Chapter 92
Chapter 92
The Empire’s Chancellor, Gayaon, was entrusted with handling matters great and small of the nation on behalf of the Emperor.
Matters great and small literally meant everything, from trivial issues like what kind of crimes were running rampant in which region, to national-scale concerns such as unrest in another country’s political situation, so every single day was relentlessly busy.
In particular, there were certain keywords that bypassed the reporting principles of going through subordinates and were managed directly by him, and among those were matters related to the imperial family and treason.
Not long ago, the terrorist incident carried out by the Anti-Imperial Faction in the Kingdom of Demedrio had also been reported to him directly.
From the moment the Academic Festival began, unsettling rumors had been circulating.
The Anti-Imperial Faction had begun to move.
However, those were words that always circulated whenever there was any imperial event.
He had thought this time would be the same, but unlike before, they had discreetly dispatched imperial troops to guard the venue.
That was because this time, three imperial princes were participating in the Academic Festival.
Although they had obtained intelligence about a potential terrorist attack in advance, the Academic Festival was too large an event to cancel.
If mishandled, it could be seen as the Empire panicking and backing down, damaging imperial prestige, so the Emperor ordered it to proceed as planned, and in the end, an incident occurred one day before the closing ceremony.
As thoroughly prepared as they were, not a single imperial figure was injured.
Although there had been some trouble surrounding the Third Prince, he too was unharmed, and everyone was able to return safely to the Empire.
‘But to think the king would actually die.’
Gayaon sent a letter conveying solemn condolences to the Kingdom of Demedrio on behalf of Emperor Gilgamesh.
The Anti-Imperial Faction had not only attacked the venue where the Academic Festival was held.
They had caused small-scale terrorist attacks throughout the capital, and eventually even infiltrated the royal palace and took the king’s life.
Although Sword Marshal General Isaac, who had rushed back, declared a state of emergency and rooted out the terrorist forces, the dead did not come back to life.
The absence of the throne that governed a nation could bring about unforeseen chaos.
Thus, Sword Marshal General Isaac ascended the throne a few days ago in place of his deceased older brother, and contacted them saying he wished to reaffirm relations with the Empire.
Of course, in Gayaon’s view, there were many suspicious aspects to the entire sequence of events.
The strategists had even raised the possibility that Sword Marshal General Isaac himself had masterminded the rebellion.
But even if he had indeed caused the rebellion, it posed no problem.
From the Empire’s perspective, it made no difference who ascended the throne.
In any case, the Kingdom of Demedrio was their vassal state and would continue to fulfill its role as a buffer zone admirably.
What had changed were only the faces of a few people.
‘Still, this incident greatly displeased His Majesty.’
Emperor Gilgamesh upheld rule by force as his fundamental principle.
He revered strength and despised more than anyone the weak daring to bare their fangs at him.
Of course, the Emperor was also aware of the existence of the Anti-Imperial Faction.
Even so, he had left them alone because they had known their place and crawled along the ground until now.
This was one of the first times they had so openly and directly displayed hostility toward the Empire, so he expressed great displeasure.
Gayaon thought that before long, judgment would be passed upon them.
Knock, knock.
Just as he had finished organizing the documents and was about to rise from his seat for lunch, someone knocked on the door to his office.
When Gayaon told the visitor to enter, a familiar subordinate stepped inside with several sheets of documents, bowing his head.
“What is it?”
He had already received all the documents to be processed in the morning.
However, the subordinate said this was a report that had been delayed during processing and handed him new documents.
“It is a report from the South Yorkshire region.”
“South Yorkshire?”
At that familiar place name, Gayaon tilted his head slightly.
South Yorkshire was the territory ruled by the Sheffield Count Family, renowned as one of the Empire’s great magical houses.
Usually, places that reported directly to him were those with some sort of problem.
But could there really be an issue in a territory ruled by the Sheffield Count Family, one of the Empire’s most influential families?
As he looked down at the report with a questioning gaze, the subordinate continued his explanation.
“…It seems that recently, unfavorable rumors have been circulating in the South Yorkshire territory.”
“Rumors?”
Was he really interrupting his lunch over mere rumors? Gayaon frowned slightly, but the contents written in the report were not something that could be dismissed as mere trifles.
“People numbering in the double digits have gone missing, and among them, parts of the bodies of only a very few have been found. And not intact ones, but limbs or parts that appear to belong somewhere on the body…….”
Though it was simple text, a groan escaped Gayaon’s mouth as he read it.
Some of the discovered remains had been cleanly cut, while others bore rough tears as if they had been ripped apart by a beast.
The Sheffield Count Family showed signs of trying to resolve the matter on their own to prevent it from escalating.
They hushed it up as much as possible and deployed the family’s troops and mages to investigate the truth, but bafflingly, the culprit left behind no trace whatsoever.
‘There are only two things that can be inferred from the report.’
Either they truly could not find any traces.
Or the Sheffield Count Family had deliberately erased them.
Of course, the latter was unlikely.
Problems that occurred in a territory they governed became that family’s failure.
What would a family like the Sheffield Count Family lack that they would resort to such schemes?
“…?”
