Fate (2)
The temple was in an uproar.
"Well, I guess you really do live long enough to see everything."
A bishop from the Vatican itself had released a demon.
Not only that — as if that weren't enough — he'd smuggled in Holy Poison as well.
It was the kind of incident that could trigger a massive inquisition.
And although the full extent of his intentions was still unknown, if his targets were the Emperor and Crown Prince… a bloodbath could sweep through the Empire.
But the real reason the priests were murmuring wasn't that.
Even the bishop's crime was enough to shake the nation, but not at this very moment.
"Unhand me! How dare the dogs of Eshua lay their filthy hands on me!"
The priests' eyes were fixed on the blue-armored knights dragging the bishop away.
"Those are really Eshua's people, huh?"
"Wow… I never thought I'd live to see them with my own eyes."
The Holy Knights of looked vastly different from the Imperial Knights.
While the Imperial Knights wore neat white-based uniforms, was draped in blue — the color of the sea.
Their tunics were white as befitting holy knights, but their trousers, cloaks, gloves, accessories, and embroidery were all tinged in blue.
Every step they took felt like the streets were being flooded by the sea.
Even the priests couldn't help but admire the serene, flowing wave of blue.
"Truly befitting the faith of ."
"Yes. How long has it been since we've seen that noble, untainted blue in this land?"
"I agree. Among the Five Great Houses, I've always thought Eshua was the most priestly. They're the farthest removed from greed and worldly desires."
"Indeed. And now that the Young Saint will lead the faith of , I'm sure he'll grow up to be a pure and virtuous figure!"
The priests looked fondly at the Skeleton King, who was grinning ear to ear.
In fact, his grin was about to split his skull wide open.
'At long last, my little money sponges have arrived!'
The diamond-spoon brats who would soon have a straw jammed in their backs so he could drain them dry had finally shown up!
The Skeleton King felt like breaking into a tap dance, he was so overjoyed.
And who could blame him?
He had been convinced that his family had abandoned him for good.
Honestly, with how he'd been treated, he figured it might have been better to be a bastard child no one wanted.
He had been racking his brain, wondering how to exploit that angle to suck the dukedom dry.
That was largely why he had tried to cozy up to the Emperor, after all.
But what's this?
A direct descendant?
'Well, that clears up my status at least.'
At the very least, no one would be calling him some back-alley skeleton trash anymore.
The Skeleton King, who had gone through countless hardships as a lowly monster — a mere skeleton — curled his lip in satisfaction.
Sure, he had plenty to say about how they'd left their child in this state, but for now, the important thing was that they'd come for him.
'Honestly, as long as I can get out of this damn temple, I don't care where I go.'
Judging by the priests' comments about Eshua being the "most priestly family," it sounded like they were big on purity and frugality.
As if he gave a damn.
No matter how pious they acted, a duke's family was still filthy rich.
Sure, everyone eats mushrooms — but guess who's eating the expensive truffles?
Not them? Then I'll wipe them out.
Anyway, everyone, including the Skeleton King, seemed to welcome the arrival of Eshua's people.
Everyone except one.
"Eshua!"
"!"
"Where on earth did you people dig up that… that thing?!"
It was the bishop being dragged away in chains.
He was glaring at the Skeleton King like he was some kind of monster, veins bulging on his neck.
"Damn you, Eshua! No wonder you're all heretics — only a cursed bloodline like yours would spawn such a creature!"
The bishop clearly still suspected the Skeleton King.
"I'll expose that thing's true nature! To think you'd dare take that monster with you — you'll bring ruin to Eshua itself— GAAAH!"
Blood splattered.
A shrill scream rang out.
The Skeleton King turned his head, eyes wide, and saw the bishop writhing in agony — a sword had pierced straight through his palm.
A female knight of Eshua, who had run him through, glared coldly at him.
"There is a limit to blasphemy. One more insult toward the blood of Eshua, and I'll slit your throat."
The bishop glared back at her, teeth clenched.
Judging by the blue insignia across her shoulder, she was at least a sixth-rank high-level holy knight.
It looked like the head of Eshua had sent someone with special care.
But so what?
"Of all the Five Great Houses, you're the most insane. Do you think His Holiness the Pope will sit quietly while you dare lay hands on a member of the Papal family— Ugh!"
A sharp blade drew an arc of light.
Splurt!
Blood gushed from the bishop's neck as he crumpled to the ground — not dead, but clutching his throat, choking in agony.
The knight, looking disgusted, wiped the blood from her sword.
"Do you think Eshua fears anything under heaven? I told you — insult us one more time, and I'll cut your throat."
In the end, the bishop, coughing up blood, was dragged into the carriage.
The Skeleton King clapped inwardly.
'Oh ho! Not bad!'
These guys were in a whole different league from the Imperial Knights, who sat around stuffing their faces without a clue.
And that wasn't all.
'Even when the bishop invoked the Pope's name, they didn't flinch.'
Unlike the Imperial Knights, who couldn't defy the Pope's authority.
