After wandering outside for a while, the aides, including Yuton, headed to the Inner Palace.
In any case, if they, who were no better than ordinary people, were to intervene with the situation, they would either be mere bystanders, an obstacle, or a just get taken hostages. So it was only natural to enter the threshold after the work was done.
It certainly wasn’t because they were scared.
They expected by now the situation would have been roughly settled, but the atmosphere in the Inner Palace was darker, quieter, and more eerie than usual.
“I wonder where Lord Lian is….”
Creak.
Creeeak.
An unidentifiable sound was heard from somewhere.
For some reason, it seemed like the lighting was deliberately dimmed, and even the corridors of the Inner Palace looked dark and gloomy.
“….”
After walking for a while, they reached the central garden. They could see knights in white uniforms rushing around here and there.
“Whew. Fortunately, nothing bad happened.”
Yuton wiped the sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief as he entered the central garden.
“Everyone has worked hard, huuu.”
“….”
“….”
The central garden, which the deceased Empress cherished so much, was completely destroyed.
The lake, the trees, the flowers, the grass, and even the rocks. Everything was damaged to the point that it was impossible to recognize its original form.
There was also a new sculpture. Next to the red puddle, beside the red bust, there was a red…
Goodness… is that an arm?
A person’s arm?
Oh, not that. It’s a leg… Yes.
A few of the aides, who had weak stomachs, turned around and covered their mouths.
“You there. Where is His Majesty?”
The Royal Knights, who were in the process of handling the situation, finally recognized Count Yuton and gave a silent greeting, but everyone avoided making eye contact.
“You over there. Where is Lord Lian?”
At Yuton’s desperate voice, Huain, the Chief Captain of the Royal Knights, who had been holding a small booklet and writing something as he walked around, opened his mouth.
“Count. His Majesty has gone to the main palace.”
“!”
The main palace? Why did the Great Emperor, who usually never steps out of his Inner Palace, suddenly go to the main palace? Moreover, if it’s the main palace… isn’t that the place he only goes to about three or four times a year when handling important matters?
“Nevertheless, Lord Huain. What happened to your face?”
Yuton, whose eyes had become accustomed to the darkness, looked closely and saw that not only Huain, but the faces of other knights were also covered in bruises.
“….”
“Could it be that His Majesty… beat you up… ”
Huain rubbed his bruised right eye with the back of his hand and spoke in a casual tone.
“We all got beaten because we sided with Lord Lian. But the good thing is His Majesty didn’t use magic on us, so it’s not too bad. By the way, His Majesty told me to send the aides to the Inner Palace when they arrive. His Majesty even said it’s a good opportunity since he was planning to pick a day to settle things anyway.”
Captain Huain looked around at the pale-faced aides, a trace of pity could also be seen in his gaze.
“Please. May the blessing of the Creator be with you… Hey, Maurice! What are you doing? The heads should be gathered separately! I need to verify their identities!”
Captain Huain gestured to the aides to hurry and leave as he turned around.
The aides, who were shocked once by the visual impact and again stunned by the thunderous news, staggered out. A single event flashed through the minds of the aides at the same time.
10 years ago.
The ‘Noblesse Regicide’ that took place in the main palace.
Because of that, There are no Dukes or Marquises remaining during the reign of Perza IV.
To be precise, except for Ian, who still holds the title of Duke of Lecanois, and Lian, who holds the title of Grand Duke of Bartier, the remaining 17 high-ranking noble titles are all vacant.
When the Crown Prince returned after finishing the territorial war.
Even before the funeral of the deceased Emperor was over, the high-ranking nobles consisting of Dukes and Marquises flocked together at the Grand Audience Hall of the main palace.
And then they started talking nonsense such as, ‘We need to discuss the achievements of the civil and military officials before the Crown Prince ascends to the throne,’ ‘The Crown Prince is young, therefore, a regent must be appointed,’ ‘The Crown Prince also needs the approval of the civil officials and other nobles,’ and so on…..
As a result, they were all beheaded on the spot.
Even the seasoned veterans of the political world, the Lecanois vassals, never expected that the Crown Prince would wield a sword in the main palace.
When they had already told him in advance.
The Crown Prince, who was holding the hand of his young brother and watching the deceased Emperor’s funeral procession, responded in his usual calm voice.
“It’s alright. I have everything planned.”
On that day, all six Ducal Houses and eleven Marquisates of the Perza Empire were annihilated.
And Emperor Perza IV ascended to the throne on the blood they spilled.
The location of them and now are the main palace’s Grand Audience Hall.
A highly symbolic place during the reign of Emperor Perza IV…
“Haha. I wonder why His Majesty is calling us to the main palace…”
“Hahaha. It’s probably because the Inner Palace is so crowded. I noticed there were more people than usual.”
“That must be it, right? There’s no place better than the main palace for staying quietly.”
“….”
“….”
“Should we run away?”
“…That! That’s a good suggestion!”
“Where do we go?”
“It could be anywhere. Ah! Count Mirhi, didn’t you say you inherited an island before?”
“That’s right. They say it’s better to live in the world, even if you have to roll in a pile of dog shit. Let’s escape! Let’s escape!”
