Chapter 53
“There will be humans who die after drinking water.”
The seventh death had occurred, and after wolves began appearing throughout the land and were tracked and slaughtered, the temple delivered a second oracle. This time, seizing the chaos left in the wake of the first.
And on the very day the second oracle was announced, another death followed immediately. A family who drank water drawn from a well became the victims. Across the regions, the number of similar deaths was steadily increasing.
“Do you think the emperor will follow the oracle?”
Aaron asked.
Duke Russell leisurely placed a cigar between his lips. His face was clouded in thought for a moment.
“Who knows.”
But the answer he gave was pathetic. After all, unless it was Ivan himself, no one could say for certain.
“If it were me, I wouldn’t. He’s not even my child, and more than that, why would I make someone so clearly a threat to my throne the crown prince?”
Duke Russell exhaled deeply, speaking his mind with candor. The heavy smell of cigar smoke filled the secret underground room.
“And look at the child’s eyes. Though a deep brown, it’s undeniably similar to the priestess’s.”
“……”
“If it were me, I’d accuse him of being the illegitimate child of the priestess.”
A woman who had turned her back on the gods—what better tool for slander and propaganda? Yet, curiously, Ivan hadn’t chosen that path. Whether he simply thought it unworthy of his attention or couldn’t bear to muddy his hands with such filth due to some obsessive pride in his honor, it was impossible to tell.
“For now, the emperor hasn’t taken that route, for whatever reason…”
Duke Russell’s fingers tapped rhythmically against the wooden table—a habit of his whenever he was deep in thought.
“But if this kind of pressure continues, eventually he’ll resort to disgraceful means.”
But he couldn’t afford to be exposed. Not before he achieved his ultimate goal. Whatever became of Amelia after the sacred legend collapsed was of no concern to him—but until then, her safety was essential.
“We can’t let our tracks be uncovered.”
Every person who had tailed or lingered near Amelia during her outings—aside from Louie—was now dead. With no way to definitively prove whether Amelia was truly the child’s birth mother, there was little risk of being discovered.
But as they knew better than anyone else—rumors, once born, spread like wildfire, beyond control. So it never hurt to be cautious.
“We need to eliminate the child before the emperor starts to suspect or finds a way to use him.”
Duke Russell spoke with a blank expression, but the chill behind his gaze was like that of a snake—cold and sinister.
“Even if the child dies, the temple cannot blame the imperial family, thanks to the oath the priestess signed.”
“Of course the temple can’t blame them. But the situation is different now than when she signed that oath.”
Back when Amelia signed the oath, Ian was nothing—just a child discarded in the streets and picked up by the priestess by pure chance. That’s all. Ivan had no reason to harm him then. In fact, the child was more a source of anxiety for Duke Russell.
But now? The boy, with no imperial blood, was on the verge of becoming crown prince. Ivan now had every reason to get rid of him.
“The emperor will surely fall under suspicion and lose public favor. He’ll look like a man who’d sacrifice the country just to protect his own power.”
Duke Russell discarded his spent cigar as he laid out his predictions.
“If the blame is placed on the death of the child, the temple will demand the return of the priestess.”
“The emperor has already lost the public’s trust thanks to the oracles. A holy war under the banner of retrieving the priestess would justify everything.”
Ah. Aaron let out a quiet exclamation.
“So you planned this from the beginning.”
Rebellion always needed justification. Until now, the imperial family had left little to cling to as cause for rebellion. Outwardly, they maintained a surface-level harmony with the temple. Ivan’s opposition had never gone far enough to be truly condemned.
“Now we’ll need to reinforce our soldiers with high-grade equipment. Things might need to move faster than we thought…”
Duke Russell admitted an undeniable truth. The Russell household hadn’t originally aimed to consume the imperial family—only to solidify their own foundation. Naturally, they hadn’t focused heavily on strengthening their military.
“But we’ve continued training, and if we gather troops from the three families, we’ll be fine.”
That all changed once he became head of the family. Since then, Duke Russell had raised his own forces and funded the Skipper and Brown houses as well.
“If the emperor loses the public’s favor and we secure legitimacy, then even a hasty rebellion will go flawlessly.”
Duke Russell smiled. A smile filled with unshakable confidence in the outcome.
Ivan wasn’t unaware that things were already in motion. On the same day the second oracle was given, deaths began outside the outer palace. Even before he sent knights to secure the wells in each region, accidents had occurred.
Since it was human meddling, not divine will, the deaths didn’t continue. But the people of Escliff were already shaken. After all, the temple and Russell had targeted the realm of faith.
“……”
Ivan ground his teeth.
He had no intention of naming Ian as his heir anyway. But since it wasn’t them who would die, they acted like they were ready to drag everything down with them. The sheer arrogance made Ivan want to kill someone.
“Your Majesty.”
Even Rodan’s arrival had begun to feel like another stressor. Ivan stared at him in silence, his expression bitter.
“A commoner died after drinking while intoxicated, but now rumors are spreading that it was divine punishment.”
Ivan’s mood was indescribable. Rodan’s voice, too, sounded strained, sensing the tension.
“There are far too many absurd rumors, and no good way to contain them.”
The oracles were lies. Just as Amelia wasn’t a real priestess. But that was a truth only they believed in.
Ivan and Rodan knew she was a fake. But they had no way to prove it. Just as Amelia had no way to prove Ian was Ivan’s child, Ivan couldn’t prove she was a fraud.
“Have soldiers patrol taverns and restaurants. Arrest anyone spreading nonsense. And bring entertainment and distractions to the villages. Something to diffuse the unrest.”
How exactly? Rodan wanted to ask but held back. He feared Ivan’s contempt if he spoke too bluntly.
“Support traveling troupes to go from village to village. Host martial arts tournaments and horse races inside the inner city. Offer grand prizes and rewards—make it irresistible.”
Thankfully, Ivan seemed to notice and provided a clear answer.
“Also… that mother whose child died after supposedly receiving the priestess’s blessing.”
“Yes.”
“Place informants near her—people who will help her spread rumors that the priestess’s powers are fake. Give her generous financial support as well.”
Rodan nodded.
“And the child’s existence…?”
He hesitated, bringing up Ian. The best solution would be to paint him as the priestess’s illegitimate child—proof that she no longer heard the voice of the gods. It was even the truth, so there’d be nothing to hide.
“Leave.”
But Ivan only returned a command to leave. Rodan told himself the emperor must have a different plan and turned away.
“……”
Ian. The child. That tiny, fragile thing.
Ivan frowned as he forced himself to think of the name he had been trying so hard to ignore. Thinking of Ian meant thinking of Amelia—and just as Amelia couldn’t say Ian’s name without thinking of Ivan, he was the same.
Of course, the child was his, and that made him precious. But weren’t other people’s lives just as precious?
“Your Majesty, it’s time for dinner.”
As night fell, the chamberlain informed him that dinner was ready. The flickering candles lit early in the day wavered in the dusk, and so did Ivan’s unsettled heart. On a sudden impulse, Ivan stood.
“Your Majesty, aren’t you headed to the dining hall?”
But Ivan turned in the opposite direction. The chamberlain, flustered, rushed to follow. His destination turned out to be the West Palace—where the guests resided.
The chamberlain anxiously glanced at the emperor. Ivan’s face looked like he might execute someone on the spot. The guards, who had snuck away for snacks, straightened up at once, guilt written all over their faces.
