On a sweltering day in August, the kind that puts you on edge just by standing still, the atmosphere around the imperial capital, Silentalouon, was charged with unrest and foreboding as the sun began to set at 6 PM.
“Arraaaarrrr!”
The Southern light cavalry, mounted on fear birds, galloped through various corners of the capital.
Zziiing!
Knights clad in massive armor, belching steam, secured the eastern gate next to the canal.
The constables were nowhere to be seen, and their absence had been filled by the retainers of the great lords who had come from various regions.
“Secure this street!”
“How’s the movement of the Central Army?”
Knights bearing various flags and crests surged through the streets.
“I’m scared.”
“Let’s get inside. Let’s hide until it’s over, like a year and a half ago.”
The citizens, the former owners of the streets, either hid inside their homes or charged out, filled with rage.
“Kill the bandit Valencius!”
“Kill the Infiltrator Valenccius!”
The mage’s keen senses detected all the ominous signs but remained composed.
“Is that armor inscribed with lightning spells too?”
“Your Highness.”
“Cariosa couldn’t withstand this, could she? Can you check if you are any different?”
She didn’t understand the world in which people lived in disarray.
Krrrrr!
She unsheathed her claws like a frightened cat.
The only difference was that her claws were far sharper than any cat’s, capable of slicing open any great lord’s belly with ease.
The clouds that had been scattered across the sky at sunset began to gather once more, and yellow lightning flickered in her yellow eyes.
Two mechanical knights who had come down from the underground paused momentarily.
Fwoooooosh—
A humid wind swept through, like the calm before the storm, causing Sererassie’s long, dark blue hair to sway with static.
The citizens, filled with fury and ready to charge through the Ironblood Party’s troops, now wore worried faces as they gazed up at the unsettling atmosphere.
“Could it be Valencius again?”
“What is he trying to do this time?”
They knew Sererassie was a powerful mage, but they never imagined a human could manipulate the weather.
However, the most dangerous great lord from the West easily dodged Sererassie’s claws.
“Your Highness.”
“…….”
“The people are becoming more agitated. They think this sky is also the magic of Duke Valencius. At this rate, it seems a riot will ensue that even my soldiers won’t be able to quell.”
“…….”
“You can’t just let them die, can you? Still a sibling, after all? Ha ha.”
Sererassie was a genius in magic, but she didn’t know when to use that magic most effectively.
Having spent her days in the workshop, hardly engaging in worldly matters, she lacked information on the current state of the empire.
It was a rule not to meddle with things one did not understand.
“Damn Valencius!”
“Princess Sererassie! Please give that Infiltrator a death sentence.”
The times and situations compelled her to make a choice.
Marcus smiled slyly.
“Follow me.”
Sererassie climbed onto the mechanical knight’s back and into Marcus’s mechanical carriage.
People shouted as they saw Valencius joining them, but the mechanical knights and Marcus’s elite soldiers pushed them back through strange-sounding magical tools.
Sererassie looked around inside the carriage.
The high roof of the carriage allowed her to keep her pointed hat on without difficulty.
“I also enjoy wearing a top hat.”
Ordinary people might appreciate Marcus’s peculiar tastes, admiring the luxurious velvet and gear decorations, but her eyes saw beyond that.
The frame made of Gremoryus’s black steel, which had excellent mana absorptive properties; the intricate spells engraved on the wheels and axles; the shock-absorbing structure utilizing springs; the control levers using a servant beast’s heart and domination spells…
Marcus discerned that she recognized all those details.
‘What a gem of a person. Indeed, the Ivory Tower has missed out on talent.’
A woman destined to become the empire’s greatest lightning mage sat side by side with a man already called the greatest mage-engineer in the empire, each maintaining a distance of several centimeters.
Marcus spoke first.
“Princess Sererassie, aren’t you curious where we are headed right now?”
Sererassie glanced at Valencius, who lay slumped in the seat ahead, and replied.
“I don’t know where we are going, but it must be a place favorable to you rather than me?”
“Ha ha. Just as the rumors say, you’re quite aloof. Instead of that, just take a look out the window once.”
