Chapter 581: Symbol

“We have to leave here as soon as possible!”

Marquis Angus abruptly sprang to his feet and barked in a low voice at everyone.

If they could suddenly use magic power, that meant the forbidden spell that blanketed the imperial palace had, for the time being, been shut down.

But that was a forbidden spell built specifically to defend the palace. It was said that when the emperor who constructed it did so, he spent an uncountable fortune—wealth enough to buy a small country—and that this forbidden spell, just as intended, had for hundreds of years snuffed out countless upheavals before they could even be born.

After all, if you couldn’t use magic power or battle aura, and couldn’t even trigger extraordinary miracles, then no matter how strong the enemy was, it would be impossible to cause any trouble in front of a fully armed knight order, a partially “specially pardoned” Royal Mage Corps, and an emperor who was unaffected by the forbidden spell and, here, was comparable to a powerful crowned ruler.

The fanatical assault launched by the Silent Moon back then—one that didn’t even raise a ripple—was ironclad proof.

But now... with the emperor critically ill, the forbidden spell suddenly shutting down meant someone had broken through from within. Only then could they obtain the two “keys” that could turn the forbidden spell off. If so, then the Royal Knights and the Royal Mage Corps could not be trusted either. Add in the move of gathering these pillars of the empire—the senior ministers—into one place, and the other party’s goal...

Could not be clearer.

Marquis Angus’s aged body couldn’t help but tremble.

Outside the window, the mangled remains of a small insect were swept by the breeze into endless darkness. If they weren’t faster, then the fate awaiting these senior ministers—those who held the empire up—would be just like that lowly, fragile little insect.

“Move! All of you, move!”

Urged on by Marquis Angus, the other ministers didn’t dare delay. Besides, they too had keenly sensed something was wrong, so together they hurried toward the hall’s exit.

But when the door opened, everyone froze. Not a single person took one more step forward.

Someone was blocking the way.

“Gentlemen, it’s so late—where are you hoping to go?”

Outside the door was a smiling face.

Young, handsome, gentle, approachable—most of the words in this world used to praise a man could be used on the person in front of them. Of course, compared to those airy things of appearance and demeanor, the title perched atop his head was what inspired far greater awe.

“Your Highness... the First Prince.”

After a brief moment of shock, Marquis Angus quickly calmed down. After pressing a hand to his chest and offering a salute, he went straight to the point.

“This was you, wasn’t it?”

“What is it that the Marquis is referring to?” Albert looked faintly puzzled.

“Gathering us here—or rather, intending to imprison all of us here together.”

“Ah... that.” Albert nodded, smiling without the least attempt to hide it. “Yes. It was me.”

“Let us leave.”

Marquis Angus stared hard into Albert’s eyes.

“We all bear vital imperial duties that must be handled. We can’t waste time here. If this was Your Highness’s prank, then we can treat it as having played along with you for a round. But since we’ve already played, please—”

“No.”

Albert cut him off.

“You cannot leave. The palace has suffered an attack by bandits. Martial law has been declared and an investigation is underway. For everyone’s safety, please stay here peacefully for one more night.”

His tone was still so gentle, giving the feeling of a spring breeze on the face. But behind that calm gentleness was an unquestionable hardness.

“An attack by bandits—haha. Your Highness can really say that with a straight face?”

Marquis Angus’s worst suspicion was being proven more and more. His expression sank like water.

“Seizing control of the palace, imprisoning ministers... If I’m not mistaken, Your Highness, this is a move to seize power and usurp the throne?”

“...”

Albert’s eyes narrowed slightly. He thought to himself that these old foxes really were the oiliest in the empire—sharp, too.

Seizing power. Usurping the throne.

That was a heavy hat. Across past and present, many people had been crushed to death under that very hat.

It was something you could say in private, but you absolutely could not lay it out in the open.

Because the empire was not a tottering, rotten country. This country’s rules had been running for over a thousand years—almost impossible to change.

Anyone who wanted to sit on that seat needed the most important thing of all:

Legitimacy.

Luckily, he was now the greatest legitimacy of them all.

“You misunderstand, gentlemen. How could I harbor such an irreverent thought?”

Albert kept his hands behind his back and advanced step by step, pressing everyone back into the meeting hall.

He lifted his head and admired the heroic poses of the ancestral statues. After a moment of sincere reflection, he lowered his gaze again and looked at them.

“I am the First Prince. I am the first in line to inherit the throne. It is only right that I inherit that seat. Where, then, does ‘usurpation’ come in?”

“But His Majesty hasn’t passed the throne to you yet!”

“Soon.”

Albert sat in the seat at the head—the chair the emperor of the empire once sat in. He interlaced his hands and propped his chin up.

“His Majesty’s condition worsens by the day, but the imperial throne cannot remain vacant for long. Under such circumstances, besides me, who else is more qualified to inherit that position? You are being far too rigid. Or is it that you have a better solution? If so, why not say it and let us hear?”

