Emperor Has Returned

Chapter 232 – Juan Calberg (1)

It was raining in the holy city of Torra.

The raindrops that fell after the long winter did not feel as cold as before. As the moisture containing the spring breeze surged North, the spring arrived throughout the empire.

People of the empire felt relieved to see the end of the seemingly eternal winter and the start of spring. Above all, it was the news of the emperor’s victory over the West that made everyone feel the warmth of the spring.

The civil war, which had been keeping people on edge, had finally come to an end.

When people first heard the rumor of the returning emperor, they had all been skeptical and felt uneasy about the feeling of the empire being attacked for the first time.

Then, the emperor finally returned and established his rule once again. But then, the emperor’s third son, Dismas Dilver, made a fuss, causing the people to feel at risk once again.

Unlike the battle against Barth Baltic, which ended more peacefully than anyone had expected, the dead gods were raised up and two of the emperor’s direct subordinates ended up dying.

There was a massive amount of damage and there was a rumor the civil war would get even worse.

However, as if to quench the anxiety of the people, the emperor instantly brought with him an army to barge into the West and crack down on the rebels.

Amidst all this, the emperor’s Grace which was controlled and distributed by the Church disappeared completely after the Pope’s death.

Thus, there was no one left to resist the returned emperor now.

The empire had its peace restored completely when nobles from all over the empire took their vows of loyalty.

Everything seemed to be perfect—at least on the surface.

“Dad!”

Nienna hastily broke into the conference room of the Imperial Palace located in the holy city of Torra, and rushed to find Juan.

“You almost broke the damn door. I’m going to charge the North for it if it breaks,” Juan answered with a frown.

Nienna’s eyes widened. Contrary to her expectations that Juan would be ill and on his sickbed, he looked to be perfectly fine as he sat on the chair in the conference room in a normal state; however, he looked a little tired.

Nienna glared at Pavan, who was sitting next to Juan.

“Pavan told me to come here as soon as possible because something had happened to you, Dad. So I left everything behind, including the army, and came all the way here on my own. There’s still a lot of restoration work left in the North.”

“Yes, Pavan did well. I ordered him to call all the people who I could trust to Torra.”

Most of the people that were considered close to Juan, including Heretia, seemed to have already arrived at the conference room.

But there were far too many empty seats.

In addition, Horhell was sitting on the right side of Juan. Nienna thought that such a scene was strange. Now that Haild’s identity had been revealed, his official position was that of the leader of the East. But Horhell was sitting on the seat that belonged to the leader of the East instead of Haild.

“I don’t know. I feel like a lot of people are missing,” Nienna murmured.

Nienna immediately noticed the absence of one person—she couldn’t find Sina Solvane, the female knight who was always following Juan.

Juan remained silent for a moment and then opened his mouth.

“Haild is currently recuperating. He has passed through the immediate crisis, but we are still examining his condition. Anya is still in the South. I received a message that she will arrive a little later than expected.”

“Haild is recuperating? Was there someone capable of hurting Haild? I thought I wouldn’t have to worry about him even if he were facing Cainheryars as long as he had Elkihel with him.”

“You are right. He didn’t get hurt at all when he fought against one of the Cainheryars. He got hurt when he teleported to me through the Crack after all the Cainheryars had been destroyed.”

Nienna frowned upon hearing Juan’s explanation.

“Did he fight against Dismas or something?”

“No. Dismas was… dealt with by someone else. And he ended up dying. I retrieved my essence from him when he was dying. He will no longer be able to recover or come back to life. The fact that all Cainheryars have collapsed is evidence.”

“...I see,” Nienna murmured bitterly.

She had little contact with Dismas ever since the emperor’s assassination, but the death of her brother was still heartbreaking for her.

Nienna purposefully showed a casual smile and opened her mouth.

“I guess the only brother I have left now is Gerard—that is if he is still alive.”

“He is alive.”

“What?”

“Gerard is still alive. He has been sitting on the throne for the last few decades, pretending to be me. I found out about it a little too late.”

Nienna’s mouth opened slightly in shock. She looked around her, since she thought Juan was joking, but everyone had a solemn look on their faces.

