“Because of the uninvited guests on Founding Day and Coronation Day, the capital is currently under the highest level of alert.
Do you truly think they would open the door with a smile if we approached under these circumstances?”
Isabella threw the sharp question at Rachel, whose face was full of frustration, a meaningful smile playing on her lips.
The Felberg Empire was effectively in a state of emergency ahead of civil war with the Five Pillars.
The capital Granada, where the imperial citadel stood, was wrapped in razor-sharp tension.
Count Steiner Landerck, who had taken command of the imperial army in place of the fallen generals and was now responsible for the safety of the capital, the citadel, and the palace, reacted with extreme sensitivity to anything concerning Emperor Kain’s safety.
Approaching first was simply not feasible.
The only ones who might know that Nightmare had once worked for the Hassassin were the previous Emperor and perhaps one or two Hassassin who had been their direct superiors.
But as both Rachel and Isabella well knew, they had long since become cold corpses in the grand banquet hall.
From Nightmare’s perspective, recklessly approaching the citadel was impossible.
“Regrettably, Count Landerck is in an extremely sensitive state right now. Was issuing a general mobilization order to the metropolitan legions under the pretext of protecting the Emperor not enough? He has even loosed his private troops into the capital.
Do you think a man famous for his inflexible, almost brutish loyalty would believe the words of assassins?”
Isabella’s logic was flawless.
“And Rachel, what did I tell you?”
“That we would wait fifteen days.”
“Exactly. I said that clearly. And today is the last day. You know that, right?”
“Yes, Captain. Today is the last day.”
“Then be quiet. Tell the same to the kids under you.”
Restrained anger seeped into her voice.
Two weeks ago she had clearly said “fifteen days,” yet her subordinates kept pressing her, and irritation was beginning to rise.
She might look like a young woman, but she was neither human nor gentle.
Cruel was a far more fitting description.
That was why the clamor of her subordinates was unwelcome.
At her cutting words, the black-clad figure called Rachel flinched.
She already knew all too well what her captain was capable of when needed.
“The night breeze is cool and pleasant, yet my mood is foul.”
Muttering to herself to vent her annoyance, Isabella’s crimson eyes suddenly turned to the dark night sky.
Rachel, hearing the same sound, hurriedly followed her gaze.
A single raven cut through the darkness and landed on Isabella’s left arm.
With practiced movements, she checked the small capsule on its harness.
The note she had placed inside was gone.
That meant someone had used the whistle to summon the raven and retrieve the message.
“It seems the new Emperor has finally found a way to contact us.”
Confirming the empty capsule, Isabella smiled coldly.
“You will move personally?”
Count Steiner Landerck’s face betrayed dismay at Kain’s declaration that he would meet the leader of the assassination cell that had once served under the Hassassin in person.
“Would it not be better to send Count Haren as proxy?”
Count Landerck naturally objected.
With the fact that the new Emperor bore a Sigil now widely known, the imperial loyalists were regrouping.
The genius grand mage who had lived in seclusion for so long had returned, and the forces of the Emperor’s Cult—who had been used and then cast into the shadows for their excessive devotion—were once again gathering in Granada.
Everything was proceeding smoothly, but that was only possible because Kain, the sole surviving imperial bloodline and bearer of an awakened Sigil, served as the rallying point.
If he were to die, that crucial center would vanish, and the imperial faction would crumble like a sandcastle once more.
Count Landerck could not bear such risk.
Yet Kain’s stance was firm.
“If we send Count Haren as proxy, we will lose the assassination cell.”
Kain understood the count’s concerns and even sympathized.
But he had no intention of changing his decision.
The reason was simple.
“Do you think the cells under the Hassassin knew nothing of the Haren family?”
The Haren Earldom had trained the Hassassin since ancient times.
Even after imperial authority collapsed and the Five Pillars rose, though they had declared neutrality, traces of the Haren family remained.
In other words, even if contact had been severed after the Hassassin were massacred, some of the subordinate cells might still attempt to reach the Haren family through traditional methods.
“The fact that Count Haren has received no contact until now means the assassination cell has been waiting for us to reach out first.”
“I simply cannot understand the minds of assassins.”
Kain chuckled at the incredulous expression on Count Landerck’s face.
“Assassins are strange folk by nature. You must never judge them by common sense.”
In truth, it was less strange than rational calculation.
A failing imperial faction versus the already dominant Five Pillars.
Anyone who was not a fool would weigh the realistic benefits.
But there was no need to explain all that, so Kain merely said as much and checked the familiar seal on the note taken from the raven.
