episode_0004

A few hours after Balorang’s death…

I urgently summoned the elders of our clan to Balorang’s room.

And…

The generals who saw Balorang’s body were greatly shocked.

“Your… Your Highness!”

“What… What is this?!”

“What in the world is happening?!”

The generals demanded an explanation from me, all looking bewildered.

-Sigh.

With a voice filled with joy and triumph, I spoke.

“I killed Balorang.”

The generals, who seemed incredulous at my words, made doubtful expressions.

“Your Highness, what did you just say?”

Our army’s Grand Marshal, Ellen, shouted with a face full of anger.

“Are you trying to kill us all now? Do you not know the current situation?”

I know.

I know so well that now is the opportune moment to kill Balorang.

“The Imperial faction will come after us! The morale of the soldiers will plummet! What on earth…”

I interrupted Ellen’s words and said, “Enough. Balorang conspired with the demons and disrupted the empire, executing the former emperor as he pleased.”

Ellen seemed to disagree with my words.

“What nonsense are you spouting? Is the former emperor more important now? We are all in danger of dying! What have we done wrong to deserve this kind of chaos from you?”

Fear could be felt in Ellen’s words.

It’s terrifying.

Without the Grand Duke, or the power of the Francisco Grand Duchy, the anti-imperial faction cannot be sustained.

Even a three-year-old would know that.

For generations, our clan has been the backbone of the anti-imperial faction.

The death of the Grand Duke, who has become the focal point of the anti-imperial nobles.

If you’re not afraid of the situation that the successful rebellion of the Grand Duke’s death will bring, then that’s strange.

“Listen!, Is there anyone outside?!”

At Ellen’s shout, the door opened roughly, and heavily armed soldiers entered.

“Yes, Grand Marshal, did you call for us?”

The soldiers stood at attention.

Ellen ordered the soldiers, “Quickly, capture that mad prince!”

The soldiers looked puzzled at the command.

“What…? R-really?”

Seeing their reaction, Ellen shouted, “Are you mocking my orders? Hurry and capture the mad prince who killed the Grand Duke!”

The soldiers hesitated at Ellen’s words, looking shocked as they glanced at the Grand Duke’s body.

Well… they must be surprised…, but Ellen, I’m not a fool, and I have no intention of dying here.

I straightened my posture and said, “Ellen! Are you trying to persecute the rightful heir of the Grand Duchy?!”

Ellen scolded me, shouting, “You ungrateful child! Like a treacherous prince! How dare you kill your own father and then order me around?! Do you not understand what honor is?!”

“Grand Marshal! Revoke your orders! I am the rightful heir of the Francisco Grand Duchy, and from the moment Balorang died, I am the Grand Duke!”

Ellen, laughing at my words, said incredulously, “Haha… Do you think you can inherit the Grand Duke’s legacy after directly killing him? The moment you killed the Grand Duke, your inheritance rights disappeared. The rightful heir from now on is Lady Mary! Did you think I would let a scoundrel like you become the Grand Duke?”

That… that’s what I was waiting for.

“Is that so? Well, then, good.”

I took out a weapon from my sleeve to counter this situation.

I pulled out a sealed envelope with a red seal and threw it towards Ellen.

“There, see it? That’s why I am the Grand Duke.”

The envelope fell in front of Ellen.

“What does that letter mean? What are the soldiers doing, not capturing the mad prince?!”

At Ellen’s angry command, the soldiers hurriedly moved.

I sighed as I watched the soldiers follow Ellen’s orders.

“Sigh… Everyone here will die as traitors to the Grand Empire.”

The soldiers flinched at my words.

I maintained a calm expression and continued speaking.

“General Ellen, please look at this letter.”

Ellen, raising an eyebrow, glanced at the seal on the letter.

“Is… Is this Princess Mary’s seal?”

“Yes, it is my younger sister Mary’s seal. Curious, aren’t you? Wondering why I am showing you this letter?”

Slowly, Ellen picked up the letter and carefully opened the seal.

He began to read.

– Rustle.

Shock, confusion… and an expression of disbelief.

And fear.

“W-what… What does the Princess want?”

Other generals asked Ellen about the contents of the letter.

“What kind of letter is it?”

After reading it all, Ellen looked at the soldiers and said,

“Soldiers, go out and guard the perimeter immediately.”

The commanding general, who had initially hesitated, gave the order to the bewildered soldiers.

“What are you waiting for?! Go out?!”

The soldiers, standing at attention, rushed outside.

“General… What is in the letter exactly?”

“Speak up.”

At the urging of the other generals, the commanding general spoke.

– Silence.

“In this letter… Princess Mary… ”

Unable to continue, Ellen, I smiled and spoke in his place.

“The letter contains a declaration of Princess Mary’s unwavering support for me.”

“W-what… What is this?!”

