The Emperor Who Was Chapter 51 : Chapter 51

Chapter . 51

I tried to explain the plan, but Michelon asked first.

"...Wait, why do we have to go that far? And I want to be a noble. I don't want to be treated like a commoner by nobles."

Michelon didn't understand the necessity of my plan itself. Even if he received information, there is a limit to information not experienced personally. Since dragons haven't been living mingled with people all this ti.

"If you are by my side, enemies will step up to dig into your identity."

Courtiers would be the first to dig with wide eyes. Especially if he insisted on being a noble, all the experts in genealogy at the court would track him down. Those who are illiterate and ignorant, yet morize their family lines and relatives' genealogy endlessly.

"Even though I am a young commoner girl, everyone knows I lived at the Duke Grimiati's residence."

Nanette said.

"Though they seem to think I was a kitchen maid rather than an apprentice wizard. So, if the Prince unexpectedly brought

along, they assu I must really be the daughter of the nanny who took care of him. A niece, or an unrecorded illegitimate daughter."

Anyway, Nanette was a young girl. It was acceptable to say I brought a pitiful child who sowhat resembled my nanny because I missed her.

But Michelon, who was my age and would act as my right hand, would receive trendous attention.

"Soone went to my hotown too. They rambled about stories even I don't know because I left my hotown so long ago, trying to probe if I am indeed a person from there. I just pretended not to know. If I encourage people's misconceptions and let them waste their efforts, they will give up on their own after digging into my uninteresting past."

Sir Rolf smiled broadly.

"How about saying you are from a foreign country?"

"Foreigners in Armatia would flock to a compatriot who caught the rope of an imperial family mber."

"...Even if becoming a noble right away is impossible, don't even think about attaching a past like a servant. Why should I serve humans?"

"What if we say you were Sir Rolf's squire?"

"Unfortunately, my squire died of illness just before I ca to the court. I participated in jousting tournants often, so many people know my squire's face."

Since I refrained from keeping people close even after gaining power and didn't appoint a new chamberlain, Sir Rolf also endured the inconvenience of entrusting the care of his armor and horse to servants instead of taking a new squire. Though I was monitoring with magic to ensure they didn't play tricks on his armor or horse like last ti.

Considering Nanette's and his words, I tried changing the plan.

"Then let's go with another knight. Your knight was an elderly wandering knight who went mad, entered the mountains, and died in an accident. Of course, he knighted you before dying, and you remained faithful to your master until the end, burying him alone deep in the mountains before coming down."

"I hate it. Being a squire is ultimately serving humans too. Besides, why should I nurse a crazy old man?"

It's fortunate that even wizards don't think magic turning a dragon into a human is possible, firmly believing it's already a failed magic. Otherwise, Michelon would have more than revealed his identity himself.

But I understood Michelon's feelings too. He beca human because of fate, but since he dislikes humans, the thought of living mixed among them must be terrible.

"Rather than that, a mysterious story where no one would dare ask about my past would be better."

At that, Sir Rolf turned his head to Nanette.

"Nanette, go to Goldmund and ask about the Prince's potion."

"Yes, Sir Rolf."

Usually curious Nanette never asked for reasons at tis like this. After sending Nanette out, Sir Rolf said firmly.

"If you say you are from a brothel, no one asks about the past."

Even I was surprised, and Michelon shouted.

"How dare you insult ?"

"I apologize. But you must decide either way. We can't drag this out for long, and the Prince is doing his best for Lord Michelon."

"Do you think I don't know that?"

"Yes, it seems you don't."

Having said that, Sir Rolf shut his mouth.

I always thought I needed to gather capable people to grow my power, but actually leading them wasn't easy once gathered.

It was Michelon's first ti coming out into the world and he even had to act as a human, so he was immature yet had a great desire to prove himself.

Sir Rolf, for his part, was wary that Michelon might beco a burden or cause harm to . If soone who acts familiarly with the master suddenly appears and even seems rude, no one would like it. Since it's only one step from a favorite subject to a treacherous subject.

"How dare you!"

Michelon, who couldn't continue speaking for a mont, jumped up. Dragon's temper. But I was used to my brothers' tempers which were worse.

"Michelon, my friend respects my knight."

"Your knight didn't respect !"

At Michelon's words, I looked at Sir Rolf. He imdiately knelt on one knee and bowed to .

"I was wrong. Forgive , Prince."

Then he tried to bow to Michelon too. But before he could, I grabbed his arm and made him stand.

"You are my knight, so there is no need to kneel to another. This matter is not solely your fault, so a verbal apology is sufficient."

"Leontes!"

Michelon was indignant. I looked at him.

"Michelon, you are my first and most important friend. But that doesn't an my knight serves you."

Sir Rolf looked at

with a surprised face.

Honestly, he must have been worried about that point. Before courtly love, chivalric epic poems emphasized comradeship, beautifully depicting vows to share everything in half. In reality, so monarchs followed that vow and later fought filthily over loot distribution.

"My knight speaks his thoughts freely to you, but bears the responsibility himself."

"Then are you saying I can kill your knight who dared to defy ?"

Michelon's eyes flashed. I looked into those golden pupils trying to narrow vertically again.

"If you kill my knight and weaken the power of , your close friend and ally, you suffer the sa damage."

"Damage I can recover from anyti!"

"My wound from losing my knight cannot be recovered."

When I said that, Michelon hesitated, and this ti Sir Rolf spoke earnestly.

"Prince, I apologize. I will apologize until Lord Michelon is satisfied."

"No, this is also my fault for not making clear how you should treat Michelon."

Saying that, I looked at both alternately this ti.

