Chapter 19. The Holy Knight's Vow
The reformist faction bishops were aghast.
To think such words would come from the devout Gusto's mouth?
In the first place, asking Gusto to test the 8th Prince was only possible because there was suspicion that the 8th Prince was a heretic.
That's how much Gusto wouldn't accept any request unless it was justifiable.
"You may not like the expression, but at least that was my personal feeling."
Gusto calmly continued.
"I swear before the Supreme Deity that everything I say is the truth."
The Holy Knight's Vow.
It was a vow that only holy knights, the swords of the Supreme Deity, could make, and the mark of the Supreme Deity would appear only if the words were true. Conversely, if the words were false, it was a solemn vow that would bring down divine punishment.
The bishops who heard his vow stirred once more. It was because they felt Gusto's resolve.
The reformist faction bishops could only be aghast again.
He's going this far?
Meanwhile, only the Archbishop was smiling inscrutably.
"In the name of the Supreme Deity. Now, speak, Brother Gusto."
Gusto recounted what he had seen and heard during the Trial of Three Days, from how truthfully Radel had prayed, to the strong reaction of the divine power in the prayer room, and the story of how he had fainted after finishing his prayer.
"Even as he was losing consciousness, he spoke to me as I was using Heal. Do not waste your divine power, Brother. I will be fine if I rest."
At this part, some of the moved bishops' eyes welled up with tears.
The faces of the reformist faction bishops had now turned ashen. Among them were those who had already promised several nobles to frame the 8th Prince as a heretic.
They strongly felt that their plan was going awry.
Gusto finished his story and concluded.
"I swear before the Supreme Deity that there is no falsehood in all my words."
At that, a pure white circle formed around Gusto. It was the mark of the Supreme Deity that appeared when the Holy Knight's Vow was true.
It had been a long time since the bishops had seen such an upright Holy Knight's Vow.
Seeing the pure white circle, they offered a short prayer to the Supreme Deity with a reverent heart.
In the center of the dazzlingly white circle, Gusto closed his eyes and knelt before the Archbishop.
"……That is all."
The Archbishop chuckled and looked around at the bishops.
"Did you all hear that well?"
Within the Supreme Deity Order, the Archbishop's word was absolute.
The bishops waited to see what the Archbishop, who had not offered any opinion on the 8th Prince until now, would say.
"From now on, the talk of the 8th Prince being a heretic will be put to rest. In my view as well, he seems to be a person true to the Supreme Deity. Is that not so?"
The Archbishop said so as he looked around at the bishops.
Though he spoke indirectly, there was no one who failed to grasp the Archbishop's intention. It was a clearly favorable stance toward the 8th Prince.
The reformist faction bishops could only nod their heads like mutes who had eaten honey.
The Archbishop approached Gusto, placed a hand on his shoulder, and blessed him.
"It was a difficult task, but you did well. I wish to reward Brother Gusto for his hard work. Tell me what you desire."
A look of contemplation briefly crossed the face of the kneeling Gusto.
However, as if he had decided something, he immediately opened his mouth and answered.
"I wish to go to the Academy."
* * *
Radel returned to the 8th Prince's Palace from the temple.
It had been a few days, as he had been in the Treatment Room after collapsing in the prayer room.
It was not easy to leave, shaking off the strangely favorable priests.
They finally let him go when he said he had a private audience scheduled with His Majesty the Emperor, and thanks to that trouble, the sight of the 8th Prince's Palace, which he hadn't seen in a long time, was immensely welcoming.
"Huh?"
However, the atmosphere of the attendants, who would have normally fled in terror upon seeing Radel, was strange.
He couldn't put his finger on it, but he felt that something had changed.
It was the same as usual that they disappeared, avoiding Radel's eyes, but strangely, he could feel inexplicable gazes following him whenever he turned his back.
Why are they peeking?
Radel had no idea that rumors had spread within the Imperial Palace during the few days he was at the Grand Temple.
Those with deep faith in the Supreme Deity were even defending Radel, citing the anecdote of him collapsing during prayer at the Grand Temple.
The 8th Prince is deeply wounded, so he cannot trust the people in the palace!
Because the only one he trusts is the one and only Supreme Deity!
Among them was an informant dispatched from the Grand Temple, who spread the rumors at a rapid pace.
As a result, the attendants of the 8th Prince's Palace were on the verge of thinking that Radel was actually a deeply wounded and delicate person who was shy around people, and in fact, a boy of deep faith.
Radel, simply thinking it was strange, headed to his room.
"So it was today."
No wonder I wanted to go back quickly.
The date written on the Emperor's invitation had already arrived. It would have been a big problem if he had stayed at the temple for even one more day.
Just as Radel hurriedly finished his preparations and was about to leave the 8th Prince's Palace.
"Hey!"
It was a voice he had heard somewhere before.
Radel spotted a carriage in front of the 8th Prince's Palace. It was the carriage of the 7th Princess, Inette.
"You're going to the Emperor's Palace today too, right?"
Inette beckoned to Radel from inside the carriage.
"Get in!"
Seeing Inette, who seemed inexplicably grumpy, Radel wondered if the 3rd Imperial Consort had sent her this time as well.
"Did you come to pick me up?"
"No? I just came because I was wondering how you would get there without a carriage?"
Isn't that the same thing……?
Radel, thinking he would get to go comfortably anyway, obediently nodded his head.
