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[Translator - Peptobismol]
[Proofreader - Demon God]
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Chapter 205 – If It Works, It’s a Revolution (3)
Everything turned out well.
Nemara had survived, and Kirrin had opened up to her father and found new courage.
Now she could start living her life on her own terms.
Nemara’s message had been delivered to the Second Princess, and Zakrion and Sharian would begin cooperating with the Imperial Security Office without issue.
The Academy, meanwhile, had already resumed the semester while the chaos unfolded in the Black Forest. Everything was running smoothly.
Even without the Headmaster and Head Combat Professor present, Ismera and Kaiden had taken care of things—and frankly, it felt like it was running even better without us.
After returning to the Academy, I called Ismera and Kaiden and told them about what had happened in the Black Forest.
Both of them were sharp. They understood immediately and said they would help Kirrin take the lead moving forward.
After Ismera left, Kaiden stayed behind and asked me,
“There’s something you haven’t told us, isn’t there?”
As expected of Kaiden. His instincts were spot on.
I’d told Ismera only the bare minimum—that Kirrin and Nemara had a heartfelt conversation. I left out the rest.
The bloodshed in the Black Forest, Nemara’s message to the Second Princess—I hadn’t mentioned any of it.
There was no need for Ismera to know those details.
After hearing everything, Kaiden opened his mouth again.
“So the Nemara clan, one of the Emperor’s secret weapons, has effectively been neutralized. Their numbers have dwindled, and Nemara’s decided to align himself with the Second Princess.”
“Do you think the Emperor knows?”
“Unlikely.”
Kaiden said with certainty.
“You said you stopped by the Security Office to get a map of the Black Forest, right? At that point, both the Emperor and the Second Princess would have realized you were heading there—and each would’ve sent their own tracking teams.”
“And?”
“The Second Princess caught on first. With a clear advantage in force, she would have intercepted the Emperor’s team. That means all information about what happened in the Black Forest now belongs solely to her. Even now, the Emperor is probably still waiting for his team to return.”
“I see. But why go so far as to send someone after me?”
“Because both sides view you as highly important. In the Imperial power balance, your influence is enormous.”
Kaiden explained,
“The Emperor and the Second Princess have already gathered every resource within their reach. The remaining wildcards are the members of the Demon King Slaying Special Unit. Lord Linus and Lady Celine, due to their temperaments and current positions, are naturally neutral—no one tries to drag them in. Grand Administrator Lormane is aligned with the Church, so she’s off-limits as well. That leaves just you and me. The Second Princess likely predicted that I would follow wherever you went—so she’s been trying to recruit you all along.”
“Really?”
“As for the Emperor… it’s complicated. He’s afraid of you. During the war, you clashed with him openly more than once.”
That’s true. The old man was greedy and foolish—he kept trying ridiculous things, so I had to correct him several times.
“Though breaking into his bedchamber wasn’t exactly ‘advice.’ Still, since your disappearance, he’s suffered from insomnia. A man who could sneak in and out of his bedroom undetected—and who had no affection for him—vanished without accepting the rewards any sane person would’ve taken.”
Wait… so the ‘missing Special Forces agent’ Nemara mentioned—was me?
“So from his perspective, he has to do everything in his power to prevent you from siding with the Second Princess. That’s why both factions vying for control of the Empire are obsessed with you.”
“I ran away to avoid all this… and now I’ve come full circle.”
“You’re a powerful man. It’s your fate. In any case, the Emperor will remain in the dark until Zakrion and Sharian begin carrying out assignments for the Security Office. Only then will he realize what happened.”
“What will the Emperor do then?”
“He’ll go berserk. The person he once trusted with his life has gone behind his back. The Emperor’s judgment is already impaired by age. He’s cowardly and could act in extreme, unpredictable ways. A cornered rat bites the cat—and the Emperor isn’t a rat. He’s a tiger. His fangs may be gone, but his claws are still deadly.”