"My close friend's honor is precious, and my knight's honor is precious too. So I hope you entrust the honor of two people precious to

to

for a while. I swear I will treat your honors exactly the sa as my own honor."

"......."

"Prince......."

"Because soon my honor is the honor of those precious to . Michelon, Sir Rolf is my knight. Sir Rolf, Michelon is my close friend. How can I, who wish to beco the Emperor of this country in the future, use my left arm without my right, and how can I endure with my right arm without my left?"

Before either could answer, I added.

"I consider you my strengths, but do you wish to beco my weaknesses?"

In the end, Michelon accepted Sir Rolf's polite apology.

Becoming a leader of a group, however small, was difficult and equally rewarding.

Thus, we decided to open Michelon's court debut splendidly, as he wished and as I planned.

***

"Aaaaaagh!"

"Uwaaagh!"

Screams abounded in the most glamorous street of Elan, the capital of Armatia.

Because a strange person appeared. He was wearing clothes torn in several places and bleeding. It wasn't rare for a loser from the back alleys of Elan, stained with duels and gang fights, to flee here, but this person was wearing a velvet mask on his face.

Not a grotesquely and splendidly decorated mask for carnivals or masquerades, but a black mask covering the entire head. Like the cloth put on condemned prisoners before hanging. It seed to have eye holes, but it wasn't certain.

"What is that person doing!"

"Must be a heinous criminal escaped from a prisoner transport wagon!"

As noble ladies were startled, knights tried to catch him. But he fled with surprising agility in front of the gathered knights.

"Catch him!"

"Catch that man!"

"Why is it so noisy? What on earth is happening?"

"They say sothing big happened over there!"

People gathered in an instant, and he was chased by the crowd. He was almost caught, but managed not to be, heading towards the nearby Great Temple of Traneha. To the most majestic temple in Armatia, with a perfect circular roof supported by rows of marble pillars atop a high stylobate.

"It's a sanctuary!"

"A suspicious person fled to the sanctuary!"

It was common for criminals to flee to the temple, but succeeding wasn't easy. The marble stairs decorating the stylobate were high and long, and all sorts of things flew from all directions at the back of the criminal running up those stairs—rotten eggs and tomatoes, daggers and whips. From above, beside, and below the stairs.

But the person wearing the velvet mask moved incredibly fast, dodging everything, and ran up those steep stairs in a breath.

"Siege warfare should be done by a guy like that. A guy who would dodge even boiling oil poured over a ladder."

Enough for a passing old knight to admire.

Going up the stairs wasn't everything. He had to pass through the colonnade of dizzyingly high pillars lined up above and open the inner door to enter. Until then, he was prey for all witnesses.

"Catch him! Catch him!"

"Block him! Block!"

As rumors spread, people gathered from all directions with all sorts of things. Throwing stones or bread they were eating indiscriminately. No matter how much the temple restrained them, it was useless since people considered it a ga.

"Runs away well!"

"Fast as a stag!"

"Faster than a stallion?"

However, the doors of the Great Temple were already closing. The sanctuary of the Great Temple didn't actually accept just any criminal. If an imperial family mber or noble who incurred the Emperor's wrath sounded out their intent to flee in advance, they accepted them secretly in exchange for wealth. So they didn't welco the intrusion of a commoner criminal and the ga chasing him at all.

"The doors are closing!"

"Close faster!"

Unless he reached it before the doors closed, if the doors closed before that, that too was the will of God Traneha.

The person wearing the velvet mask jumped into the air just before the doors closed. Still, he was far away. However, having jumped up like that, he kicked a pillar closer to the temple door with one foot and pushed his body forward with that montum. An acrobatic feat even a clown couldn't do.

He almost reached the door, but the already closing door was too narrow for him to squeeze through.

"Too late! It's too late!"

People shouted. But he didn't care about the narrow gap that not even a child could pass through. He placed both palms on the two door leaves closing slowly from both sides and pushed with force.

Then the heavy door leaves closing from the inside opened.

"!!!"

The astonished people couldn't even shout. Outwardly, it looked as if the temple doors opened by themselves welcoming him. The lower priests closing the doors from the inside were thrown tumbling.

"A sinner entered the sanctuary!"

"A sinner appeared in the sanctuary!"

Clang, clang! Clang, clang!

Bells rang out from the bell tower of the Great Temple, and more people gathered from all directions. A criminal's successful arrival at the sanctuary was as popular as failure. As if acknowledging survival if one escaped their hunt.

"Fleeing to the sanctuary, he won't be caught."

"Indeed, soone worth watching has appeared after a long ti."

Noble ladies said laughing.

But in the old days, it was a custom not well observed. Fleeing criminals were often murdered in front of the altar. The Holy Emperor was furious, but used to grant pardons to the murderers in exchange for large sums.

However, during the civil war, circumstances changed after an Empress separated from the Emperor gave birth in front of the altar. At the news that another competitor for the throne was being born, the rebel leader went wild. Drag both out, sanctuary or not.

The terrified Empress ended up giving birth to a stillborn child, and the uncle toasted to the death of the nephew who hadn't even opened his eyes.

But that cruel uncle eventually died on the battlefield, and the Holy Emperor of the ti claid it was divine punishnt.

-If a birth occurred in front of the altar, it would be proof of God Traneha's protection; how could God not be angry when that sanctity was dared to be violated?

Since then, at least the sanctuary of this Great Temple was fairly well respected.

However, just because a person who fled to the sanctuary couldn't be dragged out didn't an others couldn't set foot inside.

"There he is!"

"Hiding over there!"

"Look at that mask, it's really terrible!"