Chapter 68: The Grand Deception

“What, what’s going on?”

“Oh my! Hurry inside, children!”

The streets of the capital were in an uproar at the unexpected scene.

Right in the middle of the road.

Rows of soldiers marched with heavy steps.

On the faces of the soldiers, all clad in matching red leather armor, there was a look of grim determination.

They advanced in silence along the main avenue that led to the Imperial Palace.

And at the front of the line, there was Marquis Fabian, riding on horseback.

A black cape fluttered in the wind over his silver full-plate mail.

Led by the standard-bearer holding a vivid purple insignia, he drew the eyes of the crowd, but marched on without so much as blinking.

Behind him followed the nobles and their private soldiers, summoned from all corners for this very day.

Shields bearing different crests reflected the sunlight, and the sound of horses’ hooves echoed loudly through the streets.

“The army...? Don’t tell me...”

“It’s war! Marquis Fabian has raised a rebellion!”

Merchants hurried to bolt the doors of their shops.

Mothers clutching their children slipped into the alleyways, and windows were quickly closed in every home.

Just like that...

As they entered the central plaza of the capital, the Marquis’s horse came to a halt.

The private soldiers lined up in formation, and the Marquis raised his voice.

“Today! We shall establish a new order for the Schubert Empire!”

“Waaah!”

A powerful cheer followed his declaration.

“To make the Empire stronger! More prosperous! This march shall go down in the annals of Schubert, and our descendants will be proud of you!”

“Waaaaaaah!”

At the sound of their cheers, the commoners nearby shook their heads.

“Bah, what nonsense. What? More prosperous? For themselves, maybe.”

“Shh! They’ll hear you!”

“Wasn’t this what that Rogis fellow was rambling about while drunk the other day? Saying soon, everyone might have a chance to make a fortune.”

“To raise an army the moment His Majesty passes... They’re shameless, without a shred of decency!”

Most people did not approve of the Marquis’s actions.

Their intentions were obvious.

As always, it was only those at the top who prospered.

Ordinary folk like them were never considered.

But just because they didn’t like it, didn’t mean they could do anything about it.

Most of the capital’s business was already in their hands; to survive, they had no choice but to appease them.

“Let’s go, to the Imperial Palace!”

The Marquis’s voice rang out again, loud and clear.

“Damn it, all this during the mourning period.”

“Now the Empire is sure to fall into the Marquis’s hands...”

“Will His Highness the Crown Prince be able to stop them?”

Watching the departing army, the people were anxious.

They knew all too well just how great the Marquis’s influence was, and what kind of power he wielded.

---

At that same moment, urgent movements were taking place within the Imperial Palace.

Pale-faced guards rushed to Rohan to report.

“Your Highness! At the outer wall... an armed force is entering the palace!”

It had come at last.

“William, send the prepared signal.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“Martin, you come with me to the spire.”

“Understood.”

“Rohan, what’s going on?”

At that moment, Isabel, who had been standing watch over the funeral, caught his arm.

“The Marquis has made his move.”

“What?”

Isabel immediately glanced at Empress Cheryl, and feeling her gaze, the Empress turned her head.

A silent exchange of glances passed.

“You’re going to the spire? I’m coming too.”

Isabel made up her mind to follow Rohan.

“All right, let’s go.”

“Your Highness.”

It was Drake, captain of the Imperial Guard, Vertion, approaching Rohan.

“Sir Drake, keep control here. No one must get hurt.”

“Of course. You may go without worry.”

Rohan nodded.

The Vertion Knights had already been assigned the task of protecting everyone inside the palace during the crisis.

The three of them climbed the spire and confirmed the sight of a black mass in the distance.

Far off, the purple banners fluttered slowly in the wind as they approached.

“That’s quite a crowd he’s gathered.”

Isabel let out a hollow laugh.

“That’s actually less than it could have been. Several nobles who once followed the Marquis have left his side recently.”

“Oh, those who cast the ‘unexpected opposition vote,’ right?”

She must have been referring to Count Frollan and his close friends.

“That’s right. They’ve now joined our side to strike against the Marquis.”

As he spoke, Rohan began putting on his gloves.

Then he stepped beneath the ancient bell hanging in the spire.

“What are you doing?”

Isabel looked baffled, and Rohan smiled as he gripped the bell’s thick rope.

“You know, the last time this spire’s bell rang was back in the old days, during the ‘Hundred Years’ War.’”

“What?”

“Do you think such an old bell still rings well?”

“W-wait a minute—”

Before Isabel could protest—

“Hup!”

Rohan gave the rope a mighty pull.

Daaang...!

The tremendous ringing of the bell echoed across the entire palace, causing both Martin and Isabel to instinctively clap their hands over their ears.

Dang, daang...!

Rohan rang the bell three times in total, then dusted off his hands with a satisfied look.

“Phew, at least it still works well.”

“Why the sudden bell? My ears are about to burst!”

Isabel shouted, exasperated, and Rohan silently raised his arm to point in a direction.

“What...?”

Turning her head, Isabel’s eyes went wide.

“Wow, what’s that now?”

