chapter_0024

Chapter 23 : Secret Of The Continent

After the Stellar Measurement Ceremony ended…The next day, an emergency roundtable meeting was convened.

The imperial family, the three great ducal houses, and members of the court nobility holding key positions in the empire were all summoned.

Normally, this council gathered a few days after the ceremony to discuss the empire’s affairs, both large and small.

But the urgency of the matter forced them to convene immediately.

“Marquess Arcana, I cannot believe it. I am certain this must be the wicked scheme of that despicable boy. I believe most of us at this table feel the same. Am I wrong?”

“Indeed. If anyone thinks otherwise, I would love to hear it.”

The Marquess of Lunamic and his son, Darkin, along with Duke Layton and his son, Cedric, glared fiercely at Ruan, seated across the roundtable.

If not for the close proximity of the grand hall to the First Parish Cathedral where the Saintess resided, the injuries sustained by Layton and Darkin would have been fatal.

They had only barely survived thanks to immediate treatment — but their pride had suffered far more than their bodies.

The humiliation of being gravely wounded by someone who supposedly couldn’t even wield divine power gnawed at them.

“Enough.”

The emperor finally intervened, his voice firm.

“I saw it myself. Let me repeat—he has no divine connection.”

It wasn’t a lie to protect Ruan — it was the undeniable truth.

“Stop clinging to the past. I called this council earlier than planned because the matter at hand is urgent.”

At the emperor’s signal, the Marquess of Arcana rose from her seat.

She walked toward the center of the roundtable and produced a Seer’s Stone from her robe.

When she infused it with her divine power, visions of the future prophesied by Knosius unfolded in the air.

“Gasp…!”

“Monsters?! Are the beasts rising again?!”

The projected scenes showed the empire’s borderlands ravaged by monstrous invasions.

Fortresses burned and crumbled, cities fell, and innocent people were slaughtered without mercy.

“Your Majesty, I do not understand.”

“The Seal of Tenebris should still hold for another 200 years…”

The utter devastation of multiple border regions at once meant that the beasts had grown drastically stronger — a sure sign that Tenebris’s seal was weakening.

But the seal’s cycle had always been around 500 years.

By that estimate, there should still be 200 years of safety left.

“Marquees Arcana… is it possible that the Seer’s Stone is flawed?”

“I wish that were the case. But you all know the truth — the Seer’s Stones of the Arcana family have never been wrong.”

“The only explanation… is that the seal’s cycle has shortened.”

“But why? In thousands of years, the cycle has never once changed.”

“We cannot jump to conclusions based on a single vision.”

As the debate grew heated, the emperor raised a hand to silence them.

“Bring him in.”

The doors opened, and a stranger entered the chamber.

“I am Leonid, Prince of Eldrian. It is an honor to stand before the great lords and ladies of the empire.”

“Eldrian?”

“Why is the prince of a western kingdom here?”

“Your Majesty! To invite a foreign emissary into our sacred council—”

“Duke Layton, I have advised you before to temper your rigidity.”

“…My apologies, Your Majesty.”

“If I told you myself, you would not believe me. That is why I summoned him. Prince Leonid, if you would explain the situation.”

Taking a deep breath, Prince Leonid spoke — and his words shocked the entire room.

“The King of Eldrian has fallen in battle… defeated by the Eighth Legion Commander of the Demon Army.”

“What?!”

“That cannot be!”

“Impossible!”

In the demon army’s hierarchy, the higher the legion number, the weaker the commander’s rank and strength.

The King of Eldrian was known as one of the continent’s greatest warriors, boasting Radiant-Class Divine Power — yet he had fallen to the Eighth Legion’s commander.

The implications were terrifying.

“Moreover, the once-sturdy borders of our kingdom are collapsing one by one.”

The horrors shown in the Seer’s Stone’s vision were already happening in Eldrian.

“While it is true that the King’s condition is a state secret, the dire state of the war compels us to seek aid from the empire.”

“Thank you, Prince. We will call on you again when this council concludes. Please wait outside for now.”

“I am deeply grateful, Your Majesty.”

“As Prince Leonid departed, the imperial princess finally spoke up.“

We must send reinforcements to Eldrian at once.

Your Majesty, I volunteer to lead them as the supreme commander.

”But saving Eldrian was merely a pretext.”

Ever since her bitter failure at the Sage’s Castle, the princess had been desperately seeking a chance to redeem her honor — and Eldrian’s plea for help was the perfect opportunity.

