Chapter 63: And the Stage was Set

Chapter 63: And the Stage was SetOn the night of my meeting with Count Chamneaux, I was escorted by a few spies to the dungeon in the capital.

There are two places which are called prisons within the palace.

One was a prison for aristocrats and knights who were captured while we were at war with other nations. Life in these prisons wasnt comfortable but a certain amount of human rights was guaranteed.

After all, they were bargaining chips for ransoms. The prisons were very secure to ensure that the prisoners wouldnt escape, but the aristocrats treat aristocrat and knight prisoners of war in a certain way since the ransom amount may be lowered if they are injured or become ill, and they also want to be treated accordingly if they were to become prisoners of war themselves.

Incidentally, no one has been here for a few years. There havent been any major battles, and the number of battles that the Empire has won can be counted on one hand.

But the other prison the so-called dungeon was a different story.

It was a place for tormenting prisoners. The inmates are traitors and people who are the scums of the earth. Therefore, they wont get released. The only time they can get out of the dungeon is when they go to the gallows.

A certain Emperor threw a lot of people into the dungeons but most of them never made it out alive.

The dungeon was, of course, unkempt and no light reached inside. Nadine du van Warung was held in this rotting prison.

Pishan, pishan!

A spy, who was working as a dungeon guard walked in front of me and stepped into a puddle of water, which made a splashing noise I dont know if that was water or not. The floor seemed to be paved with stones instead of concrete and obviously had poor drainage.

There were no windows or even a good ventilation system. There was almost no light and the only source of light was coming from a lamp held by the spy walking in front of me.

This place gave off a stench. I covered myself with Alex since I couldnt get caught by this stench when I returned to my room but even the spy who was working here was holding his nose. The stench was unbearable.

I was walking on Christel, so that I wouldnt step on the floor as well. I couldnt let anyone know that I was here.

This dungeon would be unbearable for a girl who has just reached her teens, but the aristocrats were adamant that she be imprisoned here because she was a traitors daughter. Apparently, the spy had managed to deliver her meals to her under their watchful eye but

Count Palatine Vedett hadnt accompanied me here. He said it would be better for him not to come since he had captured her himself.

It wouldnt be odd for her to hate the person who threw her in here but Im the one who gave him that order.

The footsteps of the spy walking in front of me stopped. The girl on the other side of the bars slowly looked up. She squinted at the light that had suddenly appeared in the darkness.

Nadine.

The clothes she was wearing were dirty. Her cheeks also looked slightly thinner.

Nadine replied weakly as if she recognised my voice.

Are you okay?

I dont know what she was talking about.

Thats what I should be asking you since youve been in jail for a few days.

Guandeleo. You look like you were in pain.

Ah, I finally understood what she was asking. She might have heard this from Lord Warung.

Im sorry, that was an act. I had to do it Ive actually never smoked it once.Nnêw n0vel chapters are published at novelhall.com

I see Im glad

Nadine finally looked me in the eyes when she got used to the light.

I couldnt do anything even though I was by your side.

Her voice was incredibly weak. She sounded like she was about to cry and as if she had lost confidence in herself.

She was a shadow of her old self. She wasnt the same lively Nadine who made fun of me and corrected me. This was heart-breaking. I dont think I can ask her to do anything in this condition.

But she didnt seem to be in despair from what I can see.

I thought for a moment and decided to speak as myself and not as the Emperor.

Maybe so, but I dont believe youre someone who cant do anything, Nadine.

I have learnt some things about Nadine after spending time with her for a few years. She was a girl typical of her age and had many shortcomings. It might be unfair to compare her to Rosalia or Timona.

But she was a person of action. She came to the palace to correct my behaviour and even overcame her weakness of horseback riding. She also preserved and stayed in the palace despite receiving constant hostility from the Chancellor and Regent factions.

She wont give up or despair just because of a single setback. She was that kind of girl.

I have something to ask of you. I need you to do something for me.

The next person who spoke was Count Palatine Vedett.

