Chapter 100
The incident occurred as soon as the carriage entered the Holy Empire.
Before they had even traveled far along the wide entry road smoothly paved with stone.
Holy Knights suddenly took control of the surroundings.
Including the Basilian family’s carriage, all the other carriages ahead came to a stop on the road.
Wondering what was happening this time, she wrinkled her nose, when Daren, who had been riding alongside the carriage, suddenly turned deathly pale.
“…!”
His face drained of color, as white as his uniform, he hurriedly dismounted from his horse.
The chaotic outside quickly fell silent.
It was an unnatural stillness, as if someone had poured ice water over everything.
Sensing something amiss, Belzeon quickly picked up Cheshire and was about to get out of the carriage.
The carriage door opened first.
A Holy Knight commanded in a stiff voice.
“Step down and pay your respects.”
Getting out of the carriage with Belzeon, everyone had already dismounted from their horses and carriages, kneeling on one knee on the ground.
There was only one person in Hilderd who warranted such extreme reverence.
The one who sat above all people, serving only the gods.
The Holy King who ruled the Holy Empire, Shianor Hilderd.
An old man dressed in a clean white cassock, draped in a blue cloak embroidered with gold and silver threads, smiled benevolently.
“I seem to have startled you.”
The fact that the Holy King had appeared in person was surprising enough.
But Cheshire was most shocked by something else.
‘It’s an old man?’
Possessing the strongest divine power on the continent, she had assumed he would maintain his youth like Duke Ivroiel.
While she blinked in surprise at the unexpected situation, Belzeon set Cheshire down beside him and knelt on one knee.
“Belzeon of the Basilian County in the Palen Empire. I greet Your Majesty the Holy King under the name of the gods.”
It was a greeting executed with flawless etiquette.
Shianor raised his eyebrows slightly in mild surprise, then smiled with satisfaction.
Cheshire followed Belzeon’s lead in greeting him.
“I’m Chesha of the Basilian family.”
She pretended to pay respects solemnly, but she didn’t kneel.
She didn’t want to kneel to the Holy King.
‘He’ll let it slide because I’m a kid!’
Cheshire acted boldly.
But suddenly, the Holy King bent down and lifted her up.
The strength with which he hoisted her was considerable.
Shianor, who lifted Cheshire effortlessly in a way unbelievable for an old man, burst into hearty laughter.
“So you’re Cheshire.”
He behaved as casually as a neighborly elder from the same village.
“Hailon talked about you so much. And he’s not one to do that.”
He chuckled boisterously, saying he couldn’t wait out of curiosity and had come out impulsively.
For the Holy King to personally come out to greet them.
It was an absurdly exceptional treatment.
If it were anyone else, they would have trembled with overwhelming gratitude, shedding tears and praising the Holy King.
However, the men of the Basilian family showed no sign of being honored; their faces remained impassive.
In truth, the impassive expressions were to hide their irritation.
Unlike its noble purpose, the Little Saints’ Prayer Assembly was in reality a war entangled among those vying for the holy relic.
Even before the prayer assembly began, everyone was already preoccupied with checking each other.
In such a situation, the Holy King had singled out one child and openly shown favoritism.
It was tantamount to announcing to all participants in the Little Saints’ Prayer Assembly.
Who to target as the public enemy.
Moreover, the Holy King wasn’t doing this out of genuine affection for Cheshire.
It was mere curiosity, as he said.
Interest without protection was poison.
‘And I don’t like this guy’s attitude either.’
Hailon was none other than the head of the inquisitors.
Yet he wasn’t addressing him as “Sir,” and even called him “child” like some kid.
‘This feels gross?’
Hailon had never once mentioned the Holy King to Lichesia.
But based on the various incidents they had rubbed shoulders through so far, Cheshire had made her own inferences.
She had thought he was just some old geezer who overworked people, but she hadn’t expected him to be this insidious creep.
‘This really feels grosssss?’
She had resolved to live quietly during the Little Saints’ Prayer Assembly, but already she wanted to cause a scene.
Cheshire hid her inner thoughts and smiled brightly.
‘Maybe I should secretly mark him as prey.’
He clearly didn’t have proper divine power.
If she used just a little power to secretly mark him, he probably wouldn’t notice.
The moment Cheshire, facing the Holy King and grinning, subtly summoned her power.
“…!”
Startled, Cheshire quickly withdrew her power.
She wasn’t the only one surprised.
Everyone flinched in shock, forgetting the etiquette required before the Holy King, and looked around.
A song was heard.
The song someone was singing wistfully was strange.
It seemed to come from very far away, yet also whispered right in the ear.
Sung in an unknown language, but the meaning of the song was clear.
Even without understanding the lyrics, the intent touched the heart directly.
The joy and delight of life being born, the beauty of pulsating creation, a hymn to verdant nature.
The dreamlike, ethereal song scattered everywhere like flower petals on a spring day.
At first, people just looked around in confusion, but soon faint smiles bloomed among them.
It was a smile they wore unconsciously from the rising sense of happiness.
While everyone was immersed in overflowing joy, the Holy King alone was not.
Shianor’s face, which had been benevolent and tolerant moments ago, hardened frighteningly.
He seemed to have forgotten that Cheshire was watching right in front of him.
Shianor trembled his dry cheeks.
“…Hailon.”
He muttered in a voice barely suppressing rage.
“Summon Hailon.”
The Holy Knight escorting right beside him snapped to attention with a start.
The one who had been smiling pleasantly realized the Holy King’s anger and replied tensely.
“But Sir Hailon is…”
“Now!”
The low, urging shout cut off the Holy Knight’s words sharply.
The Holy Knight obeyed immediately.
He hurriedly mounted his horse and galloped away.
The sound of horse hooves clattering against the stone echoed loudly.
People who had been smiling happily, soaked in the song, snapped back to their senses at the noisy clamor.
Cheshire glanced in the direction the knight was riding.
It was toward the center of the Holy Empire, where the grand temple was.
“…”
Shianor breathed slowly and heavily.
He quickly erased his agitated expression and smiled.
Having regained his benevolence, Shianor spoke kindly and affectionately.
“An urgent matter has arisen, so I must go. It was nice meeting you. Let’s meet again at the prayer assembly.”
And he set Cheshire down in front of Belzeon.
With a subtle smile on his face, Shianor looked around at the people who hadn’t fully awakened from the song yet.
“Everyone, rise.”
A holy priest standing beside the Holy King shouted loudly to the people.
It was a booming voice, as if trying to cover the song that still seemed to linger.
“This is Hilderd’s new hymn. A song sung with divine power, created so that all people in the Holy Empire can hear it even from afar.”
Exclamations of admiration flowed from here and there at the holy priest’s words.
The holy priest raised both hands to the sky and said.
“It is also a welcoming anthem for those who have come to the divine empire for the Little Saints’ Prayer Assembly. Please all listen with joy.”
Then cheers and applause erupted.
The people, moved by the mystical hymn carried on divine power, reacted fervently.
But the expressions of some Holy Knights and holy priests were dark.
They tried to smile calmly, but they couldn’t perfectly hide the anxious tremor in their eyes.
This strange song didn’t seem to be something the Holy Empire had intentionally released.
In fact, even without their reactions, Cheshire was already certain.
Because…
‘It’s calling to me.’
This was a song calling to Cheshire.
There was only one thing in the Holy Empire that would search for Cheshire while singing a strange song.
It was the Fairy Queen’s crown.
