The Emperor Has Returned

Chapter 137 – In the Middle of the Storm (1)

“I demand justice for His Majesty!”

Most of the nobles of the empire were the successors of the nobles from the old kingdoms or local natives that had gathered under the banner of the emperor. The emperor protected their wealth and honor in return for them obediently gathering under his banner in the name of mankind.

While the administration of the capital was handled by electing someone from among the people selected by the Church, the local administration was handled by these people. If the Church was said to be the head of the current empire, it was no exaggeration to say that the House of Peers would be the limbs of the current empire.

In the middle of such a House of Peers, Heretia shouted once more.

“I demand justice for His Majesty!”

Rymer massaged his forehead with a troubled look on his face. This meeting was originally called in order to increase the internal crackdown against the chaotic rumors that had been shaking the empire internally, as well as to gain the strong cooperation of all the nobles.

However, it was ruined very quickly when Heretia claimed that there was a controversy hidden in the incident of His Majesty’s assassination.

“Miss Heretia Helwin, are you being serious right now?”

“Didn’t reliable evidence that would arouse suspicions come out from the Vatican already?”

“But…”

Chairman Rymer looked at Heretia, speechless.

“The matter of the Regent being involved with the assassination of His Majesty is not something that can be claimed so lightly.”

Rymer honestly wanted to ask Heretia if she had about two more lives. The Regent Barth Baltic was not only the supreme commander of the famous Imperial Army and the former Grand General who represented the administration, but was also the strongest man in the empire based on his individual power alone.

He did not sit on the throne of the emperor, but he was practically the emperor considering the fact that he held both power and authority in the empire. Heretia was basically saying that she wanted to point a knife directly at Barth Baltic.

“Of course, I’m not suggesting that the Regent is directly involved in the assassination of His Majesty. I’m just asking him to explain something that I don’t understand about some of the marching orders he gave to the military at the time,” Heretia said.

“Miss Helwin, even if there is something that you don’t understand about what happened, that was forty-seven—no, forty-eight years ago. How could the Regent remember what happened that long ago and explain it all?”

“Why wouldn’t he remember it? After all, it was the day of His Majesty’s death. My father remembers that day quite vividly, and he was only an eight-year-old boy back then. He remembers what he ate for breakfast that day and he also remembers the moment when he heard the shocking news. I don’t think I’d ever forget it until I die either.”

Helwin said and took out a letter and placed it on the table.

“This letter is a written order that I recently obtained by chance. I can’t tell you how I acquired it, but what’s written in here is a command for the troops to march into the Imperial castle. With the Regent’s signature on it! Isn’t it possible that the absence of the guards due to the marching order led to His Majesty’s assassination?”

The nobles thumped the table in agreement.

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On the other hand, Rhymer felt dumbfounded. The emperor had been moving toward the northern front at that time, and the order for the troops to march was nothing new.

‘The opponent was none other than His Majesty. Who would even dare to try and harm him?’

In Rhymer’s eyes, Heretia only seemed to be throwing a tantrum. But then something suddenly passed through Rhymer’s mind.

‘This cheeky noble.’

Heretia was by no means a stubborn young girl nor was she a fool. She was known to be so wise that she was called the reincarnation of Harmon Helwin, the heretic genius of the Helwin family. Heretia was not the type of woman to pick a fight with the Regent with only such a document that no one even knew the origin of.

With such a thought, Rhymer began to observe Heretia’s behavior differently.

It was only natural for there to be factions, even in the House of Peers. There were first-generation founding nobles, who were all powerful people who worked for the emperor during the founding era. Then there were the second-generation meritorious nobles who were recognized as nobles for their contributions during the period of the empire’s stabilization and foundation. Finally, there were the third-generation religious nobles composed primarily of Priests who were influenced by the Church or retired from the Church after the assassination of the emperor.

Among these, the founding faction had the largest number of members in the House of Peers. However, they could no longer play any role other than being a show of hands during election processes once the Church began to gain ground. The meritorious faction resisted this trend, but they, too, became silent as their numbers decreased.

The Helwin family was close to being a member of the founding faction, but they often worked with the members of the meritorious faction due to the presence of Harmon Helwin. When Harmon Helwin was executed and declared an apostate, the Helwin family hid among the founding factions while remaining silent.

