Ch.2525. Uncovering the Truth

Imperial Palace. The atmosphere in the Court Ministry, which assisted the Emperor’s rule, was gloomy from early morning.

‘Sigh. We need to reach some conclusion today.’

An elderly court minister kept sighing while pulling at what little hair he had left.

The Court Ministry was an institution led by the Chief Court Minister, commonly called the Court Official, with seven ministers each responsible for their own domain.

Usually, only ministers participated in meetings, but sometimes position holders like the Imperial Guard Commander or the Royal Order Captain were called in when necessary.

And today was one of the latter cases. Almost all the power players leading the Empire were seated gloomily around the table.

Naturally, it was because of the aftermath of the Cordana crash that had swept through the imperial capital.

This topic had been discussed in several previous meetings, but each time they ended without reaching a conclusion. Other important pending issues couldn’t even be discussed.

“Everyone is present… no, where is the Justice Minister again?”

The Court Minister, about to start the meeting, frowned as he looked toward the justice section. The Vice Minister was sitting there with an awkward expression.

“Well, the Justice Minister, due to unavoidable circumstances—”

“Claiming illness to be absent again? Is he that sick?”

“It’s not exactly a physical illness, but rather, if I may say so, it seems to be a sickness of the heart. …Honestly, we don’t know his whereabouts either.”

It was an absurd excuse, but the Court Minister decided not to reprimand him further. Blaming the Vice Minister wouldn’t produce any answers anyway.

Everyone present already knew what kind of “sickness of the heart” the Justice Minister was suffering from.

The current Justice Minister of the Empire, Lord Necker, was known to all nobles in the imperial capital as a Cordana enthusiast.

– Hehehe. Only after Cordana started could I finally show my face to my children.

– Let’s be honest here. Do we permanent residents of the imperial capital have territories or vassal groups to pass down to our children? We live abundantly thanks to the grace of the imperial family, but something feels a bit lacking, you know.

– Buying more at 250 million was the perfect move. It skyrocketed after that.

– I’ve made a lot of money for my in-laws too.

The Justice Minister had been boasting about his Cordana holdings and profit rates to the point of seeming a bit obnoxious to onlookers.

It wasn’t hard to understand. While provincial lords far from the imperial capital might envy the lives of court nobles, there was an unavoidable thirst unique to nobles without territories or subjects.

But now the Justice Minister had fallen into a miserable abyss. Since fainting at the exchange on the day of the crash, he had been in seclusion.

“But isn’t he in relatively good shape? Since he entered the market early, even with the crash.”

“Hah. What does that matter? I heard he never cashed out even once. Instead, he bought more at around 370 million. That bird… no, when Lord Wellesley released 108 units to the market, he desperately gathered funds to buy one more.”

“…Good heavens.”

“Come now, let’s start the meeting.”

The Court Minister even clapped his hands to get the ministers’ attention.

But it was useless.

Most of the officials present were entangled with Cordana.

Some nobles had donated a few million Lyra when Cordana was first issued and were content with receiving three or four units, but others had been quite seriously devoted to investing.

“…Actually, my son sat at the exchange all day yesterday. Now he’s locked in his room, crying.”

“You know, you shouldn’t scold them at times like this. No matter how furious you are, try to console them first. …By the way, I hear the Academy is hell right now.”

“It’s not the students who are the problem. It’s their parents. It’s driving me crazy.”

The Court Minister’s heart was burning as he watched the ministers chattering among themselves.

In fact, he wasn’t unrelated to Cordana either.

His younger brother, who ran a small antique trading company, and his eldest son, an associate professor at the Academy, had each invested in Cordana and lost hundreds of millions.

Of course, this wasn’t such a big deal. There were quite a few families facing bankruptcy.

And money wasn’t the only problem. They were also facing a diplomatic crisis.

Due to the massive over-the-counter transaction concluded by the Prince before the gates of hell opened, the Papal State’s liquid assets were at risk of being completely wiped out.

For some reason, the Papal State hadn’t shown an aggressive attitude yet, but it was questionable how long they would wait.

‘We need to resolve this situation somehow.’

The Court Minister felt his lifespan shortening in real time.

At that moment, someone stepped forward as a savior.

“The situation is grave. Let’s start the meeting.”

It was Lufus Waynelight, the Empire’s strongest knight and Captain of the Royal Order.

He was usually a person with little interest in state affairs. Just someone who managed the knights, went around saving territories, and concentrated on honing his swordsmanship.

When such a person spoke up, the ministers fell silent in surprise.

Waynelight not only cleared the atmosphere but also threw out the exact topic that needed to be addressed.

“At this point, we have no choice but to question the Prince about the truth.”

How dare you question a Prince of such high status?

