IYAMD: Episode 76

After an emergency meeting, Serez sighed, resting his forehead on the back of his clasped hands. He had gathered the vassals for the meeting, but all they had done was relay the news that a dragon had appeared.

Since they were unaware of the situation on the ground, no concrete solutions could be made. Even if they did know the situation, with the Emperor absent, what solutions could they propose?

Serez sighed deeply and looked up at the man still remaining in the meeting room.

“Do we really have to hold the council under these circumstances?” A faded blond man smiled crookedly as he looked at Serez. Serez could tell what his response would be before the man even opened his mouth.

“I acknowledge that this is an unprecedented situation since Arhen founding. But the fact that such a disaster has struck Arhen, a nation blessed by the goddess, can only mean one thing—The Emperor has been forsaken by the goddess, hasn’t he?”

In other words, he was urging for the Emperor’s swift deposition. Serez scoffed at the absurdity.

“If His Majesty can’t defeat the dragon, this great Arhen Empire will crumble in an instant. Ah, unless the Archduke himself plans to raise an army to personally fight it… Well, good luck with that.”

The Archduke’s face turned red, but Serez paid him no further attention. Even now, he was only concerned with his own desires. Was he intentionally trying to ruin the empire, or did he have some other motive?

Upon reflection, that hypothesis didn’t seem too far-fetched. The first prince, who had been forsaken by the goddess, might want to destroy the country maintained by the goddess’s power.

Serez, who had stayed up for three straight nights, pressed his throbbing temples. He still hadn’t been able to send a report to the Emperor.

It wasn’t just because of the council date. Serez had mobilized Emileo and the Imperial Palace librarians to search for documents on dragons. The volume of books about the legendary era was so vast that Emileo had been working through the night for three days as well.

At this rate, the administrators might collapse from exhaustion before they could kill it. Furthermore, Serez couldn’t stop thinking about reinforcements.

The Emperor would surely want Darren to stay at the palace, but Serez didn’t think that way. Even if they left some troops behind, if the Emperor were to die, there would be no hope.

If reinforcements were sent recklessly, the Emperor would be furious, but Serez had already made up his mind. He was determined to save the Emperor by any means necessary, even if it meant taking responsibility for it later. If it meant reducing security and allowing the greedy Archduke to take control of the Imperial Palace, the Emperor could surely take it back.

Serez rose from his seat, leaving the Archduke who seemed to have many things to say.

“I will take my leave first, Your Grace.”

The Archduke, with an angry voice, called after Serez’s back.

“Are you still holding out hope for the Emperor? Do you believe the Emperor can defeat the dragon?”

Serez turned back to him with a wide smile. He exaggeratedly spread his arms as the Archduke’s face slightly contorted.

“It is only natural for a subject to trust his sovereign. Right now, the most important thing for me is not whether His Majesty can defeat it, but how I can help him.”

Serez slowly extended his arms, then bent one toward his chest and gracefully bowed. After finishing his courtly bow, he left the meeting room without looking back and spoke to the knight following him.

“Have Sir Darren Brims brought to His Majesty’s office.”

The most important thing to Serez was not maintaining the Sword Master ranks, but using his power to protect the Emperor.

As soon as Darren Brims entered the office, he gave a light salute and inquired about the matter.

“Did you call for me, Lord Hastings?”

Having just finished sorting through documents, Serez set down his pen and shook his ink-stained hands.

He had been working non-stop and his fingers felt like they might cramp.

“I will issue the order for the Black Knights to mobilize in His Majesty’s stead.”

Darren frowned at Serez’s blunt statement.

“You must know, Lord, but the Black Knights only obey His Majesty’s command. Even if you are acting as His Majesty’s representative, you cannot issue an order to them.”

“You’re right, Sir. But, Sir Brims, if we keep following principles and fail to defeat the dragon, the Empire will head toward destruction. His Majesty will not survive either.”

Serez candidly shared the current situation with Darren.

“We can’t expect any support from the Mage Tower. The Mage Tower has already lost its former prestige. They’re just struggling to hide the fact. So, the remaining forces that can help His Majesty are the remaining knights and you, Sir Brims.”

The Mage Tower’s head wanted to maintain its pride, but Serez had figured out the situation in just 30 minutes. When the Mage Tower broke ties with the Imperial family, the mages who no longer had the Emperor’s support must have thought they could survive by selling magical tools. However, the Emperor had banned the market trade of magical tools, claiming it was to prevent any forces from monopolizing them.

