Chapter 228

At that time, the Brant family had enough power and influence to make an emperor.

The Brant family, having merged with Elil's legacy on the continent, was already one of the strongest forces even before the unification of Waltzemer's empire. The heirs of the previous imperial dynasty considered them a silent competitor rather than asking for their help.

However, the Brant family had always maintained neutrality, just as they were now a strong ally to both the church and the emperor. But the Brant family breaking their neutrality and supporting Waltzemer was enough to make him a strong candidate for the emperor in an instant.

At this point, Isaac became curious.

"Then why...?"

Isaac almost finished his sentence but realized that it could be interpreted as treason if taken wrongly, so he kept his mouth shut. However, Dietrich, perhaps having pondered similar questions many times, spoke up.

"Why wasn't it me, but Waltzemer who was made emperor?"

"...To be honest, I am curious."

In fact, although not directly, Dietrich had royal blood in his veins. So, even if he became the emperor, people might gossip behind his back, but his legitimacy wouldn't be lacking.

All the dynasties of the empire had short histories anyway. It wouldn't be strange for a new dynasty to rise. At that time, any prince could have become the emperor without raising eyebrows.

But Dietrich did not become the emperor himself.

"There's only one reason. Waltzemer was chosen."

"Because he was the Holy Body?"

"Right."

It wasn't because he was the holy body chosen by the Codex of Light.

The process of Dietrich selecting him was more complicated and elaborate.

"Who do you think is the real enemy of the imperial family?"

The Immortal Order wouldn't be the right answer. They were the enemy of the Codex of Light, not the imperial family.

However, identifying an entity as the enemy of the Gerthonian Empire was a subtle matter. Indisputably, Gerthonian Empire's national strength was the strongest on the continent. Without the intervention of the gods, there was no country or organization that could oppose them.

Isaac had a word that came to his mind immediately, but he couldn't say it aloud.

However, Dietrich was confident that his clever son-in-law knew exactly what he was referring to.

He pointed to one side of the window. It was the Ultenheim Cathedral, which had accompanied the history of Ultenheim longer than any dynasty.

The 'enemy of the Gerthonian Empire' was the 'Codex of Light.'

The reason previous empires scattered and fell apart was precisely because the church did not desire a powerful unified state.

After the Elil sect, the church did not want a force as powerful as themselves.

When Elil spread the name and fame of the Codex of Light across the continent through his sword, the incident where the most powerful tyrant split the empire in half was a great wound and betrayal to the church. Since the incident with the Elil sect, they had trauma over any power possessing absolute authority other than themselves.

Especially after the Licht Treaty, when they ceded all land to the powers and had limited control over them, they divided them and incited them to fight.

The Licht Treaty instead became a means to continuously instigate internal conflict within the empire.

"Having an ordinary person become emperor would just repeat the same process as before. The nobles were tired of internal wars. To end it, they needed proof that the power was granted by the gods."

Dietrich whispered with a bitter smile.

"To be honest, as long as we had the Holy Body, it didn't matter who the successor was. We judged that only Waltzemer was capable of ending this mess."

It was a surprising statement but understandable.

"Fortunately, Waltzemer wasn't a bloodthirsty berserker, a perverted maniac, or a fanatical zealot. Additionally, he had strong ambition and strategic insight. While a servant can do without ambition, an emperor cannot. Given the best conditions, there was no reason to hesitate."

Thus, the emperor rammed all his siblings with his horns and took the blood-soaked throne. No one raised any objections or dissatisfaction with the process. The authority placed upon him was stronger than a crown.

"The church had no choice but to accept it."

"Right. After the procedure to confirm if the emperor was a believer of the Codex of Light, they acknowledged his throne. He became emperor after swearing to uphold the Licht Treaty."

No matter how unprecedented his power was, he could not escape the grasp of the church. After completing the formal procedure, Waltzemer was granted the divine authority permitted by the gods to be exercised on earth.

"But this Dawn Army will be a significant turning point. Just as the Codex of Light reclaimed order and glory from the ancient gods, His Majesty the Emperor will seize new authority."

Isaac did not respond.

The conflict between the emperor and the church was a headache, but Isaac's goal remained the same from the beginning.

To win the Dawn Army.

He had no intention of getting caught up in the power struggles of these power-hungry ghosts. Isaac had to at least strive to ensure they didn't lose focus on their goal.

'At least make sure not to ruin the Dawn Army by fighting.'

That would be putting the cart before the horse.

Isaac inwardly supported the emperor because he seemed better suited to lead the Dawn Army. The Pope was just an extremely powerful miracle machine, and he had failed several times to secure victories for the Dawn Army.

***

"Holy Grail Knight, all the luggage has been loaded."

"Hmm, good job."

Isaac watched as the servants bowed and reported that everything was loaded. He glanced at the pile of luggage stacked in the carriage.

The reward bestowed by Waltzemer for successfully forming an alliance with Elil was immense. The three carriages were filled to the brim with treasures and riches.

All of it was destined for Issacrea Estate.

Since Isaac had also skimmed off some of the wealth sent to the Kingdom of Elil as a handling fee, the total reward he received from this mission was substantial. It was probably ten times the wealth he had accumulated while toiling in Issacrea Estate.

Though there were a few tasks left to be done in Ultenheim, he was ready to depart whenever necessary, with everything already packed.

'It's ironic that an individual mercenary makes more money than the company... well, Issacrea Estate is more like a personal vault than a mere estate.'

