"Ah, Cassandra. Where’s Ezra?"
Astrid, who had remained on standby amidst the crowd this entire ti, spoke the mont Cassandra finally found her and moved close enough to avoid being overheard by the surrounding civilians.
Cassandra still appeared slightly out of breath from pushing through the masses gathered.
"This might surprise you," Cassandra began, "but he went to a church."
"Huh?"
Astrid visibly paused at that answer.
Truthfully, Ezra did not strike her as the religious type whatsoever. So hearing that he had willingly gone to a church, of all places, felt strangely out of character.
"A church?" Astrid repeated. "During all of this?"
"Right?" Cassandra nodded in disbelief. "Who even knows what that guy’s thinking anymore?"
As the two continued waiting amidst the crowd gathered beneath the Imperial Palace, another familiar figure suddenly approached them from behind.
"So this is where you two were."
Astrid turned her head slightly.
There stood Silas, who, much like her, appeared to have been searching for Ezra throughout the capital.
"Where’s Ezra?" he imdiately asked.
Astrid and Cassandra exchanged brief glances before giving him the sa answer.
"He went to a church."
"A church?" Silas frowned, rubbing his forehead. "Hey, co on. Is now really the ti for that?"
Truthfully, the answer sounded absurd no matter how many tis they repeated it aloud.
The Empire was on the verge of implosion, and Ezra, of all people, had apparently decided this was the appropriate ti to visit a church.
Silas let out a sigh through his nose before looking back toward the Imperial Palace towering over the capital.
"...That guy seriously picks the worst timing imaginable."
It did not take long afterward.
Hoooooonk——
The sound of trumpets suddenly resounded throughout the entirety of Aetherion.
The deep, ceremonial horns echoed across the capital, instantly drowning out the noise of the crowd below. One by one, conversations ceased as every citizen instinctively turned their attention toward the Imperial Palace towering above them.
Then, the massive banners hanging from the palace walls unfurled simultaneously.
The crest of Aetherion.
The golden lion of the Empire.
For a mont, the atmosphere throughout the capital beca almost silent.
Magic formations embedded throughout the capital slowly activated one after another, amplifying the sound originating from the Imperial Palace so that even the furthest districts of Aetherion could hear the voice of the man ruling above them.
Then, the balcony doors opened and out ca Franz Barielle Aetherion.
The mont he revealed himself before the public, an overwhelming reaction erupted throughout the capital. Citizens imdiately cheered. Others remained silent. So even glared toward the palace with hatred barely concealed within their expressions.
But regardless of how they felt, everyone looked at him.
The golden robes flowing behind him with the wind only further reinforced his presence.
——Greetings... to all the people of Aetherion.
Framz’s voice echoed throughout the entire capital through the amplification magic embedded across the city, reaching every street, district, household, and military encampnt without exception.
Imdiately, silence followed.
——It has been many months since this Empire last heard directly from its Emperor.
Franz’s gaze calmly swept across the city beneath him.
——And during that silence, fear spread.
The wind howled around the balcony.
——Families lost loved ones. Knights turned their blades against fellow countryn. Nobles abandoned their duties in favor of political ambition. anwhile, ordinary citizens were left wondering whether the Empire they entrusted their lives to was already collapsing before their very eyes.
Throughout the capital, countless people quietly listened.
So with hope.
So with anger.
Others with complete distrust.
But all of them listened.
——I will not insult your intelligence by pretending Aetherion stands unshaken.
At those words, even Astrid slightly raised a brow amidst the crowd below.
——This Empire is wounded.
Franz’s voice gradually deepened.
——Corruption exists within our nobility. The suffering of ordinary people has been ignored for far too long. And the bloodshed occurring throughout our streets today is not the fault of a single faction alone.
The atmosphere throughout the capital grew heavier.
Because for the very first ti, the Emperor was openly acknowledging the Empire’s failures before the public.
——For years, Aetherion convinced itself that strength alone justified authority.
Franz slowly raised his gaze toward the horizon stretching beyond the capital.
——That as long as the Empire remained powerful, prosperity would naturally follow.
A faint smile crossed his face.
——History has repeatedly proven otherwise.
The people below remained completely silent.
——Power without responsibility becos tyranny. Justice without strength becos aningless. And freedom without order inevitably descends into chaos.
The wind swept across the balcony once more as Franz’s golden robes fluttered behind him.
——For months, this Empire has been consud by division. Foreign powers have begun interfering within our borders. Nobles have raised private armies against the throne. Citizens no longer trust the institutions ant to protect them.
Franz slowly clasped his hands behind his back while continuing to overlook the Empire.
——And amidst all of this chaos, countless opportunists have mistaken Aetherion’s lack of initiative as weakness.
