Chapter 186: Fake Empress (I)

Zen continued to chat with Cecilia for some time until Curtis and Dorian finally regained their composure after being a slave.

"You two are finally ready to talk huh? See how nice I am… I could have simply ordered you two to talk but I decided to wait until you're ready." Zen said pridefully.

He was truly a gentleman to wait for the slaves who could no longer control their own body and soul to talk instead of forcing them.

Meanwhile, Curtis and Dorian smiled bitterly as they weren't an idiot and knew it was because Cecilia had left him alone.

'The beauty stopped caring for you and that's when you started paying attention to us. What great kindness." Curtis cursed inwardly but didn't dare to reveal any change in expression.

Unfortunately for Curtis though, Zen can tell what they're thinking through the slave contract.

'Oh my, this slave contract is too powerful. Even the contract I made with Kuro and Romu pale in comparison.' Zen exclaimed inwardly as he decided to get to the main point.

Zen stared at the two of them with a serious expression before asking, "Tell me everything you know about the empress and her plan so far. Since you two are imperial guards, there should be some intel that you sniffed out."

Curtis and Dorian glance at each other before sighing as they no longer have any choice.

Thus, they revealed everything they knew about the empress, leaving nothing out for Zen to ponder.

"The empress doesn't really show herself and her behavior seems to change when the emperor has fallen ill in the past 9 years. During that time, the empress seems to become power-hungry as she keeps targeting after the princesses to boost the prince to become the heir." Curtis said slowly before stopping for a short while.

Curtis made a difficult expression, almost like he wasn't sure if he should inform Zen about something.

Zen narrowed his eyes slightly and ordered, "Curtis, just tell me everything and what is troubling you from telling me?"

Curtis nodded his head as he stuttered, "A-Among us in the imperial guard, some of us suspected that the prince wasn't even a child of the empress and there are even suspicions that the current empress is a fake."

This time, it was Zen who became dumbfounded by such information. Curtis can't lie because of the slave contract so what he said is what he truly believed and if his words were true then this could become a huge problem.

Zen didn't want to overthink as he glared at Dorian and using the slave contract effect, he ordered him to tell everything he knew. 

Dorian's answer was an exact copy of Curtis's answer with exaggeration included that the original empress was locked somewhere else and that the fake empress is currently managing the imperial family.

Dorian knew it was outrageous to exclaim that but he doesn't have a choice.

"That's really everything we know about," Dorian said, hoping to be spared from the torture.

'Why is this shit keep getting complicated?' Zen cursed inwardly as he thought something as simple as overthrowing the empress is now a difficult task.

"What kind of evidence or conjecture do you have to believe that the current empress is a fake?" Zen asked softly.

Dorian shuddered but facing Zen's glare, he hurriedly said, "The previous empress wasn't a strong mage or calculative woman. She was kind and gentle to everyone with almost every noble's family supporting her for her easygoing attitude."

And he continued, "However, 9 years ago, when the emperor became bedridden and the empress took over the court matters, everyone thought it would be an easy life but the empress seemed to change into another person. She was decisive and ruthless as she executed multiple people that dared to go against her order."

When Dorian got up to this point, he started feeling a chill in his back when he remembered the people being executed in public. They were all loyal officials and provided many merits to the Jade Kingdom but none were spared alive.

Zen turned solemn as this was indeed a suspicious point. 'A kind and generous empress turned into a ruthless and decisive empress in one day. Not just any day but during the time when the emperor has fallen ill. Coincidence? I think not.'

"Wait a minute, if it's like this then how come the princesses never suspected it?" Zen asked when he remembered that Krista Dragoon had never mentioned this point.

She has only mentioned that the empress continued to target her and wished to push her own son to the throne. 

But then another problem was, why would the empress needed to do that when she practically has control over the entire imperial court.

"R-Regarding the feud between the princesses and empress, not many are able to know about them. They always had a good relationship and cared for each other but they became enemies as soon as the emperor had fallen ill." Dorian said slowly and continued.

"Also, the empress has forbidden the princesses from visiting their own father and was locked in their household until they decided to sneak outside this time with the annual auction house that returned operation after 9 years."

Zen almost got a headache from all this new information that just kept coming in like waves.

"The auction house was also stopped in their operation during the time that the emperor had fallen ill?" Zen asked for clarification.

This time, Curtis took the lead as he answered him, "Yes, during those 9 years, everything was in chaos as almost no one knew what would happen as there would be a time when a family would disappear overnight, with rumors hinting that it was the hidden army of the empress. The Scarlet family wasn't willing to risk their business so they have stopped their operation until this year when the Jade Kingdom has finally restabilized itself."

'This situation is getting messier as we continue to talk about it. Just what has happened during those 9 years?' Zen cursed inwardly as he needed to investigate this mystery soon.