Ch.226Chapter 226: Ominous Blooming

#

In the center of Nakyeol, the capital of the Golden Moon Empire, stood the Hyeonseong (Black Castle).

The ancient fortress, with its long history of housing emperors who ruled the entire continent, was enveloped in silence as night deepened.

Unlike the morning and daytime when the Emperor and his officials worked together, creating a bustling atmosphere as they efficiently handled matters from various regions, the main hall was now deserted.

Even the footsteps of officials hurriedly moving through the imperial palace with stacks of documents were nowhere to be heard, which was only natural.

Officials on night duty remained at their posts without much movement.

The Imperial Guard soldiers stood like statues in their designated areas, making no sound.

The current state of Hyeonseong was such that despite the presence of people, there was no sign of human activity—only the sound of wind could be heard, creating an eerie atmosphere beyond mere silence.

Indeed, there should have been no loud noises inside Hyeonseong at this hour, but…

*Thump, thump*

Somewhere, the sound of rather rough footsteps broke the silence.

“Your Majesty…”

“…”

“Your Majesty…”

“…”

“Your Maj—”

“Quiet. Do you intend to break the rule that no one except Us may make noise in the palace in the middle of the night?”

Following the footsteps, the sudden voices of two people completely shattered the silence.

The protagonists who broke this stillness were a man dressed in a black robe walking aimlessly down the corridor from the guest room, and a figure who appeared to be a guard warrior, hurriedly following him while addressing him as “Your Majesty.”

It may be unnecessary to specify, but the one in the black robe, wearing an expression difficult to describe and taking determined steps filled with subtle emotions, was Woo Taepyeong, the Moon Emperor (Wolje) of the Golden Moon Empire.

The one following the Emperor’s determined footsteps without making a sound was his guard warrior.

It was no easy task to silently follow the Emperor’s wide strides, given his tall stature and longer-than-average gait.

But as if to demonstrate that a guard warrior tasked with protecting the nation’s highest authority like a shadow should be able to do this effortlessly, the guard warrior, dressed in dull clothing that concealed their entire body including the face, was keeping up with the Emperor’s movements without making a sound.

The only sound coming from the guard warrior’s actions was:

“However, Your Majesty, I dare to speak. Even though you are displeased, I worry that if the night duty officials or Imperial Guards see Your Majesty, who normally values restraint in public, acting so emotionally, it could lead to unfavorable rumors.”

There was nothing but sincere advice, hoping that their lord would move away from his emotional state.

Though the face was covered with a mask and the clothing intentionally concealed the body’s contours in a dull form, making it difficult to identify the guard warrior offering such counsel to the Emperor, the exceptionally high and beautiful voice revealed that the guard warrior attached to the Emperor like a shadow was a woman.

The Emperor’s footsteps halted upon hearing the sincere advice from that beautiful voice, and a slight smile appeared on his face, which had seemed lost in thought.

“You always offer me necessary counsel according to the situation without reservation. That is why even in the middle of the night, I do not say anything when you speak freely before me.”

He accepted the guard warrior’s words as genuine counsel.

The fact that he honestly accepted advice as such, even when showing somewhat emotional behavior, revealed that the current Emperor possessed excellent qualities as a leader.

The guard warrior, who had been speaking with her head bowed, raised it as the Emperor listened to her words.

Though her expression was hidden behind the mask, her sparkling black eyes, which couldn’t be completely concealed, clearly showed that she was pleased with the Emperor’s response, but…

“However.”

The Emperor’s somewhat heavy voice that followed took away the light in the guard warrior’s eyes.

“On any other day I might listen, but today I don’t particularly want to hear your sharp counsel.”

The guard warrior could only lower her head again at his somewhat brusque voice.

Though she felt disappointed that the Emperor, while acknowledging her counsel as such, was not in a state to accept it properly:

“I am very sorry to you. But shouldn’t I soothe my disappointment somehow after seeing something I desperately wanted but couldn’t obtain?”

Despite his brusque tone, the Emperor seemed to have some regrets as he immediately tried to smooth things over, stopping in his tracks and turning his head to look at the night sky.

“Sigh…”

With a deep sigh that anyone could tell was filled with regret:

“What a lonely moonlit night. Though not enough to soothe the disappointment of not getting what I wanted, it’s not bad either.”

He muttered to himself so quietly that even the guard warrior right beside him couldn’t hear.

Though no one would answer his words, he took this action thinking it would help alleviate the shock of being rejected by his first love, but:

“If you’re so disappointed, you could just get drunk…”

A sudden voice awakened the Emperor from his attempt to immerse himself in the moonlit atmosphere.

“Who goes there?!”

Though the voice was clear, its source was mysteriously untraceable, causing him to turn his head in various directions to identify who had spoken.

But beside him was only the guard warrior, kneeling on one knee with her head bowed.

Besides the problem of hearing a voice that shouldn’t have been there:

“Hmm…”

A sudden exclamation escaped the Emperor’s lips as he looked around.

He had confirmed that everything around him, except himself, had stopped for a moment.

Everything had stopped. Everything.

The night breeze that should have pleasantly brushed past his ears had ceased its movement, even in the already quiet Hyeonseong.

The guard warrior who was waiting for his next words with her head bowed.

