Episode 167. Rose Has Disappeared
The coronation ceremony had begun.
For the Grand Duke, already practically an Emperor, the coronation was essentially a formality.
A considerable crowd had gathered to witness the coronation.
A red carpet was laid down the middle of the street, and the crowd split into two sides, cheering.
The Grand Duke, mounted on a white horse, galloped across the red carpet.
His undeniably brave appearance made the crowd cheer even louder.
The Grand Duke Artaeum waved to the crowd with a dignified air.
Behind him followed a line of imperial knights. Their majestic march was truly magnificent.
After a long, winding journey, the Grand Duke finally stopped at the temple.
The priests bowed respectfully upon seeing the Grand Duke. The Grand Duke, in turn, bowed in reverence.
Soon, the elderly Pope appeared.
He slowly entered, holding the crown, and took his place before the Grand Duke. Then, with a faint smile, he bowed to the Grand Duke.
“Welcome back from a long journey,”
A low voice echoed quietly.
“Congratulations on becoming Emperor of the Empire, Your Majesty. May the grace of God be with you always.”
The Pope placed his hand on the center of the Grand Duke's head, then on each shoulder, and recited a prayer of blessing.
Grand Duke Artaeum knelt on one knee, preparing for the ceremony.
The Pope gently placed the red crown on the Grand Duke's head.
The moment the crown was placed, tremendous cheers erupted from all directions.
With this, the Grand Duke successfully completed the traditional coronation.
The Grand Duke rose from his seat and looked at the people cheering him on.
These were the people he would be responsible for from now on. He was glad to have found his place, but at the same time, a heavy burden weighed on his shoulders.
“If you have time, let us have tea, Your Majesty.”
Those clear, piercing eyes turned to the Grand Duke.
The Grand Duke felt quite uncomfortable facing the Pope.
The Pope was closer to God than anyone else. Being with him felt like his lies would be exposed.
“How about joining us next time?”
The Grand Duke indirectly expressed his refusal. However, hearing the Pope’s subsequent words, he couldn’t help but pause.
“I would like to have a deep conversation about Your Majesty’s divine powers.”
“!”
The Grand Duke, turning around, flinched for a moment.
Had he perhaps been caught using magic?
‘The priests detested unethical duels, so they probably didn’t see the situation at the time...’
The priests considered duels sinful, refusing to even turn their heads toward the arena.
Therefore, he thought disguising magic as divine power would be a complete crime.
He quickly scanned the Pope’s aura.
‘I don’t sense any... mana.’
He sensed no special mana from the Pope. However, his gaze was unusual.
Those mysterious, all-knowing eyes persistently focused on the Grand Duke.
“...Of course.”
The Grand Duke didn't refuse the Pope's offer.
Avoiding it wouldn't solve the problem.
He and the Pope quietly moved away.
"The weather is truly beautiful. It's as if God himself is blessing Your Majesty's ascension to the throne."
"...I have received God's grace, and I suppose today will be no different."
Grand Duke Artaeum let the Pope's words slide.
The Pope lowered his head slightly and let out an inscrutable smile. Then he asked directly,
"Since when have you been able to use magic?"
"..."
The Pope's eyes were fixed on the Grand Duke. They weren't sharp. He was fixated on the Grand Duke with the same kind eyes he had at first.
Grand Duke Artaeum let out a faint smile and lowered his head.
"I didn't know you would be found out so quickly. It seems God cannot be fooled after all."
The Grand Duke muttered to himself, then raised his head to look at the Pope.
“Why didn’t you raise the issue, even though you knew everything? Didn’t I become Emperor through trickery? I fooled the people of the empire by claiming I had God’s grace.”
“Why? Your Majesty was very clever.”
The Pope chuckled and refuted the Grand Duke.
“And... why is it a fool to say Your Majesty has God’s grace?”
The Pope continued, recalling the day the Grand Duke was tried by combat.
“I clearly felt it that day. Your Majesty has God’s grace.”
It was a truly strange day.
He felt an incredibly intense divine power in the distant arena.
It was the first time he ever felt such an intense aura.
A divine power so powerful it was almost believable, even if it were a god incarnate, emanating from the center of the arena.
As he approached the arena, as if entranced, the sky was shrouded in darkness, enveloped in dark clouds.
The sky thundered, and lightning rumbled. Beyond the Grand Duke, floating leisurely above, the shadow of a god peeped out.
"Human magic cannot control nature, Your Majesty,"
The Pope continued silently. The Grand Duke swallowed hard at his words.
"Yes. Just then, dark clouds gathered, and lightning struck, enough to make me feel the wrath of God."