Of course, that wasn't because the Imperial Knights were cowards.
'In this country, holy knights are fundamentally loyal to the Pope.'
In the Holy Empire, the knights were essentially trained and raised by the Temple.
No matter how loyal they might be to the Emperor in name, in their hearts, the Pope was their true lord.
That was the nature of holy knights.
And yet here — the priests, the Imperial Knights — everyone was treating Eshua with reverence.
Even this Eshua knight had casually cut through the bishop's hand and throat like she didn't give a damn about the Papal family.
The Skeleton King chuckled.
'This is gonna be fun.'
No matter how much of a heretic the bishop was for the Inquisition to drag him away — what did that really imply?
'That family must be on par with the Pope at minimum.'
Having grasped the situation, the Skull King nodded in approval, clearly growing more fond of his ancestor.
Honestly, if this so-called noble family had to bow and scrape before those damn Papal dogs, he would've sold off his family name and run away ages ago.
But these guys… look at them, standing there like that?
"Young Master, we deeply apologize for arriving late to escort you. Please, forgive us."
Talking so politely… to a literal baby who can't even understand them?
The paladins of Eshua carried themselves with flawless discipline — not a trace of carelessness about them.
On top of that, their loyalty seemed downright terrifying.
"We know this is not enough to make amends, but we have brought you a gift, Young Master."
"We have chosen this with all our hearts — a gift most fitting for the one destined to guide the faith of our House."
Carefully, the paladins revealed a gleaming golden statue. The Skull King's eyes nearly popped out of his skull.
'Hah! Gold bars?! These guys know what's up!'
Compared to those half-wits from other orders who did nothing but stuff their faces with meat… this was heaven and earth.
"Tada! Behold! The Skull King Execution Playset! Limited Edition Gold Version!"
"This is currently the most popular toy in the Empire! Look — press this button here, and the damn Skull King burns to ash! Whoosh! Whoosh!"
"Oh, and here's the toy of the Saint crushing the Skull King! Clang! Crack!"
"Oh my, the Young Master is smiling! It seems he likes our gift! Peek-a-boo!"
The Demon King's cheek twitched.
Goddamn it. Paladins… they're all the same.
***
Meanwhile, the Skull King's expression was turning increasingly sour.
It was because of the scene unfolding right before his eyes.
"O-oh! It's been so long, Sir!"
"Indeed. How is life in the Imperial Knight Order treating you? You're not causing any trouble for His Majesty, are you?"
"Y-yes, sir! O-of course not… I think…!"
The Imperial Knights were bowing their heads to the Eshua Knight.
And doing it with big, dumb grins on their faces.
Like watching disciples greeting their revered master.
'No wonder. I thought it was odd how eager these guys were to take my side.'
For people he'd just met, they believed way too firmly that he was some kind of Saint. Even the bishop was treated as an enemy — it had felt over the top.
'So they were from Eshua, huh?'
Either knights originally from Eshua, or ones trained by them.
Maybe that's why, despite being from the Imperial Knights, they were specially dispatched to save him?
Now that he looked closer, he noticed traces of blue on some of their gear — like the ornaments hanging from their swords.
'The blue of House Eshua.'
Come to think of it, the Holy Factions did have a thing about colors.
'The Blue Faith.'
'The Red Faith.'
'The White Faith.'
'The Gold Faith.'
'The Black Faith.'
The leaders of these were like kings among the clergy — rulers of all the priests across the continent.
Right, these were the five great ducal houses.
He hadn't bothered to care about humans for so long that he'd forgotten — but seeing the blue of Eshua brought it all flooding back.
'Knights clad in blue… they were terrifyingly strong.'
Even the Skull King's most loyal subordinates would lose their minds whenever they saw that color.
Honestly, based on what he'd seen so far — while he didn't know everything about the family — he had to admit, they were to his liking.
'But… their actions are a little…'
"Look, Young Master! If you do this, the Skull King's head comes flying off!"
"How is it? Do you like it?!"
They kept shoving these toys that killed him in increasingly gruesome ways — their eyes practically sparkling.
He didn't know why, but they seemed way too obsessed with the idea of killing the Skull King.
'What the hell did I even do for toys like this to be a trend?'
Honestly, it felt unfair. It's not like he was the one who picked a fight with the Holy Faction — well… crap, turns out he'd done it a lot.
'Still, who told them to invade first and piss me off?'
He'd even wiped out the Papal Army, and sent the Saintess — a figure as revered as the Saint himself — back to them so battered they probably called him her mortal enemy.
'Yeah… let's avoid meeting the Saintess at all costs.'
He'd already decided to dodge her no matter what in this life — considering the Saintess and him were practically arch-enemies.
After all, the Saintess was a being created by the gods themselves, unable to tolerate him any longer — a divine weapon born to destroy the Skull King.
She'd existed solely to erase him — their feud went back to their very first encounter. And honestly, he'd done a lot of stuff even he wasn't proud of.
No doubt her grudge against him ran deep.
Still, he was fine with that.
