Forsaken Priest of the Hero's Party-Chapter 38: The Female Knight of the Imperial Mausoleum

Squish.

An expressioneless woman, wrung the pristine white cloth in water, the fabric of such high quality that it could be fashioned into clothing without seeming out of place.  The water was so clear and pure, that not a single speck of dust could be seen. This was no ordinary water.

It was holy water received from the main church of the Grandera branch of the Trinity Church.

Yet, this holy water wasn’t being used to treat the infirm or the needy,

The woman was merely carefully wiping the memorial tablets to honor those already deceased. If even the slightest problem arose here, countless people would seize the opportunity to tear her apart.

Sigh.

Carneil, the female knight, swallowed her sigh inwardly. Letting it out? Absolutely not.

This 𝓬ontent is taken from fгeewebnovёl.co𝙢.

If word got out that she had sighed while wiping the memorial tablets, it could lead to a political disaster that no one could handle.

This place was the Imperial Mausoleum, and the tablets she was currently wiping were those of the former emperors.

If word gets out that a mere Knight dared to sigh in a place like this? Did the countless achievements and merits of the former emperors seem so pathetic in her eyes that she had to sigh?

If such an attack were launched against her, who had neither background nor connections, she would not only fail to maintain the position she had barely obtained but also plummet to the bottom.

I became a knight because I wanted to be active on the battlefield, not because I wanted to do this kind of work.

It was certainly a glorious task. However, it was all she had to do.

Honor and glory. In fact, it was an honor that no one really acknowledged. That was it. The salary was not very high either.

A path to promotion? It was best to consider it a lifelong disconnection. Far from promotion, this job required constant worry about one’s neck. The position of Imperial Mausoleum Management Knight was far from that guaranteed promotion.

No matter how hard she worked, it was meaningless.

The deceased former emperors were not going to appear in His Majesty the Emperor’s dream, moved by her utmost devotion, and leave a word of praise, saying, “I think that knight is quite remarkable.”

In fact, what kind of merit could one possibly achieve here?

Regardless of how well she performed, preventing problems from occurring was all there was to it. If the enemy were to raid the Imperial Mausoleum, located right in the heart of the empire, to that extent, the empire would already be as good as ruined.

In that case, rather than worrying about merit or whatnot, one would have to run as if their feet were on fire if they wanted to live.

Although the empire was tilting here and there, it was not yet time for it to fall.

The possibility of such a major event occurring was unlikely in the near future, and the female knight’s main enemies were not the demons or the great armies of other countries that might be far away at the borders, but terrorists and madmen.

When she had caught an arsonist attempting to set fire to the Imperial Mausoleum, a chill had run down her spine. If she had been a little later, her life would have been burned away along with it.

This is that kind of place. A place where one misstep leads to ruin.

It is the final post given to those whose paths to promotion are blocked. It is the reason why all the previous knights appointed here resigned and left the system. No matter what one wants to do, there is no real authority in this position.

If only divine punishment had not befallen Her Highness Ardein......

The only person to blame is herself for grabbing the wrong line. She missed her chance once and was eliminated from the path to promotion.

There was a second chance, but she kicked it away herself and had no regrets.

In the past, her comrades urged her to betray her Lord.

Carneil may have been a coward who escaped when her lord was in danger, but she was not heartless enough to stab her lord in the back. She refused, showing her integrity as a knight, and they did not force her.

Well, it’s a predictable story. Some of those who switched sides were promoted, while others were not. Traitors are not always welcomed, are they?

Even those who betrayed faced such a fate, so how could Carneil, who did not even betray, possibly be promoted? Her next post became the Imperial Mausoleum, and there would be no next post after that.

It was already a workplace where it was difficult to utter a single complaint, but these days, she was being even more careful.

Because one of the secrets that the empire had tried so hard to hide had been leaked.

The Imperial Intelligence Department would be investigating where and how this top-secret information was leaked, but it would not be easy to find out the details.

