Chapter 98

The Holy Crown Kingdom

Among the rulers of powerful nations, the Pontiff was especially notorious for her arrogance, and this didn’t change much even when dealing with others who also bore the weight of an entire country on their shoulders.

The only rare exception would be the Emperor of the Empire—someone who had been by her side since before she was Pontiff, back when she was merely a member of the royal family.

The way they talked to each other now was proof enough of that history.

"...So after causing that much chaos in our country, testing someone I had already marked as mine, now you're saying you’ll take him with you? Just to resolve your own personal issues?"

"Come on, give me a break. Isn’t that what friends are for?"

"..."

"I really need him. I don’t think I can fix things without him."

...If shamelessness grew hair, hers would be a full, thick coat by now.

The Emperor glared at the Pontiff with eyes like sharpened axes, but Abigail III simply whistled, pretending not to notice.

As he watched her antics, the Emperor finally spoke up.

"Gale. It’s already been ten years since we subjugated Orta together, huh?"

"Has it really been that long?"

"If you've aged that much, don’t you think it’s time to stop being a pain in my ass?"

"..."

"Even back then, I was always cleaning up after you whenever you flew into one of your damn rampages—"

"That was a long time ago, come on. A long time ago."

Despite the Emperor’s increasingly fierce glare, the Pontiff’s poker face remained utterly unfazed as she continued whistling.

"...You’re shaving years off my life, you know that? You’re running a whole nation, and yet you act like—"

"Can’t hear you—"

"..."

With a sigh of exhaustion, the Emperor pulled out his pen and the state seal.

He used them on the documents atop his desk, then tossed them straight into the Pontiff’s face.

"Take them."

His words came with another weary sigh.

"This really shouldn’t be allowed, you know. Aiden Kellermain is someone I’ve always kept a close eye on. I'm only lending him because it’s you."

"If you're gonna do me a favor, no guilt-tripping allowed~"

"I swear, I want to strangle you."

The Pontiff stuck her tongue out with a giggle.

"But I’m honestly surprised. You’ve clearly staked your claim on this guy too, haven’t you? So why hand him over to me so easily?"

"I’m counting on you to return him in one piece. But more importantly..."

The Emperor set his pen down and looked at the Pontiff.

In his gaze—one forged through years of camaraderie—there was unmistakable concern.

"You... don’t have much time left, do you?"

"……."

"I don't know what exactly you plan to do with him, but... do you really think you can pull it off?"

Instead of answering, the Pontiff lowered her head slightly.

Her eyes blinked vacantly at the air a few times.

Countless years seemed to condense into a single moment, and behind her gaze, a cascade of memories flickered like a lantern slideshow.

Eventually—

Her eyes returned to the Emperor.

"I’ve got enough left."

"......"

"Enough to do what I want to do, so don’t worry."

She grinned, rolled up the documents bearing the Emperor's signature and seal, and tucked them into her robes.

With that, Aiden Kellermain had officially received permission to take part in the Holy Crown Kingdom’s succession process—from both the nation itself and the head of the Empire.

As she stood up cheerfully, the Emperor let out yet another sigh—who knew how many this made—and opened his mouth to speak.

"Just think of it as a gift for the sake of everything we’ve been through. When are you finally going to grow up?"

"Leo."

"What?"

"Screw you."

In response, the Emperor simply snorted and raised his middle finger.

"Anyway, thanks. Friends really are the best."

"Get lost. And don’t come back."

Then—

Just as the Pontiff was about to march out of the Emperor’s office, she suddenly paused and turned back, as if something had come to mind.

"By the way, what happened to that brat?"

"Which brat?"

"Your son. The Imperial heir causes a scandal like that and yet I haven’t heard anything? You haven’t executed him yet?"

"I have. Officially."

"......"

The Pontiff narrowed her eyes at the Emperor.

"And unofficially?"

"That’s classified. I can tell you this much—he’s in no condition to cause any more trouble. I couldn’t overlook everything."

"After all that bad blood between you two, and blustering about how you’d punish him severely, you still ended up protecting him?"

"Shut it."

The Emperor frowned, muttering irritably.

"You think killing your own blood is easy?"

"...I kill mine every day."

"Yours keeps coming back no matter how many times you kill him."

At that, the Pontiff fell silent for a moment before letting out a faint laugh and nodding in agreement.

"That’s true."

Gale mumbled as she walked out of the Emperor’s office.

"That’s true."

There was something strangely sorrowful in her tone.

▣

"The buildings all look so interesting."

Fortunately, the gloomy atmosphere didn’t last long once they entered the Holy Crown Kingdom.

That was mostly thanks to Noel, who had never once traveled abroad in her life.

Though she’d seen her share of battlefields, it was apparently her first time wandering through such a bustling city.

"Sir Aiden, look at this! It’s a glow-in-the-dark dinosaur!"

"Sir Aiden, they blend fruits and sell them chilled here!"

"Sir Aiden, the clothes here look so weird—"

"……."

How should I put this...

Normally, Katya was the one who rampaged around like a runaway locomotive, unable to contain her energy. But now, it was Noel running wild while Katya remained unusually quiet.

So then, what exactly was Katya's state right now?

"…Your Highness."

"…Yes."

"Please let me know if it’s too much for you."

