episode_0162

Lacey’s words were filled with a strange confidence, almost like a prophecy.

Even though I know that she has no prophetic abilities, I feel like it will definitely happen.

“Prince Matthias is dangerous?”

4 Does this mean that the prince is actually a villain with a hidden identity or something like that?

That sounds reasonable, considering that after he went to study in the Holy Kingdom, the two religious denominations became political forces and became semi-corrupt… .

I can’t tell because I don’t know the detailed settings.

After Leonor, Matthias, and Ernst ascended the throne, there was virtually no mention of them.

At least Leonor’s character setting was detailed, but Matthias ‘went abroad to study in the Holy Kingdom to become a priest.’ One line was the end.

Lacey nodded heavily, her expression still stiff.

“Yes. If what the Lord said is true, then being the child of a witch and becoming a priest of the Holy Kingdom… .”

====[Mathias Wittelsbach]====

“It’s been five years since I returned to the system… . This place hasn’t changed much.”

Inside the carriage of the Shaulithe Church crossing the main road of the Islands.

Mathias looked around and left a brief comment.

Considering the hardships the system went through a few months ago, it was an absurd statement… .

In a way, it was natural for Mathias to feel that this place had not changed.

More than half a year has passed since the great fire broke out, and the system has already been completely restored on the outside.

It was impossible to tell just by looking at how the mindset of the island’s citizens had changed.

“You seem confused, Priest Matthias.”

Hughes, the paladin in charge of escorting the carriage, responded and looked at Mathias.

A boy who gives off a weak impression due to his thin appearance.

At first glance, one might mistake her for a girl’s face, but her face was grim and grim.

“Is that so? It definitely feels a bit complicated. Should I be happy about seeing my family for the first time in five years, or should I be sad about my father’s death… .”

Mathias trailed off. As he just said, he felt quite complicated.

His parents were not pleased with Matthias heading to the Holy Kingdom.

My father, who passed away suddenly, and my mother, who should be in the inner room of the imperial palace by now.

‘The only ones who cheered me on were older brother Ernst and older sister Leonor… .’

My dream is to become a priest and stand by my people and help them. There were only two who cheered.

I promised myself that I would make my dream come true and prove it to my parents… .

I never thought I would hear about my father’s death as soon as I achieve it.

“You can follow the priest’s wishes. That would be Shaulithe’s guidance.”

Hughes, scratching his beard, comforted Matthias.

It was a clumsy consolation, but perhaps his feelings were conveyed, and Mathias smiled slightly.

“That would be great… . Thank you, Paladin Hughes. My heart felt a little lighter.”

“It is an honor.”

Hughes slightly lowered his head and made the sign of the Shaulithe Order.

Not the cross of Elfinel, but the symbol of Shaulithe. Two semicircles.

Mathias responded by making the sign of the cross and stopped chatting at that point.

Because it was time to arrive.

Beyond the field of vision, illuminated by the moonlight, the imperial palace boasted a brilliance that had not changed at all from before.

—-

“Welcome, Mathias. My dear son, it’s been so long. Did you not even want to see this mother?”

Matthias’s nervousness was indifferent to his mother Isabella, whom he met for the first time in five years, who welcomed him in a surprisingly warm manner.

Although he may not have known this, when Ernst came, even the decadent interior had been neatly organized.

Empress Isabella welcomed Matthias wearing a neat black dress.

Without any drug-laced smoke or naked servants to disturb your mind.

It was a pretense that Ernst and Leonor would have scoffed at if they had seen it, but… .

Matthias, who had been away from the imperial palace since childhood, did not feel much of a sense of alienation.

I’m just amazed at how my mother hasn’t changed at all even after so many years.

“Sorry. As I was concentrating on being ordained as a priest… I came here too late.

“It’s okay since I came here now. Lift your head up. I want to see your face.”

Mathias raised his head and made eye contact with his mother.

The empress’s eyes, filled with a fascinating color, and clear eyes resembling dahlia petals looked at each other.

To my surprise, Isabella smiled kindly.

If people who knew her well had seen her, they would have been suspicious, but at least to Mathias, her expression was benevolent.

“Okay… You have grown up wonderfully, Matthias. You said you became a priest of the Shaulithe Church, right? I was worried on the inside, but now I’m proud of you. Come here. Let’s hug each other for the first time in a while.”

“Uh… . Yes, mother.”

Mathias, who was a little embarrassed, approached Isabella.

Embracing a beautiful woman was something a priest should have avoided… If that person was the mother, it was a completely different story.

