Above Your Head

Chapter 98: For the Crown (3)

The Earth Union[1] — the original form of Leonhardt Empire — was a group that would have been difficult to be established without the overwhelming charisma of the First Emperor. To Earthlings who had been progressing civilization within their specific time and space before entering the Great Universe, the fact that there were 'other Earths similar to itself' was naturally a matter that warranted vigilance. If these Earthlings from different Earths had met through normal procedures, the prevailing prediction was that there would have been a war.

However... the situation they had to face when they were thrown into the universe was too harsh. The Universe War, or otherwise referred to as The Great War, dealt severe blows to all 47 Earths and put them near destruction. These 47 Earths had no choice but to form a huge force under the First Emperor who possessed godly powers. They would have all walked the path of destruction if they did not join hands.

Hence, that was why all the authority was concentrated in the Emperor of the Leonhardt Empire.

That's right. 'It WAS concentrated'.

"Does that mean it's no longer that way anymore?"

"Yes, everything changed when the First Emperor fell into an eternal slumber."

Emperor Leonhardt reigned over the Empire for about 30 years after the end of the war, but he was unable to hold out and eventually collapsed. He failed to heal the curses that were inflicted on him by his enemies during the war.

As he fell into an eternal sleep under the powers of the curse, even the Golden Lion God who was with him left the Empire. The existence that led the 47 Earths with transcendental power, popularity, and fame disappeared in an instant.

"What about the members of the Imperial family? I heard that the First Emperor had three children."

"Even so, they were far inferior as compared to the First Emperor."

The control of the Leonhardt's Imperial family gradually grew weaker. The Imperial family was born between the intermediate-rank transcendent, Emperor Leonhardt, and the high-rank transcendent, namely the Golden Lion God -- an Untouchable. Hence, they had an exceptional level of charm and ability. However, even so, it was beyond their capabilities to lead all 47 Earths and the thousands of nations inside. The many influential people who were holding their breath under the leadership of Emperor Leonhardt gradually began to reveal their greed.

As a result, nobles came into existence in the Leonhardt Empire that used to only have the Imperial family.

The top leaders of each Earth, such as the presidents who led their planet during the war, politicians, businessmen with vast fortunes, or wealthy chaebols, began to refer to themselves as nobles.

This was a turn of events that the Leonhardt Imperial family did not want at all, but the Third Emperor was not able to prevent that from happening because he lacked both leadership and power. It was all the more so because he saw his brother, the Second Emperor, being assassinated by these self-declared nobles with his own eyes.

Ever since, the power of the nobles only grew stronger. Though the number of Imperial family members increased through generations of marriage and births, these descendants were both descendants of the Imperial family as well as nobles since there was a high chance that Imperial family members would get into an arranged marriage with members of noble families or pre-arranged candidates.

"Of course, all the Emperors of the past did not just sit still and openly let this happen. They formed a contract with Cheong Won, a powerful being from the Saint Realm, and allowed him to manage the bloodline. This allowed them to win over a majority of the nobles to their side and made them one of their own."

"In other words, that means there are factions between the nobles?"

"That's right so to speak. To make it easier to understand, it's divided into the Nobles Faction and Emperor Faction."

I listened to Celestia's explanation while we were heading to the main council room. I thought that there had always been three social classes since the founding of the Leonhardt Empire — Royalty, Nobles, and Commoners. However, it seemed like "Nobles" was a new social class that had appeared along the way.

"Ahh, come to think of it, who's investigating the Emperor's death?"

"If it was a typical case, then obviously the prosecution and police would step forward, but... in this case, the Senate would be the one to make a move. They are the only ones who can run an independent investigation without receiving any external intimidations."

We walked down the long hallway. Although there weren't many people around, that didn't mean that there was no one around. However, Celestia did not seem to care about any of it and continued explaining stuff to me.

"Ahh, here comes the Fourth Imperial Princess."

Just then, I could hear the mutters of the group of people passing by us. Considering the fact that no one was able to bring guards to the main council room, all of them were nobles in the same faction.

