Chapter 86
“Saint, I asked whether the name you just mentioned is certain.”
“It is.”
“Who told you? Could it be you misheard the name?”
Yankeller’s breathing grew rough.
Unlike usual, his agitated appearance puzzled Angelus.
“I’m sure. But… do you know Lady Gronji? Why are you so surprised?”
“N-no. How could I possibly know her? I’m only shocked that a noble lady would commit such an act…”
Angelus thought his lie was clumsy.
With suspicious eyes, she silently observed Yankeller.
“So… if she was captured, does that mean she’s imprisoned inside the palace?”
Yankeller cautiously asked.
“That must be it. I heard the Emperor’s knight himself went to arrest her.”
Angelus let out a short laugh, recalling the knight who had rushed off at the Emperor’s command.
Yankeller could not think straight. His heart pounded like mad.
All he could think of was rushing to the palace at once.
Without even bidding Angelus farewell, he hurried off to his office.
Watching his retreating figure, Angelus turned to the maid who had been following, clutching her dress.
“You—go after Yankeller right now.”
“Yes?”
“Once he leaves the temple, follow him. See where he goes and whom he meets, then report back.”
“Ah… yes, understood.”
Angelus’s eyes glinted coldly.
“I’m eager to see what you’ll bring back.”
At the same time Yankeller was speaking with Angelus,
the palace conference hall echoed with the voices of nobles heading there.
“Today we must press His Majesty to accept our demands.”
“Indeed. He thinks he can simply drag things out, but we cannot allow it.”
“I wonder how late His Majesty will arrive this time.”
The Emperor, disliking the nobles’ incessant demands, always came late to meetings.
But when the conference hall doors opened, the nobles’ chatter fell silent in an instant.
The Emperor stood there, lifting one corner of his lips in a smirk.
“I almost turned back, weary of waiting for you.”
“Your Majesty, how… how are you here so early?”
“Early? You are the ones who are late.”
The nobles exchanged looks of annoyance.
“I have something most important to say. Must I wait endlessly for you?”
At the Emperor’s irritated tone, the nobles hastily took their seats.
Once even Duke Bacard, strolling leisurely, was in place, the Emperor solemnly began:
“I have granted your wish.”
“Our… wish?”
“Yes. That which you kept requesting. I have captured the culprit of the square fire.”
The nobles erupted into murmurs at the Emperor’s sudden words.
Their dismayed expressions stretched the Emperor’s smirk wider.
“Your Majesty, we never even conducted a search. How could you claim the culprit was caught?”
“I received a reliable tip-off and swiftly had the person seized.”
All eyes fixed on the Emperor in shock.
Among the murmuring nobles, Duke Bacard stood stiff, lips sealed and face expressionless—unlike his usual self, clearly unsettled.
The vassal ever shadowing him whispered urgently into his ear.
Watching them as if enjoying the spectacle, the Emperor spoke again:
“The culprit is a noble.”
Gasps and shock rippled through the hall.
“Your Majesty, to arrest a noble solely on a tip-off? Do you even have solid evidence?”
“Evidence? Why is that needed, when the report is trustworthy?”
“This Empire is governed by law and due process. Regardless of a tip, proper procedure must be followed. And nowhere does it allow seizing a noble in such a manner.”
The moment it was revealed the culprit was a noble, the atmosphere turned hostile.
Some nobles glared at the Emperor in open reproach.
The arbitrary arrest of a noble meant any of them could be next.
Had the culprit been a commoner, the nobles would not have reacted so fiercely.
The Emperor’s gaze began to tremble under the nobles’ sudden backlash.
He pretended composure, but confusion clouded his words.
If they were this sensitive to “a noble,” what would happen if he said it was a young lady barely past twenty…?
At that moment, fury welled within him toward Angelus, who had named Everett as the culprit.
And alongside it, resentment toward Duke Bacard for introducing her.
