Chapter 671: To Meet Another Friend, Dante (4)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 671: To Meet Another Friend, Dante (4)
‘Seven, then.’
Despite the many tragedies that had befallen the Empire, Dante had consolidated absolute power with incredible speed over the past three years.
Normally, power acquired so quickly is bound to be unstable.
However, the fact that only seven traitors had emerged was a testament to how well Dante and his advisor, Casimir, had managed the Empire’s affairs.
Yuria marked the individuals on a seating chart she had prepared beforehand and handed it to Dante.
‘Three rank-10 officials, three rank-7, and one rank-5?’
Jin glanced at the traitors' positions out of the corner of his eye.
‘They seem far too insignificant to be recruited for the assassination of the Empire's Regent.’
At a glance, Jin didn't even recognize their faces. They weren't from influential families, nor did they possess any exceptional abilities. They were nothing more than ordinary officials.
Dante shared the same doubt. He couldn't immediately think of what they could possibly do to assassinate him.
However, outward status and abilities could be changed at any time. Zephyrin had been a prime example, and there was no telling what form a person might take under the Prophet's control of chaos.
“Indeed. I trust that everyone is so busy they wouldn't even dream of betrayal.”
At his words, quite a few officials cursed him in their heads, wondering what kind of nonsense this was. The ones who had lied, however, were not among them.
Silence followed.
The hall had already been quiet for nearly ten minutes while Yuria identified the liars, and the officials were at a loss as to why Dante was acting this way.
After a long moment of deep thought, Dante finally turned his head toward Jin as if he had no other choice.
He gestured for Jin to come closer and lend an ear.
‘What is it?’
‘I know those seven might be traitors, but what should I ask next?’
‘Did you get stupid while I wasn't looking? You call that a question?’
‘I’ve always been a bit slow in certain areas.’
‘I should have prepared a proper list of questions for you. There’s no need to overthink it, Dante. Ask if anyone has passed information to Runcandel. That will make it clear whether they simply harbor different intentions or if they’ve truly betrayed us.’
‘Oh, I see.’
Dante cleared his throat.
“Ahem! Since I don't have many questions left, you will have to bear with my eccentric behavior.”
“Not at all, Your Grace!”
“We understand!”
Yuria considered marking these responses on the list of liars as well but decided against it, as there were simply too many.
“Among those present, is there anyone who has leaked information about me or the Empire to the Garden of Swords?”
Naturally, a chorus of denials followed. However, the seven who had been caught by the Authority of Truth earlier were lying once again.
Jin soon realized why the Garden of Swords had recruited such ordinary people as informants.
‘Palace access. Unless the Prophet granted them special abilities, it means they only needed people who could enter and exit the Imperial Palace.’
The reason they needed people with palace access was obvious.
The internal layout.
The Viment Imperial Palace was the largest structure in the world and possessed the most complex internal architecture.
In particular, secret areas that were not open to the public—such as the Emperor’s residence or underground passages—remained largely unknown even to other Great Powers.
‘Since the seven confirmed traitors are low- and mid-level officials, they wouldn't know all of those areas either.’
That was only natural. Even powerful organizations like Runcandel, Zipple, and Nameless had failed to uncover those secrets despite planting numerous spies within the Imperial family over the years.
Furthermore, the locations of the Imperial family's secret zones were changed irregularly.
Then why them?
Jin formed a hypothesis.
‘The tunnels the Prophet made in the Sota Desert in the past… what if they need the help of someone with palace access to create something similar here? Even if it’s not highly detailed information about the secret zones, they might need the general layout of the palace.’
Even with that assumption, questions remained.
Dante frequently went on solo missions to contaminated areas; if they wanted to assassinate him, such moments would be far more appropriate.
‘I can figure out why they chose the Imperial Palace over a solo mission later.’
For now, he just needed to confirm what information they had handed over and if his guess was correct.
‘Jin.’
‘Lastly, ask if anyone has been implanted with chaos or other special abilities.’
Dante nodded.
“This is the final question. Among the officials gathered here, is there anyone who has been granted chaos or other special abilities?”
“No, there is not!”
This time, not a single person lied.
It meant that even the traitors had not received the power of chaos.
In that case, there was no risk of other casualties if they were apprehended immediately.
‘Have those individuals restrained.’
As Jin whispered, Dante’s eyes widened, his suppressed rage finally breaking through.
“Hairan!”
“Command us, Patriarch!”
“Kima Raits, Julian Raits, Edmond Kell, Deva Roskella, Bernard Quian, Kilein Knash, Ata Boin. Capture these seven immediately.”
