Chapter 350

The hall where the governor was hosting the banquet was far too large for the four of them to gather.

The ceiling was high and majestic, with thick pillars standing on either side.

“…….”

An eerie silence filled the space that could hold about 300 people.

The blonde, light-eyed mage Josephine gave an awkward smile, while Charles and Charline thought something was wrong.

‘It’s about time Father should return.’

‘I saw flames rising from the horizon. It must be a signal sent to someone.’

‘Ressention never mentioned such a signal. Either this brother has plotted some other scheme or we’ve all been deceived.’

Charles, forcing himself to act calm, asked.

“My Lord Valenciaunos, did you say you will start the business?”

Valenciaunos nodded.

His movements seemed somehow softer than usual, and an ease filled his expression that wasn’t typical.

The coldness in his gaze had softened, but it wasn’t compassion that lingered there—it was indifference.

Valenciaunos gave a languid smile.

“Everything happened as you said it would this time as well.”

For an abnormally tall man, Valenciaunos’ smile was strangely crooked.

“Now the Admiral of the East will serve me forever. Yes. Forever. I do love that word.”

The brother and sister with black hair and blue eyes noticed an unusual word in that statement.

‘Me?'”

“If someone of the caliber of Seberik, a Great Lord and Duke, can use ‘me,’ then can a Royal Family Duke who lives near the capital?”

Josephine, sensing an unsettling atmosphere, brought her hands under the table and began to make a sign.

“…….”

The person formerly known as the Bandit Duke gave a long, disdainful look towards the governor’s family.

The silhouette of the man, sitting with his back to a window showing the night sea, distorted like a summer mirage.

“Who are you!”

Charles raised his voice, but the white-haired royal ignored him, sneering as though he hadn’t heard.

“And yet, you, my servants, dare to try and steal my divine mandate?”

The event that unfolded next sent Charles into shock.

Hwarrr! Hwarrr!

From Valenciaunos’ white hair, the back of his hands, his uniform, his boots, flames burst forth from his entire body.

Ugek, ugek!

The sound of bones contorting and muscles twisting reverberated loudly throughout the hall.

Even among tall people, his prominent height had dropped by more than a foot, and the broad shoulders that looked worthy of a statue began to melt away.

“What-!”

“Guards!”

At this bizarre sight, Charles sprang to his feet and drew his sword, and Josephine let out a scream to summon the guards.

From far off, the sounds of loud footsteps could be heard, but the transformation—or was it something else—did not stop.

Tz, Tz, Tz.

As the bulky uniform that had been tightly filled began to shrink by almost half, its color inverted, and its form also changed.

“Such traitorous ones you are.”

The white uniform, with its prominent shoulders and upper arms, transformed into a black dress with a deeply cut neckline and back, and wide bottom. The matte white boots that had exposed the ankles turned into glossy black boots that hugged the ankles.

Charline watched this transformation as if she were in a dream.

‘Blood magic alone couldn’t cause changes of this magnitude.’

Strangely, despite everything shrinking and contorting, his face barely changed.

Tz, Tz, Tz.

His head size decreased somewhat, his jawline became more slender, and his formerly arrogant and overbearing eyes drooped slightly, which added to a languid air.

Hwarrr! Hwarrr!

The ends of his iconic styled white hair caught fire, elongating gracefully and luxuriantly, while the size of his previously large fingers also became thinner.

When he finally revealed his true identity and she turned into a woman, Charles, Charline, and Josephine instinctively sensed their downfall.

“A harsh punishment is appropriate indeed.”

In the voice of Jeilliris, transformed from the Bandit Duke into the Holy Emperor, echoed brightly.

Her golden eyes and white hair remained the same; she had gotten even shorter, but the inherent aura of authority had multiplied several times.

‘Impossible.’

Josephine’s hands couldn’t continue forming signs; instead, they trembled violently.

‘I’ve been unknowingly digging my own grave.’

Charles gritted his teeth.

“Ha, hahaha.”

Charline turned around and ran towards the door without a second thought.

‘It’s the end. I should leave somewhere and start a new life under another name.’

