Chapter 77

77.

***

The wedding ceremony concluded without any issues.

Among the spectators in the grand square was Helsia, a Swordmaster, so everyone instinctively knew to tread carefully.

With Sylvester, who should have been the most sensitive, only quietly clapping, the other envoys had no choice but to simply offer their congratulations.

The Human-Beast Union also sent their quiet regards from the corner. It seemed they lacked the confidence to cause a ruckus at the wedding of the supreme ruler, so no one was stirring up trouble.

The banquet held at night also passed without any major incidents.

There was a brief commotion over the custard pudding that the chefs worked hard to prepare, but…

Nevertheless, the grand celebration and the founding anniversary concluded like that.

And the next day.

As soon as dawn broke, the envoys began to leave the capital one by one, and the last ones to leisurely exit the Imperial Palace were Sylvester.

I thought Sylvester, who came from the farthest place, would leave first. Instead, he waited until everyone else had gone, had lunch, took a nap, and only then started to move.

Helsia even shamelessly asked for more pudding.

At her audacity, I rolled my eyes, but she managed to get the pudding she wanted by offering a rare jewel she wore as an accessory to the head chef.

I watched this scene unfold right beside her, as I was the only one who could handle Helsia.

She opened her mouth, her tail wagging as if she was in a good mood.

“Considering the journey to our empire, it’s understandable. Didn’t I travel such a great distance with gifts to celebrate the royal couple?”

In essence, she was claiming our territory due to the hardship of the long journey she took for the celebration.

She boldly asserted as much, leaving us with no choice but to nod in agreement.

In reality, the gifts Sylvester brought were overwhelmingly more than what all the other envoys combined could offer.

It made me wonder if giving so much to a rival nation was wise, but likely, Emperor Myers ordered it to flaunt their national strength.

Recalling the mountain of goods piled up in the royal treasury, the rising indignation in my throat was tolerable.

Still, setting that aside, there’s no denying Helsia has a pretty thick skin.

‘Celebration? You barely had a chance to test me, you know.’

Sylvester, or Helsia Ashraf, had no reason to visit Altain so early due to my marriage with Iris. It must be a butterfly effect caused by my marriage to her.

If I wasn’t my master’s disciple and hadn’t grown to the level of severing mana, what might have happened?

‘Hmm.’

Helsia was stirring the spoon carelessly in an unprotected manner. She was about three steps away. At this distance, it would be possible to decapitate her with a surprise attack, wouldn’t it?

While pondering this and absentmindedly touching the hilt of my sword, she finally spoke after finishing her pudding.

“Cain MacBilian.”

“There’s no more pudding. Are you planning to consume all the materials in the palace?”

“It’s not that. Come closer.”

Looking dubious, I brought my ear close, only to be presented with a rather absurd piece of information.

“I’ve placed the Ten Sword Ghosts in Kahlheig.”

“…”

What?

“You’ll cut down their forces a bit, right? Though, it’s a meaningless act with you around.”

“Why would you…”

Why are you telling me this, you madwoman?

‘What is this?’

I was at a loss for words due to this sudden confession of a covert operation.

Ten Sword Ghosts.

The term refers to the ten uniquely outstanding mana manifestations among Sylvester’s mana manifestation wielders, excluding Emperor Myers and Helsia.

Now, Helsia revealed that someone from among them had been planted in Kahlheig. After finishing the pudding. Very suddenly.

“Swordsmen grow through the battlefield and extreme situations.”

Even as I was dazed, her speech continued.

“If you’d fail against just the Ten Sword Ghosts, then you’re not worth crossing blades with. Kill them all.”

With those unsettling words, Sylvester’s delegation departed to the west.

Once Sylvester had left, the bustling palace returned to its usual state.

Everyone returned to their respective duties, and I too focused on the post-celebration tasks and external affairs while stationed at the Foreign Palace.

I continuously mulled over the words Helsia left behind while reviewing intelligence from other nations.

‘Was this the reason why Kahlheig had been so confident?’

Given that they had secret support from Sylvester’s mana manifestation wielders, they must have thought it was worth a try.

Furthermore, since someone from the Ten Sword Ghosts, who could potentially reach the level of a Swordmaster, was stationed behind them, their confidence in defeating a superhuman was fully justified.

A superhuman who could slash steel as if it were air, sweeping through the battlefield with overwhelming physical prowess.

Though mana manifestation wielders don’t bring about preposterous results like Swordmasters, they are still sufficient to sway the tides of battle.

They must have concluded that handling Altain’s mana manifestation wielders with the Ten Sword Ghost’s power would ensure victory in the war.

There was also a high possibility that other nations’ mana manifestation wielders might be hiding in Kahlheig. This much was certainly plausible. But…

‘The result won’t change.’

Master said there was no one within Altain who could rival me. Now, if I were to look abroad…

At this point, if the Ten Sword Ghosts, who are the most exceptional among mana manifestation wielders, haven’t yet reached the level of transcendence…

Or, even if they had reached the level of transcendence…

‘There’s no problem.’

I’ve already defeated Ildan and have only grown stronger since.

I even intervened in Helsia’s transcendent mana, which led her to freely disclose this sensitive operation.