The flash of light he had seen with his sword was merely a mock lightning strike.
However, as if by magic, thunder and lightning thundered down from the sky.
"The strange phenomenon of that day, with its thunder and lightning, was no coincidence, Your Majesty."
"..."
“So, Your Majesty, you did not mock the people of the Empire. It is clear even now that you are under the protection of God.”
The Pope continued quietly, looking at the Grand Duke, who was slightly dazed.
“However, it would be best if the fact that you mixed magic was not revealed.”
For the sake of the Empire and the newly crowned Emperor.
“I pray that Your Majesty’s future path will be blessed.”
The use of magic would not be easily discovered.
The divine power that emanated from the Grand Duke that day was so powerful that it could even overshadow the aura of magic.
After the meeting with the Pope, Grand Duke Grand Duke looked around for Rose.
“...Has she not arrived yet?”
He had assumed Rose, who had arrived late, would be waiting for him, but it seemed that it was taking quite a while for her to settle things at the department store.
The Grand Duke, unaware that Rose had been kidnapped, searched for Rose in the crowd.
“Your Majesty.”
At that moment, someone entered the carriage. The Grand Duke looked at him with a cold expression, then replied dryly.
“You’re here.”
“That’s too much. You weren’t even worried about me, were you?”
The one who entered the carriage was Neruan.
He returned with mysterious silver hair, not his usual red hair.
It was his natural hair color that he had not found in over a decade.
Now that the Grand Duke was the Emperor, he had no need to hide himself.
He grumbled at the Grand Duke’s unwelcoming welcome.
“Why should I worry about you?”
“...! No, that’s too much! How long have we been together before you say something like that! Do you think you’ve changed so quickly just because you’re Emperor?”
Neruan squeaked in retort to the Grand Duke’s words.
“I survived a life-threatening battle with Duke Flice...!”
Neruan had just returned from defeating Duke Plice, the archenemy of his family.
He couldn’t tell how funny it was to see him so surprised.
Yes, he must have been surprised. Not only did someone from a family he thought was extinct return alive, but he also turned his sword on himself. He spent his entire life yearning for revenge.
And then, he captured Duke Flice with his own hands, accused of conducting a biological experiment on Chicagor alongside the Emperor.
'...It's a shame I couldn't kill him, though.'
He had left him so battered that he wouldn't die.
"Don't misunderstand. There's no way you could be defeated by the likes of Duke Flice,"
The Grand Duke said, shrugging at Neruan's chirping.
Only then did Neruan calm down. He didn't know if he was sincere or not, but at least saying so made him feel strangely happy.
"By the way... Where is Lady Rose?"
He had expected her to be with the Grand Duke, but Rose was nowhere to be found.
"She said there was smoke coming from the department store basement, and she was going to come back after cleaning up, but she still hasn't arrived."
"Shouldn't you be going?"
"I'm waiting in case we miss each other."
The Grand Duke, though his expression uneasy, held his position. However, his composure soon crumbled.
“Your Majesty! Your Majesty!”
The imperial guard called to the Grand Duke in an urgent voice.
“What is it?”
The Grand Duke peeked his head out of the carriage, surveying the situation. As he looked outside, his heart sank as he spotted someone.
“!”
“Your Majesty... ha.”
The man who had ridden on horseback had blood clots everywhere. Only when he reached the carriage did he dismount, as if collapsing.
A thud echoed, followed by a dull thud.
The man lying on the ground was one of the knights appointed by the Grand Duke of Artaeum as Rose's bodyguard.
The Grand Duke, lost in thought, hurriedly climbed down from the carriage. He then approached the fallen knight.
He was breathing faintly.
"Are you alright? What on earth is going on!!"
He shook the knight's shoulder urgently.
"Bring the doctor!"
The knight couldn't die. He had many questions to ask him.
"Rose! Where is Rose?!"
His heart pounded and beat rapidly.
The violent movement, making his breath hitch, made his head spin.
The knight grabbed the Grand Duke's sleeve with a trembling hand and continued in a faint voice.
"I'm...sorry. Lady Rose... has been... kidnapped... by unknown assailants."
The soft voice pierced his heart with a sharp, piercing intensity.
"What... kidnapped?"
He urged the knight, seemingly incredulous.
"Where! Where have you been kidnapped!?"
The Grand Duke desperately asked the knight, but he never received an answer. The knight had lost consciousness.
The knight's hand, which had been holding the Grand Duke's sleeve, fell limply with a snap.
And at the same time, the Grand Duke lost all sense of reason.
"Immediately...! Disband the search party immediately!! Search the entire empire! Find the Princess of Serviat!"
