episode_0074

I have now set foot in the imperial palace for an unknown number of times.

Although it obviously shouldn’t be familiar, a fleetingly familiar scenery welcomed me.

‘I can’t believe there’s an outsider that the imperial palace is so familiar with.’

A normal person would be very honored, but unfortunately, I was not.

I hope you don’t get used to it.

But it seemed like the emperor had no intention of leaving it that way.

There’s no way the emperor doesn’t know that I don’t like setting foot in the imperial palace.

Still, I was really curious about what that meant.

With all sorts of uncomfortable emotions, I arrived at the throne room where the emperor was.

When I opened the door without much knocking, what I saw was the emperor sitting on the throne.

The emperor gestured with his chin as if to welcome us.

I let out a deep sigh and stood in front of him.

“What did you call me for this time?”

“You can see a very annoyed expression on your face.”

“It’s very annoying. So, please quickly get to the point and send it to me.”

As he answered shamelessly, a smile spread across the Emperor’s lips.

“Warrior. do you know That I have changed a lot.”

“You said that last time too. And people naturally change. I can see it that way too.”

“The amount of talking back has also increased.”

The emperor said this and shook his head.

“So, please tell me the purpose of your call.”

“You probably know that rumors have spread that Duke Erdi is dead. Of course, that is your aim.”

“Did you notice it right away?”

“You can’t know. If Erdi was dead, you wouldn’t be able to maintain your composure like that. It looks as if someone was artificially spreading it, but how could one not notice it? I’m sure the other dukes noticed too. However, you also know that the Duke’s death, whether it was artificial or not, had a significant impact.”

Know.

I too am a little worried about that.

‘The vassals in the Duke’s lower-ranking families will go crazy.’

No matter how powerful the duke’s family was.

If the duke dies without an heir, the vassals at the lower level will be divided.

If that happens, the chaos will grow out of control, so it has been entrusted to Dieron to prevent it.

‘But Dieron can’t calm all the chaos.’

This meant that the Duke’s influence was significant.

So he had to take the bait as soon as possible.

The main role of the bait was a member of the Blood clan and an assassin who attempted to assassinate Erdi.

‘There’s no chance of him betraying me, so I’ll just have to wait for the contact.’

Of course, I wanted to hear from you as quickly as possible.

As I said just now, we need to take the bait as soon as possible so that this situation can calm down.

“Looking at it, I think I know the answer without having to say anything.”

said the emperor.

Rather than dragging out the conversation, I quickly asked about the business.

“I don’t think you called me to say just that.”

“As you said, I didn’t just call you to ask about that. Because I called you to help you.”

“Are you trying to help me?”

You want to help me…

Emperor, you have often helped me and supported me, so I was not that surprised.

However, the question that arises is whether it is necessary to say this directly.

Even if you don’t have to deliver it in person, sending a letter or a person would be enough.

‘Well, only the emperor himself would know.’

I’m not the emperor and I can’t look into your thoughts.

The emperor sometimes shows such insight that I wonder if he is looking into my head.

Since I don’t have that ability, I just wondered what the Emperor had in mind.

He is a nobleman who rules an empire in name and name, but there is no way he has anything on his mind.

If there wasn’t, it would be funny, but I actually didn’t think much of it.

Whether it exists or not doesn’t really make a big difference.

Let’s just understand this for now.

As I was thinking this to myself, the emperor spoke.

“Yes. The death of the duke will bring great chaos to the empire, and since you probably have something in mind, let’s try to prevent this as much as possible. So you can focus on that.”

After saying that, he waves his hand.

It meant that I had finished what I had to say and should go straight away.

‘It’s impossible to predict.’

The inside is very dark.

Since he is called the sky of the empire, his default value is not to reveal his feelings to others.

Others are reluctant and uncomfortable with such an emperor.

You will be afraid, but I know.

Even if they act unexpectedly and seem to be doing their own thing. At least at the bottom of that darkness lies the desire to always think of others first and help them.

A side that was hard to believe was the emperor of an empire was hidden in the emperor before my eyes.

‘That’s why you listen to the emperor.’

There is also a reason why it is not a good decision to reject the emperor of an empire.

At least in my opinion, the emperor is a true emperor who cares more about the well-being of others and the people than himself, so I listened to what he said.

If it weren’t for that, I probably wouldn’t have acted like I was outright pretending.

On the one hand, I felt fortunate that the emperor of the empire was that kind of person, but I left the palace with the thought that it would be nice to stop making fun of people.

***

Ceylon, a middle-aged man who was released from prison by Duke Mertain, followed his orders and headed to the original location to meet the person who had commissioned him.

To be honest, when I first heard Duke Mertain’s words, my first thought was whether it was possible.

I certainly did not expect that he would unfold a scenario in which he escaped after killing the Duke of Verdium.

‘Who would even think of that?’

If it becomes known that the duke has died, the repercussions will be so great that one cannot even imagine.

Even he, who has lived in darkness his entire life, knows the extent of the imperial dukes who support the empire.

However, Duke Mertain proudly announced these facts as if that did not matter.

Even though you probably know what kind of repercussions are coming.

‘Are you sure you are confident?’

Duke Mertain.

He was a duke who was not well known to the public.

Recently, he gained considerable status by beheading all the counts who had conducted human experiments.

The family was still undervalued.

That’s because nothing is known, and the reason it’s not known is because there are many people who think it’s less important than other operatives.

In fact, part of him thought that the Mertain duchy was weaker than the other dukes…

‘That’s funny.’

There was literally no illusion.

The concentrated life and gigantic presence shown when we first met.

It felt even bigger than the giant-like presence that Duke Verdium had shown.

Even though he had exhausted most of his strength at that time.

Even if I had preserved my power, I wasn’t sure if I would be able to touch him even with a finger.

The moment I saw it, I was literally overwhelmed.

It’s not just a difference in power, but a sense of presence and soul resonance with the other person.

In all of those things.

Just as humans cannot do anything other than stare at and be trampled in front of giants.

That was the kind of feeling he had when he looked at Duke Mertain.

The power that Duke Mertain showed was real.

If he hadn’t shown mercy, he would probably have been killed.

He and his subordinates would not have been able to remain in this world.

Moreover, I found the possibility of meeting Elon, whom I had been searching for so long.

Although it may have been a lie told by Duke Mertain to trick him.

Looking at the Duke of Mertain’s appearance for a while, it was not difficult to tell that he was not a person who would tell lies.

If so, it is true that there is a close relationship with Elon.

The possibility of meeting Elon was also close to the truth.

‘Should I call this fortunate…? ‘

If you think about it, it was fortunate.

Although the assassination failed and he almost died as a result.

In the end, I was able to find the son I had been looking for so long.

‘Of course we won’t be able to meet right away.’

What allows us to meet is the heart of Duke Mertain.

But what was certain was that as long as I completed this task successfully, he would let me meet Elon.

‘So somehow it succeeds.’

That was all I had to think about.

If this fails, there will be no more opportunities left for him.

Even if only to meet his subordinates and his son Elon, who believed in him and followed him.

He had no intention of failing this time.

‘come.’

He arrived at his destination and felt a presence approaching.

There should be no such thing as failure.

Although the body has not fully recovered, it has recovered to some extent.

Killing one person, even one without much ability, was no problem.

He took a moment to breathe.

He immediately exhaled and swung his sword.