Marquis Fabian’s soldiers had advanced all the way to the front of the palace.

But now, another group of soldiers was slowly closing in, surrounding them.

“In the hunting grounds, three bell tolls mean the hunt is beginning.”

Rohan smiled as he shielded his eyes from the sunlight.

“And right now. It looks like the prey has walked straight into the trap.”

---

Dang, dang, daang...!

“Hm? What’s that sound?”

“That massive bell... what is it?”

The soldiers advancing on the palace began to turn their heads in confusion at the tremendous bell toll.

“Don’t pay attention to that! We simply march forward!”

His command was firm.

But the bell was not just some disturbance.

It was a sound none had ever heard before.

That deep, heavy ringing spread beyond the palace and made the streets vibrate.

They were nearly at the palace when it happened.

“Sir! To our left... an armed force has appeared!”

At the soldier’s cry, the Marquis snapped his head around.

Between the buildings on the left, hidden by dust and smoke—

Shapes clad in gleaming armor began to emerge.

“That’s...”

The Marquis’s eyes narrowed.

The black eagle crest emblazoned on their shields and banners was a familiar sight to him.

“The Crown Prince’s knights.”

He sneered.

After seeing them at the illegal auction, he’d done his research on the Boronia Knights.

Their entire force amounted to just fifty.

What’s more, the group was largely composed of knights of common birth—a gathering of riffraff and nobodies.

“Strike them down! There are only fifty at most!”

They alone had more than five hundred men. On top of that, there were more than enough elite swordsmen.

But...

“Not just the left, sir! There’s more in the alley to the right...!”

Now, from the opposite side, soldiers in blue armor began drawing swords and filling the alleys.

“What is this?”

The Marquis was baffled.

If they wore blue armor, they were likely those following the conservative nobles.

But so many at once?

“Sir! Troops of various affiliations are pouring in from behind as well! Judging by their crests, the ones in the lead are Count Frollan’s men!”

“This... what the...!”

The Marquis’s face twisted.

So Frollan had finally decided to turn against him!

“I should have killed him when he cast that opposition vote.”

He growled like a beast.

Like a giant net, soldiers from each faction were slowly encircling the Marquis’s forces.

At that moment—

Twang—!

“Argh!”

“Guh!”

Soldiers on either side of the Marquis’s force began to fall, struck by arrows.

“A-ambush!”

“It’s an ambush! Raise your shields! Protect your heads and chests!”

Caught off guard, the soldiers panicked, and several more fell to the arrows.

“Could they have been prepared for this all along?”

The Marquis’s grip tightened around his riding crop.

He had expected a frontal confrontation, or at most chaos within the palace.

He had never imagined a standoff like this.

The Marquis had no way of knowing.

Rohan had already been certain he would raise an army.

And that he would make his move, of all days, on the very first day of the funeral.

The enemy was everywhere.

The Marquis realized he had walked into a trap.

He gritted his teeth.

‘I can’t... I can’t just let this happen.’

He raised his riding crop high into the air.

“Reform the ranks! Our troops are all elites! Their numbers may seem great, but they’re all just straw men!”

But a sense of unease had already spread among his soldiers.

“Weren’t we the ones supposed to attack?”

“Damn, shouldn’t we be running?”

Some had already lost their will to fight, overwhelmed by the difference in numbers.

Just then—

The great doors of the palace, tightly shut until now, swung open with a sound.

Step, step, step.

Through the doors, a man walked out.

A cape billowed grandly behind him, black epaulets of the mourning attire reflecting the light.

He advanced without any hint of hostility or celebration, simply cutting through the space.

And behind him followed a large, beast-like man.

Marquis Fabian’s nose wrinkled in displeasure.

“...Rohan.”

“Marquis. You did not attend His Majesty’s funeral.”

When Rohan spoke, the entire battlefield fell silent, as if holding its breath.

“And yet, to plot rebellion on the very first day of the funeral. That takes some astonishing nerve.”

Amidst the tension, Rohan appeared more at ease than ever.

“Let me tell you an amusing fact.”

Rohan walked slowly toward the Marquis and whispered quietly.

“In truth... His Majesty is perfectly alive. This was all just a play to ensnare you.”

“...!”

At Rohan’s words, blood vessels bulged in the Marquis’s eyes.

The Emperor was not dead?

Hadn’t everyone confirmed it for themselves?

“What nonsense!”

The Marquis refused to believe it.

Not just Emilia, but nearly all the royals had confirmed the Emperor’s death themselves.

“Don’t believe me? Ah, no. It’s not that you don’t believe—it’s that you don’t want to.”

Rohan bared his teeth in a wide grin.

Then he shouted.

“What are you waiting for! Arrest these traitors at once!”

At Rohan’s cry, the soldiers charged at the Marquis’s men with shouts of their own.

The Marquis clenched his fists, eyes blazing.

“Do you think... do you think I’ll go down alone, so pathetically?”

“What...?”

As Rohan turned at the Marquis’s desperate words—

“Shakan. Kill the Crown Prince!”

At the same time.

Twang!

A swift arrow flew straight toward Rohan.