Without the Imperial family’s support, the mages couldn’t stop other nobles from expanding their power. This policy also prevented the mages from becoming wealthy. The moment magical tools disappeared from the market, the fall of magic was inevitable.

The reason for the previous failure when trying to negotiate with the by-products of Minotaur was most likely due to this. The Mage Tower had no money to buy such by-products now. They couldn’t even recruit new talent, so they were stuck with old mages.

Serez sighed as he continued to persuade the still-silent Darren.

“His Majesty only has 400 knights under his command. The Archduke’s 200 knights are dangerously close behind him.”

Because the Emperor himself had gone to battle, the support from the temples was minimal. That was why Serez was thinking of greatly increasing the number of priests in this reinforcement.

Serez tightened his grip around the Emperor’s signet ring on his thumb.

“Therefore, I personally would like to ask you to help His Majesty and return safely. Furthermore, as His Majesty’s Chief Aide and representative, I will give you orders. Go, help His Majesty, and annihilate the dragon. You are His Majesty’s sword and shield. Is there anything more important than you protecting His Majesty?”

Darren slowly lowered his head. Seeing this, Serez smiled, confident of his victory.

“Moreover, fortunately, His Majesty appointed me as his representative before departure. It’s as if he anticipated this would happen. As long as His Majesty’s seal is with me, the Black Knights must regard my orders as equivalent to His Majesty’s. Do you understand?”

Serez watched Darren, who was deep in thought, and quietly swallowed his dry saliva. If His Majesty found out about this, it was certain that he would scold Serez as a fool.

He understood how heavy a burden it was for Darren, knowing that they hadn’t left any forces behind to protect the Imperial Palace. But what else could they do? Protecting the Emperor who would return to this palace was more important than guarding the empty palace in His Majesty’s absence.

…

“This isn’t going well. I know the method in my head, but it’s harder than I expected.”

Jaha, who was doing push-ups with one hand, glanced at Marsilia. As their eyes met, Marsilia tilted his head and asked him,

“Shall we spar? I feel like I might find some answers if I try moving.”

Jaha stopped doing push-ups, sighed, and stood up. He moved behind Marsilia, placed his hands on his back, and spoke.

“I’m not sure if this will work for you, but… I’ll teach you how to move your aura. I’ll put some of my inner energy into you, so don’t resist it. If you push it away, I’ll get hurt.”

“How?”

“Just do nothing. Close your eyes and stay still.” Jaha slowly directed a small amount of his inner energy into Marsilia’s body. Following his hands on Marsilia’s back, the energy began circulating inside Marsilia’s body in the usual method of energy manipulation. Since Marsilia didn’t have a dantian, Jaha guided it to his spiritual core.

Considering the possibility of resistance, Jaha made sure to retrieve the energy near his spiritual core.

After withdrawing the energy, Jaha took a moment to calm his breath and reorganize his inner energy before opening his eyes.

Marsilia, still focused on controlling his aura, didn’t move even after Jaha had removed his hands.

While Marsilia practiced on his own, Jaha resumed doing push-ups. His muscles wouldn’t regenerate immediately, but he couldn’t keep putting it off either. So, he decided to start with what he could do.

…

After quite some time, Marsilia finally opened his eyes, wearing an expression of difficulty.

“It’s harder than I thought.”

Jaha, who had been sitting cross-legged in front of him, silently smiled and replied.

“I’ve been doing it since I was young. If it were easy, I’d be the one complaining.”

“Really?”

Marsilia stood up and extended his hand toward Jaha.

“Shall we spar?”

Jaha stared at Marsilia’s hand for a moment before taking it and standing up.

“Is it okay to act this leisurely? When are we going to fight that dragon?”

“We’ll wait until it wakes up. Rushing would only make things worse.” Marsilia squinted and took a deep breath, as though holding in a sigh.

“More importantly, I’m worried about Serez’s delayed communication.” Marsilia had already sent a report upon discovering the dragon, so it was long overdue for a response. Seeing the concern on Marsilia’s face, Jaha gently pulled his hand.

“It’ll come when the time’s right. Didn’t you say we were sparring? Let’s go.” The large man followed Jaha’s lead quietly. The warmth and steady strength in Jaha’s hand gave him some reassurance.

It was fortunate that his hand hadn’t cooled off, just like when they first saw the dragon.

The steady pulse conveyed through their joined hands made Jaha feel as though his own heart was slowing down, as if in sync with Marsilia’s. Quietly, slowly, as their heartbeats blended together, Jaha glanced back at Marsilia. Their eyes met, and Marsilia slightly curved his gaze.