Became a God-Level M Chapter 244 : Bring Him Here

Chapter 244: Bring Him Here

Before anyone could say a word, the door burst open and the Emperor, broad-shouldered and powerfully built, appeared.

Even Princess Yeongan, who was usually so composed, could not hide her fluster at this mont. If there was anything fortunate about it, it was that she at least had her clothes properly on.

The Emperor gazed with bottomless, unfathomable eyes at his daughter, the Princess, and at Ha Joo-myeong standing beside her.

If anything, Ha Joo-myeong was calr and more composed than the Princess. He lowered his head deeply and spoke in an untroubled tone.

“Your Majesty, you have shaken off your illness and regained your health. This subject is overjoyed beyond asure.”

The Emperor did not respond.

Ha Joo-myeong had not particularly expected an answer either, so he rely faced the Emperor with a faint smile.

Princess Yeongan still looked bewildered.

With startled eyes, she looked at her father, the Emperor, and at the line of Royal Guards martial artists standing behind him.

After a brief pause, the Princess spoke.

“Father Emperor, I beg your pardon. Had I known beforehand that you had awakened, I would have headed to the Imperial Palace at once. But there was no word at all from the palace…….”

“Is this supposed to make sense?”

As soon as the Emperor said that, the elderly man standing at his side, Jang Gyeong, the Commander of the Royal Guards, took a small letter out from his robes.

The Emperor accepted the letter and read it in an even tone.

“On the second day. The rain has stopped, so fold the umbrella and return.”

It was a letter the Admiral had urgently sent to the Princess.

A strange displeasure settled over the Emperor’s expression.

“So my grave illness was treated as nothing more than a passing rain shower.”

At the sa ti, the Princess threw herself flat onto the floor.

“Father Emperor, I know nothing about this. Who on earth sent such a letter to ?”

The answer ca not from the Emperor, but from Jang Gyeong, the Commander of the Royal Guards.

“It was a letter sent by the Eastern Depot, Your Highness. Regrettably, imdiately after His Majesty awakened, the Royal Guards took control of all correspondence entering and leaving the palace.”

The Eastern Depot had fiercely blocked the Royal Guards from approaching the Emperor.

The Commander knew this. For the mont, in terms of authority, power, and legitimacy, the Eastern Depot held a slight advantage over the Royal Guards.

Thus, instead of approaching the Emperor directly, they went around the outside and seized another form of power.

They controlled all correspondence entering and leaving the Imperial Palace.

That was why, while the Princess spent her days in leisure here at Hongze Lake, she never received word that the Emperor had awakened.

Princess Yeongan, still prostrate on the floor, rolled her head back and forth for a mont.

The situation was far from good. No matter how hard she looked, there were no eunuchs of the Eastern Depot in sight—only martial artists clad entirely in golden uniforms.

‘The Eastern Depot’s line has been cut off.’

If her father truly resolved to reclaim the power she had seized in the Imperial Palace until now, it would be confiscated in an instant.

There would be no powerholders foolish enough to choose the Princess over an awakened Emperor.

The Princess knew well how she ought to act in such a situation.

“Huuk…….”

Still lying flat, she began to cry.

Everyone stared intently at her.

With a voice choked with tears, the Princess spoke.

“Still, still, I am truly relieved. If Father Emperor had co to harm like this, I would have spent my entire life in regret and longing…….”

All fathers were weak to their daughters’ tears.

Even an Emperor was no different.

The Emperor still loved his daughter, and the Princess knew that very well.

The two of them had not changed. What had changed was not the people, but the circumstances.

“Was it not my death that you wished for?”

“…….”

The Princess froze for a brief instant.

Her crying soon resud, but everyone present noticed that fleeting hesitation.

The Emperor looked down at the Princess with a dry expression and spoke.

“It was a joke. Get up.”

The Princess rose, imdiately approached the Emperor, clutched him with both hands, and continued to cry.

The Emperor let her be for a mont. His gaze, however, was no longer that of soone doting on a precious daughter.

“…….”

Feeling sowhat awkward, the Princess wiped away her tears and slowly stepped back. For a while, she rely sniffled, acting as though her emotions had truly been genuine.

“So then, what were you doing here with the eldest son of Myriad Gold Manor?”

