I Became the First Prince: Legend of Sword's Song

124

The Weaver and Descendants of the Weaver (2)

He was a man who suited the title of Emperor so well. My first appraisal of him was that of a man with arrogant eyes and a determined expression, and with a strong temperament. When I studied him further, he looked soft and kind, and then infinitely malicious. In one moment, he looked like an educated scholar; in the next, like a valiant general.

It looked as if all the virtues of a monarch had coalesced into a single man.

It was surprising that a single human being could have such a colorful and shifting face.

Still, I’ve already encountered humans like him in the time that I had been a sword.

I remember the founder of the Burgundy empire who had wielded his sword, and the current emperor looked surprisingly similar to his ancestor.

His look, his aura, his very presence.

The nobles had been unable to breathe properly the moment that the emperor had appeared. The same held true for the mighty dukes and renowned marquis.

They did not dare look directly at the dais, even after they had straightened their waists. There were so many people in the hall, and all of them were overwhelmed by the emperor.

It was a situation that I could not understand.

Theirs was not coercion enforced by power, but a natural surrender to a human who had reached a higher level of existence. It’s something that could be called transcendence. Most who had inherited feats from their ancestors had not done so in full. Even the descendant of Umbert, who had inherited his forebear’s traits almost in full, could not face the emperor.

It seems that only the emperor had reached such a high place that he could look down on the world.

Numerous questions ran through my head.

I couldn’t find an answer as I faced his power. This meant that the spirit and strength of the emperor’s soul had never been lesser than mine. All that remained was to see with my own eyes and discover the reason for his greatness.

Fortunately, there was plenty of time.

The new year’s party had just begun, and it would take a long time for the delegation of our small country to appear before the emperor.

I thought I would be able to find a solution, but my expectations proved wrong.

Although an imperial duke had not finished his greeting, the emperor suddenly mentioned our delegation. “Leonberger’s mission has come to my realm. Where are they?”

It was not really a question, as his gaze was already fixed on us.

No, to be more precise, on me. A tremendous feeling of coercion was crushing my will. It felt as if the entire world was pressing in on me. It felt as if something in me wanted to kneel down and worship as if a force was constantly commanding me to obey. I struggled under that terrible pressure. There was nothing I could do to resist it.

The emperor’s nature was certainly unusually powerful for this era. Still, it was not overwhelming enough to force me onto my knees, even if I looked at him.

If I truly had to endure it, I had confidence in my ability to withstand it——even if the emperor poured out all the power in his body.

But I didn’t use my power as a Sword Master, nor the karma and spirit that I had accumulated over the centuries.

I faced the emperor’s power with only my body. My eyes spun in their sockets, my legs trembled.

“Oooha,” a moan escaped from my lips. I knew that in the eyes of others, I must look weak, beaten.

That was acceptable. It would be better if the nobles of the empire saw me as a weaker man who was overwhelmed by the majesty of their emperor.

“Come stand before my throne.”

I went to stand before the dais, pretending to obey the emperor’s words. It was now that the true trial began. Even as the delegation and I stood before the emperor, he held his silence for a long time.

I just stared before me, as if with vacant eyes. I hid my being and endured being before him, not leaking a single speck of my energy, not revealing a sliver of my true emotions.

How much time has passed?

By the time the imperial nobles and delegations from other countries questioned the emperor’s bizarre behavior, the pressure that had pressed against me was relieved, like a snapping rope.

At that moment, my body was a mess. Such was the price of facing the power of one who had transcended——with only my body.

I almost staggered and stopped myself from doing so with great force of will. I was exhausted after facing the emperor’s power. Still, I managed to maintain my body’s momentum.

‘Swish,’ the emperor gestured with his hand, signaling us to go back to our places.

My knights supported me as I stumbled out of the banqueting hall.

That was merely the beginning.

The new year’s festival would last for 15 days.

Our delegation had to attend a banquet every day.

It wasn’t by my own choice; no, the emperor sent a messenger who asked us to attend each and every day. Such was the will of the emperor.

Emperor Ortega came in each day, summoning our delegation before him. He never spoke a word, just watching us. Then he would shake his hand and lower the power that he exuded. Siorin didn’t even have time to offer him the tribute that we had lugged from the kingdom.

We were treated in such a manner. It was a test from a suspicious emperor and punishment for insulting the knights of the empire.

Emperor Ortega hadn’t only inherited Ganwoong’s power, for his personality also resembled that of his ancestor. On the exterior, he acted noble and imperious, but in reality, he had inherited a petty and scheming soul.

Damned emperor.

Thanks to him, I had become the laughing stock of the imperial nobles.

Some nobles said that it was a fitting punishment for the knights who had dared defeat the knights of the empire, whilst others said that I was being punished for flaunting the support of a high-ranking imperial noble without knowing the true circumstances.

“Your Highness must have caught His Majesty’s eye.”

Some noble even congratulated me for the interest the emperor showed in me.