Nienna puffed her lips as if to say something, but inadvertently found that blood that was oozing out from under Juan’s clothes. She strode up and grabbed Juan’s hand as soon as she saw his blood.

Then, her eyes widened even more than before.

“Dad, you are…”

“He stole most of my power, including the power of the Crown and my mana. Fortunately, he didn’t take away Sutra and Kelegranon from me. Not that I’d be able to use them anyway, but…”

Juan slightly grabbed at Sutra which was hanging around his waist and lifted it. The sword of flames, a sword that should be burning softly, was completely unresponsive. It would also be absurd to use the power of Kelegranon, especially when his mana was so faint.

The fact that Sutra, which burned down anyone it did not recognize as its owner, was not burning down Juan could be understood as him still holding the position of the emperor.

But even that was ambiguous.

Seeing all this, Nienna clutched her head as if she had a headache.

“And Lenly betrayed me. No, he was a traitor in the first place and had infiltrated us. No one knows where he is right now,” Juan added.

“But that bastard was chasing after the Saintess like a dog! What the heck was the Saintess doing!?” Nienna said as she slammed the desk with a bang.

Pieces of ice scattered all over as her fist smashed into the desk.

Seeing this, Ivy, who was sitting down, turned completely pale.

It was Juan who stopped Nienna.

“Ivy had no idea either. Both Ivy and all of us were deceived by that bastard. Dane Dormund had been plotting everything from behind the scenes. Dane… was then attacked by Gerard, but he does not seem to be dead just yet.”

“What do you mean he’s not dead yet?” Nienna asked.

“We weren’t able to find his body. The place he was at didn’t show any signs that pointed to his death. He is probably using magic and playing another dirty trick. He has always been that way anyway. But he won’t be able to be as active as he was before, since the last part of his plan was ruined.”

“That doesn’t matter and I don’t care. I’m just happy that I still have a chance to kill him with my own hands!”

Juan sighed upon hearing Nienna’s angry shout.

“Nienna. The reason I called you and everyone else here is not that I’m scared or because I want to kill those bastards—it is because I’m afraid Gerard will kill all of you now that he’s got the power to do so. He has power so enormous that nothing can stop him now. He will eliminate anything and anyone that he thinks will interfere with his ideals.”

“So? Let him do whatever he wants! Do you really think I’m going to lose to Gerard?”

“Don’t be silly, Nienna! He took all of my power! The Crown, Mananen McLeir’s heart, and even Elkiehl! He took everything and holds even more power than I used to have before!”

“Then what am I supposed to do!? Do you want us to dig a cave and hide there for the rest of our lives? I’d prefer to slam myself against that bastard and die right this moment instead of seeing him, an asshole who stabbed his own father to death, become the emperor!”

“Then what about the Crack?”

Nienna closed her mouth when Juan asked her as if he was growling. There was still some lingering anger in her eyes, but Juan’s question penetrated her heart deeply.

“Your responsibility is to handle the Crack. Are you going to abandon your duties and die?”

“...Fine. I’ll kill all the bastards in the Crack and then go on my way to kill Gerard after that.”

Juan looked up at the ceiling with his hand placed on his forehead. Then, his eyes slowly turned toward everyone sitting inside the conference room. He looked from Pavan, to Heretia, to Ivy, to Horhell, and finally, to Nienna. The many empty seats made him feel profound pain.

“I can no longer watch any of you die after this,” Juan let out a groan. “Even Hela, who was the oldest among all of you, used to be a little girl compared to me. Why do you guys have to die? Why do you guys have to be sacrificed in the quarrels of us old men that have been going on since the mythological era…”

“Your Majesty, it was just a sacrifice that was necessary for a better world,” Pavan said.

“Yes, Pavan. To be honest with you, I don’t think I would care too much if you ended up dying. But the others here are different. Do not force the sacrifice onto others,” Juan snapped back at Pavan, who had opened his mouth as if to console Juan.

Pavan looked blatantly disappointed.

Then, Juan looked at Nienna.

“Nienna, I have no choice but to pass on the throne to Gerard if he comes back to Torra. I am no longer the emperor. I’ve let too many people down, including Haild and…”

At that moment, Juan, who was speaking slowly, suddenly collapsed to the floor.