The generals, unable to believe my words, roughly snatched the letter from the commanding general’s hand and read it.

Their faces were filled with immense confusion.

The success of the anti-imperial faction in killing the Emperor of the Empire.

With the Grand Duke, their focal point, dead, and Mary, who could potentially become their new focal point, declaring her support for me.

If they were to ignore Mary’s support and kill me, they would face the worst-case scenario of fighting against Mary, the Imperial faction, and everyone in the Grand Empire.

The burden of their families disappearing into the mist of harsh torture and imprisonment as traitors, trapped in Roman without supplies.

Escaping Roman by sheer luck, they would still face the daunting task of fighting and defeating Mary, who possessed overwhelming power, even if they waged war against the Grand Empire.

She was a monster like Valoran.

This was the scheme I had been preparing for a long time.

“Well, what will you do? Will you acknowledge me as the Grand Duke? Or will you all face certain death?”

I sat down on the sofa, looking at the bewildered generals with a calm expression.

“I will bestow great favor upon you if you stand by my side, General Ellen.”

As I called out to Ellen, he looked at me with a helpless expression.

“I have heard that your son is quite capable.”

When I was in the Grand Empire, I had heard that Ellen’s son, Leon, was quite capable.

“So, I am considering appointing him as an official. What do you think?”

As I said this, I glanced at the generals.

They probably knew what I was trying to convey.

Stand by my side and support me, or kill me and face certain death. But if you support me, I will reward you greatly.

Thus, the generals began to calculate in their minds, bouncing ideas back and forth.

I watched with satisfaction as the shadow of greed slowly crept onto their faces.

Yes, they were not fools. If they were fools, they wouldn’t have made it to this position.

As I looked at them with a triumphant expression,

– Rustle!

Ellen suddenly drew his sword and said,

“Shut up! You traitorous bastard! I will kill you!”

And the commanding general rushed towards me…

I drew my sword in response…

– Clang!

I blocked the commanding general’s sword.

“What… What are you doing! General Ellen!”

The generals drew their swords.

“Let go! Let go! Today, I will kill that traitor!”

“General! You can’t do this right now. We don’t know when the Imperial faction will gather here, and we’re fighting among ourselves?!”

But Ellen didn’t care about those words.

“Shut up! Even if that’s the case, my loyalty lies with His Majesty the Emperor. Being loyal to that despicable bastard… ugh!”

Before Ellen could finish speaking, the youngest man among the generals stabbed Ellen in the back with his sword and spoke with a dignified expression and tone.

“Have you ever seen such a crazy person? What are you doing to His Grace, Debiang?”

The timing and acting were so perfect that I was momentarily stunned, feeling like I had intercepted well.

Seeing the young man’s actions, the generals began to attack Ellen one by one.

“Ellen! How dare you act like this! I will judge you immediately for disrespecting His Grace.”

The intercepted general’s actions seemed to be like the starting signal of a loyalty competition among the generals towards me.

Yes… that’s how it should be, right? You don’t want to face certain death, do you?

And in that gruesome scene, a man who slightly distanced himself from the chaos, showed a subtle smile only visible to me and raised his thumb.

-Swish.

With that, Ellen, who opposed me, died.

And now the generals will pledge their loyalty to me.

Otherwise… they will be pursued from both sides, whether by the Empire or the Grand Duchy.

“Gah!”

Ellen’s right hand was slashed by a sword. Someone knocked him down and stabbed him with a sword. Someone else… slit his throat.

Blood splattered on the ceiling and wallpaper of the blood fountain room.

As the hot fountain of blood suddenly stopped, the generals knelt before me.

I said to them, “So… are you all supporting me?”

“We… we will pledge our loyalty to the new Grand Duke, Debiang, of Francesco.”

Smiling at the generals who knelt before me, I said, “Hehe… I’ll make sure you don’t regret choosing me today.”

After taking a deep breath, I spoke.

First, I need to gain the support of the Imperial citizens and the remaining noble families.

That’s why…

“My first order is to command the funerals of the late Emperor and the male nobles who were cruelly executed.”

***

Thus, I intercepted the generals of the Grand Duchy and headed to my quarters.

It was the time when the dark night slowly faded away and the blue dawn arrived.

As I walked along the long corridor.

A familiar voice of a man reached my ears.

“Did everything go well?”

“Well… so far, it went as I planned.”

A handsome man with bright blonde hair handed me a towel and spoke.

“Thank goodness.”

Wiping the blood off my face, I asked, “How about your end?”

And he approached me and whispered in my ear.

“As you commanded… I captured Princess Teodora, who was trying to escape.”

I nodded in relief. It would have been a disaster if she had escaped.

“Phew… good.”

Saying that, I headed towards my quarters but stopped and said, “As soon as the sun rises… tell the members of the Imperial faction to gather in my quarters.”

And then I continued on my way to my quarters.