Ch.909Back to the Imperial Palace

The next day.

After entrusting my carefully crafted letter to the Church to deliver to the Dragonic Kingdom’s royal family, I departed from the Holy State.

Hersella mocked me, asking if I was declaring war, but the possibility of that actually happening was slim… no, nonexistent.

If I had publicly announced the contents of the letter, the king might not have been able to let it slide for the sake of his dignity, but my letter was merely a personal correspondence.

Though it might irritate him, Cylude wouldn’t rashly declare war either. He would just seethe with anger internally.

Since I had decided to return to Hestella, if he wanted to wage war against me, he would have to cross through the territories of the Holy State and the Empire.

That process would inevitably cause tremendous discord and losses—who in their right mind would make such a choice in the current political climate?

If I were to set foot on Dragonic Kingdom territory again, he might declare war and mobilize all the forces of the royal family and the Dragon Temple to eliminate me, but…

‘Marching all the way to Hestella would be unreasonable. It would be difficult to win that way, and even if he did win, there would be nothing to gain.’

Cylude’s goal was to stabilize the Dragonic Kingdom and elevate his prestige as the Dragon King.

If I openly tarnished his reputation or killed his relatives, he would have no choice but war…

‘But I’ve already quietly withdrawn, haven’t I? So he won’t meaninglessly escalate things either.’

He wouldn’t start a war just because he received an insulting letter.

To bring about his own downfall by waging an unnecessary war for the sake of his pride? If he were such a fool, he wouldn’t have held onto the Dragon King’s position until now.

‘I’ve also taken out some insurance, just in case.’

Moreover, I had explicitly written the confidential information that Persiella was actually half-human, half-dragon and Cylude’s sister.

That phrase was essentially a threat.

If he tried to start a war just because of some mockery, I would publicize those facts and drive his standing into the ground—that was the threat.

A figure who claimed neutrality in the fight between orthodox dragonborn had actually appointed his own relative as the head of the heterodox faction and encouraged the slaughter of orthodox dragonborn.

That fact alone would be devastating gossip for a king, but even worse, that relative was a half-human, half-dragon who couldn’t have been born through normal means.

The royal family’s dignity and reputation would not just hit rock bottom—they would dig even deeper beneath it.

The heterodox dragonborn, unaware of these circumstances, would fall into chaos and division, while the orthodox dragonborn would be unable to contain their fury and openly defy the royal family in rebellion.

If things reached that point, Cylude’s plans would collapse, and he would be labeled a dark ruler who had dragged the Dragonic Kingdom’s royal family into the gutter.

Therefore, the possibility of Cylude declaring war against Hestella could be considered zero.

[Hmmmm…]

After hearing my detailed explanation, Hersella let out a long groan, seemingly unconvinced.

‘What, is there something wrong with my reasoning?’

I tilted my head slightly and asked, wondering if she might point out some problem I hadn’t considered.

[How strange. To sense intelligence from you—it shouldn’t be possible. Have you grown a second brain inside that oversized chest of yours?]

Of course, her answer was nothing but nonsense, as always.

Like a true descendant of half-human, half-dog, her way of thinking was closer to a dog’s than a human’s.

‘What shouldn’t exist is the ancestor of yours who thought to mate with a giant rabid dog.’

Calling me uncivilized? Rich, coming from a descendant of bestiality.

[What…!]

Hersella sputtered in anger as if she’d been struck speechless.

She barks first, but when I return the same, she immediately gets angry—truly befitting a stray dog’s descendant.

*Fizzle…*

She wasn’t just angry—she temporarily cut off my supply of Karma of Murder, extinguishing the Karma flames on my back and fingertips.

The deprivation of Karma of Murder.

This would have been impossible before, but after the battle with Meiharin, the control over the power of Karma of Murder had completely passed to Hersella.

Because she had realized the essence of Karma of Murder, or something like that.

Honestly, if this had happened a year ago—Hersella gaining control over Karma of Murder—I would have been horrified. It meant there was no way to stop her if she went on a rampage.

If she unleashed the art of Karma of Murder in a crowded place, dozens or hundreds would easily die.

If things had come to that, I would have had no choice but to seclude myself in some remote mountain valley for the rest of my life, binding myself with enchanted chains every night before sleeping.

But now, it wasn’t much of a concern. Perhaps because she had achieved her desired revenge, albeit in a somewhat strange form, the current Hersella had almost none of her former cruelty and viciousness.