Rose had disappeared on the day of the Grand Duke's coronation.
The guards, including Neruan, hurriedly moved at the Grand Duke's command.
Meanwhile, Rose, who had been kidnapped, was still bound.
The carriage, which had been speeding endlessly, slowed down.
"Have we arrived?"
A thick sheet covered her eyes, making it impossible to see anything. She couldn't tell how much time had passed, or whether it was day or night.
Then, the carriage door swung open.
Rose swallowed, still tense.
"Get out."
A cold voice flowed through his ears.
"What do you plan to do with me?"
“You stupid woman. What can I do? I have to kill you.”
“!”
In an instant, her breath caught in her throat.
She thought she would have a happy ending, but this is all she got after all her hardship?
She was scared, but more than that, she felt wronged.
‘Even my second life has a sad ending...!’
If there was a god, she wanted to ask him. Why was he being so cruel to her?
When Rose showed no intention of getting off, the man forcibly pulled her down.
“Ack! Let go! Let go of me!”
Her body rose into the air. The man had wrapped Rose around him. She was hanging upside down, unable to see anything.
Rose struggled and screamed.
If she kept going like this, she would truly die.
‘I want to live...!’
She really wanted to live this life properly, but why... Why...!
She bit her lower lip and clenched her fist.
“I can’t die like this!!”
Rose screamed with all her might. And then, something strange happened.
“Ugh!”
“Ugh!”
Suddenly, groans could be heard from all around. The sound of bones crunching and agonized screams could be clearly heard.
“What’s going on?”
The crunching sound soon died down. And then, as if by magic, silence fell. Rose was at a loss.
The cloth covering her eyes slowly fell away.
As soon as it fell, a fluffy ball of cotton was revealed.
To be precise, a small, cute, plump buttocks twitched before Rose’s eyes.
“You... that little monster from back then?”
The little monster fluttered its fur playfully, as if pleased that Rose recognized it.
However, Rose didn’t notice the little monster’s cuteness. That was because there wasn’t just one monster in front of her.
A large number of monsters with huge bodies appeared.
They formed a circle around Rose.
For a moment, goosebumps appeared all over Rose. The baby monsters were quite cute, but the adults looked utterly threatening.
Rose awkwardly greeted them, aware of the dozens of eyes on her.
“...Hello, guys.”
The coronation ceremony had begun.
For the Grand Duke, already practically an Emperor, the coronation was essentially a formality.
A considerable crowd had gathered to witness the coronation.
A red carpet was laid down the middle of the street, and the crowd split into two sides, cheering.
The Grand Duke, mounted on a white horse, galloped across the red carpet.
His undeniably brave appearance made the crowd cheer even louder.
The Grand Duke Artaeum waved to the crowd with a dignified air.
Behind him followed a line of imperial knights. Their majestic march was truly magnificent.
After a long, winding journey, the Grand Duke finally stopped at the temple.
The priests bowed respectfully upon seeing the Grand Duke. The Grand Duke, in turn, bowed in reverence.
Soon, the elderly Pope appeared.
He slowly entered, holding the crown, and took his place before the Grand Duke. Then, with a faint smile, he bowed to the Grand Duke.
“Welcome back from a long journey,”
A low voice echoed quietly.
“Congratulations on becoming Emperor of the Empire, Your Majesty. May the grace of God be with you always.”
The Pope placed his hand on the center of the Grand Duke's head, then on each shoulder, and recited a prayer of blessing.
Grand Duke Artaeum knelt on one knee, preparing for the ceremony.
The Pope gently placed the red crown on the Grand Duke's head.
The moment the crown was placed, tremendous cheers erupted from all directions.
With this, the Grand Duke successfully completed the traditional coronation.
The Grand Duke rose from his seat and looked at the people cheering him on.
These were the people he would be responsible for from now on. He was glad to have found his place, but at the same time, a heavy burden weighed on his shoulders.
“If you have time, let us have tea, Your Majesty.”
Those clear, piercing eyes turned to the Grand Duke.
The Grand Duke felt quite uncomfortable facing the Pope.
The Pope was closer to God than anyone else. Being with him felt like his lies would be exposed.
“How about joining us next time?”
The Grand Duke indirectly expressed his refusal. However, hearing the Pope’s subsequent words, he couldn’t help but pause.
“I would like to have a deep conversation about Your Majesty’s divine powers.”
“!”
The Grand Duke, turning around, flinched for a moment.
Had he perhaps been caught using magic?
‘The priests detested unethical duels, so they probably didn’t see the situation at the time...’
The priests considered duels sinful, refusing to even turn their heads toward the arena.
