Chapter 60: King Otfried of Kuldia

▽▽▽ Side: King Otfried of the Kuldia Kingdom ▽▽▽

Our kingdom has a history spanning 423 years.

Throughout this long history, Heroes and Saints have often been summoned to this world, but our kingdom has never performed such a summoning. This is because our kingdom’s first ruler was a Hero summoned from another world. By the laws established by our founder, the summoning of Heroes is prohibited within our borders.

Thus, instead of relying on summoning, our kingdom has faced crises with the royal family—descendants of the first Hero—taking the lead. This has allowed us to avert the threat of destruction multiple times.

The blood of the Hero grants great power to their descendants. Generally, children of the royal bloodline are born with a rank of B or higher.

I myself am rank A and boast a level of 300. Though I have been neglecting my training due to the burdens of state affairs and declining health, I remain prepared to take the battlefield if the need arises.

Fortunately, my children are all rank B or higher. My fourth daughter, Ellis, and my seventh son, Reinhardt, are rank S, showing great promise for the future.

Among the dukes and upper nobility descended from the royal family, many also possess high ranks. However, the blood of Heroes and Saints seems to shun those who fall into corruption.

Even within the royal lineage, descendants of past rulers who became corrupt or strayed toward evil have consistently produced lower-ranked offspring.

For example, during the reign of the fifth king, his descent into corruption led to a drastic decline in the ranks of his descendants. The sixth king, who was born before the fifth's fall from grace, was spared this curse, but from his line onward, no child exceeded rank D.

The royal family took this matter seriously, stripping the direct line of succession and adopting an heir from a branch family to become the seventh king.

I am the 29th king, and there have been several instances where a new ruler was chosen from branch families due to the fall of previous ones.

The current royal lineage descends from the 23rd king, who was adopted from the Bayerlein ducal house.

Moreover, the 27th king’s daughter married into the Bayerlein family, further cementing strong ties between the royal house and the Bayerlein dukes.

It was over a decade ago that the daughter of Duke Bayerlein, Hermina, was kidnapped.

The Duke searched desperately for her but could not find her. Only a little over a year ago did we learn of her fate—she had been found.

Hermina had become the concubine of Marquis Lightstar. Having lost her memory after being kidnapped, she had been enslaved by his household.

Marquis Lightstar—how dare he commit such an atrocity with impunity.

Normally, when a noble’s child is abducted, the matter is kept quiet. A defiled daughter becomes unmarriageable, and even if she remains unharmed, society assumes otherwise.

Yet Duke Bayerlein openly distributed portraits of Hermina, praying for her safe return.

For Lightstar to have enslaved her, he effectively invited the wrath of the Bayerlein house upon himself.

Lightstar may claim ignorance, but such an excuse will not stand. What a foolish and reckless act. Back then, I had to exert considerable effort to restrain Duke Bayerlein from launching an all-out attack.

I also had to restrain the temple, as Lightstar reportedly sent assassins to kill Toma.

While Lightstar’s self-destruction is of little concern, an internal war is unacceptable. A conflict between a ducal house, a marquisate, and the temple could shake the very foundation of our kingdom.

Hermina bore a son with Lightstar’s blood. Remarkably, that son is said to be an Apostle of God.

In the entire history of our kingdom, no Apostle has ever appeared.

What exactly is an Apostle? When I inquired with the central temple, they mentioned records of only one Apostle appearing in the past.

The temple’s history spans over 2,000 years, including records predating our kingdom.

According to the temple, an Apostle is a singular figure destined to banish darkness and guide the people.

How does this differ from Heroes and Saints?

Heroes are warriors who confront evil, Saints are compassionate figures who assist others, and Apostles are those who guide the people.

Marquis Lightstar has fallen into corruption, and I’ve heard that his foolish son is already of low rank.

While Lightstar tries to hide this, such things cannot remain concealed.

But how is it that Toma—a child of the Lightstar bloodline—has achieved rank S? Normally, no descendant of Lightstar would rise above rank D.

Is this, too, a result of him being an Apostle of God?

Toma must be observed.

If he proves to be a threat to our kingdom, we must eliminate him, even if he carries Bayerlein blood.

However, if he truly is a guide for the people, we should support him.

Conveniently, my seventh son, Reinhardt, is the same age as Toma. I shall have Reinhardt assess Toma’s character.

“Reinhardt, you are to approach Toma and evaluate his character.”
“Evaluate his character?”
“Yes. If Toma acts in a way that threatens the stability of our kingdom, he must be eliminated.”
“...Understood. I will observe Toma.”
“I hope this is merely my overthinking. But we must prepare for the worst.”
“Yes, Father.”

The current Pope is a man of integrity, but the temple harbors many scoundrels. The temple is far from unified, and there will undoubtedly be those who seek to exploit Toma.

Even if Toma is a pure-hearted boy now, there is every chance that unscrupulous individuals could corrupt him.

Fortunately, Duke Bayerlein is vigilant. His disdain for the temple is well-known, and I trust he will keep watch.

“I can only hope that the Apostle truly is a figure who guides the people…”