I Became the Teacher of the Imperial Family’s Bastard

036. Founding Festival (2)

The switch, the elder’s interest in it.

Combining these two elements, there was a fact to be realized.

That old monster is a survivor of the racial war from a thousand years ago.

Naturally, he is one of those who faced my ancestor and the founding emperor, becoming a cornerstone of this alliance.

If that’s the case.

‘…He might know.’

Could the author be aware of this suspicious switch?

Could he have actually seen it being used properly?

That was the conclusion I reached.

Soon, a conjecture close to a leap of logic arose within me.

‘…Was it the elves who targeted Pharos?’

Before the regression, the culprits who burned Pharos to the ground without leaving a trace might have been the elves.

Indeed, even I do not know the full extent of this switch’s potential.

This is an object that deserves to be called a divine artifact, so how could there be no greed?

Let’s hypothesize.

Elder knows the proper utility of the switch.

Hence, he shows such immense interest.

That interest might be mixed with greed.

That could have led to the attack on Pharos before the regression.

The rising suspicion heightened my hostility.

At that moment, Elder raised his head.

Our eyes met.

I quietly looked into his eyes.

I felt an overwhelming pressure as if time had stopped.

The depth of the distant mana beyond his pupils made me vividly realize the weight of a thousand years.

But I couldn’t take my eyes off.

In the standoff, Elder and I stared at each other for quite a long time.

In the meantime, the prince’s speech ended.

As the tune changed, people began to move busily.

We were still there.

It was Elder who first looked away.

He whispered something to the young elf assisting him, and soon disappeared from his seat.

What did they talk about?

The question didn’t last long.

Because the elf who heard the message approached me.

The young female elf, dressed in their traditional attire, greeted me politely and then whispered quietly to me.

“The Elder wishes to meet you separately. If it’s not too much trouble, could you spare a moment…?”

My eyebrows raised.

‘No hostility detected.’

I hesitated for a moment, but the answer was obvious.

Even if it wasn’t about the switch or the family, a conversation with Elder was something I needed.

“…Please guide me. Sister, I’ll be back shortly.”

“Yes, please go ahead.”

I asked for my sister’s understanding and followed the elf.

The tension remained.

* * *

The reception room we arrived at.

Elder was sitting on the sofa, and when I entered, he looked at me.

The wrinkles drawn on his face revealed his strictness.

His white, thinning hair and deep eyes exuded an air of desolation, as much as the years he had lived.

He is an opponent I cannot relax around.

Indeed, if he wished, he could bring disaster to the heart of this imperial city.

His eyes were still activated, observing any anomalies.

I bowed my head slightly in that state.

“I greet the First Pillar of the World Tree.”

“Welcome, descendant of Pharos.”

His gaze was still on my switch.

It was the moment his brows furrowed.

“There is no need to be wary. I have no intention of taking it.”

“…?”

“The sacred tree, I mean. The switch you possess.”

My head lifted.

Sacred tree, I just now learned that was its name.

Elder spoke to me, as if it was no big deal, despite my surprise.

“You cannot claim ownership. It was never something permitted to us in the first place.”

“…Permitted, you say.”

“The sacred tree chooses its own master. That sacred tree chose your ancestor. Therefore, we cannot claim any ownership over it.”

“You seem to know well what this is.”

I hinted.

And then, I received an answer that could be called shocking.

“How could I not know? It is a term referring to the branch of the Mother World Tree.”

“…!”

“That is why I say such things. If you harbor greed for the sacred tree, it would be an act against the will of the Mother.”

My eyes hardened.

The statement that this rod was part of the World Tree was shocking.

‘This is a branch?’

The texture was infinitely close to iron, yet how could it be so?

Moreover, the term ‘branch’ was even stranger.

‘The World Tree shouldn’t have branches.’

The World Tree was merely a gigantic tree trunk.

That was what the actual observation records said, and that was what had been historically passed down.

For some reason, it stood in the middle of the great forest without roots, branches, or leaves, just its massive body.

But, aside from such doubts, one fact became solidified.

‘…Elves are excluded from suspicion.’

Mother spoke of the World Tree.

This cannot be a lie.

It may seem absurd by human standards to have faith as a reason, but that is their nature.

