The Shadowed Legacy of the Soulless Messenger [EN]: Chapter 144

Azadin felt a pang of sympathy as he observed their predicament.

‘High population density… and so few places to make a fire. Even if food and supplies are stockpiled in the castle, it won’t last long. Especially with Arael and the Ara Gasa as the opposition.’

In Coral Sahar’s royal castle, paladins from the King’s Church, paladins from the Rescue Knights, and soldiers were stationed and on standby. As Azadin moved with the castle’s messenger, he was met with cold stares.

The atmosphere noticeably changed as he entered the audience chamber.

The Yegas god’s throne. It was a massive quartz throne embedded deep within the earth. King Ansetus IV, the current ruler of the Corasar Kingdom, sat upon that quartz throne.

With knights standing guard on either side and the king seated on his throne to greet him.

‘A very formal audience. Wouldn’t it be better to talk comfortably in private?’

Some of the information and stories Azadin could provide couldn’t be shared in a public setting before everyone. Considering that, this formal audience was just inconvenient for both sides.

Of course, Azadin had requested the audience, but that was merely a formality to show respect to the king.

‘Should I have asked for a private meeting separately? Are they worried I might be an assassin? But why does the king look so gloomy? He seems exhausted. Well, he’s not in a position to relax with the current situation.’

King Ansetus IV of Corasar spoke first.

“Ah, how bold. Messenger of the clan. To think you’d come here alone. I commend your recklessness.”

“Please remove your mask. This is the king’s court.”

The maids requested Azadin to remove his mask.

“Yes.”

When Azadin removed his mask, everyone was startled. A large scar ran horizontally across where his eyes should have been.

“Blind?”

“There was no sign of it at all?”

“……”

Everyone had seen Azadin calmly looking around as he walked in. They never imagined he wouldn’t have any eyeballs.

“You may wear your mask.”

“Yes, thank you.”

Azadin was grateful for the king’s consideration and put his mask back on.

“So, who are you?”

“I am Azadin, the 108th messenger of the Emperor.”

“108th? Isn’t that the lowest rank? It seems Corasar is being looked down upon. Sending the lowest-ranking messenger to meet the king of the Eight Kingdoms.”

Ansetus IV expressed his blatant displeasure.

It seemed he thought that sending Azadin, the lowest of the 108 messengers, was a sign of disrespect.

“We are short on manpower, and I, who hold the lowest position among the messengers, have dared to appear before Your Majesty and disturb your peace. I am ashamed to say that our clan is currently divided by civil war, and that is why we were lacking in consideration. Please do not blame the foolish actions of those who are short-sighted.”

“Civil war?”

“Yes. The rebels, led by Arael, are trying to seize the throne of Corasar by inciting the Nagas and using Nether magic to cause this storm.”

Azadin’s words caused a stir among the audience.

“The rebels caused this… they summoned the storm and lured the Nagas?”

“…How terrifying.”

It meant that the entire messenger clan wasn’t united, and some of them had put the Corasar Kingdom in this crisis.

It was no wonder the courtiers were terrified.

At that moment, a man who appeared to be a paladin from the King’s Church stepped forward. He was a stern-looking middle-aged man wearing a monocle.

“Your Majesty! May I speak?”

“Lord Aldoph… speak.”

“We must capture and torture this heretic immediately.”

“Are you saying I should disgrace the one who came to see me?”

“The messenger clan are vile and impious beings who lie as easily as they breathe. We cannot trust their words. It is undoubtedly a ploy to confuse us with false information.”

The knight called Lord Aldoph was shouting that Azadin should be killed.

“And look at his eyeless face! Yet he doesn’t seem blind at all, so he must be using some evil magic to replace his sight. He is spreading corruption with his evil magic even now, so we must capture and kill him immediately!”

Azadin chuckled at Lord Aldoph’s words.

‘Seriously, attacking me now would only smear the king’s face. Is he out of his mind?’

Logically speaking, even if they were angry, killing someone who came as an envoy of peace would only be a loss.

However, it was a good way to shake a rationalist. As a negotiation tactic to get more than what is normal by shaking a rationalist who always acts rationally, threats were useful.

‘Ah, I see. He’s not trying to shake me, but the king.’

Azadin confirmed that the magic was not flowing properly from the throne.

Although the king was sitting on it, the light of kingship was not emanating from the throne. In other words, from the King’s Church’s perspective, King Ansetus IV was not the rightful king.

And Azadin could feel that Lord Aldoph was concerned about someone behind him.

‘The Cardinal of Corasar.’

Azadin smiled wryly as he spotted a cleric smirking behind Lord Aldoph.

“We don’t have time for political infighting right now. You’re wasting your breath.”

“What?!”

“Arael’s goal is the throne of Corasar. If the Nagas break into the castle, she will appear and try to seize the throne of Corasar.”

