[Leopold’s Office]
Leopold was convinced.
If the emperors of the Empire were lined up in order of misfortune, he would be among the top five.
It wasn’t because he couldn’t lay a finger on the young woman he had taken as his wife.
After all, he had married Adelaide purely for political reasons and harbored no impure desires toward her.
“She’s a woman I must not touch. If she were to bear a son, Duke Bien would become my enemy.”
The master swordsmen under the Duke, who served as his guards, would flip their allegiances and turn into assassins in an instant.
From the moment Adelaide gave birth to the next emperor, Leopold himself would be nothing more than a political obstacle to Duke Bien.
That’s why Leopold had taken Adelaide as his wife but had yet to consummate the marriage.
He had no intention of doing so unless Duke Bien fell from power.
In any case, the golden dew dripping from Leopold’s head right now wasn’t because of her.
It was because of the Empire’s future.
After enduring a long period of hardship and seizing the luck bestowed by the gods, he had achieved revenge and ascended to the throne. But as soon as the coronation ceremony ended, chaos erupted everywhere.
Both inside and outside the Empire were plunged into terrible turmoil.
The public order, worsened by civil war, and the increasing frequency of monster appearances.
With only the soldiers and knights of the 3rd Legion to subdue them, the fatigue of the troops was extreme.
The lords of various regions had also lost many private soldiers due to the civil war, making it difficult to defend their own territories.
The ugly witch, Isabella, had been defeated… but the wounds she left on the Empire would take a long time to heal.
However, the world didn’t seem inclined to give the Empire that time.
In the north, beastmen had destroyed the Northern Wall and annihilated two legions, while the east was in a state of tension, unsure when Ka`har’s army would attack.
On top of that, diplomatic relations with the Holy Kingdom had deteriorated over issues related to the diocese, and to the west, Alvheim had outright canceled its peace treaty with the Empire and was marching against Himmell, causing natural disasters.
“Fire giants that can melt entire fortresses? The kind of thing you’d only hear about in old heroic tales, and now of all times…!”
According to reports, even five Count Medians might not be enough to defeat them. It was truly a bleak situation.
Still, he thought the southern human nations would be relatively problem-free…
—
“So… what did you just say? Dane?”
Leopold, his brow furrowed, pressed his throbbing temples and looked down at the subordinate prostrating before him.
“Yes. We’ve confirmed that warriors from Dane have secretly entered the royal palace of Panam.”
The man, bowing his head, continued his report on the situation in Panam in a heavy tone.
He was a man of utterly unremarkable appearance, with no distinguishing features.
Just as Dane’s spies had infiltrated the Empire, the Empire had also sent spies to various countries to gather intelligence.
The man prostrating before him was one of them, a spy sent to Panam.
“Dane, you say… Dane’s warriors in Panam’s royal palace…”
The spy remained silent in response to Leopold’s muttering.
His role was solely to report facts. Making judgments was beyond his authority.
‘First that insolent letter, and now openly meeting with Dane. Has King Danon gone mad?’
Inviting warriors from another country into the royal palace in secret. And not just any country, but one that had rejected the Empire’s order.
It was a move filled with anti-imperial intent, obvious to anyone.
‘Does he plan to break the alliance with the Empire and side with Dane? What value does that small country hold?’
Even if the Empire’s power had significantly weakened, it hadn’t declined to the point of being comparable to Dane.
Once the situation stabilized, the Empire could handle both countries attacking simultaneously. It was hardly a wise decision.
‘There was no information suggesting King Danon had lost his mind. Well, he’s gone mad for women, but… he should still have the judgment to distinguish profit and loss. Then… there must be something in Dane. Something valuable enough for King Danon to risk antagonizing the Empire. We’ll need to strengthen our spy network in Dane.’
Having made his judgment, Leopold addressed the still-prostrating spy.
“So, how is Eleonora doing now?”
Eleonora.
His sister, sold to the King of Panam under the pretext of a political marriage due to Isabella’s schemes.
Though he didn’t show it much, Leopold was deeply concerned for her safety.
With Panam openly taking an anti-imperial stance, Eleonora, being of imperial lineage, was more of a hostage or prisoner than a queen.
“That is…”
The spy hesitated, unable to answer immediately, as if unsure how to broach the subject.
It was an unusually hesitant reaction, enough to surprise Leopold.
“Your answer is delayed. Since when did you have the authority to judge the weight of your reports?”
Feeling perplexed by the spy’s hesitation, Leopold pressed him.
‘Is it something so difficult to tell me? Has she died or something?’
Under Leopold’s stern reprimand, the spy bowed his head deeply and hurriedly relayed the information he knew.
“My apologies, Your Majesty! Please forgive my failure!”
“I’ll forgive you, so report. What happened to Eleonora?”