“Oh? Do you think that’s possible?”
“Even if it’s not possible, we have to try. If we just stay still, we’ll die a horrible death… um…..”
“….”
The aides, noticing that their responses were somewhat disparate, all of them turned their gazes to one spot.
There were seven of them. Why were there eight shadows?
At the end of their anxious gazes. Like the midday sun….
No, it was still night. Their Majesty, shining like the full moon in the middle of the night…
With an incredibly bright smile, His Majesty was walking arm in arm with his lifelong vassals.
“You dare send an assassin? Aren’t you afraid this is considered treason?”
“Your Majesty! We have no knowledge of this! It’s a conspiracy! We’ve been falsely accused!”
“Oh my. Lord Lian! Where on earth have you gone!”
That night, on the long and winding walkway leading to the main palace, the Emperor’s magic was casted for the second time.
* * *
At that moment. Grand Duke Lian Bartier, the perpetrator of all the chaos, was leisurely walking toward the outer wall of the Inner Palace.
‘Haha. I’m a genius.’
The more he thought about it, the more he felt that this plan was shaping up quite well. When Lian received word that a ragtag group of Servan’s remnants had hatched an incredibly shabby plan, what flashed through his mind was ‘one net, one strike’.
[T/N: ‘One net, one strike’ (一網打盡) is a Chinese idiom which means “to catch everything in one fell swoop” or “to wipe out completely.”.]
It was both troublesome and a hassle to catch the remnants of the defeated country one by one.
It was strategically more effective to throw out a bait and catch them all in one place.
The code name for this operation was「Premium Bait No. 1」.
This operation was done by deploying half of the Emperor’s Escort Knights.
By now, the Escort Knights and Royal Guards should have already stormed the main base of ‘Zenya’ outside.
In fact, the reason Lian was walking toward the outer wall was because he had received new information from the spy he planted in Zenya earlier.
「The external infiltration team is stationed at the southwest checkpoint, at the 7th turret. It seems their purpose is to draw a map of the Inner Palace.」
‘Good strategy.’
In order to safely escort the assassins to the Inner Palace, he had pulled out the Royal Guards in charge of patrol under various pretexts and training excuses. However, it seemed that some rats had hidden outside. In the Majestic Royal Palace, a map is nothing but a useless tool.
As Lian walked casually, his body brushing against the cool breeze, a red shadow fleetingly passed across his line of sight.
‘Huh? Red hair?’
Lian clicked his tongue in disapproval, wondering what kind of assassin was so bold to wander around the outer wall of the Inner Palace without hiding his strikingly distinct head with flashy hair.
As he quietly approached, he noticed that the figure wasn’t dressed in the usual black attire of an assassin.
Instead, he was wearing a yellowish short-sleeved top and yellowish shorts.
A mysterious number, 3358, was embroidered on his chest and back.
…It seemed to be a prisoner who had escaped from the Royal Guard’s prison.
“Hey. 3358.”
“Aah.”
Klisha was so surprised that she almost fell off the outer wall. She couldn’t afford to fall off the wall because she was surprised! If she had been caught doing that, she would have had no choice but to voluntarily enter hellish training.
Klisha pulled her top up to cover her face up to the bridge of her nose, then turned her head toward the direction from which the sound had come.
“!”
Before she knew it, a blonde knight had climbed up to the outer wall and was smiling broadly while looking at her.
‘How come I didn’t feel it when he was this close? Am I really losing my sharpness?’
The blond knight opened his mouth.
“Prisoner number 3358. If you want to escape, you should go this way, not that way. If you go that way by mistake, you’ll be accused of an additional terrible crime.”
“…..”
“Normally, escapees must be captured, but… since today is a very busy day, if you leave quietly, I’ll let you go.”
“…..Is something happening in the Inner Palace?”
Lian responded to the unexpected question with a faint smile.
“If you learn too much… that could be dangerous in its own way. Do you understand?”
“I will make sure if His Majesty is safe, then I will leave.”
“Hmm?”
Lian’s eyes widened slightly at the unexpected response.
“Why are you curious about that?”
Klisha glanced toward the deeper parts of the Inner Palace and replied.
“Well, to worry about the safety of His Majesty…. it’s a natural duty as a citizen of the Empire.”
Lian nodded in understanding and said.
“Duty of the citizens of the Empire, you say… How admirable. In that case, to specially inform you, His Majesty is, of course, in great condition. From the beginning, His Majesty has never been affected by such trivial matters…”
“Thank you for letting me know.”
Klisha leaped down from the outer wall without looking back. Despite the considerable height, her movements were light, indicating that her martial arts skills were far from ordinary.
And she wasn’t even surprised to see him, a Rune Knight.
From the moment she entered the Inner Palace, wind magic was flowing along Lian’s left arm.
“He’s a former convict, but he has exceptional patriotism. He’s a role model for escapees.”
However….
“Hey, 3358. If you go that way, it leads to His Majesty’s Inner Palace. If you go there… you’ll end up… with the assassins…”
Before Lian could even finish speaking, Klisha had already disappeared deep into the Inner Palace.