"…I'm fine."

…Since meeting her, this was the least fine she had ever looked.

Though, it wasn’t hard to guess why.

With a reluctant expression, Aiden summoned a window in front of him.

---

-Quest Info

♣ Life is Beautiful (2) [Individual Quest]

* Katya Heinkel Craven holds nothing but overwhelmingly negative memories of her time in the Holy Crown Kingdom. Please help her overcome this trauma!

* Upon clearing the quest, the target’s ‘Remnant’ will be awarded as a reward.

---

When it's explicitly stated that someone has trauma, it would actually be stranger if they looked cheerful and energetic.

Aiden scanned the window and let out a heavy sigh inwardly.

‘Doesn’t seem like this’ll be easy.’

He didn’t know exactly what kind of help would allow her to overcome it, but judging by the reward alone, it was clear this wasn’t going to be a simple task.

‘A Remnant, huh.’

The last one he received had belonged to Teresa. He obtained it after performing a soul rite for her, a soul that had been unable to find rest even in death.

…That had been rough.

Given what Remnants were capable of, it made sense they wouldn’t be handed out so lightly.

‘It’s practically a cheat code.’

Back then, when he used it, something that was likely Karva herself had emerged. Since this was the same type of skill, it was easy enough to assume it would produce a similarly powerful effect.

Still, setting aside the matter of rewards—

To be honest, he felt this quest was something that had to be cleared, if only for the sake of Katya’s recovery.

‘It’s always been like this.’

This person—

She had never once spoken positively about her homeland or her family.

Even when the Pontiff came to her in disguise, she had warned Aiden in advance not to get angry no matter what happened to her.

She had been hinting all along that she'd suffered terribly within the Holy Crown Kingdom.

"……"

To someone like Aiden, who believed home and family were concepts everyone should have, the idea of holding such negative feelings toward those very things was nothing short of heartbreaking.

The reward mattered, sure, but more than that, he just wanted to help her.

Of course, there was something more pressing to deal with first.

"…If we want to stay on schedule, we should start moving."

After quietly checking the time, Aiden finally spoke up.

Arriving early to explore the neighborhood was all well and good, but the Pontiff’s abdication ceremony was fast approaching. Dragging things out for too long wouldn’t do anyone any favors.

Noel looked a bit disappointed, but Katya’s face had grown pale to the point of looking deathly ill.

What could one even say about that?

She looked like someone suffering from PTSD, as if she were walking back into a space she had fought desperately to escape.

"……"

Aiden let out a deep sigh inwardly.

‘…For her condition to improve…’

It was probably going to take a long and gradual process.

▣

The succession ceremony, as obvious as it might sound, meant that the Pontiff herself would be stepping down.

That meant her abdication ceremony was a given. In fact, that was the whole reason the Pontiff had summoned Aiden to the Holy Crown Kingdom in such a rush—to attend this event.

The problem was—

"…Are all of these people royalty?"

"There’s… an absurd number of them…"

Aiden and Noel traded those bewildered comments as they looked around.

The building that served as the Pontiff’s residence was now packed wall-to-wall with people, leaving no room to breathe.

In the Holy Crown Kingdom, anyone capable of wielding the ability known as "Holy Flame" could potentially earn the title of royalty.

Of course, they still had to go through various evaluations, but it wasn’t as strictly limited to direct bloodlines like in other nations.

…And even with just that system in place, the number of people who called themselves royalty was this high. There had to be at least a few hundred.

And that reality, frankly—

‘Isn’t good.’

For Aiden, this was about the worst possible situation.

Because in the high-pressure setting of Act II, every single encounter with someone was a potential event of immense value.

‘I need to scout out the candidates ahead of time…’

Thinking back to how the scenario played out, the majority of these royals would be weeded out through the "Preliminaries," a process tied directly to the succession ceremony. His current main quest was also tied to surviving that ordeal.

In other words—

Only a handful of individuals would shine in those preliminaries and go on to become "main characters" who interacted with him throughout all of Act II.

Act II was a race against time. He had to gather as much information as possible before deadly accidents started occurring.

‘…If this were the Empire, I could’ve at least weaseled my way in.’

Had they been in the Empire, he could’ve relied on Dame Noel’s influence to establish some initial connections with people. But this was the Holy Crown Kingdom.

Sure, there was Katya, who was technically royalty—but she was off-limits from the start.

He couldn’t possibly ask someone for help with social networking when this entire place was a trauma minefield for them.

‘There’s got to be some way…’

Aiden groaned internally as he tried to work through his options.

He retraced the situation, step by step. Starting with the unique nature of the setting.

Naturally, at the abdication of a nation’s ruler, dignitaries from all over the world would gather.

Which meant—among the attendees, there just might be someone capable of helping him.

‘—There is.’

The moment the thought crossed his mind, Aiden felt a surge of excitement.

It wouldn’t even be hard to find that person. She wasn’t exactly someone with a forgettable appearance.

“—Huh.”

And then.

As soon as he spotted her in the distance, she lit up with a smile in return.

Clearly, he’d left enough of an impression to be remembered.

"Still alive, huh? Not bad."

Rania A‘Shan.

The pink-haired, one-eyed priestess smiled as she gently swirled her champagne glass.