章 128: The Crown Prince and The Empress
As the empress of the biggest human empire, Lilia Riea's chambers were nothing short of luxurious. Filled with the most expensive decorations in the world, with clothes so valuable that a commoner family can live a life of luxury just from selling a garment, and beautiful servants hand-chosen to serve the empress loyally.
But the peace of this beautiful room was disturbed by the entrance of a young man.
"Mother, something wrong happened." Crown prince Alan said immediately after entering his mother's room.
"Why so serious, my son. Come here, it had been a long time since you visited me last." A carefree voice answered from behind a curtain.
"Now is not the time for it, mother." Alan shook his head with a grave expression and walked towards his mother, only stopping when he reached the curtain. "It concerns my ascension to the throne."
Empress Lilia frowned. The next second, she clapped her hands once.
Instantly, all the maidservants with the exception of two young women left the room and closed the door. The empress then sat on the bed and removed the curtain, before activating a magic enchantment to soundproof the room and avoid having their conversation heard.
Finally, she looked at her eldest son and opened her lips.
"Do speak."
The prince looked at her mother for a moment before looking at the two maidservants behind her. Understanding his meaning, the empress waved her hands. "Don't worry, they are trustworthy."
The prince frowned, but knowing that the two of them were her mother's confidants, he stopped hesitating.
"I tried to assassinate Claus today."
"… Did it fail?"
"Yes. The [Numbers] have not returned yet, but my brother is back in the palace."
"Explain it to me." The empress ordered with a cold face. Prince Alan hesitated for a moment before deciding to tell her the entire truth. With his mother's means, he was sure that she could learn about the details anyway.
When the prince finished recounting the events, the empress fell silent.
The next second–
*Slap!*
"Fool!" With an expression of rage, the empress slapped her son's cheek and bellowed. "What in the hell were you thinking!? Do you even understand the consequences of your actions!?"
"But mother, I thought the plan was foolproof. Nobody would have known anything!"
"Do you think everybody else is an idiot!? Even if you succeed and kill the four of them, an old fox like my brother would have suspected you instantly! Furthermore, one of them was your sister! Were you going to kill your sister too!?"
The prince fell silent. Different from his mother, he did not mind any sacrifice if he could obtain the throne. Even his mother and father were nothing more than tools he could use.
Moreover, he considered his mother's words as hypocrisy. After all, she was the one that wanted to kill his two half-siblings more than anyone. Were Claus and Dina not his siblings too? But even so, she taught him to be merciless against them.
For him, the only difference between Claus and Lena was that one of them shared a little more blood with him.
But although he knew his mother was going to react like this, he needed her help now.
Seeing her son silent, the empress soon calmed down. She closed her eyes briefly before giving an order to one of the maidservants behind her.
"Lotus, investigate if something happened to my daughter and the little bastard today. Also, observe Lena closely. She is a very bad liar. If she experienced an assassination today, her face will reveal something."
"Understood." The maidservant nodded respectfully and left the room.
"Mom?"
"… It's strange. If the little bastard and Lena experienced an assassination, the entire city should know about it already. However, we have not heard any news… Are you sure that the assassins were completely loyal?"
"I'm sure."
"… Then it means that they were killed silently, without letting anyone know. If my suspicions are right, not even Lena knows she was the target of an assassination."
"You mean…"
"It looks like the forces behind your little brother are not so simple as we thought. I already found it strange when I heard about his master, but now I confirmed it.
"My son, you have a Transcendent guarding you, but not even him noticed anyone protecting the little bastard, and despite it, the assassins died silently. For something like that to happens, the implications are terrible…"
A deep frown appeared on the empress's face. Lately, she has been having the feeling that everything was getting out of her control, and she did not like that feeling.
"No, we need to dispose of the little bastard as soon as possible! If things continue like this, he will become a real threat to you! Son, do you have any idea?"
Alan thought for a moment. Quickly, a flash of insight appeared on his mind "… In a month, the institute will realize the first expedition of the year. It will be in the forest one week away from the capital. That place will be perfect and we can eliminate all the suspicions easily."
"Perfect!" The empress nodded with a dark smile. "I'll make the preparations then. The little bastard will not survive this time."
At that moment, she looked at the maidservant beside her and frowned slightly.
"Hope, you look a bit pale, is something wrong?"
"N-Nothing, your majesty. I'm just feeling a bit unwell."
"Is it so?" The empress put on a slightly suspicious expression, but in the next second, she shook her head and laughed it off.
After all, Hope has been her most trusted confidant for many years. In fact, she trusted Hope more than her own sons.
Hope never would betray her.
…
In another room in the palace, the emperor was hearing the conversation that the empress was having with her son.
When the conversation ended, an old man appeared behind the emperor.
"Your majesty, your orders."
The emperor fell silent. For a brief instant, an expression of pain and self-loathing flashed in his eyes.
But in the next second, the pain was replaced for an obsessive hatred.
"… Make sure that the plans succeed." The emperor said.
The old man looked at the emperor and sighed. A second later, he nodded. "I understand."
At the end of the day, the emperor's orders were absolute.
Even if he comes from 'that place', and 'that place' has the power to stop the emperor, going against the emperor for the sake of a prince is foolish.
Even if the prince is very talented, even if a powerful force is behind him.
After all, no force in this world is stronger than the empire.
...
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