Chapter 70: Conspiracy

On the 7th day of the first ten-day period of the Month of Decaying Leaves in the Bathfire Calendar year 778, Dellan, the second greatest military power on the Western Continent and a close neighbor of Phoenix, saw its longest-reigning king return to the embrace of the Deity… Another page was turned in the history of the Lunrek Lüneburg dynasty.

The kingdom announced the news of mourning to all monarchies across the Western Continent and also revealed the new heir to the throne to the outside world.

The deceased King of the Kingdom of Delan, His Majesty Ernst August, was not an outstanding monarch. This emperor, who inherited the throne at age thirty-two and abdicated into his coffin at age seventy-three, did not have many notable achievements in his life as a king and sovereign—he did not particularly value bravery, nor did he favor warfare, but he also paid little attention to the declining population and lands of his empire. In fact, from his accession to the throne until his forties, most of his energy was devoted to Dellan’s harem system, which was despised by the nations of the continent…

His Majesty the King had seven official wives, including the legitimate queen… Perhaps this paled in comparison to the legendary Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors in Constantine’s memory, but on the Western Continent, where marriage was said to be blessed by the Deities, this was already an unforgivable crime.

In fact, to put it simply, he was a standard incompetent ruler…

We know that the fate of incompetent rulers is almost always the same… Punishment finally fell upon this amorous king—in the Year of Light 376, which was the Month of Decay in the Bathfire Calendar year 753, while all humans on the Western Continent were celebrating their Harvest Festival, the largest slave uprising in the history of the Western Continent erupted within the borders of the Kingdom of Delan!

Of course, one could also say that the accumulated grievances caused by heavy taxes and the cruel punishments of the Archdukes finally reached a threshold… This uprising was called the Wrath of Ants—compared to Dellan, commonly known as the Earth Dragon, the slaves were indeed just a bunch of annoying ants. They might cause temporary trouble, but with slow attrition, there would only be one outcome.

Unexpectedly, this minor skin disease eventually became the start of a catastrophe… The Rosian Empire, which had long coveted that mineral-rich territory but found no opening, finally seized the opportunity. Under the slogan of liberating the slaves, they easily swallowed two provinces in southeastern Dellan after a swift advance of more than ten days!

The saying “everyone pushes down a wall” had not yet spread across the Western Continent, but everyone understood the similar principle. The eastern nations, long overshadowed by Phoenix, did not miss this good opportunity to exploit the weakness and develop themselves. They bit hard on Dellan, this wounded beast, from all sides! Taking advantage of this opportunity, the Rosian Empire launched an all-out massive offensive. In the following Year of Light 377, the Rosian Empire’s army even besieged Dellan’s capital, Lüneburg, for a time.

But under such extreme pressure, the Aryan people of the Dellan line finally erupted with terrifying power… This Earth Dragon roared its final roar!

In the end, Dellan achieved victory in this war of national defense at a heavy cost. It took them three years to drive the Rosian people out of their territory. The Earth Dragon Knights finally reclaimed the glory of their ancestors! However, the scarred Kingdom of Delan was now on the verge of collapse… This situation finally allowed King Ernst August of Dellan to demonstrate his talent. He began implementing a policy of recuperation and revival that lasted thirty years.

This could not truly be called recuperation and revival in the real sense. Every family, every couple in Dellan, whether commoners or Nobles, was strictly ordered to have many children. All cultivable land, whether fertile or barren, became farmland. This Earth Dragon of the Kingdom of Delan, bitten all over and wounded, began to pant heavily. It rudely licked its wounds, seizing every moment to rest, rest, and rest again! In the eyes of the aging Ernst August, he had no allies, no kin around him… Toward his kingdom, seven out of ten greetings harbored ill intentions, and the remaining three were merely polite formalities.

In the face of such almost pathological obsession, even the might of the Gods would likely have to yield temporarily. So, after thirty years, Dellan, the Earth Dragon of the Western Continent, seemed to have regained its dignity once more. This ferocious carnivore began to bare its sharp Fangs… Before it stood the opponents who had once torn flesh from its body. And facing such a fierce beast, no one could help but feel fear…

…

Of course, Constantine now also felt a trace of… fear in his heart, even though the one before him wore a friendly and kind smile, not showing a single tooth.

Call it preconceived prejudice… In fact, after removing the disguise of the long skirt, Prince Rheinstadt Hilue August’s appearance showed no feminine traits at all, and his demeanor was equally flawless. He was at most a year or two older than Constantine, but his slender build made him look quite mature for an adult. And that noble bearing was something Constantine, a half-baked Noble, could not match—it was an ingrained temperament, not something achieved by simple imitation of tone and manner; it required the accumulation of time.

