VOLUME 14: CHAPTER 2

Despite its claim of being the strongest nation in the entire continent, those who held positions of power within the Empire were aware that the nation was having a hard time recovering from its subsequent losses these past several years.

In less than a decade, it had lost five powerful individuals and over a hundred thousand soldiers under its command.

General Alvaren, the Magic Slayer.

General Rizel, the Ghost of the Empire.

Haldor, the Master of the Fourth Tower of Mages.

Harris Mavis, the fifth strongest man in the continent and Master of the First Tower of Mages.

And lastly, Sword Saint Isaac Segarus, the so-called Emperor's Sword.

Losing all of these prominent individuals in a short period of time nearly crippled the Empire.

Although Emperor Sylvius assured the public that the Great Empire remained strong and undaunting, those who worked in the military knew how serious the situation was.

There was also the issue of losing both Meredith City and Volkheim City. Although the portal in Cattlewood Plains had closed, and Prince Quinn had managed to subjugate most of the scattered demons in the imperial soil, the two cities remained abandoned.

There were even sightings of the army led by Duke Hara of the Three States Alliance near the borders. It seemed that the Three States Alliance was aware of the catastrophe that had befallen the Empire, and were making sure their presence was felt at the border.

This move served not only as a threat, but also to keep the Empire in check.

Thankfully, the Empire had established a temporary truce with the Three States Alliance three years ago. As long as the truce was in effect, even Duke Hara's army shouldn't be able to outright cross their border.

Moreover, Prince Quinn erected garrisons in Cattlewood Plains, which could serve as the rallying point of soldiers in the event that Duke Hara breached the treaty.

The Empire was currently like a wounded lion, and numerous hyenas were circling it, waiting for the chance to strike.

***

[City of Paradise — Capital of the Empire]

Despite the boiling tension on the imperial borders, a banquet was currently being held in the imperial capital.

Numerous nobles, renowned merchants, government officials, and other affluent individuals filled the grand hall of the imperial palace.

Princess Luna was naturally among the invited guests in the party.

"How wasteful," muttered the princess in a voice only she could hear. "Holding a banquet this grand when they haven't even fully removed the corpse of the fleshy obelisk in the city."

Even now, there were still traces of battle on the streets. If one went near the charred corpse of the fleshy obelisk, they would be able to see numerous blood stains on the walls and grounds.

The imperial citizens were still uneasy after witnessing so many deaths and after seeing the capital nearly collapsing in a single day.

"He never changes," said Princess Luna.

How typical of the Emperor to do something like this.

Princess Luna knew the reason behind this feast.

In order to show everyone that the Empire's wealth and authority weren't dwindling like the rumors said, Emperor Sylvius chose to hold this grand banquet. Princess Luna believed this was more of a matter of pride for the Emperor rather than diplomacy – he was doing this more for the sake of his pride and ego, rather than for the sake of the country.

'Still, the Chief Royal Advisor approved of this,' thought Princess Luna. 'So maybe despite the backlash, this move would have benefits in the long run.'

The only saving grace was that this grand banquet was approved by the Chief Royal Advisor himself.

That man would have stopped the Emperor if he believed this move would be detrimental to the country. This thought put the princess' mind at ease.

Princess Luna was really glad that the Chief Royal Advisor didn't die when the demons attacked the imperial capital.

That man was the greatest pillar of this nation. Without him, the Emperor would be nothing but a madman, unshackled and free to utilize his vast wealth and powerful armies.

Princess Luna nearly frowned when she saw several people approaching her direction.

'Haah… again? They're like flies. When will this ever end?'

After Emperor Sylvius started to blatantly show favoritism to her, the way the people around her looked at her changed completely.

Ever since the start of the banquet, people had been approaching her, striking conversations about mundane topics she wasn't interested in, clearly desperate to make her acquaintance.

Even those who used to mock and curse her behind her back were now treating her with warmth.

Damn hypocrites.

Princess Luna had the urge to vomit when she saw their fake smiles.

The three people who approached her immediately introduced themselves.

"Princess Luna! I was not part of your entourage before, but I'm a merchant from the Golden Crow Association!"