The World Tree is a god that descended in the form of a tree, unlike other gods.

Elves are a race that receives the blessing of spirit affinity under its protection.

Therefore, their faith is an absolute proposition above survival or greed.

From birth, loyalty to the World Tree is imprinted on their souls.

Mother’s choice, no claim of ownership.

The moment they dared to mention the World Tree, they proved themselves not to be the beasts of Pharos.

The tension eases a bit.

In the somewhat relaxed atmosphere, Elder continued to speak.

“Even if your ancestor has already passed away, it is the same. Are you not also handling that sacred tree?”

Handling it probably refers to seeing the demon’s pattern.

I silently nodded in agreement.

Then Elder nodded and added a word.

“You too are chosen. Therefore, we cannot be greedy.”

Silence fell for a moment.

In that silence, I wove a question.

“Could you perhaps tell me what you know about this switch… the sacred tree? There are no records within the family.”

It is natural to seize any opportunity to learn something.

In fact, they were answering my words well, which was an unexpected boon.

One, did I think too easily?

Elder shook his head.

“I cannot tell you.”

“…Pardon?”

“It was that kind of ‘promise’.”

Thud, my body froze.

My eyes widened.

A promise of friendship, it sounded like it was related to the rod.

“What is that promise?”

“That too, I cannot tell you. A promise must not become words until it is fulfilled.”

Elder stood up.

As if he was about to leave, urgency welled up.

“Wait…”

“I came here to verify your qualifications. And the verification is complete. This generation’s Dragon Blood is excellent. The Guide has qualified. So I will tell you.”

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Elder spoke at a pace that was not fast, but firm.

“As Dragon Blood and Guide have proven their qualifications with appropriate evidence, come to the Great Forest on the day you inherit all authority and find me, Regilion. Our covenant will be fulfilled at that moment.”

Dragon Blood refers to the crown prince, and Guide refers to me.

Inheriting authority means that I will fully inherit the family when I come of age.

Additionally, it means to complete the ‘succession ceremony’.

I wanted to ask more, but I couldn’t.

‘Compulsion?’

I could tell that saying he couldn’t tell me was different from saying he didn’t want to.

The promise made by the founding emperor and the ancestors seemed to carry a kind of compulsion.

So I changed my question.

“At that time, will you tell me what the promise is? What is this switch?”

“Surely. That too was a promise.”

I glared intensely.

The elder, unfazed by my gaze, gave a short nod and said,

“I hope to see the master of the sacred tree again. I do not wish for the wait to continue.”

The elder left.

Even after he left, I had to stand there for quite a long time, organizing what I had heard.

* * *

The grand elder of the elves, Regilion, walked leisurely through the garden of the imperial castle.

The guardians accompanying him followed silently.

It was during this time.

“Elder.”

“Hmm, Nihiah.”

“Do they really have the qualifications?”

Regilion’s gaze fell on Nihiah, the commander of the guardians.

The rebellious eyes of the young girl, who was just 300 years old, were full of defiance.

In other words, by elven standards, he was still at an immature age, a time when he would be tormented by intense emotions.

Nevertheless, his exceptional abilities had made him the commander of the Guardians, so such youthful vigor was understandable.

Regilion averted his gaze and replied.

“There are. They were undoubtedly the most qualified individuals in the past thousand years.”

He recalled the crown prince he had encountered at the banquet.

His soul burned with gold, just as Regilion remembered.

As someone who claimed to be his successor, his presence evoked the unpleasant memories from the past.

However, what impressed Regilion even more was Yuren.

‘He was already resonating.’

It was an astonishing resonance.

As far as Regilion knew, unless the ‘succession ceremony’ was performed, resonating with the sacred tree was difficult. How had he managed to achieve the first resonance already?

When he first heard the news that Yuren had captured a demon, he was skeptical.

It was something that could have been overlooked, but the fact that he had ascended to the position of crown prince… In other words, the fact that he had become the master of the sacred tree made it impossible for Regilion to dismiss it as mere suspicion.

Knowing that the best way to dispel doubt was to see it with his own eyes, he made the journey.

In the end, it turned out that Yuren was indeed resonating.

There was only one reason.

‘The blood manifested itself.’

