Chapter 99

It had been about a month since Nine and I returned to the castle.

During that time, Nine, I, and the vassals of the Eclipse Ducal family had all been gathering information and keeping the internal staff in check to counter Count Laurel’s faction.

We caught more accomplices than expected, and they were all fanatics obsessed with that ‘religion’.

‘They called it Urkelism.’

Urkel was the god named by the Parkel Church as the evil god and demon god among the creation gods. That fact wasn’t even widely known, so I only found out after inquiring with the Church.

But that was all. Unlike the worlds of other romance fantasy novels, the Church’s power was weak in this world, so there was no further gain.

Anyway, the doctrine of the religion called Urkelism was very simple.

‘The power of Goddess Parkel is depleted, and God Urkel shall be resurrected to take revenge on the world. Children! Let go of your Mother’s hand and return to your Father’s embrace! Our souls were created by the Father, and our bodies by the Mother. Abandon the flesh and go confess your sins to the Father! Thus, you shall gain eternal life!’

These were the words shouted by the spy of Count Laurel who was captured earlier.

He bit his tongue and committed suicide after saying that.

There was no significant news from the spies planted in the Laurel Count’s family and the Imperial Palace, and even the Emperor’s contact, which had been consistent, had completely stopped for several days, perhaps due to a change of heart.

‘I heard he had been sending regular correspondence since public opinion started to shift.’

The fact that the Emperor had paid this much attention was already a huge privilege. It must have been possible because he was always strangely favorable towards the North and the Eclipse Ducal family for some unknown reason.

But now, even the consistent communication from that Emperor had stopped, and everyone was starting to get nervous.

As the atmosphere in the castle gradually grew heavy, Nine eventually decided to hold a reporting session to reassure them.

“Since everyone seems to be here, let’s begin.”

Nine’s voice clearly resonated in the large conference hall. I sat next to him, quietly looking down at the organized documents.

When Nine motioned, Norman was the first to report.

“Reporting. Count Laurel continues to press the Imperial Palace with accusations against the Eclipse Ducal family, driving public opinion. Although Count Laurel’s claims were already published in the yellow press and spread among commoners, public opinion is increasingly tipping against us.”

The faces of those gathered in the conference hall twisted in frustration.

I later learned that the yellow press I had seen while at the Oswald Ducal estate only contained articles favorable to Eclipse. The actual publication of Count Laurel’s claims in the yellow press had only started around that time.

‘Helena must have deliberately prevented me from seeing that news.’

“Meanwhile, the missionary activities of Urkelism have also become more active. Since the monster crisis has been ongoing for months, the worship of the religion that claims to drive away monsters is deepening daily, and they are even spreading rumors using Count Laurel’s claims.”

“…”

“…”

A heavy silence descended. Since we already knew the Count was a fanatic obsessed with Urkelism, connecting the two events was not difficult.

He was trying to remove the Eclipse Ducal family, who stood on the frontline of monster subjugation.

“Isn’t this nothing short of treason!”

An elderly Count, finally enraged, slammed the table and vented his fury.

It was a statement that some might consider an exaggeration, but his point was valid within the context. If Eclipse were removed from the current situation, the Empire would lose its protector. It was a serious issue, equivalent to treason against the Empire.

“To be so ungrateful after we have blocked and protected against monsters all this time!”

“That’s right. Just looking at the current situation of the Empire, the families that are excellently dealing with monsters can be counted on one hand. To drive out the Eclipse Ducal family at a time like this… this is truly…”

“It is an act to use the monsters to destroy the Empire!”

As the discussion turned to treason and even the end of the Empire, the atmosphere grew even heavier.

‘Is Count Laurel truly plotting treason?’

This was not mentioned in the original novel. Furthermore, it was unclear whether the cult he was obsessed with was precisely Urkelism.

In the original story, Nine executed him in the name of revenge for Iris before he could do anything. After the execution, the evidence found in his castle convinced the Imperial Palace of the Eclipse Ducal family’s actions, and they avoided trouble.

‘From the beginning, the novel focused more on the romance between Nine and Iris than on political or monster-related incidents.’

While I was engrossed in contemplating the original story, the opinions in the conference hall clashed sharply.

“We must execute Count Laurel and his followers before the situation becomes completely uncontrollable!”

“We don’t have proof. Even if His Majesty is friendly to Eclipse, this is not something we can easily overlook.”

“I agree. We should gather evidence and proceed only after receiving the Emperor’s approval to avoid future trouble.”

“Won’t that be too late!”

As the discussion quieted down, Nine looked at Norman and me and asked, “What are your thoughts, wife, Norman?”

“About what?”

Unlike me, who was taken aback by him asking for my opinion while leaving the heated discussion aside, Norman, familiar with the situation, asked Nine back.

Even in this situation, my heart fluttered at Nine’s formal address of ‘wife’ in a public setting.

‘I need to distinguish between time and place!’

I quickly chastised myself and composed my expression.

Nine, who was looking at Norman, asked again.

“If you were to anticipate Count Laurel’s next move, what do you think it would be?”

“Won’t he continue to pressure the Imperial Palace and wait for us to make a rash move?”

“A rash move?”

“Yes. They still lack power and justification. If we provide them with any pretext at this time, they could make it look like we are persecuting the accuser. Then they would gain both power and justification.”

As Nine’s strategist, Norman’s words made sense. It was the best option for them to gain power and justification in the current situation. They had stirred up public opinion this far even without anything to hold against us. How well would they utilize that weapon if they found a fault?

If I were someone who didn’t know the original story, I would also find that reasoning rational.

However…

“Do you share the same opinion, wife?”

I looked at Nine, then quickly scanned the vassals, and shook my head.

“There is truth to it, but that is a valid assumption only if the opponent is a person of sound mind. It seems difficult to consider Count Laurel sane at the moment.”

Although no news directly related to this crisis had come from the spy planted on Count Laurel, there was one piece of news that could not be taken lightly. It was the news that Count Laurel had recently killed his wife and children and covered it up.

Whether due to his obsession with the religion or his lust for power, the current Count Laurel was not in his right mind.

And among the things discovered after he was killed by Nine in the original story was a plan to declare a territory war against the Eclipse Ducal family.

“Count Laurel is taking a considerably aggressive stance. Therefore, it might be more likely that he will declare a territory war. If nothing else, he has justification for a territory war.”

Some vassals nodded in understanding. Iris was the justification that Count Laurel could use against Eclipse. Everyone knew of her existence.

“Therefore…”

“Excuse me for interrupting the meeting!”

Just as I was about to continue, a knight urgently opened the meeting room door and entered.

Everyone’s gaze turned to the knight.

A voice filled with urgency filled the conference hall.

“The military forces of the Laurel Count family have appeared in front of Iclea!”

“What?”

The vassals’ faces were filled with shock and confusion.

“Military forces!”

“How dare they! Do they even know where they are!”

The conference hall immediately became noisy.

The knight opened his mouth as if to report more to the excited people, but he didn’t need to explain the situation.

Sizzle, crackle.

The peculiar noise-laced voice characteristic of a magical loudspeaker sharply pierced everyone’s ears.

“〈I, Count Hawkman Laurel, as a loyal subject of the Dragon Empire, declare a territory war against the Eclipse Ducal family, who have strayed from the human path!〉”