Surrendering was never easy, but she knew when it was time to give up.

As Charline reached the doorknob, a bright voice reached her ears.

“Stay firmly closed and locked.”

Chjerjerjer!

From the wide cracks of the door, flames and dust surged forth, and the door adhered to the floor as if it had transformed into its original stony form.

As the three people were struck with astonishment, the Emperor remained composed.

She picked up the last piece of her croquette with her fork, ate it, took a sip of her red wine, then smiled like a cat playing with a mouse.

“Shall we settle the price for your treason?”

* * *

Neither Carlon nor Josephine had taken the oath of loyalty to Jeilliris.

They were not nobles but governors, and for them, loyalty was not a choice but an obligation.

Thus, Josephine had never seen either Jeilliris or Valenciaunos.

But she was familiar with the legend of the Holy Emperor.

“Is it truly Jeilliris?”

The girl who suddenly appeared among hundreds of royals, gaining attention with her extraordinary talent and beauty, rising meteorically as the holy member of the 1st Prince’s faction, finally dethroning both the 1st Prince and the Crown Prince to ascend to the peak herself.

Properly trained dragon-blood royal offspring typically became Sword Expert-level swordsmen by the age of 15 on average, acquiring equally advanced magical skills as well.

Back then, the capital was in utter chaos with the confrontation between the 1st Prince and the Crown Prince. All kinds of high nobles would send assassins and knights to both princes.

And Jeilliris, on the day of her blood-soaked coronation, had wiped them all out: her elder siblings who had grown up alongside her and the knights and assassins sent by the higher nobles who had tried to forge alliances with them. She even killed the previous emperor.

“Can a person really do that?”

Josephine’s face turned pale.

Kwang!

At that moment, the hall door shattered halfway, and fully armed knights and elite soldiers rushed in.

“Lady!”

“What is going on here?”

“Who is that woman?”

Though the lower part of the door was still stuck to the floor, it hadn’t been specially reinforced and naturally couldn’t withstand the strength of the knights.

Josephine’s face and even her fingertips had turned stark white as she pointed at Jeilliris.

“Attack! She’s an assassin trying to annihilate our family!”

The knights drew their swords and surrounded Jeilliris.

Slurrr!

“Get down on your knees!”

The Governor’s knights had never seen the Emperor before.

The Emperor, remembering that fact, frowned irritably and thought about what her brother might have done in this situation.

‘Perhaps she wouldn’t slaughter them all right away?’

Hwaahaaak!

The next moment, a brilliant aura erupted from her.

The intense aura of dragon blood filled the hall.

Chelguruk, chelguruk.

The Governor’s knights unknowingly trembled in their hands and felt they had to kneel as if overwhelmed.

The presence of a Sword Master was something that could not be easily challenged.

She declared boldly.

“Knights, I am your lord.”

The gracefully flowing luxurious white hair, the sun-like radiant and yellowish eyes, the atmosphere that inspired both loyalty and fear—all matched the rumors perfectly.

Chelguruk, chelguruk.

The knights and elite soldiers stared at each other’s faces.

“….”

“What in the world is this?”

“Is it really… Your Majesty?”

They debated whether anyone other than the Holy Emperor could possess such an imposing aura.

Meanwhile, Charles clenched his teeth and stared daggers at the knights and elite soldiers.

‘These fools!’

He took his position behind the pillars on either side, blew a small horn after opening the window.

After counting to thirty, the opposite door of the hall swung open and about thirty strange figures rushed in.

Dududud!

They wore robes over their cuirasses and covered their grotesque faces with white masks.

They were private soldiers trained by the butler.

“Kill that woman!” Charles shouted, pointing his sword at Jeilliris.

Jeilliris sensed a familiar yet unpleasant energy from them.

She gently bit her red lips, drew the translucent sword “Glass Mirror”, and spun it while muttering.

“Seems like my other half has turned me into some kind of child again. How rebellious and amusing.”

Ooooww!

An Aura Blade arose turning the translucent sword a radiant gold.

An indifferent smile curved on her lips.

“Indeed. It’s been a long time since I last personally killed someone.”

