I walked along the riverbank, following the numbers marked on the neatly built warehouses.
17, 18, 19.
Stopping in front of Warehouse 19, I glanced around.
Laborers were bustling about, carrying goods, but no one ca near Warehouse 19.
‘Looks like I found the right place.’
I casually opened the door and stepped inside, greeted by orderly stacks of crates.
The freshly made crates were labeled in red with “Borgia Liquor Guild.”
At the end of a row of crates with the sa red lettering, a white-haired woman stood with her arms crossed.
“You’re late.”
“Sothing ca up that I had to deal with.”
It was a shaless excuse, but Til just shrugged.
She must be used to it.
“Everything here is getting picked up by the palace tomorrow.”
“Isn’t that too much?”
“What do the grunts know? They’ll just do as they’re told. We’ve already persuaded the person in charge.”
The word “persuaded” sounded chilling.
Reading my expression, Til snapped, as if she knew what I was thinking.
“Not that kind of persuasion. It was a perfectly normal transaction with money.”
“Sure. Let’s skip the process. Is the stuff in order?”
Til carefully pulled out a crate from the innermost part of the warehouse.
It had already been opened once, as the lid lifted smoothly.
I leaned in to look inside the crate.
A strong sll of oil hit from bottles filled with yellowish liquid.
Waving my hand, I quickly pulled my head back.
“How much is there?”
“Enough to burn down the palace and then so. The weapons are placed where they’re easy to access. Now it’s up to the user to make good use of them.”
Of course, there was no plan to burn the entire palace.
We just needed to set fire to the path leading to the Imperial Capital from the banquet hall where this banquet was being held.
“I don’t know if all this oil can stop the Imperial Guard, though.”
Til grumbled as she closed the crate.
This much oil was ant to block the Imperial Guard’s approach.
It had to create flas fierce enough not to be easily extinguished and hard to break through even with defensive spells.
In cases like this, brute force was more cost-effective than magic.
“They’ll evacuate the Emperor first, so we’ll have so ti. We just need to secure the palace firmly.”
“Easy for you to say when it’s not your job.”
“It’s not your job either, is it?”
The mbers infiltrating the palace were Hendrick and Blaiher.
To minimize chaos, we needed the Emperor’s elder, and to fill the Emperor’s vacancy, we needed Blaiher.
“Ha, you’re really leaving that to ?”
“Who else but you can attack Lord Werner Chartra, injure him just enough not to kill, and escape?”
As soon as word spread that Chartra was attacked on his way to the banquet hall, if the Imperial Army forcibly took control of the Imperial Capital, that was a success.
With no place to fortify or hide in the capital, even the Imperial Guard wouldn’t hold out long.
“Even if everything goes according to your plan, whether people accept Blaiher as Emperor is another matter. How are you handling that?”
“Why should I worry about that? Isn’t that for His Highness, who’ll be Emperor, to figure out?”
“…Do you like the kid or hate him?”
“I believe in his ability. By the way, read this.”
I handed a letter to Til, who clicked her tongue.
She examined the letter suspiciously, only accepting it after confirming it was from Headquarters.
As she quickly read through it, her expression grew increasingly grim.
“The professor again? This ti he went and caused a ruckus in soone else’s territory. What a reckless old man.”
In soone else’s territory.
That was the most troubleso part of this incident.
Charnirasho was the stronghold of Avantnik, the only Demon mber of the Eight Council.
And Professor Zain, also of the Eight Council, had directly attacked that place.
The professor probably had no thoughts beyond his experint, but to the Charnirasho Demons, it was tantamount to a declaration of war.
Relations between Vestol and the Demons were already strained due to their conflicts, but a direct confrontation was a different matter entirely.
“The good news is, because of the professor, Vestol won’t have the capacity to ddle in the Empire. The bad news… you already know.”
“What’s your plan? You usually don’t care about this kind of thing.”
The original Valheit would’ve let the two fight and used it to his advantage later.
But following that path would definitely get backstabbed and killed.
“I plan to diate once the Empire’s affairs are settled.”
“diate? You? Why? When? Where? How?”
Questions poured out, full of suspicion.
It was natural she’d be skeptical—soone who normally didn’t care about internal conflicts suddenly stepping up to diate.
“I’m the acting Commander, aren’t I?”
“…Fair enough, but how are you going to diate? Both are stubborn as hell.”
“Given their personal history, telling them to reconcile nicely won’t work. I’m not planning to go in and dictate terms myself either.”
With their deep-seated grudges, my stepping in to diate wouldn’t work.
I needed a far more reliable diator.
“I plan to use the Empire as the diator. Specifically, Blaiher.”
“That kid? How?”
“Turn it from a personal dispute into one between factions. For Blaiher, it’s a chance to prove the Empire’s strength, and for us, it’s a way to resolve a headache relatively easily.”
The two would likely prefer this over facing each other and apologizing.
For Blaiher, diplomacy is a stage to quickly show results, so it’s a win-win.
Of course, this only works if we get Blaiher on the throne.
“Back to business—how’s Blaiher doing?”
I’d left it to him to prove himself, but it’s not an easy task.
Making an unknown illegitimate child known to the public—how could that be simple?
