Chapter 115: Chapter 115

The private audience with the Emperor didn’t take place in the audience hall or the formal chamber—it happened in his office.

It wasn’t until we reached that point that Cruello dispelled the invisibility spell on me, but the Emperor didn’t even flinch.

It was as if he had discarded the ability to feel surprise along with his umbilical cord at birth.

“So, what is it that compelled you to create such a spectacle just to summon me?”

He sighed as he sat down, exhaustion evident on his face.

For a brief moment, I saw a resemblance between him and the Crown Prince.

“Well, let’s see. I was just curious?”

“Even when food is placed right in front of you, you refuse to bite. I came to check if perhaps Your Majesty has dental issues.”

“How deeply do you expect me to involve myself in your family’s disputes?”

“I’m surprised to hear that you’ve left the Crown Prince alone just to avoid getting entangled. Perhaps you should check something other than your teeth.”

Wow. Cruello sure knew how to get under the Emperor’s skin.

After spending time outside the temple, I, too, had become somewhat conditioned by this society. The presence of an Emperor had felt daunting at first, but now I needed to reassess my intimidation threshold.

I added my own comment, somewhat meekly.

“There were more assassins’ corpses than dead insects. The Crown Prince shouldn’t end up as one of them.”

“...Did you just compare the Crown Prince to an insect—”

“Why not? Wasn’t that Your Majesty’s intention?”

“No. I wanted her to escape. But you two ruined that.”

“So this is what people are calling ‘life-saving grace’ these days?”

The Emperor scowled before letting out a deep sigh.

Then, something in his expression changed.

The weariness faded, gradually replaced by a weight of authority.

“I suppose... it would be fate that you’ve suddenly become so proactive.”

I involuntarily flinched before swallowing a breath.

I might have developed a trauma response to that word.

And then, the Emperor’s words took an unexpected turn—

“Decades ago, a rebellion erupted in this land.”

Just like that, he delved into the past.

“The ringleaders were, without a doubt, the most loyal of subjects. High-ranking military officers had been recruited, so the palace fell before we could even put up a proper resistance. The word ‘sudden’ barely describes it.”

“Are you familiar with the old palace ghost story?”

“Oh, you mean Prince Talias?”

I searched my memory.

That was the ghost story I had heard when Cruello had caused that poltergeist phenomenon.

Something about a prince killed by the rebels who loved ballroom dances—so much so that he supposedly still appeared at random times.

Guess my memory wasn’t failing me after all.

“That event may have become a mere ghost story now, but at the time, it was all too real. The Imperial Family was on the verge of being overthrown. That was when the Elder Council extended a hand.”

The Emperor paused, then began unbuttoning his shirt one by one.

“They asked me a question. Would we all die and become fertilizer for a new dynasty, or—”

The body revealed beneath was surprisingly well-maintained for his age.

But what truly stood out was something else.

Black chain markings were imprinted across his flesh, as if binding him.

“To survive, we had to serve one more power above us.”

The markings were the same—identical in shape and structure—to the ones I wielded.

This was Eden’s doing.

I was immediately certain.

“The Imperial Family has never denied its cooperation with the Black Serpent, but this goes beyond mere allegiance. Do you know that the final stage of a coronation ceremony is to meet them?”

The Emperor buttoned his shirt back up, ensuring we had seen the proof.

“I cannot oppose the Black Serpent. It’s physically impossible. Even speaking about it is restricted.”

“So if you stand as their enemy, then by default, I must also be your ally.”

The Emperor straightened his clothes before stepping forward.

“Cruello. We may not have been close, but as your uncle, I ask you this.”

His eyes blazed with an old, long-burning fire.

It dawned on me, belatedly, that the Emperor summoning Cruello to his office had been part of a plan drawn long ago.

His words flowed too smoothly—like something he had rehearsed over and over again.

“If I am not killed, this cycle will never be broken. The serpent will raise its head again soon, and they might even try to start another civil war.”

“The Elder Council is already dead.”

“Dead? Ha! Do you still say that after seeing this curse ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ with your own eyes?”

The Emperor finally let his emotions slip.

His hands slammed down onto his desk with a deafening thud, his voice rising in a rare show of frustration.

“They are alive! If the caster was dead, this mark wouldn’t still be imprinted on my body!”

“So, because of the sins of the Imperial Family from decades ago, you want me to take the blame for treason?”

“If you refuse, then you, too, will never escape the serpent’s den. I guarantee it.”

The Emperor’s red-tinged eyes glowed like burning embers, his rage barely restrained.

Then, he personally pulled out a dagger and slammed it onto the desk in front of Cruello.