However, Constantine still seemed to find it difficult to get used to this Prince with deep, beautiful eyes, especially that neutral tone full of Dellan-style inflections… Even after dealing with a pile of troublesome aftermath and riding with him in the carriage to Falkens Palace for such a long time…

This was practically a sacrifice for Phoenix! That old fellow Rafael VII should award me a medal… No, a reward of at least a hundred thousand imperial gold coins! Constantine gritted his teeth secretly. Mages were truly detached from worldly affairs, away from power and desire—when this Prince, an obvious representative of secular power, expressed hope that someone could accompany him to the palace, they all fled faster than rabbits!

… Well, that was to be expected; rabbits couldn’t perform Teleportation Spells!

But actually, he had no real reason for resentment—the first one who tried to slip away was the eldest son of the Connallyvis Family. But obviously, the griffin emblem on him innocently caused trouble for this newly appointed Viscount of the Empire… Or perhaps Prince Rheinstett had his eye on him from the beginning. Like all Mages, he also made the same excuse of being busy with research, and as the head of the empire’s most advanced experimental institution, he naturally had that right.

But unexpectedly, this fake… Prince immediately launched a sharp counterattack—he casually expressed keen interest in the experiments that this young Sorcerer could oversee… Considering certain issues related to confidentiality measures, Archmage Nikolai had to personally sentence Constantine to his fate. As the only person present with an imperial noble title, Constantine had to take on the responsibility of escorting.

But how did it end up turning into escorting him to the palace and getting on that welcoming royal carriage? … Enduring the affectionate glances and soft words occasionally directed at him, Constantine asked himself in confusion.

“I must thank you, Viscount Constantine di Friedrich Connarivis, for your great assistance… If not for you, I fear I would have broken my neck…”

While the resentful Sorcerer expressed his dissatisfaction in his thoughts, the second Prince of Dellan also expressed his gratitude for the young man’s coincidentally unlucky action. He seemed not to notice that he had already said similar things twice.

“You are too kind, Prince. In fact, I merely happened to be there… and intervened. The ones who truly saved you should be your Knights who made great sacrifices.” The young man shifted slightly. He always felt as if cold air was seeping in somewhere, letting the chill of the last three days of the Month of Decaying Leaves wander across his back—even though he was now riding in a Phoenix royal carriage.

Actually, he should have been polite and said something like, “Just call me Constantine,” but after a little thought, he gave up this courtesy that seemed intended to bring them closer.

“Your humble heart is matched only by your wisdom…”

“If not for our great luck this time, where our intelligence personnel obtained some information and made some small preparations in advance, I fear I would not have escaped that disaster…” Speaking of his deceased subordinates, this handsome Prince showed a delicate, sorrowful expression. “But I did not expect these murderers to be so vicious—Shapeshifters are extremely cunning and ferocious creatures… And these two were probably key members of a notorious assassination group. Such insane fellows would not care about the consequences at all, truly frightening… May the God of Valor Heironius have mercy on the Knights’ loyalty and bravery, granting them the honor of ascending his chariot…”

Constantine forced a slight smile. ‘Some small preparations?’… Since they managed to escape easily in that terrifying energy storm, these preparations were not something achievable under ordinary circumstances…

In the legends believed by Dellan, the God of Valor Heironius would let the Souls of warriors who died on the battlefield ascend his chariot, granting them the honor of becoming his warriors and achieving eternal life… Though one wonders if those who died in an obvious conspiracy had such luck.

But then, the young man’s heart stirred—conspiracy… could it be a conspiracy?

If they had already obtained intelligence, the first thing should have been to take defensive actions… For example, thoroughly investigating the entourage and canceling the travel plans. Nonsense like “important plans cannot be canceled” only exists in movie plots… For such an important figure as a Prince of a kingdom, even if in a hurry, delaying travel plans by half a day or a day is not a big deal. Moreover, this incident carried a strange feeling—everything was unexpected yet reasonable, as if pre-rehearsed.

As a series of speculations ran through his mind, Constantine’s gaze toward the other took on a peculiar quality…

If his deductions were not wrong, this seemed to be the beginning of some plan… Those unlucky assassins had at least provoked some displeasure from Archmage Nikolai. After all, the Archmage would hardly let go of the mastermind who caused trouble in his Mage Tower and nearly killed him and a group of Mages.

In fact, if the effect had been a bit better, it could have even caused the chief Archmage of a nation and a group of High-Rank Mages to die unnatural deaths. Given how heavily wars in this Plane relied on Mages, that would undoubtedly mean Phoenix losing a great number of assets…

The question was, did this guy have the guts?