"Yeah, thanks."
The attendants of the 8th Prince's Palace who were watching the scene were clutching their chests from behind.
Just in case, but it was certain that they had been misunderstanding all this time!
Seeing Radel not even getting angry at the 7th Princess who was looking down on him for not having a carriage, the attendants' insides boiled.
Come to think of it, Radel had never once gotten angry at the attendants of the 8th Prince's Palace.
Hadn't he just quietly approached them and spoken with a smile?
The 8th Prince, who is more mature than the other royals and insists on doing everything himself.
The 8th Prince, who likes quiet and moves around cautiously without anyone knowing.
The attendants began to glorify their memories.
Look at him just smiling in front of that vicious 7th Princess!
"Don't we have a budget? Does it make sense that only our palace doesn't have a carriage?"
"The document I submitted to the 8th Prince last time wasn't processed. I guess he doesn't need it yet."
"Why?"
"Why do you think? Because he's never had one in his life……."
The attendants whispered from behind and were shocked into silence.
Everyone in the Imperial Palace knew that the 8th Prince had not come out of his palace because his Ability had not manifested.
If he had no reason to go outside, would he have needed a carriage?
In their minds, Radel was instantly transformed into a pitiful, deeply wounded, yet brave prince.
* * *
Radel himself had no thoughts about the carriage. He had a secret passage, so it hadn't been necessary until now.
It was also rare for him to officially visit other palaces. Unless he was formally invited to the Emperor's Palace like today.
Come to think of it, this was the first time he would see the Emperor directly since he was a child.
'What kind of person was the Emperor?'
Before Radel recalled his past life, his fear of the Emperor was great.
He had even been obsessed with the thought that he was a useless prince because he couldn't manifest his Ability.
Days when no one visited.
His mother had passed away, and his only twin brother hated him, so he thought he had been abandoned.
However, after recalling his past life, those feelings faded as if they had never been there. It felt like a distant past.
The memories of his past life as a Hunter in his 30s were superimposed on what the seventeen-year-old Radel had experienced, and now only the sensation of 'that was me' remained for both pasts.
For the current Radel, surviving in the present was more important than the past.
"What kind of person is His Majesty?"
Radel asked Inette as they headed to meet the Emperor in the carriage.
He thought he could get some useful information, as she had at least seen the Emperor more often than Radel.
Inette, who was looking out the window from the carriage, answered without much thought.
"He's kind. Or should I say, affectionate?"
Affectionate?
Radel laughed inwardly.
He might have believed it in the past, but to Radel, who had memories of his past life, those words sounded like a joke.
Does a kind and affectionate person abandon his child in the 8th Prince's Palace? A child who had lost his mother at that?
In the common sense of Radel, who had experienced modern times, it was an impossible thing. To neglect a child without an adult to look after them.
'If I hadn't become aware of my past life, I might have believed Inette's words.'
Radel thought that if he were his old self, he might have been so happy just to receive the invitation that he would have believed Inette's words.
But now that he had the mind of a 30-year-old, he only had the impression that he was being called now because he had manifested his Ability after being neglected all this time.
"But, you know."
Inette, who was looking out the window, turned her gaze to Radel.
"Is that rumor really true? They say a miracle happened at the Grand Temple."
"A miracle?"
Inette's expression couldn't hide her curiosity, as if she had been holding back her question for a while.
"Yeah! Don't you know about the miracle of the 'Thirsty Land'? Your Ability is to make it rain, right?"
Hearing Inette's words, Radel also recalled the anecdote of a saint he had heard in his childhood. That a saint appeared during a time of suffering from drought and it rained after three days of prayer.
He also remembered that it had rained on the third day Radel was praying, and though it was a coincidence, it seemed it could certainly look like a miracle.
It's turning out like this?
Radel only knew that his fame would rise as a quest reward; he had never imagined that rumors would spread in this way.
'This is going to get bigger than I thought.'
* * *
As Radel entered the Emperor's Palace with Inette, he felt gazes from all over.
Some were looking at Inette, but there were also many gazes directed at Radel.
Radel crossed the corridor, feeling like he had become famous overnight.
The Emperor's Palace was incomparably more splendid than the 8th Prince's Palace.
Just walking down the corridor, there were many things to see, such as the carvings on the walls, luxurious lighting, and delicate murals. It was befitting of the Imperial Palace of the empire that enjoyed the greatest wealth on the continent.
'He's been living very well.'
Radel recalled the 8th Prince's Palace, which was not just isolated but even dreary.
It was too dark and shabby to be called a palace.
'No wonder even stranger rumors spread.'
The appearance of the 8th Prince's Palace, which was practically abandoned, seemed to have played a part in the rumors of him being a heretic and whatnot.
The reception room they entered after passing through the corridor was even more splendid. A large chandelier made of crystals, each one crafted by an artisan, stood out.
And beneath it were an elegantly finished reception table and luxurious chairs.
Someone who had arrived before the two of them was sitting there.
Radel recognized he was a royal from his golden eyes. It was the 5th Prince, Venus Esven Cretian.
If the 7th Princess Inette handled fire, the 5th Prince Venus handled water.
He didn't show himself much in official settings, but his Ability was also rumored to be powerful.
He, who was sitting with an attitude of being uninterested in everything in the world, soon spotted the two.
"Oh?"
To be precise, he spotted Radel.