I have a report to make as well. I have received permission from Count Newnbal regarding the garrison. All the gates will be closed as soon as the coronation ceremony begins, and we will deploy some guards to patrol the area.

The garrison was an organisation made up of mostly commoners whose authority was somewhere between the police and guards of modern times. They were also gatekeepers during peacetime, so their cooperation was necessary to lockdown the capital. The lockdown would go well with their cooperation.

As to why it was necessary to talk to the Lord Treasurer in order to obtain their cooperation, well that was a little complicated.

The garrison was under the jurisdiction of Major Cardinal according to Lothar law, but there has never been a Major Cardinal in the Bungdalto Empire, because one of the reasons why the capital Odunau fell was because the Major Cardinal defected.

Until now, the mayor of the capital was the Emperor himself or someone appointed directly by the Emperor (a temporary position with limited authority given to a person during times when the Emperor goes on a military expedition).

In other words, they were directly under my jurisdiction, but the Emperor is too young to manage them so the Chancellor tried to manage them like any other organisation.

But the garrison hated Lord Raul, so they proudly refused his orders claiming that he was overstepping his authority. The Chancellor has repeatedly tried to abolish the garrison but the Lord Treasurer considered them necessary and has continued to budget for them (despite the budget deficit).

And now they were following Count Newnbal, who pays their salary.

Good work. So, you told Count Newnbal everything?

I did not. I only told him what he needs to know.

It would be obvious that something is going to happen at the coronation ceremony if the garrison is moved. I thought that he would have told the Lord Treasurer about the plan at this stage but it seems that Count Palatine was still very cautious.

I dont want him to panic on the day.

Please do not worry about that, since I will be by his side.

Count Newnbal, the Lord Treasurer, was a neutral aristocrat, so he would cooperate if he was told of the plan.

But Count Palatine Vedett was being careful. This didnt mean that he was suspicious of Count Newnbal. In fact, Count Palatine confirmed that Count Newnbal was completely neutral.

The people around Count Newnbal were the problem. Count Palatine was suspicious of those who were close to the Lord Treasurer. According to him, it was possible that they were connected to the Chancellor or Regent faction.

The secret service was well informed on everything, but there was a time when the information they had was inaccurate; that was when Count Palatine became the head of the secret service after the assassination of the previous Emperor in other words, when his predecessor committed suicide.

During that period, Count Palatine said that the previous Emperors private funds (money which the Lord Treasurer had no control over) had somehow gone missing.

Neither the culprit nor the money has been found to this date. Both the Chancellor and Regent factors place the blame on each other, and the Lord Treasurer was suffering from financial difficulties. Count Palatine hasnt been able to collect information on this matter, since this happened while the secret service was in chaos.

Count Palatine suspects that the culprit was a close associate of the Lord Treasurer. If it really is a close associate of the Lord Treasurer, then the previous Emperors private funds would have flowed to either the Chancellor or Regent faction.

Though, it was highly unlikely. But he was still taking precautionary measures. In fact, most of the Lord Treasurers connections were made through Count Palatine.

Alright, Ill leave it to you since I understand your concerns. Hows everything else?

Everything else is going fine.

I nodded. I received Timonas report before this meeting. Finally, I turned to Salomon de Valverde.

I need you and the mages of the Belbe Kingdom to be resourceful on the day.

I have already shared the strategy with the mages. The rest will depend on how the Chancellor and the Chief of the Ministry of Ceremonies act on the day.

There were still a lot of variables even though I had made a lot of plans for the coronation. I dont know what the Chancellor and the Chief of the Ministry of Ceremonies will do.

So, we made several assumptions and created a strategy for each of those assumptions. The role of the Belbe Kingdom mages was similar to that of a ranger.

I know its a lot of work, but Im counting on you.

It is not much work compared to what you have to do, Your Majesty, but are you sure you want to do this?

Of course, I am.

What I will do is simple. I will crown the emperor with my own hands no matter what happens.

This wasnt a burden. I have endured everything for this day.

Even if I have to kill my relatives with my own hands

This is only the beginning Do you understand?

We do!!

The stage is set.