Ch.345Episode 14 – One Religion, One Faith, Two Saints

“Are you getting ready to go out?”

Camilla, who was lying on the sofa eating snacks provided by room service, glanced at me. She had suddenly asked the question while watching TV, repeatedly pressing the remote control to change channels.

However, unable to find a channel she liked, Camilla turned off the TV. It seems that television, parroting similar news like a parrot, failed to capture her interest.

Instead, she found a new source of amusement.

Camilla, who had been dangling her legs off the sofa, sat up and began looking behind me.

“Why are you suddenly dressed up? You haven’t been back long, and you’ve even showered.”

I wiped the moisture from my face and wrists, indifferently shaking out the towel.

“I have somewhere to go.”

“At this late hour?”

The clock on the wall showed 10:43 PM. I put on the suit I had laid out on the bed, while Camilla, leaning her upper body against the sofa backrest, watched me.

After a moment of silence, as if deliberately pausing, she casually asked:

“Want me to come with you?”

“No. I can go alone.”

“Is it company business?”

I nodded while brushing dust off my collar.

“Where are you going?”

“Well…”

Dressed in a neat suit, I answered Camilla’s question while gathering my briefcase.

“A gravesite?”

Episode 14 – One Religion, One Faith, Two Saints

A black car with diplomatic plates arrived at the hotel entrance.

The Imperial diplomat in the driver’s seat parked the car in a screened-off area. A man in a suit waiting at the entrance carefully opened the door, and I got out without lifting a finger.

The lobby of the hotel, said to accommodate only state guests visiting Laterano, was filled with all sorts of men in suits.

The suited men with earpieces were casting sharp glances through their sunglasses.

After passing through the main entrance, I approached the security checkpoint while drawing everyone’s attention.

“Please state your name and show your identification.”

“Frederick Nostrim. From the Abas Ministry of Defense.”

The church official sitting at the security checkpoint immediately took my passport and picked up the phone to contact the Abas embassy. Next to the official making the call was a police officer examining the passport with a terminal.

“Identity confirmed, brother. Please proceed to the elevator.”

Before passing through the non-destructive scanner, I left my bag at the lobby and went through the checkpoint.

At that moment, several of the suited men lingering nearby quietly fell in behind me. They were security guards from the Imperial Guard.

The Imperial Guard is essentially like a presidential security service.

It consists of three security divisions and five guard divisions, each with different duties according to their affiliation. Generally, the security divisions handle close protection of the Emperor, while the guard divisions are responsible for securing facilities such as palaces and villas.

They’re called a guard, but they’re essentially the Emperor’s personal troops.

At any rate, they’re difficult individuals to deal with in many ways.

“……”

The Imperial Guard escorts who boarded the elevator didn’t utter a single word. Not even when pressing the button to go up, nor during the entire ascent to the top floor.

Even when it was time to get off, they remained silent. They simply flanked me to clear a path and pointed in the direction I needed to go.

A door at the end of the corridor.

There was only one room on the hotel’s top floor. As if only one person could stay in this room.

I didn’t need to wonder who that person might be.

*

There’s a famous saying among scholars who study Kjerag:

The history of the Smirnov dynasty is the history of the Empire.

Countless nations recorded in history rise and fall.

No flower stays red for more than ten days, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Nations that reach their golden age inevitably walk the path of decline, ultimately leading to their disappearance or absorption by other countries.

But not the Kjerag Empire.

Though it has walked the path of decline in the past, it has never known defeat.

The Empire’s history is the history of the Smirnov dynasty, and the Empire is essentially the territory of the Smirnov family.

A member of that dynasty was standing right before my eyes.

“You’ve come.”

From the dynasty that rules the Empire, from its direct lineage, Alexandra Petrovna, daughter of the previous Emperor Peter II, recognized me as I entered the hotel room.

“Are you Frederick of the Nostrim family?”

Mysterious silver hair and sapphire-like blue eyes.

Despite being over 100 years old, the Grand Duchess retained the appearance of her youth, and even her voice carried the vigor of youth.

She knows my name and surname but not my face, suggesting she hasn’t had me investigated. If she had ordered the Imperial intelligence agencies to investigate me, she would certainly have known what I looked like.

“It is an honor to meet you, Your Highness. I am Frederick Nostrim.”

I greeted the Grand Duchess in a respectful tone.

