episode_0151

An assassination attempt on the Duchess occurred during the grand opening.

Although the details were not known to the outside world, rumors about it spread throughout the Academy and even throughout the Empire.

There was little information about the specific circumstances,

There were quite a few people who saw the Duchess fighting someone in her transformed form during the Grand Duchess’ show.

This rumor is considered to have a high level of credibility, as it is a story about an assassination attempt that spread immediately thereafter.

So, when Duchess Rosetta, who might soon ascend to the throne as a duke, was almost killed by someone, people naturally began to think of one person as the culprit.

A person who has been trying to keep the principality in check recently, and is the Imperial Chancellor who has the power to cause an uprising of this magnitude.

Saladin Azak.

People looked at him with suspicion, which naturally began to spread anti-imperial sentiment that had been growing within the duchy for some time.

However, these rumors aside.

The Duke’s family has never expressed any position on this matter.

It was never officially announced that there had been an assassination attempt, much less revealed who the perpetrator was or how the assassin was dealt with.

however..

About these movements of theirs.

The real culprit of this incident, and a person who risked everything to get the job done but ended up suffering the bitter cup of failure.

Saladin’s vizier, Azak, felt even deeper despair.

Even if it was simply a failure, this incident was a huge blow to him.

He even revealed a secret to his granddaughter. But the result was that his granddaughter’s heart did not change and she still chose Duchess Rosebetta and the Duchy of Dragona.

For the prime minister, this in itself resulted in a huge psychological shock.

‘Katlena… you… you are doing this to me… your mother and the empire…’

It was a huge mistake on his part to think that if he just told her the truth, which was a little twisted, Katlena would immediately side with him and turn against Rosebetta.

no,

In the first place, as the child’s grandfather, she also had her own blood and that of her daughter, so the very idea that she would resemble them and easily become angry at the act of betrayal and never forgive it was a mistake.

More than I thought.

The child was already so greatly tied to that person, Rosebetta, that even after learning the truth, the two were bound by an affection that went beyond that of blood relatives, to the point where he would not abandon her.

And.. even if we leave out the part about his granddaughter, which could be said to be one of the most fatal injuries, the damage he received was extremely severe.

An informant and long-term friend who was deeply embedded within the academy..

Elastine and her companions finally lost contact with Katlena after she told them that she had abandoned them and the Chancellor and that she could no longer serve them.

In fact, the two leaders of the Noblesse faction, which had its own power within the Academy, which could be called the home of Elios and Rosebetta, were extremely valuable pieces to the prime minister.

Their collapse meant that Chancellor Saladin had no more room to plot anything within the Académie Adelan, the highest educational institution in the Duchy of Dragona and its institutions.

Plus, as a bonus…

The situation where all the information and connections within the duchy that were used to safely transport the assassin adventurers to the academy were completely blown away.

Under the judgment that everything would be over if only the Duchess could be assassinated, all available means were brought together, but

It was a painful outcome for him that everything was blown away because of the failure of this plan.

However, the situation up to this point was only a loss in the sense that the prime minister had lost what he had invested.

What followed afterward dealt him irreparable damage.

The first thing that stands out is that Duke Radu, who had always been loyal to the Empire, declared a break in diplomatic relations with the Emperor as a result of this incident.

No matter how political the reasons were, the king could not tolerate the act of his beloved wife being killed so blatantly.

Although he did not completely turn his back on the empire, considering the favor of the Padishah, he at least clearly declared that he would not cooperate in any way with the great Saladin.

For the prime minister, the few allies he could actually trust were lost.

And one more thing.

In fact, the part that decisively strangles the prime minister.

It was about the assassins who had clearly failed in their mission, yet there was still no word on them.

The strongest card that Prime Minister Saladin can use, the adventurer group Deus, who can only be moved by spending an enormous amount of money.

They literally disappeared completely, without reporting back to him either the failure or the success of their mission.

If you succeed, do it as you succeeded. If you fail, do it as you failed.

Reporting the results in any way was an essential matter for an adventurer.

The fact that they were not reporting anything made it easy for the prime minister to figure out what that meant.

All adventurers belonging to Deus…

It means that one has been killed or taken prisoner and held captive.

The most likely explanation was that he had been taken prisoner, which meant they had clear evidence that Saladin had attempted to assassinate him.

Even though he was a prime minister, if it was made public that he had attempted to take the life of a nobleman, and the life of the next successor to the duchy, there was no way for him to avoid punishment by the law.

In other words, at this very moment, the Duchy of Dragona…

In particular, it meant that in the hands of Duchess Mina Rosetta Dragona, who was designated as the next monarch of the Duchy of Dragona, a powerful weapon that could end the political life of Prime Minister Saladin at any moment was in the hands of her.

‘..This is the worst situation.. Really.. The worst..’

The hand named Noblesse was cut off

The bridge of information and connections was broken.

His hands were filled with ropes of captured assassins,

A spear was stuck in his heart because of his granddaughter’s betrayal.

In addition, the pillar called trustworthy ally was pulled out.

In this reality that literally cannot be worse than this…

The prime minister is at the end of everything he has done so far.

The desperate reality that the empire he had dreamed of was nothing more than a dream began to slowly dawn on him.

however..

‘..Can’t.. Since it has come to this.. In the end, what’s left for me?’

Despite this, he hasn’t completely given up.

Although most of the means were lost.

There was only one way left for him.

‘It’s a painful reality, but I can’t just sit here. Even if all my hands and feet are cut off, I still have one fang left that I can use.’

With that determination in mind, the prime minister went straight into his room.

Next, Chancellor Saladin Azak opens the box located deep inside the room.

Inside… there’s a black and rough feeling…

There was something inside that was not easily visible to the human eye.

It’s black and sharp, and contains special powers.

A cursed black dagger obtained from an Eastern merchant in the past.

If I use this… I might even be able to end that great witch’s life in one blow.

‘I have already lived long enough to live anyway. For the sake of the empire. I will gladly give up this one life.’

With that final determination,

His vizier, Saladin Azak, began to plan his final act of loyalty to the empire.