Chapter 180: As Planned

“Raise your head.”

The emperor’s voice resonated throughout the hall.

After leaving the Academy’s storage room, Karyl headed straight for the main palace. The two guards escorting him had disappeared immediately after confirming he had entered the palace, clearly rushing off to report to their respective factions.

[Karyl MacGovern met Bran Gamunt.]

They will speak of it, some will be puzzled, and some will be suspicious. Going to meet with a mere librarian from the imperial library before seeing the emperor would certainly confuse many people.

In the other life, I discovered that Bran Gamunt was a distant relative of Azif, the vice-captain of the Golden Knights. The key issue is how much Azif knows about Bran’s talent.

The fact that he was still a librarian suggested that either Azir hadn’t recognized his brilliance or that Bran had cleverly turned down any promotions.

The latter is more likely since Bran Gamunt became close to Olivurn before he ascended the throne.

In fact, in his past life, Karyl’s older brother, Tiren, had entered politics much later than now.

It was the Goblin Subjugation orchestrated by me that brought Tiren and Randol to the palace this time around.

With Tiren currently serving as an apprentice of Court Sorcerer Kadin Luer, Olivurn would have two of the finest strategists by his side.

I can’t let that happen.

Karyl had anticipated that the guards stationed outside his room were loyal to Luon and Olivurn, so it wasn’t surprising that his meeting with Bran would reach their ears.

What matters is now.

Even if the two princes had soldiers watching him, they couldn’t enter this place. And what was about to happen here would be significant for everyone, not just for

Bran Gamunt.

“Greetings, Your Majesty.”

This was not the Sun Hall, where vassals gathered, but the main palace, which one could only enter with the emperor’s permission.

Karyl knelt before Titan Shutean.

Sitting on a more modest throne than the one in the Sun Hall, Emperor Shutean asked, “Do you know about the Absolute Gap?”

The emperor was also aware that Karyl had met Bran on his way to the main palace. However, he did not inquire about such trivial matters, as if they were of no consequence.

“Yes. It’s an unwritten rule passed down since the old empire."

The interior of the main palace was neat and simplistic, unlike the ornate splendor of the imperial palace. The decorations in the room didn’t seem suitable for Titan Shutean, who always appeared radiant.

But strangely, the emperor looked more serene than ever on this occasion.

“It states that in the Sun Hall, no one, regardless of rank, can come within one hundred fifty meters of the emperor,” Karyl responded without hesitation.

“That’s correct. Only a handful have broken that rule in two hundred fifty years. In the current empire, you are the only one.”

Not the only one,

Karyl thought to himself. It was well-known that Titan Shutean had broken that rule himself when he beheaded his own father, the previous emperor, in the Sun Hall. Since that day, he had occupied the throne stained with his father’s blood.

Having broken the Absolute Gap himself, perhaps such a rule hadn’t much significance for Titan Shutean.

“I am honored, Your Majesty.”

Karyl looked at Titan Shutean with a bitter smile.

“Do you know why I broke the rule and allowed you to approach me that day?”

The emperor was convinced Karyl already knew the answer.

“To display your authority, Your Majesty. None of the vassals in the Sun Hall knew about me. By having me stand there, it showed that Your Majesty is involved in matters unknown to many ministers, thereby demonstrating that the imperial power remains intact.”

“Hahaha! Of course, just as I expected. You are more suited for this position than my two sons."

“You flatter me, Your Majesty.”

The emperor’s eyes gleamed as he gazed at Karyl.

“If I promised to give you this position and asked you to assist me, would you comply?”

“...”

Titan Shutean uttered those words with utmost nonchalance, but anyone would have been stunned to hear that.

“A promise...”

However, Karyl remained calm against the emperor’s shocking proposal.

“How can I trust the promise of someone who has already broken their word?”

“...What?”

The emperor frowned.

“When I was in the Sun Hall, I noticed you had both Sir Belin and Sir Kuwell at your side. I specifically requested that you keep Sir Kuwell close to you.”

“Heh heh heh... You think politics is that easy? Demoting Belin, the captain of the Seven Knights, and appointing Kuwell as a personal guard? That would have unsettled the northern borders. It was never a feasible request.”

“Is that so?”

Despite the emperor’s opposition, Karyl kept his composure and continued, “Well, it doesn’t matter. My request to keep Sir Kuwell close was solely for your safety, nothing more.”

“...”

“Then what about our agreement? I clearly asked that the empire refrain from attacking the Three Kingdoms. Yet, contrary to that promise, Prince Luon led an army of seventy thousand to attack the Twin Armor.”

“It was unavoidable. Sometimes decisions must be made for the sake of the empire’s prestige. If the empire only sent diplomats and not an army, the southern barbarians would have seen that as a sign of weakness.”

Karyl nodded at the emperor's response, not because he accepted that excuse, but because he had heard enough.

“You have failed to keep any of your promises... How can I make another promise with you, Your Majesty?"

Karyl’s words were bold, audacious; more than that, they could very well cost him his head.

“And yet you intervened in Luon’s affairs. Ultimately, the Three Kingdoms of Istria survived, Luon’s incompetence was exposed, and tomorrow, I am to reward you for returning the forty thousand prisoners. Isn’t that so?”

The emperor seemed amused rather than angry, his chin resting on his hand.

“So you have decided to go with the carrot instead of the stick, Your Majesty?”

The emperor chuckled at Karyl’s question.

“That depends on your answer now.”

