Chapter 1019

“The information was definitely under control. No one besides those present here knows I was behind it. They’re all bound by double and triple oaths—there was no chance of any accidental leak.”

Avoiding the Temple’s detection while using oath papers was extremely difficult. Using them in double or triple layers wasn’t just about repeating the process—it was exponentially harder. Even with the wealth and power of House Diarca, it had taken immense effort to pull off, all for a carefully measured “warning.”

Yet the Emperor had escaped from that “warning” far too easily.

So easily, in fact, that it could only have been possible if the information had been leaked in advance.

“None of the informants I planted throughout the palace reported anything out of the ordinary before it happened. And they still haven’t.”

Though it was impossible to penetrate into the Emperor’s personal residence in the Second Palace, every other part of the imperial complex was under Duke Diarca’s control. Countless eyes and ears loyal to him monitored the Emperor and Empress, reporting even the smallest changes around them.

And they had reported nothing wrong—until the Emperor suddenly reappeared, spouting nonsense about being healed by a miracle.

After that, Diarca had suspected that the internal information network might have been compromised. He’d conducted a full purge, replacing everyone who showed even the slightest sign of unreliability. It had been a risky decision, as credibility was paramount in intelligence gathering. Still, he’d handled it thoroughly and had been certain the same mistake wouldn’t repeat.

And yet—here it was again.

“Something’s wrong.”

All of his traps and surveillance were still intact. But he couldn’t detect any change in the Emperor and Empress.

That—was the problem.

“Where did it all start to unravel? At this point, the palace informants may not be the only issue...”

"Your Grace... at least until we can confirm the status of the captured attacker... please, show us mercy—"

"Enough."

"..."

Duke Diarca silenced the pitiful groveling man, who insisted there was nothing to worry about, with a single sigh. Then he nodded at the butler beside him.

"I want to think alone. Get him out of my sight. I don’t know who that man is."

"Understood, Your Grace."

"Please, Your Grace, wait—surely you’ve contacted us again because you still believe in the trust we once built! The situation isn’t beyond saving—Your Grace! Your Gra—urk!"

As the butler pulled out an oath scroll and muttered a phrase, the man collapsed, clutching his throat. He was quickly dragged away by the large guards waiting outside.

Left in the now-silent room, the Duke inhaled the smoke curling from his pipe, closing his eyes.

"Finally, some peace."

What happened to those who failed was of no concern to Duke Diarca. Even if something went wrong, it wouldn’t fall back on House Diarca or himself. He had more than enough pawns willing to bear guilt in his stead.

All he had to do was feign ignorance.

“The Emperor probably tried to keep the assassin alive, hoping to extract my name from him. But no matter how many times he tries, it won’t work.”

It wasn’t as if every “warning” Duke Diarca had sent in the past had succeeded. The young Emperor’s fangs were sharper than his father’s, and a few times had caused the Duke real trouble. But in the end, the victor was always Diarca. He always walked away unscathed.

So even now, he wasn’t truly worried about the failed “warning.”

“Even if the whole world sees it happen—if the one holding power and fear pretends it didn’t, then it didn’t.”

The only thing that bothered him was his inability to understand this unpredictable turn of events. It wasn’t fear of being exposed.

Those few allies the Emperor had—those who acted like righteous enforcers of the law—could be neutralized easily once their weaknesses were found.

But Diarca, who had always ruled through raw power and control, could ignore those same attacks. Who would dare drag him into a courtroom? The judges were his tools. The ones willing to take the fall for him were endless.

His private guards were stronger and more numerous than the Emperor’s. The empire’s wealth and influence flowed first to House Diarca, not the royal family.

Even if he did nothing, he was already poised to inherit the next dynasty.

They were the victors.

“We’ve already won. All we needed was patience.”

Smoke drifted from his lips, swirling in the air as he stared at it in silence.

“This unknown variable... was it the Cavalry?”

The force that thwarted the assassination and had the power to suppress the incident beyond even Diarca’s knowledge... the more he thought, the more it pointed to them. Emperor Keillusa didn’t originally have such power.

“But I never received any intel about the Cavalry entering the palace. So that’s another breach. What the hell is happening in the Solar Palace?”

He thought he knew everything. But the possibility that he didn’t—was deeply unsettling. Diarca’s brow furrowed, and he bit the end of his pipe with agitation.

“If only that lowborn who called himself the Sage had ever brought me proper information... Maybe I wouldn’t feel so frustrated now. But thanks to him, nothing got handled cleanly. The Crown Prince nearly became useless.”

Thinking of the Crown Prince made his head pound even more. After being coerced into returning from the South, Kiole had resumed his outrageous behavior, seemingly unaware of the disaster he’d nearly caused. It had gotten worse than before—they’d already lost several attendants to injury or death.

“Perhaps it’s time I paid him a final visit and gave him one last warning.”

Just as Duke Diarca thought that, someone knocked on the door in a hurry. The butler, who # Nоvеlight # had stepped out to give the Duke privacy, spoke quietly to the visitor outside. A few moments later, he returned and cautiously opened his mouth.

"Your Grace. My apologies... but we’ve just received a late report from the South."

"What is it?"

"It appears that the succession ceremony for the new Duke of House Hern has already taken place."

Duke Diarca’s eyebrow twitched.

"Without informing the capital? How typical of those shadowy Southern nobles. Still, it’s not surprising. And?"

"However... just before the ceremony, an unknown natural disaster struck the South. The Cavalry and the Imperial Guard reportedly helped manage it, allowing the ceremony to proceed safely."

That news did catch Duke Diarca off guard.

"...A natural disaster?"

The old Duke, who had shown no emotion until now, removed the pipe from his mouth and sat upright for the first time. His butler, caught in the man’s intense gaze, began to sweat.

"When did this happen? And why has no report reached us until now? The Imperial Guard—you’re telling me they already knew and were dispatched?"

"We... we haven’t figured that out yet. We’re still trying to determine how such a gap occurred—"

Again. That same unsettling sensation that his perfect surveillance network had been pierced returned to Duke Diarca.

“While I was busy paying attention to the absurd claims of the Emperor’s miraculous recovery—this happened.”

No matter how low-priority it may have seemed, how could such an event be reported this late?

As that thought circled his mind, the Duke suddenly froze.

His shadowed eyes, sunken beneath his wrinkled brow, flicked around the air as if trying to catch a memory.

“No... wait. I’ve heard something like this before...”

And then, finally, the answer surfaced.

It was from the face of his youngest son—who, despite being afraid, had stared him down and spoken boldly just days ago.

"...Kiole."

"Yes, Your Grace?"

"Find out what Kiole is doing right now. Bring him to me. Where is he?"