บท 48: Chapter 7. The beast and his master
It was late morning and it had been pouring rain since dawn. The thunder rumbled. The autumn rain came much earlier than usual. The rain wasn't heavy, but it kept on coming.
The gardeners of the imperial castle were soaking wet and fiddling around in the garden. It was very cold after the autumn rains, so they had to take care of the bulbs and trees. It was very crowded: servants were running from behind the castle drains, and maids were re-hanging tapestries wherever they were exposed to the wind and rain.
The ruler of Nadal had been sensitive from the morning because of the disorderly weather. He was also absent from the morning council meeting in the main hall, on the pretext that he had been getting chills since dawn because of the early autumn rain and was not feeling well. But everyone knew that it was far from the usual rain.
Although it had been ordered to keep it a secret, rumours still spread that the emperor had actually been seriously ill for a long time. Needless to say, these rumours had reached the ears of every single person in the imperial palace and even beyond.
'If this continues, popular outrage is inevitable.'
Emperor Alexis Cesia Ashelot, who had long been absent from public events, was being criticised by the people. Given how quickly the influence of the north and its overlords was growing, the formerly unquestioned authority of the imperial family as the main force of the empire was now being threatened. The northern savages were increasingly out of control. This news caused great excitement among the people of the empire.
But the emperor, instead of taking control of this situation and stopping any possible attempts at rebellion at the root, only stood by and did nothing. For this reason, he was branded a coward by many. People criticised the emperor and demanded that he give up the throne. How could a weak-willed man like him be in charge of a country?
The embers of resentment were barely extinguished when the Crown Princess publicly expressed her support for the emperor. Due to her fortunate background, Aveline Nevita Ashelot was considered a blessing that had managed to keep peace and order in the empire so far. After all, all these people were just waiting for the throne to finally be handed over to a worthy successor, for the right time to do so had already come.
Be that as it may, the unstable situation in the palace at the moment worried many people. And the Emperor's right hand man, the Grand Chancellor of the Imperial Palace, decided that something had to be done about it before the people's unrest went too far.
— It would have to be reported to His Majesty.
Sensing a looming crisis in the affairs of the Empire, Chancellor Gregory Ardelio travelled to the Central Palace to gain an audience with the Emperor.
— I bow to Your Majesty.
As soon as he entered the Emperor's chambers, the Chancellor knelt before him.
— Chancellor Ardelio, sit down.
— Yes.
As soon as the Chancellor sat down, he looked obliquely round the Emperor's room, which, as usual, was a little dishevelled.
— What brings you here this morning? — addressed him.
He was a middle-aged man with silver hair that carelessly spread over his shoulders and deep golden eyes. In addition to his age, the man also looked haggard due to a lingering illness, making his overall appearance even more depressing.
Looking into the emperor's eyes, the top ranked official coughed.
— Your majesty, do you intend to continue to ignore the situation in the north? — He finally had the resolve to ask this question.
In response to his subordinate's question, the emperor's facial expression distorted unpleasantly.
— Chancellor Ardelio, did you really come to tell me the same thing as all these people?
The official looked embarrassed.
— Your majesty, nevertheless, the people's unrest continues. Can we really let it go unheeded?
The emperor hesitated after his words.
— So what do you propose? — He asked glumly.
— We need to resolve this situation as soon as possible before the consequences go too far, ' the minister tried to convey this simple truth to the emperor, 'Your majesty, if you continue to turn a blind eye to what is happening in the north, the people's resentment towards you will only grow. It would be much better if you took control of the situation yourself.
Although the chancellor tried to give him some arguments, the emperor threw him a look of obvious irritation.
— And how do you intend to settle this? Do you really think it's that simple?
Gregory Ardelio hesitated.
— Perhaps it is not too late for us to negotiate with the Lord of the North… — he finally muttered.
— Negotiate?
His Majesty almost laughed at the suggestion.
The Emperor continued to ponder whether 'proper negotiation' was even possible under the circumstances. The Princess of the North, popularly dubbed the bloodthirsty monster, was none other than his own daughter, whom Alexis had disowned years ago. What could be done now?
The Emperor also realised that to hope for a truce with his daughter in such a situation was an absurd wish. How many children who were rejected by their parents later easily established contact with them? Besides, Asil was no ordinary child. That was why the emperor had avoided and shunned his eldest daughter since her birth. A devil child cursed by the death star.
And since 'mending relations' in such a situation became a futile option beforehand, the main intention was to keep the newfound great lord under control.
And among the ways to keep such great lords in check is the easiest and quickest.
That is assassination.
Asil Nara Ashelot is a great lord created in just a few years, and if she loses her life now, the territory called the Great Northern Power will immediately disintegrate. So, the best way was to fake an accident and then just get rid of this eyesore.
But the problem was that the emperor had already tried all of these methods a long time ago.
Repeated attempts on his daughter's life had come to nothing. The emperor had already deemed all these attempts futile and pointless. At the same time, he still lacked the courage to launch a full-scale military action against the north. After all, it was too obvious in whose favour that battle would turn out to be. So, the emperor preferred not to take risks, and better to wait for the right opportunity in ambush.
Chancellor Ardelio, who could anticipate the Emperor's thoughts at the moment, said:
— What if reality is actually not what it appears to us from the outside?
The emperor looked at him and placed a clenched hand on the armrest of the luxurious chair in which he sat.
— And what does that mean? — He frowned.
— I still remember very well the rumours about the eldest princess while she lived in the palace, ' the official continued nonchalantly, 'People said she looked more like a beast than a human. And it's unlikely that it's only because of her lack of education at that time… Could something have changed drastically in those ten years?
— …
The Emperor was confused by his sudden words.
— All I'm trying to say is that the Lord of the North might just be a weapon wielded by someone else.
After completing his thought, the chancellor bowed his head.
— I heard that the princess's consort, Remesis Rania Ashelot, is in charge of all the affairs in the northern castle.
— Is that so? — Upon hearing this, the emperor raised an eyebrow.
Why did the emperor even know about this news just now? The emperor's ears and eyes that covered the entire empire were not working properly in the north. This meant that someone had deliberately stepped forward and cut off the emperor's eyes and ears towards the northern region. However, with the Chancellor's current words, it wasn't hard to guess who exactly could have done this.
Could it be that this whole commotion in the empire was actually set up by that girl?
The Emperor's mind involuntarily flashed back to a vague memory of a meeting with his little daughter-in-law a few years ago. Even then Remesis had seemed to him a very interesting person. So was she really the grey cardinal who now controlled the north?
It was the sort of thing that was hard to assume initially.
'.....'
Suddenly, the air in the room became brittle. There was such silence that one could even hear raindrops tapping outside the window. The silence was broken first by the emperor.
— Chancellor Ardelio, I think I know what answer you want from me, ' he said hoarsely.
The official smiled slightly at his sovereign's words and bowed his head.
If it was indeed as Chancellor Ardelio had surmised, then they should have gotten rid of the master first before they opened a hunt for the dog himself. After all, a mindless beast would forever remain only a mindless beast. And once deprived of its leash, it will inevitably turn into a regular feral dog. In that case, this problem will solve itself for them.
Alexis Cesia Ashelot licked his parched lips as the thought crossed his mind.
Meanwhile, Chancellor Ardelio was adding fuel to the fire.
— What if you've actually been aiming at the wrong person all this time? — he whispered.
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