"Oh my, you look exactly like your mother – the Flower of the Empire – when she was young! I am Rilanna from the Alchemy Tower. Although we've met before, I believe it's our first time conversing, no?"

"I heard they're going to marry off Princess Kiera to Duke Hara? Hehe, serves her right. She'd been tormenting you for so long, Princess Luna."

In their desperate attempt to curry her favor, they even boldly insulted her older sister.

Well, Princess Luna didn't really care.

She donned a fake smile as she looked at the words forming on top of these people's heads.

[Fuck. I should have come with the delegates before.]

[If I mention her mother, she'll surely open up her heart to me. Tricking this bitch should be easy.]

[I should have switched to her side sooner. That stupid Kiera – she lost to this naïve princess?]

After reading their thoughts, Princess Luna had the urge to outright cuss at these people.

But alas, she couldn't do that.

Although Emperor Sylvius had started to openly favor her, her position wasn't yet solid enough to risk angering those in power within the Empire.

Princess Luna was getting tired of these conversations. She really wanted to leave this banquet, but as a Princess, she couldn't do so.

'Ah, over there.'

While contemplating how she could escape these people, she saw Jacob Fraser at the far corner of the grand hall. Triple Cast was currently wiping the smudges of chocolate on the lips of his little brother.

Triple Cast was cold and scary. Surely, these people wouldn't approach her if she was with him.

"Excuse me, everyone," said Princess Luna. Her smile never slid down her face even once. "It seems Lord Fraser is calling for me."

"Ah, but Princess–!"

Before they could even block her escape route, Princess Luna strode toward Jacob Fraser.

The grand hall was quite large, so it took her some time to reach the man.

"There you are!" Princess Luna said happily.

Princess Luna was so happy to finally escape from those people that she ended up grabbing Jacob Fraser's hand.

"Your Highness?" said Fraser.

Princess Luna realized what she'd done. Quickly, she removed her hands in a fluster.

"Ah," she coughed in embarrassment. "I didn't expect to see you here, Lord Fraser. It's been a while since we've seen each other, isn't it?"

Fraser folded the napkin he used to wipe the mouth of his little brother.

After being cured of the Seven Weeks Disease, the boy quickly regained his vitality. Although he still looked emaciated, he no longer looked like a living corpse.

"I didn't want to come," said Fraser. "But Blake here kept saying he wish to experience what a banquet held by the imperial family is like even once. Hey, introduce yourself. She's a princess."

Although they'd met before back in the Princess' estate, the boy was too weak back then to recall that moment.

The boy's eyes widened when he learned of Princess Luna's identity.

It seemed that until now, the boy was too preoccupied with wolfing down the food here to care about the identities of the people around him.

"H-How do you do?" said the boy.

The boy looked at his big brother, wordlessly asking if he did it correctly.

Although the boy came from a fallen noble house, it seemed he wasn't taught properly about imperial etiquette.

"You did well," said Fraser as he patted his little brother's head, assuring him that it's enough. "And I'm sure Princess Luna doesn't mind."

Princess Luna smiled kindly at the boy. "How do I do? Haha… I honestly want to go back home."

The boy seemed terrified by that idea.

"E-Eh? But there is still so much food left!" said the boy.

Fraser gave a rare laugh. "Hahaha! Little rascal! You think everyone's like you, huh?"

Fraser pinched the boy's cheeks, and the boy glared at him for treating him like a kid.

Seeing the interaction between the two, even Princess Luna started chuckling.

It was truly the right move to come here.

Although Triple Cast may seem cold on the outside, he was a genuine person, unlike the other guests in this grand hall.

'Huh? What's that?' thought the princess.

Princess Luna stopped chuckling when she read the words that had formed on top of the boy's head.

[So pretty. Is she and my brother dating?]

Princess Luna stiffened. Her face started flushing from embarrassment.

She had never thought of it at this angle before. But now that she'd read the boy's thoughts, she started becoming conscious of their interactions.

Fraser immediately noticed the change on the princess' expression.

"Princess? What's wrong?"

And it didn't help that Jacob Fraser moved closer to her when he noticed that her face had reddened.

