VOLUME 12: CHAPTER 22

VOLUME 12: CHAPTER 22

In the throne room of the imperial palace, the wrathful voice of the Emperor reverberated.

"YOU DARE LIE TO ME? SWORD SAINT ISAAC SEGARUS IS DEAD?"

"THE FOURTH TOWER MAGES WERE ANNIHILATED?!"

The enraged voice of Emperor Sylvius was mixed with fear and disbelief. He was already in the safety of the imperial palace when he heard of the knights and mages' defeat.

Surrounded by high-ranking officials, military officers, and ministers of the capital, the Emperor was hysterical.

Emperor Sylvius no longer cared about appearances. Like a madman, he screamed in the throne room at the top of his lungs.

"STOP SPOUTING BULLSHIT, YOU DAMN BASTARD! THERE IS NO WAY ISAAC AND HALDOR ARE DEAD!"

"IMPERIAL GUARDS! SEIZE HIM AND SEND HIM TO THE CHOPPING BLOCK!"

The imperial guards looked at each other, hesitant to follow the Emperor's command.

The soldier who made the report didn't look terrified even after being given the death sentence by the Emperor. He simply knelt there with a blank gaze, as though he didn't care if his life were to be forfeited.

"WHAT ARE YOU ALL DOING?! SEIZE HIM!"

It was only after the Emperor repeated his orders that the imperial guards started grabbing the messenger.

Before leaving, the messenger said lifelessly, "Your Majesty, even if you kill me now, nothing will change. I saw everything. How it slaughtered my friends, my comrades, even the commander. That demon isn't something us humans can ever dare hope to defeat."

Like a prophet, the messenger added, "This is start of the end. This nation will soon burn into cinders. Your Majesty, your arrogance is the downfall of this Empire. You should have grabbed the hands extended to you by the Coalition Army. If the Coalition Army were still here, maybe we could have survived this predicament."

"That's enough!"

"Come with us!"

The imperial guards, who were horrified by the words they heard, dragged the messenger out of the throne room. Like Emperor Sylvius, they also didn't want to hear the messenger's words any further.

After the messenger was gone, heavy silence befell the throne room.

Although they wanted to refute it, they knew there was merit in the messenger's words.

Even Emperor Sylvius realized that had the Vice Commander not insisted they evacuate from the coliseum, he would probably be among the list of casualties by now.

"Vice Commander Yvon," said Emperor Sylvius. "What's the current status of the imperial army?"

The Vice Commander looked grim. "We've already lost forty thousand soldiers, Your Majesty. As for the remaining sixty thousand men, I ordered them to stand by for now and await further orders."

Forty thousand imperial soldiers.

It was a number large enough to pose a threat to another nation. It was a size even larger than a legion.

Hearing that almost half of the soldiers stationed in the capital had already been killed by the demon, Emperor Sylvius almost broke down.

It was the first time he'd felt this helpless.

He could see the Empire he was so proud of collapsing and slipping out of his fingers.

"H-How can that be?" said Emperor Sylvius almost pleadingly. "Our soldiers aren't that weak! N-No, it doesn't make sense!"

"Based on the reports, the heads of the soldiers who tried to approach the obelisk suddenly exploded," said Vice Commander Yvon. "I believe it's one of the demon's spells. Anyone who tried to approach the obelisk within half a kilometer radius were instantly killed, Your Majesty."

"Then are you saying we should avoid going near the coliseum for now?" said the Chief Royal Advisor.

"Yes," said Vice Commander Yvon. "I've already given out the order, Sir Gaillart."

The Chief Royal Advisor sighed. He said to Emperor Sylvius, "Your Majesty, there is truth to the words of the messenger. This wouldn't have happened had you listened to me. Didn't I tell you? We should accept the offer of the Coalition Army."

Although the Chief Royal Advisor looked calm, there was a hint of anger in his voice.

Had another person spoke those words, Emperor Sylvius would have ordered the imperial guards to execute him on the spot. But it was an entirely different matter if the one speaking was the Chief Royal Advisor.

Gaillart was the man Emperor Sylvius respected the most. A confidant, a friend, and a mentor. He was the only man in the entire nation allowed to openly rebuke the Emperor like this.

"G-Gaillart, I…."

"It's not too late, Your Majesty," said the Chief Royal Advisor. "There is still a chance to rectify your mistake."

"A chance to rectify my mistake?"

"Yes, Your Majesty."

The Chief Royal Advisor adjusted his monocle and moved his gaze to a certain individual in the throne room.

Naturally, everyone's gaze followed the Chief Royal Advisor's. They all looked at the youngest daughter of Emperor Sylvius.

With utmost respect, the Chief Royal Advisor said, "Your Highness, Princess Luna. I believe King Lark left behind an artifact that allows you to contact him."

