Side Story Chapter 288

“Your Grace! A messenger from the palace has arrived!”

Aaron del Killian’s eyes popped open in surprise. He had been lost in his thoughts after sending away Haron; because Haron had reported to him that the Killian family was to become the vanguard of the upcoming war, Aaron knew that Arash and Voltaire were going to take action—but this was too fast. On top of that, the person now standing in front of Aaron was a Rank One messenger who only delivered imperial orders.

“Greetings, Your Grace.”

“Mmm...” Aaron groaned quietly and reluctantly rose from his seat.

Regardless of the circumstances, such messengers were considered equal to the emperor when they were delivering an imperial order.

Once Aaron quietly got down on one knee, the messenger began.

“Aaron del Killian. I would like to convene all dukes at the Supreme Council to discuss various matters, such as who shall be the vanguard and the details of our strategies for the upcoming war. I hereby command you to make your way to the Palace as soon as you receive this order...”

Aaron cussed silently as the messenger spoke. He had planned to start his coup tomorrow, but the empress had decided that today out of all possible days was the one that she would summon him to the palace.

‘Is that a trap?’

Aaron wondered.

The chances were high, but he had no other choice. If he didn’t answer the empress’s summons, he would be suspected of plotting something. He needed to buy at least half a day so that Haron could relay the plans to Thran and for their forces to arrive.

‘This must be Fox Master’s plan too. She’s clever, alright.’

Aaron sat back in his seat, tapping his armrest after the messenger had left. He spent a moment trying to come up with a solution, but none came to mind. Even if he pretended he hadn’t received the message and stayed cooped up at home, Arash would make a move first.

“I have no other choice.” Aaron let out a sigh and grabbed his jacket.

In truth, he was confident that no one in the palace could harm him even if he was walking into a trap.

“Y-Your Grace, are you really going to go?”

Aaeron’s vassals were waiting for him in the garden after they’d heard about the messenger’s arrival.

“It’s an imperial order, so I must obey,” Aaron answered with a shrug.

“It might be a trap.”

“Even better, don’t you think?”

“Pardon? Wh-What do you mean...?” one of the vassals stammered.

“It saves us the trouble of coming up with a cause.”

The vassals' eyes widened. If this summons was a trap to eliminate Aaron and the public found out, the populace and the other nobles would be extremely critical of the new empress for grabbing for power instead of attending to the nation’s affairs. Given that all the discussions about her ascent to the throne had been done within the palace and there hadn’t been an official coronation yet, such criticisms would be quite troublesome for both the new empress and Arash.

“Wouldn’t it be quite a sight if the entire empire rebels right after she takes the throne?” Aaron murmured.

“We’ll go with you.”

“It’s fine. They’ll make me enter the meeting room alone anyway.”

“But—”

“Mobilize the troops and wait for me near the palace instead; that way, all of you’ll be able to respond right away if it is a trap.”

“...Understood.” The vassal nodded firmly. “We’ll rally all of the family’s troops near the palace.”

It didn’t matter if the move would get on the empress’s nerves because it was meant as a warning that no one in the palace would be safe if Aaron was attacked.

“Hahaha. You guys are aggressive. The Fox Master is going to make sarcastic remarks as soon as I arrive, accusing me of starting a coup.”

“It’ll at least stop them from getting any funny ideas.”

“Alright.” Aaron nodded, chuckling.

However, it seemed highly unlikely that the imperial summons was a trap. Objectively speaking, the Killian family’s troops were a lot stronger than the empress’s. Even if Aaron were to die in the palace, his subordinates would remain loyal to him. Unless Arash and Voltaire wanted to die with him, they wouldn’t attempt to attack Voltaire no matter how much they wanted his head.

‘...Yet why do I still feel like something is off?’

Aaron chuckled; it was probably because of Arash. He couldn’t discredit her brilliance.

“I’ll give you a signal in any way I can if something happens. Storm the palace if you see it.”

“Yes, Your Grace!” the vassals answered at the top of their lungs.

* * *

“Wh-Where did he go?”

“Find him! He must be in the palace! That was Kireua Sanders for sure!”

