Chapter 363

We gathered with our close aides immediately after the shocking assassination attempt on the empress.

The atmosphere in the room was heavy.

It was only natural, considering the gravity of the situation.

And,

It was the first time the others had witnessed the empress’s true nature.

They were still in shock.

“I-I don’t understand what happened.”

Annette broke the awkward silence.

She still looked confused.

“H-How could there be so many people in the Imperial City who would harbor such malicious intent towards the empress?”

Camian added, biting his lip.

“I’m wondering the same thing. Not in the south or the east, but in the Imperial City? And there were so many of them? Lords from the central, western, and northern regions, imperial guards, even imperial knights. Does this even make sense?”

“It doesn’t.”

I finally spoke.

“But it happened. Whether it makes sense or not, it’s reality.”

“And they all used your name.”

Regina interjected.

She seemed certain of something.

“I think the empress was right. To assassinate the empress with something like that? It’s absurd. Then their goal wasn’t to kill her, but to frame you. But was it to destroy you? No. You have power. The power to fight back against false accusations. A conflict would have been inevitable if the empress had doubted you.”

“That’s right.”

I nodded.

No matter how I thought about it, the only logical conclusion was that they had tried to sow discord between the empress and me.

And they had almost succeeded.

If the empress had been the same as she was in the past.

That was their only miscalculation.

It was a stroke of luck for me.

The empress had believed me.

She had kept her promise to me.

It had touched me deeply.

“Speaking of the empress… Did she say anything special to you, Senior?”

Camian asked, his curiosity getting the better of him.

“Yeah, back then… I thought she was going to do something to you, and my heart almost stopped…”

Annette sighed in relief, as if she was reliving the scene.

“Well, she said some nice things.”

I brushed it off.

I couldn’t go around telling everyone about her personal confession.

“Just tell us a little…”

Camian looked disappointed, but then he trailed off.

Regina put her finger to her lips, signaling him to stop.

Camian was quick-witted.

He coughed awkwardly and looked away.

“Ahem, w-well, then it must have been something positive, right? T-That’s all that matters.”

An awkward silence fell over the room.

I spoke again, my eyes thoughtful.

“You must have been shocked.”

“W-Well, such a horrific incident happened at the banquet…”

“No, not that.”

“Huh?”

Annette blinked in confusion.

“You saw that side of the empress.”

Annette and Camian’s faces hardened as they understood what I meant.

It was something I wouldn’t have brought up if this incident hadn’t happened.

But now, it was something I had to address.

It concerned them as well.

“…”

“…”

Annette and Camian remained silent.

They probably didn’t know what to say.

I understood.

She was the emperor now.

But before she was the emperor, she was their longtime classmate.

That was why I was bringing this up.

“You must have sensed it too. You’ve been classmates with her for three years.”

“What are you talking about…?”

“That there’s a darkness lurking beneath the empress’s gentle and cheerful facade.”

Their eyes widened.

They probably hadn’t expected me to be so blunt.

“Hmm…”

“W-Well…”

“It’s alright. You don’t have to answer.”

I raised my hand to stop them.

They were probably being cautious because she was their classmate.

It was my duty as their senior to take the lead.

“Anyway, I did everything I could to prevent that darkness from surfacing. Everything.”

“…”

“But this happened. Something that triggered her dark side.”

*Crack*

I clenched my fist so tightly that my knuckles cracked.

“But wouldn’t anyone react that way? If they went through something like this? They would be filled with rage. The empress was just caught in the crossfire.”

I never thought I would be defending the empress.

But I had to.

Sincerely.

She had touched me deeply.

“And of course, I’ll continue to do everything I can to ensure her safety and a stable reign.”

“Senior…”

Annette’s eyes welled up with emotion.

Camian also stared at me with a serious expression.

“…I understand what you’re saying. But this incident will inevitably cause unrest. We don’t know who’s behind it, and many people heard those assassins mention your name.”

Camian’s words were insightful.

Well, maybe not insightful.

He was the protagonist, after all.

“You’re right.”

I nodded.

Even though the empress had dismissed the accusations against me, it didn’t mean that everyone would believe her.

Incidents were often distorted based on people’s biases.

Those who believed that “there’s no smoke without fire” would see me as a traitor who was trying to usurp the throne.

“If you know that…”

“Then we have to take action.”

“What kind of action?”

“Of course, the first thing we have to do is reveal the identities of the culprits and make it public.”

“Huh? But we don’t know anything about them…”

“I have a guess now. No, it’s more like a certainty.”

My words surprised them.

Regina, on the other hand, seemed to have the same thought as me.

“You mean Red Rain?”

She said.

“Yes.”

I nodded.

“W-Wait. Wasn’t Red Rain supporting the treacherous prince?”

Camian interjected.

The final battle in the Red Desert.

We had seen it with our own eyes.

The treacherous prince’s absurd reinforcements.