"N-Nothing!" she said.

Fraser stared at the princess' face for several seconds. After coming to the conclusion that she probably wasn't feeling well, he said, "If you're feeling sick, just leave. This banquet is pointless anyway. For us, at least."

"N-No, that's not—"

"—The prince is here!"

"It's Prince Rykard!"

"Oh wow! I didn't know he's so handsome!"

Everyone's attention turned to the door when a plump, short man entered the grand hall.

It was Prince Rykard Lockhart Mavis, the Fifth Prince of the Empire.

Before the demon incident in the capital, the fifth prince was considered the least likely candidate to ascend the throne. He was known as a womanizer, an alcoholic, and a chronic gambler. A regular of the Flower Garden, the largest brothel in the Red Light District.

But now, things have drastically changed.

For some reason unknown to the majority of the people, the Emperor started favoring the fifth imperial prince.

The favoritism was so blatant and severe that the Emperor stripped the first imperial prince of his army and reallocated all of his soldiers under the fifth prince's command.

Rumors said the other princes had also fallen out of the Emperor's grace.

Now, the only two strong contenders for the crown were Second Prince Quinn and Fifth Prince Rykard.

Prince Quinn was currently busy stabilizing the northern borders of the Empire and couldn't attend the banquet. Although the other princes were also here in the grand hall, they were so unpopular that there were hardly any people talking to them right now.

Princess Luna looked in the direction of the other princes. As expected, they were glaring at Prince Rykard with murderous eyes. Their gazes seemed to say, 'How dare you take our authority from us!'

"There will be bloodbath in the imperial capital soon," said Fraser.

Fraser seemed to have noticed the intentions of the other princes, too. Surely, they wouldn't just stand by and do nothing while Prince Rykard took in all of the fame and authority.

The first prince, in particular, would do anything to eliminate the fifth prince.

"I just hope Prince Rykard survives it," said Fraser.

"Can't you protect him, Lord Fraser?" said Princess Luna.

She knew it was too much to ask this of the Triple Cast, but she asked regardless.

She felt it would be a waste to let the fifth prince die from an assassination.

"No." Jacob Fraser immediately shut down the idea. "I have no intentions of meddling with the matters of the imperial family. I may be the new master of the Fourth Tower, but even my authority won't protect me if I meddle with the crown."

After Master Haldor's death, Emperor Sylvius promoted Jacob Fraser as the new master of the Fourth Tower.

No one objected this, since Fraser was the Vice Master of the Fourth Tower of Mages in the first place. Moreover, almost all of the other members of the Fourth Tower had been killed by the demons in battle. Now, only the apprentices and those assigned to miscellaneous tasks remained in the fourth tower.

The Fourth Tower of Mages had become nothing but a shell of its former shell, but Fraser honestly preferred it this way.

Only by filling the Fourth Tower with his own people would Jacob Fraser be able to call the Fourth Tower his own.

It would be a long, tedious process, but it should be worth it in the end.

Before, Jacob Fraser planned on leaving the Empire once his brother had recovered from the Seven Weeks Disease. But now that he'd become the Tower Master, his reach within the Empire had tremendously increased.

He would now be able to find more easily the culprit behind the fall of his family. Of course, that would need to wait until he'd stabilized the Fourth Tower of Mages.

A messenger approached Princess Luna and Jacob Fraser.

"Princess Luna, Tower Master Fraser," said the messenger, "the Emperor wishes to speak with you."

"Father?"

"His Majesty?"

The Emperor hadn't made an appearance in this banquet yet. Instead of speaking directly to the attendees, he simply sent a chamberlain to pass on a message on his behalf.

Why was Emperor calling for them so suddenly?

"Yes. Please follow me."

Princess Luna and Jacob Fraser looked at each other.

After telling his little brother to stay here quietly and not make any problems, Fraser followed the messenger outside the grand hall, together with the Princess.

They noticed that Prince Rykard was behind them. It seemed he'd also been summoned by the Emperor, too.

After walking through numerous hallways, they finally arrived at the Emperor's office.

