The Shadowed Legacy of the Soulless Messenger [EN]: Chapter 286

The situation was so chaotic that even Azadin struggled to understand what was happening.

“What in the world is going on? If he’s your nephew, shouldn’t he also be a Yegas god? Is he some kind of hybrid between a Yegas god and a Celestial?”

“I don’t know either!” Prince Kalintz exclaimed, throwing his hands up in exasperation.

“…How can you not know?” Azadin asked, his voice laced with disbelief.

“No, it sounds like a joke, but it’s true! Why do you think I’m drinking like this?!” Prince Kalintz gestured wildly with his cup.

“Isn’t that how all Northerners are?” Azadin quipped, a smirk playing on his lips.

“Ah, damn it! That’s beside the point!” Prince Kalintz snapped, clearly annoyed at Azadin for focusing on his drinking habits.

“You really don’t know?” Azadin pressed, his eyes narrowed in suspicion.

“Yeah! I don’t even know how many children I am, how would I know about my nephew?” Prince Kalintz retorted, his voice rising in frustration.

“Wait a minute. You were trying to kidnap Celestials, weren’t you? I thought the Northern Empire was trying to find out about Celestials, but the Northern Emperor’s grandson is already a Celestial. That doesn’t make sense. If you already had a Celestial, why did you try to kidnap Izmilla?” Azadin questioned, his brow furrowed in confusion.

“No, officially it wasn’t me. Kidnapping? That’s a dangerous thing to say,” Prince Kalintz said, his tone shifting to one of denial.

Even in this chaotic situation, he denied the accusation of trying to kidnap Izmilla. However, a moment later, he made a statement that practically admitted the accusation.

“So, I was struggling with that unspeakable task, and suddenly my nephew pops up and he’s a Celestial! And he’s not even a toddler, he’s 18! Does that make any sense? Do they think I’m an idiot?” Prince Kalintz ranted, his voice filled with disbelief and indignation.

“…You should ask your father, not me,” Azadin replied dryly, trying to suppress a smile.

“Yeah! I want to too. But I’m stuck in the boonies, and how many years has it been since I last saw my father’s face? It’s been so long I don’t even remember,” Prince Kalintz lamented, his voice tinged with sadness.

It seemed the Northern Empire had so many children that by the time it got to the grandchildren’s generation, they didn’t know who was who or what they were doing. But how could someone with the blood of a Yegas god become a Celestial in the first place? It made him wonder how Celestials were even created.

Just then, there was a hurried knock on the door.

“Prince Kalintz! Are you there?” It was Sir Zekt’s voice.

“Come in,” Prince Kalintz called out.

“Excuse me. Oh?” Sir Zekt frowned when he saw Azadin.

“You have a guest,” Sir Zekt stated, his tone laced with disapproval.

“Sir Zekt. You didn’t know either? The Northern Emperor’s grandson, Karna, has become the commander of the Celestial Fire Knights?” Azadin asked directly, and Sir Zekt’s brow furrowed even deeper.

“Prince Kalintz, did you tell him about this?” Sir Zekt asked, his voice sharp with suspicion.

“Well, it’s not like I told him, he found out on his own,” Prince Kalintz replied, trying to downplay the situation.

Prince Kalintz suddenly came to his senses at Sir Zekt’s reproach. He had been so desperate to vent that he had grabbed Azadin and started badmouthing his father… At least, if he was maintaining his alliance with Sir Zekt, he shouldn’t have shared information with Azadin, whom he was wary of. But now, he had shown them together in front of Sir Zekt…

“It seems you came here because of that too, Sir Zekt. Did you know?” Azadin asked, his eyes fixed on Sir Zekt.

“If I had known, I wouldn’t have come to this backwater for a position as a torturer,” Sir Zekt replied, not hiding his anger with Prince Kalintz.

Sir Zekt and the King’s Church’s goal was to uncover the secrets of the Celestials and take control of the Rescue Knights, and Prince Kalintz was their collaborator. But it turned out that Prince Kalintz was just a side branch, and the Northern Empire had a grandson who had already taken control of the core of the Rescue Knights. It was only natural that he would feel betrayed and angry.

