Chapter 384: The Nurtured Vessel
「But you saw it too. Just having Cicero sit in the academy office to handle a few simple matters, he couldn't sit still. He kept trying to escape. If not for arranging for Vito and Leo to stand guard there in advance, he really might have gotten away,」 said Corleon.
「If we let him sit on the throne, who knows what state the kingdom would be in by the time it’s handed to you.」
Olivia said,「Isn’t there still the Senate? And there's still Agamemnon.」
Corleon replied,「The Senate system has its own limitations. It doesn't suit this era. Managing the entire Greenwood is already strenuous. The further south the influence spreads, the weaker the Senate’s sway becomes. That’s exactly why those personal guards of Pegira hinted at needing frontier lands at the kingdom’s borders. Besides implying the need for a count or marquisate title, they also saw the boundary of the Senate’s control.」
Olivia’s brows furrowed.
Looking at Olivia, Corleon continued,「For Lundex, the Empire is only just beginning. The Senate, in the end, is only a transition.」
Olivia asked,「Then what about the senators once the Senate becomes obsolete?」
Corleon chuckled,「That’s a matter for the future. Do you really want to know about it now?」
Whether it was future matters or present ones, or what problems would arise from knowing the future in advance—Olivia didn’t care. She only cared about what she wanted to know, so she said,「Didn’t you already say it? I will be the future king. Then shouldn’t it be natural for me, the future king, to know the matters of the future?」
In a certain sense, Olivia truly was a genius. At the very least, even when acting spoiled, she would think to come up with a justification—and one that sounded like a justification—and she even looked utterly convinced by her own words.
Corleon didn’t spoil her fun and said,「Of course. The future king knowing the future is only fitting. That’s also a power the future king ought to possess.」
Then he added,「To transition from the Old Testament Era to the New Testament Era, how could it be done just by changing the calendar? Even the senators at the heart of New Testament Era power—except for Agamemnon—have all held power since the Old Testament Era. That ingrained way of maintaining authority has fused into their instincts. From what I see, while they seem to act according to the Church’s teachings, in truth, they haven’t truly accepted the New Testament Era.
「They’re merely holding power in the present, and it is only required that they accept the New Testament Era.」
「And now your Red Dragon Knight Order is cleansing those who, both in action and heart, still belong to the Old Testament Era. Later, you'll have to deal with those whose hearts or actions still stand in the old ways. At that point, wouldn’t these senators at the kingdom’s core of power make the perfect justification?」
「Whether it’s treason, rebellion, smuggling, or crime—amplify any particular crime, and in the end, uproot both the senator and everything behind him. Use these people in power as proof of the law’s absolute authority.」
Olivia seemed deep in thought. She asked,「Will this still be handled by Agamemnon?」
Corleon looked at her and said,「That depends on you—on the will of the king.」
Olivia scrunched her face in distaste.「Why do I have to do this kind of thing after becoming king? Can’t you clean up all the garbage before I ascend? Once I’m on the throne, I should only have to fight.」
After saying that, she suddenly wore an expression of 「I have a brilliant idea」 and said to Corleon:
「So we should just put that guy Cicero on the throne before me. If he tries to run, I’ll break his legs. That way, he won’t be able to escape.」 Olivia spoke with utmost seriousness. 「Back then, all his magical items lost effect. Right now, he’s just an ordinary Tier Four. According to the new Knight Guild’s standards, he isn’t even considered a knight. If I break his legs, he definitely won’t be able to run.」
Corleon replied,「I won’t stop you from breaking his legs. If he’s not willing to work, then Vito and Leo won’t have time to care for the children. And the children in Glory Fortress are very important.」
「But he can’t become king. He’s already been stripped of his inheritance rights by Pegira.」
Olivia said,「That old thing’s dead—completely dead. What he said while alive doesn’t matter after death, unless you—」
She lifted her hands from the table, brought them together beneath her chin, and tilted her head slightly upward. The entire space seemed to become her stage, and her radiant golden hair shimmered with light.
