<Chapter 96>
‘As expected…’
The Emperor, blessed with eternal youth and the title of a Saint, was supposed to have the appearance of a man in his thirties.
However, the person before my eyes now had wrinkled, sagging skin, and dark age spots clustered around his eyes. His hair, which should have been jet black, had turned completely white.
I recalled that the Emperor’s actual age was in his sixties, but at this moment, he looked closer to seventy—no, maybe even eighty.
As I gazed at the frail, shrunken figure of the elderly man, I thought back to the divine oracle I had received in the carriage.
BEST
BlessingoftheWorldTreeIf he lost his blessing of eternal youth because he tried to kill the heroine, shouldn’t he at least apologize first??
Instead of admitting his mistake, he’s just dumping the problem on someone else, like some useless department head at work. Just die already, Emperor bastard. Screw u
ㄴButterflyOverload
Yeah, the Emperor should just die peacefully 22223333444
Even if he forces the heroine to pray for forgiveness a hundred times, the blessing of eternal youth isn’t coming back. That blessing vanished the moment he handed over the holy relic from the imperial treasury. F u
The moment I confirmed the divine oracle, I immediately relayed its contents to Temenos.
“Whoa… The Emperor really lost his blessing of eternal youth!”
“What nonsense are you talking about now?”
“He gave a holy relic to the Pope, and that’s why he lost the blessing… Oh! That’s it! That relic in the imperial treasury must have been a holy relic! It was keeping him young!”
The relic that the Pope had extorted from the Emperor in exchange for offering me up as the Monster Duke’s bride.
The novel never described exactly what it looked like.
But I did remember an ominous line from a brief flashback:
‘This will surely be a choice you’ll regret for the rest of your life.’
“The Pope specifically asked the Emperor for that relic. He must have known it was a holy artifact.”
“On the other hand, the Emperor had no idea it was the source of his blessing.”
“That’s probably it. If he had known, he would never have handed it over.”
“That part is a little strange. If it was important enough to be stored in the treasury, then at least the Emperor from 300 years ago must have known its significance. Why didn’t he leave a clear warning for his descendants?”
“He did. Indirectly.”
This treasure is a war trophy that symbolizes the imperial family’s achievements in the Holy War. It must never be removed from the treasury.
The Pope had justified his request by saying he wanted the relic stored in the Great Temple as a war trophy.
The Emperor hesitated briefly, but in the end, he thought it wouldn’t be a bad thing to entrust the relic to the temple’s care. So, he gave it away.
‘I never saw the novel explain exactly why this decision was such a huge mistake.’
I never expected I’d see the answer with my own eyes.
Swallowing dryly, I lowered my head in greeting before the Emperor.
“Inosensia Winstein greets Your Majesty.”
“…Duchess, raise your head.”
His voice was hoarse and brittle from age.
The voice I’d heard earlier through the curtain must have been a fabricated sound, altered by a magic device.
‘No wonder he didn’t attend the banquet.’
Even magic artifacts weren’t foolproof. There was always a risk of malfunction, which could reveal his true face and voice at any moment.
The Emperor wouldn’t take such a dangerous gamble.
If people saw him like this, it would take no time at all for rumors to spread—rumors that the so-called Saint Emperor had lost his blessing of eternal youth.
“Cough, cough! …You don’t seem surprised, even after seeing me like this. I was certain you’d scream.”
Though his body was feeble and aged, his sharp gaze remained piercing.
Meeting his eyes directly, I smiled.
“Scream? How could I act so undignified in the honor of a private audience with Your Majesty?”
“Not act undignified, you say…? You should be making a scene! I, the one who was bestowed the title of a Saint by God himself, have lost my blessing of eternal youth!”
Just shouting those words seemed to drain him. The Emperor coughed violently, spewing blood.
Instinctively, I took a step back—then quickly covered up the movement by stepping forward again. Placing a hand on his shoulder, I spoke carefully:
“Your Majesty, pardon my intrusion.”
Before he could accuse me of recoiling in disgust, I began to pray.
‘God, not too much—just enough to make him feel a little better.’
A faint, white glow, tinged with golden particles, gently wrapped around the Emperor.
Compared to the usual blinding radiance of divine power, this was barely anything. It felt weak, unsatisfying.
But the Emperor didn’t seem to think so.
“T-this energy…! Duchess, so it’s true—you really became a Saintess in the North!”
“Please don’t misunderstand. I am not a Saintess. I am merely a candidate.”
“Do you dare lie in my presence? I’ve heard the rumors. The people of the North praise you as a Saintess. If you are not one, then why haven’t you denied it?”
“I have. But the Northerners have never seen a priest before. They refuse to believe otherwise. The more I tried to correct them, the more it fueled their convictions. So, I let it be.”
“…Are you truly not a Saintess?”
His eyes were filled with doubt, but he didn’t press me further. He wasn’t certain.
‘Of course. How could he be sure just from rumors he’s only heard?’
Without solid proof, it was just a battle of wills. And in a battle of wills, the one who refuses to give in always wins.
If I kept denying it, the Emperor would eventually yield. Besides, whether I was a Saintess or not wasn’t the real issue here.
“No wonder. If he needed healing, he could have just gone to the Pope—so why go through all this trouble to bring you here? Now it makes sense. He lost his blessing of eternal youth. Of course, he couldn’t go to the Pope.”
“Because if he did, the rumors would spread?”
“Yes. The Emperor’s title of ‘Saint’ isn’t just for show. If word got out that he had lost divine favor… not only would he be dethroned, but a rebellion could break out.”
According to Temenos, if a rebellion leader gained the Great Temple’s support, it would guarantee their victory.
That was how much authority the temple held in this world.
Which meant the Emperor had no choice but to hide the fact that he had lost his blessing. Ideally, he needed to restore it.
Bringing me to the capital and forcing me to pray for divine forgiveness… Well, fine. That part, at least, was a logical move.
‘But after trying to have me killed and even attempting to force a divorce between me and my husband… He has the audacity to act like this without a single apology?’
It seemed His Majesty needed a lesson on a simple truth: if you make a mess, you clean it up yourself.
Fortunately, I’d already planned out the perfect scenario with Temenos.
Pressing my hands together in a prayerful pose, I lowered my gaze and spoke in a reverent voice:
“Your Majesty, I am truly not a Saintess. But this morning, during prayer, I heard the voice of God.”
“W-what?!”
“The Almighty knew that I would meet you today. And He has a message for you.”
“F-from God himself?! W-what did He say?”
Perhaps because I had just used divine power to heal him slightly, the Emperor didn’t doubt me for even a second.
“I will now convey God’s words.”
And so, I began to lie through my teeth with a clear conscience.
<To be continued>
Brought to you by Gourmet Scans
Translator: Japchae
Editor: Maize
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