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Jabel had been quite surprised at first. Following Heimdall’s order, he had gone to the palace to kidnap Princess Serciarin—but upon entering, he witnessed something shocking. Jabel had been passing by the council chamber using the secret passage. It should have been empty…
“Emperor Marcus…?”
“Hehehe, hey.”
Emperor Marcus had been sitting on the throne, which was another thing that should have been empty. Jabel had heard that Marcus ben Britten had become the sacrificial offering to the Demon Spirit, so why was he here?
Emperor Marcus had actually been the one who first proposed to use the black crystal, changing the plan completely. Heimdall had also ordered all the apostles to support Marcus, who had been reborn.
* * *
“Ho-how…?” Kaizen slowly backed away.
It had already been three years since his father had gone missing. During those three years, the Empire had experienced a series of unprecedented events The two princes’ power struggle exploded into a civil war, and the Continental War had wracked the entire continent, causing the worst casualties in history.
The Empire’s citizens were the ones who had suffered directly from the civil war and Continental War, and they didn’t forget the tyrant who had basically started everything: Marcus ben Britten, a Master and their emperor.
“Am I… dreaming?” Kaizen mumbled.
Kaizen was frozen with disbelief, but his body kept trembling. It was impossible for him to believe what was happening right now.
“I went through all that trouble to make my country flourish, but you’ve messed it up real bad. A child should be helping their father, not making problems, Kaizen.”
“Is it really you, Father—no, Your Majesty?”
“You’ve forgotten my voice now?” Marcus tilted his head.
“Bu-but…!”
Marcus quietly shook his head. “You’re wrong.”
Kaizen opened his mouth to try to say something, but immediately shut it again. It had really been a while since he felt this frightened, which only made him more terrified.
“Before you wonder if I’m real or not, you should have lowered that arrogant head of yours and bowed.” Marcus smiled faintly.
“N-no.”
Marcus disappeared and immediately reappeared right in front of Kaizen, who froze up in fear.
“…Keugh!” Kaizen coughed.
Marcus kicked Kaizen’s stomach without hesitation, sending him crashing into a wall. Marcus followed right on his heels and pinned Kaizen’s head underneath his boot, as if he was going to crush Kaizen’s head.
“I-I’m sorry, Yo-Your Majesty. Please have mercy…” Kaizen begged.
“What have you done wrong?”
“I-I…!”
Marcus grinned. “You haven’t changed. You always looked for a way out first when you got into trouble.”
“I’m not! Never!”
“Let’s start talking after I beat you first.” Marcus raised his foot.
“Everything!” Kaizen hastily shouted. “Everything is my fault! I shouldn’t have fought with Brother Kiser nor ruined your country, Father! I dared to covet something that I don’t deserve even though I knew it wasn’t mine! Nothing can excuse my actions!”
“That’s all?” Marcus asked.
“Pardon?”
“I’m asking you if you think those are the only things you have done wrong.”
Kaizen quickly thought hard; his instincts were telling him that he should answer well if he wanted to leave here alive.
“I should definitely beat you if you think so.”
“Jo-Joshua Sanders!” Kaizen yelled.
Marcus came to a halt.
“I a-also… let that rebel dare to roam around the palace of the great Avalon Empire as if it was his home. I was too pathetic… and couldn’t stop Joshua Sanders. In the end, I even gave him a justifiable cause to challenge the throne. Due to my incompetence… he’s about to take away the entire Empire,” Kaizen confessed.
Marcus chuckled. “Well, there is nothing you could have done about it since it would have been difficult for even me to do it. So how would you be able to stop him?”
Kaizen’s eyes widened in shock.
The man in front of him was one of the most prideful people in the entire continent and was also the emperor of the Avalon. His competence was beyond doubt. For him to admit that he was incapable…
“Wh-why would you say…?” Kaizen asked, so surprised that he forgot how scared he had been.
Marcus quietly put down his foot. “The first step in improving yourself is to acknowledge your shortcomings. There is nothing uglier than an incompetent person acting self-righteous and stubborn. In that regard… you’ve changed a little, although it’s due to your fear.”
Marcus looked at his stiff son and smiled. “I’ll give you a chance. Go back to the palace and summon all the nobles.”
He then turned around to leave.
“Yo-Your Majesty! I-I’m sorry, but I’m not sure if the nobles will listen to me right—”
“When have I told you to give an order in your name?” Marcus interrupted in a low voice. “Tell them: Marcus ben Britten, the emperor of the great Avalon Empire, has returned.”
A shiver ran down Kaizen’s spine.
* * *
At the same time, one man and two women were standing in front of the Avalon palace’s main gate, talking.
“Do you really think it’ll work with just the three of us?”
“We’ll raise suspicion if we bring more people, and there is a possibility of our request being turned down.”
“But will I really be able to do it on my own…?” Charles fretted.
Icarus looked at her and smiled. “You should be more confident, Lady Charles.”