There was only one certain fact,

An order had come from deep within the Imperial Palace to prepare a new memorial tablet.

Upon seeing the name to be engraved on that tablet, Carneil could no longer open her mouth. If a single careless word were to come out of that mouth, the price would be too great for her to bear.

His Majesty the current Emperor had not yet passed away, but he would soon do soon.

*****“Your Majesty, you must still take care of your health...”

Inside the Imperial Palace, in the most secret and intimate room.

A noblewoman burst into tears at the groaning sound uttered by the old man whose hair had turned completely white.

Seeing this, the Archbishop, Armata, who served Hillai, the Goddess of Healing, shook his head.

“His Majesty has already become too weak even to endure divine power. He has already received the call of the Goddess, so it is too late for us humans to intervene.”

This old man was none other than Ardein’s father and the Emperor of the Illumina Empire,

But time had turned even such a person into an old man suffering in pain. Attending to the nation’s affairs is truly a task that makes one cough up blood from exhaustion. There is no end in sight, no matter how much work is done, and the tasks that need to be done only continue to increase.

If one wants to properly take care of national affairs, there is no end or limit to it.

This alone was difficult enough, but the vassals below began to collude with the religious orders to erode the imperial power. The generals in the provinces had already become open warlords. The border lords in various regions were no longer as loyal as they used to be.

During the past half-century, the empire had gone through difficult times, and the emperor had not been able to rest at ease for a single moment. Although he was only slightly over sixty years old, his face alone could make one believe he was an eighty-year-old man.

It was not that the emperor had a young wife. The empress and the emperor were of similar age.

Nevertheless, this beautiful woman still retained some of her youthful appearance, but the emperor did not even have that. He was already a tired and lonely old man, a withered tree that could collapse at any moment.

Now, the day of his collapse had finally arrived; everything had been predetermined.

“Your Majesty, you must get up... P-Please, you must get up...”

The prime minister, Duke Albert Brandon, stood beside him and sobbed.

Tears flowed profusely from his aged eyes. If this person here were to fall, the empire would truly lose its center.

Crown Prince Arsein and First Princess Ardein had competed for the imperial succession, but both had been eliminated.

Among the remaining princes and princesses, not a single one had achieved any proper merits, and there was even less anyone worthy of inheriting the throne. The ones who remained could only scheme and plot from the safety of their rooms.

It would be fine if they were just staff officers or advisors.

But even a single general could not be like that.

How much more so for an emperor? Would the world accept such an emperor?

The Third Prince, Edmund von Illumina, who had newly become the crown prince, did not have the charisma to convince all his other siblings. If he ascended to the throne, countless oppositions would spread, and imperial power would decline even further.

It was safe to say that the countdown to the empire’s fragmentation had already begun.

“What was so good about that unfilial daughter that you became like this upon hearing that she had left home? You always worried so much about that troublesome child, and now...”

“My Lady...Please, restrain yourself.  His Majesty has already reached his limit.”

Sofien, the old maid who had also been Ardein’s nanny, patted the empress’s hunched back and stopped her.

Upon hearing the news that his daughter, who had been his sore finger, had left the palace and disappeared, the emperor collapsed that very day, coughing up blood, and never got up again.

In any case, he had already reached his limit in many aspects.

The news of his beloved daughter’s running away was just the decisive blow. A very fatal decisive blow.

“It’s because he cherished that thing of a woman who received divine punishment.”

Archbishop Armata, who had heard the words “unfilial daughter,” stopped as he was about to step back, pushed up his glasses, and muttered.

“It’s because His Majesty cherished such a princess that the Goddess became angry and brought down trials upon him.”

This was not an attempt to take advantage of the opportunity to bite into the imperial family.

He truly believed this. It was hard to find someone among the high ranks of the Trinity Church who lacked faith. If one outwardly believed but inwardly disbelieved, did they think the gods would not know?

Should someone commit a slight against the Divine, they would simply retract their boons, and punishment would be inflicted.

