episode_0057

Leading the vanguard of three thousand, General Terdoan Schleyn, under Mersen’s command.

He was currently witnessing an unbelievable sight.

As soon as they emerged from the barracks, lightning suddenly struck from the sky, setting the horses ablaze, killing them in droves.

“What in the world is this…?”

“It’s fire!”

“Fire broke out!”

“Hurry, put it out!”

Too startled to react, he belatedly realized that he appeared like an assassin and quickly hid in the darkness, swiftly moving his feet towards the tent where the Crown Prince was sleeping.

Accidents could happen from time to time.

Of course, while the accident was quite fatal, there was no way to bring back the dead.

The dead remained dead, and what needed to be killed still had to be killed.

So, the foremost objective of this expedition was to eliminate the Crown Prince, and that needed to be done promptly.

As he trod only on darkness, he neared the barracks where the Crown Prince slept.

Flash!

Somewhere near the encampment, another massive bolt of lightning struck down.

Crash!

It was a bolt as huge as those that fell on the horses. Naturally, the thunder following it was so loud that it could wake everyone from their slumber.

And as a consequence of that lightning, flames began to shoot up somewhere in the military camp.

It seemed to be near the temporary storage warehouse for provisions, but there were more pressing matters at hand now.

Putting out the fire didn’t require his personal intervention; his subordinates would take care of it.

Things would escalate once the Crown Prince woke up.

He had to hurry even more.

Fortunately, the commotion caused by the lightning made the soldiers guarding the Crown Prince’s barracks seem absent. They probably went to extinguish the fire.

Peeking cautiously inside, the Crown Prince lay asleep like a dead man.

There was no room for hesitation.

Thud!

He ran forward and plunged a dagger into the Crown Prince’s heart as he lay on the bed.

Crimson blood flowed profusely.

Though he briefly opened his eyes, the Crown Prince couldn’t even scream, bleeding from his mouth, succumbing to instant death.

“You fool. You shouldn’t have been so careless. Even if you regained your abilities, you should have hidden quietly without getting greedy.”

Muttering to himself, Terdoan hastily left the Crown Prince’s barracks.

Though his face was concealed by a mask, he was undoubtedly smiling.

He had accomplished the task he had been preparing for so diligently with utmost ease.

Now, all that remained was to pin the crime of regicide on Glen Tynora, the court mage.

Given the gravity of his father’s sins, it would be a walk in the park.

***

Days had passed since the undead horde retreated to the Dark Citadel and Perem’s army withdrew.

Yet, Terdoan and Servis had not arrived here yet.

Thanks to Duke Felios and Ardor, who executed my order to tie their hands effectively.

For the past three days, I had been riding Aquila with Elaine and Astia, exploring various parts of Eisen Territory.

We dipped our bare feet in the cool, flowing stream and ventured into a fairy-tale-like house carved out of a giant tree.

Elaine laughed brightly, saying she had never experienced anything like this before.

Astia looked at Elaine fondly, hugging her or patting her head affectionately.

Elaine and Astia even participated in the Eisen Summer Festival’s Miss Eisen competition.

Competing until the end, Elaine ultimately won Miss Eisen this year by secretly using her divine power to create a halo around herself.

Astia showed some regret, saying she would have worn a skirt if she had known, but she quickly forgot about it after biting into a sweet apple pie.

After touring various parts of Eisen’s vast territory, only the Dark Citadel remained.

The Lich posing as the King of the Undead.

That guy wasn’t an ordinary guy, I knew that.

To think he could amass such a large undead army.

If I could manipulate them, they could surely become a great power for me.

However, leading such undead as subordinates, there was always the risk of being exposed by the followers of the Goddess, and on that day, the holy knights might swarm to kill me.

Declaring a holy war to kill the prince tainted by evil and creating a coalition army to strike Mersenne in neighboring kingdoms could also provide a pretext.

So, I…

Boldly shattered the crystal in front of the lich kneeling before me in the underground sanctuary of the grand palace where only flickering torches danced.

Crash!

From the shattered crystal, countless souls screamed horrifically, spiraling out and soaring upward through the labyrinth’s roof as if drawn by something.

“No, no!!! How have I endured all this time?”

Crackling—

The lich couldn’t even finish his sentence before crumbling into dust along with his grimy robe, leaving a pile on the ground.

With this, the undead incident in Eisen came to a satisfactory conclusion.

And…

The envoy from Perem, heading towards the capital of Mersenne through the sky road, would have already arrived at the imperial palace to announce the Emperor’s presence.

***

Emperor Belkreed Suphelator Caldevrion of Mersenne.

He was currently receiving an envoy from the Kingdom of Perem.

“I am Meorad Perem, the Crown Prince of Perem.”

“Pleasure to meet you. So, why has the Crown Prince of Perem come here? Deploying troops at the border and coming here to threaten me face to face, is that your idea of diplomacy?”

The Emperor’s face was full of anger, and the nobles watching couldn’t hide their deep-seated resentment.

Nevertheless, Meorad calmly spoke to uphold the promise with Eos.

“I originally thought of war, but after meeting Prince Eos, I changed my mind.”

“W-What are you talking about!”

Duke Shurain immediately interjected in disbelief.

“Just a few days ago, you were eyeing Eisen, and now what? Changed your mind? Perem truly has no conscience.”

Before Meorad could respond, someone sarcastically interrupted, prompting the Emperor to rebuke sharply.

