CFHE 06

The Chief Chamberlain had suddenly appeared and informed him that he would soon be meeting the final boss.

And to make matters worse, he had also learned that the original Morez had regularly defied that very final boss without the slightest fear.

Seongjin felt dizzy.

“…Your Highness?”

“Ah… um, right. No! I…”

His eyes shook wildly, and his words stumbled from sheer panic.

Desperate not to lose any more favor with the man who might very well be the final boss, Seongjin forced himself to say something that sounded at least somewhat respectable.

“This time… I will go and pay my respects personally… Please tell His Majesty… that I am grateful… for his consideration.”

You couldn’t very well summon someone as important as the Holy Emperor.

I wish I knew how Morez usually spoke. I don’t even know if this is proper etiquette.

Oddly enough, the Demon King—who normally never stopped talking inside his head—had gone completely silent.

Fortunately, Seongjin’s answer seemed to please the Chief Chamberlain.

“How delighted His Majesty will be to see Your Highness acting with such maturity. I shall make every effort to ensure that nothing is lacking for your audience. We will send word to Pearl Palace soon, so please continue to recover well.”

Louis bowed gracefully once more before quietly leaving the training grounds.

However, Seongjin’s hunter instincts, sharpened through years of battle, caught the slight twitch at the corner of the old man’s mouth. Even though Louis tried to suppress it, his cheeks were threatening to lift into a smile.

What exactly did I do to make him that happy…?

The more he experienced it, the more Seongjin realized just how unbelievably awful the original Morez had been.

Watching the chamberlain’s group disappear into the distance, Seongjin let out a quiet sigh and turned around.

The unexpected meeting had made his break much longer than planned.

He steadied himself and started circling the training grounds again.

At the very least, I need to do a few more laps than yesterday if I want to call this progress.

Of course, despite his determination, he was already gasping for breath before he had even completed half a lap.

The knights who had been gathered in one corner, waiting respectfully while the chamberlain was present, frowned when they saw the prince start power-walking again instead of leaving.

Some of them stormed out of the training grounds in annoyance.

The rest sat down, pretending to maintain their equipment while occasionally shooting disrespectful glances at Seongjin.

Until now, Seongjin hadn’t cared in the slightest whether the knights behaved rudely toward him.

But after enduring their constant hostility, even he was beginning to get irritated.

Annoying as it is, I might have to discipline all of them someday.

“Huff… huff…”

How many laps had he completed?

Completely out of breath, coughing violently as he staggered forward, Seongjin managed only a few more unsteady steps before collapsing flat onto the ground.

“Cough! Cough! Hack… Ugh… Huff… Haaah…”

His vision turned yellow.

Damn… I feel like I’m dying.

Even during the week he’d spent surviving on barely any sleep while fighting monsters on the Paju front line, he hadn’t felt this exhausted.

As he lay there gasping desperately for air, a quiet voice cautiously spoke up in his mind.

…Hey. So you’re really going to meet the Holy Emperor?

“…Huh?”

His brain was so starved of oxygen that he didn’t understand at first.

Come to think of it, hadn’t this guy been strangely quiet?

Looks like I have to. But what were you doing? You could’ve at least gathered some information from the chamberlain. You were so quiet I thought you’d finally disappeared.

Normally the Demon King would have exploded at that remark.

Instead…

I did look into him. I did, but…

His voice sounded unusually dejected.

The chamberlain’s soul has resistance against soul detection. It wasn’t easy, so I had to concentrate.

Seongjin tilted his head.

Soul resistance? You’ve never mentioned that before. Is the chamberlain some kind of priest?

Are you crazy? You think I’d touch someone with divine power? I’d rather kill myself again.

According to the Demon King, soul detection was similar to talking to someone while they were asleep.

Unless a person was under extreme stress or in immediate danger, the soul remained in a half-asleep, defenseless state.

If he strongly projected a thought toward the target, related memories would naturally rise from the unconscious mind.

It sounded incredibly useful.

But it had limits.

For one thing, the Demon King couldn’t directly read Seongjin’s own memories.

Even he didn’t know exactly why.

For someone so simple and careless, you’re strangely difficult.

“What did you just call me?”

Strong-willed people and those possessing divine power were also impossible to read.

Those with powerful minds instinctively resisted mental interference, much like someone in a state of extreme alert.

As for souls blessed with divine power…

The instant the Demon King tried to touch them, his own soul would be completely destroyed.

That’s why the chamberlain’s mental defenses are incredibly solid. He’s meticulous and has tremendous self-control. People like that don’t easily reveal the memories you want, and their mental walls are so strong that it’s nearly impossible to dig through them without damaging the soul.