A subtle pressure began spreading from the Imperial Palace itself.
——I will not allow this Empire to fall into lawlessness.
Throughout the capital, the expressions of countless nobles and military officials imdiately stiffened.
Because they already understood where this speech was heading.
Franz slowly raised his hand.
——Therefore...
For a brief mont, the entire capital felt completely still.
——As of this mont...
His golden eyes narrowed coldly.
——I, Franz Barielle Aetherion, hereby declare martial law throughout the entirety of the Empire.
The mont those words echoed throughout the capital, the atmosphere imdiately descended into chaos.
Citizens throughout the plaza fell into frantic discussions while nobles and military personnel exchanged visibly alard expressions. So people looked relieved, believing order would finally be restored through force if necessary.
anwhile, amidst the growing commotion beneath the Imperial Palace, Astrid quietly narrowed her eyes while continuing to listen to Franz’s speech.
"...Martial law, huh."
Silas let out a whistle beside her. "Well, it was expected."
"I guess so," Cassandra replied from the side with a sigh. "Looks like we’ll have to keep up this entire charade a little longer."
The atmosphere around them remained tense as the crowd throughout the plaza reacted to Franz’s declaration in drastically different ways.
anwhile, Silas slightly narrowed his eyes while attempting to peer toward the balcony above.
"Does anyone see the professor?" he asked.
He raised a hand above his eyes slightly, trying to catch sight of Vanitas sowhere behind Franz.
"Nothing," Cassandra answered after briefly looking as well. "Is he even there?"
"What a pity," Silas muttered with a faint grin. "What, is he planning to go full ghost on us again?"
"The professor is probably busy," Astrid replied calmly.
"With what?" Silas imdiately asked. "What could possibly be important enough for him to miss sothing like this? Isn’t he the Emperor’s right hand?"
Cassandra crossed her arms. "Maybe he’s dealing with the assassination attempts from earlier?"
"No," Astrid answered. "If it were sothing ordinary, he wouldn’t personally disappear for it."
The two turned toward her.
Astrid suddenly stepped away from the crowd.
"Hm?" Silas looked toward her. "Where are you going?"
"I think I’ll go look for Ezra," Astrid said.
"Right now?"
Astrid nodded. "He’s been gone for a while already, and Franz’s speech is nearing its conclusion. We should regroup and decide on our next course of—"
———!
At that exact mont, horrified screams suddenly echoed all throughout the crowd.
Astrid looked upward.
"....!"
Her eyes widened in an instant.
Far above the capital, the Emperor was falling from the balcony.
Blood scattered across the sky as Franz Barielle Aetherion’s body plumted downward from the Imperial Palace, the crimson trailing behind him so heavily that for a brief mont it almost resembled red rain descending over the capital itself.
The entire city froze.
No one could properly process what they were witnessing.
Because it happened way too quickly.
One second, the Emperor had been standing proudly above the Empire while delivering his speech.
And the next, he was falling.
"...What?"
anwhile, the crowd finally fell into panic, screaming, beginning desperately to push away from the palace while the Crusade Order throughout the capital barked orders.
"The Emperor!"
"His Majesty!"
"Assassination!"
Panic spread throughout the plaza like wildfire.
anwhile, Astrid herself remained completely frozen.
"...."
Because, despite the distance, she could see it clearly.
"...."
Franz’s chest had been pierced clean through.
For years, Astrid had always known that soone like Franz would eventually et a violent end.
But understanding sothing and witnessing her own brother’s corpse falling from the sky before her eyes were entirely different things.
"...."
For a mont, Astrid’s thoughts completely blanked.
——Good evening, Aetherion.
A new voice echoed throughout the capital.
Imdiately, countless heads snapped upward once more.
And there, high above the balcony, sat Vanitas Astrea.
He had seated himself upon the Emperor’s throne as though it naturally belonged to him, resting his head against one hand while overlooking the entirety of the capital beneath him.
The contrast between the scene and the corpse still falling below felt surreal.
His athyst eyes swept across the terrified citizens staring back at him.
——Your Emperor is now dead.
His voice echoed throughout the capital.
——And as his closest aide...
Vanitas slowly leaned back against the throne.
——I have graciously decided to assu his position as the next ruler of Aetherion.
Astrid felt her heartbeat spike imdiately as the crowd finally realized the reality of the situation.
"No..."
"What the hell is happening...?!"
"Vanitas Astrea killed the Emperor?!"
anwhile, Vanitas simply continued staring down at the Empire.
The pressure radiating from the Imperial Palace suddenly intensified to an overwhelming degree.
——Now then...
At that mont, the reality of the situation finally washed across the entirety of Aetherion.
——Kneel before your new Emperor, you mongrels.
Their Empire had entered its dark age.
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