The hall froze, the surroundings falling into a clear state of silence. However, that silence didn’t last for very long.
Wam!
“What!?”
“A second heir?”
“How could this be?! This is massive!”
As if the presence of the Saintess wasn’t enough, another bombshell was suddenly thrown, making the entire place erupt into a frenzy.
The chaos was hard to contain as everyone talked over one another, trying to get more information from the Emperor. However, the Emperor remained calm, his expression passive.
His gaze calmly swept the surroundings, and it was then that my eyes fell on the other delegates from the Verdant Empire.
‘They’re restless.’
I could see a familiar figure in the Verdant Empire section, her light red hair swaying faintly as her brows furrowed, her blue eyes carrying a certain glint.
She was none other than Elysia J. Verdant, the crown princess of the Verdant Empire. I didn’t have the most memorable recollection of her, but from what I recalled, she was quite talented, reaching Tier 7 at the age of 28.
Although it may not have seemed particularly impressive to me, especially compared to Delilah and a few other notable figures that I had crossed paths with, the gap between tiers 6 and 7 was extremely great, and to an outsider, her feats were considered quite monstrous.
This became especially glaring when taking into consideration that some people spent decades trying to breach the barrier between the sixth and seventh tiers.
Only a few could shatter that barrier, with many failing.
I had only recently crossed Tier 6 and knew all too well how hard it would be for me to reach Tier 7.
But with that being said, I also knew that I’d be able to reach it way before her.
‘There’s no way I’m going to be stuck at tier 6 for the next five years.’
I wouldn’t let myself be stuck for that long.
Of that, I was sure.
‘…I can tell that she’s not pleased. Not just her, but the vassals behind her, as they look like they’re whispering something to her.’
From the way they were acting and the panic on their faces, they looked somewhat panicked.
It looked like the Emperor had taken them by surprise with this sudden piece of news.
‘…I can understand it, though. She is the Crown Princess.’
Within the Empires, the title of ‘Crown Prince’ or ‘Crown Princess’ simply indicated that they were leading the race for succession—typically because they were born first.
Whether they would end up becoming the Emperor or Empress simply depended on their future achievements.
Having a royal bloodline didn’t guarantee someone the throne.
As the Emperor’s voice echoed once more, the previously rowdy hall turned quiet, all eyes once again focused on the Emperor.
It was only once the silence reached a certain point that the Emperor cleared his throat and continued.
“I understand that a lot of you are confused, and rightfully so. This is a piece of news that I’ve kept hidden for quite a while. At least, I wanted to be sure that I was sure that I had found my son before announcing it.”
Another wave of murmurs swept the hall as the Emperor raised his hand, stopping the commotion once again.
“Few of you are aware, as I kept the news hidden from most of the world, but decades ago, a massive fire engulfed our Royal Estate. In that blaze, the estate was reduced to ashes… and I lost one of my sons in that fire.”
The Emperor turned his head in the direction of the Empress, who sat in the front row, his face growing softer.
“…Vareth.”
He mumbled.
“That’s the true name of the son that I had lost, and thought was gone forever. But as if god had other plans in store, I’ve finally found him.”
The Emperor lifted his head, his gaze snapping toward Leon, who frowned. His expression was difficult to read, but I could detect hints of shock and confusion—mixed, strangely, with understanding.
‘Looks like he’s not entirely shocked by the news.’
While Leon had a stupid face, he wasn’t exactly stupid. He seemed somewhat aware of his possible ties to the Verdant Empire, but also, for some reason, he didn’t seem particularly interested or concerned about his past.
‘Wait, could the words he had said to me before be some sort of hint that he was somewhat aware?’
I felt my lip twitch.
‘Oh, shit…’
I sank into my chair and hid behind the back of the person in front of me.
“Uh? What are you doing?”
Even the reporter next to me looked confused by my actions.
I just waved at her and mumbled, “Let me be. This is for my own survival.”
“What?”
As the Emperor’s gaze fell on Leon, so did the eyes of all those present.
“Does anyone recognize him?”
“Isn’t that…?”
Some did manage to recognize Leon, and looking at his eyes, people started to put the two together.
Just as the chaos was about to reach a boiling point, a crisp voice reverberated throughout.
“Hold on.”
I didn’t need to look to know who it belonged to.
‘It’s probably the Crown Princess.’
“How can you be so sure he’s the son you lost? As far as I know, he’s a knight of the Nurs Ancifa Empire.”
Considering her attendance at the Summit, she seemed well aware of Leon’s identity. And so were many other people.
As such, the sudden proclamation from the Emperor aroused a lot of doubt.