Hubalt knights shouted back and forth at each other. Even if they had authorities, they wouldn’t be able to find Kireua, who was using the stealth technique taught to him by Aisha Sestropi, the Assassin King. Most likely, Kireua had been discovered because of Theta, who had only been using magic to conceal himself.

-Where are you going?

Kireua was startled to find Isaac behind him, still undetected too.

-I didn’t know you could be that stealthy.

-I’m better than most people when it comes to physical skills. That’s how my father taught me.

Kireua nodded in agreement, knowing that Isaac’s father was Zactor, the Martial Emperor.

-You haven’t answered my question.

Kireua answered with a shrug.

-Did you not hear what the Tower Master said earlier? I’m heading to the secret vault.

-What vault?

-Just because the Battle God isn’t interested in trophies, doesn’t mean his people will feel the same.

Kireua’s destination should have been heavily guarded, but when he got there no one was around. Of course, Kireua could still sense many presence inside. He quickly blended into the shadows to get inside.

‘I knew it...’

Kireua’s eyes narrowed.

As expected, Hubalt’s soldiers were carrying piles of gold bars and other treasures out on carts. However, Kireua was the prince of this country, so he knew that all of that treasure was trash compared to what was hidden inside the real vault.

Kireua could sense something else deeper inside the fake vault.

‘Those people are the real strong ones compared to everyone else here’

These people were looking for something near bookcases where antique books like

Avalon’s History

were stored. Their guess was right—they were indeed near the entrance to the real vault.

‘But even if they manage to find the entrance, they won’t be able to open it. A special condition needs to be met like the other entrance to the underground.’

Kireua hopped onto the ceiling and he rapidly crept closer.

“Who is it?!”

Perhaps one of them had an authority which specialized in searching. However, Kireua wasn’t the one who had been discovered.

Like lightning bolts, the knights on the floor sprang toward Isaac, not Kireua.

“...Tsk.” Isaac lightly clicked her tongue and quickly swung her arm.

‘I don’t really want to save her, but I guess there’s no other choice.’

Kireua moved quicker. He had an idea of what Iruca and the Second Queen Consort’s plan was.

‘Still, I could have failed to sneak in here...’

Despite his grumbling, a wry smile spread across his face. Kireua knew that they would have accounted for all of this. His stealth technique was good enough to allow him to slit the throat of the emperor of Hubalt in the heart of his seat of power, so they must have believed that it was more than possible for him to sneak into the vault without getting caught.

The reason why Iruca and the Second Queen Consort invested so much to lead Kireua here was that the Martial God was gone but his legacies were still dormant in the vault. The Martial God was supposed to be the only one who could use them, but Kireua, as his son, was also able to utilize them—Kireua already had experience with them.

Kireua let a drop of his blood fall at a certain point. Some of the knights immediately turned, noticing that something was off. When they found Kireua, every one of them drew their swords.

However, the secret door responded to Kireua’s blood quicker than the knights.

“G-Go tell Sir Bel—no, report to the Martial Knights first. We found it—!”

“I think a ‘thank you' is in order for showing you what you guys were looking for,” Kireua shouted at the top of his lungs. “Avalon’s true treasures are in here!”

Kireua managed to catch the attention of all of the knights in the area. Meanwhile, the door began to glow brighter and brighter, giving Isaac time to seek shelter beside Kireua.

“You’re welcome.” Kireua grinned.

Isaac peered the door, too curious to answer Kireua. Avalon had been the strongest country on the continent for decades, so what could their true treasure be?

“Don’t get your hopes up too much. For me, they’re priceless treasures, but to those knights, they’re curses that will haunt them forever.”

“...What?”

Before Isaac got an answer to her question, the place crumbled around them like sand and the floor gave in, revealing the vast underground vault Kireua was familiar with.

-...Get lost. This isn’t a place where vermin like you can dare to enter.

A voice echoed inside the heads of Kireua, Isaac, and hundreds of Hubalt’s knights, similar to a telepathic message, surprising even Kireua.

In the center of the ominously empty space was...

“...A boy?” Isaac tilted her head in confusion. There stood a boy with lovely black hair and eyes.