May God's Grace Be Upon the King of the Fallen Kingdom - Chapter 1 Part 2

“Heugh, heuu. Mmph…”

As Eoleare collapsed in shame and arousal, the guards flipped him over and raised his hips by kneeling behind him. In a humiliating position like a mating dog, Eoleare could no longer resist them. His erect p*nis, which had been pushed to the brink, was now begging for release.

But these guards wouldn’t allow it unless Eoleare satisfied them. Eoleare never wanted to please them, but on the other hand, he thought it might be better to just finish quickly instead of prolonging the time of shame by resisting. The sound of the guards unbuttoning their pants behind Eoleare’s b*ttocks was heard.

That’s when it happened.

“Stop.”

A cold and calm voice suddenly echoed through the underground prison, freezing the chaotic and heated atmosphere. The guards who were touching Eoleare stepped back in surprise. Eoleare turned his head with difficulty to see who the owner of the voice was.

Standing there was a tall and handsome man, with silver hair that reached his waist and a luxurious white silk robe embroidered with gold and gold thread. He was a high priest of the empire, as evidenced by the holy pendant hanging around his neck.

His noble appearance did not fit in with the dark and gloomy underground prison. He had a kind smile on his lips, but his red eyes did not show any signs of amus*ment. The guards fidgeted and quickly put on their pants, lying flat on the ground.

“High Priest Sosphus.”

The high priest, Sosphus, who was called by name, slowly scanned the guards and Eoleare standing behind them, then raised the pendant around his neck with his hand. The guards immediately fell to their knees in front of Sosphus, begging for forgiveness.

“Please, Your Holiness!”

“We were wrong, please spare us!”

“Please forgive us just this once!”

However, Sosphus maintained a peaceful and merciful expression, as if he didn’t hear their pleas, and recited a prayer.

“As sinners, we send these people back to Your feet, Oh God. Please judge them justly and give them the appropriate punishment. Ignis Sacer.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the pendant began to glow with a red light that matched Sosphus’ eyes. Flames suddenly erupted from the bodies of the guards.

“Aaaah!”

“Kkyaaak!”

The guards screamed and writhed on the ground, but the flames did not go out. Soon, the smell of burning flesh filled the air, and they turned into blackened corpses. Only then did the flames die down.

“Are you okay?”

Sosphus asked in a calm voice that was hard to believe, considering he had just burned three people alive. Eoleare couldn’t answer. He had heard that the priests of the empire were unmatched in their power, even compared to the mages of the Solas Kingdom. He had experienced their power firsthand in this war.

Sosphus must have been one of them, the great high priest who had destroyed Eoleare’s country. Eoleare looked up at Sosphus with even greater fear than when the guards were about to violate him.

“I tried to come faster, but I was delayed by post-war processing. It was a close call.”

Sosphus kicked the charred corpses that were still smoking and entered the prison cell. Eoleare cowered in fear, but Sosphus wrapped his hand around the shackle that was attached to Eoleare’s ankle. With a snap, the shackle easily came off.

Eoleare’s eyes widened. Why was he being released? Even if Sosphus had the authority to kill the guards who had acted out of line, could he really do whatever he wanted with the captive king of the fallen kingdom? Eoleare asked in a trembling voice.

“W-Who are you, exactly?”

“I am Sosphus de Kaelo. I hold the position of High Priest, for now.”

Eoleare was even more surprised by the answer. If he was the High Priest, he was the one who ruled over all the priests of the empire. Sosphus didn’t look much older than Eoleare himself. How powerful must he be to have risen to the position of High Priest at such a young age? Eoleare tensed up and pressed his body against the wall, looking at Sosphus with wary eyes.

“Why have you come to see me?”

“Didn’t you swear an oath?”

“… An oath?”

As Eoleare repeated his confusion, Sosphus narrowed his eyes and looked down at him, as if trying to gauge his thoughts. However, Eoleare had never met Sosphus before and had no memory of any oath. Sosphus stared at Eoleare in bewilderment for a while before letting out a low chuckle.

“I see. Of course. That’s possible.”

Eoleare became even more confused by the tone of disappointment mixed with a sigh. Sosphus seemed to know something about Eoleare. Of course, as the King of the enemy country, he couldn’t be completely unfamiliar, but it seemed like he had some personal memories as well.

But no matter how hard he tried to remember, Eoleare had never met Sosphus before. If he had to be picky, maybe on the battlefield? Yes, Sosphus was the one who commanded the priests who rode in chariots and deployed vast shields to completely neutralize the attacks of the Solas Kingdom’s mage corps.

“But there’s nothing I can do about the disappointment.”

Sosphus spoke sadly, but Eoleare didn’t really hear him. Instead, anger towards Sosphus made his whole body tremble.

It was said that the Empire’s expansion policy was not the will of the emperor, but rather a trust that the High Priest had received. That was why they invaded Solas, which had maintained friendly relations until a few years ago. The culprit who destroyed Eoleare’s kingdom was none other than Sosphus. Eoleare leaned against the wall and stood up, staggering.

“Why did you attack my country?”

The empire’s trust had caused the country to collapse. Eoleare’s family and relatives were all killed or taken prisoner. The people that Eoleare had cared for were massacred. The beautiful land was trampled under the hooves of horses and burned to ashes.

Eoleare couldn’t forgive him. He had to hate Sosphus more than the guards who had tried to violate him, for what he had done to Solas. But Sosphus replied with a calm smile on his face.

“That was also an oath.”

“…”

“You don’t seem to remember, though.”

Eoleare had never made such an oath. An oath that would destroy a Kingdom. Sosphus took a step towards Eoleare. The distance between the two of them became closer. Sosphus grabbed Eoleare’s chin with his large, long-fingered hand. Their eyes met. Sosphus’ red eyes and Eoleare’s blue eyes. Sosphus spoke slowly.

“If you don’t remember, it’s actually a good thing.”

Eoleare could clearly see his own face reflected in Sosphus’ red eyes. His messy hair, his face dirtied by tears, and his expression, both fearful and full of hatred.

“It means you can act as you please.”

Sosphus hugged Eoleare tightly. Eoleare was startled. No matter how fragile Eoleare was, Sosphus also seemed to be on the cautious side, so he couldn’t understand where such strength was coming from.

Sosphus carried Eoleare in his arms and calmly escaped from the underground prison. It was midday outside. Eoleare squinted his eyes at the sunlight he hadn’t seen in a long time. Sosphus wrapped Eoleare’s body in his robe and walked somewhere. The smell of incense used to light the altar was faintly wafting from Sosphus’ embrace. Eoleare realized that his fate was in the hands of this priest.

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