◈30. Fine, Take a Look at My Letter
After shouting urgently, he quietly waited for Bliss’s answer.
Even when I was punishing him later, I really wanted to hear the reason why he had caused such a scene.
Bliss, his vision flickering and unfocused, met my gaze before finally speaking in a slow, deliberate voice.
“……Ernen.”
I frowned.
“What?”
“Stay away… from Ernen.”
Ah.
Now I understand.
From the very start, Bliss had been extremely wary of my connection to Ernen—
Tthat is, The Emperor.
It was the first thing he brought up the moment he barged into my office, demanding to see the “Emperor’s letter”.
The real question was why he was so desperate to prevent me from getting closer to the emperor…
‘Stay away…? Ah, I see. I finally understand why he’s doing this.’
The reason he was so intent on keeping me from getting close to the emperor…
When I think about it, it’s a problem that can be easily figured out just by looking at Bliss’ political stance.
‘Was he afraid I’d conspire with the emperor?’
For Ernen, his half-brother Bliss was nothing more than a threat to his throne—one that he had yet to eliminate.
No matter how much Ernen pretended to be an affectionate younger brother, the truth was obvious.
Yet, until now, Ernen hadn’t been able to easily kill Bliss, and that was entirely thanks to the church.
The church was the only safe haven beyond the reach of the imperial family’s power.
But what if I—the Pope—were to ally with the emperor?
‘Yes, that’s right. That’s why he was terrified. Why he was lashing out. He thought the emperor would try to kill him with my help.’
That must be the reason.
If not, there was no way he’d get this worked up over me receiving a letter from the emperor.
I clicked my tongue.
‘……Tch.’
Somehow, the tension drained out of me.
If he’d been acting out for no reason, I would’ve beaten him senseless.
But knowing he was fighting to survive the emperor’s grasp made me feel a pang of sympathy.
It was pathetic—and oddly pitiful at the same time.
With a sigh, I loosened my grip on his collar slightly.
“Don’t worry. I have no intention of killing you.”
That was the truth.
As long as he didn’t pull insane stunts like this again, there was no need for me to go out of my way to eliminate him.
It was a perfectly reasonable response.
But then, Bliss suddenly began glaring at me with such intensity that I could feel his murderous intent.
“Then that means… you do plan to do something else, don’t you?”
“…….”
At this point, I was seriously concerned about his hearing.
What kind of ears did he have to interpret “I have no intention of killing you” as “I won’t kill you, but I’ll do something else”?
“Why the hell does your logic jump around like that?!”
I scoffed, shaking my head.
“I told you, I don’t plan on doing anything. As long as you don’t pull some insane shit like today, I won’t even bother with you.”
But that only made his expression darken even further.
“So, you’re saying… that if I do act out, you’ll use Ernen’s life to threaten me?”
“…What?”
What kind of delusional nonsense was he spouting now?
Before I could fully process what he meant, Bliss let out a dry, bitter laugh.
It was a laugh filled with contempt—not just toward me, but toward everything.
“You just admitted it yourself, didn’t you?”
His lips curled into a mocking sneer.
“You said if I behave, you won’t touch Ernen. That means you will if I don’t. In other words, you’re telling me to kneel and obey if I want my little brother to live.”
“…Are you out of your mind? When did I ever threaten you like some villain—”
“I know your kind, Pope.”
His voice was low, almost a whisper, but there was an undeniable intensity behind it.
“You’re the type that seizes weakness the moment you find it. You’re the type that can’t stand the thought of not having control over someone.”
His gaze wavered, but his hatred remained steady.
“…….”
“Yes… I’ve met plenty of your kind… Those who become obsessed… with exploiting weaknesses……”
As he continued to speak, his body swayed forward as if he were about to collapse.
Had I hit him too hard?
I tightened my grip on his collar and pulled him upright.
Damn it.
I was already injured, so even holding him up felt exhausting—
But I refused to let go.
There were too many misunderstandings left unresolved.
I needed to clear this up.
He needed to understand that I wasn’t the enemy he thought I was.
“Don’t pass out. Stay focused and listen to me properly.”
Bliss’s flickering eyelids slowly lifted again.
Then, just as I said, he stared directly into my eyes.
His gaze was intense that felt almost intrusive—searching, analyzing, as if trying to uncover any trace of deceit or ulterior motives in my expression.