Reluctantly, Sererassie turned her head.
The carriage had already exited the east gate and was crossing a massive bridge.
To the south, flags and tents belonging to the Central Army, which was following the imperial family, were visible, and facing east were what seemed to be about one and a half times more flags and tents.
Directly in the midst was the airship Nibelungen.
There were many crests she recognized from somewhere, but Sererassie was unfamiliar with them, while Marcus, smiling like an adult, began to point them out.
“That flag in the front is the crest of the Instrumentum family. The flag next to it and the one beside that belongs to Purioaito and Gremoryus, respectively. That White Shark flag is held by a Knight Banneret granted authority by Cariosa of Asenorta. The four tall flagpoles standing next are our western dukes, while the nine poles surrounding them are the western counts.”
“So?”
“Those fear bird cavalry are led by three dukes and sixteen counts from the southwest, along with the absurdly strong admiral, Caesar.”
“I see.”
“Not many came from the south. After all, the admiral didn’t show up. Still, three counts personally came, and five Knight Bannerets brought an army.”
Sererassie blinked, struggling to comprehend those words.
Her sculpted face tilted slightly like a baby bird, giving her an aloof and indifferent appearance.
‘Is she saying it doesn’t concern her?’
Marcus interpreted her demeanor as questioning the significance of it all, and he clapped in admiration.
“Ha ha. Whether an admiral with the count title shows up or not, or how many counts gather, it makes no difference in the grand scheme of things!”
“……?”
“Indeed, royal blood is royal blood. Well, in reality… even if we gather like this, we probably won’t last long in front of His Majesty. How long do you think we can last? A few days? No, after a few rounds of His wrath, everyone would scream like children and flee. Or they’d abandon their dignity as nobles and crawl into the imperial palace begging for mercy.”
Sererassie understood only that part.
“True. He’s not human, is he? Bowing my head in prayer to Him is not something to be embarrassed about.”
Marcus heartily agreed.
“Ha ha. Exactly. I think so too. If you confront His Majesty… there’s no way out. No matter how hard you think, there’s no means to defeat a Sword Master and a Grand Mage, is there?”
“Then—”
“The easiest title he has is that of Emperor. Ha ha. Isn’t it funny? The ‘Emperor’ who commands two hundred Sword Expert knights and over a hundred battle mages is the most manageable of all. But what can you do? It’s the truth. So, we must fulfill our responsibilities as his peers. I want to expand my territory, after all.”
Sererassie asked sincerely.
“What does capturing Valencius, that Infiltrator, have to do with your territorial expansion?”
Marcus, both a ruler and a mage, enjoyed boasting about his expertise.
“This is the proposal we’ll put forward to Him. We’ll accuse Duke Valencius of being an Infiltrator and take him to the church court, offering him a chance to evade the death penalty.”
Sererassie didn’t ask how great lords could intervene in church courts.
She wasn’t curious, nor did she think she could understand.
Marcus took her silence for bewilderment and confidently continued speaking.
“We bribed the commoner representatives and agreed to support the bill that the church will propose. We’ll have to accept some oversight from the church, but that’s not a huge issue. No matter how much the court nobles oppose, it will pass.”
“…….”
“Our alliance will achieve our goals of territorial expansion, pre-emptive strikes against foreign nations, and tax reductions. The Ivory Tower will remain silent. They have already obtained their freedom and will likely be sickened by the mundane world.”
Marcus wore a victorious smile.
A smile mingled with the triumph of a ruling noble, a conquering bourgeois, and a dedicated scholar, all suited perfectly to his stylish outfit.
“Our great lords have formed an alliance, and the church is on our side. Half of the assembly has flipped, and the Ivory Tower will keep quiet. Lady Jeilliris is a supreme being, but she’s trapped in the position of an emperor right now.”
He intertwined his real hand and prosthetic arm while gazing at Valencius, who lay slumped in the front seat like a corpse.
“Will she come to kill us all to save you? Or will she gradually strip away our rights and responsibilities to rescue you? Or will she simply let you be torn to shreds by the citizens and put a tighter leash on us?”