The emperor sighed, fully aware of his daughter’s thoughts.

“Your Highness’s wisdom is, without a doubt, right a hundred—no, a thousand times over, Your Majesty.”

This time, it was Duke Layton who spoke.

“If Eldrian falls, Velodenite will be next.”

Marquess Darkin agreed.

“Before the horrors we saw in the Seer’s Stone come to pass—before our people and lands are trampled—we must root out this threat.”

They weren’t wrong.

The justification was on their side.

“But if Tenebris has already broken free from its seal and manifested in the world—what then?”

“We have the two suns of Velodenite. What do we have to fear, Your Majesty?”

The two suns referred to the emperor and his daughter.

It was said that when Tenebris’s seal broke, Soladir, descending through the divine conduit of the Velodenite bloodline, would manifest and reseal the darkness.

That very legend was why the Velodenite family rose to imperial status — and why they claimed the throne.

According to common belief, without them, the world would have already met its end.

But the emperor, knowing the hidden truth of this world, couldn’t help but worry.

Whether he went, whether the princess went, or even if Soladir truly manifested — none of them would stand a chance against Tenebris.

Yet, unable to reveal the truth, the emperor had no grounds to stop his daughter and the council from sending aid to Eldrian.

“…Yes. We have the two suns. I grant permission.”

“We are eternally grateful, Your Majesty!”

“You are all dismissed.”

As the council members rose and began to leave the roundtable chamber, the emperor spoke again.

“Ah, Princess — remain here. Ruan Serkatia, wait outside.”

***

“P-please, Father. Enough. You’re going too far with your jokes today.”

“It’s no joke, my daughter. You must remember my words.”

“I know you disapprove of me, but to tease me with such childish nonsense?”

Violeta couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

Heaven’s Throne?

Lunar Saint?

These were words she had never heard before — they sounded like something out of a fantastical novel.

But what she truly refused to accept was the idea that the Velodenite family’s honor had been built on lies.

Since childhood, she had heard the legend of Tenebris’s seal, and it had filled her with pride — both for herself and for her family.

When she was younger, she’d lamented her own weakness, her divine power only at the Resonance level.

But after awakening her Radiant-level power, she’d finally felt like a worthy heir of the Velodenite house — every day since had been filled with joy.

And now, to hear that her family’s greatness was built on falsehoods?

She simply refused to believe it.

“Daughter, please… Do not take part in this campaign.”

The emperor, seeing his daughter’s face contort with frustration, pleaded gently.

But the princess wouldn’t back down.

“No. I’m going — no matter what. I’ll prove it. I’ll show everyone that Velodenite is the greatest power on the continent!”

“Do you not remember what you saw at the northwest border?”

“…!!”

At that, Violeta recalled the overwhelming display of power from the Sage and his mysterious master — the woman who had defeated the legion commander with ease.

“Th-then… those people… the ones you called the Heaven’s Throne and the Lunar Saint…?”

“Yes. That was them.”

“…No. No, that can’t be true… It can’t be true…”

“They — not us — are the ones this continent truly needs.”

The emperor’s voice softened with desperation.

“Please, just this once… listen to your father’s words. I only say this out of love — because I fear for you.”

For once, the ever-strict Emperor Kyleok Velodenite spoke not as a ruler, but as a worried and affectionate father.

But his stubborn daughter ignored his pleas, storming out of the roundtable chamber without a word.

“….”

“…Ruan Serkatia, enter.”

Ruan watched Violeta’s retreating figure as he followed the emperor’s summons into the chamber.

“I’ve heard… You’re staying in the Glacia territory, correct?”

“You knew, Your Majesty?”

“Take your mother with you.”

“…Pardon?”

“If Tenebris’s seal has truly broken, then there is no safe place left on this continent.”

“…I am forever grateful, Your Majesty.”

“No. It is I who owe you my thanks.”

The emperor’s face was weighed with anguish, his worry clear for all to see.

“Please do not burden yourself, Your Majesty. Everything I have done was by my own will.”

“My foolish daughter… How much you’ve had to suffer because of her…”

“It is not so, Your Majesty.”

“I know it is shameless of me, but… I must ask you for yet another favor.”

The emperor hesitated for a moment before speaking again.

“If my daughter finds herself in danger… Please, I beg you, save her once more.”

The emperor took both of Ruan’s hands, his grip firm and his voice filled with desperation.

“Even if she is wounded or broken… just bring my poor child back to me.”