To everyone's utter surprise, the Chief Royal Advisor went to his knees. "Please, I'm begging you. Contact King Lark on behalf of our Empire. The Imperial Capital. The soldiers. The citizens. Please, save us."

Seeing the Chief Royal Advisor begging on his knees, Emperor Sylvius finally snapped back to reality. The gravity of the situation hit him. He realized that if this continued, the Empire would cease to exist. And this shameful event under his reign would go down in history.

But what could he do?

It was not like he could also go down there, kneel, and beg his daughter to contact King Lark for him.

"Sir Gaillart…," said Princess Luna.

Beads of sweat flowed down the Chief Royal Advisor's forehead. He nervously added a condition to convince the princess.

"I'm aware that Princess Kiera has been tormenting you," said the Chief Royal Advisor. "If you grant us this favor, I promise to exile her once everything is over."

Princess Kiera's face turned pale. She protested, "Sir Gaillart! What are you sayin—"

"—Be quiet, Your Highness! Can't you see? The fate of the Empire is literally in the hands of Princess Luna right now! I will even gladly offer her your head if she asks me to! I'm willing to go that far if it's what's needed to save the Empire!"

Princess Kiera looked around the room.

The princes, the ministers, the Vice Commander, the imperial guards, the Emperor. She realized that none of them were going to stop the Chief Royal Advisor if he suddenly pulled out a sword and attack her, an imperial princess, in the throne room.

She realized she had become a sacrificial lamb to appease Princess Luna, the only one capable of contacting King Lark.

These people, who held the highest positions in the Empire, had become so desperate they were willing to sacrifice even someone with royal blood.

Horrified, lips twitching, Princess Kiera said to Princess Luna, "M-My dear sister, I know we had altercations before, but you wouldn't go so far as to exile or execute me, right? W-We are sisters! Although we don't have the same mothers, we still share the same blood!"

Princess Luna wryly smiled.

She never expected to gain so much authority and power just because she was capable of contacting King Lark.

It was a strange feeling.

So, this was what having the upper hand in negotiations against her father felt like.

Instead of replying to her older sister, Princess Luna spoke to the Chief Royal Advisor, "I heard Duke Hara of the Three States Alliance is looking for a wife."

Princess Kiera realized where the conversation was going. Instinctively, she took several steps back out of fear.

"N-No… no… no…"

Duke Hara was an old man with over a hundred concubines. There were rumors he loved collecting wives from various ethnicities, race, and even species.

Becoming part of Duke Hara's harem would be a sentence even worse than death.

"Sir Gaillart, father," said Princess Luna. "I will contact King Lark on your behalf. But in return, I want that bitch to become Duke Hara's wife."

Emperor Sylvius closed his eyes in resignation. "It will be done."

The Chief Royal Advisor coldly looked at Princess Kiera. "We'll send her to the Duke after the war with the demons is over, Your Highness."

Hearing even her own father forsake her, Princess Kiera's feet went limp. She fell down butt-first to the ground, trembling.

Princess Luna smirked. Gracefully, she curtsied, "Then I shall contact King Lark right away. But… what should I convey to him?"

The Emperor and the Chief Royal Advisor looked at each other.

The Chief Royal Advisor said, "I know we already refused the offer before but… Please tell His Majesty, King Lark, that we wish to accept the Coalition Army's offer. We wish to be part of the alliance."

"Is that all, Sir Gaillart?" said Princess Luna.

The Chief Royal Advisor shook his head. "No. Please also tell His Majesty that we greatly regret not agreeing to his offer and… please… help us."

The last part sounded so desperate that it momentarily tugged at Princess Luna's heart.

***

After that meeting, Princess Luna immediately went back to her estate.

She was greeted by the worried head maid.

"Princess! I was so worried!"

Holding the hem of her clothes, the head maid ran to her. She looked at the dozens of elite imperial guards accompanying Princess Luna.

The head maid frowned. "What's going on, Your Highness?"

"Do not mind them, Selena. They came here to escort me, as per my father, the Emperor's command."

The Emperor was so paranoid that something would happen to her on the way here that he asked these elite guards, who were supposed to be protecting him, to escort her.

"Is that so, Princess?"

Princess Luna read the blotches of ink that had formed on top of the head maid's head.

[Did His Majesty notice? No, it's too soon.]

[Lord Fraser is also here.]

[But he asked me not to tell anyone that he's here to meet the Princess.]

[How troublesome. If these imperial guards see him…]

When Princess Luna heard the report that the Fourth Tower mages had been annihilated, the first person she thought of was Jacob Fraser. She thought that Fraser was among the casualties from the tower. Learning that 'Triple Cast' was still alive brightened up Princess Luna's expression.

"Princess?"

Head Maid Selena noticed the subtle change in Princess Luna's expression.