“B-Blasphemous!”

“That’s absurd!”

The throne of Yegas is a powerful magical artifact that chooses its own master.

The idea that a messenger clan, who are scorned as soulless blasphemers, could take the throne was an unacceptable blasphemy for the King’s Church.

“That man is a madman! He must be executed immediately!”

The King’s Church was clamoring for Azadin’s death, but Azadin cleared his throat, looking at King Ansetus IV.

“It seems there are many who are trying to interfere, so I would like to ask you to dismiss the audience or have a private conversation.”

“What?! Are you daring to mock our church?!”

The clerics of the King’s Church were making a fuss. However, raising their voices in the king’s court, the audience chamber, was an act that would disgrace the king.

‘It seems the King of Corasar is completely cornered.’

The divine king of Yegas must prove his worth.

The fact that the light of kingship was not activated, causing the capital Coral Sahar to be flooded and the Nagas to invade, putting them in a crisis, and that they couldn’t even call for reinforcements, meant that the king was not qualified to hold the throne. That was why the clerics of the King’s Church were acting so arrogantly in the king’s court.

“I understand.”

Ansetus IV agreed to Azadin’s proposal.

Arranging a private meeting with the Emperor’s messenger, who was known as an assassin, would be a huge risk for the king.

However, he would rather have a private meeting with an assassin than talk in front of the clerics of the King’s Church, who were constantly looking for an opportunity to tear him apart.

Then, his vassals began to object.

“Your Majesty!”

“The messenger clan are all vile and treacherous assassins!”

“Please reconsider!”

Everyone was in an uproar at the mention of a private meeting. That was exactly why Azadin had requested a private meeting.

‘The king has it pretty rough. How can we talk with them constantly interfering?’

Azadin pitied the king’s situation, who was allowing a private meeting.

*********

The location was changed from the audience chamber to the king’s private room.

There were armed knights, but they were the king’s personal guards.

“So, we’re having a private meeting. Are you perhaps planning to assassinate me?”

“No, Your Majesty. It seems like it will be a sensitive topic.”

“A sensitive topic, you say?”

“The light of kingship is not working properly, is it?”

“Indeed… it’s not something to discuss in front of the vassals or knights.”

“The clerics already know, so they’re acting so arrogantly towards Your Majesty, aren’t they? Lord Aldoph, was it? What is his position?”

“He is my nephew.”

“Nephew? Usually….”

“If they are of the Corasar royal bloodline, they are sent elsewhere.”

The King’s Church was a place where those of royal or noble birth without inheritance rights were sent to. That was why they didn’t send clerics of royal descent back to their own kingdoms.

If they didn’t deliberately keep the royals apart, they would gather supporters in their own country and cause trouble, claiming they would return.

“But he is illegitimate. And even if that wasn’t the case, I have many weaknesses.”

“The light of kingship is not working because a Nether ritual was performed here. It is not Your Majesty’s fault.”

“……”

That was probably what Ansetus IV wanted to hear the most.

“So, what do you propose? Messenger?”

“…My prediction is that Arael has already infiltrated the castle.”

“What? Why do you think so?”

“Because otherwise, it doesn’t make sense. She is a being with a very strong manifestation of the Emperor’s traits. You know that there is an illegitimate child of the Emperor among the messenger clan, right?”

“You mean the bloodline of Emperor Yaeslat?”

The King’s Church tried to reject the Emperor at all costs, but Emperor Yaeslat was the most powerful Yegas god since the establishment of the Eight Kingdoms.

A living sage who single-handedly held all the thrones of the Eight Kingdoms and ruled the world with the most powerful light of kingship.

It was an open secret that his bloodline flowed through the messenger clan.

“Is that woman named Arael a descendant of the Emperor?”

To be precise, no one knew exactly how the Emperor’s bloodline was passed down. It was known that the Emperor’s bloodline definitely flowed through the five great families of the messenger clan, but it was unknown who else had shared the Emperor’s blood through marriage or extramarital affairs.

However, if it manifested as a trait later, they would just think, ‘Ah, this guy was of the Emperor’s bloodline.’

“Yes. That’s why she’s trying to sit on the throne herself. Even over the Nagas. To do that, she must already be waiting near the throne.”

“That could apply to you as well. There’s no guarantee that you’re not a spy sent by Arael or whatever to take the throne.”

“That suspicion is reasonable. Well, that’s why I have to work hard to resolve this situation and prove my sincerity. First, please allow me to investigate the throne and its surroundings. I want to know how they paralyzed the light of kingship.”

“…Can’t you just think that I’m not good enough, and that’s why the light of kingship went out?”

“There have been many tyrants and incompetent rulers in the past, but the light of kingship has never completely gone out.”

You are not that much of a tyrant or incompetent ruler.

That was what Azadin was saying.