But the Helwin family once again started rising—this time as the leader of the meritorious faction. This happened after Heretia became the head of the Helwin family.

‘What Heretia wants in order to gain a greater right to speak is… to shake it up.’

Rhymer realized that Heretia was planning to shake Barth Baltic’s position.

Oddly, Barth Baltic had no interest in politics at all, and therefore no one lined up behind him or flattered him. Nevertheless, there were still many people who supported him, considering that he was basically the current head of the empire.

At the same time, many people were bound to support Heretia in her attempt to stand up against Barth Baltic.

In the end, claiming that the Barth Baltic was involved in the plot of His Majesty’s assassination was a good enough reason for Heretia to cause a stir. After all, Barth Baltic, too, was responsible for His Majesty’s assassination, since he was nearby at the time. However, no one held him responsible because the sharp and bloody wind of the purge that took place immediately after His Majesty’s assassination was so terrible.

Besides, Heretia brought out a document that stated a command for the military to march at the time. It wouldn’t even be a big problem for Heretia if things went wrong, since it was non-visualized, and Barth Baltic could easily ignore or simply apologize once regarding its content.

But Heretia would gain a lot of fame with such a document.

“Here are the signatures of ninety members of the House of Peers asking for the Regent’s explanation. The Regent Barth Baltic will have to appear and provide us with a convincing explanation!” Heretia shouted while presenting another document.

Rhymer realized that his thoughts were correct when he saw that more people had signed the document than he had expected. The meritorious faction alone couldn’t make up ninety people. Rhymer realized that not only the founding faction, but even a part of the religious faction must have signed the document.

‘I guess everyone seems to be in favor of shaking up the Regent’s position.’

Barth Baltic had too much power in his hands when he didn’t even do much for the empire—it would be good for everyone to break down his power at least a little bit.

Rhymer, the leader of the founding faction and the chairman of the House of Peers, noticed that this matter was in the interest of everyone, not just Heretia.

“All right. I’ll take Miss Helwin’s suggestion and place a request for the Regent to clarify and explain himself if this decision passes a vote.”

The sound of people pounding the table in approval grew even louder within the House of Peers. This meant that most people were in favor of it with no need for a vote to be conducted.

Only one person, Imill Ilde, the leader of the religious faction, was glaring at Heretia in silence.

On the other hand, Heretia pounded on the desk and smiled coldly at him.

***

“A request for the Regent to explain himself? What nonsense are you talking about?! Can’t you see that we are in the situation where we don’t even know where the heretic who impersonated His Majesty will appear from!?”

Helmut threw out the proposal which was approved by the House of Peers and requested the Regent to explain himself in regards to the matter of the emperor’s assassination at the Priest.

On the other hand, the Priest who brought the proposal fell to the floor with his hand over his head.

Helmut didn’t stop there—he then swept the books on the table to the floor.

“They want me to go to the Regent and tell him to explain himself and apologize for what happened forty-seven years ago? Damn it! I hate that horned bastard, but who the hell would ever be convinced by such a proposal?”

“Y-your Holiness, please settle down.”

“Stupid fools! Don’t they understand? This is a trick to shake us up from the inside! Who was the one that proposed this matter? Heretia Helwin? From the Helwin family? She has the dirty blood of an apostate!”

“H-Helwin family not only made great contributions during the founding era of the empire, but also escaped the sin of His Majesty’s assassination by directly punishing Harmon Helwin with their own hands. Since then, they have tried their best to be a great help to the empire to…”

“Who cares! That bitch is about to ruin everything at a time like this!”

Helmut picked up a chair and threw it out of the window. As the huge window broke with a loud crashing sound, a refreshing wind entered the room and drove out the intoxicating scent of incense that had filled the room. Helmut felt a little calmer as he felt the cold wind.

“One month.”

“I’m sorry, Your Holiness?”

“A month has passed since the prophecy—no, the rumor saying that His Majesty will return started spreading. But there’s no sign of that anywhere. His Majesty, who is sitting on the eternal throne still didn’t even budge. I recently held a worship service and called in the scholars of the Magic Tower to investigate, but not a single clue was found.”