Constantine shook his head, scanning the Prince across from him unceremoniously.

If this were true, this effeminate fellow really did not lack the courage inherited in Dellan blood… At least he himself had no interest in calmly playing along when he knew a huge trap lay ahead—even with defensive measures, such bravery was admirable.

“Prince, if it is convenient, could you satisfy my curiosity? What brings you to Hayton this time?” Temporarily setting aside that series of conspiracy theories, Constantine shifted the topic slightly.

“It’s nothing grand. I came to study… Phoenix’s Military Theory College is about to enroll a new batch of students, and I am fortunate to be one of them…” The Prince paused, then gave a ‘charming’ smile.

“Study? You mean… Military Theory… College? There’s such a thing?” This time, it was Constantine’s turn to be stunned.

…

“Prince Rheinstadt Hilue August has arrived!” the usher announced.

Long trumpets blew sharp notes, and two rows of Knights stood majestically along the corridor of Falkens Palace gate. They wore sky-blue velvet battle robes over gleaming, intricately carved silver armor, with exquisite silver helmets on their heads. Clearly well-trained, they saluted in unison, quickly parting to form an imposing path for the appropriately dressed, slightly delicate young man descending from the carriage. At the end of the path, a group of well-dressed gentlemen had already put on their most cordial smiles.

“You have all worked hard.” Offering a gentle smile to the waiting crowd, Prince Rheinstadt steadily stepped down from the carriage. Then, under everyone’s watchful eyes, he performed an action that left those around him stunned. The Prince took the hand of a Mage-like figure cloaked in a Black Robe beside him and walked together toward the crowd.

“Good grief! What does this guy mean!” Constantine groaned inwardly, but in this situation, he could not break free. So the poor young man could only force a weak smile, facing the astonished gazes of those Nobles.

…

Naturally, a guest from afar would not be subjected to the ordeal of climbing towers. The place where Rafael VII received this Prince who came to study was a small reception room in Falkens Palace.

Although called a small reception room, its area was actually thirteen or fourteen times larger than some standard rooms in buildings called city gardens. Not a trace of the Castle’s original bluestone color could be seen in the entire room. Black oak wall panels and chestnut-colored floors were polished to a dark sheen. Various precious ornamental plants and potted plants adorned every windowsill. Though the furniture consisted of common items, their true value lay in their age. Upon closer inspection, Constantine found signatures carved in inconspicuous corners of these furniture pieces. Though not from well-known major figures of this Plane commonly found in books, this ancient habit was enough to prove that these items were at least several hundred years old.

But aside from the location, everything about this meeting seemed not to match the statuses of the two.

“Welcome to Phoenix…”

The Emperor of Phoenix was currently wearing a short waistcoat and an ornate shirt. His imperial robe and crown were held by the figure in a red Robe of Magic behind him. To some extent, his hobbies resembled Constantine’s—it was said that this Seventh Majesty only dressed formally on very official occasions. In ordinary times, he preferred the stylish casual clothes tailored for him.

This seemed somewhat explainable, but the next few things were undoubtedly completely improper etiquette—now, besides the red-robed figure who never left the Emperor’s side, there was no fourth person in the conference room. According to the usual pattern, a meeting between an Emperor and a Prince should involve a round of meaningless formalities. As two people raised in a royal environment, both Rafael VII and Prince Rheinstett were adept at such things. However, obviously, neither was interested in exerting effort on such ceremonies now. After only slightly more elaborate greetings than between two ordinary free citizens, the matter turned to the main topic.

Prince Rheinstadt’s cautious gaze wandered over the red-robed figure before he carefully took something out from a pocket on his chest.

It was a small black pouch, not much larger than a palm, with a dusty, unremarkable appearance.

But then came somewhat astonishing developments—the Prince took out a scroll nearly two feet long from it! The scroll appeared extremely luxurious, seemingly made entirely of gold, inscribed with a series of exquisite Runes. As Prince Rheinstett held it, the small Runes began to emit faint purple light!

Rafael VII slowly unrolled the scroll, carefully reading the text on it—if any Spellcaster noticed the script on that scroll, they would likely be surprised, for the words were not the Divine Script used for Magic, but simple Common Tongue script.

In other words, this was not a Magic Scroll. Yet the supreme ruler of Phoenix, his platinum eyebrows tightly furrowed, read every word seriously… Until the Hourglass on the table quietly dropped halfway, he finally looked up and let out a heavy sigh. Then, he picked up the quill on the table and carefully wrote his name at the end of the scroll…

The next moment, bright pale purple light suddenly shone from the scroll! The golden scroll slowly rose into the air! Then this light intensified, momentarily flooding the entire room with pale purple light!