Kahlheig’s king must not even dream that Altain has someone who can slice through even the Ten Sword Ghosts with ease.

‘First, I need to discuss the matter of the Ten Sword Ghosts with Barnel.’

With the upcoming external challenges, we are prepared.

Therefore, it’s time to firmly secure our internal base, just as we’ve been doing until now.

“Master, Maxim Kendler’s treatment is complete.”

At Charles’s ghost-like voice, I nodded and moved my footsteps to the basement of the Imperial Palace.

Maxim, lying limp with blood streaming all over his body, grinned defiantly.

“Uh… heh heh. I don’t know what you’re after, but there are no secrets stored in the Information Department.”

No secrets, huh?

That was the least believable statement from a former head of the Information Department.

“Is the treatment still insufficient?”

“I’ll start again.”

“Uuuggh…”

With a sickening sound.

Maxim’s mouth was covered by Andre, who immediately tore a chunk of flesh from his thigh.

Though Maxim’s eyes bulged as his veins stood out, his body, tightly bound to the chair, could make only feeble convulsions.

This interrogation chamber in the basement of the Central Intelligence Department was soaked in a sharp metallic smell.

Before Maxim, many people had undergone physical “therapy,” leaving dry and twisted bloodstains where the torchlight lit up.

After handing the physical treatment over to Andre, I stretched my sore neck and slumped down on a nearby chair.

“Master, here’s your black tea.”

As a cup materialized out of the dark with a composed tone,

Charles’s respectful figure, with tea prepared as though awaiting this moment.

I swallowed the lukewarm but terrible-tasting tea in one gulp while reflecting on the palace’s history confirmed at the Record Archives.

Regarding the deaths of Iris’s parents, the former royal couple.

Emperor Oswell undoubtedly died of an illness.

This was clearly recorded in the Archive, and Alberto also mentioned his struggle with a terminal illness.

In fact, Alberto even traveled to the Eastern Continent himself in search of a treatment for Oswell.

The issue lies with the deaths of Empress Piette and Iris’s two younger siblings.

There’s an oddity about the deaths of these three.

The Empress died of illness alongside the Emperor.

The two younger siblings were executed for treason.

The records at the Archive contained a mere two lines about these events.

‘Executed for treason?’

The very word execution didn’t make sense.

Iris was only 15 when she ascended the throne.

Her younger siblings would have been even younger.

It was absurd for them to have committed treason or have been able to judge anything. They had clearly been exploited.

The rapid deaths of the Empress and her children, and Iris’s swift ascension to the throne suggested an obvious external interference.

“Ugh.”

It’s a fairly common tale, isn’t it?

Power struggles concealed with bloodshed. The powerless royal lineage was an excellent tool to wield unchecked authority.

Then, who tore apart the Palenberk royal family?

This was also not difficult to guess.

The Central Nobility.

More specifically, the ones who held the utmost power among them.

‘Kierson and Barnel.’

These two Dukes, with the Central Nobility at their core, must have been the culprits.

Whether they directly killed the royal family themselves, or if this is the truth, will become evident through the classified information from the Department. If proven accurate, compromise is out of the question.

‘I’ll kill them all.’

The records from the archive in Hyewol Palace were all written to please the victors.

I had once questioned Hwayeong about the past, but apparently, she was wandering the Uncharted Region at the time, researching some monstrous beings with her brother.

As time passed, the structure of the Central Nobility changed, and the past records gradually faded away.

The only ones holding unaltered records in the shadows were the Central Intelligence Department. The key to these records was none other than Maxim Kendler, the former director of the department.

Maxim continued to maintain a steadfast attitude even through the lengthily drawn-out physical treatment, fully aware that this was his last lifeline.

‘There’s nothing else to do.’

I can’t keep wasting time here.

“Charles.”

“Yes, Master.”

“Use that.”

“Understood.”

Withdrawing a few small vials from her folds, she swiftly concocted a new poison, forcing it down Maxim’s throat.

“Gluuurgg…”

Maxim’s Adam’s apple heaved dramatically.

With his mouth held shut by Charles, he screamed through a contorted face.

“Wha, what are you doing?! What did you make me swallow?! Damn dirty whore!”

“A drug to enhance sensation.”

After Charles stepped back and I took over the response, I grasped Maxim’s hand and approached him with a thin needle.

Holding up the hand of the perplexed Maxim,

I plunged the needle into it.

“Arggghh…! Shit! You son of a… Uuughh! Uuuuughh!!”

The thin needle smoothly burrowed into the spaces between his nails as I applied pressure.

Once I stuffed a piece of cloth into his screaming mouth to mute the sound, I continued inserting the needles one by one.

The amplified sensations made the effect quite significant.

Drugs streamed uncontrollably from the cloth gagging his mouth, and his pupils began to roll as he lost his mind in excruciating pain.

As he was about to faint, I gestured lightly, and Charles forced another drug into his mouth.

Maxim regained consciousness.

“You weren’t easy to break.”

His pupils wildly shook.

“Whenever you want to talk, just say so.”

“Ah, no…!”

While his body convulsed violently, I stuffed another cloth into his mouth and continued the physical therapy.

About five subjective minutes later,

“Out… out… outskirts… south…”

Maxim’s mouth loosened.