CHAPTER 3. Awakening, Becoming a Married Couple
1. Time of Awakening (1)
A pillar of light rose.
The pillar of light that shot up from the northeastern region of the Macfeyden Empire revealed its presence not just in the northeast but throughout the entire empire.
At a time when only the moon and stars should be visible, this anomaly illuminated one side of the sky brightly, causing imperial citizens to come out in the middle of the night, shouting and watching in wonder.
“What’s going on here?”
“That’s what I’m saying!”
“Could it be some kind of sign?”
“I think I heard something about this phenomenon from my grandfather… what was it…?”
“Now that you mention it, I think I’ve heard about this too!”
“Oh, could it be?”
“Is it that?”
People were initially puzzled by this strange phenomenon they had never seen before, but eventually remembered one particular occurrence that had been passed down from grandfather to grandfather, grandmother to grandmother.
“It’s a Covenant holder!”
“A Guardian Spirit’s contractor has appeared!”
“Wooow!”
“Who could it be?”
“Our empire will be safe now!”
“Haha! That’s right! I heard the Southern Alliance has been provoking us lately, but when they hear this news, they’ll think twice!”
Though no one could definitively confirm what this phenomenon was, the imperial citizens, having lived in the country of Guardian Spirits for a long time, knew the basic information passed down from their ancestors.
The existence of a pillar of light that doesn’t disappear even at night.
It meant the birth of a new Covenant holder.
* * *
In a chamber of the imperial palace.
A man and woman were entangled on a bed.
“Ah–, aah!”
“Does it feel that good?”
“Yes, Your Highness! It’s good! More…!”
The prince, who had been locked in the bedroom since daylight pursuing pleasure under the pretext of inheriting the Guardian Spirit,
“Prince!”
Hearing someone calling him from outside, he frowned deeply.
“What is it?”
“There’s urgent news.”
The woman who had been lying face down collapsed from the prince’s rough movement as he irritably withdrew his body. But the prince paid no attention and shouted while opening the door.
“How dare you interrupt me when I’m working day and night to inherit the Guardian Spirit!?”
“Y-Your Highness! There’s something urgent–”
“What could be more urgent than inheriting the Guardian Spirit?”
“A Co-Covenant holder has appeared!”
“…What?”
“A new Covenant holder after 500 years!”
“…What is this.”
“A pillar of light has appeared.”
Only then did the prince turn and hurriedly open the terrace doors.
In the night sky far away, a light haze appeared like dawn. Though it must be a pillar of light over there, due to the distance, it only appeared as a dim glow brightening one side of the sky from here.
Even so, its strangeness was extraordinary, telling anyone who saw it that a Covenant holder had appeared.
“…In that direction, where is that?”
The prince asked without looking back, then turned around when there was no answer.
His aide was standing outside the door with his head turned away.
“You bastard! I’m asking you!”
“Y-Yes? But since this is a bedroom…”
The woman on the bed pulled up the blanket to cover herself, her eyes glistening with tears.
“Your Highness, I’m here…”
“Just cover yourself roughly, that’ll do! Is that important right now?! Answer my question. Which direction is that?”
“The northeast, Your Highness.”
“…The northeast?”
The prince wrinkled his brow at the mention of the northeast.
“Why does it have to be the northeast again? How unlucky.”
But soon, his expression changed to something peculiar.
“No, my reign will begin soon, and a new Covenant holder… Perhaps heaven is watching over me.”
“……”
“Hey, come here.”
“Yes!”
“No, never mind. We need to have an important discussion.”
The prince turned and took his aide outside the bedroom.
Entering the reception room, he lowered his voice and ordered.
“Find out who the Covenant holder is immediately.”
“Yes.”
“And…”
The prince stroked his chin, lost in thought for a moment.
“Find out the Covenant holder’s gender and age. If it’s a young woman, bring her to the imperial palace by any means necessary.”
“But if they’re a Covenant holder, we should at least treat them with the status of a Count…”
“We can make excuses about titles, or say the imperial family invited them for verification, can’t we?! Do I have to spell out every method for you?!”
“Yes! I apologize!”
“If it’s not a woman, find out if there are any young women in their family, especially among direct descendants.”
“Yes.”
“No, invite that woman to the imperial palace too.”
“Understood!”
“This is important. Make sure it goes smoothly.”
“Should we request help from the lord of the northeast?”
“No, keep it secret. If possible, create confusion in the information flow. Make sure I’m the first to know about the Covenant holder’s information.”
“Yes. Understood.”
