The witch thought I am a Demon God
Chapter 1057 - 539_2

Chapter 1057: Chapter 539_2

The woman knelt before Ivita and offered a grand salute, while also pulling the young man by her side—who was not very convinced—to salute Ivita with her.

The woman said to Ivita, "Your Majesty, the person you seek is me, Esmer. Were you serious about what you said earlier? Do you truly intend to grant us forgiveness, to allow us to return to a peaceful life?"

Ivita raised an eyebrow. "Since you’ve come forth, it shows you believe in me. Your feud with Oyo III has nothing to do with me; I have no reason to trouble you."

"So, as long as your son is willing to return the Burgundy Crown to me, everything can be discussed."

Esmer’s son immediately retorted angrily, "But on what basis, after all, this title is mine. Are you even the Emperor of the Holy Empire? You forced our family to shrink back into this dilapidated castle, and that’s still not enough, you actually want us to surrender the crown to you? Over my dead body!"

Jones Blue Dragon and Esmer were greatly alarmed, fearing that this hotheaded young man would offend Ivita, leading to a disaster.

Blue Dragon Jones said to him, "Watch your tongue, boy. You stand before the Emperor of the world, the Guardian of humanity. Moreover, he has nothing to do with your father."

Esmer said, "Hold your tongue and apologize to His Majesty at once."

"Hurry and hand over that useless crown to His Majesty."

Ivita looked at the young man’s flushed face, knowing that the crown could only be returned to her if he relinquished it willingly.

"If you renounce the throne, I will let you leave this castle, grant you a legitimate status, and even give you a piece of land in Arles, appointing you as the Earl of Arles."

"How does that sound?"

Ivita, seeing the young man’s eyes betraying his hesitation, suddenly flicked her finger, and thirty Senior Treemen immediately rushed in front of the young man, a branch knocking the weapon from his hand.

The young man panicked at once. "What... what are you doing? You..."

His weapon spun several times in the air, landing precisely, and embedding itself between his big toe and second toe on his shoe.

The young man collapsed to the ground, having always lived within the walls of the castle, had never witnessed such a scene, and immediately went limp, taking five minutes to catch his breath before saying to Ivita, "Fine, I’ll give you the crown my father passed to me, but you must uphold your end of the bargain."

Ivita gave him a cold look. "In time, you will see how effective my promises are. I promise to protect you in the future. The condition is that you return the Burgundy Crown."

"The Burgundy Crown has always been an important kingdom directly under the Emperor. The Law of the Child of Water was originally held by the Emperor for a long time."

The Law of the Child of Water was a law hidden within the territory of the Empire, critical to the Empire, but previously obscured by history such that even when the Emperor lost this law, no one could detect it.

As long as the Emperor held the Law of the Child of Water, all the waterways and river systems that ran through the Empire would be under the Emperor’s influence.

This had a particularly important significance for strengthening the Emperor’s power.

Waterways are like the Empire’s veins. The Emperor had long lost control over these veins, and his power was deteriorating.

Before long, Esmer’s son brought out a crown from the castle. He addressed Ivita, "I now voluntarily relinquish the Burgundy Crown and return it to the Emperor."

Immediately, the crown in his hand vanished, and appeared in Ivita’s hand.

In that moment, it was as if Ivita could see in the dark the myriad rivers that ran through the Empire, large and small rivers, some bustling with boats.

The Iron Crown granted Ivita authority to rule, the Law of the Child of Water gave Ivita control over the Empire’s heart, the Imperial Parliament elections gave Ivita the utmost sanctity. Now, she lacked only one last crown, the Sacred Crown from the Pope, which was a second sacred confirmation of her rights and responsibilities as the Emperor.

Ivita to Blue Dragon Jones and Esmer: "I will fulfill my promise, your child will become the Lord of Arles. Arles was once the starting point of the Kingdom of Burgundy, but now the kingdom has disintegrated, with most territories occupied by the Frankish people, and a small portion remaining within the Empire’s borders."

"I will bequeath these territories within the Empire to your children."

Esmer was overjoyed and bowed to Ivita once more, "Thank you, Your Majesty."

"Your leniency is completely unlike that of Oyo III. My child has inherited his father’s excellent Knight talent, and perhaps one day, he will become a loyal minister to Your Majesty."

Esmer’s son, Apollo, had a strange look on his face; he didn’t know whether he should be thankful to Ivita or to resent her.

His mother’s long-standing education had instilled in him a deep loathing for the Emperor of the Holy Empire, but it was only upon seeing Ivita today did he realize that perhaps he had been too narrow-minded.

Ivita and the Hearthstone Witch soon left the Empire and headed to the Pope’s location.

Because Pope Innocent III had agreed to crown Ivita, the impression she had left on the Church was undoubtedly good.

The Holy Empire’s nominal capital was the Sacred City, where the Church resided, though this was in name only.

This also revealed why the Empire had become so fragmented as it was now.

Even the nominal ruler of the capital was the Pope, not Ivita.

Upon Ivita’s arrival to the Sacred City, she encountered the jubilant people coming out from the city, a tradition confirming the second choice by calling out to the elected Emperor’s name.

Naturally, according to tradition, such a selection should have taken place during the Emperor’s lifetime, appointing his own son.

But Oyo III had died suddenly, and his relationship with the Church was poor; he never received such treatment, so naturally there was no opportunity for his son to receive it either.

Now, Ivita walked down a pathway paved with flowers, receiving cheers from the people, advancing towards the city center to see above it the illusory extradimensional space of the thirty-third-tier Heaven Mountain.

Then she completed a series of complicated procedures.

In the end, under everyone’s gaze, the Pope crowned Ivita with the Iron Crown.

At the same time, Ivita felt the second universal Law: the Church’s protection of herself.

Within this universal Law, her ranking was below that of the Pope, meaning that when she conflicted with the Pope, the universal Law: the Church would first defend the Pope but when she conflicted with others, the universal Law: the Church would first protect her.

The universal Law: the Church represented the Saint Heir’s physical form left in the mortal realm, the key to establishing the channel between Earth and the Kingdom of Heaven, the key to salvation and the source of guidance; only when the sacred and the Church both surrounded Ivita would it mean that she was approaching the pinnacle era of the Holy Empire’s Emperor.

Meanwhile, the bells within the Sacred City rang incessantly twenty-two times, the holy blessing bequeathed upon Ivita, giving her instant mastery over the world’s most elite Priest abilities.

Pope Innocent III’s gaze swept over Ivita, dressed in elaborate imperial vestments, with complexity; the power held by this young Emperor unnerved him, but the current crisis compelled him to choose this talented young Emperor.

The clash between divine and imperial authorities could wait, as facing the Great Lord of Black Death and the return of the Druids was the undeniable priority.

Smiling, Pope Innocent III said to Ivita, "Your Majesty, you now possess the ability to purify the Black Death. I hope that in the future, you will maintain our cause, protect our faith, and cleanse the Great Lord of Black Death."

"I have foreseen that disaster is imminent; we must unite to overcome it. However, I have also foreseen that you seem to be disappearing for a while."

Ivita looked at the Pope in astonishment.

"This is a revelation given to me by God. Rest assured, I will not let others know this," said Pope Innocent III.

Ivita replied, "Before I disappear, I must create an army."