The Emperor Who Was Chapter 121 : Chapter 121

Chapter . 121

At the sight of the crystal the Chancellor Cuaron personally brought in, people grew excited and murmured in a buzz.

The Crystal of Truth was originally transparent, but the Blood Crystal was red, red beyond red.

Long ago, there had been a prince who placed his hand upon the crystal and swore that he had not assassinated his royal father. He tried to nullify the crystal with an artifact, but it ended in failure.

The mont his lie was revealed, he smashed his head against the crystal and took his own life.

The blood that flowed from his shattered head stained the crystal completely, and even magic could not erase it.

“…Since then, they say the Blood Crystal has never again seen the light of the world until now.”

“I thought they had destroyed it entirely back then……”

Of course, it had been used in secret, but this was the first ti it had been brought out so openly before people.

Even the emperors of Armatia, who monopolized magic, had avoided using this crystal, because a belief had spread that this crystal demanded equal truth from its owner as well.

That the words of the one who demanded another speak truth before the crystal must also be true. So even an emperor, if he had a lie to hide, was better off not using it.

“I permit the use of this crystal solely at the Empress’s request. Those who sought the crystal of their own will shall bear responsibility for its use.”

Emperor Lombroso, with those words, also drew a line around where responsibility lay. The murmuring of the people grew louder.

“For a prince to touch again a crystal stained with a prince’s blood……”

“It is far too ominous……”

For that very reason, the crystal had vanished from people’s sight. At first, their curiosity to see it had been great, but faced with its ominous appearance, even desire died down.

“To force a prince to place his hand on a crystal stained with a prince’s blood… that is too cruel…”

“Can she truly be called an Empress.”

“If she is so frightening, then as she herself said, she could not have been falsely accused……”

As that atmosphere swelled, Empress Rhiannon pressed harder.

When she tried to manipulate public opinion, she calculated people’s reactions ticulously, yet she preferred to push forcefully rather than be swayed.

So even as she invited people’s displeasure, she also aid for their fear of her to grow alongside it.

“Wait, Prince Leontes might be carrying an artifact on his person!”

At those words, people stared at the Empress in confusion. Did she not know the origin tied to the Blood Crystal?

However, Leontes looked at the Empress with contempt, removed several rings he had been wearing, and handed them all to Michelon. Then he said to the Emperor.

“Royal Father, since Her Majesty the Empress of Armatia does not trust Armatia’s national treasure, have Your Majesty’s mage examine whether I have concealed any artifact on my body.”

At this point, people’s looks toward the Empress sharpened.

When a high-ranking person revealed their feelings before others, everyone rushed to express pity, saying how pitiful Her Majesty must be.

But while the young prince might be reckless, he acted briskly and seed to have no guilty conscience, whereas the seasoned Empress nitpicked at every turn, making her look as if she had sothing to hide. Even more so than Rhiannon’s and Maximilian’s words earlier.

“There is nothing.”

The Emperor’s old mage, the eldest of the mage tower, said so after the blue beam from his staff washed over Prince Leontes’s body and bathed him in blue.

It was not an examination ant to harm the prince, but many still felt discomfort at the sight of a mage pointing a staff at a prince.

“That cannot be!”

The Empress shouted sharply.

Even if Leontes’s words were true, only she and Benedict knew the truth. Desmond did not know.

Edward, who would have carried out the command, might have known, but he was dead.

There was no chance he had told Leontes, who had not been there before Edward died. And Benedict, who had remained at Desmond’s side the entire ti, likewise.

The room where she had spoken with Benedict had been thoroughly warded against eavesdropping.

If eavesdropping had been possible, then rather than raising suspicion of fabrication, they would have used having heard that conversation as proof, even including the Empress herself…….

Above all, before the Crystal of Truth, excuses like I did not know, I misunderstood the facts, or I was deceived were useless.

Even the spreading of untruth, though done in ignorance, was still treated as a cri.

Therefore, soone who could not be certain their claim was true was practically hanging themselves by placing a hand upon the crystal.

So the prince, by an artifact—though she did not know whether an artifact capable of nullifying such a treasure even existed—must have so way to bypass the judgnt of the Crystal of Truth, and that was why he was so confident!

“Empress, are you raising an objection to my thod?”

The Emperor’s eyes flashed. He had let the Empress do as she pleased, whether she abused his son or not, but he would not tolerate anyone defying his authority.

Knowing that better than anyone, the Empress, who had maintained the Emperor’s favor the longest among his won, hurriedly bowed her head.

“I apologize, Your Majesty. Please forgive . I only thought that if my own mage’s examination were added as well, it might be more certain.”

People thought the Emperor would refuse such a shaless request. But the prince stepped forward.

“Very well. And later, do not try to pick pointless faults with an Armatia prince or Armatia’s treasures. Have Her Majesty the Empress’s mage examine

now.”

While the Empress clung stubbornly to her own desire, the attitude of the underage prince who cherished the honor of the Armatia imperial house.

“It is truly a contest between vulgarity and nobility.”

Soone’s whispered remark spread quickly and beca a famous line.

Yet the Empress, without even twitching an eyebrow, had her mage examine the prince.