A seal still vivid in his memories from his days as a developer.
Among the countless assassin groups on the continent, this one was uniquely special: the mark of Nightmare.
“Would it not be better to summon them to the citadel?”
Count Landerck thought and judged solely from the perspective of the Emperor’s safety.
Under normal protocol, summoning former subordinates of the Hassassin to the citadel would be no issue…
But the problem was that they were Nightmare.
The leader of Nightmare, Isabella Daywalker, was a sacred-blood vampire, a remnant of the mythic age.
In the world of Empire Heroic Legend, many heterogenous races existed, and among them, sacred-blood vampires were particularly special beings.
Unlike true-bloods, sacred-blood vampires were existences so exalted they bordered on immortality.
Though most had vanished after the War of the End, Kain—the developer—knew that some sacred-blood vampires, much like dragons in fantasy novels, hid their true nature and lived in amusement among mortals.
And if his memory served, the current master of Nightmare was precisely that: a sacred-blood vampire in the midst of her diversion, Isabella Daywalker.
Sacred-blood vampires who had lived for incalculable ages acted not for profit but for their own amusement.
Why had Isabella, cut off from the imperial house since the Founding Day Catastrophe, answered his call?
Kain guessed it was because she found it interesting.
Though not certain, the likely source of that interest was the Sigil he had awakened.
The Star Thrones slumbering within the Sigils were themselves remnants of the mythic age, just like her.
Kain surmised that had piqued her curiosity.
“Haa…”
Letting out a deep sigh, Kain dragged his weary body down the long corridor.
Lately he had been so busy digesting the Emperor’s schedule from dawn till dusk that he scarcely had a moment to breathe.
Just moments ago he had been receiving diplomatic envoys from the Kingdom of Vizendium in the audience chamber.
Though its national power had waned compared to the past, the Felberg Empire remained a great power on the continent.
To maintain imperial prestige, relations with neighboring countries could not be neglected.
Especially now, when suspicions that the Empire’s standing was no longer what it once was—fueled by the Founding Day Catastrophe and the plaza attack on Coronation Day—were growing daily.
As the new Emperor, Kain had no choice but to pay special attention to diplomacy with allied nations.
And since the Kingdom of Vizendium was one of the few remaining allies of the declining Felberg Empire, he had spent even more time and effort than usual.
It’s troublesome being this busy.
This nation was an empire.
Its territory was vast, and countless nobles and lords swore loyalty beneath the Felberg banner.
Though it walked the path of decline, the Felberg Empire was still a colossal realm.
That should have been reassuring for an emperor…
But the sheer volume of duties he had to handle personally was a massive problem.
For an extra who had possessed a corpse and now had to prevent the world’s destruction in place of the dead protagonist, it was doubly so.
To stop the apocalypse, he needed to monopolize the various fortuitous encounters originally meant for the protagonist using his developer knowledge.
But state affairs were so demanding that he had no time to go seeking those opportunities.
At this rate, even having transmigrated, he would achieve little more than the original Kain could have.
This won’t do. First I have to put out the most urgent fires.
He needed to use his developer knowledge to claim the protagonist’s destined opportunities.
But to do that, stabilizing the noisy interior and exterior of the Empire right now was the top priority.
Everything had its order of precedence.
“Your Majesty, are you all right?”
Perhaps because he had worn a dark and grave expression the entire walk down the corridor, Baron Heinrich Denver—the commander of the Imperial Guard escorting him closely—took one step closer and asked cautiously.
“I’m fine. Just have a lot on my mind.”
He did not bother explaining further.
“Are you not pushing yourself too hard?”
“Even if I want rest, I can’t for a while.”
At that moment, as Kain answered and strode forward, Grand Mage Damien Pavel appeared before him as if materializing from thin air.
“Your Majesty.”
The ancient grand mage bowed politely in greeting.
“Marquis Pavel? What brings you?”
Damien Pavel, the grand mage who had been wrongfully exiled long ago.
In the process of recently restoring his honor, Kain had also revived his marquisate.
Though his former domain now lay within the Five Pillars’ sphere and could not be returned, Damien Pavel was already grateful that the legitimate Emperor had restored his title and honor.
“I have succeeded in perfectly preserving the body of Baron Hog Melros, who became a demon.”
By preserving the demon’s corpse intact, they now possessed irrefutable evidence.
Show this to an inquisitor dispatched from the Holy Kingdom, and they would go mad with joy.
Kain smiled.
The first step of the counterattack was about to begin.