Olicia let out a sigh of relief when she heard Adam’s report through the crystal orb and heard of Shane’s safety.
“Is that so? Thank goodness.”
[Yes. However, he still hasn’t fully recovered, so he plans to stay a bit longer in the Mezaiya Forest.]
“That’s all right. I’ll handle the upcoming schedule from here. Please tell him to rest well.”
[Understood.]
After ending her communication with Adam who seemed to be moving around busily, Olicia turned her gaze to Osten who was reading documents nearby.
“It’s such a relief that Shane is safe.”
“Yes, it truly is. It could have been a real disaster. By the way, how is the current situation progressing?”
“For the scale of damage caused, the response hasn’t been too bad. It seems the suppression efforts went smoothly, thanks to the black mages of the Life School who found an alternative solution.”
A few days had already passed since the battle with Lucifer ended.
The organization had continued to stage terrorist attacks, but as Osten mentioned, the black mages from the Life School had successfully devised methods to safely subdue the diverse non-humans involved in these attacks.
In addition, thanks to Adam and his team of dark elves, they had located most of the non-human slave camps.
Reports had already been sent to the Emperor on the matter, and they had also informed the coalition to initiate procedures to search the camps.
“What about the council head?”
“Fortunately, he has overwhelming support from the citizens, so it seems that his hearing concluded successfully as well.”
Meanwhile, like Olicia, Mild had been under attack from numerous political nobles in the coalition. Yet, after successfully suppressing several terror incidents, he had come out victorious in the battle for public opinion.
While the rank of the Imperial Family changed according to the nobles’ opinion, the status of the Coalition was determined by the judgment of the citizens.
At this rate, Mild would solidify his position.
Overall, the situation was progressing well, yet they could not afford to let their guard down completely.
The unresolved mysteries surrounding the Haiel Kingdom still remained.
In fact, now was the most crucial moment.
“They’ll make a move soon, won’t they?”
“Yes. The Crown Prince likely sees this as his one chance to turn things around.”
Osten considered Samuel’s position.
Currently, Samuel was facing accusations that bordered on certainty. That he had ties to the terrorist organization.
To escape this crisis safely, what would Samuel decide to do?
First, he’d find a scapegoat to take the fall for him, and second, he’d aim to accomplish something significant.
And as it happened, there was a perfectly fitting target from Samuel’s perspective.
The king of the Haiel Kingdom.
Unlike Samuel, who had only circumstantial evidence against him, the King of Haiel had material evidence to his name. He was the best target for Samuel.
And if he could personally eliminate the king, Samuel would be able to shake off all suspicions currently surrounding him, and his standing in the imperial court, which had recently declined, would be restored.
“They’ll likely bring up this issue as soon as tomorrow.”
“What evidence is there?”
“According to recent reports, rumors linking the King of Haiel to this terror attack have already spread throughout the city. It must be the work of the Crown Prince, and knowing his nature, he wouldn’t let it go to waste. He’ll want to secure his position as soon as possible.”
“There’s logic in that. Then let’s contact Haiel’s second prince right away. Tell him to release what we’ve prepared.”
“Understood.”
***
The King of Haiel, Oliver XIV, exploded with rage in his newly youthful body.
“What is the meaning of this! Me, the mastermind behind the terror attacks!”
“Th-The rumors about this are already spreading throughout the capital… !”
“Ridiculous, baseless nonsense!”
“H-However, inquiries from the coalition have already begun! They even brought documents listing royal funds…”
“Those wretched… insolent fools!”
The king’s fury filled the palace, yet none of his ministers could think of a way to soothe his anger.
At that very moment, weren’t the nobles ordering their aides to verify whether the documents sent by the coalition were legitimate?
The preliminary reports brought only despair. So far, no errors have been found in the documents.
Just then, someone rushed into the court with frantic steps.
“Y-Your Majesty!”
“What is it!”
“A rebellion, a rebellion!”
“What…! Where, who’s behind it?”
“It’s Prince Mason’s rebellion! He’s already entered the royal palace with his knights and hired adventurers in tow!”
“What were the guards doing instead of defending?”
“Th-That…!”
The nobleman who brought the news hesitated to gauge the king’s reaction, then squeezed his eyes shut and cried out.
“Sir Adam, the knight commander presumed dead, is reportedly leading them…!”
“Wh-What?”
Adam, the kingdom’s knight commander.
Two years ago, he had risen to fame as the kingdom’s hero after the opening of the Great Mezaiya Forest, only to be declared dead due to injuries he’d sustained there.
In reality, he had supposedly died in an assassination plot orchestrated by the King himself, yet here he was, standing at Prince Mason’s side.
“Deploy our forces at once! Crush the rebellion!”
***
Though the sudden uprising plunged the palace into chaos, this was anything but a sudden event.
Adam had spent two years preparing, and now Mason had joined him in launching the rebellion.
Soldiers secretly recruited in advance opened the castle gates, and Mason’s forces entered the royal palace with bold authority.
The kingdom’s knights hastily mobilized to block their advance, but they were struck speechless at the sight before them.
“C-Commander Adam!”
“Are you… alive?!”
There, at the very front of the rebel forces, stood the knight they knew all too well.
Once a knight who had represented the kingdom, Adam was thought to be dead; his injury from the Great Mezaiya Forest was said to have fatally worsened. Now he sat on horseback with a determined posture and the knights who had once followed him froze in their tracks.
“Who… who is that below him?”
Clinging to the horse Adam was riding was a man in such a pitiful state he seemed half-dead.
