Chapter 113

“Uncle!”

The Emperor couldn’t help but be startled.

The blood spreading across Duke Benerix’s clothes was real.

The person most likely to have sent an assassin had, instead, taken the blow meant for him?

It could all be staged, but it was still a shocking sight.

While he was still in confusion—

—Clang, crash!

The staggering Duke Benerix bumped into the table, knocking everything on it to the floor where it shattered.

But the duke picked up a candleholder from the wreckage and stood off against the assassin.

“……!”

Just as the enemy stomped, looking for an opening—

“Who goes there!”

“Forgive the intrusion, Your Majesty!”

The imperial guards burst through the garden gate.

“Tch!”

Perhaps realizing his objective was now difficult to achieve, the intruder pulled a strange artifact from his robes and hurled it to the ground.

—Paf!

A cloud of white smoke billowed up.

“Poison!”

“Your Majesty, get to safety!”

The guards split into two groups—some shielding the Emperor and the duke, others charging after the intruder.

“What on earth is going on?”

“To think, in His Majesty’s own garden…”

People whispered from a distance—none dared speak nearby.

Duke Benerix, meanwhile, barked at the guards blocking anyone from approaching.

“How did the Imperial Guard let an assassin into the very heart of the palace, into His Majesty’s private space? And what were the Imperial Knights doing?!”

Despite his pain, his voice rang with anger.

“It’s because we lack enough knights, Your Majesty. How could this happen…”

“Uncle, see to your injuries first,” the Emperor said grimly.

He wore a worried expression, but inwardly he had realized the duke’s scheme.

“If the Red and Azure Knights had been here, this never would have happened!”

At those words, the onlookers murmured.

“Indeed, if Sir Modillac were here, no one would dare…”

“There are many fine knights in the Red Order, too.”

It was only natural that little was known about the Imperial Guard’s members.

After all, why would the identities of those closest to the Emperor be public knowledge?

This secrecy, however, now worked against them—people began to suspect the Guard was composed of less capable knights.

“Silence!”

When the noise seemed about to reach the Emperor and the duke, one of the Guard barked an order.

The decision to station the Red and Azure Knights outside the palace had been made by the chancellor and the Emperor himself—officially, because they were “knights of the people.”

In truth, the Red Order was heavily influenced by the noble faction, and this was the only way to keep them away from the Emperor.

The Azure Order also had to be sent out, but that was still preferable to having the Red Order roaming the inner palace.

“Are you unharmed, sire?”

Medical staff who had rushed in for first aid were followed by physicians carrying proper supplies and artifacts—among them the royal physician himself.

“I’m fine,” the Emperor said, waving them off, then gestured to the duke.

“See to my uncle first.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

At that moment, the commander of the guards and the Commander of the Imperial Guard arrived and bowed deeply.

It seemed they had rushed here after ordering the palace security tightened and knights dispatched.

“Execute me, sire!”

The Commander was referring to the fact that the assassin’s weapon had come so close to the Emperor—an offense that could not end with mere dismissal.

But the Emperor raised a hand.

“Use that time to find out who the attacker was and who sent him.”

“Yes, sire. We are in pursuit; any information will be reported at once.”

The Commander bowed again.

Then the guard commander spoke.

“This is all my failure, Your Majesty,” he said, lowering his head nearly to the floor.

“We must strengthen the palace guard. Even though this is the inner palace, the outer palace is full of outsiders, including government offices, so our manpower is stretched thin.”

If it was lacking, he should have said so earlier, the Emperor thought, giving the man a sharp look.

And then the commander said the decisive words:

“So please, will you not summon the Azure and Red Knights? I will accept death as punishment for my failure, but I beg you…”

With that, the Emperor was certain.

For the commander to propose bringing in the Red Knights now—effectively adding fuel to the duke’s earlier suggestion—when it was already clear which faction was most likely behind the assassin… this man was a traitor.

And the entire situation had been staged.

But Duke Benerix had shielded the Emperor at the cost of “risking his life,” neatly removing himself from suspicion.

If the Red Order, stationed outside the palace, entered now…

And if some of them, like this commander, helped give the assassin access…

“Your Majesty, they too are your knights. Please, trust them!”

How cunning.

The Emperor looked down at the commander, who cried out his loyalty with such earnestness.

To refuse now would be to declare that he distrusted both the Red and Azure Orders.

“……”

So that was why they had made such a commotion and drawn the crowd.

The Emperor had to admit it.

He’d been outmaneuvered.

“…Summon them.”

The Azure Order would be called as well, but unfortunately, their acting commander was now in the hands of the noble faction since Latine had been dismissed.

The situation was grim.

“Are you truly well, sire?” asked the architect of this entire mess—the duke himself.

His concern appeared sincere, his loyalty unshakable.

But the Emperor knew: once he had severed all means of resistance, this man would reveal his true aim—the imperial throne.

“…You should take care of yourself, Uncle,” the Emperor said, narrowing his eyes slightly.

As expected, the duke’s wound was not fatal, nor had the dagger been poisoned.

While the orders for the Red and Azure Knights went out, new information arrived.

“Your Majesty, the assassin fled in the direction of Chancellor Ameris’s mansion!”

“Please order us to pursue them immediately!”

The Emperor closed his eyes.

If the assassin, alongside the Red Order, stormed the chancellor’s estate with ill intent…

…there would be no force capable of stopping them.

Ameris…

The Emperor kept his eyes shut.

“The chancellor’s estate and the palace, is it…”

Aivert’s expression darkened at the report of the Red Order’s movements.

An assassin had infiltrated the palace, the Emperor had thankfully remained unharmed—but Duke Benerix had been “injured in his stead.”

“That man?”

Rodella, hearing this, was certain the entire event was staged.

The problem was the lack of evidence.

There had likely been a traitor among the guards who had opened the way, making the breach so easy.

And yet, even though the assassin was skilled enough to threaten the Emperor, he had managed to escape—conveniently leaving an obvious trail.

That meant the assassin’s destination, the chancellor’s mansion, could serve one of two purposes:

To accuse the chancellor of sending the assassin after the Emperor…

Or to target the chancellor herself.

No—perhaps both.

As Rodella was thinking this, Aivert seemed to reach the same conclusion.

“As expected, the acting commander is taking orders directly from Duke Benerix.”

There was no other way the timing could be this perfect.

The Red Order could reach the palace, but the Azure Order was far away and in disarray.

Given their distance from the capital, even if the Azure Order sent reinforcements, they could only dispatch a small elite group.

“There’s still someone in the palace, though.”

Aivert narrowed his eyes.

The two were receiving a proper briefing from a Royden agent in a building by the harbor.

It was clearly linked to Royden’s trade company; the people there had simply stepped aside when Aivert arrived.

“There are Royden people inside the palace?” Rodella asked, almost certain.

Aivert nodded.

“Yes. But not many.”

That was only natural—it was the palace, after all. Even if Royden supported the Emperor’s faction…

“The real problem is the chancellor’s estate. It will take time for the Red Order to blatantly violate the inner palace, but—”

If either the chancellor or the Emperor were gravely harmed, the Emperor’s faction would have no future.

But Rodella shook her head.

“It’s fine. We can stop the knights heading for the chancellor’s mansion.”

She spoke with certainty, convinced that this was information even Royden’s far-reaching network didn’t yet know.