Recently, the Emperor had been staying in this place frequently. He hardly used the throne room now unless when meeting delegates from another country.

The messenger said in a firm and respectful voice, "Your Majesty, Prince Rykard Lockhart Mavis, Princess Luna Lockhart Mavis, and Tower Master Fraser are here to see you."

The Chief Royal Advisor answered in the Emperor's stead. "Let them in."

The imperial knights standing guard outside the office opened the door, revealing a spacious room decorated by numerous antiques. Near the window, the Emperor sat at his desk, half buried by a mountain of documents.

Everyone realized this was the reason why the Emperor didn't appear in the feast today despite being the one who orchestrated it.

Due to the recent events in the Empire, Emperor Sylvius found himself swamped with work.

Although the majority of the documents had already been sorted by those working below, there was still paperwork that needed to be personally seen by the Emperor.

"We greet the Sun and Moon of the Empire, His Majesty, Emperor Sylvius Lockhart Mavis!"

After taking several steps inside the office, the three knelt. They didn't look up, impeccably upholding the imperial etiquette.

"Haahh… This office starts to feel like a prison," complained Emperor Sylvius. "And this is all your fault, Gaillart."

The eyebrows of the Chief Royal Advisor twitched.

"I thought I could finally rest when I accepted the Coalition Army's offer!" said Emperor Sylvius. "But look at this! Does this look humane to you?!"

Prince Rykard, Princess Luna, and Fraser flinched when they heard the Emperor complain to the Chief Royal Advisor.

It seemed that the Emperor was close to his boiling point.

In his entire life, this was probably the first time he'd been overworked like this.

Under normal circumstances, the Emperor would have immediately ordered the person who made him like this to be sent to the chopping block. But since it was the Chief Royal Advisor himself who forced the Emperor to stay cooped up in his office, he couldn't do anything but complain verbally.

"I apologize, Your Majesty," said the Chief Royal Advisor. "But we must complete all of these documents before the day ends. Without your approval, we cannot mobilize the other departments."

"Everything?! You—!"

The Chief Royal Advisor nervously laughed. "This is something necessary, Your Majesty."

The Emperor slammed his fist against the table. He clicked his tongue. Finally, he turned his gaze to the three visitors.

"Ah, my dear daughter!"

The Emperor beamed upon seeing Princess Luna. It seemed that he didn't even notice their arrival since he was so preoccupied with the documents on top of his table.

"Ohohoho! My daughter! My precious Luna!"

Emperor Sylvius stood up and ran toward Princess Luna.

It was really amazing how a single ordeal and a single encounter could change a person.

The way the Emperor treated the princess changed drastically after joining the Coalition.

"Y-Your Majesty? Kyaak!"

Princess Luna was surprised when the Emperor suddenly grabbed her hand and pulled her into an embrace.

The Emperor, whose eyes were surrounded by black marks due to overwork and lack of sleep, smiled affectionately.

"Didn't I tell you to call me father?" said Emperor Sylvius. "Ah, that's right. I told Gaillart to call for you."

The Emperor's eyes moved to Prince Rykard and Jacob Fraser.

"The two of you," said Emperor Sylvius. "How long are you going to kneel there? Stand up."

"Yes, father."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Although Emperor Sylvius also showed favor to the two, it wasn't to the same extent as his daughter.

Emperor Sylvius, believing that Princess Luna would one day become King Lark's wife, even went as far as renovate her manor. He also increased the number of guards and servants, announcing to everyone in the Empire that whoever touched his precious daughter would feel his wrath.

Some people even began saying that Princess Luna was now the second most powerful figure in the entire Empire, next only to the emperor himself. To a certain extent, this was probably true.

"Father… I can't breathe," muttered Princess Luna.

Only after hearing that did Emperor Sylvius loosen his arms wrapped around his daughter.

"Ah, of course," said Emperor Sylvius. "Oh, Luna. It's been days since we've last seen each other. I missed you, my dear daughter."

Princess Luna still couldn't get used to this treatment.

It wasn't even long ago when Emperor Sylvius planned on using her to create a casus belli against the Kingdom of Lukas.

