A garden adorned with decorations so splendid that the word “luxurious” hardly did it justice, filled with flowers of various colors.
At the center of that place, in front of a massive fountain, stood a man.
Just then, from behind him, a man in noble attire with purple hair and a monocle over his left eye silently approached.
“Aren’t the flowers beautiful?”
“They’re dawn-welcoming flowers. Quite a mysterious hue.”
The sight of the pale purple flowers in full bloom around the fountain was rather impressive.
“Do you know the meaning that the dawn-welcoming flowers hold?”
“The meaning of the dawn-welcoming flowers… If my memory serves me correctly, fully bloomed dawn-welcoming flowers signify ‘a foolish end,’ or ‘death.’ Duke Kosak Tiberian.”
“As expected from someone from the magic tower of the great empire; you seem to have read many rare books. The true flower language of the dawn-welcoming flowers isn’t as widely known as one might think. Impressive, Count Lucif Blaine.”
Duke Tiberian turned slowly toward Count Blaine with a small murmur of admiration.
“The fact that you’ve come to see me means the flow of the times has deviated from our previous expectations.”
“You’re as perceptive as ever, Duke Tiberian.”
“I’m different from Hans. I have no talent for magic or swordsmanship, but I’ve been praised for my cleverness since childhood.”
He mentioned his past memories with a sense of pride.
Unlike Duke Deneve, Duke Tiberian’s personal martial prowess was utterly insignificant.
He had realized early on that he had no talent for swordsmanship, and using his wealthy family’s power, he bought expensive elixirs and rare magical tomes to learn precious spells. It was through abundant financial resources that he had barely reached the level of a ‘high mage.’
However, in place of his poor aptitude for swordsmanship and magic, he possessed a brilliant intellect that could pierce through the complex political situations of the continent and the interests between nations. Based on that, he had placed countless merchant groups across the continent directly or indirectly under his influence.
“I hear Hans has lost his temper again? That fellow has always had a problem with getting excited easily and hating to lose.”
“You already know everything, Duke Tiberian.”
“Count Blaine. I’m aware that you have many informants operating in secret under you, but I also have the ability to gather information on what I want to know. Especially in the southern part of the Felberg Empire, including the central and southern regions of the continent, I’ve scattered many larks. I’m busy every morning listening to the news they bring.”
He spoke leisurely, but for some reason, his voice carried a sharp edge.
Although he was in the position of borrowing the power of the Meiyah Great Empire to completely topple the imperial family of the Felberg Empire, Duke Tiberian still held high pride as a ‘duke’ of the empire.
In response to his somewhat intoxicated tone and manner, Count Blaine silently sneered inwardly.
That needless pride is still the same.
Most of the nobles in the Felberg Empire gave off a similar vibe to Duke Tiberian.
The imperial family had lost its authority, and with incompetent or wastrel-like royals successively weakening the imperial power, the empire’s influence had been on a continuous path of decline. Yet, simply because it still maintained the form of an ’empire,’ they possessed an excessively rigid and lofty pride.
Compared to the Meiyah Great Empire, they’re pathetically weak and insignificant, barely maintaining their power, yet their self-esteem pierces the heavens.
It almost made him laugh.
But for now, they were still useful pawns.
Not only for the Meiyah Great Empire but also from the perspective of Count Lucif Blaine, who worked for a secretive force, the ‘friendly cooperative relationship’ with the Five Dukes of the Felberg Empire needed to be maintained further. Therefore, even though he could clearly see the ugly inner side of his counterpart, he refrained from uttering reckless words.
At least for now, in the stage where he had to use the pawn called the ‘Five Dukes’ for the ‘grand plan.’
“So, Count Blaine. If you don’t mind, there’s something I’d like to ask.”
“What is it?”
“Do you have countermeasures? We’re not fully prepared yet.”
In the Felberg Empire, three factions had formed: the emperor’s loyalists, the neutrals who banded together for survival, and the faction of the Five Dukes.
Even when the neutrals were intact, the Five Dukes’ power wasn’t overwhelmingly strong enough to crush the loyalists. That’s why they had deliberately shown restraint to avoid civil war as much as possible.
But now, with the wastrel who awakened the stigmata succeeding the throne, the situation had changed significantly. A considerable number of neutrals had already pledged allegiance to the loyalists or were eyeing them.
Now, from the Five Dukes’ standpoint, to oust the current emperor while preparing for civil war, they needed to gather more power.
That’s why even Duke Deneve, famous for his foul temper, wasn’t actually advancing his army toward the loyalist nobles.
“I’m not thinking of avoiding conflict, but the timing isn’t good. We need more time.”
In preparation for a civil war against the forces of the loyalist nobles following Cain, the emperor of the Felberg Empire, various preparations were in place, but Duke Tiberian personally thought it was necessary to avoid full-scale clashes for now.
