Chapter 277

Where a mole is found and plotting against evil continues.

This chapter is dedicated to RB ! Thank you for your monthly support!

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Episode 277. About Six Months (7)

The Emperor glanced at the five regions of the Empire marked with a black X.

“Is that all of them?”

“There is also one in the Principality of Ga'an.”

"Oh my God! Destroy them! Can you hit them all at the same time?"

"It seems that the one located in the Principality of Ga'an is still being built, so no hostages haven't been taken there yet. However, due to geographical characteristics, it cannot be hit simultaneously with the others. If special circumstances arise, the operation may begin earlier than the set date. At that time, I will instruct you to change the banquet's date in advance to match the operation."

“And what would those unusual circumstances be?”

"It would be the ringleader discovering my operation first and deciding to wipe out the villages early."

"Who's the main culprit? The Empress and the Toulouse Family? The First Prince, as usual? Or the Third Prince? Could it be The Prince of Ga'an? No, it may be my dead brother's son, though my brother died years ago. Or was it the Aristocratic Faction? Hmmm. No, not them. Could it be the Skandoans who are trying to make up for last year's defeat? What are your thoughts?"

"It could be one of them, or all of them. As you well know, Your Majesty, their negative feelings always hover in the air around you."

Emperor Louis, who had been staring at the Second Prince snorted heavily and blurted out: " How rude! Do you think your metaphors will get you out of a tongue lashing?"

“....”

The Emperor waited for the Second Prince to change his stance, but the words 'because they hate his Majesty' were not corrected.

"So strict. It was futile to hope. So, has the main culprit been identified or not? Shoulders!"

As the Emperor shouted while tapping his shoulders, the masseuse quickly approached and started kneading his shoulders.

"We've narrowed it down. I think we'll discover who the perpetrator is by the time the joint task force has checked out the villages in the Principality of Ga’an next weekend."

"If it's a joint task force, are you referring to the Black Society guy?"

“Yes. Your Majesty.”

"Heh. I can't believe that eccentric would be so proactive on behalf of the Imperial Court. I thought he was just an arrogant pompous idealist when his book [To Be a Monarch] came out on the market..."

“Have you read that book?”

“No.”

“And yet you say such a thing about it?”

"Why? Aren't all those books the same? Was the content different from what I imagined?"

"It's an extremely realist writing."

"Elaborate."

"... He wrote that monarchs are also human and their emotions should be used to their advantage."

“Hmm. That's true. What else?”

“Read it for yourself.”

“You're no fun!”

When the masseuse was done with the Emperor's shoulders, the Emperor turned his head to get more comfortable and the masseuse grabbed his arm.

"One more thing, I got a report from the Internal Affairs Department today."

“What...?”

"I have been informed that there is a mole in the Main Palace."

"Does he belong to the Aristocratic Faction?"

"He is considered to be part of an attempted coup."

The Emperor, who had surrendered his arms to the masseuse, jumped up and sat up.

"That dog... Whoo... In My Palace? Doesn't that mean he's one of my people? Rat Bastard! Who is he?" The Emperor clenched his and yelled.

The masseuse reached for his arm again, but the Emperor promptly patted himself on the neck. The masseuse started rubbing his neck.

Kyle had stationed himself three steps away from the massage table the entire time, but to the Emperor's displeasure, he took a couple of steps forward and spoke in a hushed voice.

"I won't tell you because I'm not certain who it is yet, but I am certain about one thing."

There was a pause, and then the Emperor repeated his last words.

“One thing?”

"I went to his house to gather evidence but there was no one there. So, I asked around about his family and I was told that his wife had disappeared taking their son with her, leaving only their five-year-old daughter with a neighbor, so I brought the child to the Palace."

“What are you going to use the child for?”

“Allen!”

At the sound of Kyle's loud voice, the parlor door opened, and Allen walked in, carrying a chubby little five-year-old girl.

The little girl, startled by the unusual sight, was already crying and sniffling, her nose red as her eyes darted everywhere.

“Hmmm. What is this?”

As if on cue, the child shouted as soon as the Emperor, annoyed by the fact his massage was being interrupted, finished his question.

"Daddy? Dad! Yay!"

The child ran to the Emperor with her arms wide open and went straight to the back of the massage table, clinging tightly to the masseuse's leg with her whole body.

“Baby...”

And there, the masseuse, who had scooped the child up in his arms, stood with his eyes closed as if he had already given up.

***

The Second Imperial Palace.

The interrogation room of the Internal Affairs Department.

"How long has it been since they were taken hostage?"

The masseuse read his lips and answered in sign language before the interpreter could finish. He was able to give short verbal answers, but long ones would be inaccurate, so he used sign language.

“Nine months to be exact,” he said.

"If you cooperate, we can save them."

At Kyle's assurance, the masseuse stared at him, unsure and confused, then asked,"But what if I'm found out and my wife and son are killed?"

"They'll die if you don't cooperate. If you decide to cooperate, you'll have a better chance of reuniting with your family. I can get you a reduced sentence for participating in a crime under duress and for assisting with the investigation. We're running out of time. You have ten minutes to make your decision."