The elite Hairan members attending the meeting restrained them in less than fifteen seconds.
The officials were aghast at the sudden turn of events.
To them, suddenly summoning them only to intimidate such small-fry felt like a display of sheer terror.
Some even thought that Dante had finally succumbed to his desire for revenge for Ron and transformed into a tyrant.
“Y-Your Grace! Why are you doing this?!”
“Your Grace, why us…?”
“Since the other officials might misunderstand, I shall reveal the truth. This person standing behind me is the Princess of the Tikan Free State and the Contractor of Az Mil.”
“Ah…!”
Exclamations erupted from all sides.
If the disguised girl was Yuria Alfrion, then the identity of the man whispering to the Regent was as clear as day.
There was no longer any reason for Jin to hide his identity.
“I am Jin Runcandel of the Barmul Alliance. According to our Alliance’s intelligence, Zipple has allied with the Garden of Swords. Therefore, we urgently needed to determine if anyone within the Empire was colluding with them.”
The restrained traitors were forced to their knees before Dante.
Dante immediately covered Yuria’s eyes, then drew his sword and struck off the head of one of them.
A thick spray of blood instantly stained the golden floor.
“H-Hieeeek!”
“I-It’s a misunderstanding. I didn't b-betray…”
“Silence. The one who died just now without pain was lucky. The rest of you are not so fortunate.”
The traitors trembled violently and looked around.
It wasn't just Jin's group and Dante; even the officials who had harbored resentment over their extreme workload under the Regency were glaring at them as if they wanted to tear them apart.
Even if they didn't particularly like Dante, all the officials gathered here had dedicated their lives to the Empire. They all felt immense pride that the Imperial capital remained so intact in this era of chaos, and they believed there was no better path for the Empire than the one Dante had forged.
Yet these traitors had tried to ruin it all.
“If you wish to lessen your misfortune, even slightly, you had better answer my questions with the absolute, unvarnished truth.”
At Dante’s signal, servants quickly removed the body and wiped away the blood. When Yuria opened her eyes again and saw that only six people remained, she thought that Dante possessed a surprisingly cold-blooded charisma.
“First, what were you promised by the Garden of Swords?”
Jin expected it to be eternal life, just like the fools from the Barton and Seigal families in the past.
“...Survival.”
One of the traitors met Dante’s eyes. He had the calmest gaze among the remaining six. He alone had been bracing himself for the possibility that a day like this might come.
“Survival?”
“Lord Regent… we met Lady Rosa in person. To be precise, it was a meeting through a certain crystal ball, but through our conversation with her, we were confronted with the true power Runcandel possesses. She said… she would destroy the entire world, except for Huphester.”
“So, you betrayed me to abandon an Empire that is soon to fall and live a pathetic life under Rosa?”
“If you truly care for the Empire, you must surrender to Lady Rosa even now. Though I am a traitor, this is the final piece of direct advice I can offer you.”
According to Yuria, he and the other traitors sincerely believed it. They were convinced that even if the entire world joined forces, they would be powerless against Rosa.
“I will not blame you for your weak choice. Therefore, you must also calmly accept the punishment that will be handed down.”
“...I presume you intend to exterminate our entire families.”
“Your entire family lines will be erased from this world. However, if you confess the information you provided to Rosa, I will spare the children and the innocent servants.”
Yuria revealed a blue string, confirming that Dante’s words were the truth.
The traitor who had been speaking with Dante bowed his head.
“There is very little information that low-ranking officials like us can know, Your Grace. The information provided to Lady Rosa was, I swear, nothing more than the internal layout of the Imperial Palace.”
At that point, Jin once again thought of the Prophet’s tunnels.
“Did she not explain what she intended to do with that information?”
“She did not.”
It was the truth. As Jin had expected, they had no information to give Runcandel other than the general layout of the palace.
In fact, Rosa hadn't even asked them for any other information.
“I shall keep my promise. Take them away.”
“Yes, Patriarch!”
As the traitors were dragged away, every single official watched them with faces full of spite—spite directed not at Dante, but at Rosa and the Garden of Swords.
Jin stepped forward.
“The Prophet in the Garden of Swords has the ability to create special tunnels. It is highly likely that she obtained the palace layout from the traitors to create one here. Perhaps they weren't just trying to assassinate the Regent, but were planning to invade the palace through a tunnel.”
Therefore, the task from now on was to check if a tunnel was already being formed inside the Imperial Palace.
Dante had already thought of a way to do that.
“I will find it by tearing down the entire palace. It’s filled with symbols of a fallen dynasty anyway, so it's no great loss. We will begin immediately. All of you, prepare yourselves.”