It could be compared to a personal Swiss bank. Without a fixed residence or a mansion in a big city, one couldn't hide such wealth, and the respect for the Holy Grail Knight among the public could diminish.

At that moment, Isaac noticed a servant hesitating, not leaving but fidgeting in place.

"Do you have something to say?"

"Um, Holy Grail Knight, if it's alright... could you hold my hand just once?"

Isaac initially thought, 'The irresistible charm of a Nephilim strikes again,' but soon grasped the real meaning behind the words.

In historical records, people often sought to touch the hands or feet of renowned saints, hoping for healing. It wasn't uncommon for saints to be dismembered after death and displayed in cathedrals and churches.

"If you need healing, you could see the village priest, couldn't you?"

However, in a world where miracles were real, money would be required, but a servant employed by the imperial family would surely have enough.

"Well, it's just... I thought if I received the blessing of the Holy Grail Knight, my son might return safely from the Dawn Army."

Isaac felt a sudden rush of heat in his head.

Before him stood one of the casualties of the war he had incited and drawn people into.

Now, he couldn't ignore it as something that would have happened even without him.

A sudden sense of harsh reality gripped Isaac's chest.

[The Nameless Chaos is watching you.]

Isaac quickly regained his composure.

He strode over to the carriage loaded with treasure and grabbed a handful of gold coins. He then piled them into the servant's hands. The servant, overwhelmed by the sudden fortune, bowed his head in shock.

"No, I can't accept this! I can't touch a reward bestowed by His Majesty! The knights will punish me if they find out!"

"This gold is from me, not His Majesty. Instead of praying or offering sacrifices, use this money to buy your son a good sword and armor. Make sure he eats well before he departs."

"Holy Grail Knight..."

"Make sure he doesn't go charging into death thinking of heaven, but desires to return home to enjoy home-cooked meals. That's the only blessing I can give."

Most of the participants in the Dawn Army chose the beautiful and blissful heaven over the harsh reality.

Isaac didn't blame them for their choice.

But he realized one thing he had to do. He didn't want to be like those who looked down and clicked their tongues.

Isaac remembered the task he had to complete before leaving Ultenheim.

***

"You're donating the treasure His Majesty gave you to the Dawn Army?"

"You shouldn't omit that it's one of the three carriage loads."

At Isaac's nonchalant response, Imperial Guard Captain Bashul Norton looked at him in disbelief.

Selling off the emperor's gift right after receiving it could be seen as not only impudent but also a challenge to the emperor's authority. And to mention it to the Chief Knight of the Imperial Guard, what was he thinking?

"I thought you had calmed down after your visit to the Kingdom of Elil, but what kind of outrageous act is this?"

'News travels slow. He probably hasn't heard that I beheaded a priest on the way back.'

Isaac thought to himself but didn't show it outwardly.

"Just think of it as a humble Holy Grail Knight unable to accept too much wealth. Besides, I have plenty of wealth in my wife's family, so I don't need it. And I'm not rejecting His Majesty's generosity; I'm donating it to the Dawn Army."

"What's the difference?"

Bashul pretended to stride past Isaac irritably but only in appearance. As a devout follower of Elil, he couldn't disregard the authority of Isaac, a great warrior of Elil.

Eventually, he turned back to Isaac and questioned him again.

"Aren't you already well-known? Why bother?"

"I disliked seeing the conscripted soldiers of the Dawn Army looking like a band of beggars with a single spear each. If the Dawn Army dispatched by the church looks like that, people should at least have something better from His Majesty to follow."

Bashul laughed dryly at Isaac's response.

In any era and any country, conscripts were poorly treated. Even in the 'holy war' of the Dawn Army, soldiers had to provide their own gear.

Though conscripts were essentially support, and the war was mainly fought by priests, holy knights, and the army, Isaac aimed to improve the treatment of those conscripts.

However, the Imperial Guard, already burdened with numerous tasks, didn't want to deal with the conscripts' treatment as well.

"Even if you do that, it'll be like a drop in the ocean. It'd be a miracle if they got new shoe soles."

Though a carriage load of treasure seemed like a lot, the number of participants in the Dawn Army was staggering. Isolde had even suggested that if that was the goal, it would be better to donate more wealth under the name of the Brant Duchy. But Isaac wasn't unaware of that when he made the proposal.

"Yes. But if the rumor spreads that the renowned Holy Grail Knight donated wealth, and the Dawn Army from the capital has better shoes, it might be different. It could pressure other wealthy priests, nobles, and royals to contribute at least a little."

If the emperor was truly smart, he would start using Isaac's donation in that way.

If they couldn't shed blood, they should at least contribute money.

Of course, those pressured would dislike Isaac, but he didn't care.

"Then why not donate all three carriages?"

"Two carriages need to be invested in the Dawn Army departing from Issacrea Estate."

Bashul looked like he had been struck again.

In fact, everything Isaac said was just his expectation; the actual outcome was uncertain.

There was a possibility that the donation might be siphoned off by someone in the middle. To minimize that, he entrusted it to Bashul, the Imperial Guard, but even he couldn't oversee everything.

Ultimately, what Isaac could salvage was only within his reach, the area he could see and touch.

The Dawn Army departing from Issacrea Estate would be much smaller, but with more wealth invested, they would be much better equipped.

This was Isaac's minimal consideration for those he dragged into the battlefield.

-TL Notes-