“Anyway, Prince Kalintz. The reason I came was because I felt my inadequacy in fulfilling the glorious position of your torturer. So, I’m resigning from the position of torturer and giving up my position as the head of the Fireguard,” Sir Zekt announced, his voice cold and formal.

“You just called this place a backwater. Why the sudden humility…?” Prince Kalintz asked, his voice laced with sarcasm.

“……” Sir Zekt glared at Azadin for picking at his words.

“Sir Azadin. There are suspicions that you have a copy of the Divine King’s Scripture… Now that I’m no longer the head of the Fireguard or the prince’s torturer, I have no connection to the Rescue Knights. So, I will…” Sir Zekt began, his eyes narrowed in suspicion.

“Are you saying you’re going to search me just based on suspicion, even though I’m a training knight of the Rescue Knights? That’s fine. Go ahead and try?” Azadin challenged, his voice calm and steady.

“……” Zekt still suspected that Azadin had a copy of the Divine King’s Scripture, but he couldn’t take action directly.

“More importantly, Prince Kalintz. Looking at the letter, there’s a bit of a hole in it,” Azadin said, changing the subject.

“A hole?” Prince Kalintz asked, his brow furrowed in confusion.

“It seems the Celestial Fire Knights are trying to gain popularity by requisitioning food to use for the relief efforts of the refugees. But they’re asking for too much, so how about the Chapter Master and his advisor go and meet them directly? You said you don’t know anything about this Karna character other than that he’s your nephew, right?” Azadin explained, his tone thoughtful.

“That’s right,” Prince Kalintz confirmed.

“Then you should meet him since you have an excuse? You can find out what’s going on. If you want to catch a tiger, you have to go into the mountains, right?” Azadin suggested, his eyes gleaming with a hint of mischief.

“……” Azadin’s suggestion was plausible, and both Prince Kalintz and Sir Zekt nodded in agreement.

“But if the Chapter Master leaves…” Prince Kalintz began, his voice filled with concern.

“Hey, it’s already nominal anyway, would it be a big deal if he’s not there? It’ll run fine without him,” Azadin interjected, waving his hand dismissively.

“……” Prince Kalintz wasn’t worried about things not working out while he was away. He was afraid of things working out too well. Azadin had already grown into the most powerful force in the Chadra Highlands, how could he know what he would do while the Chapter Master was away?

“If you’re worried about what I’ll do while you’re gone, I’ll go with you. Let’s go meet this Karna character,” Azadin offered, his voice calm and reassuring.

“…Hmm,” Sir Zekt groaned at Azadin’s words. He didn’t want Azadin to meet Karna either. But he also didn’t want to leave Azadin alone in the Chadra Highlands.

‘That messenger clan guy. It was best when I could just get rid of him. He’s become skilled,’ Sir Zekt thought, his eyes narrowed in frustration. In the past, when Azadin was just a member of the messenger clan, he could be attacked at any time as an Inquisitor of the King’s Church. But now that Azadin had become a Holy Knight of the Rescue Knights, he couldn’t be disposed of so easily.

“Fine. Let’s go meet Karna together. I’m curious about what kind of guy he is too,” Prince Kalintz said, seemingly having already decided that Azadin would accompany them, unaware of Sir Zekt’s feelings.

“Even if we meet Sir Karna together, there’s no need to travel together,” Sir Zekt stated, his voice firm.

Sir Zekt refused to travel with Azadin or Prince Kalintz. From Sir Zekt’s perspective, he didn’t want to see either Azadin or Prince Kalintz, so there was no reason to travel together.

“If you’re not Prince Kalintz’s advisor, what justification do you have to meet him?” Azadin asked, his eyes fixed on Sir Zekt.

“My position as an Inquisitor of the King’s Church is enough to create an opportunity to meet. Don’t worry,” Sir Zekt replied, his voice laced with confidence.

“Well then, let’s go separately and act independently at the location. Sir Zekt, even if you’re resigning from your position as advisor to the Fireguard, wouldn’t it be better to move together when meeting Sir Karna? Or are you going to meet Sir Karna separately too?” Azadin asked, his tone challenging.

