CHAPTER 247: ON THE WAY TO MEET THE POPE

After finishing his business in the imperial palace library, Ethan headed straight for Regia’s training room.

The two guards who had been resting quickly approached Ethan as soon as they spotted him and reported the information they had gathered.

“The 2nd prince has made contact with the 5th princess.”

“People from Eduardo, the 1st prince’s side, have met with the 4th prince’s faction.”

As Ethan had expected, the princes and princesses were moving quickly according to their own interests.

‘This is the result of Evangeline’s complete recovery.’

“Nobles from the 3rd prince’s side were seen moving urgently, possibly due to proof of the assassination plot against Princess Evangeline.”

‘The 3rd prince is completely out of the running now.’

The 3rd prince was a prince who had long since given up on becoming the official heir. He was the type who preferred to enjoy a life of luxury by attaching himself to whoever won the succession battle, rather than striving to win it himself.

‘In fact, he didn’t really initiate the assassination attempt himself, but was pushed into it by the faction he was aligned with.’

It was none other than the 1st prince who had instigated the assassination of Evangeline. The 3rd prince was currently aligned with the 1st prince, after all. Of course, the instigation wasn’t done overtly.

Just enough to be understood.

‘Things aren’t flowing too complexly. Princess Evangeline clearly has the upper hand.’

Having fully regained her health, the 3rd princess will now rapidly expand her influence.

Ethan knew that the 3rd princess’s subordinates were capable. However, even Ethan found it difficult to accurately predict how much influence the 3rd princess, who had overcome an incurable disease, could exert.

‘It’s much faster than expected. This will prevent the other princes and princesses from asserting themselves properly.’

Seeing how quickly she subdued the 3rd prince, it seemed she had an accurate grasp of the current situation.

‘Hmm.’

If things progressed this way, there was no need to go around meeting the other princes and princesses.

‘I only need to meet one more person.’

***

Ethan wandered through the various gardens within the imperial palace.

The gardens, filled with a wide variety of colorful flowers, made one feel as if their body was being rejuvenated just by inhaling the scents.

It was natural that the gardens in the imperial palace were on a different level compared to those of other noble houses, as there was a separate official specifically in charge of managing the gardens.

There were more than five gardens within the imperial palace, and Ethan searched for his target by visiting each garden one by one.

Finally, in the smallest garden, he found a tiny child.

A silver-haired prince wearing clothes embroidered with golden dragons.

After confirming it was him, Ethan casually summoned Lyuka.

“Kyung!”

The summoned Lyuka rolled in front of Ethan, showing its belly.

Ethan chuckled and patted its belly a few times.

As Lyuka made crying sounds and played cute in front of Ethan, the prince’s gaze turned towards them.

“Kyung!”

The cute-looking Lyuka climbed onto Ethan’s head, and finding this interesting, the prince approached.

“What a cute fox! What’s its name?”

“Its name is Lyuka.”

“Hmm, it doesn’t seem like a normal fox. It has a bluish glow that looks like it’s burning.”

“Lyuka is a spirit of mana.”

“A spirit of mana? I’ve never heard of that before.”

The prince glanced at Lyuka on top of Ethan’s head.

“Would you like to pet it?”

At those words, the prince glanced slightly to his left. In a shaded corner of the garden, a guard was hiding.

Soon, as if having received permission from the guard, the prince approached Ethan.

Seeing the prince’s bright, sparkling eyes, Lyuka looked at him haughtily at first, but then started wagging its tail.

Ethan gently stroked Lyuka, and Lyuka lightly jumped towards the prince’s head.

“Ah.”

Although startled by Lyuka’s sudden jump, the prince soon laughed heartily, apparently finding Lyuka’s soft fur fascinating.

“It’s cute.”

“It’s a bit playful.”

After playing with Lyuka for a while, the prince looked at Ethan. The young prince’s eyes were incredibly clear.

‘This young prince is Mikel Sacred, who will succeed Cairodias as the future emperor.’

It was this Mikel who would eventually win the long-running succession battle.

‘Now that Evangeline has survived, she’ll likely become the heir, but it’s good to establish a good relationship with Mikel at least.’

Among Cairodias’s bloodline, he had the most similarities to Cairodias.

Especially those eyes.

And the unique aura emanating from his body.

‘But Mikel Sacred ultimately provided the catalyst for the fall of the Holy Empire.’

It was because of Mikel’s half-sibling.