"It's nothing, Selena," said Princess Luna.

Unable to fully control her face from smiling, she faked a cough then said to the imperial guards, "All of you. Stay here and await further commands."

"But—"

"—But what? You want to accompany me even inside? What, you're going to come even to my room? Is that it?"

"N-No, that's not what we mean, Your Highness."

"Then stop blabbering and follow my orders. Ah, and don't even think about entering the mansion with those dirty sabatons. Stay here outside. That's an imperial command."

In the end, the imperial guards couldn't do anything after that exchange. They stood outside the estate and didn't follow Princess Luna inside. This way, it would be safer for Jacob Fraser.

After entering the mansion, the head maid cast a silence spell and said, "Princess, I've been meaning to tell you this. Lord Fraser is in the mansion. He's been waiting for you to come back from the palace."

Princess Luna faked an expression of surprise, "Lord Fraser? How great, so he's alive! Tell him to come to my room immediately, Selena."

"I shall do so right away, Your Highness."

Several minutes after that, Princess Luna and Jacob Fraser met inside the princess' room.

Jacob Fraser brought a frail-looking boy with him.

After confirming with her own eyes that Jacob Fraser was indeed safe, Princess Luna brightly smiled.

"Lord Fraser! I'm so glad you survived!"

Those were Princess Luna's honest feelings. When she heard that the tower mages had been killed, she felt a squishing sensation in her heart when she thought of Jacob Fraser.

"And this boy is…."

"He's my little brother," said Jacob Fraser. "I'm sorry we barged in here without informing you beforehand, Your Highness."

"No, it's fine. I understand," said the Princess. "What matters is you're alive, Lord Fraser. What a relief. I really thought you died."

Jacob Fraser affectionately stroked the hair of his little brother. "The conversation I had with King Lark before he left saved me, Princess."

"Conversation? With King Lark?"

"Yes."

Jacob Fraser proceeded to tell Princess Luna about the conversation he had with King Lark before they parted ways. According to King Lark, the fleshy obelisk was probably a Corrupted Tower, and trying to obtain a sample of it would be nothing short of suicide.

Because of that conversation, the moment Master Haldor gave the order to approach the Corrupted Tower to the tower mages, Jacob Fraser fled with his little brother.

It was amazing that a seemingly simple conversation had such consequences.

"So, why did you come here, Lord Fraser?" said Princess Luna.

Without revealing himself, Jacob Fraser carefully looked out the window. "I'm here to help you escape the capital, Princess."

Princess Luna had already read Jacob Fraser's thoughts the moment they met, but it was still surprising hearing the words come out of his mouth.

"The capital is going to fall soon. We need to escape while we still have the chance, Your Highness. You're close with the head maid, aren't you? We can also bring her along if you want."

Hearing the concern in Jacob Fraser's voice, Princess Luna warmly smiled. She read the blotches of ink on top of Jacob Fraser's head, and she knew those words were genuine.

For some reason, Fraser cared for her well-being.

It seemed that aside from the head maid, another person who didn't wish for her to die had been added.

"Escape? But where to, Lord Fraser?" said Princess Luna.

"To the Kingdom of Lukas, Princess. With King Lark protecting it, it should be the safest place in the entire continent."

Princess Luna chuckled.

"Princess?"

"Ah, sorry. Please don't misunderstand, I'm not laughing at you, Lord Fraser. I just… find it amusing we have the same thoughts. Before, I also planned on fleeing to the Kingdom of Lukas should the capital fall."

"Before? Then…."

"That's right, I've changed my mind, Lord Fraser. I'm staying in the capital. The reason I returned to my estate this early is to convey the Empire's will to King Lark. I've been asked by the Emperor and the Chief Royal Advisor to ask – no, beg – King Lark to let us in the Coalition Army."

Hearing this, the eyes of Jacob Fraser grew wide.

He couldn't believe that that stubborn fool of an Emperor finally decided to lower his pride and accept the offer of the Coalition Army.

Did the Chief Royal Advisor convince him? Or did he come up with this decision on his own? Well, none of that mattered. What mattered was there was now a chance to save the imperial capital from the demons.

Princess Luna unlocked a secret compartment and took out an intercity communication device. Thankfully, she was given this one by Reginald.

Princess Luna infused a small amount of mana into the device, activating it.

After almost a minute, Princess Luna felt the device connect to the other side.

Princess Luna curtsied and lowered her head. "Your Majesty, King Lark, it's me, Luna."

The familiar voice of King Lark was heard, "Princess, is something the matter?"

"I apologize for calling you at such a crucial time," said Princess Luna. "But we are currently in desperate need of your help, King Lark. If we do nothing, the imperial capital will fall in the hands of the demons. Please, we beg you, allow us to join the Coalition Army."

"And please… help the imperial capital."