Therefore, he thought disguising magic as divine power would be a complete crime.
He quickly scanned the Pope’s aura.
‘I don’t sense any... mana.’
He sensed no special mana from the Pope. However, his gaze was unusual.
Those mysterious, all-knowing eyes persistently focused on the Grand Duke.
“...Of course.”
The Grand Duke didn't refuse the Pope's offer.
Avoiding it wouldn't solve the problem.
He and the Pope quietly moved away.
***
"The weather is truly beautiful. It's as if God himself is blessing Your Majesty's ascension to the throne."
"...I have received God's grace, and I suppose today will be no different."
Grand Duke Artaeum let the Pope's words slide.
The Pope lowered his head slightly and let out an inscrutable smile. Then he asked directly,
"Since when have you been able to use magic?"
"..."
The Pope's eyes were fixed on the Grand Duke. They weren't sharp. He was fixated on the Grand Duke with the same kind eyes he had at first.
Grand Duke Artaeum let out a faint smile and lowered his head.
"I didn't know you would be found out so quickly. It seems God cannot be fooled after all."
The Grand Duke muttered to himself, then raised his head to look at the Pope.
“Why didn’t you raise the issue, even though you knew everything? Didn’t I become Emperor through trickery? I fooled the people of the empire by claiming I had God’s grace.”
“Why? Your Majesty was very clever.”
The Pope chuckled and refuted the Grand Duke.
“And... why is it a fool to say Your Majesty has God’s grace?”
The Pope continued, recalling the day the Grand Duke was tried by combat.
“I clearly felt it that day. Your Majesty has God’s grace.”
It was a truly strange day.
He felt an incredibly intense divine power in the distant arena.
It was the first time he ever felt such an intense aura.
A divine power so powerful it was almost believable, even if it were a god incarnate, emanating from the center of the arena.
As he approached the arena, as if entranced, the sky was shrouded in darkness, enveloped in dark clouds.
The sky thundered, and lightning rumbled. Beyond the Grand Duke, floating leisurely above, the shadow of a god peeped out.
"Human magic cannot control nature, Your Majesty,"
The Pope continued silently. The Grand Duke swallowed hard at his words.
"Yes. Just then, dark clouds gathered, and lightning struck, enough to make me feel the wrath of God."
The flash of light he had seen with his sword was merely a mock lightning strike.
However, as if by magic, thunder and lightning thundered down from the sky.
"The strange phenomenon of that day, with its thunder and lightning, was no coincidence, Your Majesty."
"..."
“So, Your Majesty, you did not mock the people of the Empire. It is clear even now that you are under the protection of God.”
The Pope continued quietly, looking at the Grand Duke, who was slightly dazed.
“However, it would be best if the fact that you mixed magic was not revealed.”
For the sake of the Empire and the newly crowned Emperor.
“I pray that Your Majesty’s future path will be blessed.”
The use of magic would not be easily discovered.
The divine power that emanated from the Grand Duke that day was so powerful that it could even overshadow the aura of magic.
***
After the meeting with the Pope, Grand Duke Grand Duke looked around for Rose.
“...Has she not arrived yet?”
He had assumed Rose, who had arrived late, would be waiting for him, but it seemed that it was taking quite a while for her to settle things at the department store.
The Grand Duke, unaware that Rose had been kidnapped, searched for Rose in the crowd.
“Your Majesty.”
At that moment, someone entered the carriage. The Grand Duke looked at him with a cold expression, then replied dryly.
“You’re here.”
“That’s too much. You weren’t even worried about me, were you?”
The one who entered the carriage was Neruan.
He returned with mysterious silver hair, not his usual red hair.
It was his natural hair color that he had not found in over a decade.
Now that the Grand Duke was the Emperor, he had no need to hide himself.
He grumbled at the Grand Duke’s unwelcoming welcome.
“Why should I worry about you?”
“...! No, that’s too much! How long have we been together before you say something like that! Do you think you’ve changed so quickly just because you’re Emperor?”
Neruan squeaked in retort to the Grand Duke’s words.
“I survived a life-threatening battle with Duke Flice...!”
Neruan had just returned from defeating Duke Plice, the archenemy of his family.
He couldn’t tell how funny it was to see him so surprised.
Yes, he must have been surprised. Not only did someone from a family he thought was extinct return alive, but he also turned his sword on himself. He spent his entire life yearning for revenge.
And then, he captured Duke Flice with his own hands, accused of conducting a biological experiment on Chicagor alongside the Emperor.
'...It's a shame I couldn't kill him, though.'
He had left him so battered that he wouldn't die.