However, I neither lowered my body nor bowed my head.

Military personnel don’t typically bow except in special circumstances. And right now, I’m also a diplomat.

The plush chair, fireplace, and the Grand Duchess holding a thick magic tome created a peculiar harmony. She looked like a mysterious magician straight out of a film.

But unlike the stereotypical wizard with a pointed hat and cape, the Grand Duchess wore a red uniform. Though she looked more like royalty than a soldier, the numerous medals on her uniform were far beyond what an ordinary royal would possess.

As a steaming teapot floated in midair, the Grand Duchess set down her teacup and casually opened the conversation.

“You arrived earlier than expected. I didn’t imagine you would come so quickly.”

“I came because Your Highness was looking for me.”

“From whom did you hear this?”

“From Miss Ranieri of Fatalia.”

A magic tome positioned comfortably between her knees and head, placed at a good reading angle as she reclined in her chair. Alexandra muttered suddenly, shifting her gaze from the book floating in the air.

“If it’s Ranieri’s descendant… Francesca, that child.”

The Grand Duchess gazed at the fireplace with melancholic eyes, as if recalling a distant past.

The textbook-thick grimoire closed with a thud and flew toward the bookshelf. The teapot, having fulfilled its role by filling the teacup, slowly descended onto the table. Alexandra moistened her throat with tea and lightly mentioned the past.

“How is Ranieri’s child? Though she has talent as outstanding as Ranieri’s, it must have been a formidable opponent for her.”

She was asking about Francesca’s condition. There was nothing to hide, so I answered honestly.

“She’s doing well. Her condition improved immediately after taking the elixir sent from the Ivory Tower.”

“If someone from the Ivory Tower had the means to send an elixir to that child, it was likely Niazi, Mukhtar’s son. Am I correct?”

“Yes.”

“I see.”

The Grand Duchess nodded readily, with an expression of relief.

“If it’s Niazi, he has a close friendship with Ranieri’s child, so he must have selected a good item to send. He surely sent an elixir capable of saving even a critically ill patient. And what about you? Facing a demon with a body that can wield neither holy power nor magic must have left you with deep injuries.”

Francesca’s claim that those who reached the level of grand magus all had exceptional intuition was no lie.

The Grand Duchess had accurately perceived my condition without any background investigation.

“Fortunately, I didn’t die.”

“From the way you speak, it seems you’re fine.”

Having emptied her teacup, the Grand Duchess rose to her feet.

Despite being from a century ago, she was tall, taller than a robust man. As the fireplace flames flickered, casting a massive shadow across the hotel room, I carefully surveyed my surroundings.

Then the Grand Duchess suddenly spoke. With her back turned and not even looking in my direction, she said in a calm tone:

“There are no guards in my suite. So there’s no need to be tense or cautious.”

True to her words, there was no sign of anyone else in the suite.

The corridor was the same. Despite the Grand Duchess, a member of the imperial family, staying right here, unlike the lobby with its armed forces and security checkpoints boasting ironclad security, there wasn’t even a single guard on the top floor.

But well, I wonder if someone like her even needs guards or intelligence officers in the first place.

Who among the Imperial Guard would dare to act as a bodyguard to the Grand Duchess, a grand magus? That would be like asking an elementary school student to look after an adult.

Of course, even if that’s the reality, not stationing guards was clearly a mistake.

However, the Grand Duchess merely sipped her tea with a serene expression. Looking closely at her gaze and gestures, which showed no trace of anxiety or discomfort, this situation seemed quite familiar to her.

Regarding the reason for not bringing even a single guard, the Grand Duchess explained:

“I find it terribly uncomfortable when someone lingers outside my room. There are already many eyes on me, so I question the need for the trouble of guarding the corridor.”

The Grand Duchess slowly walked to the window.

Despite exposing her back to an outsider with no guards present, she didn’t seem to mind at all. The grand magus, teacup in hand, stood before the window and looked down at the night view of Laterano, the holy land of the church.

“Don’t you agree?”

“I don’t think it’s a subject I should casually discuss.”

“Then we should talk about something you can discuss.”

The Grand Duchess turned and sat on the windowsill.

Carefully setting down her teacup and placing her hands on her knees, she finally broached the main topic.

“There’s something I want to ask you.”

“Please go ahead.”

“Can you help me meet the red-haired child?”