What was so strange about the clergy hating the Demon King and trying to kill him?
If anything, that wasn't the problem right now.
Because for a while now…
He'd been feeling someone's gaze.
It wasn't the fussing priests or the half-witted(?) holy knights that were the problem.
'That damn Crown Prince. Why's he been staring at me like that for a while now?'
The real issue was the black-haired Crown Prince standing right beside the Emperor.
Unlike the others, his gaze wasn't one of admiration or reverence. Could it be… he'd figured something out?
Well, fair enough. Even though he'd been cautious, the Skull King had used magic to send that bishop straight to hell.
As a result, the Skull King was now nervously sweating bullets.
Trying to avoid the Crown Prince's sharp gaze, the Skull King let out a pitiful whine and clung to Eshua's female knight like a frightened child.
That display left the Emperor visibly disappointed.
"He seemed to like us quite a bit just a moment ago."
Of course I did — you're my ticket to money!
The Skull King shot a look of thinly-veiled disdain at the Imperial father and son.
Sure, he had originally planned to latch onto the Imperial family for support… but that was back when he wasn't sure if anyone from home would come looking for him.
Why go through the hassle of being a guest in someone else's house when you might as well just go home?
But the Emperor showed no signs of giving up.
"I owe that child a debt. I'll deliver it directly to Eshua, but… what do you think? Would you tell her the Imperial family would like to raise that child as one of our own?"
At that, the Captain of Eshua's knights didn't show much on her face — but her eyes betrayed a flash of emotion as she looked up at the Emperor.
"Your Majesty… that's too much, even as a jest."
"It's no jest. That child will become a target — both within and beyond the Holy Empire."
"…!"
"True, Eshua is one of the Five Great Ducal Houses of the Empire. But can the current faith of Cheong protect that child from all that awaits?"
The Skull King furrowed his brow at that.
Huh? What's that supposed to mean?
Is he saying the family's power is on the decline?
But the Emperor's sharp gaze glinted as it landed on the Skull King's hair.
"Especially since the Pope will likely see that child as the greatest eyesore of all. And from the looks of it… the Skull King seems to be after that child as well."
At the mention of the Pope, the holy knights had remained calm. But the moment the name Skull King was uttered, the entire atmosphere instantly turned ice cold.
"Eshua probably despises the Skull King more than anyone. They may even cross paths again. Will you be alright with that?"
…Wait a minute.
These people… don't tell me we've crossed paths before?
But… he couldn't remember them at all.
Did my subordinates cause some incident?
Or maybe they got utterly humiliated by some bastard demon and lost all their honor?
Well, whatever. Didn't matter who it was — he could just crush them and get his revenge.
No — not just crush them — grind them into dust and restore his house's glory.
The Emperor's provocation made the knight captain grit her teeth.
"We'll be fine. If anything, you could say it's fate that we cross paths with the Skull King."
Yeah, fate. We met — call it fate.
But then…
"It's our duty to eliminate the Skull King."
…Hm?
Wait. Hold on a second.
Why's my name coming up like that?
Also… I'm pretty sure I've heard that line before…
He was almost certain some woman who'd come to hunt him down used to say that exact line like a catchphrase.
The Emperor burst into laughter.
"Hah, true. If she ran into the Skull King's subordinates, Melissa would probably be thrilled."
Hey, hey, hold up.
That name… sounded way too familiar.
He was pretty sure — before he ascended to the divine realm fifty years ago — the last person he'd seen… the absolute worst and most infuriating person he'd ever met… had a name exactly like that.
"But you'll need the power of the Imperial family. Think it over carefully. If you entrust the child to us, we'll raise them no differently from Imperial blood."
Ahhh, my golden goose…
As much as it sounded filthy good… could everyone just shut up for a second?
He needed to figure out who the hell his ancestors were.
It was then.
BANG!
The doors of the temple's reception hall suddenly flew open.
Several knights instinctively drew their swords at the rudeness, but the Emperor waved them down with a smile.
The one who entered was a silver-haired young man — handsome to a fault.
"I overheard a conversation I couldn't ignore, so I entered without announcement. Please forgive me. Your Majesty — my apologies, but that child bears the blood of House Eshua."
"Be seated, Lord Eshua. I never imagined a direct descendant of the Saint's House would come here personally."
Son of a bitch!
House Eshua was actually the Saint's bloodline?!
"Yes. We cannot entrust the Saint's direct descendant to anyone else."
Wait — that kid's the Saint's child?!
Okay, sure — it made sense that a Saint's family would be respected across the Empire, rivaling even the Pope's authority…
"It's alright, child. I've heard everything. Even if you are cursed, it doesn't matter to us."
NO — IT MATTERS TO ME! I'm NOT alright!
"It's all fine. We're just grateful you were born. Your grandmother, your mother… they all said as long as you don't grow up to be like that vile Skull King, it's enough."
"..."
The Skull King's brow twitched.
Ah, crap. Father… Mother…
I think I might've committed the ultimate act of filial betrayal the moment I was born.
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