The Imperial Family’s Shame

Since long ago, the Order of the Moon had maintained quite close exchanges with the Imperial family.

In those days, the Order of the Sun had not yet established itself to the level of a state religion, and the two were on somewhat equal footing.

Moreover, unlike the Order of the Sun, the Order of the Moon, based on its then-plentiful financial situation, also put forward policies to relieve the common people, so public sentiment was also good.

The Imperial Palace also looked favorably upon them for taking care of the people in places where their own hands could not reach.

However, due to that, bitter words were often heard in the world.

It was a frequent occurrence for people to grumble, asking what the Imperial Palace was doing when even a mere order was carrying out such relief policies.

In fact, due to such reasons, the relationship with the Order of the Moon had slightly soured during the reign of the previous Emperor, but since then, they had consistently maintained a good relationship.

Especially after Theodoric, the current Pope, was appointed, the previous Emperor, that is, Oswell’s father, who looked favorably upon his unique integrity and unpretentiousness, even advised him not to oppress them before passing on the throne.

However, as of late, due to the unfavorable rumor that the Eyes of Dawn were associated with the Order of the Moon, that relationship was gradually deteriorating again.

In the midst of all this, the Pope, who could be said to be the head of the Order of the Moon, was directly visiting the Imperial Palace.

For Oswell, it was nothing short of perplexing, and a somewhat uncomfortable meeting ensued.

“It’s been a while, Your Imperial Majesty. The last time I greeted you was probably right after you ascended to the throne.”

“Yes, it must have been around that time. It was when I had just come of age.”

Although he was the supreme ruler of the Empire, Oswell treated Theodoric with respect and politeness.

It was not to see the other as higher than himself, but to respect his experience and the mission he held.

Moreover, Theodoric was a man who had been in the position of Pope for as long as 40 years, and he had quite a close relationship with Oswell’s father.

“Your Majesty, who used to be so green, has become this age before I knew it. Time is truly merciless.”

“No, rather, I think it’s fortunate that I’m finally starting to see things that I couldn’t see when I was young and foolish.”

“Ho ho, that’s true too.”

As the two exchanged brief updates while asking about each other’s well-being, Kyle and Sylvia also followed and took their seats.

“By the way, Duke Liard, how is it that His Holiness the Pope is here?”

“I’m surprised too. There was no mention that His Holiness the Pope would come in person….”

Only then did he ask why Theodoric had come to the capital, and Kyle gave a wry smile with an awkward expression.

From the beginning, Kyle and Sylvia had not even imagined that someone as high as the Pope would visit this place in person.

Right before departing from Ruben, Theodoric had said with his own mouth, ‘I will send someone.’

He had even conveyed that he would offer prayers in the room, wishing them good fortune, so they naturally assumed he was still in the temple of Ruben.

But as it turned out, he had arrived in the capital, following behind the two of them.

They had only found out about it four hours ago.

‘There was a dimension stone that only the highest-ranking priests of the Order could use. I had forgotten about that.’

He wondered how he, who had departed much later, could have followed them, but Kyle belatedly recalled the dimension stone in Ruben and understood the situation.

After all, Ruben used to be called a small holy nation in the past, boasting an independent authority even within the Empire.

Befitting that, Ruben has a separate dimension stone that can only be used by the highest-ranking priests such as archbishops, cardinals, and popes.

A kind of privilege that allows them to travel between the capital Artas and Ruben in just a few seconds.

Along with the Grand Duke’s territory in the north, which is guarded by the Grand Ducal family, there are only two dimension stones in the Empire that are directly connected to Artas, and one of them is in Ruben.

So Kyle couldn’t help but be late in realizing that.

“Actually, I originally visited because I had urgent news to deliver to Your Imperial Majesty. And a priest from the Order of the Moon was supposed to come as a witness to add credibility to it.”

“Credibility? What do you mean by that?”

Oswell frowned slightly at the tone, as if he had already concluded that he would not trust his words.

It was not because he was displeased by the action, but because it sounded like there was urgent news so unbelievable that it required a witness.

Moreover, the news was so surprising that even the Pope himself had to volunteer as a witness.

He couldn’t even begin to guess what the content was.

“Your Majesty, do you happen to know about this?”

“This is…!”