“Viscount Trien. If you don’t want to die, watch your tongue. Duke Shurain, the same goes for you.”

“…Y-Yes, Your Majesty.”

While Viscount Trien bowed and scraped, Duke Shurain merely nodded slightly.

“Please continue, Crown Prince.”

“In truth, Perem had no intention of starting a war. We only defended our borders with elite forces after Prince Eos sent a declaration of war.”

“A declaration of war?”

“It stated that sixty thousand troops would trample the Royal Palace of Perem.”

“Such talk is absurd. Do you happen to have that declaration with you?”

Meorad took out a small envelope from his bosom and respectfully presented it to the Emperor.

“Hmm… This is undoubtedly Servis’s handwriting.”

The Emperor looked at Duke Shurain.

“Do you know about this?”

“I only learned about it today… But it seems utterly unreasonable that His Highness the clever Prince would engage in such actions. It must be the machinations of a Perem noble aiming to provoke Prince Eos’s return.”

“Noble… Go see for yourself.”

Handing the letter to the Duke, he quickly ran to receive it.

“This… This is clearly…!”

“Isn’t this unmistakably Servis’s handwriting? Even I, who failed as a father, can recognize the script; surely you, as his maternal uncle, wouldn’t fail to do so.”

The color drained from the Duke’s face.

“This must be a forgery…”

Even as he said this, Duke Shurain’s voice lacked conviction, almost like a murmur.

“Who could have manipulated the font of a service that doesn’t even write well? Could it be that you were involved in this as well?”

“No, absolutely not! This has nothing to do with me!”

“But this is quite awkward. The Emperor Jim is alive and well, yet the Crown Prince is declaring himself as if… Isn’t it amazing? It feels strange to see a foreign prince.”

After speaking disappointedly towards the attendants, the Emperor’s gaze turned back to Meorad.

“So, what is it that you want from me? You didn’t come here to ask for an apology. Speak your mind.”

“This time, Perem has received great favor from Prince Eos. As a result, at his request, I have come here personally to seek an alliance. Additionally, we are willing to propose a fair trade of Maeseok.”

“Not a bad proposal. But favor? What favor did the Prince receive?”

“It seems inappropriate to discuss publicly.”

“Fine, then you may leave now and rest.”

“There is still one important thing I need to say.”

“Go ahead.”

“I wish for Prince Eos to become the next Emperor of Mersen. That is a prerequisite for the alliance and the trade of Maeseok. How about it, Your Majesty? With the established good relationship between Perem, myself, and Prince Eos of Mersen, both nations can prosper even more in the next generation, don’t you think?”

“You, you rascal! If you dare-”

“Silence, Hofjak! Didn’t I warn you to watch your tongue?”

“I-I apologize.”

“These Parisian brats keep buzzing around, giving me a headache. From now on, the Emperor and the Crown Prince will talk alone. The rest of you, leave.”

***

Walking outside with the nobles, Duke Shurain felt extremely uneasy.

Honestly, when they heard that the Perem Kingdom had gained military power, both the Empress and the Duke were very pleased.

Originally, on the day of the founding ceremony, Service was supposed to drive out the barbarians and be the center of attention.

But the barbarians had not shown up until now.

So when the opportunity came for Service to establish his major, they were puzzled by the turn of events.

It wasn’t a lie when they said to seize the opportunity and push all the way to Perem’s royal palace.

But if the Crown Prince had unilaterally declared a public announcement based on his own judgment, then the situation would change significantly.

If indeed Service had unilaterally declared war on another country, that would be a clear act of treason.

And what was written in that letter was clearly Service’s handwriting.

His handwriting had never been made public, so there was no way the Perem Kingdom could imitate it.

Moreover, the seal stamped below was undoubtedly the Crown Prince’s seal.

So that declaration was clearly made by Service.

“Ha….”

There had never been any doubt about Service’s intelligence, but many had feared his fiery temperament.

This incident seemed to be a clear example of his reckless behavior.

The matter was serious.

Although he had lost practical power, the Emperor was still the Emperor.

He was still the ultimate decision-maker in all matters.

By overstepping his authority, no matter what anyone said, it was clearly an act of rebellion.

As in all countries, in Mersen as well, punishment for treason was never light.

The price was undoubtedly the extermination of an entire noble family.

So it seemed clear that its effects would reach not only himself but also his daughter the Empress and his son, the Grand Marshal.

But Service was not the Emperor’s son.

Of course, technically he wasn’t, but at least the Emperor believed him to be so without a doubt.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t have made his daughter the Empress; that much was certain.

Would he really hold his son accountable for treason?

“….”

If we examine the current trend, it might have been an attempt to strip the Crown Prince of his position at the very least.

Can it be stopped?

If he had already gained the power of the majority of the nobles, it wouldn’t have been that difficult.

However, he knew that acting without justification would also put him in a difficult situation.

Order, once disrupted, requires even greater sacrifices to correct.

The reason why acting arbitrarily without justification is dangerous lies right there.

If Serbis tries to overlook significant wrongdoing without appropriate punishment, other nobles will commit crimes and try to get away with them as well.

Attempting to stop him would lead to significant backlash.

Ultimately, this would result in triggering numerous conflicts in succession and causing a rapid downfall of the empire.

Therefore, rather than unjustly protecting Serbis,

it would be better to unknowingly kill the Emperor at this point.