“Icarus…”
“You’re none other than Miss Avalon, the most beautiful woman in the Empire.” Icarus’ smile deepened.
Charles waved her hands, flustered. “Haven’t you met Miss Iceline before? I’m definitely not Miss Avalon…”
“No matter what anyone says, I think you’re the most beautiful woman in the Empire.”
The compliment made Charles’s face brighten up a bit. “Seems like you’ve gotten pretty good at flattery while you were away?”
“How could you think of my compliment as flattery?! Do you really think I’m someone who would use flattery? That makes me so sad,” Icarus complained.
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“You did come to help a crumbling ducal family even though you were more than capable of becoming a high-ranking official…”
“I made that decision because of the Pontier Family’s potential.” Icarus nodded. “I thought a ducal family would surely be a big help to my master.”
Charles narrowed her eyes. “…To summarize, you came to my family for Joshua, not me?”
“Oh, can it be interpreted that way? Well, everything turned out well, right?” Icarus furtively linked arms with Charles.
“If anyone saw you two right now, they would think you two are dating,” Cain mumbled.
“Be quiet, Sir Cain.”
“Do you want to get scolded again?”
Cain froze under the two women’s death glares. “…Why do you all hate me?”
“By the way, look there.” Icarus pointed at the main gate of the palace.
The Imperial Knights standing guard were scowling at the trio. They approached and one of the Imperial Knights asked, “What business do you have in the Imperial Palace?”
Charles pulled out the crest of the Pontier Family. “I’m Charles di Pontier, the acting head of the Pontier Family.”
Perhaps the Imperial Knight had already known on some level, because his eyes gleamed for a moment, but that was it.
“I’m here to meet His Highness the First Prince… Can I?”
“Have you made an appointment?” the Imperial Knight asked.
“No, so if it’s okay, I’d like you to deliver my request.”
The two Imperial Knights quickly exchanged glances.
“Can you wait for a moment?”
“Certainly.” Charles nodded elegantly.
“Then…”
One of the Imperial Knights ran into the palace.
“She’s indeed the most beautiful woman in the Empire,” Cain exclaimed.
“What do you mean?” Icarus asked.
“No one else in the Empire could make an appointment with a prince like this.”
“He must have instructed the knights beforehand: ‘If Lady Charles visits me, send her in regardless of her reason!’” Icarus said, mimicking Kiser.
“So it’s the power of love.”
“It’s the power of one-sided love, to be exact.”
Charles’s face reddened. “Stop it, you two.”
“But even this beauty of the century was rejected by our master… Indeed, anything can happen in this world,” Cain said.
Icarus’s eyes widened in surprise. “What are you talking about? Our master turned Lady Charles down?”
“Huh? You didn’t know? Everyone in Arcadia knows that.”
“Re-really?” Icarus immediately turned to look at Charles.
However, Charles just looked away.
“Oh my god… It’s true,” Icarus blankly muttered.
“Why do you never believe me? I’m hurt,” Cain grumbled.
“You’re not exactly a trustworthy person.”
“Isn’t it just that you’re bad at judging people, Icarus?”
“Hmph.”
At that point, Charles was red to the tip of her ears. It was only the timely return of the Imperial Knight that saved her. He came out from the main gate, quickly approached his colleague and whispered something to him. The other knight’s expression changed subtly.
Cain realized that something went wrong.
“…We received an order just now,” the Imperial Knight told them.
“By an order, you mean…?”
“Charles di Pontier, acting head of the Pontier Family, Cain de Harry and Icarus from the Sanders Family. You’re under arrest on charges of treason.”
The moment the knight finished speaking, dozens of Imperial Knights poured out from the palace.
“These crazy bastards still haven’t come to their senses…!” Cain, ever hot-headed, reached for the sword on his waist.
“Stop!”
“What…?”
“They’re the Imperial Knights. We might cause a problem for Joshua before the important event takes place!” Charles warned.
Cain bit his lower lip. “Then are you suggesting we let them do anything they want with us?”
“No, I’m not.” Charles’s eyes turned cold, and she stepped forward. “You said that you received an order just now, am I right?”
“That’s right.”
“His Highness still can’t arrest us without any reason. On top of that, he’s charging us with treason?”
The knight shook his head. “His Highness isn’t the one who gave the order.”
“Pardon?”
“It’s an Imperial Order.”
The trio’s eyes bulged.
“Wh-what do you mean an Imperial—?”
Charles didn’t get to finish her question.
An earsplitting boom washed over them, and then Charles could feel a presence behind her back.
“Did you say it was an Imperial Order?”
Charles, Icarus, and Cain quickly turned and immediately broke out in a shocked chorus.
“Master!”
“Joshua!”
Joshua had returned to the palace, and based on the amount of energy he was emitting, he didn’t intend to be subtle about it.
“Notify your superior that Joshua Sanders, the prince of the Empire, has entered the Palace.”