As Kyle took off the glove he was wearing and showed the back of his hand to Oswell, who was repeatedly making guesses, his eyes widened.

It was none other than the crescent moon mark engraved on the back of Kyle’s hand.

As if the moon was shedding tears, even the small water droplet next to it.

It was a shape that Oswell could never forget.

‘Could he know about the Sacred Mark?’

Conversely, Kyle also expressed doubt at his reaction.

Originally, he was going to explain that this mark was a Sacred Mark and continue with the detailed story, but Oswell seemed to already know about the identity of this mark.

Besides, even if he did know, by what means?

It seemed that only a small number of believers in the Order of the Moon knew about this Sacred Mark.

“Where did you get this?”

“I’m going to tell you about that with His Holiness the Pope from now on. Actually….”

While examining Oswell’s complexion, who was urgently demanding an explanation, Kyle carefully parted his lips.

First of all, now is the time to explain what happened in Ruben.

Asking detailed questions is a matter for later.

＊＊＊

Quite a long time had passed.

When explaining the situation to Vermillion and Anise, he summarized it as much as possible and only conveyed the important matters, so it didn’t take that long.

In front of Oswell, he had to explain in detail from beginning to end what the two had experienced together, so that he would not feel even a single doubt.

But Kyle felt that Oswell’s attitude was truly strange.

No, to be exact, he was agreeing too readily.

Anyone who heard it would think it was absurd and a sudden story.

No matter how great the witness was, even if it was the Pope, he should have had some doubts.

From the beginning, he only nodded as if he completely trusted Kyle’s words, and didn’t say anything else.

“…So that’s what happened. So you received that Sacred Mark from the Goddess Lethe, and all these incidents were actually committed by the Order of the Sun, not the Order of the Moon?”

“That’s right for now. You may not believe it….”

“No, I believe it. That’s because after hearing about this Sacred Mark you showed me and the words of His Holiness the Pope, I can’t help but believe it.”

Oswell took a sip of black tea, wearing a smile that felt like resignation.

Kyle, who had been silently watching the scene, cautiously opened his mouth.

“Your Majesty, you seemed to already know about this Sacred Mark…. If you know anything, could you explain it to me?”

“I should. However, it’s such a shameful matter that I was hesitant to bring it up. But I have to say what I have to say. Even if it’s the worst disgrace the Imperial family has ever committed.”

‘Disgrace?’

Kyle frowned at the provocative word ‘Imperial family’s disgrace.’

No matter what kind of Emperor he is, it is difficult to arbitrarily denigrate what has happened historically in the Imperial family.

That could further be an insult to the previous Emperors, and in the end, due to the Imperial family’s inheritance characteristics that are passed down from bloodline to bloodline, it is no different from insulting one’s ancestors.

But even so, the fact that he uttered the word ‘disgrace’ without hesitation meant that there was an equivalent incident.

“Earlier, you said, borrowing the words of the Goddess Lethe, that in the early days of the Empire’s founding, the first Emperor borrowed the power of the Sun Goddess Erze to destroy the surrounding enemies and finally unite this land into one.”

“Yes, that’s what I heard.”

If you only listen to it, it is nothing short of a stylish and great heroic tale that would appear in the early chapters of a history book, but the reality is that it is only bitter that it is not.

According to Lethe, the first Emperor Heinz was merely used for Erze’s purpose.

Moreover, after that, he was also swallowed up by the miraculous power given by the goddess, indiscriminately killing those around him and using it only for his own authority, I heard.

Lethe, unable to watch, stepped in, and the battle between Erze and Lethe began in earnest.

“From what I can see, the Goddess Lethe doesn’t seem to have explained the details about what happened after that, but there’s actually one story hidden.”

“What is it?”

“Do you happen to remember? A woman named Modrine brought the Goddess Lethe to this land and defeated the first Emperor Heinz.”

“Yes.”

Kyle nodded, feeling a strange sense of incongruity as he watched Oswell, who did not even attach honorifics to a person who could be said to be a legend and myth of the Empire.

Oswell, who was facing him with bitter eyes, finally began to take out the painful memory of the Empire that he had to keep in his heart for the rest of his life.

“That woman Modrine was the wife of the first Emperor Heinz and the owner of the first Sacred Mark.”

At that moment, Kyle was able to realize why Oswell had looked at this Sacred Mark with such disbelief.