Chapter 93: Deceive and Be Deceived, Use and Overcome (1)
Chapter 93: Deceive and Be Deceived, Use and Overcome (1)
If it was her, she would have figured out what he wanted.
Sure enough, a clear answer came back without a hint of hesitation.
"Understood."
How competent she was.
He turned his head and took her in with his eyes. Vacant eyes met her gaze.
......He knew that she liked him.
The Duke slowly rose from his seat.
He rounded the desk and stood before Saerin, bending slightly at the waist to gently cup her hand in a soft gesture. Their gazes met, and his purple eyes curved beautifully.
Then, as his head lowered, his loosely tied purple hair brushed against the back of her hand and created a curtain around them. In that space, the Duke's lips gently descended upon the back of her hand.
A courtesy towards a noble lady.
It was only natural for Saerin, a commoner, to widen her eyes. Unable to pull her hand away, frozen, she only rolled her eyes as the Duke calmly raised his head.
A smile like a painting was directed solely at her.
"Thank you always."
"......No, it's only natural."
Saerin hurriedly left to handle her assigned task, and the Duke, watching her retreating figure, quietly adjusted his attire.
Saerin would succeed. She would sow discord among the Revolutionary Army and send some of them to the Emperor. Even with a leader like Daniel, without overwhelming numbers, they were merely prey for the Emperor.
But since there was always a one in a million chance, he couldn't afford to sit idle.
He wasn't doubting Saerin. The one he doubted was none other than the Emperor.
'If he happened to die at their hands, it would be troublesome.'
For the Emperor had always been living a life where he couldn't die.
The key was the Emperor's will to live. He had to make him want to live, even just a little.
'Conveniently, I heard the Emperor returned to the Imperial Palace not long ago.'
The Emperor couldn't be away from the Imperial Palace all the time.
No matter how well the Crown Prince handled affairs, the current Emperor of the Empire was Eduardo Desert, so he sometimes quietly returned to the Imperial Palace to check on how things were being handled.
Therefore, if he went to the Imperial Palace now, he would be able to meet the Emperor.
Without delay, the Duke ordered a carriage to be prepared and strode out of the office.
***
If one had to say, Saerin was on the side of supporting the Revolutionary Army.
With her feelings for the Duke and the barrier of her commoner status, the Revolutionary Army's ideology of abolishing the class system was truly alluring.
However, that fact never showed on the outside.
Now, she who had supported the Revolutionary Army because she loved the Duke,
was on her way to destroy the Revolutionary Army because she loved the Duke.
"Hello, Mr. Aiden."
"Ah, Lady Saerin."
"I heard the leader returned? Where is he?"
"It's obvious. He must have gone to see his mother."
A click of the tongue followed at the end of his words, as if displeased.
"With things as they are, he's not even pulling himself together and just staying away."
"Indeed."
This could be used. Saerin's eyes sparkled.
Now, to think about it. What was Aiden's personality like? Was he a greedy character? If greedy, did he lean towards wealth or power? What was his purpose for joining the Revolutionary Army?
Was his personality easy to exploit, and was his value sufficient?
"When exactly does he plan to take action?"
"I don't know. I wonder until when he plans to postpone it."
"Dear me. The Duke also seemed to be hoping the Revolutionary Army would make a move soon. This is the leader's arbitrary decision, separate from Mr. Aiden's opinion, right?"
"Of course. We're frustrated to the point of madness ourselves."
"Do you know the reason for postponing the action?"
"The reason is always the same. That the preparations aren't complete, or the timing isn't right."
"This... seems more like an excuse."
She cupped one cheek, tilted her head, and posed the question in a sly, murmuring tone.
"Have you thought about it, Mr. Aiden? Why the leader keeps postponing the action."
"......I haven't thought about it deeply, so I don't know."
She kindly brought up the doubt he had been casually glossing over.
"I've thought about it, and I wonder if perhaps the leader is reluctant to lose his current position."
"That's...."
"Isn't it so? A massive federation gathered from numerous kingdoms. The head of that federation. A power that might scatter with a new wind once the Emperor is dealt with, so it's only natural to be reluctant."
She whispered poison.
Aiden's face twisted. The fire caught on the kindling of dissatisfaction, giving birth to another negative emotion.
Saerin didn't stop there; she hurried to fan the flames lest the fire go out.
She had grasped Aiden through their conversations, and also remembered the contents recorded in the documents.
He was a character greedy in all aspects, regardless of wealth or power. His reasons for joining the Revolutionary Army were his desire to kill the Emperor and the high likelihood of the Revolutionary Army's success.
If the revolution succeeded, he intended to emphasize his participation and raise his fame. With fame, many things would follow.
He was an easy person to manipulate, and his value was sufficient given that he led a fairly large faction within the Revolutionary Army.
Then, now was the time to move.
What? Her tongue.
"So, what about you, Mr. Aiden, dealing with the Emperor and becoming the center of the new nation?"
"The Revolutionary Army is all about equality...."
"It sounds good. But where in the world is such a dreamlike world? The idea of abolishing the throne itself was absurd from the start. No, even if it's possible to abolish it, ultimately you still need core personnel to lead the nation."
The 'clever' Saerin was a 'commoner'.
Her good head and commoner background twisted the given ideology, pulling it down from an 'ideal' that didn't consider the 'evil' inherent in all humans, to a 'reality' that included human desires more.
An ideal was ultimately just an ideal.
She didn't know who came up with this ideology, but it was probably some noble scholar who grew up without much hardship, or a positive person with a head full of flowers.