"Wait a minute. Don't tell me the person beside her is the guy?"

"Hoho, I heard about it, but I can't believe it's actually true..."

"Is she really getting married? For real?"

We walked past them while listening to their voices full of disbelief. It seemed to be quite a hot issue thanks to the huge gathering of Celestia's fans which had caused things to turn out this way.

"Their gazes are shooting daggers at me."

"That's probably the case. Even though I don't have the slightest bit of authority, I'm the most famous member of the Imperial family."

"Good for you."

I continued to walk while grumbling. Celestia, who had been silent for a while, soon whispered in a low voice.

"I'm telling you this again, but... ignore everything. You can just treat them like barking dogs."

"No matter how provocative or disrespectful they are?"

"I'm really sorry that you're put in this situation, but I can't help it now that my father has passed away. Fortunately, we were spared the worst situation thanks to his official decree of approval for our marriage before the incident took place. On the contrary, it's exactly because of this that they will try to find fault with us by using any means possible in the council room."

I looked around upon hearing Celestia's words. I could feel people from all over the place fixing their eyes on us.

"Then wouldn't it be possible for them to also send an assassin, or come at us right out in the open?"

"That's not possible. The illegal use of military force in this emergency situation in which the Emperor was assassinated would become a huge political trouble. They would also have to face the wrath of the Senate that called for this meeting. And most importantly..."

Celestia stopped just as she was about to finish her words and suddenly giggled. I found it strange upon seeing that.

"Most importantly?"

"Wasn't there a Noblesse out there claiming to be a fan of mine? Not the self-proclaimed fakes that achieved it through money and military strength, but a real noble who received recognition even in the entire universe."

"Aha."

I nodded my head as I recalled the Shadow Dragon that I had forgotten for a moment. Come to think of it, her Knight Order was still holding out outside the Imperial Capital. Although they could not enter the Imperial Capital since they were considered a foreign force, they would definitely not stay still if they found out that Celestia was subjected to perils.

"Well, to be honest, the Knight Order's military prowess is nowhere near enough. Even if Dark Sunny was a Noblesse, the Leonhardt Empire also has formidable potential. They have two powerful beings who can win against Dark Sunny even if they fought 1 on 1. Furthermore, the Knight Order is nowhere close in numbers."

"But the problem isn't just power, is it?"

"That's a given. He can't just make a move without proper justification."

"His background is the issue."

"That's right."

Seeing the sight of her nodding, a speculation suddenly came to my mind.

"Cel, can't we get them in?"

"Them?"

"I'm talking about your fans. Not just Dark Sunny, but the rest of your fans too. To be honest, I think they're a pretty good force, right?"

They were a fan club in name, but it didn't mean that they were just a group of fanboys. Of course, the Noblesse, Dark Sunny stood out the most. However, the rest of them came from distant places in the universe, and each and every one of them had backgrounds and wealth that couldn't be belittled. Even if this was the Great Universe, it wasn't common that a spaceship capable of interstellar or intergalactic travel would be used for personal purposes.

'Above all, the fact that they were able to land on Golden Rose was proof of that.’

Despite the Imperial family and the nobles' displeasure over Celestia's power, the fact that they failed to prevent Celestia's fans from landing meant that each and every one of Celestia's fans were unusual in every aspect. Although Celestia had no imperial authority nor backing, wouldn't she be able to display a decent amount of power if her fans supported her?

I thought it was a good idea, but unexpectedly, Celestia let out a deep sigh.

"You idiot. My fans aren't my henchmen, neither do they work for me. No matter how much power and authority they have… I cannot forget the truth of things."

"The truth of things?" I expressed my doubts.

Just then, Celestia stopped all of a sudden. Following her, I stopped as well and she looked back at me.

"The truth is that I don't know anything about them."

"..."

"And the fact is they are complete strangers to me."

She stared at me with her clear eyes. Just then, a blonde-haired middle-aged man approached from the other side.

"Cel."

"Samcheon [2]."

Celestia approached the man with a delighted face and hugged him. He also smiled brightly and patted Celestia's head.

