Chapter 362: The Holy Emperor’s End?
The Minister of War had been on the verge of death, but he was forcefully pulled back to life. The effects of the poison had been eliminated.
Instead, his vitality was only growing stronger but the pain from the poison had not yet disappeared.
The Minister of War knew that he could afford anything, but he could not afford to be caught alive. He was more scared of Cardinal Treniel than he was of Eren.
Even after being brought back to life, he still tried to kill himself by biting down on his tongue. But before he could, Eren
shoved a piece of cloth in his mouth to prevent him.
Eren then tied the man’s hands behind his back and grabbed him by the collar.
“If he tries to move, freeze his legs. As long as he’s still breathing, that’s fine,” he told Yu Lin, tossing the man in her direction.
He stood up and finally shifted his attention to the Holy Emperor who had just been standing there silently, waiting for an opportunity to speak.
The entire place was shrouded in a barrier, preventing anyone from listening to the conversation that was to take place here. The Holy Emperor was extremely cautious.
He took a deep breath, watching Eren approach him. At this moment, he couldn’t afford to be scared. He was someone who
had gone through multiple wars. How could he be scared of one person? Unfortunately, that one person was not ordinary.
Just the aura around Eren itself was dangerous, making every instinct in his body scream.
“I know that you might not believe me, but I really had no hand in this attack,” he said after calming his beating heart.
“You have five minutes.” Eren stood merely a few meters away from the Holy Emperor, his arms wrapped around his chest. “If I’m not satisfied with your answer, things are going to get really messy for both of us.”
The Holy Emperor believed Eren’s words, especially since he knew what kind of people were in the Great Demon Sect. Just
the way Eren had talked about torturing the Minister of War alone was enough to give him a rough impression of what kind of person Eren was.
The Holy Emperor rubbed his forehead, wondering how he could phrase his words properly.
“Your time is running out,” Eren said, giving
the Holy Emperor another push.
The Holy Emperor didn’t care anymore. He started telling Eren everything.
“The person who ordered this attack was
not me. The orders that the Minister of War was following, came from the Holy Church.”
Eren didn’t interfere while the man was speaking but it was clear what he wanted to hear. He didn’t care who the Emperor blamed. All he wanted to know was how the Holy Emperor was going to convince him about the involvement of the Holy Church.
“As you already know, I have no incentive to hurt you, especially inside my own palace. If you died here, I would have been the one who faced the wrath of the Demon
Sect.”
“Moreover, even if I wanted to kill you, why
would I use the Minister of War? I am not foolish enough to think that only these few people could kill you.”
“If I wanted to kill you, wouldn’t I have set a trap far away from the Holy City where you could die while investigating the disappearance of your people?”
The Holy Emperor used his time wisely.
First, he gave the name of the real culprit and then explained why he wouldn’t have done such a foolish thing.
It also made sense. Unless he was a fool, he
wouldn’t have done it in this manner.
“Why would the Holy Church want me
dead?” Eren finally spoke, directing a question.
“They have two reasons. The first is that they want to hide their own involvement. The only people who knew about the
arrival of the eastern envoys were from the Holy Church who sent the invitation.”
“They know that it’s only a matter of time
before this question rises up in your head if
it hasn’t already. Hence, they needed a scapegoat, which became me.”
“If they wanted a scapegoat, couldn’t they have used the Archbishop that delivered the invitation? They had so many ways to
shift the blame. Why choose you?” Eren asked, even though he already knew the
answer.
It was because they specifically wanted the
Holy Emperor dead with good justification. “That’s the second reason. It is because they want me dead. Currently, there are two power centers in the Holy Empire,” the Holy Emperor explained.
“The Royal Family and the Holy Church?”
Eren chimed in.
“That is right. Normally, it doesn’t matter.
However, the Holy Priestess wants to
change the status quo now. That’s why she
needs me dead. But if she killed me herself, my younger brother is going to become the next emperor.”
“If she wants to remove us, she would have
to remove the entire Royal Family. If she did that herself, it would be bad for the reputation of the Holy Church.”
“Can’t she kill you secretly, and then shift the blame to the Necromancer Tower?”
“That won’t work either. If the Necromancer Tower can kill the Holy
Emperor in the Holy City, it is also going to shake people’s trust in the Holy Church
and the barrier that protects us. Their strength comes from faith, and they can’t let that faith waver.”
“The only way for them to get rid of me is to do it when I’m not in the Holy City. That’s why, I never leave the Holy City. It
seems they have run out of patience. Your appearance also gave them another opportunity.”
“If they can link me with the Necromancer
Tower thanks to your help, and if you kill me, they can just make up a number of
excuses to eradicate the entire Royal Family with the excuse.”
“With that, they can put the blame of the leaking information on me, and win the trust of the Demon Sect. You can’t let them succeed. Because if they did, it’s only a matter of time before the Eastern Continue
also falls…”
With that, the Holy Emperor went silent.
The time he had received to speak was
over. He had also said everything he
wanted to say, believing that he had done a good job.
“So it’s just that?” Eren scratched the back
of his head, feeling slightly taken aback.
He had thought that the reason the Holy Priestess was not attacking the Holy Emperor was because he had some secret weapon that could threaten her. Unfortunately, it was just about the reputation?
“How childish…” Shaking his head, Eren
stepped forward. “However, I trust you.
There is no way you would make such a lame excuse.”
“It also makes things easier for me.” Eren
reached out his hand, placing it on the
man’s shoulder. There remained a friendly smile on his lips.
“Makes things easier for you?” The Holy Emperor didn’t understand what Eren was talking about. But from his expressions, it became clear that he wasn’t hostile anymore.
With that, he had won the support of Eren.
Now he had a weapon that he could also
use to protect his future.
“Huh?”
As the man had relaxed, he suddenly felt
Eren’s grip on his shoulders tighten. Eren suddenly pulled him closer, hugging him. The Holy Emperor’s face grew pale, filled
with horror. He lowered his gaze, noticing a few inches of gap between him and Eren.
There was a dagger stabbed in his chest which had started to bleed.
“You…?” He looked at Eren in disbelief. “…why?”.
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