After the aide left, the prince sank deeper into thought.
“If they’re capable of becoming a Covenant holder, wouldn’t pregnancy be easier too?”
Spirit powers couldn’t open warp gates. If they could open warp gates, he would have gone to the northeast region immediately to check himself.
“Every single one of them is useless.”
Gillian thought the reason he still couldn’t inherit was because the women’s spirit power was too low or their families were insignificant.
Suddenly remembering the lady of House Debov whose spirit power reading had shown a purple-tinged blue light, he gritted his teeth.
“She had the highest reading among all the women measured so far…”
He couldn’t shake the thought that if he had just held her for one passionate night, she would have immediately conceived his child. Despite this being an unfounded conviction, he was consumed by such delusions.
As a result, he felt very displeased about having his woman taken by Duke Kramer.
“Once I become Emperor…”
He hadn’t forgotten.
How dare Duke Kramer do that to him.
How dare Saena Debov reject him.
“To think that one who will become the Empire’s Emperor can’t freely choose and marry women, the imperial authority shouldn’t be like this anymore, absolutely not.”
Even marrying a lady from the most noble family would barely be sufficient for his status, so why should he have to take a lady from some unknown provincial family as his wife?
In his mind, this was truly absurd and completely unfair.
He resolved that once he became Emperor, he would change the law so that ladies from central nobility or duke and marquis families could all be tested for spirit power and be brought in as Hebeta candidates.
“Still, for now, I hope this Covenant holder is from a humble family.”
That would make them easier to manipulate as he pleased.
The prince sank into thought, hoping his aide would return quickly with results.
He had long forgotten about the woman he left in the bedroom.
* * *
As seen in historical records,
As heard in oral traditions,
The pillar of light announcing the birth of a new Covenant holder existed for a full day and night.
The vast empire was mobilizing every connection to find out the identity of the newly appeared Covenant holder faster than anyone else.
While the entire empire was stirring over the existence of a new Covenant holder appearing after 500 years, the area near the actual pillar of light was wrapped in silence, emanating a desperate atmosphere.
“…Saena!”
A man fell to his knees on the ground, bowing his body.
“Please… Saena…”
From afar, this pillar of light might appear majestic, impressive, or enviable. But for Constantine right now, it was an unwanted obstacle that shouldn’t exist in this world.
The light rays filling the entire area around the spring prevented anyone from approaching while revealing its existence.
From the outer perimeter, he was on the verge of madness, unable to control his burning insides as he couldn’t confirm Saena’s survival or condition at all.
Because he couldn’t be certain.
At first glance, this pillar of light seemed to indicate the birth of a Covenant holder, but Constantine was someone who knew the context of the situation.
After Saena was sucked into the spring while trying to open the relic, the pillar of light shot up—how could this be seen as the birth of a Covenant holder?
No one had ever become a Covenant holder just by opening a relic site. It was unprecedented in any records or memoranda.
What if this pillar of light was merely a phenomenon announcing the opening of a relic…?
He felt like he would go mad thinking about such unwanted possibilities.
‘…Please, Saena! If you’re just alive…’
No. It will be fine. It will be fine. Right…?
“Disappear!”
Though knowing it was useless, Constantine raised Caligo’s power and tried everything to break through into the pillar of light.
He kept getting thrown back before he could even get close.
‘I shouldn’t have left her alone!’
Regardless of Caligo’s condition, he shouldn’t have left the hot spring.
No, he shouldn’t have left this area.
But regret always comes too late, no matter how quick.
“No. Not like this…”
Though the light rays were strong enough to damage his eyes if he kept staring, Constantine continued to glare at it. Even as his eyes became bloodshot and tears formed from the intense light stimulation, he still didn’t close them. No, he couldn’t.
Afraid it might vanish like a mirage, he couldn’t take his eyes off it.
Because right now, that pillar was the only evidence of any existence…
Whoosh–!
But at some point, the pillar of light suddenly dissipated.
As if the ground was absorbing the light rays, the pillar sank and soon seeped into the surface. And in its place, only a deep cavity connecting to the depths below remained, revealing its existence.
No trace of the original spring remained. If one hadn’t seen it before, they wouldn’t know there had been a hot spring here at all, as not even a hint of moisture remained.
“…Please!”
Though the space beyond the cavity looked dark and deep enough to require one’s life as collateral to enter, Constantine immediately launched himself forward.
There was no need for deep thought. It was where Saena had disappeared.
As if being swallowed by the earth, his figure vanished in an instant.
* * *
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