* * *

Charles thought the butler would soon come back leading the rest of the soldiers.

“Huhk, huhk!”

However, at that moment, the butler was dashing full speed towards the End-of-the-Line Port.

Tadadadak!

Under the pale light of the royal street lamps, the sound of boots hitting the cobblestones echoed loudly.

‘All wrong. It was all wrong! Not the elder brother but the Emperor herself has come!’

In the moment he sensed Jeilliris’ presence, the butler had fled from the governor’s mansion.

‘There is hope if I can just reach the port. Just need to set sail.’

Racing through the maze-like alleys, pushing pedestrians aside, and sprinting down the slopes, the butler ran toward the port.

After some time, he noticed that ships that shouldn’t be in the End-of-the-Line Port were entering.

‘What are those?’

Warships with flags of white with red characters and black with red characters were flooding into the port.

“Everyone off the ships!”

“From now on, we will manage this port!”

“No sailing until further notice!”

Warriors wearing bulbous armors and horned helmets pulled the sailors from the ships just about to depart.

“What the hell-”

“By the decree of Duke Valencius!”

They struck down those who resisted, and boats trying to escape were chased and caught by warriors dashing atop the water.

The butler recognized the eastern-style flags as belonging to the new fleet of the Imperial Court.

“…Admiral of the Pirates!”

“Those bastards!”

“Get them all!”

“Over here!”

The port security guards swarmed upon them.

However, they fell like leaves before the wind when they faced the Eastern Warriors.

Even the captain of the guards only managed three clashes before falling.

“Ughh!”

Part of the reason was the strength of the pirates under Tarti, but it was also because the port guards had weakened.

The port guards, who previously defended the port from undersea people and pirates and gained practical combat experience, had no real reason to fight against low-level thugs under the umbrella of the Celestial Fleet.

So the city guards, used to fighting petty street punks, could not possibly stand against warriors born from piracy who constantly fought for their lives on the Eastern seas.

Seeing this, the butler clenched his eyes shut, grabbed a horse that someone was riding, and galloped away.

“Garrr!”

“Excuse me!”

“You bastard-!”

Riding the stolen horse, he headed back the way he had come.

‘First, I’ll go up. I must leave this city first. A boat’s also available on the river.’

Da-ga-dak! Da-ga-dak! Da-ga-dak!

The crossroads in front of the Governor’s mansion.

As he was passing through the heart of the city, he caught sight of an unusual sight.

Four giants were guarding the inland road.

Each of these giants wielded bronze exoskeletons and emitted steam when they moved.

Chiik!

‘Are these the mechanical knights from the Bandit Duke?’

They called out in deep voices.

“Checkpoint! Dismount!”

The butler didn’t dismount and instead replied.

“I am the butler of the Governor! I’m on urgent orders from His Excellency. Stand aside!”

The mechanical knights didn’t budge and motioned to the soldier next to them.

Upon closer inspection, the soldier too wore a peculiar type of armor.

It appeared to have wires mimicking muscles embedded inside the metal plates.

‘What a world.’

It was beyond the butler’s knowledge that these were biomechanical reinforcement armors crafted by Marcus.

“We are verifying infiltrators. Your cooperation is appreciated.”

Their stance suggested they were ready to swing their great swords if he refused.

The butler had no choice but to pull on the reins, watching as the soldier fiddled with a pocketwatch-like machine.

Tii. Tii. Tii. Tii.

A short mechanical sound rang out unemotionally.

‘Verifying without actual priests? How laughable. I have received the divine grace deep within my bones, and even priests wouldn’t be able to detect me-.’

While the butler was deep in this thought, the verifier invented by Selerassy emitted a beeping sound.

Pii!

From that moment, the mechanical knight no longer asked or inquired.

Chiik!

As the gears turned and the chain spun, the knight drew and swung his great sword.

Phuk!

“Wait! It’s a misunderstanding-!”

Before he could finish his sentence, the butler’s head soared skyward, cut off the moment before it could voice another syllable.

Tsharrr!

Then from the cross-section of the butler’s neck, the bone shot up several meters, reaching for the head that was already out of reach.