‘Mikel resembled Cairodias the most, but he possessed something the emperor didn’t.’

Sibling love.

Cairodias had killed all of his numerous siblings to ascend to the emperor’s throne.

In contrast, Mikel ascended to the emperor’s throne without killing any of his siblings.

‘Currently, Oliveira Sacred at Ivecar Academy will enter the imperial palace as an agent of the Followers of the Moon. And Mikel will accept that Oliveira.’

Mikel and Oliveira were siblings.

‘Their mother was the daughter of a humble noble family.’

Oliveira was born before she became the emperor’s concubine. Because of this, Oliveira grew up without being recognized as part of the imperial bloodline.

Then, on the emperor’s whim, their mother was officially elevated to the position of concubine, and Oliveira was also recognized as a prince and entered the palace. (+)TLN: Honestly, I don’t know myself. In the paragraph before this, the author wrote Oliveira as a female (they use 그녀, which can be translated as her/she). But now in this paragraph they call Oliveira a prince (황자). Will need to look into this on the further chapter.

Oliveira’s life, which had been dark until then, seemed like it might change, but due to his mother’s background as a daughter of a provincial noble family, he was called a hybrid and faced discrimination.

Eventually, Oliveira left the imperial palace, and not long after, Mikel was born.

Fortunately, Mikel didn’t face discrimination like Oliveira.

It was partly due to his brilliant talent, but also because a major incident occurred not long after he was born.

Mikel, who had been playing with Lyuka, looked at Ethan.

“I heard that it was Mr. Ethan Whiskers who cured Sister Evangeline’s illness. Are you that Mr. Ethan Whiskers?”

“Yes, I am Ethan Whiskers. I happened to have the ability to treat Princess Evangeline’s illness.”

“Sister Evangeline is really kind. She helped me with swordsmanship and magic. She even shared delicious snacks that are only sold at the eastern end.”

Mikel smiled and bowed his head slightly.

“Thank you.”

“It’s nothing. Anyone would have helped.”

“Then help me a little too, Mr. Ethan.”

“What can I help you with?”

“I’m looking for a flower, but I can’t find one with a color I like.”

This garden is full of flowers. Moreover, it’s filled with beautiful flowers that are hard to see outside the imperial palace.

Red, blue, purple.

Yet among these colorful flowers, there isn’t one he likes.

“Today is my mother’s birthday, Mr. Ethan. So I want to give her a flower in her favorite color.”

“What color flower are you looking for?”

“Sky blue.”

“Sky blue?”

“Mom liked the sky, they say. I don’t know much about it. But there’s no sky blue here. The flowers here are just blue.”

“Hmm.”

Ethan thought for a moment and then nodded.

“I think I can help you with this.”

Saying that, he plucked a flower.

‘Dyeing magic comes in handy at times like this.’

Ethan used a dyeing magic scroll to envelop the flower, and soon created a sky blue flower.

“Wow!”

Mikel’s face showed surprise, and then he smiled.

“Thank you! Mr. Ethan Whiskers! Since this was made by Mr. Ethan Whiskers, let’s go give it together!”

The place they arrived at, following Mikel, was a tomb.

Mikel naturally placed the sky blue flower gently in front of the grave.

“They say my mother passed away right after giving birth to me. So I’ve never seen her, but coming here makes me feel strange.”

Mikel looked at Ethan.

“Thank you, Mr. Ethan Whiskers. Thanks to you, I was able to give a sky blue flower that my mother liked.”

-Your survival probability increases!

“I, I don’t forget kindness easily!”

Mikel said with a bright smile.

***

‘I didn’t expect the survival probability to increase. It was good to meet Prince Mikel Sacred.’

Ethan decided to leave the imperial palace after his contact with Prince Mikel Sacred.

Originally, Ethan had planned to spend the remaining month of the vacation at the imperial palace.

‘I was planning to increase my influence within the imperial palace. To raise my survival probability, and in case of trouble with the Twelve Families, I thought I’d use the power of the imperial palace to block it. But the situation has unfolded better than expected. There’s no need for me to actively move anymore.’

The imperial palace will now be firmly grasped by Evangeline.

Ethan had already established a good relationship with Evangeline, so there was no need to worry about that side.

‘I also got information from the imperial library, and I can now meet the Pope.’

Until now, there were several steps that needed to be taken to cure this Extinction. This was because there wasn’t much that Ethan could directly handle.