She declared solemnly,「.—If the great Pope of the Church of the Sanctuary nods in agreement, then he can become the new king of the kingdom. On that day, the entire kingdom will sing his praises, for he is the Holy King appointed by the Lord.」
After that, she leaned on the table again. The divine expression faded, replaced by one of utter disdain.「As for that thoroughly dead old thing, who even cares what he said?」
Corleon looked at Olivia with an expression one might give a work of art.「The way you looked just now should be painted—that kind of sanctity, just looking at it embodies all the world’s beauty.」
Olivia corrected him,「That’s not important. What’s important is that Cicero must be the one to sit on the throne and do all those boring things.」
「Think about it. That old thing made a mess of Greenwood—shouldn’t the little one go clean it up? It’s only natural.」
Corleon said,「But didn’t you just say that proper inheritance is what’s right?」
Olivia froze, then her face blossomed into a radiant smile. She lightly kicked her chair aside, walked up beside Corleon, crouched down, rested on his legs, looked up at him with wide eyes, and said obediently,「Yes, and you agree with that too. You’re the one who cares most about order.」
Corleon chuckled and patted Olivia’s head like stroking a kitten.「That’s why it has to be you who sits on that throne.」
Olivia’s smile froze. She slapped away Corleon’s hand, stepped back several paces, and glared at him furiously.
Corleon continued,「In terms of bloodline, Cicero does not carry Pegira’s blood. The blood flowing in your veins is his only true bloodline. So if we speak of rightful succession, it must be you who becomes king.」
Olivia’s furious expression shifted into something very strange. Her ruby-like eyes widened, and within them, it was as if a rippling lake had stirred.
She knew—nothing in this world was a secret to Corleon. So what he just said… should be true… right?
The information was a bit too much, and Olivia felt dizzy.
Her expression shifted, as if she was processing some new revelation.
Eventually, she forced a fawning smile, leaned closer to Corleon, crouched beside him again, and asked,「How is that possible? I was born from his union with my mother. If Cicero doesn't carry his bloodline, then naturally I shouldn't either.」
Corleon said,「Due to certain matters involving the Primordial God, Pegira became unable to pass on his bloodline. It was a curse from the Primordial God, targeting him alone. No matter what method he used, he could not reproduce. Thus, a child like Cicero could not have been born.」
Olivia blinked hard.「But Cicero was born.」
Corleon nodded.「Yes, Cicero was born, and Pegira had a child—the only one. But that child wasn't born of bloodline. He was a vessel.」
「A vessel?」
「Yes, a vessel—to carry a part of Pegira’s bloodline,」 Corleon nodded and asked,「Do you remember how Melia’s grandfather, Nyx, once used the power of Divine Word to create healing potions?」
Olivia nodded.「Of course I do. Though after the New Testament Era began, healing potions were phased out due to high cost and difficulty of production, I still remember them.」
Corleon said,「When Nyx made those healing potions, he used Divine Word to re-anchor the material, then reassembled the re-anchored substances and finally re-named them to construct a new concept.」
「And Cicero is just like those healing potions—an entity born bypassing the curse. Through the vessel named Cicero, Pegira regained a form of bloodline inheritance.」
Olivia scratched her head.「But this is a curse from the Primordial God. How could it be bypassed just like that?」
Corleon nodded.「Of course it couldn’t be bypassed so easily. That’s why the bloodline passed down through Pegira wasn’t pure Pegira blood.」
「In one of his reincarnations, Pegira removed a piece of his flesh and placed it within the fruit of the Tree of Life. Eventually, that fruit birthed a baby. He was a child nurtured by the Tree of Life, not Pegira’s biological child.」
「Pegira’s bloodline inheritance is inscribed into his will. Each reincarnated body is that of an ordinary person. So Cicero was simply a being nurtured from Pegira’s flesh by the Tree of Life.」
「The Tree of Life is a sacred relic of the Elves. It can use Pegira’s flesh to nurture new life—but only life. That life is a blank slate, lacking true soul and will. After all, the Tree of Life is merely a relic and cannot produce a complete life with will, soul, and body.」
「Aivas is the God of Magic. Through the connection of magic and all things, he created a blank, newborn soul for the vessel.」
「Finally, Pegira stripped a part of his own will and granted it to the body birthed by the Tree of Life. Naturally, this wasn’t to let the vessel inherit his bloodline. The curse of the Primordial God couldn’t be bypassed that easily.」
「He merely placed a curse on the vessel:『You shall be called Cicero, the vessel for storing my bloodline’s will. This is the reason for your birth.』」
「Thus, Pegira’s curse became Cicero’s will. In the end, the life known as Cicero was fully born.」
「He was born into the world under the concept of being the vessel of Pegira’s bloodline.」