“You...”

Marquis Angus’s gaze sharpened suddenly. In a deep voice, he asked, “Where is His Majesty? Where is His Majesty now?”

“His Majesty... Father is naturally in a safe place as well. As his son, I will of course protect him very well. There’s no need for you to worry about that.”

Albert’s lips traced a slight curve.

“Protect...”

Marquis Angus shook with rage, and the ministers around ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) him also wore gloomy faces.

Everyone knew what that so-called “protect” meant.

But...

From the corner of his eye, Marquis Angus saw shadows moving outside the hall. A terrifying pressure had completely locked onto this place—if there was the slightest abnormal movement, they would probably truly be crushed like a little insect.

Ministers who could ordinarily influence the empire’s course, men of towering rank and power, were in truth merely a group of old things who hadn’t fought anyone in at least thirty to fifty years. Trying to break out by force seemed, from the beginning, to have been an impossible option.

These old foxes were smart. No one chose to act rashly. They waited, quietly, for an opening.

Or else, at some key moment, they would directly choose...

Marquis Angus’s thoughts raced. He became ever more clearly aware of how dire their situation was now.

Too sudden.

The empire had enjoyed peace for too long. Probably no one had imagined that someone would actually dare choose a road with absolutely no return.

Even more unthinkable was that the First Prince, once he moved, had taken control of the entire palace so easily.

Was it because the palace itself had some flaw?

Or... was it that His Majesty’s authority had been too overwhelming, suppressing certain people for too long, and today’s backlash had been inevitable?

But no matter what, it seemed the other party was only one step away from success.

“Then it looks like we can only rely on you now, Your Highness.”

With no solution for the moment, Marquis Angus could only close his eyes in dejection and murmur softly, “And my good-for-nothing grandson... I can only hope you can find a way to break this deadlock.”

...

...

“How many steps do you think my elder brother needs to seize the throne?”

Celicia lifted her head, gazing at the palace under the night sky.

The resplendent palace walls cut inside from outside. The city districts beyond had fallen into sleep, but the vast palace remained brightly lit.

Brilliant light—yet it cast a vast shadow across the earth instead.

“Seize the throne?”

Muen squatted beside Celicia, tilting his head. He, too, looked like he was studying that magnificent building in the night, but as the night wind brushed past, one or two flashes of a white skirt hem and glossy black stockings would slip into view without warning.

“Ahem... Doesn’t sound like something simple.”

Under Celicia’s ice-cold gaze that seemed capable of killing, Muen casually turned his eyes away.

“The throne isn’t that easy to seize, is it?”

“It isn’t. Normally, the chance of success is zero.”

Celicia lightly tucked her hair back. “But for my elder brother, who is now the first in line to inherit the throne, to seize the throne, he only needs to do two things.”

“First: bring the entire palace—the empire’s administrative core—under his control.”

“Second: announce to the world the legitimacy of his inheritance, and make the world acknowledge it.”

“...That sounds like how to put an elephant into a refrigerator.” Muen sighed.

First step: open the refrigerator.

Second step: stuff the elephant inside.

It sounded simple, but it absolutely couldn’t truly be that simple.

“Refrigerator?”

Celicia tilted her head slightly. On her cold, pretty face, there actually appeared a faintly cute look of confusion.

“Ahem... I’m talking nonsense. Don’t mind it, don’t mind it.”

Celicia’s icy gaze swept over him again, but seeing Muen putting on a deliberately stupid act, she ultimately didn’t say anything—only let out a sigh as if she couldn’t stand him.

“In any case, judging by the current situation, he’s probably already succeeded with the first step.”

While Celicia spoke with Muen, white doves had continually flown down from within the palace, endlessly delivering the latest news to her. Muen didn’t know where those messages came from, but judging by how seriously Celicia treated them, their credibility probably wasn’t a problem.

Which meant...

“His Majesty—and those ministers—are in danger right now?”

Muen frowned, unable to stop himself from worrying.

His Majesty was his future father-in-law, so that went without saying. And according to prior intelligence, his own grandfather—Marquis Angus—was also inside the palace right now. It looked like he’d already fallen into Albert’s grasp.

“Probably not.”

Celicia said, “If Albert really kills all the ministers, the empire will definitely descend into chaos. I doubt he wants to see that—too many variables. As for Father... I think we don’t need to worry about him for the moment either.”

“Why?”

“Because for Albert to complete the second point, before Father clearly passes the position to him, he must obtain the King’s Sword. That is the symbol of the empire’s imperial authority.”

“A sword... can represent the legitimacy of the throne?”

“I told you—it’s a symbol.”

Celicia’s long lashes lowered slightly.

“A symbol that’s intangible and illusory is sometimes the least important thing in the world, and sometimes it’s the most important thing. At least for the current Albert... it’s very important.”