Nienna lifted Juan up in a state of panic.

“Your Majesty!”

Juan tried to continue speaking, but he couldn’t even see clearly. He had a massive headache and his limbs refused to move according to his will. His tongue felt like it was freezing.

Amidst his blurring consciousness, the voices of the people calling out his name could be heard.

***

“...A cold?”

“Yes.”

“Say that again. Did you actually say that he has a cold? His Majesty has caught a cold?”

“Yes. He has a terrible fever. I think he has been sick for a long time… you might have felt that he was burning hot as a ball of fire when you grabbed his hand. But have you really not noticed at all?”

Nienna bit her lips with a perplexed expression upon hearing the words of the doctor who was invited to the Imperial Palace.

“I did think that his body temperature was a little lower than usual, but… how’s his condition? Is it dangerous?” Nienna mumbled and asked.

“...I’m not sure what his normal body temperature is like, but he would continue to be unconscious for a while if he was a normal human being. I’ve done everything I can for now, so please keep your eye on him and make sure that he isn’t skipping meals. Also, make sure he rests well.”

The doctor stepped back after he finished speaking. Before he left, Nienna grabbed him and opened her mouth with her index finger over her lips.

“Once again. This has to be…”

“This has to be kept a secret, and even my family could be in danger if anyone finds out about it. I think I’ve already heard it at least a hundred times on my way here. And I heard it from a lot of different people. So there is no need to worry, General.”

The doctor patted himself on the chest with an exhausted expression on his face.

“My son is a soldier. When I heard that he was being drafted by Barth Baltic to fight against the returning emperor, I thought he would either come back dead or at least be crippled. But he came back safe and alive. So how could I betray His Majesty, who was so benevolent?”

Nienna nodded.

The doctor bowed and headed out of the Imperial Palace. After watching the doctor leave, Nienna entered the room once again.

Inside the room was Ivy who was sitting alone.

Nienna looked around at the surroundings and asked.

“Where did everyone else go?”

“Miss Heretia kicked all of them out when she heard that His Majesty had a cold. Captain Pavan went to check the status of the Imperial Guards, and Sir Horhell went to check on Mr. Haild. As for Miss Heretia, as far as I know, she went to crack down on the nobles,” Ivy answered.

“I see that you naturally took on the burden.”

Nienna sat down face to face with Ivy in front of Juan.

Meanwhile, Ivy quietly looked down at Juan.

“I was given the most important job.”

Nienna nodded and looked down at Juan’s face, which was red with fever. Juan’s shallow groans reminded Nienna of the time right after his battle with Barth Baltic. As always, Juan’s weak appearance felt quite unfamiliar to her.

Nienna slowly reached out and placed her hand on Juan’s forehead. He looked much more comfortable when Nienna’s cold hand cooled him down. Upon seeing this sight, Nienna opened her mouth again.

“Can’t I just freeze him like this?”

“I’ll go and grab a new wet towel.”

When Ivy quickly stood up from her seat, Nienna shook her head, causing Ivy to sit back down.

“I was just joking. Sit down.”

Ivy looked relieved.

Then, Nienna mumbled as she rubbed Juan’s forehead.

“It’s rather fortunate that Anya is only arriving later.”

“Anya… are you talking about the Captain of the Order of Huginn?” Ivy asked.

“Yes. If she was here, she would have been crying and hanging on to Dad’s feet. It would have taken a lot of effort to get her off of Dad. No—she might even go and try to kill Gerard right away.”

Ivy shook her head as she imagined such a scene. Just imagining it gave her a headache.

“It’s a relief that he seems to just have a cold. When he was stabbed by Barth Baltic’s horns before, I almost handed His Majesty over to the hands of the enemy without even knowing what the cause was.”

“Ah, yes. I heard that Dame Sina helped His Majesty at that time.”

“Yes, that’s the one. But… she’s not here right now.”

Nienna grinned and bent down toward Ivy.

“I could feel that Dad was avoiding bringing up Sina’s name. Ivy, will you tell me what happened?”