If push cos to shove, I could step in directly or even skip that part of the plan.
“He seems to be doing alright.”
“I knew it… Wait, what?”
“He’s moving to Schwaben… There’s already talk about the Emperor’s hidden child.”
“That fast?”
“It’s where he’s from.”
I hadn’t considered that, but still, isn’t that too quick?
“If you’re curious, go to Schwaben and check. It’s not hard.”
“I will.”
I’d planned to check on it anyway.
Originally, attacking Werner was the priority, so I was going to put Blaiher’s side on hold, but now I was curious.
How did he do it?
* * *
“Senior, you’re drinking too much.”
“Hey, how often do we co to a place this expensive? Drink the good stuff.”
“It’s not good stuff, it’s strong stuff.”
The senior ignored the advice and downed another glass.
The apprentice blacksmith of the Royal Blacksmiths’ Guild sighed almost inaudibly.
Three years as an apprentice, and alcohol was still foreign to him.
Plus, being in the most famous high-end tavern on Schwaben Street made him even more nervous than usual.
“We’re out of snacks… Got any good stories?”
“Uh, did you see the article in the Current Affairs Daily?”
“The one about His Majesty—no, soone—requesting troops from those Vestol bastards? You’re behind, kid. That’s old news. The hot topic now is this.”
Despite being tipsy, the senior glanced around carefully.
The apprentice got a bad feeling about what he was about to say.
“Heard about Chancellor Hendrick escaping from exile?”
“What? Is that allowed?”
“Of course not! Everyone’s guessing where he went. So say he’s coming to the Imperial Capital, others say he fled to the Northern Federation nearby.”
“Ooooh…”
The apprentice raised his glass, halfheartedly agreeing, hoping to toast and shut him up, but the senior had no intention of stopping.
“The juiciest part hasn’t even started. Too guilty to beco Emperor himself, so he’s using His Majesty’s illegitimate child. What was the na… Bla-sothing.”
“That’s an interesting story.”
Soone suddenly cut in.
The apprentice’s eyes trembled as he looked at the intruder.
“Count Valheit? What are you doing here…?”
That squinting gaze, that mouth ready to sneer at any mont.
It was unmistakably the man who ca that day and bought the ebony staff.
“Ca because I saw a familiar face, but you’re discussing sothing serious.”
“Uh, yes, Count. Just talking about rumors floating around.”
The senior, his earlier bravado gone, scratched the back of his head and tried to slip away.
But he couldn’t take more than a few steps before turning back.
A nacing figure was glaring at him.
“So, what did Chancellor Hendrick do?”
“It’s not confird…”
The senior’s loud voice grew quieter.
The narrow-eyed man shook his head, as if disappointed, and turned to the apprentice.
It was clearly a closed gaze, yet it felt burning.
“He’s coming to the Imperial Capital with the Emperor’s illegitimate child.”
“So he’s really coming to the capital?”
The apprentice and the other tavern patrons all focused on Valheit’s mouth.
Whether he knew it or not, Valheit sipped his drink leisurely, waiting for the apprentice’s response.
Trying to dodge the question, the apprentice gave a vague answer.
“No one knows if the illegitimate child is really His Majesty’s, but since the key is Chancellor Hendrick, does it matter?”
“Hmm, whether it’s real or not doesn’t matter… Interesting perspective. You recomnded a refined item last ti too, so your viewpoints are quite unique.”
The apprentice hiccupped involuntarily.
Was today the day the senior warned about, disappearing without a trace?
He was about to shed his apprentice label, so why did this guy show up now?
“Thanks to you, I got such a fine item. Saved my life three or four tis because of this.”
“Thank you…”
Watching Valheit wave the staff, the apprentice felt dazed.
Was he being genuine or sarcastic?
“Back to the main topic, it’s almost certain Hendrick is coming to the capital. But I’m curious about who this illegitimate child is.”
Nobles, rchants, the tavern owner, even the staff—all focused on Valheit’s words.
The usually noisy tavern fell silent.
“Personally, I hope it’s real. Don’t you think so?”
The bombshell statent left most of the tavern’s patrons gaping.
After a brief mont of shock, they began whispering as quietly as possible.
“Uh… yeah, I guess.”
“I knew we’d see eye to eye. eting again like this is fate, so I’ll cover your drinks. Except for your friend’s.”
The senior’s face, which had brightened at the ntion of free drinks, darkened again.
The apprentice was equally baffled by the situation.
“I’ll see you next ti. In a quieter place.”
Valheit announced his departure as abruptly as his arrival.
But what mattered more to the apprentice was the words he left behind.
‘Why does he have to say things so ominously?’
What did he an by eting in a quieter place?
His mind spun with confusion.
anwhile, the senior wrapped his arm around the apprentice’s neck, shaking him back and forth.
“Hey, you’ve hooked a big one, huh? At this rate, you’ll outrank !”
“Uh, I’m not sure.”
“Playing humble? I’m jealous, man. I want to recomnd sothing to Valheit and turn my life around too.”
Ignoring the senior’s blabber, the apprentice kept staring at where Valheit had disappeared.
‘It’s definitely a bad feeling.’
That was the apprentice’s conclusion.
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