Even so, the Demon King had done everything he could to gather information.

Soon they would be standing before the strongest holy man on the continent, completely at his mercy.

Would the Holy Emperor recognize that the prince’s body now housed a man from another world—and a fragment of a Demon King?

So? Did you find anything useful?

Unfortunately, nothing that helps immediately. That old man is one of the most experienced people in the Imperial Palace. Far more important than I expected. He knows too much. There was so much information that I couldn’t focus on what we actually needed.

That made sense.

He certainly looked like someone with decades of experience.

So I tried looking into the Holy Emperor instead. But… how should I put it? The chamberlain’s perception is incredibly biased. I can’t really trust it.

Biased? The opinion of someone who serves him directly?

The Demon King’s soul stirred slightly.

If he still had a physical body, it probably would have been a sigh.

His loyalty to the imperial family is genuine. Why else would he treat even Morez—the prince everyone calls trash—with such kindness? His faith in the Holy Emperor is absolute. You could call it loyalty… or, less kindly, fanaticism.

Fanaticism?

Yeah. He practically thinks the Holy Emperor is omnipotent. Can you really trust information like that?

Seongjin blinked.

Omnipotent?

I don’t think he’s even consciously aware of it. He simply believes he’s faithfully serving a great ruler. But deep down, in his subconscious, the Holy Emperor isn’t merely human. He sincerely believes he’s the greatest Holy Emperor in history and the unquestionable representative of the Supreme God.

“…”

But you know what’s really funny? He doesn’t actually have much faith in the Supreme God Himself. He isn’t especially religious.

What? He doesn’t believe in the god, but he believes in the god’s representative?

Exactly! That’s what’s ridiculous! It’s completely contradictory. But that stiff old man doesn’t even realize it! Just how much admiration, respect, and trust do you have to pour into one person before it reaches that level?

Without saying another word, Seongjin slowly stood up.

His breathing had already calmed.

The gentle breeze cooled his overheated body, sending chills across his skin.

…This isn’t simply about someone having strong divine power.

The representative of God.

Seongjin had always been closer to an atheist than a believer.

He didn’t truly think there could be an all-powerful human who acted on behalf of a god.

Still…

If even the chamberlain unconsciously worshipped him to that extent, perhaps the Holy Emperor really did possess something extraordinary.

For example… what if the Holy Emperor has an ability like your Soul Detection? Wouldn’t everyone around him naturally think he knows everything?

Whatever the truth was, one thing had become clear.

Our chances of being discovered seem pretty high. Do you have any ideas?

Nope. Can’t you just do what Morez always did and skip the appointment?

That’s only a temporary solution. Didn’t they say that because Morez kept avoiding him, the Holy Emperor eventually came to Pearl Palace himself? What if he comes again?

Then… how about escaping the palace?

Maybe if we had time to prepare. But with this pathetic body? And with a figure this big, I’d stand out no matter where I went.

…We’re doomed.

There was no choice.

They would simply have to face it.

Feeling the Demon King’s soul trembling inside him, Seongjin forced down the growing anxiety in his chest.

***

Before evening even arrived, a palace servant delivered the official notice for tea.

Needless to say, Pearl Palace was thrown into complete chaos.

It would be the fat prince’s first official outing in who knew how long.

The moment Empress Elizabeth heard the news, she marched into Pearl Palace early that very morning with a large group of maids from Ruby Palace.

Soon, the entire palace bustled under her direct supervision.

Seongjin had planned to spend the entire morning training at the practice grounds before the afternoon appointment.

Instead, before he could even step outside his room…

“…Huh?”

A group of determined-looking maids caught him and dragged him away.

Before he knew it, he was hauled straight into the bathhouse for a full ceremonial bath.

And, embarrassingly enough, Edith stayed right there the whole time.

As Seongjin struggled and protested, Edith calmly poured scented oil over his head.

“Please calm down, Your Highness. Let’s finish quickly so we can have a snack afterward.”

Are you bathing a cat or something?

He glared at her in disbelief.

She simply tilted her head.

“Hmm… That usually worked before.”

“…”

So this is how she dealt with the original Morez all this time.

She hadn’t been treating him like a person at all.

She’d been handling him like an unruly animal.

“Get out. I can bathe myself.”

“I’ve been taking care of you this whole time while you were sick. Why are you suddenly embarrassed now?”

How can she actually say that?

When Seongjin refused to back down, Edith’s expression darkened immediately.

“Please cooperate, Your Highness. If even the slightest delay happens during today’s preparations, do you know how much Her Majesty will scold me?”