Because it was just an act of expressing the love between mother and son.

As he was now over fifteen, he felt a bit of shame and resistance to being held in his mother’s arms.

However, because of his guilt over not having seen his mother for five years and because of his greater joy that his mother had finally recognized his dream, Matthias did not refuse and willingly embraced Isabella.

“Okay, Matthias. Proud of my son… You really grew up well.”

“Mother… .”

The embrace of my mother, who hugged me for the first time in five years, was warm.

Mathias let out a childlike laugh without realizing it.

I was filled with overwhelming emotion, as if my efforts over the past few years had finally been rewarded.

“Very… You raised me well.”

Isabella also smiled. Her lips touched her ears.

Finally, the second harvest has arrived.

“Goodbye.”

Isabella’s right hand pierced Matthias’ chest.

“Uh… ? mother? Uh… ?”

An incredible reality. Due to the sudden shock, Mathias looked down at his chest blankly, unable to feel the pain.

His mother’s arms, which had been torn and dug into her priest’s robes, were turning red with his blood.

Shaulithe’s holy sign, cut off without any help, fell to the floor and made a sharp metal sound.

At that moment, a pain he had never imagined surged from his chest.

A burning pain that made my limbs tremble, as if lava had been poured into my heart.

“Ugh, ah-eup… !”

Isabella’s left hand covered her mouth as she tried to scream.

“Shh… . It’s late at night. Be quiet, Matthias.”

My mother, who was facing me, was laughing so hard.

Purple eyes heated with ecstasy shined brightly, and black magical energy leaked from the corner of the mouth where its fangs were exposed.

‘witch… !’

The knowledge he had learned in the Holy Kingdom flashed through Mathias’ mind.

Although I realized it too late.

A sense of betrayal and despair rolled over me like a dark cloud.

“I’m glad you’re working so hard to help your mother, Matthias. Be proud. Not only did you make your dream come true, but you also made this mother’s dream come true.”

The moment Mathias gritted his teeth and tried to raise his holy power, Isabella roughly pulled out his right hand.

“… ! … … !!”

The scream is blocked. Red paint saturates the wall.

Isabella was holding her son’s heart in her right hand, which was dripping with blood.

Mathias’s eyes twitched.

A fatal wound suffered before I could even use the holy power I had worked so hard to gather.

We lost the means to fight back and the means to recover.

As he looked at his heart beating and gushing out blood, Mathias felt his consciousness fading away.

“I won’t be able to go to Shaulitte’s side, but… You won’t be lonely. Josef is waiting for you.”

mother. No, the witch’s last words did not even reach Matthias’s ears.

The young priest, out of breath, fell forward helplessly.

Holding her son’s body and stroking the back of his head, Isabella quietly sang a lullaby.

As before.

Above the puddle of blood that Matthias shed, only the broken symbol was floating pitifully.

=======[Hashall]=======

“-It means nothing more than prey.”

Lacey’s words contained concerns that were the exact opposite of what I expected.

It didn’t mean that Mathias was a dangerous person, but rather that Mathias’s safety was in danger.

“… Prey?”

“Yes. A priest full of holy power. Not only is it a relative of the person, but if it is a direct lineage of the imperial family… It would be of great value as a sacrifice to the evil spirit.”

“The Empress is going to kill Matthias… ? No, that would be no different from political suicide, right?”

Although nominal, Mathias is a bridgehead connecting the Holy Kingdom and the imperial family.

If such a prince suddenly dies after meeting the empress, wouldn’t the support of the church only weaken?

It wouldn’t be easy to treat it as a disappearance like it did with Josef.

You might have noticed it once, but twice people said, ‘Yes, you’re missing. I’m not going to just say, ‘This is a tragedy.’

“It is meaningless to judge a witch’s actions by human standards. The top priority for them is to follow the orders of the evil spirit. In any case, this is a story about when Empress Isabella was really a witch.”

“Then, should we somehow stop Matthias from meeting Isabella?”

“… I don’t know if it’s possible. Unless there is evidence, there is no way to stop the boy whose father was injured from going to see his mother… It doesn’t come to mind for me. Still. You should try it.”

Of course, if you leave out the story about the witch, there is no way to persuade him.

It is impossible to ask a candidate for sainthood to detain someone through lies, and it is also impossible to forcibly detain a person who is as high as a priest of a holy country or a prince of an empire.

Still, if I leave it like this, I’m sure I’ll lose my life, so I’ll have to do something.

“… Maybe it’s already too late.”

Lacey turned her head and looked toward the imperial palace.