People’s eyes flicked at once toward the seats where Duke Lauderdale and Prince Desmond should have been, wondering why they were not stopping Rhiannon’s stubbornness. Then they turned back from the empty space and looked forward again.

“…Ah, there is nothing.”

The Empress’s mage finished the examination while trembling under people’s glares.

Imdiately after, the Emperor said,

“Take that mage away and investigate whether he posed any danger to my son.”

“I-I only obeyed orders! Your Majesty the Empress! Your Majesty!”

The Empress’s mage cried out, but when the Emperor’s mages aid their staves and bound him with magic, he soon gave up resisting and was dragged away.

In the audience hall, only the Emperor could bring multiple mages, and even direct imperial family mbers were limited to one, while collateral royals needed separate permission to bring mages, so the rules were even stricter than bringing escort knights.

“Now that he has been taken, there is no way he will be returned. Her Majesty the Empress insisted on pointless stubbornness and ended up losing a valuable mage to His Majesty the Emperor.”

“It seems she did not even know that His Majesty the Emperor has great greed for mages.”

“Well, she was soone who did not even know what the Blood Crystal was.”

The atmosphere had clearly changed from before, yet Rhiannon looked only at Leontes.

“…Prince, withdraw your oath even now. No matter how you insulted , as the Empress of Armatia, I do not wish to see a prince’s blood spill.”

Then the Empress’s faction, which had kept its mouth shut under unfavorable public opinion, raised their voices all at once.

“That is Her Majesty the Empress’s true intent.”

“Her Majesty the Empress was enraged by His Highness the prince’s excessive claims, yet in the end she still retreats and shows consideration.”

“Is it not truly the rcy and magnanimity befitting an elder of the imperial family.”

“His Highness the prince should also repay Her Majesty the Empress’s grace and withdraw with dignity now, so that he may preserve his own decorum.”

That was how they could reverse the flow.

She was not afraid of such public opinion, sothing that could be manipulated with a few words. Drawing the atmosphere back to herself, the Empress softened her gaze and voice and coaxed the prince.

“Prince Leontes, you must have been hurt that I was so strict. However, the matter is so grave that as Empress I could not help but test you before all these people.”

With those words, the Empress rationalized her excessive actions of doubting the prince by bringing up artifacts and even having mages investigate him.

“However, you passed every test, and you have shown clearly how sincere you are, and that is enough. So withdraw now.

Entrust justice and truth to His Majesty’s hands, since His Majesty has clearly seen the sincerity of your heart.”

With that, the Empress made it clear that the prince’s sincerity, the truth of the incident, and the justice of the law were all separate matters.

“Indeed, Her Majesty the Empress is right. His Highness may sincerely believe in Duke Lauderdale’s wrongdoing, but if the duke has been frad, then it differs from the truth of the incident.”

“Exactly. That is why Her Majesty the Empress treated His Highness the prince strictly for raising such a matter sowhat rudely, yet still opened a final path for him to live.”

“Those who spoke carelessly today, failing to understand Her Majesty the Empress’s thoughtful consideration, would have nothing to say even if they received divine punishnt from the God of Traneha.”

As things turned this way, those who had spoken carelessly cleared their throats and looked at the prince with uneasy eyes.

“Well, His Highness has done enough by now.”

“It is enough… this is the ti to withdraw with dignity.”

“A person must restrain and restrain again. To press so harshly is not a graceful bearing.”

They were cowardly thoughts that wanted to wrap this increasingly noisy matter up neatly, regardless of justice or truth. If sothing went wrong, they might be dragged in as well, and if so, would the prince take responsibility?

However, the prince was not swept along by the fickle atmosphere. He did not retreat a single step. When everyone wished he would withdraw, he advanced instead.

The prince who, for the first ti since that tragedy, placed his hand upon the ominous crystal defiled by a prince’s blood. His face was clearer than the crystal itself, with courage that overca even this crushing pressure.

“I, Leontes of Armatia, swear that Duke Benedict Lauderdale sought to kill .”

At Prince Leontes’s words, people were horrified. Grimiati frowned as he watched him, and Maximilian glared at his younger brother as if he ant to kill him.

But the prince pressed even further and said sothing worse.

“If that statent is not true, I will gladly die here.”

As the Empress had raised, the difference between sincerity and truth was the core, and yet he abandoned even that! Then even if the prince had only sincerely believed a wrong fact, once he swore it was truth, he would die!

With the dead prince’s blood still staining the crystal red, what kind of reckless madness was this from the prince who first placed his hand upon it?

He should have known fear, yet without a shred of dread he dared such recklessness openly!

When people held their breath, afraid they might see another prince’s blood, the Blood Crystal began to glow slowly. There was no turning back now.

The Blood Crystal reacted far more strongly than other Crystals of Truth.

As the red crystal shone brightly, it looked like the setting sun wrapped in a crimson dusk. A dusk-red light filled the audience hall, and people sank into that light with entranced faces.

How much ti passed? At so point the sun had set, and then the light faded. Yet darkness did not fall. The crystal cleared, transparent. Without a trace of crimson. The na Blood Crystal beca aningless, as it returned to being a clear crystal.

As if the truth Prince Leontes spoke had washed away all the lies of the dead prince that had stained it.

“Ahhh!”

“Ooh!”

“O God of Traneha!”

“It is a miracle!”