“I’ll ask one more time, who are you?”
“Would it be too late to say… Father? How did you recognize me?”
King Kyle II knew immediately that I wasn’t his original son the moment he saw me.
Of course, from an objective standpoint, the behavior of the scoundrel had changed since I possessed him, but there must be another reason for such strong conviction.
“Well, does that matter? I think what’s important is who you are first.”
“Don’t you know who I am?”
“It’s not that I don’t know, but I’m just not sure. For example… yes, I have been taught that I or my son could one day become someone else. I was raised as a vessel for that.”
“……”
“But who’s to say that a *japgwishin* [a minor, mischievous spirit] didn’t possess him instead of the person my father intended? What if his procedure failed?”
From his words, I could tell one thing. It seemed that Kyle was involved in what I was going through.
‘What on earth did you do, Kyle?’
I don’t know for what purpose or how he did it. But I might be able to hear the purpose from the person in front of me.
“Anyway, who are you? You still haven’t answered my question.”
“What are you going to do if I reveal who I am?”
“I’ll have to listen and think about it.”
“It sounds like you won’t believe me even if I tell the truth.”
“If you can’t prove it. And whether to follow my father’s last words is up to me, the king, to decide.”
However, the king’s attitude was somewhat ambiguous. It didn’t seem like he would be favorable even if I revealed my identity.
In short, it seemed that the king knew that I was the target of this ‘reincarnation,’ but he might doubt the fact even if I revealed the truth, or intentionally deny it.
That was natural from his perspective.
If one day his son was possessed by the soul of the Great Emperor, it would be wise for him, as the king, not to believe it or to deny it.
If he believed and acknowledged it? Then it would be like giving the king’s authority to me and becoming an old man in the back room.
Which king would want that… and in fact, he shouldn’t.
“Wise. That’s how a king should be. For the sake of the people who believed in you and supported you.”
“……Is that a compliment?”
“It’s a compliment. It means my descendant is smart.”
“……”
I spoke, half implying my identity. Of course, the king didn’t make the mistake of welcoming it or, conversely, antagonizing me. He was just half-believing.
“You have an idea who I am, don’t you? The problem is you don’t know if I’m real or fake.”
“…You know well. Then will you prove yourself?”
“No. I won’t.”
“…Then are you aware that your situation will become difficult?”
As he said, if I don’t prove myself, he will only doubt me. He might even be convinced that I’m fake.
Then what would he do with his son, who is possessed by a *japgwishin*? It would be fortunate if it ended with confinement, but he might even kill him.
I knew that well, but I shrugged.
“I’ve already died, you see. I’m not afraid of dying.”
It was the *yeoyu* [composure] of someone who had experienced death. It wasn’t a big deal after dying… the only thing bothering me was that I had taken the body of a descendant.
Even if it’s impossible to return the body, I wanted to restore the scoundrel’s reputation a bit.
“Indeed… good. Then I won’t make things difficult for you.”
“Are you going to believe me? Even though you’re not sure who I am?”
“Yes. To be exact… it didn’t really matter whether you were the person I thought you were or not.”
“What does that mean? It doesn’t matter?”
It doesn’t matter who I am? That sounds like there’s something else going on…….
“Yes, even if you are fake, I plan to use you. Announcing that you are the reincarnation of the Great Emperor.”
“…Who would believe that?”
“Unfortunately, there are people who have no choice but to believe it.”
The king pointed at me and said.
“Those who reincarnated you into that body will have no choice but to believe it, even if they want to deny it.”
“Hmm… it wasn’t just Kyle’s *dokdan* [arbitrary decision]. No, maybe the entire imperial family is involved……”
“……”
The king must have heard my muttering, but he just had a nonchalant expression as if he wasn’t interested.
“You should cooperate with that matter as well. Unless you really like dying even after getting that body.”
“Hmm, I don’t want to die on purpose either. Then what *jangdan* [tune] should I *matchwoojumyeon* [hum to]? What do I have to do?”
“The first thing you need to do……”
*Cheok*-
He pointed to one side of the map. He pointed to the imperial territory south of the Demon Realm. It was where the Eastern Territory used to be.
“First, go on a trip. I would like you to meet my uncle first.”
If it’s his uncle, then it’s someone I know.
It was Daphnen, the son of Stella, who has been the Pope for 60 years now.
* * *
The head of the Empire is the Emperor.
But that means he is the secular ruler.
Then who is the ruler of faith, not secular? In name, it’s the Pope.
But here’s one problem. Then how much authority does the Pope currently have?
“As you all know, the situation of our Imperial Church is not very good. No, even saying it’s not very good would be an exaggeration.”
“Your Holiness… that is-”
“There’s no need to deny it. I want to discuss it according to objective facts.”
As Daphnen said, frankly speaking, the situation of the Pope, as well as the church, was not satisfactory.
