Izuna Hela.
The current acting Duchess and the former noble daughter of the now-ruined Helra Ducal Territory.
She was a third-year senior when Kail first entered the Academy, and she possesses the extraordinary ability to see status windows through her Force power.
Kail successfully seduced her. It wasn’t particularly hard. She was searching for something to rule in place of her ruined duchy, and Kail’s offer of an empire made her fall for it hook, line, and sinker.
“—In that sense, we should start by taking control of the revolutionary army.”
“Why the revolutionary army?”
“If commoners without roots overthrow the Empire, they won’t have any justification… but if I do it, it’s different.”
She is a duchess, a distant relative of the current royal family, and a high-ranking noble ranked 7th in the line of succession. If the plan wasn’t to completely destroy the Empire and purge all the nobles within it, Izuna Hela needed to become the hidden backing force of the revolutionary army.
Though he didn’t fully grasp the political logic, Kail understood enough to know they had to seize control of the revolutionary army. He immediately summoned Merlin, took Izuna with him, and headed toward the capital of the Empire.
Finding the headquarters of the revolutionary army wasn’t difficult. Kail had more than enough Aura to cover the entire city, and Merlin had a bird’s-eye view map of the Empire.
But the headquarters they found…
“Seriously, this place is full of rotten scum.”
Unfortunately, the revolutionary army was so packed with spies from other countries that it might as well have been called a spy organization rather than a revolutionary army.
Using her status window ability, Izuna Hela quickly discerned this fact and eliminated the foreign spies. There were some minor disturbances during the process, but suppressing them entirely didn’t take much effort.
“I am Izuna Hela, Duchess. I am 7th in line for the throne and the rightful heir to the Hela Duchy.”
“Wha, what is someone of such high standing doing here…?”
“You wouldn’t have known—but this revolutionary army was created by me. I, too, became disillusioned with the current royal family and started this revolution.—However, these people weren’t working to overthrow the Empire for its own sake but were spies working for other nations. So I dealt with them.”
A barrage of blatant lies flowed out like machine gun fire, but no one doubted Izuna. Her youthful appearance contrasted sharply with her dignified demeanor, which helped dispel suspicion. But above all—
“My identity is vouched for by Kail Meyer! You must know him, right? The hero who personally defeated the Evil God! The Sword Saint, Kail Meyer!”
“Yes, yes! Of course we do…”
“The Sword Saint is with us!?”
“Now we can kill all those damn knights…!”
It also helped that Kail Meyer, whose face was already well-known, stood by her side. The Empire’s citizens naturally recognized Kail’s face, and thus they couldn’t help but believe Izuna’s words.
Who—or what—could they trust if they didn’t trust the hero who killed a god and saved the Empire?
Not to mention, if Kail were truly as powerful as the rumors suggested, breaking down the gates of the Imperial Palace and killing the secluded Emperor would be child’s play. Even if only half the rumors were true, his Aura Blade could shatter the palace gates from kilometers away.
“—We’ve waited long enough.”
Izuna smirked as she glanced at Kail. She had always believed in taking the easy path when available, and now she had the strongest sword in the world by her side.
Negotiations weren’t necessary, but if she wanted, she could drag the opposition to the negotiating table and force them into an absurdly unequal treaty.
“The revolution ends today.”
With that, she led the revolutionary citizens toward the Imperial Capital.
***
“Step down, Emperor!”
“Step down! Step down!”
The Empire’s citizens rose up en masse, all heading toward the Imperial Palace. Normally, they would have been suppressed by soldiers, or recently, slaughtered by the Knight Order. But at least for now, there was no sign of that happening.
First, the sheer number of people gathered was overwhelming. A few individuals might have been manageable, but it seemed like every single person living in the imperial capital had shown up. Slaughtering such numbers would be a burden even for the Emperor.
And above all—Kail Meyer stood at the forefront. The Empire’s hero, the Sword Saint, the Godslayer. Even if the Emperor had gone mad, he wouldn’t dare raise a blade against the Sword Saint.
“…Kail Meyer. What exactly are you doing here?”
“I don’t have anything to say. She’ll handle everything.”
In the end, Kail Meyer, Izuna Hela, and a young revolutionary leader managed to enter the Imperial Palace without bloodshed.
Meanwhile, the other members of the revolutionary army were still making a racket outside the palace gates. Realizing that the Knight Order wasn’t stopping them, they grew even bolder, shouting loud enough to shake the palace walls.
—Down with the Emperor!
