Chapter 377: Chaos at the Banquet
The Holy Priestess entered the grand hall under the idolizing gaze of everyone
present. There were only a rare few people in the hall who didn’t look at her as if she was some untouchable goddess.
The Holy Emperor’s younger brother was one of those rare few people. He only casually glanced at the Holy Priestess before his gaze returned to the Holy Emperor.
It became clear that he didn’t hold any favorable opinion of the Holy Priestess. It was the same case for the Royal Family who had lost almost all their authority and influence, thanks to the Priestess.
Although they pretended not to notice, they knew what was said about them. The Royal Family was called insignificant. For
the world, they were just dogs of the Holy Church.
With their attention currently caught by the Holy Priestess, no one noticed the most minute fluctuations in Eren’s
expressions the moment he saw the Holy Priestess.
With the arrival of the Holy Priestess, Eren couldn’t help but remember the new
options he had received after he finished
cleaning the Royal Army.
After a long time, he had received some new options, all of them having something
to do with the Banquet.
There was only one difference. This time,
none of the options mentioned any rewards outright. All that was said was that the rewards will be issued on completion of
the selected option.
[Option One: Expose the Holy Priestess’
true face at the Banquet]
[Option Two: Propose the Holy Priestess
for marriage at the Banquet]
[Option Three: End the Banquet with the
arrival of the Holy Priestess and send everyone back]
[Option Four: Kill a Cardinal]
As Eren had to select an option within a minute of their appearance, he didn’t have
much time to deliberate. In the end, he chose the one that made the most sense to
him.
He couldn’t select the easiest option, as the
reward was clearly going to be the worst. Hence, he didn’t choose to end the
banquet right at the beginning.
Exposing the Holy Priestess was too risky.
He could find an excuse to eliminate a
Cardinal, but it was still too early to offend the Holy Church at this point.
In the end, only one option remained. It was moderately difficult but not to the point of being dangerous for him. After all, he just had to propose the marriage. He didn’t have to actually marry her.
As long as he proposed to her, the option was completed. Even after she rejected him, it wasn’t going to count as a failure.
Moreover, he could propose to her as the Holy Emperor. He didn’t need to involve his other persona in this.
While Eren was still preparing himself for
proposing a marriage with the Holy Priestess, the woman approached him.
She walked past the Holy Emperor’s brother who coldly glanced at her but didn’t show too much hostility.
The Holy Priestess stopped in front of Eren
who was disguised as the Holy Emperor. As long as he possessed the real aura of the
Holy Emperor, Eren didn’t worry about getting caught. Still, he was somewhat cautious.
“I heard you killed thousands of innocent
soldiers today? Don’t you think it was a little too ruthless?”
Without even giving Eren a chance to
speak, the Holy Priestess raised the issue of Eren’s strange reaction.
Even though she talked as if she was only speaking for the innocent citizens of the Empire, it felt as if she was scolding the Holy Emperor in front of everyone. The Holy Emperor’s brother narrowed his
eyes, realizing what was happening. The Holy Priestess was intentionally doing it here, establishing her authority over the Royal Family while so many influential people were here.
‘Tsk, that bitch really knows how to take
control of the situation. And then there’s my foolish and cowardly brother. I am sure
he would apologize to her in front of everyone, not caring about our prestige.’ The Holy Emperor’s younger brother scoffed, looking down on his brother.
Even though his brother became the Holy Emperor, he had always been subservient
to the Holy Priestess which disappointed
him. When he heard that his brother had executed thousands of soldiers and
multiple ministers, he thought his brother might have changed. But even when he was being scolded, he was not saying anything. It clearly disappointed him that his brother
was so cowardly, even as a Holy Emperor. “I suppose some things never change.” Clenching his fists, he stepped forward. If his brother wasn’t going to say anything, then he was going to step in as a Royal Family Member.
“You-” He opened his lips, only having uttered one word before coming to a stop.
Not just him, almost everyone in the hall had grown shocked when they heard the Holy Emperor respond.
“I don’t understand what you are saying. It can’t be that you are siding with the
Traitors who were working with the Necromancer Tower, are you?” Eren asked, carrying a calm and welcoming smile on his
lips. The Holy Priestess had heard that the Holy Emperor was behaving differently today. However, she still hadn’t expected him to talk back to him.
Previously, he didn’t dare overstep boundaries even when they were alone,
always treating her like a superior. And now, he was talking back to her in front of everyone?
“Your Majesty, please be careful about your words. Do you even understand who you are talking to?” A Cardinal arrogantly
stepped forward, his eyes filled with
hostility.
In front of everyone, a mere Cardinal was
showing hostility to the Holy Emperor. The guests who had attended the Banquet were absolutely stunned, wondering just what they were seeing. The Holy Emperor and the Holy Priestess
were at odds with each other? This was the
first time they had seen something like
this.
Unlike other guests, the Holy Emperor’s brother had a wide grin on his lips. For the first time, he felt proud of his brother. He
still couldn’t believe that this person was the same cowardly brother that he hated.
“Is that a murderous intent that I sense?” Eren asked while glancing at the Cardinal who had spoken, not even trying to keep his voice down..
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