Regardless of it all, I focused on my mission. Whenever I was in the banqueting hall, I continued to observe the people of the empire. I studied who was capable and incapable; who was loyal or instead was blinded by self-interest. I cared little for who they were; I just randomly checked the status screens of imperial nobles, making a list of them.

The information I gathered I handed over to Niccolo Marchiadel, who sorted them by collating the data. Who would aid the kingdom, and who would threaten it. Who would side with the third princeps, and who would use him as a puppet. No matter how much I thought about it, it seemed an unlikely prospect for the ‘imperial disaster’ to blossom into a full destructive force by gaining the throne. Even the fifth princeps, who was judged to be as far from the succession of the throne as the third princeps, had already developed his abilities and formed a power base around himself.

However, Niccolo and Jin Katrin thought differently.

They said that the other principes couldn’t hide their superiority, so the stupid third princeps would have a chance. None of the principes would care about the third princeps.

We would be able to ignite conflict between the principes if we had the right agents and positioned them correctly. The question was how to make the principes, a fool, gain support for his cause. I left that matter for the scholars to figure out.

I focused solely on dealing with the emperor, the emperor who constantly dominated me while I did nothing in turn.

When the emperor’s power was unleashed, it pressed me back completely, and when it was pulled back, its magnitude was understood by its very absence. When it shook more than usual, I stumbled.

The banquet was now on the fifth day. In the meantime, many visitors came to me in palace fifteen.

Among them were the second and fifth principes. They asked me to support them instead of the third princeps. Of course, what they really wanted was the support of the Marquis of Montpellier, not that of some small country.

I was willing to oblige their request. I had to sell Montpellier’s name in the process, which I had already sold to the third princeps. I sold it twice more, and I cared not. It was Montpellier’s problem, not mine.

Two days passed. Once it was a full moon, the last banquet would be held. If I could last for but a day more, this clown show would be over.

The nobles of the empire openly ridiculed me and the delegation when they saw us.

Some of them mocked us by saying we would be going home after being embarrassed after we had gained a little bit of fame. Others said that we came here to defeat a few knights, but had lost the dignity of our country in the process, and maybe its liberty.

I snorted. There was no kingdom for them to conquer anyway, for it was a kingdom that has long since been wrecked by the empire. It was a great shame, but still, I had already achieved the purpose of my visit to the empire. I had experienced the empire with my own senses and had caught a glimpse of the emperor’s true nature. That was success enough, but I had even succeeded in forming an alliance with the third princeps. Additionally, I had met the descendant of the Sky Blade, Doris.

No matter what the nobles said, I had gained everything I had wanted to gain from the empire and had lost nothing. All that remained was to leave the empire at my own leisure after this damnable circus would end.

However, things in this reality usually did not play out as we expected them to do.

Such was the exact case now.

“Please, I hope you will return safely to Leonberg.”

Everything had been the same, except for the kind words spoken by an emperor who had been completely silent. At that moment, a feeling of foreboding came over me.

I instructed Siorin to leave the hall.

“Get away from the capital, and take only what you need.”

“Your Highness, why the sudden-“

“I have a bad feeling about this.”

Instead of explaining, I urged him to make all haste.

Siorin prepared the delegation to leave Hwangdo without telling anyone, despite the oddity of my orders. When I heard that all the plans were in order, I headed back to the main palace.

Doris Dotrin did not greet me; we simply exchanged glances from a distance. I made a covert gesture. As I glanced at him, Doris just blinked. Jin Katrin, who had been watching me, approached, then nodded after I spoke to him.

“Your Highness, what the hell is this about?” a knight asked me as we traveled on the road in the dead of night.

“The emperor is planning something.”

“What the hell is-“

“That’s exactly it, I don’t know. I bet it isn’t something that will benefit us on our journey home.”

We had abandoned the wagons and carriages, so even old Niccolo had fled the capital on a horse. We relied on the moonlight to see our way, and we had been on the road for a while. The sound of riders suddenly sounded from behind us. Soon enough, heavily-armored knights appeared.

Their white armor shone so clearly at night, and their helmets were shaped into the heads of hawks.

“Highness! Those are the White Hawk Knights!”

They were one of the orders that had been devastated by the Templars.

“Where are you going so urgently?” one of the knights demanded in a clear voice as he blocked our way, having ridden a route that took him around our group.

“If you are true knights, don’t refuse our challenge!”

The instant I heard that I knew: This is just the beginning. The White Hawk Knights wanted revenge for their defeat. Still, they wanted more than that. I knew that they weren’t the only knights that would block our way in the future.

All the knights we had humiliated in the past six months would soon seek us out.

There could be no protest from us, for they had a valid justification.

“I will not accept rejection!”

As we had challenged them, they too deserve to challenge us.

The imperial knights who blocked our way had formed an assault formation and had drawn their swords. The murder and malice in their bearing was clear to see.

“Your Highness! On your order!” Erhim Kiringer requested as he took the lead.

I did not hesitate.

“All into battle formation!”

If the knights had come here on a new year’s resolution, our resolution was to gain another victory.

“It’s on now, boys!”

“Ha!”

The Templars lowered their visors as one.