Of course, considering the gravity of the matter, that would be the right thing to do. Just before the nobles started wailing, the Prince had recovered 46.5 billion.

Though it was said he still held about 70 units, compared to his initial investment, rumors suggested he had made over 20 billion in profit. Though he himself might think he had barely recovered his principal.

Escaping before the crash wasn’t a crime in itself, but the issue was the timing. It was bound to raise suspicions…

No, in fact, it wasn’t suspicion—everyone was certain. The Prince knew everything.

Even so, demanding an explanation from the Prince was a difficult matter to bring up, and Waynelight had essentially drawn his sword.

‘Wow, so that man can take action when needed…!’

The Court Minister looked at him with relief, hoping he would say more.

Unfortunately, however, Waynelight’s firepower ended there. As if, as the head of the order protecting the imperial family, he couldn’t say anything more severe.

The ministers fell back into silence.

It wasn’t because they were all fools that they hesitated.

If they launched an investigation into the Prince at this point, it wouldn’t end with just asking a few questions and getting a “yes, yes” in response. There was a high possibility it would go further.

After hearing his explanation, they would ultimately have to hold him accountable.

And the result that would be drawn from that process was, honestly, only one.

Dethronement.

Not only would his right to succeed to the throne be revoked, but it could immediately lead to his expulsion from the palace.

If the Prince were to give up all his wealth, things might be different, but even then, dropping out of the succession race would be inevitable.

They couldn’t rashly decide on a matter that could be misunderstood as a challenge to imperial authority.

In fact, this was also the secret to how the Prince had been able to hold out by feigning illness until now.

It was his way of creating a sense of crisis among those watching him, as if saying, “If you keep pressuring me, I’ll really die? Is that okay with you?”

‘Sigh. But we can’t ignore the voices of the nobles either.’

The Emperor and his direct line were the most revered beings in the Empire, but that didn’t mean everything in the Empire belonged to them.

They couldn’t ignore a situation where over a hundred nobles and quasi-nobles were predicted to suffer “devastating” blows, and several times that number would suffer blows of varying sizes. And these were just the numbers that had been identified.

Of course, there were those who had successfully realized profits, but they had no particular reason to protect the Prince.

In the midst of this awkward situation where everyone was just watching each other’s reactions…

Suddenly, someone appeared in the meeting hall. It was the Justice Minister, who had been absent due to his “sickness of heart,” making a late appearance.

He looked extremely haggard, but at least he was alive.

“Oh, Lord Necker.”

“We must demand that the Prince clarify the truth.”

The Justice Minister blurted this out with an expressionless face and empty eyes.

Some ministers who had been nodding mindlessly tensed up when they belatedly realized he had omitted the honorific.

…Not “His Highness,” but just “the Prince”?

Regardless, the Justice Minister continued mechanically.

“Everyone knows that the Prince and the Hero are close. Of course, the Hero is a person who directly publicizes his achievements in the Imperial Capital Newspaper, but there’s a high possibility that he reported the subjugation of the Beast King to the Prince in advance via communication crystal.”

“Um, excuse me, Justice Minister?”

“With the Hero’s whereabouts unknown, who else can we ask about the circumstances if not the Prince? We must clearly establish when the Prince learned that the Hero had submitted a false report. This is not challenging the authority of the imperial family.”

“That’s true. First, the time of the over-the-counter transaction…”

“I am still speaking.”

“Uh, hmm.”

“A student at the Academy has already made an extreme choice.”

The Justice Minister’s tone was infinitely heavy as he said this.

The frivolous demeanor he had shown while bumping shoulders with the Imperial Guard Vice Commander at the Cordana exchange and building friendship was long gone.

“…That’s not all. The commander of the 5th Regiment of the Imperial Guard left only a letter expressing despair over his investment failure and disappeared. And a distant member of the imperial family who purchased 10 Cordana units just before the crash is in such dire straits… Ah, you’ll find out soon anyway. If I may tell you who it is, it’s the nephew of the late Emperor’s predecessor.”

“Hmm. An elderly person.”

“Countless others are groaning in pain as well. And this is not even confirmed losses—it’s just that the value of the Cordana they’re holding has decreased.”

The other ministers, and even the Royal Order Captain, looked at him with tense expressions. It seemed like he might really explode if provoked.

“…If the truth is not revealed, and if Cordana doesn’t recover, many people will die. Including me and my family.”

How long did the silence last after that?

In the end, the ministers resolved to demand an explanation from the Prince, and the Emperor quickly approved it. This was thanks to the chamberlain who had observed the meeting and conveyed the serious atmosphere. It was the moment when the hiding Prince would be dragged out by imperial command.

At the same time.

At the newly opened Cordana exchange, buying interest had revived slightly.

It was the result of groundless hope that when the Prince opened his mouth, the bad news that had accumulated might be resolved.