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There were only three countries in the continent that used the term “imperial” palace rather than “royal” palace. Among those three countries, the Avalon Empire had been an empire for the longest time, but Avalon was currently like the calm before the storm.
“After his grand victories in the battles against the Swallow and Hubalt Empires, Joshua Sanders will soon arrive at the capital,” the military advisor, Zegar, reported.
However, the council chamber was quiet enough to hear a pin drop. Unbelievable news of a series of victories had arrived, and every victory was jaw-droppingly great. Everyone should, therefore, be happier than before, so why were they feeling worried?
“
He defeated the Crimson Sky and Martial Emperor?” First Prince Kiser asked.
Zegar quickly nodded. “Yes, Your Highness.”
“I think I received the report about his victory more than a month ago
 but why did he only arrive today?” Kiser said.
“According to a rumor, he didn’t use any warp gates on his way back to the Avalon Empire,” Zegar answered.
“Didn’t we notify him that Avalon will pay for all the expenses?” In an uncharacteristic display of emotion, Kiser let an unpleasant expression creep onto his face. “He has an easy way back home, but he’s willing to detour
 Is he planning something?”
Zegar tilted his head. “By planning, you mean
?”
“I heard the villages that he passed by ran out of palm fronds,” Kiser said.
“Ah
” Zegar gasped softly as he finally realized what Kiser meant.
Right now, Joshua was crossing the Empire on a path directly to the capital. Naturally, the citizens welcomed Joshua with the utmost hospitality, holding as many palm fronds as they could fit in their hands.
“Palm fronds symbolize victory and conquest. I understand why the citizens are acting so, but I heard that some praised Joshua as a Martial God.”
“Gosh, I admit his achievement is great, but a god? No
”
Like a rebound, people become jealous when someone becomes more successful than them. On top of that, there was only one man known as a god in the wide empire, and of course, the god was as powerful as the emperor.
“A tiger gives birth to a tiger, huh
”
“Just like you said, Joshua Sanders became too influential; it’s difficult for anyone in this chamber to take him lightly.”
“When was he not influential? You know, he’s the youngest Master
”
“It’s time for us to come up with a solution, not chitchat. Everyone knows that Joshua Sanders is the descendant of the Kunir Kingdom, right?”
“He’s more famous than ever, so if he, the descendant of a rebel, decides to betray us
”
The murmuring among the nobles became louder.
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“Enough!” Kiser yelled, silencing the nobles at once. Then he slowly shook his head. “No matter what anyone says, his achievement is surely great. Who else could achieve such a great victory against the current Swallow and Hubalt Empires?”
“That’s
”
Kiser’s remark made the council chamber quiet again.
“If it wasn’t for him, the Empire would have perished in the disastrous war, so the citizens will riot all over the Empire if we become blinded by jealousy and banish him from the Empire under a pathetic pretext.”
“You’re right, Your Highness.”
“I quite agree with your opinion.”
The nobles in the council chamber sided with Kiser one after another. At least at that moment, their factions didn’t matter. They were united, if only perhaps because they now had a common enemy named Joshua.
“I learned to make sure to reward or punish those who deserve it during the age of chaos,” Kiser said, “so I would like to hear your opinions on what kind of reward we should bestow him.”
“How about we don’t call him a rebel anymore?” a noble immediately suggested. It seemed he’d thought of this already. “And restore his title as a count.”
“Didn’t we already move on from that? Besides, all the citizens think of him as a hero that saved the Empire from a crisis, not a rebel.”
“They not only call him a hero, they call him a god.”
Finally thinking rationally, most of the nobles reacted negatively to that noble’s idea.
The Second Prince, Kaizen, who had so far just sat in his seat, spoke up: “If you decide to give him a carrot, then you should give a good one—your suggestion is worse than no carrot at all
”
“Then what’s your opinion?” Kiser asked.
“Didn’t you hear about it before?” Kaizen asked him. “Father would already have made him a marquess if he said he would become Father’s sword. In that case, it would have been the Thirteen Families, not the Twelve Families.”
Kiser’s eyes turned cold. If Joshua had actually become a marquess at that time, he would have become the youngest marquess in history—on top of that, Joshua himself was receiving the noble title, not inheriting his father’s title. It was no wonder why it had been big news. The achievement was too great for a boy who was less than twenty years old.
“
Then are you suggesting we make him a marquess?” Kiser asked.
