chapter 97
pacheon 破天
“Did your family have such a knighthood?”
Carol asked with a puzzled expression. At first glance, the overall level itself wasn’t bad. Above all, the average age of the knights was young. Just looking at this vice-captain Drake, he looked like he was only in his early 30s.
It was quite unusual considering that the position of the vice-captain of the Knights was often taken by someone with a lot of experience.
“Let me explain. Can I send the rest of the knights to their intended garrison?”
said Drake, taking off his helmet.
“Do whatever you want.”
“Everyone except me is moving to the planned garrison! 1st rider, I will leave the command after that.”
thud!
Once again, the knights saluted Carol and quickly left.
The three of them, including Yulia, sat down at a small cafe in the academy.
“It is an honor to meet you, lord.”
“Lord?”
Carol’s expression became strange. If the vice-captain of the knights he had never heard of called himself master, the answer was obvious.
“That’s right. The Black Dragon Knights are Bernstein’s new knights, founded solely to serve their master.”
“Is it your father’s will?”
“you’re right. At the request of the lord, His Excellency Margrave Heinrich ordered the establishment of the Order of Knights. All members, including myself, were voluntarily selected based on their skills.”
In Carol’s judgment, Margrave Heinrich seemed to have put a lot of thought into it. The creation of the Knights Templar was not that simple. Because the knights themselves were no different from hippos eating money.
Even for a Bernstein, it was never easy to maintain only four knights. In particular, the number of knights in each order was higher than that of other territories.
‘I have to say thank you.’
Of course, what Carol gave to Bernstein was amazing, but there were too many nobles in this world who took it for granted. Most of them thought of their children as accessories of the family.
“Once you enter into a master-servant relationship with me, you will not be able to break it easily. Also, my name should take precedence over my family name. If you accept that, I will allow you to call me lord.”
In Carol’s original plan, there was no such thing as having the loyalty of family knights. The family’s knights were, after all, those who were loyal to the head of the family, and Carol had no particular intention of becoming the head of the family.
But plans have changed. First of all, if the knights swear allegiance, it was a benefit to Carol, and nothing bad.
“of course. Most of our Black Dragon Knights were inspired by the appearance of their master in the Great Northern War. His Excellency Margrave Heinrich had already commanded them to completely follow the orders of their lord when he founded the Knights. I am determined.”
Margrave Heinrich seemed to have decided that giving Carol full support would be beneficial for the family as well.
“okay.”
Carol silently nodded.
“And I want to put the master’s name on the position of the knight commander, is that okay?”
“Does not matter.”
Since the person in charge, Drake, was the vice-captain, it seemed that he had come with this in mind in the first place.
‘It’s okay.’
Even to test a large group of passers-by, the family’s knights were qualified.
There were passing camps in Shinkyo as well, but they were inferior to Shaolin’s 108 Arhats.
Carol was continuing to study the large-scale successful candidates.
“Then I’ll just step back. If you have any orders, please call me anytime.”
“i get it.”
Drake ignored it and left for the knights camp outside the academy.
“Yulia, what do you think?”
Carol asked, looking at Yulia, who was staring at Drake.
“You are a strong person.”
“You can be honest.”
“It’s strong, but I don’t think I’m going to lose.”
immediate answer. Yulia smiled calmly.
“That is correct. If you can only use your ability properly, you should be able to finish it in less than 10 seconds. However, Drake has been trained in real combat, so it won’t be easy to finish him off quickly once he actually fights.”
Yulia, who took Dragon Heart and awakened her inner eye, is completely different from the days when she painfully felt the lack of talent in the past.
Even if it was difficult to win now, it was clear that he would not be easily defeated even if he fought Princess Riena or Stella.
Nonetheless, everyone still has a long way to go.
‘It’s starting now.’
So far, it had been exceeding Carol’s expected range in a good way.
* * *
Rumors about Carol were rapidly spreading beyond the West and the Center to the East.
One-man Legion, Imperial Hero, Black Saint, Bernstein’s Monster, Terminator, Black Flame Dragon, etc.
All sorts of fancy modifiers followed in front of Carol.
Of course, it was the imperial family, not the imperial people, who were watching such things the most.
‘It’s been a while.’
Carol was on her way to the imperial palace after being called by the emperor. Of course, Carol expected this far.
The imperial family neglects the hero who ended the war in the west alone?
Even the imperial family did not want such disquieting rumors to spread. This was also related to the prestige of the imperial family.
Of course, Carol expected that and prepared to meet the emperor. In the first place, even if it wasn’t like this, I had the thought of meeting again.
‘It is very likely that the emperor knows.’
Saying that Arcadia was involved in the creation of the empire.
An imperial family with dragon blood.
In addition, the current emperor has awakened Yongan.
That said, it was also said that the field of view was somewhat similar to that of dragons.
Of course, as long as he’s a human, we’ll have to talk about whether he’s the same as a dragon or if there’s a limit.
Unlike before, the place Carol was guided to was not a grand war. It wasn’t even a fancy drawing room.
Rather, it was so simple that it was hard to believe that the emperor of the Empire had invited it.
The area itself was not that small, but there was only one round table and a few chairs inside, so it felt empty.
“His Majesty will arrive soon. Please wait a moment.”
Courtier Robert, who served as the guide, bowed his head and went out of the room.
‘Lonely?’
This was surprising to Carol as well. Of course, it seemed that there was a secret escort, judging from the fact that there was a slight presence around them.
The distance was a bit far. If Carol had the heart to attack, she could never stop it.
‘I don’t know if he’s bold or trusts me.’
The closed door opened, and a man in comfortable clothes entered.
Emperor Leopold III of the Franz Empire.