A young man and woman staying together in a single room at an estate located in such a secluded place.

Moreover, the woman was a mber of the Imperial Household.

Depending on the circumstances, the Princess could have been imprisoned for disgracing the Imperial Household, and Ha Joo-myeong could have been executed on the spot.

Ha Joo-myeong replied calmly.

“I wished to marry Princess Yeongan.”

Princess Yeongan looked utterly startled.

However, Ha Joo-myeong continued speaking. In truth, in a situation like this, not bringing up marriage would have been the greater problem.

“In fact, our mutual affection had deepened long ago. We rely kept postponing the marriage endlessly while waiting for Your Majesty to awaken. We believed that to be true loyalty.”

Ha Joo-myeong’s words sounded pleasant to the ear.

To hear that a man and woman, deeply in love, had restrained themselves out of loyalty to the Emperor made him sound, at first glance, like a subject brimming with devotion.

The Emperor nodded, and as he did, Ha Joo-myeong recalled the position of the straight saber he had set aside at one corner of the room.

He assessed the number and martial prowess of the Royal Guards warriors the Emperor had brought with him.

Ha Joo-myeong was a rchant. A rchant was soone who created the greatest effect at the smallest cost.

Ha Joo-myeong knew that thod well.

For the past several months, power within the Imperial Household had been reorganized around the Princess, completely excluding the Emperor. The present situation was nothing more than a fleeting variable. Would it not suffice to simply return things to how they had originally been?

As Ha Joo-myeong was thinking that, his eyes suddenly t those of Jang Gyeong, the Commander of the Royal Guards.

Jang Gyeong was a man like an old blade. He was extrely worn and crude, yet if the Emperor, the blade’s owner, were to polish and hone him at any ti, he would once again reveal the bearing of a fad sword.

‘This won’t do.’

The mont his eyes t Jang Gyeong’s, Ha Joo-myeong erased his entire plan from his mind.

Whether he knew of Ha Joo-myeong’s thoughts or not, the Emperor, after a brief mont of contemplation, spoke.

“A marriage between a rchant brat and a Princess.”

Strictly speaking, a rchant was not of matching status with imperial royalty. However, if that rchant happened to be the eldest son of Myriad Gold Manor, the story changed sowhat.

“A single official post can be granted, and that will be that. The Crown Prince will ascend the throne, and the Princess will marry into Myriad Gold Manor. That is not bad at all.”

At the Emperor’s words, the Princess felt a sense of relief inwardly.

She had worried about what she would do if her father refused to permit her relationship with Ha Joo-myeong.

However, Ha Joo-myeong thought differently. The aning behind the Emperor’s words he had just uttered was perfectly clear.

It was no different from saying that he would rely take the practical benefits of Myriad Gold Manor through the Princess, while handing over all actual power to the Crown Prince.

Ha Joo-myeong sent a voice transmission to the Princess.

Hearing it, the Princess widened her eyes for a brief mont, then bowed her head toward the Emperor and spoke.

“Father Emperor, I will spend my entire life with this person, sincerely and devotedly assisting the Crown Prince.”

“That is how it should be.”

The Emperor nodded.

The displeasure and wariness that had occasionally flickered across his face were now greatly diluted.

He knew that the Princess had coveted power. However, now that he had awakened, such things were no longer an issue.

That was what it ant to be Emperor. A position that, by its re existence, could render all sches aningless.

Sensing that the atmosphere had eased sowhat, the Princess hurriedly said.

“Father Emperor, since you have co all this way, would you not dine with us? The Royal Guards must also be weary from their long journey, so I will have a separate dining hall prepared for them.”

“You are already acting as the mistress of this estate.”

“T-that is not…….”

“It was a joke.”

With an indifferent expression, the Emperor nodded and gestured for the Royal Guards to withdraw.

As the Royal Guards withdrew under the guidance of the estate servants, Commander Jang Gyeong stared intently at the Emperor.

“Your Majesty.”

“It is fine. Do you think the Princess and the eldest son of Myriad Gold Manor would seek to harm ?”

Jang Gyeong stared fixedly at Ha Joo-myeong.

Given the circumstances, Ha Joo-myeong had a fairly high chance of marrying the Princess. Any ordinary official would have been careful of Ha Joo-myeong for the sake of the future.