As a commoner who felt the great and small malevolences of humans in the streets, at the markets, and in everything she encountered, Saerin couldn't help but be negative about the likelihood of it proceeding as intended.
Human greed was endless, and even those who started a revolution and participated in it would be the same.
"Lead your faction, Mr. Aiden, and kill the Emperor. Then, with that achievement, become the center of the Revolutionary Army and instead of abolishing the class system, be included among the core leadership that leads the nation."
"......."
"Shall I speak more bluntly? Create a world where everyone is equal except the core leadership. Here, if you make good use of the 'situation of having killed the Emperor,' you might even be able to handpick that core leadership yourself."
For example, by mentioning something like 'those who greatly helped me succeed in this task...' As the words of the one who took the lead in killing the Emperor, they would likely be largely respected.
Surprisingly, all of this was improvised on the spot.
"The Duke also hopes the action will take place as soon as possible. So even if he can't actively help, he will at least obtain the Emperor's schedule for you."
Of course, the likelihood of Aiden killing the Emperor was—
"......I need a definite answer."
0%.
Saerin grinned.
"I will obtain the Emperor's schedule for you."
This was enough. Saerin quietly stroked the back of her hand. The spot where the Duke's lips had touched still felt vivid, as if warmth remained.
The Duke was still treating her with enough respect.
......The Duke knew that she liked him.
If he had considered her as someone to use and discard, he would have pulled her into the bedroom the moment he noticed her feelings. Because that would have been much easier to exploit.
In fact, among those who had feelings for him, he often brought those he considered disposable pawns into the bedroom, regardless of gender.
Sometimes she felt envious of them for no reason, but she knew for certain who the Duke valued more.
Saerin, without hesitation, discarded the dream she had briefly dreamed.
***
The sudden request for an audience was quickly accepted, as if it were only natural.
While the servants of the Imperial Palace were surprised, the Duke had expected the Emperor to do so, and thus accepted it as a matter of course, following the attendant's guidance.
After all, it was better to listen to some nonsense than not to hear the words of a political adversary.
Furthermore, if one was confident in not losing in psychological warfare, it was also an opportunity to sound out the opponent.
The arrogant Emperor had no reason to avoid it.
"Glory to the Empire. I, Stave Illustar, present myself before the current Emperor."
"Yes, Duke. What is the matter?"
Instead of answering, the Duke looked at the Emperor. Precisely, only to just below his face.
The Emperor, sitting askew with his arm on the armrest as if tired, looked down with displeasure upon the insolent Duke who had shown only the bare minimum of courtesy, but the Duke paid no mind.
There was something that drew more attention than the Emperor's sharp gaze.
"How did Your Hand come to be so?"
"It is none of your concern, Duke."
The left hand wrapped in white bandages that had been resting on the armrest slowly clenched into a fist.
The Duke narrowed his eyes and observed the sight.
'Was it injured on the battlefield? Just how much rampaging had he been doing?'
He examined it carefully to assess the scale of the wound, but perhaps because the bandages had been freshly changed for his arrival, the clean white bandages that showed not a drop of blood thoroughly concealed the extent of the injury.
'......Right, there was no way he would show weakness so easily.'
As a faint smile appeared at the corner of the Duke's lips, a cool voice called him.
A voice that seemed unwilling to let him inspect the wound so readily, a voice that gripped his attention.
"Did you come to see my wounds, Duke?"
"......No. I have been rude. Your Majesty."
Yes, now it was time to use his words.
So that the Emperor couldn't die at the hands of the Revolutionary Army, so that he couldn't kill himself for saying these words—
His eyes, which had been gently closed, opened. His gaze, which had been on the floor, slowly rose, seeming to stop at the Emperor's chest, then rose further to meet the golden eyes directly.
The golden eyes, like those of a beast, were still fierce, but the shadows beneath them held undeniable fatigue.
The Emperor didn't allow him to see his face, but neither did he rebuke the Duke for raising his head on his own and looking at his face.
Only a low killing intent settled over the entire audience chamber.
It was a killing intent that would have been hard for the Duke, who was far from the sword, to endure, but he endured to the end and pulled out a deeply buried truth.
"Do you remember the death of the late First Prince, father of the current Crown Prince and Princess, and Your Majesty's older brother?"
A gentle-tempered man, the only one among the many siblings who had taken care of Eduardo Desert.
Fortunately, the Emperor didn't immediately jump up from his seat, nor did he draw his sword.
He simply tapped the back of his bandaged left hand, frowned, and quietly ordered those around to withdraw.
"You lords, withdraw as well."
"But Your Majesty, the general...."
"I will tell Nemeseus myself."
"......."
"Do you think Duke Illustar could kill me?"
"......I will withdraw."
The Emperor, having finally dismissed even the guards, looked at the Duke. An even lower voice flowed out calmly.
"Are you referring to the incident where it was known that Duke Gradis killed him, but in truth, you killed him?"
"You are well informed."
"You're insane."
When he had learned the truth, the Emperor had to cover it up.
Because the House of Gradis had already been destroyed. And with the family name completely erased for the reason of the First Prince's assassination, he couldn't now say it wasn't true.
If this fact became known, not only the Emperor would suffer a blow, but the Duke would also have to forfeit his life. Yet here he was, acknowledging it before his very eyes.
"I cannot understand you bringing this up now. What is your ulterior motive?"
"Aren't you curious about the reason why I killed him?"
"......."
"I did it to climb higher."
Did you think he would be satisfied with the position of a Duke?
Once he rose to the Duke's seat, he sought the Emperor's seat. Once on the Emperor's seat, he sought the continent unified under his feet.
Stave Illustar was that kind of person.