'What the? She seems closer to her samcheon than her own father.'

It was a completely different vibe from when we met Angelos III, and I was astonished by this atmosphere. However, just as I was, the man was also looking at me with a very subtle expression.

"Is this him?"

"Yes, he's my husband, Kwan Dae-ha."

"Your husband huh..."

The man trailed off and scrutinized me up and down with that sharp gaze of his, but I received his gaze without any change in my expression. Thinking about it, this was a much better reaction compared to all the situations I had been through.

"Cel, can you introduce him?"

"Oh, yes. He's my samcheon. He's also my magic teacher too."

"He's your samcheon huh."

In general,"samcheon" was a title that referred to one's father's unmarried brothers. When the brother got married, it would then be common to call him "big uncle" or "small uncle" [3], so he was probably single.

'I heard marriage was compulsory. Was he able to escape that because he reached the realm of transcendence?'

I scoffed at the speculation I came up with and greeted him, "Nice to meet you. I'm Kwan Dae-ha."

"I'm Rosta Leonhardt."

He introduced himself and stared at me blatantly. Fortunately, there wasn't any hostility in his gaze.

I checked his title naturally.

Department of Combat Technology

Grantor Transcendent, Rosta

'What does it mean by grantor? Is it referring to a production-type ability?'

He seemed to be an ability user who wasn't specialized in combat, and I felt the same vibe from him. Come to think of it, he might be a technician who held a ministerial position as the task of the Department of Combat Technology was said to largely be related to The Great War and the maintenance of the Gigas.

"By the way, how's the situation?"

"It's... Nevermind, let's just go inside for now. It's not something we should talk about here."

Celestia turned around with a 'whoosh', and followed after Rosta.

Whenever there was an important agenda for the Imperial family, the main council room would be opened. It was basically a huge place with complex structures. Frankly, it felt as if I was in a maze, and I thought of tying a string at the entrance in case I got lost. However, Celestia and Rosta pushed their way through the crowd of people without hesitation, perhaps because they seemed quite familiar with this place.

"This place is swarmed. I think all the nobles of the Empire have gathered."

"That's how much of a big deal this is. An emergency call was held and all the nobles above the rank of Viscount were summoned. There would be more than a thousand nobles in here right now."

As we walked alongside Rosta, one of the key figures of the Leonhardt Empire, the other groups bowed and showed their respect. I think we passed by about 100 people in a matter of minutes, but there weren't any that were memorable.

However, just then, I could hear a soft voice coming from a group of people that just appeared not too long ago.

"Is that him?"

"Hoho, it's my first time seeing such a couple that doesn't match well together. They look like a phoenix and a penguin standing side by side."

"What on earth was Starlight thinking to bring a man like that here?"

"She pretended to be so elegant and noble. But in the end, the man she brought her looked so lowly."

"As expected, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree."

There were whispers going around. I scoffed at the sight of them conversing as if they were talking about secrets amongst themselves. It was absurd, because those so-called nobles were talking noticeably to the point that even I could hear them.

'These bastards?'

My physical ability was similar to the most common of humans. I did not possess great hearing, nor did I possess any special abilities. In other words, if I could hear it, it meant that everyone else could too. What more, the majority of nobles here were high-ranked ability users.

"Hold it in," said Celestia and she held my hand.

"Do you remember what I said earlier?"

"…Of course." I nodded gently. The bastards who referred to themselves as nobles had such dishonorable demeanor, openly provoking me. I was flustered, but not burning up from anger. After all, I did not have a narcissistic personality. However, What made me feel uncomfortable was… 'It is fine if they talk shit about me, but do they have to publicly disregard Celestia to this extent?'

1. In this case, this refers to the Union of the 100 divided Earths.

2. samcheon is Korean for Uncle. I used the Korean romanization as there are other variations of Uncle further down the chapter.

3. For those who are interested to learn a bit more about Korean, the term is actually ???? (Keun-a-bo-ji) and ?? ??? (ja-geun-a-bo-ji) which translates literally to "big father" and "small father"