Ch.591591. The Weary Emperor

The direct bloodline of the County of Sianella had always been distant from the divine power of the religious order that was spreading miracles across the continent.

While those from distant branch families might have been different, none of those born with the concentrated blood of their ancestors in the direct lineage had ever awakened divine power through the blessing of the heavenly gods.

In the history of the county, Sion Sianella was the first and last direct descendant to awaken divine power. Sion himself held quite deep pride in the divine power he had awakened.

‘When I awakened divine power, it felt like I was flying through the sky.’

Divine power was the embodiment of God’s compassion upon the world.

As a priest with divine power, he essentially gained the ability to heal the sick and weak.

When he first awakened it, he believed he could heal the illness residing in his wayward sister’s heart. He thought he could care for his family who occasionally struggled with the absence of a father who had left few deep memories for him.

‘So I worked that much harder.’

He did his best not only to increase his value in noble society as the county’s heir but also to train his divine power. As a result, he developed quite outstanding skills among priests who awakened around the same time.

He had never regretted his achievements thus far, and firmly believed he never would.

‘But now… I’m not so sure.’

Sion Sianella couldn’t help but wander in his fading faith.

‘Why did I, a person of the county, awaken the divine power of the religious order rather than that of my family?’

He simply couldn’t understand the reason.

If it had been Mana rather than divine power, he could have accepted it. But why hadn’t he received the same divine power as his family? And why had the religious order’s divine power manifested in him, someone connected to a completely different religious root?

With everything in question now, he couldn’t help but waver.

‘Should I stand as a priest of the order, or side with the county?’

When the topic of the saint candidate was raised, he had firmly established himself as a person of the county.

Hadn’t he treated divine power as a means to make the county shine brighter and to make himself more valuable within it?

Despite taking such great pride in carrying on the county’s bloodline, the current situation seemed…

‘…disconnected.’

That was precisely his thought—that it seemed distant from the uniqueness of the direct bloodline.

In the middle of the semester, while numerous nobles and talented commoners were struggling, eagerly seeking knowledge for their academic competition and personal development,

Sion Sianella called for his maid.

“You called for me, Lord Sion.”

“Please bring me the direct communication device for the county. I have something I want to tell my mother.”

“I’ll prepare it right away.”

“And also—”

Sion’s serious voice stopped the maid.

Unlike his usual manner of giving instructions in a voice as bright as a spring day, his voice now carried weight, making the maid pay even closer attention to his words.

“Please have the servants prepare for my simple return to the family home.”

At this sudden request, she had to quickly process the implications.

In the middle of the semester, asking to prepare for a sudden return home meant that something more important than academy life had come up for Sion. For her as his maid, it indicated a gap in her understanding of her master’s intentions.

As his maid, she couldn’t help but feel anxious.

“The academy classes are in full swing, and practical experiments will begin soon. If I may ask without being presumptuous… could I hear why you wish to return home now…?”

And to that question, Sion…

“Just—”

He simply showed a small smile to his worried maid.

“You’ll understand when we return to the county.”

* * *

The Empire is moving. More precisely, the woman who could be considered the Empire itself.

Naturally, countless people followed her path, and the blessings of all imperial citizens accompanied her. They were regarded by the imperial citizens as more sacred than the holy knights of the Holy Nation and could embark on their journey. Following the guidance of the Iron-Blooded Empress, they set foot on the far eastern land they had conquered in the past.

The low mountain range that had once served as the boundary between the Empire and the Kingdom when the former kingdom was intact.

The Emperor stood at the summit, looking down at the land beyond.

Peaceful. Without a single problem. A quiet and desolate world.

“From here begins the former kingdom.”

“But the Hana Kingdom has already faded into history. This place is now simply Your Imperial Majesty’s empire.”

“Hmm.”

The moment her red eyes glimpsed her memories lingering over that utterly tranquil land, new images began to overlay the peaceful terrain.

The horrors of the battlefield. Enemies pouring in. And explosions erupting here and there. As all those afterimages flashed across her pupils and emotions began to rise, she slowly closed her heavy eyelids and then opened them again.

Before the fragments of thoughts and emotions could settle in her eyes, the Iron-Blooded Empress returned to her characteristic detached, utterly expressionless demeanor, as if she had transcended all worldly matters.

The Prime Minister, watching her from right beside, thought:

—The Empress of the past was not like this.

When she was young, the Empress was not so expressionless.

She would smile with her eyes when happy, and turn down the corners of her mouth when sad. Especially, the current Emperor was someone who showed compassion and sympathy, never hesitating to help the weak.

The Empress who, at some point, stopped showing any emotion.

‘Because of what happened during the expedition speech, I’m thinking about all sorts of things.’

But after seeing her burning excitement during the recent expedition speech for the first time in a very long while.

The Prime Minister, who had been thinking that the Empress’s emotions seemed to be bursting out again lately.

The Emperor personally addressed him.

“Prime Minister, aren’t you curious why I’ve brought all these troops to the far eastern land?”

“How could I dare question Your Imperial Majesty’s intentions?”

“You must be curious. With demons and their remnants rampant in the northern and southern parts of the Empire, I chose a distant place over closer, greater threats.”

The Prime Minister held his tongue.

Carelessly moving his lips now would be perfect for losing his head.

“That spirited princess of the Kingdom of Aicilia also possesses a power. Reading fate with the eyes of a dragon. A remarkable ability.”

“Yet even a mere kingdom’s princess has such power.”

“There’s no way I would possess a power inferior to hers.”

The Empress looked at the Prime Minister.

“Everyone in the Empire, no, the entire continent, says this about me: that I possess only one power—the blessing of Mana.”

“Your Majesty, those words…”

“You are so incorruptible that you survived the Great Purge despite carrying me on your back. As a reward, I shall tell you first.”

“……”

“My powers are not just one.”

The Iron-Blooded Empress is famous for her power of the Mana blessing. Having unrivaled ability in all things related to Mana.

If she wishes to wield a sword, Mana makes the Iron-Blooded Empress a knight stronger than anyone else. If she wishes to use magic, Mana realizes her imagination and ideals into reality with just her thoughts.

The most direct and overwhelming power represented the Emperor’s inherent strength. Having revealed that such power was not just one, the Prime Minister could only revere her even more.

“Prime Minister, look down at the land beyond.”

“……”

“Doesn’t that scenery look different now?”

As if she had foreseen the danger that would occur here through her power.

At her implication that there was a reason she personally led numerous troops all the way to the far eastern land.

The Prime Minister finally seemed to see the future that would soon unfold on that peaceful land.

“The reason I didn’t remain in the imperial capital to govern them, despite so many of the kingdom’s expeditionary forces entering our empire.”

The Emperor had already made her judgment.

“As you assist me from now on, you will see that reason closer than anyone else.”

That tone of the Iron-Blooded Empress, which conveyed exasperation so subtle it was hard to notice, but which the Prime Minister could barely detect.

The judgment that the calamity to occur in the far eastern land could not be suppressed unless she moved directly like this.

‘Exasperation?’

Also, why could he sense irritation based on experience in that emotion?

As that puzzlement rose, in order to hide his inner curiosity that he dared to harbor toward the Emperor.

The Prime Minister, who was busy looking beyond the horizon with all his might, could imagine the hellish scene that would unfold, but did not dare to look at the Emperor’s face.

“Glory be before the Empire.”

The Emperor who whispered thus.

Was terribly weary of everything.