Just as he was about to set it aside, thinking that capable people would handle it well with a bit of help, a peculiar note written at the very bottom caught his eye.
“And as noted under special remarks, there are rumors that the Holy Kingdom is taking an interest in this incident. From what we’ve heard, an Inquisitor has been mobilized…….”
“What? Those lunatics?”
At the subordinate’s words, Gayaon let out a scoffing breath.
The Holy Kingdom was, as its name suggested, a nation founded by those who believed in a god.
Over time, it accumulated history and legitimacy and was reborn as a kingdom, and now it proudly occupied a place on the continent under the name Holy Kingdom.
They generally pursued the stability of civilian life and maintained peace with other nations, but exceptionally, if their god was even slightly insulted, they were a group that would have the entire population rise up and crush the enemy like madmen.
What caught Gayaon’s attention was the fact that an Inquisitor had stepped in.
They were among the elite even within the Holy Kingdom.
If they had moved, it meant that something extraordinary must have occurred.
“Does Count Sheffield know about this?”
“The information from the Holy Kingdom was something we investigated and added ourselves. The Count is probably still busy with matters in his own territory and hasn’t heard yet.”
“Then pass along the information appropriately. He’s a wise man, so he’ll handle it well, but if he requests assistance, spare nothing in supporting him.”
With the Emperor already in a foul mood, unnecessary noise was the last thing he wanted.
Helping where possible to quickly quell the disturbance and quiet things down was the best course of action.
“There’s nothing else to report, is there?”
Having made a swift decision, Gayaon set the documents down and rose from his seat once more.
He was about to head out for lunch, but his subordinate opened his mouth as if he still had something to say.
“And there is another matter I must report regarding this case. This is why I submitted an urgent report…….”
“What now?”
“It appears that Third Prince Leios departed for South Yorkshire today. We only just received word ourselves…….”
“…What?”
As mentioned earlier, among the matters he managed, anything related to the imperial family was of the highest priority.
Especially when it involved a prince with a claim to the throne, it demanded the strictest security.
However, Third Prince Leios had caused bewilderment more than once by concealing his movements and disappearing.
During the last vacation as well, he had suddenly headed to Britain, causing everyone considerable trouble.
That was why, to prepare in advance, they had asked about his plans for this vacation, only to be told nothing had been decided yet.
He had never imagined that he would suddenly head to South Yorkshire like this.
“…Hah.”
Gayaon sat back down, let out a sigh, and flipped through the documents.
With Third Prince Leios heading there, he would need to reorganize the personnel for support and troops to be dispatched to South Yorkshire.
It seemed his lunch would be delayed even further.
***
As soon as vacation began, we departed straight for the South Yorkshire territory where the Sheffield Count Family resided.
As a member of the imperial family, I had a duty to inform others of my destination, so just before departure, I left word with the officer in charge that I was heading to South Yorkshire.
He looked like he was about to cry and asked how I could inform them so suddenly, but I had no desire to be tailed by others.
What if they tried to arrange something if I told them in advance?
Originally, we had planned to use a directly connected teleport gate like when we went to the Britain Ducal House, but unfortunately, it overlapped with an inspection period, so we were traveling to a nearby territory first and then riding out by carriage.
Since it was cramped for all eight of us to ride in one carriage and it would slow things down, we split into two groups.
In this carriage were Leysias, Yuria, Werner, and me.
In the other carriage were Alice, Elysia, Maria, and Diark.
Alice seemed dissatisfied with the group arrangement, but Diark alone boarded the carriage with a beaming grin, saying that everyone except him was a woman.
I wondered what kind of expression he would make if he knew that no one here was interested in him, and I felt a little sorry for him.
“I’m sorry, things got so troublesome because of me.”
“It’s fine. This kind of thing is nice once in a while.”
Leysias spoke to us with an apologetic expression, but I waved my hand and let the cool breeze flowing in from outside the window brush against me.
The sweltering summer had finally eased up around the time the Academic Festival ended.
The once-lush vegetation was slowly taking on a yellow hue, and plants and animals I hadn’t seen before were starting to appear here and there.
Feeling that tranquil mood, traveling by carriage like this didn’t seem so bad.
Maybe when I had more time later, I’d travel all around the continent.
“South Yorkshire territory, huh.
I’ve heard a lot about it, but this is my first time actually going.”
Werner, sitting beside me, seemed to feel the same way, smiling softly as he gazed out the window.
We were still traveling along the main road with only fields in sight, but I understood how he felt.
South Yorkshire, home to the magical noble Sheffield Count Family, was among the most developed regions in the Empire.
The city had developed to the point where even basic public facilities like water and sewage systems were built on magical systems, and it was also a place specialized in magic to the extent that people said one-third of the population were mages.
It was rumored to be such a famous place that anyone from abroad studying in the Empire absolutely had to visit.
Naturally, expectations were high.
“You won’t be disappointed. I heard they’re doing large-scale construction this time. It should be nearing completion.”
Leysias wore a confident expression as well.
Even in the original work, it was impressive enough that a protagonist accustomed to modern civilization found it remarkable, so it should be at a decent level.
To be honest, I was a little excited too.