During the time of the Great Emperor, the Emperor also pressured the Pope to prevent the tyranny of the corrupt church. In fact, the authority was significantly reduced later, and although the Pope was not abolished, the Emperor was included in the object of faith.
Frankly, that was okay up to that point. In the first place, Daphnen belonged to the Purification Order, so he thought that the Pope’s authority should be restricted to some extent.
But now the problem facing the church was different.
“…As Your Holiness said, the believers are not the same as before.”
“The number of liberals is increasing. In proportion to that, the number of non-believers is also increasing.”
“Even if it’s not atheism, the number of those who believe in deism is increasing… Now, the only ones who faithfully believe in the church are *sunbakhan* [simple, innocent] farmers in the countryside.”
If the problem in the past was the corruption of the church, now it was the age of non-believers.
As the Empire developed more and more, the intellectual class was also increasing. Technological development had now exceeded the level that religion could control, and society was also changing rapidly.
But religion… faith could not keep up with it. No, apart from keeping up with it, it seemed like there was no place for faith anymore.
Of course, that didn’t mean that all believers had disappeared. Not all intellectuals were non-believers, and rather, the lower class or farmers who lived hard lives were devout believers.
But it was also true that the authority of the church was not the same as before. It’s a world where God exists, but rather, that’s why people were disappointed in God. In short, it was because God’s existence was of no help to humans.
‘It’s not bad from a humanistic point of view… but I don’t think I’ll be a *jong* [slave] of God.’
Even Daphnen himself agreed with some of those thoughts, so there’s no need to say more.
But putting personal thoughts aside, he was the one who was *chudaebadeun* [elected] as Pope.
When he was just a cardinal, it was okay, but now he had to take responsibility for the entire church.
“So how is the work of persuading the monarchs of each country?”
“First of all, the peace negotiations seem to be going smoothly. However……”
“However?”
“The establishment of the parliament and the constitution, common suffrage, etc. that Your Holiness mentioned are such difficult issues……”
The cardinals all showed difficult expressions. No, rather than difficulty, it was a passive attitude.
It meant that those cardinals were also negative about such reforms. Even if it was the *yuhun* [last wishes] of the Great Emperor they also praised.
“Your Holiness, are such radical reforms really necessary? At least, will it benefit our church……”
“Haa… do you really not know? Those reforms are now *pilsu* [essential], not an option. They are things that will be done by force someday.”
“……”
“It’s just that the church is taking the lead in that. Don’t you know that it raises the authority of the church?”
It’s a simple logic. The church is taking the lead in reforms that will be *irueojil* [achieved] as the trend of the times anyway.
So it’s about *hyeoksin* [innovating] the image of the church and raising its social voice.
This is not bad politically either. Those reforms were all about *bunsan* [dispersing] secular power to the people.
If the church, which has already had its political power *geose* [emasculated], has to weaken even secular power, right?
But the cardinals of the church were different from before. Even those who used to only think about the interests of the church were now *geupgeup* [anxious] to be aware of the secular world.
Perhaps there is a possibility that something is financially involved.
“Hoo… everyone, go out. I want to be alone.”
“Yes, Your Holiness.”
Daphnen issued a *chukgaekryeong* [order to dismiss guests] and sent the cardinals out. He sat alone in his office, feeling lonely.
‘What would my father have done if he were here… No, I think my father would have told me not to worry about that.’
Thinking about his father after a long time made him feel bitter. A long time has passed since his father, the Great Emperor, died.
Not only him, but his brother Leon also died, and his younger brother Kyle also passed away. Now he is the only son of the Great Emperor left.
He felt lonely about that. At the same time, he also felt a sense of duty.
“Hmm? Did I leave the window open?”
Sitting in his chair, lost in thought, he noticed the cold *baram* [wind] and soon realized that the window was open.
Did he open it and not know? He led his old body and closed the window.
“Hoo… how long will this body last……”
“You look lively, why are you saying that already?”
“……!”
At that time, Daphnen was startled by the voice he heard from behind.
That familiar voice. That voice was definitely his voice.
He hurriedly turned around. But the one standing there was still someone else.
No, it was just someone else’s appearance.
“Kyle Junior… it’s not.”
The appearance was his *jongson* [grandson], Kyle III, Kyle Junior, but Daphnen *ganpa* [discerned] the real thing hidden in that appearance.
“Father.”
“It’s been a while, Daphnen.”
It was his father. His father’s soul was inside. Daphnen could recognize it immediately.
“Father……”
Daphnen walked towards him with staggering steps and hugged him like a child.
“It must have been hard.”
“Yes, it was very hard.”
After his father died, the overwhelming sadness was sadness, but it was also painful to see the increasingly *heundeullineun* [shaky] Empire. Not only Daphnen but also his other brothers felt the same way.
“I’m sorry, and thank you.”
“Father……”
The father, who had returned to such a son, hugged him kindly. He was always kind.
“But isn’t it too much to reincarnate me without permission?”
“……”
……Of course, his *dwitgeut inneun* [resentful] personality was still the same.