Unpredictable and extreme behavior, huh…
“And regarding the Fourth Princess—I believe the Second Princess intends to make her a figurehead Emperor. The Fourth Princess is mentally impaired, but she has blood legitimacy. That’s something the Second Princess lacks. No matter how competent she is, she can’t change her blood.”
“Is it even possible for the Fourth Princess to become Emperor? The other royal kinds won’t sit still.”
“The Second Princess will ensure they do sit still. I don’t know what method she’ll use—but judging from her past, we can guess.”
What Kaiden meant was assassination.
I hadn’t known, since I’d been holed up in Brunswell—but apparently, there’s been a shocking number of unexplained deaths since the war ended.
The common thread? All of them opposed the Second Princess or dared speak ill of her.
That’s why, ten years later, there’s not a single person left who dares raise their voice against her.
“Then why wait ten years?”
“The Fourth Princess is now of age. Pushing a minor to the throne while other heirs are still alive would be too much, even for the Second Princess.”
“I see. The timing really is… delicate.”
“It is. The Fourth Princess is an adult now. And the missing Special Forces operative suddenly reappeared—as a professor at her academy. I also became a professor. And one of the Emperor’s weapons, Nemara, has dulled. The Second Princess probably sees this as her chance.”
“If she tries to place the Fourth Princess on the throne, won’t that stir up chaos across the Empire?”
“Surprisingly, no.”
Kaiden spoke with conviction.
“If it did, it would draw attention from the noble council and other factions. That would only make it harder for the Second Princess to do as she wants. She’ll try to move quietly, as much as possible.”
“So this might not affect us directly?”
“Most likely not. In fact, the Second Princess is probably hoping we’ll stay uninvolved. If she made a move and Lord Linus or you so much as frowned, what do you think would happen?”
So, as Kaiden said, the best thing is for everyone to do their own work and not get involved with each other.
I don’t care who becomes Emperor.
But if it affects my daily life, that’s a completely different matter.
From what I’ve seen so far, the Second Princess is trying her best not to provoke us. So as long as I don’t step forward, nothing will change.
Alright then. Let’s each go our own way without getting in each other’s way.
# # # #
A remote, secret location beyond the Imperial Capital.
In a dark room lit only by a few candles, the Second Princess was reading something.
It was a report analyzing the words Dian had left behind the night before.
After reading it to the end, she gently folded the report and held it to a candle.
Fwoosh.
The burning report dropped to the floor as she leaned her chin on one hand and sank into thought.
Dian had bet on her.
He had implicitly pledged to support and back her.
And he might even be open to a political marriage—becoming her strongest ally.
This was the conclusion reached by the decryption and analysis team, composed of the most brilliant minds in the Empire. They were rarely wrong.
A political marriage with Dian…
Though his background was insignificant, so was hers.
Despite being a princess, she was the daughter of a concubine. Had she not built her power through military success during the war, she would’ve been treated as no more than a commoner in the capital.
That’s how it was before the war.
Dian, like her, had overcome his origins through sheer ability.
He’d enlisted as a lowly soldier, earned distinction, and left the army as a lieutenant colonel. Then became the top professor at the Imperial Academy.
A path not unlike her own—rising from a concubine’s daughter to a general, then to head of Imperial Security.
She and Dian had that in common.
So in the end, you do have ambitions for power, too.
Well, of course. People like us—who have ability and strength—aren’t satisfied until we’re standing at the top.
Ten years ago, you were young and idealistic. Walking away without accepting any reward seemed meaningful and noble to you then.
But as the years passed, without recognition or praise for all your achievements, doubt must’ve crept in.
You must’ve started to wonder—what was the point of throwing everything away and disappearing?
And now, ten years later, thanks to Linus, you’ve returned to the world.
And realized it—realized that the you of ten years ago… was wrong.
You’re not someone who belongs holed up in a remote port town.
You’re not just some professor at a backwater academy.
That would be an insult to those without talent or strength—a waste of potential.
Very well, Dian.
I’ll accept your offer.
In exchange for your support, I’ll make you Imperial Consort.
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[Translator - Peptobismol]
[Proofreader - Demon God]
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