Return – 2

‘Was there an incident at this timing that would make the Emperor send a letter himself?’

I carefully reviewed the story’s contents, but nothing came to mind. From the start, the Emperor shouldn’t have shown enough interest to send me a separate letter at this point.

He should just consider me a moderately talented Knight and move on, then gradually take an interest as the related story progresses later.

I had no confidence in dealing with the Emperor’s incredibly whimsical personality and words from the early to mid-story. Something had definitely gone wrong, but I didn’t know where it went wrong.

“Is it okay if I just unfold it and check it like this?”

“Yes. Before you look at the contents, be careful not to reveal it to us first. Oh, you know you shouldn’t damage the Emperor’s official seal, right?”

I stopped the finger that was about to remove the official seal. Seeing my finger halt abruptly, Aurora closed her mouth as if momentarily speechless, then after a long pause, she muttered in an incredulous voice.

“……You didn’t know?”

“I didn’t know.”

“A letter bearing the Emperor’s official seal means that His Majesty personally oversaw every step of the process. From choosing the parchment, writing the words, sealing the letter, and even applying the official seal. So you must never damage it. You’re supposed to keep it safe and return it when you have an audience with His Majesty the Emperor.”

“What happens if I lose it or something?”

“Do you want to hear?”

“……It’s probably better not to hear it.”

I quietly gave up. With Aurora saying it like that, I didn’t want to peer into the abyss just to satisfy my curiosity.

“It’s a good thing I gave you a heads-up just in case; if I had just let it go, it really would have been a huge problem.”

Aurora sighed in relief. I felt the same way. I never imagined that a landmine would be hidden in a place like this. And not just an ordinary landmine, but an anti-tank mine.

How could I possibly know such detailed information, like not damaging the Emperor’s official seal, and that I should keep it safe and return it when I eventually have an audience with the Emperor?

I moved my fingers even more carefully. I gently peeled off the Emperor’s official seal and placed it on the table, then untied the knot of the red string wrapped around the parchment.

‘Do I have to return this string later too?’

I stared blankly at the string in my hand before placing it next to the official seal. It was just in case I needed to keep it. If I took this as well, there would be no harm done, at least.

The scroll, made of parchment, looked luxurious at first glance. When touched, it had a slight springiness, yet it was much softer than paper.

While the idea of paper having elasticity might sound strange, that was at least how it felt to me.

“Just a moment. There aren’t any specific etiquettes I must follow when unfolding or reading this, are there?”

“Not entirely.”

“Oh, there really are?”

“Every single action you must perform in front of His Majesty the Emperor is set by regulations. How to breathe, the posture for kneeling, where to place your eyes, things like that.”

“…….”

Suddenly, I felt a lump in my throat. In front of the Emperor, even how you breathe and how you move your eyeballs must follow set rules? Really?

“However, those only apply when you have an audience with His Majesty the Emperor directly in the imperial palace. You don’t need to worry about such things here, so there’s no need to be nervous. You can just read it however you like. Just don’t handle it too roughly.”

“That’s a relief, at least.”

I said it sincerely.

I held both ends of the rolled-up parchment and slowly unrolled it. Black ink letters on the slightly yellowish surface of the paper caught my eye.

ㅡGo to the Holy Nation. Kaikilia Libanus.

“……?”

For a moment, I doubted my eyes.

The long parchment, as if three or four sheets of A4 paper were vertically joined, contained only two sentences. It was even to the point where the number of characters in the Emperor’s full name exceeded the number of characters in the main text.

Thinking I might be seeing things wrong, I peered closer at the parchment, and wondering if there were more letters written above or below, I pulled the scroll all the way open.

But those two sentences really were the end. An order to go to the Holy Nation, and Kaikilia’s full name.

“What’s the content that’s making you look so serious?”

Aurora subtly posed the question. The other Knight Captains seemed equally curious, but since it was a letter personally sent by the Emperor, they apparently didn’t dare to ask.

“Um… just in case, I’m asking, is there a magic that hides letters and only reveals them when certain conditions are met?”

“Well? I’m not a mage, am I? There’s no way I’d know something like that. Why? What’s the content?”

I silently handed over the parchment. Aurora, upon receiving the parchment and reading it, widened her eyes just like me, then made an expression that was half subtle and half bewildered.

This time, it was the Knight Captains’ turn to satisfy their curiosity. Aurora, with a complicated expression, passed the parchment over, and the Knight Captains, after looking it over once each, made the same expression.

The silence that settled in the reception room lasted quite a while. By the time each of their teacups had been emptied and refilled twice, it was Aurora who first broke the silence.