“Yes. Princess Eleonora is currently secluded in Panam’s villa. To be precise, she’s under house arrest, forbidden from leaving.”
“…Imprisoned. Yes, that’s something King Danon would do. But is that all? If that’s all, there’s no reason to hesitate.”
The spy, biting his lip, spoke in a trembling voice.
“According to my subordinate’s report… the warriors from Dane who visited the royal palace… at night, they head to the villa where Her Highness resides…”
– Crack!
The quill in Leopold’s hand shattered into pieces.
His breathing grew rough, and veins bulged on his temples.
“Is… that… true…?”
Leopold asked through clenched teeth.
A rage hot enough to make his hair stand on end was boiling in his mind.
Warriors sneaking into the princess’s chambers at night.
Leopold wasn’t naive enough to not understand what that meant.
“…Yes. It’s true.”
The spy also understood the implication.
King Danon had thrown his wife, the Empire’s princess, to Panam’s warriors as a plaything!
It was an act that could only be described as madness.
Whether it was because he had grown tired of Eleonora or due to some perverse desire, it was unclear.
“So. It’s true. That’s what you’re saying. That mad old man Danon dared to do such a thing…!”
Before the emperor, who was erupting like a volcano, the spy could only tremble in fear.
Emperor Leopold the Radiant.
Though many had forgotten due to his being manipulated by Duke Bien and the noble factions, his close aides remembered.
From being a crown prince with a death sentence hanging over him… to ascending the throne in just half a year, turning all his enemies into dew on the execution grounds.
Those who had stood in the way of his ascension, those who had been his enemies, had all ultimately fallen.
Though it hadn’t garnered much attention due to the chaos of the Northern Wall’s collapse, the families connected to Isabella had been wiped out to the last child.
All executed or assassinated.
The nobles of Leopold’s faction thought it was Duke Bien who had led the purge, but it was Leopold himself who had ordered not to leave even a single fetus alive.
“…Mobilize all our agents in Panam to secure Eleonora’s safety. It seems my brother-in-law has grown tired of living, so as his in-law, I should help him out.”
The decision to assassinate King Danon had been made.
=======[Lacey]=======
The Archbishop’s office in Exra-shapel Cathedral.
The office originally used by Archbishop Trier had naturally become Lacey’s after he turned into a burnt pig.
Lacey had completely gutted and rebuilt the office, turning it into her own room.
The space where an ugly man had resided was deemed too polluted and impure, even the air.
‘A month… that’s too long.’
Lacey set down the letter she was reading and let out a light sigh.
A month. Considering the distance between the east, the capital, and the Holy Kingdom, it would realistically take about two months to reach the Holy Kingdom.
It was an unbearably long time.
The Holy Kingdom’s movements were suspicious, and the war in the west was intensifying by the moment.
Being beyond the border, detailed information was hard to come by, but even the fragmented reports were enough to send shivers down her spine.
‘It’s like the return of the Heroic Age…’
Fairies wielding giants of fire, rock, and lightning.
It was something straight out of ancient legends, the kind of thing you’d read about in the tales of Carolus.
Lacey took a sip of holy water to suppress her rising anxiety.
In her heart, she wanted to head to the Holy Kingdom immediately and propose a raid on Alvheim’s expedition… but she knew better.
Without Hashalleur’s protection, her chances of surviving a trip to the Holy Kingdom weren’t high.
So she had to wait. There was no other choice.
Martyrdom for faith was one thing, but dying a meaningless death due to impatience would be a grave disrespect to Elpinel, who had chosen her.
Having let go of her impatience, Lacey flipped through the ancient texts she had placed beside her desk.
Books and manuscripts recording history from 800 years ago, or even earlier.
They were texts she had gathered after scouring the cathedral’s library.
Why had the fairies become so powerful? And so suddenly.
She was trying to find out the reason.
At the same time, she planned to seriously start deciphering the ancient script Hashalleur had asked about.
She had been too busy to pay attention to it until now.
‘Alföðr… the notation itself is similar to ancient Dane language… Alfur? Alforor?’
Lacey tilted her head and began reading through books about ancient Dane people.
Some of them were banned texts, but as the Archbishop, there was no priest in the Empire who could stop her from reading them.
And she found it.
/…The men who called themselves Dane people held a faith entirely different from ours. They claimed there were only four true gods in this world…/
‘Four gods. How impious, just like the ancient pagan faiths.’
The four ancient gods, deemed heretical by the Eleven Divines.
The celestial Imir, the earth mother Nertus, the war god Wodanaz, and the winter goddess Skadi.
Recalling these, Lacey frowned and read the next page.
/…Their chief god was the god of war, believed to be a great guardian who granted people the strength to face their enemies. The Dane people I met called him this: the father of all things, Alföðr. It was a name I had never heard before./
Alföðr.
The word matching the script Hashalleur had shown her was written there.