I let him.
I had nothing to hide.
Once enough time had passed for him to scrutinize me to his heart’s content, I finally spoke.
“You’ve got this all wrong. When I said I wouldn’t do anything, I was talking about you.”
I made sure to emphasize my words, just in case he twisted them in his head again.
“Not the emperor. You. As long as you don’t pull another insane stunt like today, I have no reason to mess with you.”
Bliss stayed silent for a moment, then furrowed his brows.
“Then… What about Ernen? What are you planning to do to the emperor?”
I let out an exhausted sigh.
““……Why do you keep assuming I’m planning something?”
“Because I don’t see why else you’d be getting close to him.”
The hell was wrong with this guy?
I crossed my arms, narrowing my eyes.
“I didn’t approach Ernen. We just happened to meet at the orphanage. We got along. That’s it.”
At this point, I was genuinely curious.
In Bliss’s mind, what exactly was I?
Why did he think I was the type to scheme, manipulate, or plot against people?
I wasn’t mad—just… baffled.
And honestly? It was making me sulky.
Still, thanks to that, I finally understood one thing.
‘He wasn’t doing this to protect himself—he was trying to protect Ernen.’
Honestly, if I didn’t know this fact, I might have beaten him two or three more times.
I could understand that he wanted to protect his own life, but I couldn’t just ignore the fact that he’d drawn his blade and caused a scene for that reason.
But if all of this was to protect his only blood relative……
I exhaled deeply.
“Haah……”
In the end, I chose not to clench my fists again.
Instead, I reached into my pocket.
If I wanted to prove I wasn’t plotting anything, there was one clear piece of evidence I could show him.
“Here. This is the letter you were so desperate to see earlier.”
pulled out the emperor’s letter, which I had buried deep in my pocket, and held it out in front of Bliss.
This was the same letter he had fought so desperately to see.
It wasn’t something I had requested—it was a letter the emperor had sent me first.
Moreover, the letter also contained a certain amount of the emperor’s trust in me.
For example—
┼─ ─┼
…Thus, within my heart lies a cold and heavy anguish, unbefitting this warm season.
Until now, I have resigned myself to fate, accepting it as my destiny.
However, upon meeting you, I found myself daring to hope.
┼─ ─┼
…Just reading this, it was obvious how highly the emperor thought of me.
He had placed his trust in me after our first meeting, even expressing a desire to confide in me about his troubles.
“…….”
Bliss read the letter in silence, not uttering a single word.
And even after finishing it—
“…….”
He didn’t say a word.
Just sat there.
Staring.
I waited patiently.
I was genuinely curious about how he was going to react.
After all, he had stormed in here, weapons drawn, and nearly killed me over an assumption.
Surely, now that he knew the truth, he had something to say for himself.
The awkward silence gradually grew longer.
But instead of apologizing—
Bliss smiled.
“That’s a relief. I’m glad Ernen has found a friend he can confide in.”
“…What?”
“As his older brother, I’m happy for him.”
“……You’re happy?”
This bastard.
He was trying to smooth over the situation and pretend nothing happened.
Like he didn’t just break into my office, attack me, and nearly kill my aide.
I glared at him.
“Oh no, you don’t. You don’t get to just brush past this like it’s nothing.”
Bliss, finally, let out a quiet sigh.
“…I misunderstood. I apologize.”
“Yeah. You definitely did. So next time, before you go around stabbing people, maybe try asking first. Like a civilized person.”
As a civilized person, conflicts should be resolved through dialogue.
I finally let go of his collar and exhaled heavily.
Goddamn lunatic.
Honestly, this was too much.
Sure, I won’t deny that Nikellus had been… well, kind of—no, quite a bit of a scoundrel in the past.
But did I really deserve this level of scrutiny just for receiving one letter?
Bliss looked ready to accuse me of treason just for breathing the same air as Ernen.
At that moment, the sound of footsteps echoed down the hallway.
A group of knights was rushing toward my office.
It looked like Rubin had successfully moved Thomas to safety and brought back Luciana and reinforcements.
I glanced at Bliss, as if asking, “What now?” He let out a deep sigh.
“I’ll accept my punishment.”
After saying that, he allowed himself to be restrained and was dragged away without resistance.