"Don't misunderstand. There's no way you could be defeated by the likes of Duke Flice,"
The Grand Duke said, shrugging at Neruan's chirping.
Only then did Neruan calm down. He didn't know if he was sincere or not, but at least saying so made him feel strangely happy.
"By the way... Where is Lady Rose?"
He had expected her to be with the Grand Duke, but Rose was nowhere to be found.
"She said there was smoke coming from the department store basement, and she was going to come back after cleaning up, but she still hasn't arrived."
"Shouldn't you be going?"
"I'm waiting in case we miss each other."
The Grand Duke, though his expression uneasy, held his position. However, his composure soon crumbled.
“Your Majesty! Your Majesty!”
The imperial guard called to the Grand Duke in an urgent voice.
“What is it?”
The Grand Duke peeked his head out of the carriage, surveying the situation. As he looked outside, his heart sank as he spotted someone.
“!”
“Your Majesty... ha.”
The man who had ridden on horseback had blood clots everywhere. Only when he reached the carriage did he dismount, as if collapsing.
A thud echoed, followed by a dull thud.
The man lying on the ground was one of the knights appointed by the Grand Duke of Artaeum as Rose's bodyguard.
The Grand Duke, lost in thought, hurriedly climbed down from the carriage. He then approached the fallen knight.
He was breathing faintly.
"Are you alright? What on earth is going on!!"
He shook the knight's shoulder urgently.
"Bring the doctor!"
The knight couldn't die. He had many questions to ask him.
"Rose! Where is Rose?!"
His heart pounded and beat rapidly.
The violent movement, making his breath hitch, made his head spin.
The knight grabbed the Grand Duke's sleeve with a trembling hand and continued in a faint voice.
"I'm...sorry. Lady Rose... has been... kidnapped... by unknown assailants."
The soft voice pierced his heart with a sharp, piercing intensity.
"What... kidnapped?"
He urged the knight, seemingly incredulous.
"Where! Where have you been kidnapped!?"
The Grand Duke desperately asked the knight, but he never received an answer. The knight had lost consciousness.
The knight's hand, which had been holding the Grand Duke's sleeve, fell limply with a snap.
And at the same time, the Grand Duke lost all sense of reason.
"Immediately...! Disband the search party immediately!! Search the entire empire! Find the Princess of Serviat!"
Rose had disappeared on the day of the Grand Duke's coronation.
The guards, including Neruan, hurriedly moved at the Grand Duke's command.
***
Meanwhile, Rose, who had been kidnapped, was still bound.
The carriage, which had been speeding endlessly, slowed down.
"Have we arrived?"
A thick sheet covered her eyes, making it impossible to see anything. She couldn't tell how much time had passed, or whether it was day or night.
Then, the carriage door swung open.
Rose swallowed, still tense.
"Get out."
A cold voice flowed through his ears.
"What do you plan to do with me?"
“You stupid woman. What can I do? I have to kill you.”
“!”
In an instant, her breath caught in her throat.
She thought she would have a happy ending, but this is all she got after all her hardship?
She was scared, but more than that, she felt wronged.
‘Even my second life has a sad ending...!’
If there was a god, she wanted to ask him. Why was he being so cruel to her?
When Rose showed no intention of getting off, the man forcibly pulled her down.
“Ack! Let go! Let go of me!”
Her body rose into the air. The man had wrapped Rose around him. She was hanging upside down, unable to see anything.
Rose struggled and screamed.
If she kept going like this, she would truly die.
‘I want to live...!’
She really wanted to live this life properly, but why... Why...!
She bit her lower lip and clenched her fist.
“I can’t die like this!!”
Rose screamed with all her might. And then, something strange happened.
“Ugh!”
“Ugh!”
Suddenly, groans could be heard from all around. The sound of bones crunching and agonized screams could be clearly heard.
“What’s going on?”
The crunching sound soon died down. And then, as if by magic, silence fell. Rose was at a loss.
The cloth covering her eyes slowly fell away.
As soon as it fell, a fluffy ball of cotton was revealed.
To be precise, a small, cute, plump buttocks twitched before Rose’s eyes.
“You... that little monster from back then?”
The little monster fluttered its fur playfully, as if pleased that Rose recognized it.
However, Rose didn’t notice the little monster’s cuteness. That was because there wasn’t just one monster in front of her.
A large number of monsters with huge bodies appeared.
They formed a circle around Rose.
For a moment, goosebumps appeared all over Rose. The baby monsters were quite cute, but the adults looked utterly threatening.
Rose awkwardly greeted them, aware of the dozens of eyes on her.
“...Hello, guys.”
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