The Holy Man of Another Century Gospel

Chapter 191 A Day in the Imperial Palace

The first bell tolling at Lutia Cathedral the next morning not only woke the monks and nuns who were up early for their morning prayers, but also Elise in Eric's bed.

Despite her drowsiness, she woke Molly and then quietly pulled her back to their room.

When Eric woke up, there were already several nuns in the room serving him. Sophie, the leader, yawned and said, "Your Highness, it's time to get up. You have to see His Majesty the Emperor this morning."

She suddenly caught sight of something, rushed to his bedside, stuffed the purple cloth under his pillow, and glared at him with her back to the other nuns who dared not look up.

Eric was now fully awake and simply smiled.

He rolled out of bed. "If I'm meeting the emperor, what outfit should I wear?"

"Of course, it's the highest-spec set. Deacon Alena has already made all the arrangements."

He put on his undergarments, and Sophie called the other nuns to help him dress up.

"You made me wear four layers of clothes in this weather. Did you even consider how I feel?"

"This is the proper attire for this occasion, Your Highness... Besides, Your Highness travels to the palace by carriage or sedan chair, where you won't be exposed to the sun."

"Can the top collar not be buttoned up?"

"That would be considered disrespectful to His Majesty the Emperor."

"You have no idea what I wore when I last went to the palace to see the emperor."

Sophie pulled his collar tighter and looked into his eyes. "All I know is that when Your Highness last met His Majesty the Emperor, you weren't yet the Holy Maiden."

After all that fuss, Eric changed into a full set of formal attire, ate a little something, and then got into a carriage and headed for the palace.

According to the itinerary, he will have a long talk with His Majesty the Emperor in the morning, then have lunch with the royal family, stroll around the gardens and courtyards of the palace in the afternoon, and in the evening, the Emperor will hold another banquet in his own name.

"So many extra procedures need to be arranged just to say a few words to the emperor, wasting a whole day... But then again, the Holy Maiden and the emperor have just that much time to waste. Where else on the continent can you find someone with such a high status and so little power?"

"Your Highness, you can't say that once we get to the palace," Sophie instructed in a low voice from inside the carriage.

“I’m going to say it, and I’m going to say it in front of the emperor.”

"..."

Eric chuckled. "Just kidding, I can't wait for this to end."

Sophie sighed, "If only Your Highness could be a little more composed."

"Are you implying that I have too many women around me, that they're too frivolous, and that I need to get rid of a few?"

"That's what His Highness said himself."

Eric looked at her. "I like Sophie the most, so I can only start with Sophie."

She smiled and shook her head, "No..."

Before long, the saintess's carriage arrived outside the palace.

The saint received a rather formal welcome and was then transferred to a palanquin and carried into the enormous palace, while Sophie and several accompanying nuns had to follow on foot.

When the palanquin came to a stop, Eric saw Chik Utu, the young emperor of the Delan Empire, again after a year.

He bowed below, saying, "Your Majesty the Emperor."

"Holy Maiden." The emperor came down to greet her and pulled her to sit in the seat next to him above.

The two greeted each other, and they talked for almost ten minutes straight using the same old greetings. Eric was impressed with himself for remembering them all without forgetting a single one.

After all the pleasantries were over, it was time for casual conversation. The emperor's first words were: "Natalia wrote to me that the Holy Maiden went to the Black Ice Wall in secret."

Eric paused for a moment, then quickly nodded. “What Her Highness Natalia cares about is also what I’ve been caring about. Now that I have the opportunity, I should certainly go there in person.”

The emperor looked at him and said, "Natalia is influenced by the saintess, which is why she has stayed there and refused to come back."

Is this blaming him?

Eric bowed slightly and said, "I am honored to help Her Highness Natalia understand the true nature of this continent."

"..."

The emperor's eyes widened.

“But I believe that Her Highness Natalia is a very opinionated person. Her choice is based on her own judgment and understanding. I may have some influence on Her Highness, but that influence is just like other noises and will not shake her original will,” Eric continued.

The emperor glared at him for a while, then sighed.

“I only have one younger sister…” he paused, “and she’s unmarried.”

"Not only did she run to such a far and dangerous place, but she also kept writing to me asking for money and food. Didn't the garrison of the Black Ice Wall need to eat before she got there? The royal family has been supplying them all along."

Eric bowed his head. "Excuse my rudeness, Your Majesty, but as far as I can see, that food is barely enough to keep the border warriors from starving."

"I didn't expect them to do anything else!"

The emperor waved his hand. "If the demons really come, the Black Ice Great Wall can hold them off, so we don't need them. And if it can't, can we really count on them?"

Eric discovers that the emperor is not entirely unaware of the situation on the border.

"But relying on the Black Ice Great Wall, we can completely block the demons in the north—even if the wall falls, guarding the pass there is the least effort, Your Majesty."

The emperor's voice suddenly rose, "Resisting the demons is not the responsibility of the Delan royal family!"

"..."

Seeing Eric staring at him silently, the emperor quickly added, "The Delan royal family can't be the only ones paying for this, sending troops and providing food, can they? When the demons come, do you think they'll let everyone else on the continent go? I've received the least and given the most!"