Strangely, the emperor appeared to find great pleasure in conversing with the boy in front of him.

“You could either become a traitor to the prince or a hero for the empire.”

Ironically, even though the emperor instinctively knew that Karyl might one day raise a sword against him, the boy had been more memorable to him than his own sons ever since he had reclaimed the throne.

Now, he gazed at Karyl with eyes full of anticipation, awaiting his response.

“May I ask one question?” Karyl asked,

“Ask.”

“The funeral you originally envisioned... Who was it for, among the three?”

At that moment, the face of emperor Titan Shutean hardened, but not from shock.

“Heh... If I were to tell you...”

Instead, he fixed his gaze on Karyl, his eyes glinting with anticipation.

“Would you be able to make it happen?”

***

Step, step, step...

Karyl walked out of the main palace and down the corridor. While the hallways were lined with various surveillance spells, he was relieved that there were no high-level spells that gained access to his thoughts.

He could think freely.

“Hmm...”

And, unlike before, the emperor’s command had freed him from the watchful eyes of any guards.

Despite having only been confined for two days, Karyl felt a sense of relief as he stretched his arms wide and took in his surroundings.

The emperor truly has no intention of passing the throne to either prince.

Yet, he didn’t intend to just kill both of them either. He was different from the incompetent kings of the Istrian Kingdoms.

He needs a puppet, someone who will follow his orders even after passing on the throne.

Ironically, both Luon and Olivurn, inheriting the emperor’s blood, were too clever to be reduced to mere puppets.

Olivurn once told me that Kromen was the emperor’s favorite son. Perhaps because he was the easiest to control.

Karyl felt a pang of bitterness as he came to realize that the emperor’s decision to have a lengthy two-month mourning period was probably devoid of any affection for Kromen.

In any case, there was only one more person he had to meet. Thus far, everything had gone according to plan. Yet there was one unpredictable factor that made Karyl uneasy, namely Martte MacGovern.

Will he take the action...?

At the moment, he was likely the only one suspecting Olivurn of assassinating Kromen.

The act will commence tomorrow.

***

One week before Karyl headed to the empire, he spoke to Dushala after receiving the news of Kromen’s death.

“Dushala, before you all headed south, I had Hashir take care of something.”

Dushala nodded at his words. She remembered waiting for Karyl in Digon’s territory after the Twin Armor incident, and how Hashir had found her as soon as Karyl arrived.

“Yes, I remember. He went north, then after investigating Marquis Vestal in the south, he came with me to Tatur.”

Dushala shrugged slightly.

“Now he’s gone to check the passage in the northern mountains for transporting the prisoners.”

“He’s probably not in the mountains now. He must be with the immigrant tribes.”

“Eh? Where has he gone now?”

Dushala pursed her lips.

“It’s time to turn our attention to the north instead of the south. Hashir has much to do, and so do you,” Karyl said with a smile.

According to the original history, the second Imperial Extermination Decree of Heresy would have started around this time. And simultaneously, with the emperor’s death, Olivurn, having won the war against Luon with the people's support, would ascend the throne.

His first major act upon taking the throne was to revoke the Extermination Decree of Heresy, which had initially faced opposition from the nobles and the people of the empire. However, over time, it garnered immense support, as there were slaves and servants even among the imperial citizens.

That’s why we fought and sacrificed our lives for you, Olivurn.

Karyl smiled bitterly.

But this time, Titan Shutean was still alive thanks to Karyl’s intervention. The Extermination Decree of Heresy hadn’t been carried out due to Kromen’s death, and as a result, more northern immigrants were spared than in Karyl’s previous life.

This southern journey has brought me 150,000 troops from the Digon tribe. Combining the four tribes of the Great Plains, the Five Great Families, and Digon, I now have nearly 450,000 troops.

Although such an army was probably still inferior in terms of quantity and quality compared to the empire’s army of eight hundred thousand troops, such a gap wouldn’t make victory impossible if they went to war. The southern force now possessed power comparable to the three great continental powers.

And this is not the end.

Karyl’s eyes gleamed with confidence.

We have the northern immigrants as well.

Unlike the south, the immigrants in the north lived in smaller tribes, but their individual abilities were unmatched.

Even without considering the magic-wielding Digon, they aren’t inferior to the four tribes or the Five Great Families.

Their physical prowess was already proven to be superior to the imperials. Karyl himself had witnessed that in his previous life.

If their lack of mana is compensated for, they could become an army stronger than the imperial forces.

Karyl had already found a solution for that, namely the Mana Mine and Clear Distilled Water.

All that’s left is seeing how many northerners Hashir can recruit. Among them...

There was the most crucial tribe, Jannabi, known for using Twilight.

“Trust me. I won’t let you down.”

Hashir had said that to Karyl when they departed from the south. While simple promises like that could be fragile, Karyl had given him a reassuring nod.

I know you better than anyone else. I trust you. The key to this entire operation lies with you.

A spark of anticipation flickered in Karyl’s eyes.

If he handles things well... The most interesting event in the empire’s history will unfold in the royal palace.

Karyl slowly opened his eyes after reflecting on his talk with Dushala, gazing at the distant northern peaks. Of course, there were no visible changes yet.

Titan Shutean.

If Karyl’s plan went as expected, something unimaginable would happen during his trial the next day.

Despite what you might think, I have no intention of supporting the princes.

He went down the corridor, his steps firm and resolute.

But I have even less intention of supporting you.

Karyl smiled.

You should look forward to this trial, Titan Shutean...