“Your Holiness…”

“But I can feel a sense of rebellion brewing on the outskirts of the empire. Flowers that bloom even in winter are evil against all reason,” Helmut said as he picked up one of the documents rolling on the floor. “General Nienna had been sending letters everyday, asking me to explain what the rumor of His Majesty’s return is about, and Duke Henna asked me to apologize for the incident where the Order of the Evil Snake attacked them. And Hiveden… damn it! What’s happening there is completely beyond me. And those supporting His Majesty? The Church is in control now, but they are organizing under another warlord using the emperor’s name? And the rebellious ones in the Church are supporting the Saintess, and they even get involved in some mad bullshit in the House of Peers? What do you think all of this means?”

“I think they are bad omens, Your Holiness.”

“That’s right. In the end, their words that ‘the emperor will return’ does not mean that His Majesty, who is sitting on the eternal throne will return—it’s only a rumor that they have made up. They are talking about a fake emperor.”

Helmut slumped on the sofa with his hands pressed against his forehead.

“Damn apostates… There are only heretics and corrupted ones left…”

“Your Holiness. Do you want me to light up some more incense for you?”

The Priest quickly approached Helmut and placed an ashtray in front of him. Helmut stared at the ashtray for a while, but then soon shook his head.

“No, it’s fine. It’s nice to breathe in some fresh air after a long time. I should think about this matter while my head is clear. It’s not easy to defend the empire that His Majesty left behind from the apostates. Perhaps I’ve lived way too comfortably until now…”

Helmut stared blankly at the ceiling, then opened his mouth again.

“I should first clean up internally. I’ll have to make amends with the Saintess, and then I will propose a definite investigation about this prophecy about the emperor’s return. Everything will be better once I get rid of the source of the rumor.”

“Yes, Your Holiness.”

“And ignore the request to demand an explanation from the Regent. Those damned noble bastards have no idea just how crazy the Regent is just because he has been quiet until now. They probably thought that I would like it if they decided to try and shake Barth Baltic’s position; after all, there’s the religious faction within the House of Peers. Go and send them a warning to come back to their senses.”

“Yes, Your Holiness.”

Then the Priest suddenly stopped as he picked up the documents sent in by the House of Peers.

“Um, Your Holiness. If the rumors turn out to be true…”

“What?”

“I-I mean, there are a lot of people who babble like that. So, I was wondering what would happen if the people were to ignore the truth and worship one of the apostates as the emperor…”

Helmut snapped back at the Priest as if he had just heard the most ridiculous question.

“If that happens, then I’ll rip that apostate’s head myself. That would make me feel quite good.”

The Pope going out of his way to punish someone had never happened before. The Priest shuddered in fear unconsciously. Most incidents were taken care of just by sending some Templars from a knight order. If not, dispatching some Bishops was enough to handle the situation.

But the Pope coming forward was a whole different story.

The Pope, who directly administered His Majesty’s Grace, held enough power to confront the entire Church on his own. It would be a catastrophe for his enemies if he decided to step forward himself.

But in the end, the Priest couldn’t bring up the question that he really wanted to ask.

‘What if the real emperor is returning?’

The Priest thought that it would be the Pope rather than the opponent who would end up facing a disaster if that time comes.

***

Crunch!

As soon as the crunching sound rang out, purple bodily fluids splattered over Juan’s face.

Juan wiped the bodily fluid off of his cheek and shook off the corpse of the Priest from Thornbush Priest Organization that had been pierced through by his fist. The Priest who had transformed into a strange mutation fluttered and scattered without his body remaining whole.

Juan looked around at his surroundings. He was inside a cavity made by huge and bizarre monsters from the other world. The ceiling, walls, and floors were all made of corpses that were impaled and glued together, but none of them had a proper human form.

Then someone showed up.

It was Haild.

“I think that everything has been sorted out now. There’s no one left here.”

Juan made a surprised expression upon hearing Haild’s words.

“Is the entire city clear?” Juan asked.

“The ones who had been controlling Kaleb were the Priests from the Thornbush Priest Organization, and the rest were visitors from the Crack. They all ran away as soon as they heard that His Majesty had appeared. They even blocked the door completely. As a result, the Priests from the Thornbush Priest Organization couldn’t even escape. Most of them were hiding in this temple that Your Majesty just wiped out.”