“Your Majesty, who gave the report? Please reveal the informant.”
“P-protecting the informant’s identity is only right, is it not?”
Pressed by questions, the Emperor stammered.
“Yet while you protect the informant, why do you trample the rights of a noble so?”
Cornered, the Emperor’s gaze turned toward Duke Bacard.
This is your fault.
If you hadn’t introduced me to that saint, this would never have happened.
Shut their mouths now!
The Emperor shot him a look—a mix of reproach and desperate plea.
Then—
Boom! A deafening explosion rocked the palace.
Everyone dropped, covering their ears and cowering on the floor.
Knights by the Emperor’s side instantly raised their shields, surrounding him.
“What is happening! What exploded? Don’t just cower—go and find out at once!”
A noble shouted at a servant crouching opposite.
Hesitant, the servant rose and peered out the window.
Not far away, black smoke curled into the sky.
“It’s an explosion, Your Majesty. The palace has been bombed!”
No one dared rise, remaining pressed flat against the floor.
Only once assured there was no second blast did the nobles cautiously approach the windows.
Through the dense smoke, glimpses of the Emperor’s golden-armored knights flashed in and out.
“Where is that?”
“Isn’t it the guard post?”
Then—
“Look! Over there! They must have caught the culprits!”
All eyes followed the pointing finger.
Two unconscious men were being dragged away by knights.
“Your Majesty, you said the culprit was already caught. Then who are these men who just bombed the palace?”
“They are the culprits. The explosion, the fire, the smoke—it’s the same as the square attack.”
When the knights moved to lower their shields, the Emperor ordered them to stay in place.
He had no wish to meet the nobles’ relentless stares.
Instead, he gestured for a knight to approach.
“You will at once take the prisoner and remove them from the palace grounds.”
“Right now… sire?”
“Yes. Quietly, discreetly, swiftly.”
“At once, Your Majesty.”
The knight handed off his shield and hurried out.
Not long after, another knight entered.
The nobles bombarded him with questions, but he ignored them, kneeling before the Emperor.
Only then did the Emperor order the shields lowered.
“Have you captured the culprits?”
“Yes, sire. The same powder found at the square was discovered. It seems to be the same perpetrators.”
Hearing this, the Emperor’s anger at Angelus shifted into fear.
Forever plagued by paranoia that someone would kill him,
he had believed the palace was his safest refuge.
Yet now, within its very walls, an explosion had struck.
His trembling hand, hidden by long sleeves, betrayed his dread.
“Are the culprits dead?”
“No, sire. They merely lost consciousness in the blast.”
At that, a noble cried out, voice sharp with agitation:
“Your Majesty, they must be revived and interrogated at once! To dare attack the palace—you can be certain there are masterminds behind them.”
“Indeed! And to strike at this very hour, during a noble assembly, right outside the hall—it is nothing short of treason!”
No one mentioned the noblewoman the Emperor had had arrested.
Instead, all clamored about uncovering the culprits’ backers, faces taut with fury.
But the Emperor, wracked with panic symptoms, only longed to flee.
Clutching his temples, he muttered:
“My head aches. I must rest for today.”
A servant helped the Emperor rise and led him out.
“What shall we do, Duke Bacard?”
Once the doors closed, Bacard’s vassal whispered low.
The Duke’s grinding teeth made a chilling sound.
“Bring Hugo.”
The vassal replied, “Understood,” and slipped out, blending with the departing nobles.
The knight tasked by the Emperor headed straight to the eastern tower where Everett was imprisoned.
“Come out.”
He unlocked the tightly barred cell.
“So now I’m off to be tortured?” Everett asked.
The knight chuckled shortly.
“His Majesty has ordered you released outside the palace.”
The plan has succeeded.
Following the knight up the stairs, a faint smile touched Everett’s lips.
But upon reaching the surface, the knight strode off—not toward the gate he expected, but the opposite direction.
“Um… isn’t the exit that way?”