The giant golems of unknown origin.

Only we had recognized them as Guardians.

That’s how we had figured out that the treacherous prince and Red Rain were working together.

“Of course.”

I agreed.

“But now that the treacherous prince is dead, what do they gain by interfering with the empire’s affairs? And why would they try to assassinate the empress?”

Camian looked confused.

Annette did too.

“Gain? Of course they have a motive.”

“What is it?”

I realized that it was time to tell them about the fundamental and crucial secret that was intertwined with the past, present, and future of this world.

“What I’m about to tell you is a very serious and important matter. I hope you’ll all listen carefully.”

* * *

“T-The last fragment of the Dark God is sealed in the Holy City? A-And it’s at the lepheria Academy? I-Is that true?”

Camian’s jaw dropped in shock.

He had explored the underground of the Holy City with us, so he knew that it was the place where they had tried to seal the Dark God, but had failed. He also knew that they had been forced to break the Dark God into fragments and seal them in various locations around the world. But that was all he knew.

He had never imagined that the academy we attended was directly related to the incident, so his reaction was understandable.

“Yes, it’s true. I heard it from someone who knows more about it than anyone else.”

“W-Who is that, Senior?”

Annette asked.

Her eyes were wide with surprise as well.

But there was more to come.

“The Saint. Saint lepheria.”

At that moment,

They looked at me as if I had lost my mind.

…Regina did too.

I chuckled wryly.

“I know I sound crazy, but I’m not.”

I started to explain.

It was an explanation that would only work on them.

No one else would have believed me.

They believed me because I had built up so much trust with them.

“…”

“…”

They were speechless, still in shock.

Regina chuckled and shook her head.

“Principal Arifer… Arifer reversed sounds like lepheria… She’s quite a character.”

“She is.”

I chuckled and didn’t deny it.

She did have an unsettling presence, but she was also surprisingly eccentric. She would complain about being called “old lady” and say things like, “I should have only pulled out one hair,” after pulling out a handful of her own hair.

“Anyway, so the Saint asked you for help?”

“Yes. It seems like she’s not as strong as she used to be, due to her age.”

“Well, she’s over a thousand years old.”

“I-Is she a dragon?”

Annette blinked rapidly.

“She might as well be, considering her age. But she’s a Saint, Annette.”

I smiled faintly and continued, “And the Saint and I agreed on one thing. Red Rain, who’s trying to resurrect the Dark God, will definitely target the academy. It’s not just the last fragment, but the most important one. They need it to resurrect the Dark God.”

“Ah.”

Camian seemed to have finally understood.

“I-I see. The academy is connected to not only the Holy Church, but also to every nation. If they attack the academy, it means that every nation can intervene…”

“W-Wait! The central continent is in chaos because of the Dark Cult! A-And the empire is still recovering from the civil war… Gasp?!”

Annette’s eyes widened in realization.

“Yes, that’s it.”

I agreed.

“W-Wait a minute. Something’s not right. The empire is still weak from the civil war, right? They won’t have the resources to intervene in the academy’s affairs, which are so far away.”

Camian said, frowning.

Well, even someone as sharp as him could only see that far.

But I could see further.

Based on my past experiences.

‘In the past, the empire recklessly invaded the kingdom. But will they really stay quiet this time?’

I hadn’t realized it at first.

But after the incident, I had started to see their true intentions.

“Yes, Red Rain might not have a motive to cause more chaos in the empire. On the surface. But think deeper.”

“Deeper…?”

“Who else would benefit from the empire’s turmoil?”

“Who else…?”

“Hmm, w-who is that?”

Camian and Annette couldn’t come up with an answer.

But,

“The kingdom.”

Regina said.

I nodded.

“T-The kingdom?”

“Why the kingdom…?”

I explained to my confused juniors, “Because it’s a delicious prey that’s already on fire.”

“!”

They looked shocked, as if they had finally understood.

They were smart kids, after all.

“T-They’re trying to drag the kingdom into this?”

“T-That’s terrifying…”

Camian and Annette shuddered.

“That’s right.”

*Thud*

I slammed my hand on the table.

“So we have to do two things. First, we have to show the world that there are no problems between the empress and me, and that we have a strong bond of trust.”

I raised my second finger.

“Second, we have to reveal that the culprits are Red Rain, and declare them as enemies of the empress and the empire.”

Red Rain, the evil organization that was still lurking in the shadows.

I had made up my mind.

This time, I would drag them out into the open.

I couldn’t do it alone.

But she could.

If the empress of the empire took action.

‘I can’t believe I’m relying on her.’

It was ironic.

Originally, both Red Rain and the monstrous empress were the causes of the bad ending that would destroy the world.

But the situation had changed.

I would side with the empress.

We would stop the world from being destroyed together.

We could do it.

Because the empress…

I stood up.

“I need to meet with the empress in secret.”