Valencius remained silent.
However, Marcus’s observant eye caught Valencius pretending to be unconscious.
“Valencius.”
“…….”
“You’re finished. You will either lose your life or lose what you tried to win by risking everything. I’d prefer the former. I have no personal feelings toward you, after all.”
The alliance of great lords stationed to the east of the capital made an official announcement in the square.
“We condemn Duke Valencius, the ‘Infiltrator.’ We cannot pledge our loyalty to a royal family tainted by Infiltrators!”
Right after that announcement, Argos was inaugurated as pope in front of the cathedral. Using the massive authority of the papacy, Argos introduced a bill in the imperial assembly.
This law, which would be passed in the name of the emperor, was to apply throughout the empire and in every place believing in the Church of the Radiant Light.
Though there were many clauses, the core of it was these two:
[All studies related to the old must receive approval and oversight from the church.]
[The execution authority for the crime of Infiltration is to be shared equally between the royal family and the church.]
This meant that the church could also punish Infiltrators from among the royal family, noble families, and even great lords.
Of course, the court nobles of the empire were not foolish enough to submit to such an attack from local nobility and the church.
The foreign minister began to dig up all kinds of weaknesses and secrets from drawers to sow discord among the noble alliance, Hadrian reduced the budget for the restoration of magical realm damages that the imperial family had ceremonially provided to its vassals, while the Silver Knights and Golden Knights, along with Helena, prepared for a large-scale rotation.
Naturally, the noble alliance had sufficient confidence to withstand this level of pressure, which is why they initiated it.
“The royal family’s loyal minister, Admiral Shubyugati, does not come up to the capital!”
“The admiral has also refused to swear loyalty to the Infiltrator Emperor.”
They aimed to draw the admiral, who remained at sea due to naval battles.
“Duke Seberik, the pillar of the empire who has slain countless Infiltrators!”
“What do you think about the current situation, where the family that should be most wary and loathe the Infiltrators has itself been infiltrated, allied with Infiltrators, and caused an explosion in the capital?”
They bound Seberik’s feet, who was known to have a personal bond with Valencius.
A duke with a somewhat lesser standing from the north, far less consequential than the central region.
With all the citizens flocking into the streets to vent their wrath on Valencius, the imperial family could not openly defend Valencius personally.
“I’m sorry, my friend.”
The truth about the silver-haired boy with red eyes had not become public knowledge.
The boy had entered the deepest laboratory of Nibelungen, and Marcus had no intention of bringing the boy out again.
There was still no evidence that Valencius was an Infiltrator.
He had not been verified by the church, and he could simply be labeled as a ‘mad mage.’
But everyone had seen the horns on his head.
Moreover, his reputation as the capital’s bandit had firmly ensnared him.
By pretending to be a bandit and confirming his harmlessness to the emperor, Valencius had demonstrated his harmfulness to the citizens.
“I didn’t suggest to His Majesty that you should be punished directly. Do you know why?”
Inside the tent, Marcus faced Valencius and engaged in conversation.
The two were regarded by those around them as inscrutable due to their interactions, sharing the peculiar trait of wearing suits.
“…Because we fear His wrath. The duke has no way of knowing what I am to Him.”
“Indeed. It’s too dangerous for us to take your life ourselves. That’s why we’ve entrusted the task to others outside. By now, the assembly must have convened. The court nobles will cause a ruckus, but the bill will eventually pass.”
Marcus spoke with bright eyes filled with ambition, smiling wide.
“Congratulations, Valencius.”
“…….”
“You’ve now got a leash around your neck, haven’t you?”
His voice was chilling, despite the laughter.
Valencius smirked, tilting his teacup.
Under his slightly disheveled platinum hair that could not be oiled, a playful laughter sparkled in his bright yellow eyes.
“The court nobles won’t make a fuss, though.”
“Hmm?”
“Because I asked them to.”
His red lips formed a curve, revealing a set of neat white teeth.
“I’ve won, Ironblood Party leader.”
