Evelyn hesitated for a while and then picked up the pen. She tried to write a formal reply, but her hand didn’t move easily. The more Fabian showed his mind, the more she couldn’t figure out what to do with him.
[Thank you for your generosity.]
In the end, Evelyn hid herself behind the plainest sentence.
[In the Felice Kingdom, no demon has appeared since the Great Festival, so you don’t have to worry.]
When he asked obvious things, Evelyn had nothing to write. There was also something about Adrian in Fabian’s letter, but it shouldn’t get his attention any further. Even she was a little happy with his interest.
[I hope your Majesty is always healthy.]
For a moment, the pen stopped in the air.
[Regards, Evelyn Felice]
However, all she had to do was to write down her name only. Evelyn didn’t have the courage to write a bold phrase like Fabian since she had a child and a secret to keep.
“I think this is enough,” Evelyn spoke to herself and called the palace chief to tied the letter to the hawk’s leg. Then she sighed deeply as if she had done something big.
She never thought it would be so hard to write a letter. Still, she sent him a reply, so it was fortunate that she wouldn’t suffer from for the time being.
Evelyn thought so. However, a few days later, another black hawk flew back into the Kingdom.
“Princess, this is His Majesty’s letter.”
From then on, the hawks came to the Kingdom whenever they had time. And Evelyn finally realized why he trained three hawks. Whether Evelyn sent a reply or not, Fabian kept sending the letters until the three of them had no time to rest.
Yes, and this was only the beginning…..
★★★
Fabian spent more time sitting alone at his desk after his official duties. It was much easier to calmly put down the letters on the stationery than to express feelings in words. He felt that they were closer now than when Evelyn lived as the Empress.
[ With heart, from Fabian.]
He always closed the letters with the same phrase. Countless emotions were contained in that single word. For Fabian, it was his maximum expression. By the time Fabian folded the letter straight, he heard a familiar knock.
“Come in.”
After hearing Fabian’s answered in a low voice, soon Serus came into the room and gave an example.
“I’m glad you come here. This is to the Felice Kingdom.”
Serus looked at his master with strange eyes. He wanted to say that this wasn’t a letter anymore, but a diary. But he couldn’t say anything after he thought about Fabian’s brighter face these days.
“……Yes.”
“Is it true that the hawk is flying at its own pace?”
“I trained them myself. It’s something wrong?”
“I always send the letter on time, but it seems the hawks always come back late.”
Actually, it wasn’t the hawk’s fault. Why didn’t Fabian, who is praised as a wise emperor, realize such a simple fact?
“Ah ……… Is the wind’s direction different?”
Seeing Fabian looking for reasons from a distance, Serus couldn’t tell the truth.
“Maybe….”
When Fabian sent three letters, he only got one reply from Evelyn. It almost seemed like he talked alone to himself because Evelyn just sent a formal response. But somehow, Fabian was satisfied enough.
“I’m glad there is no more damage caused by a demon in the Felice Kingdom.”
Serus nodded silently at Fabian’s sincere words.
“But not all places are peaceful.”
The demons were still making suspicious movements. The demon, beyond reason, couldn’t easily be defeated by the Emperor. It was now taken for granted that they were repeatedly taken away by the Vatican.
“It is said that the Vatican has become more worshiped in the area where it was attacked by a demon,” Serus said.
“I can’t help it.”
There was no greater propaganda than that. As if the Vatican was waiting every time the demons attacked people. As that happened, a knight led by a Vatican Paladin would appear and killed the monster.
“Not long ago, Count Bert, who was rescued from a demon raid, completely pledged his allegiance to the Vatican.”
There was displeasure in Fabian’s dark eyes. His wrong predictions were coming along. “That’s their way of getting public sympathy and support, especially young people. That’s why I can’t erase my suspicions that it was intentional. “
Serus nodded.
“But the Pope doesn’t have that ability.”
Fabian asserted himself. He had seen the Pope several times before he ascended the throne at the age of 16. The Emperor also had to keep a close eye on the Pope for a long time because he had to control the Vatican’s excessive power expansion.
“If that old man could do that, he wouldn’t have been hiding.”
The Pope was already old. He didn’t have to hide his abilities and had no reason to hide.
“I’m sure that there’s something wrong with the Vatican’s Paladin.”