However, Jang Gyeong was not such a man.

The reason he had been pushed back by the Admiral of the Eastern Depot in the struggle for power was not because he was weak, but because he was incapable of playing politics.

“The eldest son of Myriad Gold Manor is a dangerous individual. He has clearly learned martial arts, yet his martial prowess is impossible to predict. This is the first ti I have seen such a case.”

Having said that, Jang Gyeong suddenly stepped forward.

He stared at an empty wall for a mont, then thrust out his fist.

Kwa-jik—!

The wall, clearly made of high-quality timber, shattered helplessly.

As the Princess and the Emperor looked on with puzzled expressions, Jang Gyeong withdrew his fist.

In his hand was a straight saber.

Without hesitation, Jang Gyeong drew the blade.

Sreung—!

The blade slid free, producing a clear, smooth sound, as though oiled.

Running his rough hand along the blade, Jang Gyeong spoke.

“A fine blade.”

It was a straight saber made of the precious teorite iron.

Its balance and craftsmanship were flawless.

It must have been forged by a master craftsman whose skill ranked among the finest in history.

After examining the shape of the saber to infer the martial art, Jang Gyeong asked Ha Joo-myeong.

“Have you learned a saber art of the Unorthodox Path?”

The Emperor and the Princess stared intently at Ha Joo-myeong.

Naturally, Ha Joo-myeong showed not a trace of fluster and replied calmly.

“That is correct.”

“Why?”

“Because the saber art passed down in Myriad Gold Manor belongs to the Unorthodox Path.”

Ha Joo-myeong had learned the Black Wolf Saber Art.

The Black Wolf Saber Art was a martial art the rchant King had purchased from the Number One Blade of the Unorthodox Path with money.

At that mont, the Emperor spoke.

“Jang Gyeong, that is enough. Regardless of the martial art, is it not a matter of the person who wields it?”

“You speak rightly. Martial arts of the Demonic Path erode a person’s mind, but those of the Unorthodox Path are rely vulgar and have no such side effects. However…….”

Jang Gyeong gazed steadily at Ha Joo-myeong and continued in an unwavering tone.

“Your Majesty, I do not find this man trustworthy. As the Commander of the Royal Guards, I am duty-bound to safeguard Your Majesty’s safety. If you wish to drive

away, then use this saber to take my head.”

With that, Jang Gyeong respectfully lifted the blade with both hands and presented it to the Emperor.

The Emperor stared at it for a mont, then let out a hollow laugh.

“There is nothing to be done. When a subject’s loyalty runs this deep, it would not be the way of a ruler to tear it away by force. Is that not so?”

The Emperor asked Ha Joo-myeong.

Ha Joo-myeong smiled gently.

“Those are most just words. If such an outstanding warrior accompanies us, my heart would be all the more at ease. Rather, it is sothing for which I should be grateful.”

As he said that, Ha Joo-myeong thought that among all the figures of the Imperial Household, the first person he would have to kill was Jang Gyeong, the Commander of the Royal Guards.

---

As was only natural, the Emperor sat at the seat of highest honor, while opposite him, the Princess and Ha Joo-myeong sat side by side as though they were already husband and wife.

Behind the Emperor, Jang Gyeong stood like a shadow, staring only at Ha Joo-myeong.

For most people, food would not have gone down their throats at all, yet Ha Joo-myeong calmly enjoyed his wine and dishes as he spoke.

“Your Majesty, please set an auspicious date. Having been granted the honor of serving the most precious woman under heaven for a lifeti, Myriad Gold Manor will also have many preparations to make in advance.”

The Emperor nodded.

His wariness toward Ha Joo-myeong felt as though it was gradually easing. This was sothing that most people who faced Ha Joo-myeong experienced.

“I will discuss this together with the Manor Master.”

“The Master of Myriad Gold Manor has disappeared. I, along with all of Myriad Gold Manor’s household, are doing our utmost to find him, but it has already been well over half a year.”

At that mont, the air itself seed to speak.

The Emperor’s gaze toward Ha Joo-myeong changed, and the overwhelming presence he exuded with his entire body grew heavy.

The Emperor lifted the corner of his lips slightly and spoke.

“Enough nonsense. Bring the Master of Myriad Gold Manor before .”