“If he truly is your son, how did he end up there? It doesn’t make sense considering how far our Empire is from the Nurs Ancifa Empire. The only possible connection is his gray eyes, but those aren’t exactly impossible to find within our Empire. The Royal Family hasn’t exactly kept to themselves in recent years.”
Her words brought a wave of new murmurs.
“That’s true!”
“…The Royal Family has married outside of nobility many times. It wouldn’t be unusual for the bloodline to have spread through generations. He might not even be related.”
“What makes you think he’s your long-lost son?”
I could tell that most of the people speaking were those in support of the Crown Princess. The reality of the matter was that while others had doubts, most of them were more interested in the unfolding drama.
And as if expecting such opposition, the Emperor remained grounded, his face serene.
“I can understand all of your doubts, but he’s without a doubt my son.”
Cutting through the doubt, the Emperor extended his hand, and Amell quickly stepped forward, handing him a parchment of paper.
“What’s that?”
Smiling, the Emperor unfurled the piece of paper in his hand, revealing a stamp and a lengthy passage.
Unconcerned with the change in expression of a few individuals, he displayed the paper for all to see.
“This right here is proof of his legitimacy.”
‘How does that confirm anything?’
Squinting my eyes to look at the paper, I was left confused by the sight, seeing just a long text that I could barely read.
And yet…
“No way, it’s true?”
“That stamp…”
I glanced around at the people surrounding me, their faces clearly etched with shock. Tilting my head, I frowned in confusion.
“So it’s true.”
Noticing that the reporter beside me recognized the paper, I felt compelled to ask, “Why is everyone acting like this from that paper?”
“Hm?”
Shifting her attention towards me, the reporter cocked her head.
“You don’t know?”
“I wouldn’t be asking if I did.”
“Haha, that’s true.”
Placing her pen to her lips and quietly chewing on it, she pointed in the direction of the paper.
“That right there is a birth certificate. It’s issued at the birth of each heir, and if you look at the stamp, you can see it’s completely untampered. A specific set of runes, arranged by experts, also ensures its authenticity.”
“Is that so?”
But that didn’t really explain my question.
“…At birth, each heir is required to place a drop of their blood on the stamp, which then records it. If someone adds their blood to the stamp later, it will react based on the degree of the match.”
“So you’re saying that if Leon drops his blood there and it matches, he’s basically confirmed to be their son?”
“Pretty much.”
“Oh…”
I leaned back further into my chair. That made a lot of sense.
I was likely the only one unaware of how the certificate worked, as all eyes were now fixed on Leon, who sat there expressionless.
However, accepting the situation, Leon gradually stood up and walked towards the Emperor.
One step. Two steps. Three steps.
All eyes were trained on him as each of his steps echoed throughout the hall.
Eventually, under the eyes of all those present, he stopped before the Emperor, who held the paper in front of Leon, his gaze warm.
“Why don’t you put some of your blood here to confirm it?”
“…..”
Leon didn’t say anything and just stared at the piece of paper in front of him.
Eventually, pursing his lips, he raised his hand and hovered it over the paper. It was just as he was about to prick his finger when a voice suddenly echoed.
“Wait.”
The one to stop him wasn’t the Crown Princess, nor anyone from the Verdant Empire.
Eventually, all eyes turned to a familiar figure, his bowl-cut hair standing out as his glasses hung low over his long nose.
It was none other than the reporter from the first day.
‘Wait, wait…’
My stomach flipped, and my entire body tensed as I looked at Leon. A thought occurred to me, and my back suddenly drenched with sweat.
“Who are you? Why are you stopping this?”
“Don’t get me wrong, Emperor. Although my actions are indeed rude, I’m only speaking up because I feel like this test is unfair.”
“Unfair?”
Another commotion broke through at the reporter’s words.
The situation hadn’t escalated yet, but I could already see where this was going. Glancing around, I searched for anyone who might have sensed something was off—but no one reacted.
My stomach churned.
“Indeed, it is unfair. While I do believe the paper is real, shouldn’t we have the delegates from the other Empires stand here to make sure there’s no foul play at hand? You must understand that something as important as this must be witnessed by all those present. This is not a small thing, after all.”
‘Ah, shit.’
My eyes darted all over the place, in an attempt to see if someone was going to start moving.
A creeping dread washed over every part of me in that moment, and right as the reporter spoke again, I stood up.
“This is something that might alter the entire—”
“Sit down.”
Swoosh, swoosh—
The eyes of every single person within the hall fell on me as I stared directly at the reporter.
Then, under the watchful eyes of all those present, I snapped my fingers.
Snap!
“Ahhhh!”
A scream pierced through the silence shortly after as I triggered the tag from before.
“Like I said… sit down.”