Ch.255Coronation (5)

“What’s going on here?”

Isla asked belatedly, but no one answered.

In truth, it was a question impossible to answer. Only Llewellyn was caught in the situation, his eyes darting back and forth.

The truly troubling part was that no matter where he looked, he saw the same thing.

To the left was his sister, and to the right was his sister. At least judging by their faces.

There were differences in hair length, attire, and expression, but the basic elements that defined their human appearance were completely identical.

Their facial features, eye color, the shape and position of their eyes.

They say that 90% of what defines a person’s impression comes from the eyes. He’d heard that when creating a composite sketch or portrait, the eyes are the most important part.

Llewellyn felt that keenly now. At a glance, it looked like his sister was frowning at her own reflection in a mirror.

That’s why he didn’t know how to respond.

“When you think about it, aren’t you the younger sibling? After all, you were created based on me, so essentially you were made after me. That’s the definition of a younger sibling, I’d say.”

“If we consider time as the focal point, I was formed long before you or anyone else. Since Mother exists beyond time and space, I existed before any of you.”

In that sense, the Emperor would be the elder and Lucilla the younger sibling. Llewellyn already felt his brain getting complicated.

“That’s nonsense…”

“Um, sis.”

“Yes? What is it, Sejin?”

“That’s actually true.”

Lucilla stared at Llewellyn with a hardened expression, perhaps feeling betrayed.

Llewellyn awkwardly scratched his head at his sister’s expression.

“Netel exists beyond time and space. By copying you… she created the Emperor in the distant past, and waited until making her decision after seeing me grow up and reach this point in the present.”

“…What does that mean?”

The one asking wasn’t Lucilla. It was Isla, quietly interjecting.

Llewellyn, feeling the need to explain, began to speak.

What happened when he went up with Lorian.

The facts he revealed, excluding certain details.

Meeting the Court Count, uncovering what could be called the Empress’s scheme.

Persuading the Empress to dedicate everything she possessed to him, and even recruiting the Prophet and Court Count.

And perhaps one most important fact.

“…It just… ended like that?”

Meeting Netel, having a conversation that wasn’t quite a conversation, and realizing Netel’s purpose and desires.

And how Netel readily complied with Llewellyn’s will and immediately took action.

It wasn’t simply a matter of Netel making a quick decision. It felt more like she had already seen and heard Llewellyn saying those things.

And the words now coming from Llewellyn’s mouth delivered quite a shock to them.

Although they had vaguely heard about it shortly after arriving at the Pantheon with the three tribes, hearing the full situation now was strange.

The relatively sensible “Mourner Uncle” seemed puzzled that things had been resolved so easily.

All the times they had fought against Netel, repeatedly interfering with her plans.

Even Netel herself had attacked Llewellyn with killing intent—what had all that been about?

Llewellyn answered that question:

“Netel probably didn’t have such intentions. I understood her mode of existence… her pattern of behavior.”

Netel cannot sense humans. And just as humans know dust mites exist but cannot see them when lifting a blanket, Netel couldn’t directly sense human existence either.

She walked upon fate, trampling countless humans underfoot.

There was no intention in any of Netel’s actions. At least, there was no malicious intent behind them.

But the result was no different from that of an evil god. Even if her intentions were good, she inadvertently caused harm.

So Llewellyn was convinced: Netel should not exist in this world. The best outcome would be for Netel to leave and for her place to be taken by Llewellyn, who could sense and communicate with humans.

Llewellyn explained all this with his limited eloquence.

Stumbling, circling back, and answering questions repeatedly.

In the end, he managed to convey his thoughts and the truth about Netel to everyone.

“So… Netel is just going to leave like that?”

Eshaterna, who rarely spoke in situations like this, opened her mouth.

Perhaps even she couldn’t ignore this matter. Llewellyn nodded.

“It’s hard to understand. The whole thing.”

Esha said this, but it couldn’t be helped.

Netel was never human to begin with. Trying to understand her with human perception was pointless.

Her way of thinking was vastly different from humans. What could be vaguely understood was that her goals aligned with theirs, making her somewhat trustworthy.

More precisely, it wasn’t so much trust as believing she would act accordingly, but Llewellyn didn’t feel the need to distinguish between these differences.

“How are you going to defeat Netel?”

Isla asked. She stared at Llewellyn while fidgeting with her necklace.

It was something left behind after Selma died at Netel’s hands. Or rather, the processed result of what was left behind.

Was she seeking revenge? Llewellyn looked at Isla and answered honestly.

“She’ll fall on her own. In a way that saves the world.”

Rarely did Isla grip her necklace so tightly that her already pale hands turned even whiter, and Llewellyn gave her an apologetic look.