The clouds that should have been moving to cover the moon in the sky—everything had stopped.

So when the Emperor, confused by this situation where everything had stopped, turned his head in another direction to see what was happening:

“Why do you care so much about someone else’s feelings when fulfilling your own desires? You should just be true to your desires. What? The other person doesn’t want it? You should color them with the desire you hold.”

The same voice that had interrupted his attempt to enjoy the moonlit night sounded again from behind him.

Even though he had just confirmed there was nothing there when he looked in that direction.

What kind of sorcery was this?

*Gulp*

Feeling a chill run down his spine, the Emperor swallowed dryly and, suppressing his confusion, turned his head toward the source of the voice.

He could see that something was blocking the moonlight that had illuminated his vision until just moments ago.

Something black, much darker than the night sky with the moon, was covering his field of vision.

As if trying to block not only the moon in the night sky but also his eyes.

“Now…”

And inevitably, the voice brushed past his ears from a place his vision couldn’t reach.

“I’ll give you another chance to be more honest with me.”

It was a voice filled with malevolence.

#

After arriving in Nakyeol, the capital of the Golden Moon Empire, days passed in the blink of an eye as I focused on my duties as a guard knight.

The sixth day after the delegation’s arrival in Nakyeol, when the official schedule would end, was approaching tomorrow.

Thanks to the carefully selected personnel and the leadership of Princess Lukius, this delegation performed their roles not just adequately but perfectly.

And when it came to fulfilling our duties, the three of us guard knights, including myself, were no exception.

Originally, there would be no reason for a diplomatic delegation to feel threatened in the capital of a hegemonic power that stands shoulder to shoulder with the Solarium Empire.

Even considering that, thanks to the Golden Moon Empire’s generous hospitality and arrangements for the delegation, we three guards had no special need to intervene.

When we first set foot in Nakyeol, we spent the first few days more tense than ever, preparing for any unfortunate incidents due to Paphnir’s warning about the ominous energy permeating this land.

But as one day turned into two and two into three without the situation Paphnir was concerned about materializing, and:

[…Strange. The uneasiness I felt at first is fading as time passes.]

‘It’s fading, not disappearing?’

[Yes. It hasn’t vanished completely as if it was never there—I can still sense it, but its density is weakening over time.]

‘That’s strange. At this time of year, such energy should be growing stronger, not weaker.’

[How would I know? It hasn’t completely disappeared, so don’t let your guard down and always be careful.]

‘I’ll keep that in mind.’

Since even Paphnir, who had warned me, couldn’t provide a clear explanation about the weakening ominous energy he sensed, I couldn’t take active measures and only made passive preparations for emergencies, naturally letting my guard down.

This wasn’t just me:

“Yaaawn…”

On the evening of the fifth day, with the conference ending early and a relaxed schedule ahead of the final day, Excel was yawning in our lodgings.

Yes, three promising young talents of the Imperial Knights, called the young stars, had been dispatched to guard the princess.

Not only had there been no incidents requiring our intervention as guards, but even after sunset when the schedule ended, we didn’t need to step in for the princess’s protection thanks to Wibel, who accompanied her like a shadow.

So the three of us assigned as guards—myself, Shizu, and Excel—could rest in our assigned lodgings after the day’s schedule ended, which was more than we could ask for.

For the first few days, we would greet each other when entering our lodgings, rest until the next morning, and then immediately resume guarding the princess in the morning.

But starting yesterday evening, Excel began visiting my lodging, seemingly bored with being alone at night, and we started chatting about various things.

Though he kept yawning, showing his boredom:

“Every year around this time at the end of the year, I’d be frantically running around in the north, but now it feels strange to be spending time so leisurely.”

His comment after finishing his yawn had a slightly different tone from mere boredom.

Someone who doesn’t interact with him often might not be able to grasp what this means just by hearing his voice.

But I could feel it deeply:

“The signs were ominous—I’m worried if it’s okay for us to be away like this.”

In that brief statement was his concern for the fellow knights and soldiers facing the unprecedented offensive from the legions sent by the Obsidian Palace against Knight Haven.

So I answered:

“We’ll be heading back tomorrow, so keep your worries in check. You saw how fast the airship is. If necessary, we could ask the princess to direct this airship straight to the north.”

With an airship that could cross the continent at an unprecedented speed, we could reach wherever we wanted at any time.

However, though Excel would normally cheer up just hearing this much:

“I still feel uneasy. Everyone is struggling at Knight Haven, and here we are like this—it makes me feel guilty.”

He was still busy expressing his discontent with the situation.

At this point, a few words from me wouldn’t be enough to resolve his state, so it would be best to leave him until he tired himself out, but:

[Hey, youngster.]

The moment Paphnir’s urgent voice suddenly echoed in my head:

“…!!”

I turned my head toward the source of an ominous energy so strong it made my skin crawl.

[You noticed even before I could tell you.]

Paphnir’s words, as he was about to alert me, and:

“What is that?”

I could see something that made even Excel, who had been humming while looking at the night sky, exclaim in surprise.

It was the first phenomenon I had observed since my regression.

A twisted, so twisted that it was repulsive to even look at, dark red mist was rising…

-Y-Your Majesty!!

From the direction where a woman’s desperate voice could be heard in the distance.