The sound rang loud and clear.

Wow, this man really had a talent for saying all the wrong things.

“So, what Your Majesty is saying... is that since you are powerless to stop this, you want to hand the throne over to the Crown Prince, who is still unshackled, and have her eradicate the Black Serpent in one sweep? And whether Cruello, now branded a traitor, dies on the run or not, that’s not your problem?”

That was... quite the request.

Cruello merely gazed at me in silence, while the Emperor’s face twisted with fury.

But I was the one who should be angry here.

“Why don’t you do it yourself? How hard can it be to die?”

“If such an easy solution worked, I would’ve done it long ago.”

“Then ask the Crown Prince to do it. Why is it that you only look for your nephew, who owes you nothing, in times like these?”

“How dare you! Do you think this is a conversation for you to interfere with?!”

The Emperor finally lost his temper and shouted.

Well, to be fair, he had held back for quite a while.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

The pinnacle of the caste system was just publicly ridiculed by a common-born child.

I had tried to respect the system of the outside world as much as I could.

But everything had its limits.

His ancestors had been the ones shackled, and all he had done was cling desperately to the status quo—

Cruello should handle the imperial succession while the Crown Prince eradicates the church?

I had thought there was still fire in the Emperor’s eyes.

All that remained in him were ashes.

"Ah, right. In a society built on hierarchy, I suppose one needs permission to speak."

With that, I immediately summoned divine power.

At least this time, I didn’t cough up blood after resting for a day.

My mouth burned, but I could endure it.

However, divine power alone wasn’t enough to solve anything.

I needed to analyze the spell binding the Emperor.

The structure was different from my own, yet unmistakably, it was Pebula’s divine energy.

It resembled a variation of an oath-binding spell—perhaps even a lost one.

Regardless, since its framework was the same as mine, finding its weak points and unraveling it wasn’t difficult.

Threads of pure white divine power slithered across the Emperor’s body like serpents, severing the spell’s core one by one.

And soon, it was done.

“I believe I’ve just become Your Majesty’s savior. Am I qualified to speak now?”

The Emperor’s mouth fell open in stunned disbelief.

He was acting like he had just discovered I was a priest.

The Crown Prince really must be tight-lipped.

“If I may be so bold, Your Majesty, merely accepting death does not accomplish anything.”

If dying alone could fix problems, I would have saved the world twice over by now.

I grabbed Cruello’s arm and tugged.

Now I was just a fool who got scolded and still helped others.

But I had calculated my moves.

If the Emperor had remained Eden’s puppet, I couldn’t predict what kind of headache that would bring.

At worst, Cruello might have really ended up framed for treason.

That was unacceptable.

I had a wretched but undeniable place to return to.

But Cruello—his entire world was outside.

He needed a place to exist, too.

Just as we reached the office door, the Emperor’s voice echoed behind us.

“He was a woman, and a man, and an elder, and a child; an angel, a devil, a human, and a monster.”

The words were familiar.

“I heard you visited the Theology Library. And I heard about the book you opened.”

The moment I had entered the Imperial Library.

While researching the theory of Pebula being a false god, I had followed a lead given by a Recanon follower and found a loose page hidden among the ancient theology books.

"The many lights could not bear to condemn him, for he was veiled by the great light upon his back."

"The Prophet Hormeia proclaimed that mankind would enjoy 900 years of peace, and during that time, sin would only graze the hem of its shadow."

"His disciple, Telga, asked his master: ‘Then what shall become of the world after 900 years?’"

And the one who had read me that final verse—

Cruello silently mouthed the name. I nodded.

“Scholars dismiss it as unverified scripture, but I have read that prophecy more times than I can count.”

“It was once secretly passed down within the Imperial Family. Most of the records have been lost now, but that prophecy book also contained references to the Rebellion.”

So that’s why they hadn’t resisted more.

"With my own knowledge of their strength, combined with such a prophecy, the choice was clear."

The Emperor let out a dry laugh and pulled out a chair, sinking into it.

“I cannot forget my mother’s words. That day, she told me—‘At last, the monster has come.’”

“I suppose, to you, this sounds like nothing but an excuse.”

“Everyone has their circumstances. Expecting others to understand them is just greed.”

After all, I had never once wished for anyone to acknowledge my suffering.

Without waiting any longer, I grasped the door handle and turned it.

“Consider it a debt. I am not so shameless as to forget.”

I pretended not to hear and stepped out of the office.

Just as the door was about to close, his final words slipped through the gap.

“Siora Bonetti. May you be that radiant light.”

In my mind, Eden’s voice resounded.

"Then, may the radiant light touch the world."