That’s why he asked Count Lucif Blaine, the collaborator from the Meiyah Great Empire who came to deliver the news, if there were countermeasures.
However, the answer he received was different from what he expected.
“It’s truly regrettable, but there are no effective countermeasures at present.”
“No countermeasures?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
Count Blaine’s voice, delivering an answer different from expectations, was exceedingly cold.
“Thanks to Duke Hans Deneve’s grand outburst, the military tension between factions is piercing the skies… and you say there are no countermeasures. Very interesting.”
Count Blaine found Duke Tiberian’s attitude absurd, but he didn’t show any change in emotion.
“Duke Deneve’s unilateral action was something we hadn’t calculated either. That’s why we couldn’t prepare countermeasures swiftly. We express deep regret on this matter as those who promised assistance.”
Count Blaine subtly sent a provocative glance at Duke Tiberian while particularly emphasizing the word ‘regret.’
From his expression, gestures, and tone, it seemed more like he was expressing regret over Duke Deneve’s unilateral action rather than the failure to prepare countermeasures—and indeed that was the case—so Duke Tiberian had no choice but to smile outwardly.
But inwardly, he felt like grinding his teeth.
“A military clash between armies must not happen like this. You know that too, Count.”
“Of course. I know it very well.”
“So, I’d like to make a proposal.”
“I’ll hear it first.”
Gazing at the insidious noble from the Meiyah Great Empire with coldly glinting eyes, Duke Kosak Tiberian slowly opened his mouth with a dry, unshaken expression.
“Those subordinates of yours left near the capital Granada. Can they move now?”
“Them?”
“Yes, them.”
Meaningful words were exchanged.
Though not explained in detail, the two nobles could guess the identity of ‘them’ that the other was referring to.
The ‘them’ the two nobles were speaking of were the numerous black mages hidden near the capital Granada—those directly or indirectly involved in the founding festival catastrophe and the coronation attack.
Unlike the straightforward and brutish Duke Deneve, Duke Tiberian knew that Count Blaine had some connection to the black mages.
Of course, he hadn’t delved into the details.
“Can they move?”
“I can send orders via telegram magic, but the risk is high. Recently, that guy called the Beheading Priest arrived in Granada, and with the emperor mobilizing troops for a massive sweep of adjacent areas, most of the mercenaries I attached as escorts have become corpses. They’re all more cowardly and insidious than one might think, so without meat shields to put in front, they won’t move rashly.”
Meat shields… In other words, it meant they needed mercenaries to serve as shields for the black mages at the vanguard.
Having accurately understood Count Blaine’s request, Duke Tiberian nodded slightly and slowly opened his mouth.
“Then, what if I provide mercenaries for them to use as meat shields? Will those hiding near the capital crawl out?”
The distance to the capital Granada was far, but providing mercenaries there wasn’t particularly difficult for Duke Tiberian.
He had numerous merchant groups of various scales under him, from small to large, and he held influence over many operating in the southern Felberg Empire and the central continent.
Sending mercenaries could be done by disguising them as escorts for trade caravans using several small to medium merchant groups that wouldn’t arouse suspicion, sending them north.
Of course, to avoid the imperial legion or the imperial army’s vigilance network, he couldn’t send high-level ones, and the numbers would be limited, but since what they wanted right now wasn’t an army but an appropriate number of meat shields, it probably wouldn’t matter much.
“Around 300 mercenaries should be sufficient, right?”
“It should be enough. Once they have the initial forces, the meat shields will increase over time anyway.”
Count Blaine replied with a pleased smile.
However, Duke Tiberian failed to grasp the true meaning of the ‘meat shields’ that the count muttered insidious.
Late night had arrived, but Cain couldn’t fall asleep easily.
As the clock’s second and minute hands slowly closed the distance toward midnight, unable to seek rest in his bedroom, he eventually changed into light outing clothes and stepped into the hallway.
However, as soon as he exited the bedroom, he encountered two knights guarding the hallway—familiar faces.
“Sir Schweizen, and Sir Rodolfo.”
Faces he had seen often since his time at Canossa Fortress.
“We greet Your Majesty the Emperor.”
“I need some fresh air. Follow me.”
Cain led the two knights paying him respects to the nearest garden.
The garden close to the bedroom was less ornate, but its proximity made it convenient for a late-night stroll like this.
But then.
The commander of the Imperial Guard Knights, Viscount Heinrich Denver, came running toward him with a somewhat complex expression, trudging along.
“Your Majesty! Undead have appeared!”
“Where?”
“Honorsway!”
At Viscount Denver’s answer, Cain’s expression hardened coldly.
Because Honorsway was a small village located very close to the capital Granada.