Having accomplished her revenge, she no longer had reason to commit mass slaughter to gain power, and perhaps because we had grown somewhat close over time, she no longer attempted or suggested things I detested.

If the former Hersella was close to a rabid dog gone mad, the current one was merely a fierce guard dog.

So even though she had gained control over Karma of Murder, she wouldn’t use it for anything terrible. The past year had given me that confidence.

…Of course, this only meant she wouldn’t commit atrocities like massacres, not that she wouldn’t try to mess with me.

*Whoosh!*

Having lost my propulsion as the Karma flames disappeared, I fell mercilessly toward the ground, letting out a hollow laugh at Hersella’s pettiness.

Really, how childish.

‘This is meaningless, you know? It’s not like I’ll get hurt from falling.’

I stretched out my right hand toward the rapidly approaching ground, shaking my head. Though I couldn’t avoid falling after losing the propulsion of Karma flames, I didn’t think I would be injured from this height in my current state.

Unless I took the full impact of the fall with my bare body, I could simply reduce the impact with pure rune flames rather than Karma flames.

Flight might be difficult, but slowing my fall didn’t seem too challenging.

[Tsk, getting unnecessarily stronger…]

Hersella knew this well too, so while clicking her tongue in dissatisfaction, she quickly restored the power of Karma of Murder.

*Whoosh!*

I converted that power into Karma flames and soared again.

Toward Extrashafel, the capital of the Empire.

—-

“It’s been… a long time. Queen Haschal…”

“Ah… yes, it has been a while, Your Majesty.”

Leopold, whom I met again, looked like a depressed patient bearing all the pain and misfortune of this world.

Even Feilandria might have abandoned her plans out of pity if she had seen the current Leopold.

Well, it’s understandable—during his mere two-year reign, more major incidents had occurred than in the combined previous centuries.

If you scoured history, national leaders plagued by incidents throughout their terms weren’t that rare, but…

Even so, this much in just 2 years, not 20, was far beyond reasonable. It was beyond what an ordinary person’s mental fortitude could endure.

Poor man.

Though he was holding onto his position out of a sense of imperial responsibility, he probably wanted nothing more than to throw away his crown and retreat deep into the mountains.

“Are you… I mean, is Your Majesty in good health?”

“…Do I look like it?”

“No, honestly speaking, you look like a terminal patient.”

When I first saw him, I wondered if he was ill.

“You’re honest. Yes, honesty was your only virtue…”

Leopold looked at me with his hollow eyes, ringed with dark circles, and smiled weakly.

[It seems he’s completely lost his mind from mental fatigue. Honesty is your only virtue? How could anyone in their right mind say such a thing…]

‘I know, right?’

How could honesty be my only virtue? I have many other virtues.

Like being kind and merciful to my people, or having the mental strength and power to overcome any crisis. Or my original knowledge, which isn’t greatly helpful but has various minor uses.

Oh, and my appearance, befitting a saint, is certainly another virtue.

[If this woman could be described as honest, the word ‘lie’ would never have existed in this world to begin with.]

Again with the slander.

Where in the world is there someone more honest than me?

I may sometimes withhold the truth, but instances where I’ve outright lied can be counted on one hand.

This half-human, half-dog descendant really goes too far with her slander.

—-

After exchanging formal greetings, Leopold and I sat across from each other in his private office, discussing various matters.

About the Dragonic Kingdom, and about the Empire.

According to Leopold, Amitamir’s appearance was a disaster for the world but a stroke of luck for me.

Had he not emerged, public opinion within the Empire would have severely criticized my actions for interfering in another country’s civil war, even illegally entering their territory.

But following the unprecedented event of a dragon’s return after eight hundred years, I had vanquished it and willingly handed over a third of its corpse to the Empire, preventing such criticism.

It was too valuable a gift to condemn me for, or so he said.

Well, that was one of the reasons I had given the dragon’s corpse to the Empire, so I was reasonably satisfied with the outcome.

“That’s not really important, so let’s move on.”

It wasn’t a significant enough matter to worry about.

“More importantly, we should first discuss countermeasures for the dragon’s return.”

The conversation we needed to have now wasn’t about nobles’ criticism or reproach, but about more urgent matters.

“Your Majesty, if a resurrected dragon invades the Empire’s airspace, would you be able to mobilize airships to eliminate it?”

Thus, I got straight to the main point of my visit to the imperial palace.

Dragon subjugation. Nothing was more important than that.

At least not for the current Empire.