Isla wasn’t one to misunderstand. But she couldn’t accept this turn of events at face value.

Reason told her this was right. Thinking the entire world should burn for the sake of revenge was childish.

But people often think that way. Isla struggled not to be swayed by emotion as her pupils trembled.

Eventually, Isla withdrew from the gathering. Llewellyn could only watch distantly as his lover walked away.

What she needed was time. Time to accept.

Perhaps some comfort would be good too, but now wasn’t the time.

That’s why Llewellyn stopped Lorian, who was about to follow her.

“Let’s give her time to think alone. I’ll go find her in the evening.”

“Hmm, alright.”

Lorian quietly closed his mouth and stood behind Llewellyn again. Lucilla fidgeted as she looked at the spot where Isla had left, but ultimately remained in place without going after her.

A moment of silence passed.

“So, why are you here?”

Lucilla was the first to speak. As soon as the atmosphere seemed to have cleared, she addressed the Emperor directly.

“As you can see, almost none of us have good feelings toward Netel. And I’m sure the same goes for you, who’s been doing all sorts of things under her. What exactly is your intention in being here?”

The reason the three tribes were here was understandable.

They were beings who believed in and followed the Father, and Llewellyn was the new deity who had inherited that position.

He was a rising star, perhaps someone who could replace the Father.

So they followed Llewellyn. They allowed him to freely move their stronghold all the way to the Pantheon.

But what about the Emperor?

No one understood why the Emperor was here.

Except for Llewellyn.

“This plan has the potential to fail at any time; it is the lesser evil and can never be the best solution.”

And the Emperor revealed her own thoughts.

“Hardship awaits. Having qualifications and power is one thing, but will is another matter. There have been countless humans who possessed the power and talent worthy of being called heroes, but lacking will, they broke and fell.”

Even Llewellyn could think of several faces that matched these words. Those who had power but broke under trials, heroes who stopped their journeys due to will that fell short of their talents.

Beings who remained only in Llewellyn’s mourning.

The Emperor was comparing them to Llewellyn.

Suggesting that he too could end up like them. It wasn’t wrong.

That was human nature—to make wrong choices swayed by emotion, to give up before seeing results, to hold one’s head high with undeserved glory only to have it cut off.

If the Emperor had lived for so long as Emperor, she must have seen countless such people.

“The difference between them and you is one thing. The price of their surrender was only their own lives, but the price of your surrender is the world.”

He couldn’t just give up saying it was only his life at stake. Llewellyn understood what the Emperor wanted to say.

It was similar to what Llewellyn had told Inquisitor Verben earlier.

“So you’re here because it’s not reasonable for the world to end due to one person giving up.”

“That is the reason I was created.”

A being to take his place in case Llewellyn couldn’t reach that position. Netel’s insurance.

Whether it was true or not, if there wasn’t a shred of lie in what she said, the Emperor had reason to be here.

Even setting aside the unwelcome fact. Llewellyn looked at his sister helplessly, and Lucilla glared at the Emperor with an unpleasant expression, arms crossed.

There was no affection in her tone. She didn’t seem to harbor any romantic feelings for Llewellyn.

Of course, if she was a being created by copying Lucilla, her preferences would be the same, which was concerning.

But that wasn’t the issue at hand. It wasn’t appropriate to argue about this when even the cool-headed Isla had left unable to control her emotions.

Lucilla ultimately had no choice but to let it go, thinking, ‘I’ll have to address this issue later.’

A small sigh. It was a sigh of acquiescence.

After sighing, Lucilla asked:

“So, what are you going to do now?”

Llewellyn felt greatly relieved at that.

Although his sister’s voice was somewhat curt, it was still at a level that could be overcome with a hug and a kiss on the cheek.

Moreover, it meant she hadn’t noticed the truth that Llewellyn had failed to hide.

Llewellyn thought:

‘It seems she hasn’t found out about what happened with Lorian yet. I’ll have to reveal it later.’

For example, when the situation was better and it could be glossed over.

Llewellyn answered with a voice deeply tinged with relief:

“Emperor.”

The Emperor smiled seductively with a face identical to Lucilla’s.

“You have become the king of the three tribes and the master of the Pantheon, but I understand you still have no official status or position. Likewise, your place in the coming battle has no proper name.”

It was a voice completely identical to Lucilla’s now, different from what they had heard until now.

Llewellyn wondered why she had spoken differently until now if she could speak like this, thinking it might be an extension of the formality she displayed when first appearing. The Emperor said to him:

“Therefore, we shall hold a coronation. Proclaim and prove that you are rightfully the king of the world.”

So that even if his will breaks, he cannot give up.

Llewellyn felt slightly ominous at the Emperor’s additional words.