Eric pursed his lips. "Princess Natalia has also never stopped trying to ask others for help."

The emperor's expression was complex, a mixture of shame that he couldn't completely conceal and pent-up indignation.

“Natalia…this is a futile effort. No one will respond to her except your uncle…those ungrateful people, those who betrayed the royal family, will never be grateful to who gave them power!”

“They will realize sooner or later what an unforgivable mistake they have made,” Eric said, suddenly recalling that he seemed to have said the same thing to Natalia, “When the demons truly arrive, they will realize that staying around His Majesty the Emperor is the only way to preserve their lives, wealth, and power.”

The emperor looked at him. "Is that what the Holy Maiden thinks?"

"That's right. Only by uniting can the people of the continent resist the demons."

Eric looked back at the emperor with unwavering eyes. "More than five hundred years ago, it was your ancestor, the hero King Utu, who led his people, including my ancestors, to completely drive the demons to the far north. At that time, the hero king's starting point was merely the chieftain of a small tribe. And now, five hundred years later, you are the emperor of an empire, and you can do the same..."

The emperor's face showed obvious resistance.

Eric paused, understanding his emotions: the emperor wanted power to eventually return to the royal family, but resisted the process that could last for who knows how many years.

"...That can also be done."

After he finished speaking, the emperor did not respond.

Eric remained silent for a moment, then hastily ended the topic by asking His Majesty the Emperor to give His Highness the Princess his full support.

He shouldn't have any expectations.

The council hall remained silent for a moment before the emperor suddenly inquired about the Holy Maiden's experiences during her tour.

Eric was just about to break the awkward silence in the same way when he answered.

There wasn't much to talk about during this northward journey, and some of the secret operations couldn't be told to the emperor, so he steered the conversation to his adventures in the south.

The emperor listened with great interest, and Princess Mia, who had run up halfway through the conversation, was even more interested, almost moving from her father's lap to sit on it.

When Eric had lunch with the royal family at noon, Mia sat directly next to him.

"Can Your Highness defeat that demonic undead cavalry?"

"I haven't tried it, but in a one-on-one situation, the chances should be pretty good."

"Why don't you give it a try, Your Highness? I think you can win."

“I don’t have that opportunity, Your Highness Mia.”

"But……"

"Mia. Do not disturb Her Highness's meal."

"Oh……"

Despite their decline, the royal family's lunch was quite lavish. There were only a few people, the emperor, empress, princes and princesses, but a large table was set with food. It was unclear whether this was their usual meal or a special occasion held just because he was there.

However, Eric's appetite was not great, and with the princess constantly asking him questions, he didn't eat much.

In the afternoon, as originally planned, the Holy Maiden and the royal family were supposed to tour the palace together, stroll through the gardens, look at the various royal collections, and continue their conversation. However, the Emperor was not in good physical condition, and after half an hour, he asked the Holy Maiden to do as she pleased.

"Father wants to take a nap," Princess Mia said. "He wants to sleep until three or four in the afternoon."

Eric also wanted to lie down for a while; the emperor had even arranged a temporary resting room for him. But the little girl was full of energy, and without her parents watching over her, she ran around the huge palace courtyard with him, making him continue to tell her about his adventures.

Prince Charles, who was also not very old and was theoretically the next emperor of the empire, showed little interest in the experiences he was talking about and went back to his room after lunch.

If such a prince were to succeed to the throne in the future, he might not be as good as his father.

Eric was lost in thought for a moment, then noticed Mia staring at him. He coughed lightly and asked, "Where was I?"

Mia shook her head. "I forgot." "Your Highness, why don't you take a nap too? I'm tired too."

"not good."

Eric pursed his lips, taking advantage of his height so the child couldn't see, and rolled his eyes at the blue sky in a way that couldn't be more obvious.

Mia pulled him aside and sat him down on a bench in the courtyard. "Can you tell me about Kiraya?"

Eric was startled.

"...Your Highness still remembers her."

"Aunt Natalia said she was a princess of the demon race, is that true?... She also said that on last year's anniversary of the exorcism, she was the one who cursed my mother."

Eric heard from Eileen that, due to the Queen's assassination attempt last year, the royal family did not leave the city to celebrate this year's Exorcism Day.

“What Her Highness the Princess said is true,” Eric replied.

Mia clutched her clothes. "Did she come here just to hurt Mother?"

Eric shook his head. "The demons approached Lutia with their own plan, and harming the queen seemed more like a spur-of-the-moment decision."

"That wicked thing!"

Eric looked down at her. "Princess Natalia is currently holding the line on the cold and harsh far northern border, preventing evil things like Kiraya from invading the Empire. If Princess Mia doesn't want her family to be harmed again, she should persuade His Majesty the Emperor to listen to her aunt."

Mia looked at him for a while, "Why don't you tell Dad yourself?"

“I did tell him, but His Majesty wasn’t very willing to listen to me.”

"I don't want to make Dad angry either."

Eric grinned; he thought the little girl knew nothing.

"Holy Maiden," she called out again.

"What's wrong, Your Highness?"