But after accepting the offer of the Coalition Army and after witnessing King Lark's abilities, the Emperor's attitude toward her turned a hundred and eighty degrees.

Princess Luna read the blotches of ink that had formed into words at the top of the Emperor's head.

[Tch. Gaillart, that demon.]

[He expects me to finish all of those documents today?]

[I'm glad my daughter visited me.]

[I can finally take a short break.]

[But….]

[She's really starting to resemble her mother as time passes by.]

[Perfect.]

[With that face, it should be easy to proceed with our plans.]

As always, the Emperor concealed his real thoughts.

Although he no longer had any intentions of killing his daughter, it seemed he still planned on using her to further his goals.

A part of Princess Luna felt dismayed when she read the thoughts running through the Emperor's mind right now.

Did a part of her start hoping that the Emperor truly started cherishing her? How pathetic.

Wanting to get out of this place as soon as possible, Princess Luna asked, "Father, you called for us?"

Emperor Sylvius finally let go of her. He went to his desk and looked out the window.

"That's right. We received a message a few days ago. It's from the City of Atarus."

The three visitors looked at each other.

Princess Luna said, "Atarus? The city near the Republic's border?"

The Emperor nodded, "That's right. It seems that King Lark will stop by the imperial capital before heading to the Dwarven Kingdom. I called the three of you here since you're all acquainted with him."

"Ah…"

They finally understood the reason behind this summon.

As expected of the Emperor – he was quick to utilize any pawns he could use to garner more favor from King Lark.

"Quickly make preparations," said Emperor Sylvius. "Especially you, Luna. Dress in your best. I trust that you'll become a blood link connecting our Empire to the Kingdom of Lukas."

Princess Luna had been tasked by the Emperor before to beguile King Lark.

Back then, she felt shaken. She even cried in the Head Maid's arms, fearing what would happen to her once she arrived at the Kingdom of Lukas.

But now that she'd gotten to know King Lark better, the idea of seducing him no longer felt terrifying.

If King Lark reciprocated her feelings, she wouldn't hesitate to jump into his embrace and become his queen.

No, even a concubine would be fine.

"I won't let you down, father," she said.

"I believe in you, my daughter," said Emperor Sylvius.

As though on cue, a messenger arrived at the Emperor's office, delivering a message with him.

The Chief Royal Advisor received the message first. Frowning, he relayed it to the Emperor.

"Your Majesty," said the Chief Royal Advisor. "It appears that the Coalition Army has already left the capital."

"What!" said the emperor in a startled voice. "What do you mean they left already? We didn't even receive any news that they'd entered the city!"

The Chief Royal Advisor wordlessly told the messenger to leave the office, lest he incurred the emperor's wrath.

The Chief Royal Advisor said, "About that… it seems they're in a rush. According to the messenger, the Coalition Army immediately headed for the Dwarven Kingdom."

What's going on?

The Emperor was already prepared to provide the Coalition Army with more soldiers the moment it arrived in the imperial capital. He also planned on using this opportunity to push his daughter to him and strengthen the relationship between their two countries through matrimony.

He didn't expect them to leave so soon, without even personally meeting with him.

"…And," said the Chief Royal Advisor. "They left behind a group of explorers."

"Explorers?" said the Emperor.

"Yes, Your Majesty. They're explorers from a group called Zenith. King Lark requested that we let those explorers live in the country. It seems the explorers left the Republic of Everfrost after getting into a conflict with the government there."

"Explorers, huh? They're probably a rowdy bunch," said Emperor Sylvius.

The Empire didn't look at the explorers in a good light, especially those who came from the Republic.

They even believed the ranking system used by the explorers to be worthless – laughable even.

Compared to the imperial army, honed to perfection through strict training and discipline, the explorers were nothing but a disorderly group of wannabe mercenaries.

The Emperor sighed. "But what can we do? Giving citizenship to those people is a small price to pay if we can strengthen our relationship with the Coalition Army. Gaillart."

"Your Majesty."

"I'll entrust this matter to you."

"As you command."

The Emperor looked out the window. He wondered why the Coalition Army was heading toward the Dwarven Kingdom now, of all times.