In fact, there is no need for that; it is enough to convey the intention to the Pope. No evidence or testimony is needed. The Goddess’s words are the evidence and, above all, the definite verdict.

The Church and the Tempe are places where those who are not devout cannot rise high.

If one has reached the position of archbishop in such a place, regardless of their political power, it means they are devout enough to be recognized for their faith alone. They are people who can even dedicate their lives to the Goddess’s will.

“Archbishop. Those are reckless words.”

“This is the truth. The princess received divine punishment, and His Majesty incurred the Goddess’s wrath by shielding her.”

This archbishop would answer the same way even if the duke were to point a sword at his neck and question him.

Even if his head were truly cut off, the words coming from that severed head would not change. This is why the Church is a fearsome place, and why no one dares to ignore the power of the Temple.

It is because they do not fear secular power and only follow the will of the gods.

Now, it may seem that the great nobles of the provinces have joined hands with the Temple, but that is only due to a temporary alignment of interests.

If they ever think that those nobles are going against the Goddess’s will, the Temple can interfere with their affairs at any time. The Temple is a place where the will of the gods, not the will of humans, is important.

“What is the point of saying such things now?”

The Archbishop’s words infuriated many of the Pro-Emperor faction, but the empress stopped them.

“Archbishop. I am simply grateful that you are doing your best for His Majesty.”

“I have merely fulfilled my duty as a servant of the Goddess.”

The archbishop bowed in greeting and left.

The priests of the Trinity Church kneel only for the Goddesses, so they merely bow their heads in respect even before the emperor.

“Ardein...Ardein, you unfilial wretch!”

Only after the bishop and priests had left did the empress voiced her frustrations.

“Where are you now? Are you even alive? You heartless thing. Did you go out because you didn’t want your parents to see their child die before them? Doesn’t anyone teach you that it hurts your parents more? Thanks to you, your father will be faster than you...”

“Your Majesty!”

“Your Majesty, you are too hasty. Please calm down first.”

Many people rushed to stop that ominous prophecy from coming out of the empress’s mouth.

But doing so does not improve the emperor’s health. It is the infirmity of old age, pent-up anger, the onset of chronic poisoning suffered in his youth, and a wound of the heart that cannot be healed with medicine. It was also the fatigue of life itself.

“M-My wife, why are you crying like that?”

Even if he could stand up like a roly-poly toy no matter how hard it was at least once, how many good things happened during his reign? And how many bad things were there?

The gap between the two completely overwhelmed the emperor. No matter how hard he tried, nothing improved, and it was even disheartening.

But even so, the emperor never lost his benevolent smile. Even now, having just regained consciousness, he was the same.

“My Lady! Lo, look! His Majesty has awakened! Quickly, prepare a bowl of porridge! Bring the elixir as well. Hurry!

“It’s fine, it’s fine. I know my body best. It’s all because I am incompetent. Will that precious item even work if I drink it? How many more days will this old body’s lifespan increase? Have someone who needs it more use it.”

When death approaches, people instinctively know that fact.

That death has somehow come right next to them.

That’s fine too. That’s good too.

Living is such a difficult thing to do! If it was going to be like this, regardless of what happens to the empire, wouldn’t it have been better to live a life surrounded by concubines and spending gold coins like water? He had thought that countless times.

Even when the country had no money, it was only because the amount needed to take care of national affairs was astronomical, but there was more than enough for one emperor to enjoy wealth and glory. That’s how tax revenue is.

Taxes always seem insufficient, but if an individual starts to embezzle them, it’s no different from an inexhaustible treasure vault. The emperor could have spent money like water and enjoyed luxury and depravity.

However, he did not do so.

That is the reason this empire is still holding on, and the reason countless vassals pledge loyalty to the imperial family. There are still numerous people and patriots who love the imperial family under this empire.

The focal point of them all is His Majesty the Emperor. Only the crown prince had the right to inherit that position, but he passed away at too young an age before he could even spread his wings.

If the emperor truly dies, it is not the death of just that one person.

His death will be the starting point signaling the end of the empire.