Regilion’s eyes darkened.

Despite the generations that had passed, the fact that there was still someone who could manifest that blood filled him with a strange sense of nostalgia.

Or perhaps it was an unnecessary concern that the moment to fulfill the promise was approaching.

His insides felt inexplicably suffocated.

“…But Elder.”

“Mm.”

“They are mere humans who haven’t even lived for 20 years. How could they possibly…”

“Nihia. Watch your words.”

“…I apologize.”

Nihia’s lips clamped shut.

But her expression was still far from convinced.

Regilion understood her rebellious demeanor to some extent.

A thousand years ago, he had been just like her.

Regilion offered advice born from experience.

“Do not underestimate humans. They burn brightly precisely because their lives are short.”

“…Yes.”

She still seemed to have much to say.

It was clear she wouldn’t listen to anything.

Regilion stroked his chin absentmindedly at the sight.

‘Perhaps we are no different when it comes to learning the hard way.’

He recalled his own days of reckless abandon.

—Huff, huff!!!

—Got you! You pointy-eared b*stard!

—You tormented us, so now you must be punished?

Regilion’s hand, which had been stroking his chin, flinched.

Even though it was a memory from a thousand years ago, why does the pain in his jaw from that day still come back so vividly?

Why does the bright smile of Yonghyeol not fade?

Why is the trajectory that the sacred tree drew that day so clear, as if it were visible to the eye?

“Hmm…”

Regilion looked up at the sky of the capital with an uneasy heart.

Unlike the great forest, there were no leaves to block the sky, so the stars were clearly visible.

* * *

The founding festival ended without any particular incident.

I looked around with a switch in hand the whole time, but there was no one among the guests, internally or externally, who was associated with demons.

So my only concern was the words I heard during the audience with Elder.

I talked to the crown prince about it, and his answer was this:

―Hmm, it seems like a matter that is difficult to understand immediately and even has a forced aspect to it. But from what I heard, it didn’t seem like a bad atmosphere. As he said, once your succession is over, we can go to the great forest together and figure out the situation, can’t we?

It was a sound argument.

It’s a problem that won’t be solved by worrying about it right now, and it’s not something that involves other incidents until the covenant with the elves comes up.

From the crown prince’s perspective, it ends there.

The reason I was unnecessarily concerned was because Elder knew about Pharos’s succession ceremony.

‘How does he know something that wouldn’t be passed down unless it’s direct lineage?’

…Well, that’s something I’ll eventually find out too.

As the crown prince said, if it’s something that can’t be solved by worrying about it right now, it’s best to bury it.

Above all, there was a harvest even excluding that.

‘Sacred tree, sacred tree. If we search around the word, we might find something.’

Isn’t it important to properly understand the use of the items we use?

I plan to continue investigating this part.

Anyway, that concludes the organization of the founding festival.

After the big event, the lessons with the crown prince resumed.

On the first day of class that approached.

Smack!

“Ugh…!”

It was after I had beaten the crown prince as usual during the lesson.

The crown prince, who had returned to the palace, rubbed ice over his eyes.

While watching that scene with satisfaction, the crown prince spoke.

“Ah, I forgot to mention this.”

“What is it?”

“It’s about time we start.”

Start what?

I didn’t ask that question.

There was only one thing the crown prince and I had to discuss and handle immediately.

“I have chosen the first target to erase Rebecca’s stigma.”

“Who is it?”

“The Holy See. Their saint.”

I nodded.

“Come to think of it, a request for a witness investigation has come in.”

Beatrice’s demon summoning.

The Papal Office moved for a thorough investigation, and the Crown Prince and I were designated as key witnesses.

Since the two of us who knew the inside story kept our mouths shut, the investigation was sluggish, and for that reason, the other side approached us, thinking we might know something.

It was a good phenomenon.

It meant that we could observe the saint from a position where our actions were not suspected.

The Crown Prince smiled faintly with a bruised face.

“Now, let’s find out what that sly friend is thinking. And one more thing.”

Words were added.

At that moment, I felt quite uncomfortable.

“We need to investigate the saintess. She is in the best position to notice the saint’s anomaly.”

My fingertips trembled slightly.

End

ⓒ papapa.

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