"Why do you want to be a saint? Dad said that the saint should have been your sister. Can a man be a saint?"

“Nothing is absolute; even a woman can be an empress,” Eric said casually, the image of Natalia flashing through his mind.

"Really?"

"Ah."

Mia raised both arms and waved them towards the sky, shouting, "I want to be the emperor—"

"..."

Eric broke out in a cold sweat, only relieved that the palace maids and the nuns he had brought had been sent away and hadn't followed.

"Your Highness, please don't shout!"

He quickly pressed her hand down, racking his brains to find a way to explain, "I was talking about things from ancient times, not now."

"Ancient times?"

"That is, before the King of Heroes became the King of Heroes."

"You're talking nonsense! The King of Heroes has been the King of Heroes since birth!" Mia glared at him.

“…You’re right.” Eric wiped his brow. “That was before the King of Heroes was even born.”

"Can't I be the emperor?"

"Normally, it's not possible... It only happened in ancient times, like in a mural I found on an ancient battlefield from the First Kingdom period, where it depicted..."

Eric rambled on and on, eventually managing to steer the conversation away from the main topic.

I had just finished talking to the emperor about the eldest princess in the morning, and then in the afternoon I told him that a woman could also be an emperor. Who knows what he would think if he heard that?

Eric wiped his sweat and looked up at the azure sky.

Who says he doesn't get any sun? He gets the most intense afternoon sun.

"Are you hot, Saintess?"

“I’m wearing four layers of clothing, Your Highness.”

"Let me take you to Aunt Natalia's palace and let the court mage put some air conditioning on it."

Eric followed Mia to the place where Natalia had previously lived. He had also visited once last year, when Natalia was about to leave Lutia.

"Go find a court mage." Mia sent a maid to fetch someone, and soon a human court mage arrived at Natalia's bedchamber.

"I need air conditioning."

"Yes, Your Highness."

The female mage raised her staff, chanting as she waved it above her head, causing wisps of white mist to billow out.

Eric felt a distinct chill as the mist settled on him.

"Ice fog".

“Yes, Your Highness.” The female mage nodded to him and waved her staff for a while before stopping.

A large cloud of white mist filled the air, and the temperature in the entire palace immediately dropped.

After the spell was stopped, the icy mist could last for quite a while, and the coolness it brought could last for most of the afternoon. The female mage stared at the two princes and waved her staff. Two ice sculptures grew from the ground, one tall and one short, just like them.

"Wow!" Mia exclaimed, but her gaze was mainly on Eric's face, as if she wanted to see his reaction.

Eric feigned surprise, "That's amazing."

"The ice sculptures won't melt. I'll come back when Your Highness no longer needs them."

The female mage smiled slightly, gave an elegant bow, and turned to leave.

Eric followed her gaze until she disappeared.

The court mage position offers high pay, low workload, and proximity to the school. If it weren't for the impending chaos, Eric would have truly wished that Eileen worked at the Lutia Palace. After all, she was the perfect fit, both in terms of background and magical talent.

The icy mist and ice sculptures continued to release cold air, making the palace increasingly cool. Eric found a place to sit and looked around.

Natalia didn't take much with her when she left, and the palace remained as it was before she left. He quickly spotted a familiar object on the windowsill—the matryoshka doll she had bought for Mia on the anniversary of the exorcism last year.

Mia soon saw it too, took it down and played with it for a while, then suddenly asked him, "Saintess, have you seen Aunt Natalia?"

“I met Her Highness Natalia just over two weeks ago,” Eric replied.

Is it cold where she is?

Yes, it snows every day.

"Ah, I want to go there and see it too!"

Eric was silent.

As the temperature dropped, the little girl's energy also froze. Eric didn't notice for a moment and found her asleep on the table.

Eric had a palace maid carry her to bed, and then had someone summon Sophie, who had been sent away, and the other nuns to come and enjoy the air conditioning together.

"Is this the princess's room?" Sophie asked, looking at the little princess on the bed.

"It is the eldest princess's bedroom."

"Oh."

Sophie looked around restrainedly, which reminded Eric of something Natalia had once said: Every noble lady has fantasized about what it would be like if she were born into royalty.

After a while, she moved closer to him again and asked in a low voice, "What are we doing here?"

"Just killing time, waiting for dinner," Eric said without looking up, holding a book he'd found in Natalia's study.

Sophie sat down blankly, "Then we'll have to wait a while..."

Fortunately, the banquet prepared by the emperor to welcome the saintess did not start too late. Around five o'clock, the banquet held in the palace courtyard began.

Many faces he had seen yesterday appeared before Eric again today, with the same smiles, raising their glasses to greet him.

Eileen also came, and taking advantage of the fact that there were fewer people, she pretended to bring a wine glass over to greet him.

"Don't drink too much."

"You talk too much, Your Highness."

"Do you know the court mage who greeted you just now?"

"She was also a student of the teacher, and she would go back to the academy as a teaching assistant when she had free time. She even asked me if I wanted to apply to become a court monk."

"Then what do you think?"

"High pay, easy work, and close to school—what a great internship!"

(End of this chapter)