EBTR 11

Chapter 11…

“Are divine beasts common on the Western Continent?”

At Rone’s words, Dia immediately shook her head.

“Of course not.”

Her voice carried a note of surprise.

“The most recent divine beast on the Western Continent belonged to Lord Pell, the Grand Mage of the imperial family—about ten years ago.”

“Grand Mage…?”

Rone repeated softly, then slowly nodded.

If, as Navel said, divine beasts were beings born from the overflowing love of the gods, then it made sense that their master could be a mage.

But I’m not a mage…

“Yes. His divine beast was a lion, and with its powerful magic, he protected the House of Iber. Had misfortune not befallen him…”

Dia trailed off.

Rone turned her gaze toward her.

Now she could understand why people longed for divine beasts so much.

“Did Milthan rise in rebellion after his death?”

If so, that made sense. She had said it was about ten years ago, so the timing fit. Dia gave a slight nod.

“That’s right. His lion divine beast wielded truly powerful magic.”

Dia didn’t say more, but Rone could see what everyone, including Dia, expected from her.

They wanted her to protect the Iber dynasty, just as the Grand Mage Pell had done.

If it were possible, I wouldn’t refuse…

If such a thing could be done, Rone had no reason to deny it. The problem was, Bell didn’t seem to have any great power.

Rone gave an awkward smile. As if realizing they were speaking about him, Bell suddenly popped out of her shadow.

“Oh my!”

“That’s…!”

People gasped, bowing to the divine beast. It wasn’t quite as deep as the reverence they offered the imperial family, but it was still extremely respectful.

“Good heavens…!”

Bell yawned in Rone’s arms, indifferent to all the attention. Rone smiled wryly.

All around her, expectant gazes gathered.

The Grand Mage who had once guarded the House of Iber.

They were expecting that level of power.

“But I can’t use magic.”

It was better to deny it early, before their expectations grew too high.

Rone feared nothing more than being lifted up with hope and then cast aside.

More precisely, she feared the coldness of people who had once approached her warmly.

That was how everyone in the Eastern Continent had treated her.

She couldn’t bear for it to happen again here.

“That doesn’t matter in the least.”

But Head Maid Dia’s response was unexpected.

“…?”

Rone turned to look at her again.

“But didn’t you just say Lord Pell, the divine beast’s master, was a Grand Mage…?”

Wasn’t it his powerful magic that had defended the imperial family?

But it seemed she was mistaken. Dia gave her a gentle smile.

“Ah, but you see—Lord Pell was the divine beast’s master.”

Dia smiled kindly.

“He himself couldn’t use magic at all. It was the divine beast who wielded such tremendous power. Do you see that tower over there?”

Dia pointed out the window. Within the palace grounds stood a tall tower, its length encircled by a spiraling staircase.

“The ninth floor of that tower is where the divine beast resides. The ninth step that reaches the heavens.”

As Rone’s eyes widened, Dia patiently explained.

“In other words, the divine beast is the greatest living mage in existence.”

And by that alone, its master was worthy of respect—the bearer of such immense power.

At her words, Rone’s eyes opened even wider.

Navel was in his office. He had been gone to the Eastern Continent for about a month in total—counting the time spent on preparation and bringing Rone back.

That meant the backlog of work was enormous. The palace was still not completely rid of Milthan’s spies.

[There are still those in the palace who support Milthan. Especially Duke Rowd, whom Your Majesty ordered to be watched, has begun to stir.]

He read through the report.

“I should have secured the palace more thoroughly before bringing my sister back…”

But he hadn’t been able to delay any longer.

The temple, which had been noisy with heretic uprisings, had finally ended its civil strife after ten years.

And the first thing they had tried to do was deal with Count Rida’s daughter—the one branded as a ‘demon.’

“….”

Navel tilted his head. From the beginning, the talk of her being a demon made no sense.

Even on the Eastern Continent, the high priests of the temple couldn’t have been ignorant of the divine beasts. How could they worship the same god yet claim complete ignorance of such beings?

And yet they had abruptly sent inquisitors?

The moment he heard, he had departed for the East. It was suspicious no matter how one looked at it, and he couldn’t stand by while Rone was endangered.

In the end, that decision had been the right one.

[Upon verification, the supposed inquisitors killed at that time were not affiliated with the temple. They have been identified as assassins of unknown origin.]

In short, they weren’t from the temple at all. Someone had plotted this.

Inquisitors usually dragged heretics away to be tortured.

Which meant those impostors had a different goal—spiriting Rone away to some place where no one could find her.

“….”

Navel’s eyes narrowed as he read further.

[As Your Majesty suspected, the temple seems unaware of these supposed inquisitors.]

So it was clear: people seeking power were after his sister.

And in the current state of affairs, there was only one faction that desperately needed great magical power.

“Nesha.”

The knight waiting outside entered immediately.

“Yes, Your Majesty. Command me.”