As before, the indifferent expression on his face was still the same.
“Sit down.”
When Carol stood up and tried to bow, the emperor waved lightly to dissuade her.
Golden eyes that seemed to see through everything.
The emperor, sitting on the opposite side of Carol, began to speak in a low voice with his eyes shining.
“Carl of Bernstein.”
“yes.”
Even in front of the emperor, Carol remained calm. Even the lofty position of the emperor of the empire was, to Carol, nothing more than Princess Riena’s father.
“What a curious look.”
“I didn’t know there was a place like this in the imperial palace.”
It wasn’t just a room for private parties, but the surroundings were full of magical energy.
“The Empire has many secrets. There are many who want to be spied on. This is a place that blocks all observation.”
“It would be nice to have an honest talk.”
Just as Carol thought of meeting the emperor, the emperor also felt the need to do so. Until now, Carol’s behavior could not be regarded as an ordinary aristocrat. The more I looked into it, the more I wondered if I even coveted resonance.
“Yes. I heard about the West. Marquis Albrecht made a fuss as if he had welcomed a god.”
Carol sensed that there was a strange pleasure in the emperor’s boring tone. Perhaps it was not a magnificent war, but the emperor also seemed to reveal a little bit of a human side.
“It was necessary.”
“It’s necessary… Karl of Bernstein, what are you moving for?”
The emperor asked Carol in a relaxed tone.
“Before that, I want to ask you one thing first.”
It was unimaginable for a child of an aristocratic family to say such a thing to the emperor.
If there were vassals around him, he would definitely have yelled at Carol.
Neither Carol nor the emperor cared at all and continued talking.
“Speak.”
On the contrary, the emperor’s gaze contained a little bit of interest.
“How much do you know?”
At Carol’s vague question, the emperor rested his chin and half-opened his eyes.
“fall.”
The thought did not last long. The emperor spoke one word at once.
“also.”
Carol nodded slowly. I believed that no one else but the emperor of the empire would know.
“Is it a dragon?”
The words continued like a dialogue.
“This is Arcadia.”
The emperor’s eyebrows twitched.
“Arcadia. Was it her too?”
“Do you know?”
“Yes.”
If you knew that far, the story would be simpler.
“How far has His Majesty looked?”
“Sooner or later I will die soon.”
“what…?”
Even Carol couldn’t keep her mouth shut for a moment at the emperor’s calm words.
“It’s hard to see because of the tangled threads of fate, but it’s certain that my end is not far.”
As if talking about someone else’s death, the emperor explained his death.
“I might be able to change it.”
“Maybe.”
“I’ve already had experience changing it.”
“Is it a swordsmith?”
“That’s right.”
Before Leopold III was the emperor of the empire, he was the father of Princess Riena.
The death of the student’s father was not what Carol wanted at all.
“More than that, I should reward you for your contribution. Do you want a manor?”
“Don’t you know?”
“Right. Was it a rumor?”
“I’m trying to make one knights.”
“Do you want to be directly under the imperial family?”
“That’s right.”
“Lend me your name. Feel free to use it.”
“thank you.”
Even though Carol didn’t explain too much, things progressed smoothly. By the time the conversation has reached its final stage.
“I can’t move.”
The emperor slowly raised his finger and pointed to the sky.
“Are there any restrictions?”
“Human beings are assigned certain roles from birth.”
“Like a nobleman?”
The emperor shook his head slowly at Carol’s question.
The emperor’s words that followed were surprising even to Carol.
“no. It’s not such a simple concept. It must be a mission of some sort. i see a lot But most crabs just watch.”
“Isn’t it possible to change it if you can see it?”
It was hard to understand from Carol’s point of view, who denied the predetermined fate or natural law.
“The logic of the world is subtle, so even if I forcibly play what I saw, the result will not change. Decisive destiny will come true in one form or another.”
“Wouldn’t it be better to try?”
“When I was young, I tried to change some of the fates I saw. The results did not change. And the price of the attempt was my lifespan. Providence must not have allowed it.”
Futility dwelled in the emperor’s eyes.
“I hope the end is not far…”
Carol muttered as if realizing something.
“On the other hand, you are different. Even after twisting the fate that could not be changed, he did not receive any payment. Your destiny was invisible from the beginning.”
“The cause of His Majesty’s end, is it unknown?”
If you know the reason, you can change it somehow.
“I do not know. It’s not like I can see everything exactly. I can’t see what shape my end will be. I can only feel it intuitively. Maybe it’s a sudden illness, maybe it’s an assassination.”
How would you feel if you couldn’t change the future even if you watched it?
Carol couldn’t even guess.
It was unreasonable.
Because it is a world where God exists.
Or was this world itself devastated in the first place?
I don’t know.
“I will prevent destruction.”
The emperor’s eyes as he gazed at Carol shook slightly.
“I was right to invest in you.”
In the end, the bestowal of the dragon heart piece to Carol was the correct answer despite Robert’s objection.
In order to change the fate that was set, I was just trying to make a small gap through the invisible fate.
Carol overwhelmingly exceeded the emperor’s expectations.
“I don’t know if it’s fate or providence, but if that’s the will of heaven, that too will be blocked.”
Carol’s field of vision was limited.
There was no eye that saw many things like the emperor.
Whether or not the death of the emperor could be prevented was unknown.
Even if the emperor is defeated by fate.
‘It breaks the heavenly li itself.’
So that human beings are no longer regarded as chess pieces in the sky.
It didn’t matter if its name was God or Destruction or whatever.
Along with martial arts, it is a goal to pursue for the rest of your life.
At this moment, Carol quietly established the will of breaking heaven.