It seemed even Edith’s iron nerves had been worn down by the Empress’s increasingly frequent visits.

“Why do the Ruby Palace maids insist on coming here just to throw their weight around? This isn’t even their palace.”

With a frightening smile that practically said, ‘They’re barely worth one punch. Heh.’

Seeing an Aura User smiling like that was twice as terrifying.

Intimidated by her overwhelming presence, Seongjin hurriedly finished his bath.

But that wasn’t the end.

Outside waited the Empress’s maids, standing in neat rows while carrying what looked like professional grooming tools.

Soon chaos erupted.

They trimmed his hair.

Trimmed his nails.

Trimmed his eyebrows.

It was complete madness.

“Oh my! Just look at this beautiful hair! Exactly like Her Majesty’s!”

“My goodness! You’ve lost so much weight! Your face is so much slimmer now!”

Quit lying.

I thought this was just a simple audience! Why is all this necessary?!

They pulled him this way.

Pinched him that way.

By the time they were finished, Seongjin looked like someone who had barely survived a hurricane.

Just as he thought it was finally over…

He saw an endless line of maids stretching from the end of his room into the hallway.

Every one of them carried clothes or jewelry in both hands.

His face turned pale.

Hey! Can’t someone stop this? How long is this going to last?!

Normally the Demon King would have laughed himself to death at Seongjin’s suffering.

Instead…

Heh… Well… if you’re walking toward your final destination, you might as well look good doing it… Hehehe…

“…”

Fortunately, Empress Elizabeth had surprisingly refined taste.

For a while Seongjin had been worried after seeing countless frilly outfits brought in.

But the final result…

Even by modern standards, it looked quite impressive.

He wore a dark navy uniform embroidered with silver thread.

At first glance it seemed simple.

A closer look revealed just how much money, craftsmanship, and time had gone into making it.

As his weight had indeed dropped a little, the clothes hung loosely enough that the maids spent quite some time making adjustments.

Of course…

No matter how much they dressed him up…

He was still just a well-decorated pig.

Seongjin secretly sighed.

Yet Empress Elizabeth looked thoroughly delighted.

“Oh, Morez! How wonderfully handsome you look!”

The maids immediately joined in with soulless praise.

“You look absolutely magnificent!”

“The dark uniform makes Your Highness’s beautiful golden hair stand out even more!”

“And look at the cufflinks and brooch! They perfectly match Your Highness’s jewel-like gray eyes!”

“Your beauty is enough to make anyone fall in love at first sight!”

Hey. That last one was way too much.

Right on schedule, a carriage arrived from the Imperial Palace.

The chief chamberlain had promised everything would be perfectly prepared, and he had clearly meant it.

After Edith helped him into the carriage, two escort knights mounted their horses and rode behind them.

Imperial carriages really are luxurious. The ride feels completely different from a car.

Lucky you. What are you, a little kid? You’re old enough to know this is basically a hearse taking you to the afterlife.

Shut up.

Not long after they left Pearl Palace, however, the Demon King suddenly trembled.

Hey… I have a bad feeling about this.

Seongjin immediately straightened up.

What? Why?

Look outside, idiot.

“…?”

The main palace is still pretty far away, right? But there’s already an ominous light everywhere.

Seongjin quietly lifted the curtain.

The vast gardens of the Imperial Palace stretched before him.

A magnificent boulevard, wide enough for three carriages to ride side by side, cut across endless green lawns.

At the end of the road stood the dazzling white main palace.

Countless people filled the enormous plaza before it.

Knights standing guard.

Nobles gathered in small groups.

Officials hurrying by with stacks of documents.

And…

An enormous number of priests dressed in brilliant white robes.

“…Wow…”

It looked as though more than half the crowd wore white.

From simple robes to extravagant ceremonial vestments embroidered with gold, every white garment bore the emblem of the Supreme God—a sun crossed with a sword.

Only now did Seongjin truly realize…

This place was a nest of holy men.

Ah… I made a mistake! I thought hiding quietly inside your body would be enough, but I was wrong! Just being close to people with divine power makes my soul feel like it’s being stabbed with needles!

“…”

The Demon King’s panic made Seongjin tense up as well.

He couldn’t help swallowing nervously.

It felt as though every one of those priests would instantly recognize him, point at him, and shout,

“An evil spirit has stolen the prince’s body!”

before rushing toward him.

We should’ve run away the first chance we had…

The Demon King sighed miserably.

At that exact moment…

The carriage came to a stop.

They had arrived at the entrance of the Holy Emperor’s residence—the Main Palace.