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Join the ServerZong Mi felt uncomfortable all over.
After that incident years ago, he had practically treated Louis as invisible. At most, he had been only slightly kinder than the palace staff who constantly mocked and belittled the Fifth Prince.
When he left the empire, he hadn’t even said goodbye to Louis.
Instead, he had bid farewell to the other four princes, even giving them parting gifts before packing up and leaving.
By that logic, Zong Mi couldn’t be considered particularly close to Louis.
Certainly not close enough for the man to run up and hug him while sweetly calling him “Teacher.”
Zong Mi was self-aware enough to know that.
As a result, his entire body had stiffened, and he had no idea how to respond.
“Teacher disappeared without a word back then. I was upset for a very long time.”
The young king buried his face against Zong Mi’s chest and even rubbed against him affectionately, narrowing his eyes as he felt the bard’s body grow increasingly rigid.
Unfortunately, the thing Zong Mi wanted was still in Louis’s possession.
The scepter was practically pressed against his back.
Thinking of that, he chose to remain silent.
The king, meanwhile, acted as though everything were perfectly natural.
He grabbed Zong Mi’s hand and raised his chin toward the minister standing nearby.
His expression was unbearably arrogant.
“What a disgraceful lack of respect. This is my teacher!”
The minister was already so shocked that he could barely speak.
Covered in cold sweat, he threw himself to the ground and frantically begged for forgiveness.
“Your Majesty, spare me! I truly didn’t know! Please show mercy!”
Louis snorted.
After leisurely admiring the man’s miserable appearance, he tilted his head and looked directly into Zong Mi’s gray eyes.
“What does Teacher think?”
“If Teacher isn’t happy, we can drag this dog outside the city gates and chop him into pieces for the hounds.”
A pure yet cruel gleam flickered in the young king’s brown eyes.
One glance was enough to make Zong Mi uneasy.
The minister was already trembling uncontrollably.
Even here in the Holy City, he knew the tyrant’s reputation.
Within the Skaman Empire, the new king’s brutality was infamous.
Stories claimed that decapitated corpses frequently surfaced in the moat surrounding the capital, their blood staining the waters red.
Serving such a ruler truly was like living beside a tiger.
“There’s no need. I’m quite happy.”
Zong Mi spoke coldly and tried to pull his hand free.
Louis refused to let go.
“No.”
The king lowered his voice.
“If Teacher refuses to cooperate, then this dog has no reason to keep living.”
Zong Mi: …
Are you insane? Why would I care whether some NPC lives or dies? If you want to kill him, go ahead.
Then he remembered he still hadn’t turned in his quest.
For the sake of thirty gold coins, a little cooperation seemed worthwhile.
Thirty gold was still a considerable sum.
The Skaman Empire had always paid generously.
So he merely curled his lips in mockery and said nothing more.
Allowing Louis to pull him along, he stepped onto the red carpet and entered the Church.
Behind them, the minister repeatedly kowtowed toward Zong Mi’s retreating figure, looking as though he had narrowly escaped death.
“Teacher is still as kind as ever. Even a dog is worth saving.”
Louis deliberately softened his voice until it sounded almost sweet.
The tone made Zong Mi frown.
The Louis he remembered had been a withdrawn and indifferent boy.
The smiling young king before him felt like an entirely different person.
Zong Mi couldn’t help wondering what had happened during the last ten years.
“May the Goddess of Dawn bless you. Welcome, honored guest.”
The Crimson Bishop was already waiting at the cathedral entrance.
Dressed in formal bishop’s robes, he wore a compassionate smile that immediately put others at ease.
Cyril gave Zong Mi a slight nod.
When his gaze landed on the hand Louis was tightly holding, he paused almost imperceptibly before smiling even more brightly.
“Let that fool behind you handle the negotiations. I’m tired.”
Louis immediately noticed the exchange.
His grip tightened.
Speaking lazily, he narrowed his eyes at Cyril in obvious provocation before dragging Zong Mi toward a nearby corridor.
He completely ignored the welcoming procedures arranged by the Church.
Yet nobody dared object.
The Skaman Empire’s strength spoke for itself.
No one wanted to provoke the Empire’s lion.
“What happened in the Skaman Empire?”
After walking for a while, Zong Mi finally asked.
He couldn’t figure out Louis’s current state of mind.
Still, he needed as much information as possible.
Especially regarding the mysterious plague.
The matter was tied to the main storyline.
He couldn’t afford to be careless.
“What could have happened?”
The young king sneered.
“A few commoners died. That’s all.”
He suddenly stopped walking.
“Why? Does Teacher feel sorry for them?”
Seeing Zong Mi’s slight frown, Louis slammed a nearby door shut.
The room was instantly left with only the two of them.
Zong Mi felt that Louis had seriously misunderstood him.
Back when he had worked as a court musician, he had deliberately cultivated the image of a kind and gentle person.
Apparently Louis had believed it completely.
And had continued believing it for ten years.
So Zong Mi sighed.
Unfortunately, Louis interpreted that sigh as disapproval.
Years of memories, waiting, obsession, and deeply rooted fixation erupted into anger.
“Are you disappointed in me, Teacher?”
The young king’s eyes seemed to burn.
Without warning, he pushed Zong Mi against the cold door.
One hand braced against Zong Mi’s shoulder as he forced him to meet his gaze.
Louis had grown tremendously.
Ten years ago, he had only reached Zong Mi’s waist.
Now he was nearly the same height.
“Were you surprised that I became king?”
When Zong Mi remained silent, Louis’s tone grew harsher.
For the first time, he abandoned the royal first-person pronoun he normally used.
Step by step, he pressed closer.
“Of course.”
“You were the only one who left without saying goodbye to me.”
A chilling smile appeared on his face.
“You even gave farewell gifts to my dear brothers.”
“Do you want to know what became of them?”
Louis began recounting the fates of the princes he had defeated during his rise to power.
His descriptions were cold and ruthless, revealing the depth of the resentment he had carried for years.
When he finally mentioned the Second Prince—the brother Zong Mi had once been closest to—his eyes never left Zong Mi’s face, searching desperately for a reaction.
“Enough.”
Zong Mi interrupted him.
Louis blinked in confusion.
“You don’t want to hear any more?”
“Why? Was Fourth Brother your favorite?”
Before Zong Mi could answer, a familiar burning sensation suddenly spread through his eyes.
Heat flooded his vision.
This time it wasn’t brief.
It was intense.
Persistent.
The world around him shattered and reformed into flowing streams of color.
His future-sight had activated once more.
A vision unfolded before him.
The room was dark, its curtains tightly drawn.
The atmosphere felt oppressive and private.
Zong Mi found himself restrained and unable to move freely while a young man’s voice spoke near him with possessive certainty.
The scene carried an unsettling sense of obsession and control.
And just before the vision ended, Zong Mi saw one crucial detail:
On a bedside table nearby rested—
The Scepter of the God of War.
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