Fabian never laid his hand on him. It was tough to get in-depth information about the Vatican, but one thing became clear when he put the pieces together. A suspicious movement occurred in several areas with the Vatican’s paladin’s appearance, who was known as the Pope’s closest aide.
“Is there still no progress in investigating him?”
“Yes, I apologize.”
Fabian narrowed his eyes, “No. That’s already enough.”
“Yes?”
“Do you think there’s a people who don’t come out of hiding although I dig them in the back?”
Serus frowned his eyebrows. It was a habit when he was lost in thought. “I thought it was his complete defense.”
“Is there a human who only exists alone? Even I still have an ancestor and a mother. Imperial affairs aren’t easy to talk about, but once you investigate me, you will know that I was raised in the Duke of Perth.”
He was right. Even Fabian, the noblest person in the world, still had a past and a relationship.
“At first, I thought the investigation was shallow. But as time goes by, I have other convictions,” said Fabian. His low voice sounded clear. “It doesn’t make sense if we can’t even know his name.”
The Emperor’s power and the connection were great. His current opponent was a man that Fabian had investigated with all his strength. Still, he couldn’t even figure out his name.
“There’s no record. The history of how he became a Paladin is also unknown. A man who has no background, but he can stand beside the Pope with a sword. That means he’s not an ordinary person as we thought so far.” No one couldn’t know his existence, regardless of his parents or family. But Fabian decided to accept the impossibility.
“Obviously, there’s him behind this phenomena. A human who goes beyond our common sense.”
“What should I do then, Your Majesty?”
“Stop the investigation. It will only be a war of attrition anyway.”
Serus nodded his head again.
“The Pope has the answer, But there is no way that clever old man would tell me for free.” Fabian sighed, holding his breath. His official duties were also overwhelming, but the trouble that went beyond common sense made him exhausted.
“All of the troops chasing the demon will also withdraw.”
“Really?”
“Yes.” Fabian, who answered low, dragged the map on the desk and put it in the middle. Every spot where the demon attacked was marked with dots.
“78 cases.” That was the number of incidents since Fabian felt suspicious and tracked them down. “With no exception, it’s also the number of demons that were killed by that Paladin.”
No matter how many times Fabian sent the elite troops, he couldn’t get rid of one of them.”Sending my troops like this is like helping the Vatican.”
“How….”
“If my elite troops show an incompetent appearance and always appear one step slower than the Paladin who kills the demons, won’t that only increase the Vatican’s honor?” Fabian hit the bull’s-eye. Until now, he had endured it to collect information, but now that he had reached a certain conclusion. So there was no need to send his precious troops for the Vatican.
“Anyway, the demons are killed by sacrificing one or two people in the place where they appear. Like a set rule.” So, it meant that the number of victims wouldn’t change whether the Imperial Army was there or not.
“I see…It’s a burden to Your Majesty.” Serus managed to open his mouth.
“Even if the Imperial Army comes to help …….. Those who like to talk will say that the Empire has no defense against demons.” Fabian raised the corner of his lips, and a cold smile caught by. “I’d appreciate that.”
Fabian meant it.
“They will sing about the Empire’s incompetence, my incompetence, and the Vatican’s glory.” Fabian’s brain shrieked when he thought about that.
“Then wouldn’t it be better for us to maintain our troops?”
“Do you mean to waste our troops in useless places just to avoid criticism?”
“………….” Serus apologized with a stiff face, but Fabian waved him lightly. Recently, Fabian had changed a little. Somehow, he was more little tolerant.
Only
“The Emperor must be the only unquestionable being under this sky.” Suddenly, A calm voice rang clearly.
“He can’t be judged. …..As long as he exists on this continent, whether within common sense or outside.”
Fabian swore at the age of sixteen, wearing a heavy Emperor’s crown. And whoever ascended the throne and became Emperor was obliged to maintain his power until his death.
“Everyone is under my control.”
Fabian’s black eyes turned cold. He was a born Emperor. Fate or innate, such a thing was somehow good. What was clear was that after sitting on the throne, his personal life disappeared, and he lived his life and reigned as an Emperor.
“I am the one who exists to reign. That’s the only truth that cannot be shaken.”
An eerie low voice rang out. His fierce instincts were captured in his dark eyes. The ruler’s temperament flowing through the bloodline cooled the air. It was the power that pushed Fabian’s life to solitude.
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