After some deliberation, the masseuse revealed the place where he had concealed his intelligence reports and Kyle summoned Harrison, the head of Internal Affairs.

***

Before I knew it, it was May 28th.

The days had ticked by without yielding results.

I still hadn't found the black map in any of the warehouses. I wondered more and more if the map had ever been there in the first place.

Logan continued to go to the meetings, but he didn't seem to take any other action.

Time passed quickly and I was frustrated, having nobody to share my deepest concerns with.

I couldn't turn to Andrei for help or Kyle for advice. Even if I found the map, I couldn't tell Andrei or Kyle about it.

No. I could say that I found it in the warehouse while organizing some papers. Yes, that would be fine, but I needed to find it first.

Being unable to find it made my anxiety grow and I was getting close to a state of panic.

But then someone suggested another way, making my need to find the map moot and convincing me that there was a way out of every bad situation. *

The man who showed me the way out was Bernard, my only knight and future general, whose irritable bowel syndrome had improved.

A little while ago, he had taken the final practical exam to become an Intermediate commander of the Imperial Army's Specialized Weapon Forces.

"If I pass, I'll have to resign, so it will be difficult for me to participate in the joint training."

"Joint training? I thought Elias didn't have a history of participating in training with knights from other Houses?" I asked, catching Bernard's passing remark.

"I don't know the details, but I'm told that another House has offered to train with us. The date is June 20th, and the training will be held at the Eastern Plains Knight's Training Grounds."

Excited, I immediately asked, "Eastern? Not the Capital?"

"Yes. The Knights of House Spencer are numerous, so we'll be training at their location."

"Ah... Those training grounds are known to have good facilities... Wait, Spencer?"

My voice rose in excitement.

Count Spencer was a descendant from the collateral line of the Imperial Family and had long maintained neutrality. The Count was old, and his eldest son whom he’d had late in life, was still young. Therefore, it was unusual for him to propose such an official event.

However, this time, he had proposed to train with our family's knights. This could be interpreted as a sign of Count Spencer's willingness to ally himself with the Second Prince.

The County of Spencer was a prestigious family within the Empire and they had likely chosen to ally themselves with the Second Prince. As he had predicted, they had chosen to side with him of their own volition.

As I marveled at Kyle's ability to think ahead, Bernard's next words caught my attention.

“Master Logan will be leading it.”

My head snapped up.

“Really?”

"Yes. He took the Elias Knights over from Master Jason, didn't he?"

"It doesn't make any sense...!”

“Why? What's wrong with you?" Bernard asked seriously at my dumbfounded reaction. I immediately shook my head vigorously.

"No, it's nothing. It's not serious at all. How long is the joint training?"

"As far as I know, it will last about a month. You will have to check with His Excellency for more details."

"Ok. Thanks."

I nodded vigorously, feeling good about Bernard's information.

From what I had found out, there were no Awakened Youth Clubs in the East. In the Empire, they only existed in the Capital, in the West and to the Northeast, close to the Principality of Ga'an.

That meant if Logan traveled to the East for a month, he wouldn't be able to participate in the club meetings during that time.

What if his travel to the East was extended...?

I must see my father.

"Yes. Thank you for your consideration, My Lady. I'll take my leave."

Bernard paid his respects and then mounted his horse in one neat motion.

"Think about what you would like as a congratulatory gift, Bernard."

“I'm not one to take my chances.”

"Really? Did I say something I shouldn’t have?" I asked, shrugging, and Bernard cleared his

throat.

"Still, if you’re so inclined, I'd like an outfit to wear at the acceptance banquet."

Blushing slightly, Bernard's gaze wandered somewhere in the distance.

"Hehe. Noted. Bernard takes it all!"

I raised my fist vigorously, and Beth, who had come scurrying from the kitchen, did the same.

"Beat them all, knight! I'll make you a tie to go with that outfit. And here."

Beth held out a tightly tied bundle to Bernard.

“What's this?”

"It's a watercress and chicken breast sandwich. You can have it once you're done with the practical exam."

"... Thank you, Miss Beth."

Beth blushed brightly, and Bernard scratched the back of his neck.

"Oh, this is so heartwarming."

Bernard looked at Beth's brightly sparkling eyes, then once at mine before patting the left side of his chest with a grimace.

"I shall answer your prayers then!" he vowed. Then he pulled hard on the reins and left for the testing grounds.

"I've made some for you as well, Miss. Where would you like to eat?"

“I'll eat in the dining room. I'll go see my dad first.”

I headed to the office building, trying to figure out how to keep Logan in the East for longer.

And after a while.

I snapped my fingers.

"Yes! There's that! The thing Jason stopped doing. Let's use that!"

Editor's Note -

*하늘이 무너져도 솟아날 구멍이 있다 means 'Even if the sky falls on you, there is a hole from which you can escape.' I always found idioms to be fascinating. In layman terms this means there is a way out of every bad situation.

On another note I hope you enjoy this chapter that restarts the story where we left off a few months ago. Happy Holidays to all!

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