugged her shoulders and continued explaining.  

“I don’t know who made it, but if you have enough vitality, it’s a magic that has the potential to succeed.  I think it's better to find the mastermind quickly. The transformed demons that appeared in the West seem to have been caused by the side effects of the experiment."

“The base in the west has already been discovered, so it is highly likely that they moved to the north to obtain the demons again.”  

At Noel's words, Velita nodded her head and looked at the Crown Princess.  

“It is very likely.  Your Majesty, I apologize for continuing to sound ominous, but the cracks in the gates of the Demon Realm are bigger in the North than in the West.  If you continue to use black magic of that size up close, the seal may be broken.”  

Upon hearing those words, everyone's eyes turned to Liliana.  Liliana said, clenching her fists to calm her trembling hands.  

“……  I must go to the north as soon as possible to stop them and close the seal.”  

“I'm sorry this happened all of a sudden, but could you please do that?  I will spare no effort within the imperial family to protect the Saintess.”  

Evgena’s concern made Liliana smile resolutely.  

“It is what I must to do.”  

After discussion, it was decided to go to the North.  Noel suggested a plan to lead a small number of elite knights and make a surprise attack, but the Crown Princess insisted that they should inform the public and go attack.  The reason was that she could not delay the announcement of the oracle any longer, and that even if things went wrong, the presence of the Saintess could play a big role in quelling any chaos among the people.  

“And if the imperial family and the temple announce the existence of black magic, those who are cornered will surely take action. If that happens, we'll be able to catch the mastermind.”

“What if they hide deeper?”  

“Well.  I don’t think so.  I have a feeling.”  

When the crown princess flicked her finger back with a cynical face, a masked person popped out of the window. Liliana was so startled that she almost screamed, but Noel gently grabbed her by the shoulder so that she could avoid embarrassment.  The Crown Princess ordered the masked person in a cold voice.  

“Go to Gortkama and find Calix.  I need to know if he's still there."

The masked man bowed his head and disappeared in an instant.  Liliana was stunned and then came back to her senses.  Wasn’t Calix the prince who was deposed a few years ago?  Noel also frowned at the unexpected name and looked at the Crown Princess.  

“Are you suspicious of the deposed crown Prince?”  

“That idiot must be doing a lot of nonsense.  I was informed that he had been locked up in his residence a while ago, but if my feeling is correct...….  We're not sure yet, so let's see."  

Deposed Calix Abel, the only stain and error of the current emperor, who was considered to have led the empire to a stable period and raised a great successor, Evgena. Until just before he was deposed, he was the one who made the empire noisy with various crimes and problems with women.

The imperial family of the Abelard Empire was so scarce, that it was not possible for hundreds of years to have two offspring at a time. For that reason, a new law was put in place to allow the princess to ascend to the throne. For an imperial family suffering from succession issues, the birth of Calix was the first in hundreds of years.  

Calix, who was born from the Empress, was able to grow up with plenty of love as the youngest child without having to fulfill his duties thanks to Evgena, who had already established her position as the crown princess.  

Was it because of that?  He gradually grew up to be a selfish and haughty person.  When his mother, the Empress, died, he began to wield further evil by claiming that he was lost.  A case in point was when he was caught in advance of his plans to hurt Evegena to gain the position of the successor.

In consideration of her father, who thought dearly of his son, Evgena punished him by sending him to exile in a local estate. But to make matters worse, Calix became addicted to drugs and pleasure.  

He consistently assaulted servants and knights, and he caused a stir in the capital due to the his constant issue with women.  In the end, he even tried to touch Countess Verdi who already had a spouse, and murdered Count Verdi who tried to stop him, and set fire to the banquet hall, killing several nobles. 

All the nobles who thought that they might be next rose up.  When the nobles, led by Count Ethel, the Minister of Finance, went on strike one after another, the administrative system of the empire began to paralyze.  The appeal to punish the prince put pressure on the emperor without missing a single day.  Count Ethel recited all the crimes Calix had committed, and even argued that the prince should be executed according to the ancient aristocratic law.

At that point, even the emperor, who thought dearly of his children, could no longer protect his son.

Calix was exiled to the desert kingdom of Gortkama.  They found a place in the middle of a desert where people were scarce, and where he only received food and supplies on a regular basis, but was unable to escape from it.  The nobles returned to their places only after receiving the emperor's promise that he would not allow the Prince to set foot in the Empire.  

But could the ruined man be the mastermind of this case?  It was only the feelings of the Crown Princess, but considering the act of pursuing power while doing crazy things to weaponize humans using demons, and even being exiled to the desert kingdom where there were quite a few black magicians, it made sense.  

Noel could not straighten his frowned eyebrows and became serious.  

“If it is the deposed crown prince.”  

“It is treason.”  

Velita interrupted in a bright voice.  

“Well, it is not certain yet. Let's focus on the problem in front of us first.  Don't worry, your highness, I'll go with you to the North."  

“I thought you didn’t care whether the empire is destroyed or not, Velita?”  

“It can be infested with black magicians, but I can’t miss out on this good research, right?  I will protect you, even the Saintess.  Why not."  

“I will protect the Saintess.”  

“Wouldn’t it be good to have a lot of guards, Sir Klein? It would be more convenient for me as a woman to escort the Saintess.”  

“I can fully escort her myself.  I’ll allow you to take charge of the rear guard."

Noel growled vigilantly of Velita, unaware that Evgena’s eyes were twinkling at him.  Fearing that their quarrel would prolong, Liliana hesitated and stepped forward in front of them.  

“I have holy powers, so I can protect at least myself…….  By the way, shouldn't we go back to the temple and inform the Holy Father of this?  It seems like there are a lot of things we need to discuss if we want to leave for the North as soon as possible.”  

“That would be nice.  You seem to have a lot of work to do, so it would be best for you to go back today.  I will send someone to the temple tomorrow.”  

After leaving the office, Liliana followed Noel's guidance to her carriage.  She was in the open castle, but just thinking about how she and him were alone, she wanted to touch him so much that she forgot about the serious conversation she just had. 

Liliana knew she was somewhat pathetic to think this way in a situation like this, but she couldn't miss the opportunity that barely came to her since she had been so busy. She made a lame excuse, holding his outstretched hand that was escorting her in front of the carriage. 

“Um, Sir Klein.  I'd like to discuss something about what Her Highness, the Crown Princess, just said.

At her obvious excuse, Noel looked at her cutely with a smile.

“I also had something to tell the Saintess.  If it is not rude, may I join you in the carriage?"  

Seeing her blushing and nodding her head, his mouth felt dry.  Noel instructed the coachman to keep his horse tied to the carriage as well, and followed her into the carriage.

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