Pri Minister Edward Gel Dermont was not in a good mood these days.
Not only did the shocking rumors of the Void Prince's breakthrough turn out to be completely true, but imdiately after they were confird to be true, the announcent of the recovery of the Emperor of Harmony spread around the world.
Just the thought of it evoked deep rage within him.
If there was a man he hated from the bottom of his heart, it was undoubtedly Rael Di Kandria.
If there was a man he respected from the bottom of his heart, it was also Rael Di Kandria.
They had a long history with each other.
They were the heads of governnts in their respective states for a long ti.
They were also the pri strategists of their respective Sage-level powerhouses.
Of course, pri ministers did not normally serve as military strategists in most governnts. A pri minister was the head executive of the governnt. Their primary role was to manage the nation's executive branch. Their required skill set was bureaucratic managent.
Yet, in the Britannian Empire, the pri minister, appointed by the Britannian Martial Assembly, possessed oversight over much of the governnt.
The reason for that was that he, the first and current pri minister since the Second Martial Revolution three hundred years ago, was so extraordinarily competent in all aspects of political engagent that Emperor Arthur had seen fit to give him the keys to the entire governnt.
He ca to power around the sa ti as Emperor Rael. Of course, the difference between the two was that Emperor Rael was the true ruler of the Kandrian Empire, while the Pri Minister was little more than a glorified servant of the Martial Artists of the Britannian Empire whose power and life could be taken away at any ti the Martial Assembly pleased.
The Britannian Empire was ultimately a Martialocracy.
Thus, no matter how brilliant he was, he could never gain true power.
Yet, nonetheless, they were, in so sense, rivals.
This was definitely the case when they first competed with each other in the First East Panamic War.
That was the first ti he had been overco as a strategist and a leader.
Of course, the outco of a war was dependent on a myriad of variables in addition to the strategy.
However, the ideal strategist could maximize the probability of victory after taking into account all the many relevant variables.
The Emperor of Harmony had overco him in that regard.
Without any dispute.
That was when Rael had earned his respect and his hatred.
Since then, the two of them had butted heads many tis, with the Emperor of Harmony erging victorious by thin margins.
When Emperor Rael's condition ca to light, he was delighted, although a part regretted not being able to overco his rival and reclaim his honor.
However, now that Emperor Rael had returned, a small part of him felt delighted in the opportunity to finally defeat his accursed enemy.
And Emperor Rael's very return had shown him a possibility of doing just that.
"Cease all investigative effort into the Emperor of Harmony."
His command stunned the Britannian Intelligence Service.
"…Sir?" The deputy director stared at him, flummoxed.
"…You won't learn anything aningful if you do pursue investigation into the Emperor of Harmony," the Pri Minister calmly remarked. "…There is no doubt that his predicant was the Eternal Dream Disease. It would be deeply foolish for him to have done sothing that stripped him of his power, undid a decade's worth of effort of progress, and brought him absolutely no additional benefit, putting him back at square one or even further behind. Not each and everything is a conspiracy."
His words were sharp and cleanly cut away fiction from fact. "…Of course," his eyes narrowed, "that doesn't an nothing at all is a conspiracy."
A predatory light flickered in his eyes as his gaze fell on a particular docunt. A profile analysis of one Rui Quarrier Silas Kandria.
"Let us revisit the facts once more." His tone was imperious. "All the evidence at hand proves that he truly was afflicted with the Eternal Dream Disease. And now, he has fully recovered from it. An extraordinary outco."
His eyes narrowed. "…Yet, the thing about extraordinary outcos is that they tend to have extraordinary causes."
His gaze intensified.
"…Extraordinary causes such as breaking through to the Master Realm at the age of thirty-five despite being surrounded by four Martial Masters at all tis."
His expression grew certain. "…Divert all your investigative efforts into Rui Quarrier."
"Over what tifra, sir?"
"…Ever since Emperor Rael revealed him to be a royal prince."
Centuries of experience as a statesman allowed him to catch the barest whiff of a deep conspiracy.
His instincts told him that there was sothing deeply significant that had transpired that resulted in these two extraordinary events happening nigh simultaneously.
"Pursue your investigations into the Void Prince. I have an inkling that you might find so truly interesting stuff on him."
Previously, the man wasn't too moved by Prince Rui Quarrier as a martial artist or as a politician. The forr was because he was a martial senior, and they were simply too insignificant to earn his power.
He was clearly impressive as a politician. He possessed a sharp mind and had a good grasp of the ways of the world. However, he had a marked inexperience and lack of refinent.
Now, however, the Pri Minister couldn't help but wonder whether his understanding of what the young prince was capable of was highly limited and deeply incomplete.
"Sothing is happening in Kandria." His tone grew more confident.
It wasn't just his intuition that told him this; it was also straightforwardly true. If they had no inkling of how such miracles ca to be, then it tautologically followed that they did not know what was happening.
Regardless of how much rit the Pri Minister's words had, the Intelligence Service followed his orders nonetheless, diverting all their investigative efforts to Rui Quarrier Silas Kandria. -
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