‘Tch. If he had just talked things out from the start, none of this would’ve happened.’
I clicked my tongue, shaking my head as I watched him disappear down the hallway.
Meanwhile, Luciana, who had arrived with the knights, approached me.
“Your Holiness! Are you hurt anywhere?”
“I’m fine. Nothing serious. Though… if things had gone just a little differently, it could’ve been.”
As I said that, I gestured at the frozen walls—
Courtesy of Bliss’s skill—
And then at the shattered floor, which had suffered at the hands of my own mace.
To be clear, I wasn’t blaming Luciana for anything.
I was just answering her question.
But Luciana…
She seemed to take it differently.
She bit down on her lip, hard, before speaking again.
“This is my failure. I should have strengthened security… But I never imagined Bliss-nim would suddenly act this way.”
“It’s not your fault. Honestly, who could’ve predicted this situation?”
Luciana didn’t respond.
She just clenched her jaw, frustration evident in her expression.
After a moment, she exhaled through her nose and resumed checking my injuries.
“Regardless… I was truly worried. But why would Bliss-nim do something like this?”
“Well, it’s probably… um…”
I hesitated.
Bliss had caused this commotion out of concern for Ernen.
But unlike Bliss’s attitude today, it was known to the public that the brothers were at odds with each other and had split up.
‘They must have their reasons for pretending to be enemies. I don’t know what they are, though.’
In that case, I think it would be better for me to keep quiet about their real relationship for now.
I fabricated a plausible lie, leaving out any mention of the emperor.
“There was just a minor misunderstanding before, and that’s why.”
Luciana frowned, unconvinced.
“A misunderstanding? What kind of misunderstanding would make him draw his weapon and cause such a scene?”
“It’s a private matter, so I can’t say more. Just detain him for now. And don’t spread this around too much.”
Luciana’s expression darkened further.
“……When you say not to spread it… surely you don’t mean to skip formal procedures and simply keep him confined?”
Her gaze flickered to my torn robes, my frostbitten arm.
Her voice was sharp with concern and disapproval.
As someone responsible for my safety, my injuries seemed to weigh on her.
“…This is hardly something that can be brushed aside.”
I shook my head.
“I’m not brushing it aside. I’m saying I’ll handle it carefully. He’s still royalty, after all.”
“…….”
Luciana’s lips pressed into a thin line.
She clearly wasn’t satisfied with that answer.
“And if word gets out that a High Priest drew his blade against the Pope, it’ll severely damage the church’s reputation… Besides, it didn’t seem like he really intended to kill me. If he had, this wouldn’t have ended like this.”
Currently, three of my skills were locked, but that wasn’t the case for him.
And despite all the gruesome rumors surrounding him…
His Karma Points weren’t actually that low.
So Bliss could’ve used all his L-rank skills, and if he’d wanted to kill me, he could’ve used them without hesitation…
‘……He could’ve killed me. But he didn’t.’
Even though it seemed like he had lost his mind, he never crossed the line.
Of course, there was a possibility that his L-rank skills were healing-based and wouldn’t have helped him kill me…
Or that he simply chose not to use them for that reason.
But in the end, I decided not to overthink it.
I just wanted to believe that he didn’t intend to kill me.
That’s why he held back, even though he had the power.
…For now, I wanted to believe that.
“So, make sure the knights and attendants who are here keep their mouths shut. We don’t need unnecessary rumors spreading about what happened today.”
“…….”
There was a brief moment of silence from Luciana.
But even without her response, I could guess what she was thinking.
Sure enough, I soon heard the expected words.
“…And if I refuse to comply? What will you do then?”
I wasn’t particularly upset that Luciana was opposing me.
I could understand her feelings.
Luciana was a strict believer in justice and order.
It must have been hard to understand how the Bliss thing could be glossed over so vaguely.
But I wasn’t going to argue with her.
I had no interest in convincing her.
Instead, I simply smiled.
“In the end, you’ll still do what I ask.”
“…….”
Luciana tensed.
She stared at me, unmoving.
“You always do, don’t you?”
“…”
“Even when you think my decisions are wrong… In the end, you always follow them anyway.”
“…….”
Luciana said nothing.
Her jaw tightened, fists clenching at her sides.
Then—
She turned on her heel and walked away.