“I will meet him separately, Sir Azadin. Then… thank you for your hard work. If fate allows, we will meet in Saint Mallory,” Sir Zekt said, his voice cold and formal. Sir Zekt officially resigned from his position as advisor to the Fireglyph and left.

********* As the cold wave spread severely around the world, everyone began to suspect Fimbulwinter [a period of extreme cold and hardship]. The King’s Church does not officially acknowledge Fimbulwinter. When a righteous king sits on the throne, the light of the king’s authority protects the world. In other words, if something like Fimbulwinter happens, it means that the current kings are not qualified, so there is no way the King’s Church would acknowledge such a disaster. But now, at this moment, ice is floating in the Southern Sea, and hail and cold damage are occurring everywhere, so it is foolish not to suspect Fimbulwinter. They cannot officially acknowledge it, but they must prepare for it. That was the policy within the King’s Church. And the way to prepare was to obtain the fertile land of the Rescue Knights through cooperation with the Northern Empire. But if the Northern Emperor’s grandson became the commander of the Celestial Fire, doesn’t that mean the Northern Empire has been deceiving the King’s Church all along? That’s why Sir Zekt resigned from his position as advisor to the Fireguard. In the first place, this position was not suitable for him. It was too low of a position for an Inquisitor to take. He must have come just for Prince Kalintz, but now that Karna had suddenly appeared, Sir Zekt must have felt betrayed and insulted.

“He’s being hasty. He could have maintained his position,” Azadin said, his voice thoughtful, after Sir Zekt resigned and left.

“Hmm. What should we do? Sir Azadin. Do you need the position of the head of the Fireguard?” Prince Kalintz asked, his tone casual.

“…Are you allowed to offer that to me?” Azadin asked, his voice laced with disbelief at Prince Kalintz offering him the position of the head of the Fireguard.

“Huh. Who cares? I don’t even remember my father’s face in the first place. I’m like this, but he probably wouldn’t recognize me if he saw me on the street, right?” Prince Kalintz said, his voice filled with a mix of bitterness and resignation.

“What was the original plan?” Azadin asked, his eyes fixed on Prince Kalintz.

“When Fimbulwinter approaches, there will be a fight over this place, the land of the Rescue Knights, which has a lot of food, so we were going to plant a lot of our people in advance,” Prince Kalintz explained, his tone matter-of-fact.

“That’s blatant. Are you allowed to tell me that? You said we should talk after we got closer?” Azadin asked, a smirk playing on his lips.

“Let’s not talk nonsense. Thinking about it, there’s no reason for me to be so loyal to my father’s will. It’s not like I’m going to inherit the kingdom alone, there are plenty of other princes,” Prince Kalintz said, his voice filled with a sense of disillusionment.

Prince Kalintz seemed very hurt by Karna’s appearance. The fact that this was happening without him knowing, and that he was his own son, was shocking, and he felt a sense of crisis that no matter how loyal he was to his father, he would no longer be able to make a proper impression. His loyalty to his father, with whom he had no connection other than being born, had also been shaken. However, such a person can always turn around later because of blood ties. Azadin decided to ignore Prince Kalintz’s words, which he was blurting out in his distress.

“Then, as the Chapter Master of the Fireglyph, please write me a pass. Your Highness,” Azadin said, his voice calm and steady.

The Chadra Highlands was a place of exile, and those assigned here, even if they were problem-free Holy Knights, could not easily leave the Chadra Highlands. Moreover, Azadin was from the messenger clan and was a person of interest even within the Rescue Knights. Of course, Azadin had already taken control of the Southeast Rock Fortress and was starting trade with the outside world through it, so he could leave the Chadra Highlands whenever he wanted. However, it was a different story from having the Chapter Master directly authorize it. Would Prince Kalintz issue a pass to Azadin?

“…Okay. I’ll write it for you,” Prince Kalintz said, his voice filled with resignation. Prince Kalintz wrote Azadin a permit stating that he was authorized to operate outside the Chadra Highlands for business purposes.