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The Sun’s Retribution.
In the long history of the Avalon Empire, there had been a few trials for the royal line, but they were rare.
Except for treason, the Imperial family was rarely held responsible for their crimes. The Sun of the Empire, the Emperor, was the only one who could punish the Imperial Family for their crimes. Especially so for the crime of treason—or worse.
Therefore, all citizens were duty-bound to report any kind of treason to the Emperor’s Palace if they discovered it.
“Is everyone here?” Emperor Marcus’s face was rather stiff.
“With Duke Agnus as the last one, all of the upper-rank nobles are now here, Your Majesty.”
“Call everyone, even the lower-rank nobles, and the Knights as well, if they want to participate.”
Marcus’s words made Military Advisor Zegar gape at the Emperor, but he then obediently lowered his head.
“I heed your orders, Your Majesty.”
Military Advisor Zegar went out of the door.
“The judgment will begin when everyone is in the room. And…”
He turned, letting his words trail off into silence. He first turned to look at Prince Kaiser and Prince Kaizen; their faces were hard to read. Then, his gaze turned toward the Twelve Families and the Five Dukes before finally setting on someone.
“Aden…”
“Yes, Your Majesty?”
“You probably heard before coming here, right?”
“Yes, that’s right, Your Majesty.”
Duke Agnus was also acting out of the norm. Emperor Marcus watched Duke Agnus’s face harden.
“Don’t worry too much,” the Emperor continued. “After all, I told your child to do whatever he wanted.”
“...”
“For me, it doesn’t matter if Kasselon is dead or alive. This is natural selection; if you’re alive, you will be exalted, and if you’re dead, you’ll be forgotten. The people who will stay in the end are, after all, the Imperial Family.”
“...”
Even if that were true, it was a cruelly cold way to treat his own child, especially his death.
“But…”
For a second, Emperor Marcus’s eyes held a glimmer of coldness. “The situation is different when we’re talking about the Sun’s Retribution. This places the dignity of the Imperial Family on the line, not just the pride of its individual members. You understand that, right?”
“I understand, Your Majesty.”
Duke Agnus was the leader of the aristocrats. Emperor Marcus, understanding his situation, softened his expression.
“If Kaiser really killed his brother and turned him into an undead, the punishment will be served accordingly. Considering Hubalt and Hermes’s fanatics, we have to exile him as far away as possible; it’s the right thing to do.”
“...”
The crowd remained quiet; it wasn’t an unexpected decision. Although Emperor Marcus wasn’t one to worry about the neighboring countries, he also wasn’t one to be soft on his own blood.
Everyone there knew what the fate of an Imperial Family member banished from the Palace was. Just speaking of Emperor Marcus’ brothers, none of them had survived their banishment. If someone was kicked out of the Imperial Palace, it was safe to say it was a permanent exile.
“Kaiser, do you have any problems with what I’ve said so far?”
The response came from one side of Marcus’ throne.
“None, Your Majesty,” Kaiser answered with an unreadable expression.
Kaizen came up to Kaiser.
“Do not worry,” he encouraged the younger prince, “I will help you.”
Kiser, the First Prince, also approached him and said, “I will help you as well.”
“Big Brother…”
Kaiser was surprised by Kiser’s support.
“It’s not the time to argue amongst ourselves. Don’t you agree?”
“It’s just…”
“No matter how the Emperor is doing, there is a possibility that the aristocrats could take control of the situation. Especially since that Joshua Sanders guy, the is at the center of it all.”
“...”
“Focus and don’t let your thoughts wander.”
Kaizen just shrugged when he heard Kiser speaking coldly rather than with his usual gentle demeanor.
“I'm sorry to be a bother.”
Kaizen and Kiser both stopped and turned to look at Kaiser at the same time.
“I don’t think that I need the help of both my older brothers… I’ll just accept your intent and feelings gratefully.”
“Hm…”
Could it be that he had a glimmer of hope in the pitch-black darkness?
Emperor Marcus set aside the brothers’ unusual camaraderie and spoke.
“But… If Joshua Sanders went through all this trouble with ulterior motives…” A sudden, storm-like force erupted from his relaxed form. “I will personally cut his head off for his transgressions against the Imperial family.”
“...!”
“But I hope I do not have to break my favorite toy with my own hands.”
Some of the nobles shivered. From the way he spoke, it seemed like he cared a lot more about Joshua than his own son. He hadn’t looked so solemn or sad when he was talking about the Fourth Prince.
“The Sun’s Retribution will soon begin when everyone in the hall is assembled… So call Joshua Sanders immediately.”
“I heed your order!” Some of the Imperial Knights saluted and went outside to fetch Joshua.
He needed to be there, after all. He was the protagonist.
***
On the other side of the Sun’s Palace was a reception room. In it, two women sat across a table from each other. One woman had blonde hair, reminiscent of a goddess that came down from the heavens. Her well-defined nose, petal-like pink lips, and porcelain white skin were picture-perfect, but her best asset was her sparkling golden eyes.
After staring at each other for a long time, the other woman—a maid, given her attire—spoke first.
“Are you… alright?”
“Light and relaxed, Ellen. Really.”
Ellen’s eyes brimmed with tears after hearing Sersiarin’s words, spoken not in the usual sick voice, but in a healthy one.