But now a direct connection with the Pope has been established, and new information was obtained from the imperial library.

‘First, I’ll meet the Pope and get definitive information about Extinction and the Saintess. Then I’ll turn the apostles of the Dawn Council.’

Of course, in the current state, he can’t fight against the top-tier apostles.

‘So, focus on gathering information.’

Now things are on track. Until now, it had been a struggle to become stronger.

‘That was because my body was so weak. The knowledge I possess basically requires taking risks. Until now, I couldn’t utilize much of that knowledge because I couldn’t handle those risks.’

But the current Ethan is different. He can handle the risks as much as needed.

‘Follow the orthodox method.’

Now he can effectively utilize the knowledge in his head, and he can become much stronger than he is now.

‘Take it step by step.’

Ethan first sought out Regia.

“I’m planning to go meet His Holiness the Pope.”

“…You say you’re going to meet His Holiness the Pope?”

Regia slightly frowned at Ethan’s words.

“His Majesty has provided the connection.”

Ethan quickly explained his situation.

“A meeting with His Holiness the Pope could certainly be a way to get closer to the Saintess. Alright, go ahead. I know your priorities well. Instead, I’ll make sure to thoroughly train your two guards to make up for not being able to pay attention to you. Don’t be surprised when you see them later.”

Regia smiled, and Ethan smiled back.

“Please train them well.”

“I will.”

After telling Regia that he was going to meet the Pope, Ethan immediately prepared to leave the capital.

But he couldn’t leave right away.

Someone was waiting in front of Ethan’s room.

“What brings you here?”

It was Evangeline, the 3rd princess.

The princess was about to knock on the door when she saw Ethan and approached him.

“I heard you met Eduardo.”

Although the 1st prince was older, they weren’t close enough to use honorifics.

“Yes, I met him. I’m a teacher, but I’m also a businessman running a workshop.”

“If I were to ask for your honest thoughts here, would that be rude?”

“Yes, it might be a very big rudeness.”

Ethan smiled with a hint of playfulness. Seeing this, Evangeline suddenly smiled brightly.

Black Sword, who was watching from the side, slightly shrugged his shoulders.

Having served the princess for over a decade, it was the first time he had seen his master smile like that. Black Sword inwardly smiled contentedly.

“Good vassals gather under a good ruler. I don’t know all the subordinates of every prince and princess, but at least there don’t seem to be any more outstanding people than those gathered under Princess Evangeline.”

Although he spoke indirectly, it meant that Evangeline was leading in this succession battle.

It also meant that Ethan supported such an Evangeline.

Evangeline smiled quite satisfactorily.

“Of course, I don’t know much about the internal affairs of the imperial palace. As a new teacher at Ivecar Academy, I’m not well-versed in the complex matters of the world. I would appreciate it if you could take that into account.”

In fact, he knew the most.

Princess Evangeline, who had completely recovered from her incurable disease, will instantly rise to the top and exert tremendous influence.

To put it excessively, the succession battle was likely to end much faster than Ethan knew.

There was no one in the imperial palace who could check a healthy Princess Evangeline.

‘Mikel, who would originally become the official heir, is still young at this point.’

His rival, Eduardo, is less talented compared to Evangeline.

The moment Ethan cured Evangeline, the next heir to the imperial palace was as good as decided.

‘As time passes, her true value will become more and more apparent.’

With this, the worries about the territory were over.

‘Justification, and a solid backing.’

With the Sword Saint, and now the future heir to the imperial family vouching for him, who could dare to touch him carelessly?

‘The Marquis Dren family has no one they can turn to for help.’

Even the other Twelve Families won’t help. Ethan could be certain of that.

“Bring it on, Twelve Families.”

----------------------------------------

Translator Note:

Nothing serious just need an input from you guys. Do you think I should just continue using translated honorifics, or just use KR honorifics, or even use them both? Like, sometime I feel for me there are some KR honorifics like the teacher one for example. I believe in KR it’s sonsaengnim/sonsaeng. I feel like they aren’t really sound good if I put them as is, for example Ethan-sonsaengnim. So yeah what I mean to use them both is, for this type of honorifics I will translate them to English and for something like just -nim (like the simple one) I just use them as is.

What do you think?

Author's Thoughts

Hi everyone, I've completely translated this novel! For those who love this novel and wanted to binge read until the last chapter, you can go to my Patreon "Shop" page. There, I have a product in which you can read them with discounted price!