Just then, Mason who was standing behind Adam raised his voice.
He was wearing armor they had never seen him in before and shouted in a majestic voice.
“Hear me, proud knights of the kingdom! Adam, the hero of Haiel Kingdom who made invaluable contributions toward opening the Cradle, which is humanity’s long-cherished dream! Adam has returned!”
“But… wasn’t it said he died from worsening injuries?”
“How… how is this possible?”
The soldiers, who should have been rushing to suppress the rebellion, instead found themselves listening intently to Mason’s words.
Ironically, this reaction stemmed from the current king’s own actions, who, under the guise of honoring Adam’s memory more than anyone, had glorified his name far and wide. With the hero they had been mourning suddenly alive before them, who could resist paying attention?
Even the newly appointed commander of the knights hesitated to issue orders.
“It was rumored that our hero had died from the worsening of his wounds in the Great Mezaiya Forest, but this is a lie! Right before your eyes is the vile traitor who attempted to assassinate him in this sacred royal palace!”
As Mason gestured toward the unconscious man hanging from Adam’s horse, murmurs rippled through the ranks of soldiers.
“A-Assassination?”
“Who would dare attempt such a thing here, in the royal palace?”
Once again, Mason’s shout echoed through the place.
“This man here is an informant and hired assassin from the underground city. So then, who do you think ordered this vile man to assassinate our hero?”
“Who do you think arranged for this assassin to make it all the way into the royal palace?”
“And pray tell, who covered up the death of Commander Adam by dressing it up as the noble sacrifice of a hero?”
“……”
At that moment, only one person with absolute power came to mind for everyone listening to Mason’s words.
The current king.
None other than Oliver XIV.
“Yes, the mastermind behind this terror attack is none other than my father, the king of Haiel Kingdom—Oliver XIV!”
“Th-That’s impossible!”
“Are you saying His Majesty the King did such a thing?!”
Some knights tried to deny it, but their voices quickly fell silent.
“Look! This is the ledger of his dealings! Knights, you proud soldiers of our kingdom! Will you label me a traitor? No! I have no intention of plunging this kingdom into chaos.”
“But as it stands, our Haiel Kingdom is a candle flickering before a storm. It’s already becoming known across the continent that Oliver XIV is behind this terror. The Empire is mobilizing for war, and even our allies refuse to support us.”
“I, Oliver de Mason, declare this in my own name. I do not seek to incite rebellion; rather, I am here to hold accountable the king who, for his selfish gain, has allied himself with a terror organization!”
Mason continued his speech, but the knights still did not put down their swords.
Even if Mason’s words were true, they were knights sworn to protect the king.
However, they couldn’t stop their eyes from trembling at the urns and armor that the soldiers who appeared from behind showed.
This time, Adam opened his mouth.
“Look at this. Who do you think this belongs to?”
“Th-That armor is…”
“No way…?”
“Yes, that’s right. These are our comrades we sent out from the Great Mezaiya Forest to relay the situation inside. Dwight, Cecilia, William. All of them were buried not far from the forest, in a lonely hidden place where no one knew.”
“What… what happened here?!”
At that, one knight couldn’t contain himself and cried out to Adam.
Though he had thought he had moved on, the memory of their comrades’ sacrifice in the Great Mezaiya Forest still remained deep in their hearts.
The knights, who had lived their lives bound by chivalry, bit their lips hard at Adam’s next words.
“Do you remember those vile men who turned the corpses of proud knights into chimeras in the Great Mezaiya Forest? The ones leading these terror attacks now are those very same people! And! The current king, to regain his youth, has allied himself with them! He sacrificed the knights who swore eternal loyalty as offerings to them!”
“……!!”
“Aah…”
Then, one by one, the knights lowered their swords.
Adam, once the most loyal to the royal court, had returned with a truth that shook them to their core.
They couldn’t say anything. They just lowered their swords.
“My proud knights, I know your loyalty. But what you should protect is not a king corrupted by greed, but this kingdom I know your loyalty, so I will not demand that you make a cruel choice. All I ask is that you do not stand in our way.”
“……”
At Mason’s continued persuasion, the knights blocking his path began to step aside, and the current knight commander lowered his head in uncertainty.
And so Mason and his forces entered the royal palace without bloodshed.
***
“What is the meaning of this?! You’re telling me the rebellion has already succeeded?”
The shout erupted in Samuel’s office which was usually filled with the calm strains of classical music.
Before he even had a chance to press for war against the Haiel Kingdom, a rebellion had erupted there, and shockingly, it had succeeded in less than half a day.
Searching through history, one wouldn’t find such a reckless coup as this.
“Is the King of Haiel an absolute fool? How could he lose his kingdom in a single day?”
“…It seems they had been carefully preparing for this rebellion. As soon as it broke out, the gates of the palace opened, and with the appearance of Adam, the hero of Haiel Kingdom thought to be dead, the knights guarding the palace also stepped aside.”
“These retards!!”
In truth, if one looked closely, Samuel had played no small part in the success of Mason’s rebellion.
Samuel too had been laying the groundwork for an advance on the Haiel Kingdom.
He had already leaked details of the Haiel King’s dealings to the press and spread related rumors throughout the coalition and the Haiel Kingdom alike.
This had stirred unrest across Haiel, lending weight to Mason’s words.
Now, Samuel raged at the blunder born of his own orders.
Expensive decorations flew through the air for a brief moment, only to crash and shatter against the walls, while the calm strains of classical music were buried beneath his shouts.
All possible paths of escape had now been cut off.
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