“I still can’t believe what’s happening… The Princess, who had been sick since birth, nearly dying… sitting and standing up… and even your eyes have recovered…”
“I feel the same,” Sersiarin responded with a small smile.
Ellen hesitated for a moment before carefully asking, “Do… you… still not remember?”
“...No, I still have no memories since I turned ten.”
Ellen clenched her hands together and looked at the princess with determination.
“Don’t worry Princess. I will help you make more beautiful memories to make up for the missing ones. So please, do not worry at all!”
“Thank you…” Serciarin smiled a very big smile.
“More importantly…”
“...?”
“Are you sure you're fine? You still haven’t recovered fully, but you had to deal with things like this the moment you woke up…”
“I did it because I wanted to.”
Ellen bit her lip tightly.
“It never seemed that way, but I guess you can’t judge a book by its cover.”
“...?” Serciarin gave Ellen a confused look.
“Well, Your Highness might not remember this well, but he’s very popular among the maids, especially around the Empire. I think it was because his image is already great.”
“...”
“Not only his skills, but his appearance as well… not to mention that despite being young, he still showed respect for those below him while saying everything he needed to without being meek to the ones above him. In a way, he is like the light for the lower-rank nobles.”
“...”
“That’s the reason why Joshua Sanders is always brought up as the most popular person in the capital… No, in the whole Empire. But…”
As she spoke, Ellen's face was stained with disappointment.
“Many people will be upset because of this.”
“...Do you think that there’s something wrong with him as well, Ellen?”
“Of course!” Ellen answered without hesitation. “It doesn’t make sense for him to claim that Prince Kaiser made Prince Kasselon into an undead! Because while you were sick, Prince Kaiser was one of the few people who actually visited the Hwahwagung palace.”
“...”
“I know there’s something else going on. I’m not very smart so I’m not sure what it is exactly, but…”
Ellen shook her head. When she saw Sersiarin however, there was a strange air of dissonance about her.
“Princess, do you possibly think otherwise?”
“Uhm…”
“Yes?”
Sersiarin returned Ellen’s confused look with a smile.
Sersiarin saw the face of a man quickly flash through her mind. It was the face of neither the missing Kasselon, nor the problematic Kaiser who had visited her. She had only seen the man’s face once after waking up, but strangely, he made her heart heat up rapidly.
Serciarin brushed her thoughts away and looked at Ellen.
“The truth is always hard to take.”
***
In case of emergency, eight hundred knights were deployed to the Imperial Palace, but of course, the 11th and 12th Battalions’ Knights, who were close to Joshua, were nowhere to be seen.
With an audience of two thousand, including the nobles, even this wide space felt crowded.
A man simply walked into this political battlefield, drawing many people’s attention. The echo of his heels made them feel shocked and suffocated.
The Youngest Count. The Youngest Master on the Continent. The Superhuman who killed the Mercenary King and the person who could rival the Knight-Commander. The Empire’s pride, who just jumped into a pit of enemies where he could be branded as a traitor with one wrong move.
“What is this hostility? I’m not the criminal.”
“Cocky…”
Joshua glanced at the nobles and laughed.
“Joshua Sanders,” Emperor Marcus's voice called in the distance. “I heard everything. Let's not waste any more time; we’ll get to the heart of the matter right away.”
Emperor Marcus looked down at Joshua from atop his throne and asked the most pressing question of them all:
“Do you have any proof?”
“Yes. I do.”
Emperor Marcus' eyes lit up.
“You must know that unsupported words aren’t a very good argument. Now that it’s come down to this, manipulation is a very easy thing to do, whether that comes from torture or something else.”
“...”
“Now… there are two ways to add credibility to your words.” Emperor Marcus stood up. “Bring Kasselon’s body here, or…”
“...”
“If that’s not feasible, just bring Kasselon, the undead, here.”
Joshua bowed his head.
“Your Majesty, something is missing.”
“Hmm?”
“The place where the experiments have occurred. I’m sure that demonic power could still be found there… That place—”
“Are you aware of the location?”
Joshua glanced at Kaiser before speaking.
“It’s in Prince Kaiser’s Palace… specifically, the basement.”
Emperor Marcus’s eyes fell.
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“...I distinctly recall saying that there are only two ways.”
“...”
“I see two problems with you using that location as evidence.”
“...”
“First of all, even if it is under Kaiser’s palace like you said, how will you find it?”
“...”
“If it is like you said, then it must have been hidden skillfully in order to hide from the eyes of everyone in the Imperial Palace.”
Some of the nobles understood what Emperor Marcus was saying, and they trembled.
“Second, how will you find the demonic power? Don’t tell me you will bring Hermes’ servants to my palace?”
Even though the temple was in the Avalon Empire, it was hard to tell if the priest there was a real citizen of the country. As long as he remained a priest, he had no choice but to maintain some kind of relationship with the Hubalt Empire, an independent state.
However…
“I know how to do both at the same time.” Joshua smiled enigmatically.
“What?” Emperor Marcus stared at him with wide eyes; other people didn't react much differently from him.
‘I can also keep my promise to her.’
Joshua smiled widely as he finished, “The answer to that problem is hidden in the Imperial Archives.”