“Look into the connection between the Eastern Continent’s Touna Temple and House Milthan.”

If Milthan sought to use the divine beast’s master’s power to overthrow the House of Iber, it would all make sense.

The problem was, they wouldn’t care about the master’s will at all.

“….”

Navel burned the report. Bringing Rone into the Imperial Palace before it was too late had been the best choice.

I don’t want to be alone.

And after all, that was what she herself had wished.

She had trusted him and followed. He could never let her fall into danger.

“And also…”

Navel gave Nesha several more orders.

The news that a divine beast’s master had entered the palace spread quickly.

After Grand Mage Pell had been assassinated, the Iber dynasty had slowly begun to collapse.

No one was unaware of that, so the people of the capital rejoiced.

At least, those loyal to Emperor Navel Iber did.

But there were also those who doubted.

“Is it true?”

“Maybe someone’s just impersonating the master of a divine beast, remembering Pell.”

“There’s no way divine beast masters appear that often.”

In fact, Pell had been the first divine beast master to appear on the Western Continent in four hundred years. And it had only been about ten years since his death. The gap was far too short.

“His Majesty brought her here. Watch your words unless you want to lose your head.”

Dia, the head maid, sternly silenced such talk. Still, she couldn’t stop all of it.

“Your Majesty, Duke Rowd requests an audience.”

It was the fourth visitor Navel had received today. Even for someone returning after a month’s absence, this was unusual.

And if it was Rowd, the matter was obvious. Navel’s eyes narrowed.

The House of Rowd was certainly tied to Milthan.

As one of the founding families of the empire, they had retained power even after the Iber dynasty’s fall—and Milthan had relied on them ever since.

Which meant Rowd had been selling information on the Ibers.

Indeed, before leaving for the East, Navel had once been chased by Rowd’s knights.

It had been years ago, but he still remembered their family crest.

“Let him in.”

But he still had no hard evidence.

The first thing Navel had done after ascending the throne was to read the thoughts of those around him.

Unlike previous emperors of the Iber line, who had hated the ability to read thoughts by touch, Navel used it without hesitation.

The Ibers had despised the power not only because an emperor once died relying too much on it and being betrayed, but because they hated what they saw each time they touched someone: the filth of human thoughts.

They longed to trust people without such things.

But there was no one in the world worth trusting. Not even spouses who shared a bed.

So the emperors of Iber had lived tormented by extreme distrust, often dying young from the stress.

The so-called “obsessive cleanliness of the Ibers” was a misconception.

In truth, they simply did not want to touch others and be forced to read their thoughts.

“….”

But Navel was different. He wielded the ability aggressively, exposing traitors early and dealing with them.

The method was simple: shake hands.

Thus the phrase “the handshake of death” had only come into use about a year ago. In that time, dozens had perished—more than half of those whose thoughts he had read.

No one dismissed him as a child any longer. Since few knew of the Iber gift, people instead believed the young emperor possessed extraordinary intelligence networks.

But Duke Rowd was one of the few who had managed to avoid Navel’s “handshake of death.”

“….”

Even so, Rowd’s aura of betrayal was strong.

But catching evidence was difficult. A sly survivor through multiple reigns, he always cleaned up traces before they could be gathered.

His methods were so ruthless that even Nesha, who had fought bloody battles beside Navel, was appalled.

“I greet Your Majesty.”

Navel looked at the bowing duke.

He knew there was not a shred of respect in him.

Rowd clearly thought little of his young emperor.

But the power to read thoughts revealed even the smallest truths.

“I hear you recently traveled to the Eastern Continent. Without a word of warning—you can’t imagine how anxious it left us.”

If he had given warning, assassins would have tailed him immediately. Of course he hadn’t. Navel smirked.

“Your concern overwhelms me.”

“I am simply glad to see you return safely.”

Rowd, now in his sixties with graying hair, bowed again with a smooth smile.

“I always trusted in Your Majesty’s wisdom to see you through. But recently there are troubling rumors—that a woman of unknown origin has entered the palace. I came out of concern.”

Concern? More like irritation.

Navel’s eyes narrowed.

The rumor of Rone being a divine beast’s master had already spread through the capital. Those seeking to restore Milthan would never welcome it.

“Unknown origin, you say.”

His quiet voice made Rowd falter. But the man quickly recovered, smiling fluently.

“…Yes. There is talk she may be the master of a divine beast, but until she climbs the tower’s summit, we cannot be certain. Since there may still be dangerous elements lingering, I speak only out of worry for Your Majesty’s safety. I beg you not to take offense.”

His tongue dripped with oil. Navel’s eyes narrowed further.

He didn’t need to touch him to know what Rowd wanted.

The tower’s ninth floor—the place closest to the gods, the highest point in the Western Empire.

And it was there that divine beast masters were tested. Navel, the sole direct heir of Iber, knew it well.

Grand Mage Pell had taken that test too.

And the test was none other than… to leap from the tower.