“Isn’t there something more?”

Aurora picked up the parchment, her face clearly showing the emotions she must have been feeling at that moment.

“No matter how I think about it, there’s no need to personally write a letter just to convey a single command, ‘Go to the Holy Nation.’ There’s definitely something more to this.”

“I think the same, Lord-nim. It seems more accurate to assume that this letter has undergone some specific magical processing.”

Iris affirmed her words. The other Knight Captains’ thoughts didn’t seem much different either.

“Then, the first question is this: Why the Raphaella Holy Nation, of all places?”

This time, the reactions were mixed.

Aurora and Iris looked utterly bewildered as to why it had to be the Holy Nation, while Claudia, I, Rije, and Erica had expressions that suggested they knew something.

We had to speak anyway, and perhaps now was the opportune moment. The decision was made quickly. After exchanging glances for a long time, it was Erica who ultimately took the lead.

“Perhaps, it might be because of what we experienced.”

Erica recounted all the events that occurred immediately after we subjugated Arachnainera.

The incident where Stella, the Inquisitor of the Raphaella Holy Nation, and her battle nuns under her command appeared just as we were about to set off to find an antidote for the poisoned Claudia.

The incident where Stella declared us heretics and surrounded us with battle nuns.

And then, claiming to discern heresy, she unfastened her holy vestment, exposing her chest and private parts, and when it was determined that I was not a heretic, she said she couldn’t accept it and made me fondle her breasts.

Finally, the incident where she lost her mind, saying she felt divine power from me, then healed Claudia and told me to visit the Holy Nation, promising to arrange a meeting with the Pope of the Sun.

Even after the explanation ended, Aurora and Iris remained silent for a while.

“……To summarize your words, Erica.”

Then, suddenly, Aurora clutched her forehead.

“Delta received a heresy judgment from the Inquisitor of the Raphaella Holy Nation, and the method of judgment was lifting clothes and fondling breasts? And before that, she lifted her clothes to show her nipples and pussy?”

“The words you used are a bit concerning, but for now, you saw it accurately.”

“That woman, the Inquisitor, is she a pervert? Or does she have exhibitionism or something?”

In fact, Aurora’s own attire, despite her words, was far from normal.

Her dress exposed her side chest, collarbone, and even her armpit, and she wasn’t wearing a single piece of underwear underneath. Speaking with such an outfit had no persuasive power whatsoever.

Moreover, hadn’t the Knight Captains also come to the banquet wearing translucent see-through dresses that revealed their bare skin, with lingerie matching their hair color?

‘And calling that a holy vestment, too.’

Regarding Erica calling that insane outfit, which looked like it would expose her nipples and private parts completely if even a slight breeze blew, a holy vestment, neither Aurora nor the other Knight Captains raised any questions.

From my perspective, it was six of one, half a dozen of the other.

“If the Inquisitor promised to let us meet the Pope of the Sun, then it’s highly likely that the Holy Nation has already conveyed the news to His Majesty the Emperor. That’s why His Majesty would have sent this letter.”

“That quickly? It should take quite a while to get from where we subjugated the monster to the Holy Nation……”

“They might have used some trick. Since there’s spatial movement magic among the highest-tier spells, even in divine spellsㅡ”

“That’s correct.”

A third party’s voice was heard from somewhere. It was a voice I had never heard before.

The response was swift. The Knight Captains instantly drew their weapons and aimed them towards where the voice came from, and the maids immediately clung to Aurora, shielding her with their bodies.

By the time I barely reacted and started to move my body, the Knight Captains had already finished preparing for battle.

“Who is it? This is Lord Aurora-nim’s mansion. If you don’t reveal your identity, we will consider you an enemy.”

In front of the reception room’s massive window stood a woman, her head completely covered by a robe mixed with gray and silver. Even over the loose robe, the curves of her body were clearly visible.

“Please lower your weapons. I am not an enemy.”

“That depends on you, doesn’t it? I won’t say much. Show yourself. Any conversation or anything else will proceed after that.”

“……I understand.”

A slender hand, wearing a leather glove, reached for the robe concealing her face. A soft rustling sound was heard as the robe was removed, and a voluminous gray ponytail, previously hidden within, cascaded down her back.

Her violet eyes glowed purple under the chandelier’s light. Those jewel-like violet eyes slowly swept over us. There was no hostility in her gaze.

“My name is Selene.”

The woman opened her mouth with an expressionless face.

“I am an Inquisitor belonging to the Pope of the Moon.”