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IFLDMHF | Chapter 87

Episode 87

However—

“What? You don’t know? You can’t figure it out?”

The emperor, who had ordered his subordinates to trace the origin of the rumors, was stunned by their report.

Apparently, whoever was responsible had been so discreet that they couldn’t even find a trail.

“Basilian! What about the Basilian household?”

If the Basilian and Rudion ducal families hadn’t formed a marital alliance, the injustices in the North might never have come to light.

The Duke of Basilian, cold-blooded as he seemed, was, in truth, a man who cared deeply only for his family.

Given that Rudion’s duke was now his son-in-law, it was likely he would treasure him as much as he did his beloved daughter—assuming no major problems arose.

‘Come to think of it, he did make a sarcastic remark last time.’

Something absurd about how it might rain gold in the North.

Perhaps this was why he had treated the North’s issues as if they were his own.

Or maybe he had been enraged by the actions of the trade guild run by Count Biers and, blaming the emperor as the root cause, had taken matters into his own hands…

But even as the emperor’s thoughts spiraled in anger, he didn’t truly suspect the Duke of Basilian.

The man was far too upright for a merchant. If he were to cause trouble, he would do so directly, not through underhanded, troublesome campaigns like this.

No, someone with his level of wealth and power wouldn’t be so foolish.

“There have been no movements from the Basilian household. It’s more likely the work of a third party.”

As expected, when suspicion of the Basilian household arose, the subordinate shook his head.

A third party, then.

“In that case, it couldn’t be those who wiped out the assassin’s guild recently, could it?”

Surely not.

The emperor muttered uneasily.

Even without this issue, the sudden collapse of the assassin’s guild, which had long dominated the underworld, had left him troubled.

The underworld, despite its illegal activities like black markets, gambling dens, and slave auctions, had its own balance and order that kept external problems at bay. But now, with the guild’s leader gone, chaos reigned.

Had a new figure or organization emerged from a power struggle, it would have been easier to control the underworld through them.

The problem, however, was that the guild had been destroyed, and the perpetrators had vanished without a trace.

This made the underworld even harder to manage than before, potentially more so than the guild’s existence ever had.

It was already a headache, but the emperor had another pressing issue that gnawed at his nerves.

Out of vengeance for the previous emperor, the current emperor himself had thrown that last bloodline into the underworld’s illegal markets as soon as the child was born.

He had assumed the child would die on their own and had paid no further attention. To his surprise, he later learned that the child had somehow clung to life.

Still, he had left them alone, reasoning that death would eventually come and hoping they would suffer in the meantime.

He wanted them to live without knowing why they were there, unaware of the cause of their misery or the target of their revenge.

But then, shockingly, the child was put up for auction after one of the black-market traders was bribed.

Having survived as a battle slave, the child’s strength was undeniable. Coupled with their striking appearance, it was no wonder someone coveted them.

However, the identity of the buyer remained a mystery.

The emperor was particularly curious about the one who had manipulated the auction with such a massive fortune, making the trader abandon the opportunity to amass even more profit.

He had tried to investigate, but when the assassin’s guild fell, he had put the inquiry on hold.

“Surely it isn’t the same perpetrator.”

There was no evidence or trace linking the two events, so jumping to conclusions would have been premature—and would have made the issue even more alarming.

Still, the thought that an unidentified force capable of moving so stealthily might be the same one spreading rumors about the North gave him a headache.

“It probably wasn’t someone directly from the North.”

The North lacked the resources to cultivate such influence; they were too busy just trying to survive.

“Damn it. Who the hell dares…?”

Grinding his teeth, the emperor slammed his hand onto the armrest of his chair.

“What about the trial results?”

Today, a trial had been held for the noble who had caused trouble in the North.

Apparently, the gallery was packed with commoners and nobles alike, eager to hear about the North’s dire situation from the shameless noble himself.

Thinking things couldn’t possibly get worse, the emperor sighed and asked.

A subordinate hesitated before responding.

“As expected, the verdict was guilty, and the sentence was the harshest possible due to the threat to public welfare. Until execution, all involved will serve labor sentences in the mines. The noble title was revoked, and all confiscated assets… have been handed over to the Rudion ducal family as proposed by the Ministry of Finance.”

“Tsk.”

Normally, such assets would be transferred to the imperial treasury. But since the Rudion family was the main victim, and the North was already an independent region, no one found the decision strange.

With rumors about the imperial family’s mistreatment of the North rampant, raising objections was out of the question.

“Even if it isn’t raining gold, their coffers will be overflowing.”

The emperor couldn’t hide his irritation. Assets from the Basilian family had already bolstered their wealth, and now they seemed to be thriving.

As he brooded, a subordinate spoke hesitantly.

“However…”

“What now?”

“Well…”

“Out with it already!”

Startled by the emperor’s angry voice, the subordinate hurriedly replied.

“Count Biers—the criminal from the North—proclaimed his innocence throughout the trial. He insisted he wasn’t acting alone. In fact, he claimed that the distribution funds allocated to Rudion’s ducal family…”

It was as if he had been following someone’s orders or had struck some kind of deal. He seemed genuinely resentful, making it hard to believe he was lying.

“And? Who did he claim was behind it?”

The emperor’s curiosity was piqued. Could there really be someone else who wanted the North to collapse as much as he did?

However—

“Well… despite his outrage, he couldn’t say who it was.”

“What?”

“It was as if his throat was caught. Even though he seemed ready to explode with frustration, he kept his mouth shut until he nearly fainted from rage. It was as if the person behind it was far beyond his ability to handle.”

“…”

The emperor felt dizzy and held his head.

No wonder the subordinate had been acting so uneasy, constantly glancing at him.

He had assumed it was because they knew how irritable he was, but that wasn’t the case.

“Damn it…”

The aftermath of the trial was clear without having to witness it firsthand.

Everyone would assume the emperor had been behind the merchant’s actions.

But this time, unlike his previous deliberate neglect, he truly had no involvement.

The emperor could only feel frustration and a deep sense of injustice.

Still, there was no way he could openly declare his innocence.

Holding his head, he let out a groan of exasperation.

This was a serious problem.

“It must change.”

The narrative, and more importantly, the atmosphere, needed to shift.

Fortunately, the emperor had an idea to divert attention from the North.

“Kaiden… has there been any word from the crown prince?”

Before his departure, Kaiden had promised to conclude the war with the Kingdom of Aruhin within three months at the latest.

In fact, the emperor had planned to order him to march on the Duchy of Dimondra immediately after finishing with Aruhin.

But that was when the empire’s internal affairs had been stable.

Given the current unrest and dissatisfaction with the imperial family…

“Send a messenger to Kaiden. Tell him to end the war quickly and return.”

• ❁ • ❁ • ❁ •By Esraa• ❁ • ❁ • ❁ •

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Comment

  1. Cathe says:

    I’m just like the Cheshire Cat right now 😊 Well deserved emperor! BURN 🔥 MWAHAHAHA
    Ok so Evgenia won’t be happy when she finds out the prince is returning sooner than expected… I also don’t want him messing with our ship before it even departed, BUT I am looking forward to the reactions 😏

    Where are the gals who were eager for his return?? Happy now? 🤭 Let’s watch the circus catching fire ❤️‍🔥 I need some popcorn… 👀

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