If not for the soundproofing magic cast inside and outside the palace, the reception room where they stood would have been drowned in the noise of the protesters.
“—So, Izuna Hela. Why have you come before me?”
“First—allow me to pay my respects to Your Majesty, the great Emperor.”
“Hah—what kind of greeting is this after barging in like this?”
“What does it matter how I arrived? Respecting one’s elders is far more important.”
Hearing Izuna Hela’s words, the Emperor clicked his tongue in disapproval and stared at her.
The gaze of a ruler who had spent his life towering over others bore into her. Even as the Empire crumbled, his will and charisma showed no signs of faltering.
Gulp—the sound of the revolutionary leader swallowing nervously echoed beside her as Izuna calmly presented her request.
“The reason I’m here is simple, Your Majesty. Please step down from the throne.”
“You’re telling me to abdicate?”
“If you don’t want to be deposed.”
“And why should I?”
“You have responsibilities to bear.”
Izuna fixed the Emperor with a sharp gaze.
“The summoning of the Evil God… No one anticipated it, nor could anyone imagine it happening. But now that it has, someone must take responsibility.”
“And why must that someone be me? Plenty of others can shoulder the blame! There’s a pile of fools willing to take the fall instead of me!”
“That kind of cutting off tails won’t work this time, Your Majesty. Other kingdoms have caught wind of it. If you don’t step down, the Allied Forces organized by the Holy Kingdom will invade the Empire.”
“…The Holy Kingdom? What nonsense is this—”
Seeing the Emperor’s bewildered expression, Izuna realized just how dire the Empire’s situation had become.
Even with all their intelligence and administrative resources poured into the imperial capital, how could they not know about an invading army at their doorstep?
“Were you unaware? The Holy Kingdom has already labeled the current royal family as puppets of the Evil God Cult. Other kingdoms, under the pretext of eradicating the cult, have formed an alliance, and their forces have already infiltrated the Meyer territory. Your Majesty.”
“How could I not know about such a thing! My counselors!”
“We’re… We’re sorry, Your Majesty. We didn’t have the means…”
“The Empire has suffered, but to think it would come to this! Pathetic!”
As the Emperor muttered almost petulantly, Izuna looked at him as if to ask if he was done speaking.
The Emperor, still unbroken, met her gaze and shook his head.
“It seems I’ll have to clarify things myself. I still see no reason to abdicate my throne.”
“Aabdication? Your Majesty, how could you even think of passing the throne to your bloodline? The only options you have are to transfer your power to me or to have me seize it by force.”
“You, you insolent wretch! How dare you speak such words in front of me!”
Furious at Izuna’s bold declaration of seizing the throne, the Emperor tried to rise, but Kail’s Aura Blade surrounded him faster than he could stand.
Frozen mid-rise, the Emperor glared at Kail, who signaled with his eyes to hurry things along.
“Your Majesty. Since you seem to misunderstand, let me make this simple. Do you want to live, or do you want to die?”
“Even if you do this, others won’t accept it—!”
“You want to die?”
“…You, you really… Is there no other way?”
“You should’ve kept better tabs on your son.”
Kail gave a bitter smile as he spoke to the Emperor.
“Bellion was also my friend, after all.”
In the end, the Emperor had no choice but to transfer his power to the two of them. Izuna, having received the throne legitimately, smiled joyfully.
Once the discussion ended, the princes and princesses who arrived late to the reception room wore expressions of shock at the loss of their royal authority.
Princess Ludmira of the First Rank, however, was different.
“—Your Majesty Izuna. As your cousin, you’ll grant me the title of duchess, won’t you?”
“…You have quite the strong mentality, Sister.”
“Oh my, Your Majesty. You should lower your tone.”
She was an opportunist.
***
And so, the revolution succeeded.
“Waaaaaah!”
“Long live the Emperor! Long live the Revolutionary Army!”
The former Emperor, who followed the Evil God, and his bloodline stepped down, and news of a new emperor ruling the Empire brought joy to the citizens.
However, Izuna, newly crowned as Empress, couldn’t fully rejoice. Numerous problems lay ahead.
“—Which is why I need your help.”
“What? Isn’t making me Emperor enough? What more do you want?”
“I’ll give you two choices. One: you become the Commander of the Imperial Guard.”
“What’s that supposed to—”
“The other option is that you become my husband.”
Kail’s eyes widened as if to ask if she was serious. Izuna simply shrugged, as if to say, “What can you do?”
Kail finally realized that when you mess with others, it always comes back to bite you.