“Shouldn’t we?” Kaizen sarcastically replied. “He was a count in the first place, so you don’t really think restoring his title would be enough to quiet all this commotion, do you?”
“Hmm
” Kiser quietly grunted.
The two princes’ conversation now had the attention of the entire chamber.
“A marquess
 Marquess
” Kiser pondered for quite a while. “Then how about making him a duke?”
The nobles’ eyes bulged in shock.
“A d-duke?” Kaizen stuttered, just as startled as the nobles.
“Making him a duke is too much, Your Highness!”
Kiser shook his head. “I know that you are all concerned that we might end up adding fuel to the fire, but isn’t this the only way to persuade the people of Avalon?”
“
I agree with you, Your Highness.” Zegar, the man known as the brains of the Avalon Empire, chimed in with support for Kiser’s suggestion. “Aren’t we already missing one duke? Besides, it’s not like he’s totally unrelated to the duke
”
“Hmm
”
Upon hearing Zegar’s remark, the nobles became conflicted. Indeed, the son of the Duke “Dark God” Agnus was none other than Joshua Sanders.
“You’re indeed good at this, brother. If he becomes a duke, he won’t be able to go after the throne anymore,” Kaizen thundered. “But it looks like everyone forgot about something for a moment.”
“Your Highness Kaizen, what are you saying
?”
“Since the Swallow Empire attacked our border first, we need to talk about compensation from them—so we need someone to take charge of negotiating
 I think Duke Joshua Sanders would be the perfect man for this job, don’t you all agree?”
The air in the room changed.
“Come to think of it
 the Hubalt and Swallow Empires indeed made a public statement about restoring all the damages caused by the war.”
The nobles’ eyes turned sharp like the hyenas going after their prey, slowly revealing their greed. Yes, why did it matter if Joshua became a marquess or a duke? The noble title was just a name in the end, so Joshua wouldn’t be able to do anything with it. Besides, their new priority right now was wringing compensation from the other two empires.
“Then let’s proceed with the matter after Joshua Sanders arrives.”
“Good.”
Now, the nobles started a heated discussion to ensure that their own families earned as many benefits as possible.
The discussion went on for quite a long time.
* * *
Since they started the meeting in the early morning and ate two meals since, at least half a day must have passed, but the meeting continued with enthusiasm. They had clear yet different goals in their minds. On top of that, they hadn’t gotten to the most important agenda.
“And
 lastly, let’s get to choosing the heir to the throne.”
The air in the council chamber turned frighteningly cold. Once the die was cast, the nobles all looked nervously in the same direction.
“The throne has been empty for over three years already. To stabilize the country, we can’t postpone choosing the next emperor. In fact, it isn’t an exaggeration to say this meeting was convened for this agenda,” Zegar said. He also turned his head in the same direction.
Zegar and the nobles were looking at the top seats in the chamber: the two thrones.
“Actually, the princes have already come to a certain agreement regarding this matter
” Zegar trailed off.
The nobles blinked in surprise.
“I’ll explain from now on.” Kiser stood up from his seat. “You may not know about this, but Kaizen and I talked for quite a long time about what we should do to revive our devastated country
”
“Th-then
?”
“I’ll get right to the point.” His flashed. “For the next ten years only, I’ll act as the emperor and stabilize the country, then let Kaizen take care of the rest.”
“You’ve promised
 to make His Highness Kaizen the second next emperor?” a noble blankly asked.
Kiser nodded. “Yes, that’s right.”
“That’s
”
In other words, Kiser was going to make Kaizen his crown prince. There were precedents where an emperor’s brother inherited the throne, but it only happened if there was no other option: the emperor didn’t have a child, the child was too young to be the emperor, or
 the brother dethroned the emperor himself so he could take the throne.
The chamber descended into chaos until someone interrupted.
“Hmm
 this is hilarious. It’s not like being an emperor is the same as being an academy president or something
 Do you really think that’s a good solution?”
The sarcastic remark made Kiser’s face flush red. “Who was that?! How dare you—!”
Marquess Crombell, who was the closest to the entrance door, gasped because he saw a man whom he was so terrified of that he would run away even if he met the man in his dreams.
“Jo-Jo-Jo—!”
The head butler belatedly announced the man’s entrance:
“Th-the f-former count, Joshua Sanders, has entered the council chamber!”