Emperor Raymond was silent for a mont before he looked at the physician and the butler, signaling that it was okay to leave them alone. The physician and the butler did not hesitate. Having witnessed Aldrian’s abilities and seeing that he did not seem to an anyone harm, they gave a slight bow before leaving the room and closing the door behind them.
Once only Aldrian, Emperor Raymond, and Prince Ferdinand remained in the room, Aldrian opened the conversation while the emperor took a seat on the sofa not far from him.
"Alright, I know Your Majesty and Your Highness must have many questions. However, before that, let tell you about so of the things that happened outside, things you might not be aware of while you have been confined within the palace. I will also explain how the second prince repeatedly ca to provoke ."
Aldrian looked at both of them and continued.
"As many already know, my main reason for coming to this empire in the first place was to capture Cardinal Carsius. As you may know, he has already been declared a traitor by the Pope for working with devils. The Church and I share a special relationship, and I have been assisting them in capturing the traitor."
"Although most people did not know where he had escaped to, I discovered through my investigation that he fled to this empire."
Emperor Raymond nodded in understanding, but Prince Ferdinand’s eyes widened slightly. Their differing reactions were not surprising. The latter had no idea that Cardinal Carsius had escaped to the Atria Empire. He had been unconscious for over a year, and the cardinal’s presence in the empire had been carefully hidden from the public.
Even most of the nobles within the second prince’s faction were unaware of Cardinal Carsius’s presence in the empire—let alone outsiders. News of him only began to spread once the second prince had already been driven into a corner by Aldrian, and Cardinal Carsius appeared in person to et him at the imperial palace.
There was no way the presence of soone at the peak of the emperor stage could go unnoticed within the palace. When he finally revealed himself, it beca clear to everyone that Cardinal Carsius was indeed in the empire and had been working alongside the second prince.
"The reason Cardinal Carsius chose this place was not only because the situation in this empire made it easier for him to hide. More importantly, he shared a common interest with the second prince. Both of them were involved with devils."
Emperor Raymond and Prince Ferdinand narrowed their eyes.
"The second prince is working with devils, and Cardinal Carsius knew it because they were cooperating with one another. That is another reason why he chose the Atria Empire as his place of refuge."
Upon hearing Aldrian’s words, the emperor and the first prince remained silent. However, they did not appear surprised. In fact, Prince Ferdinand’s expression turned fierce, as though he were recalling sothing from the past.
"As I suspected. He truly was working with devils. That cursed artifact must have co from them as well," he said, his voice sharp with anger.
Aldrian looked at Prince Ferdinand curiously and asked,"If I may ask, did the second prince ever show signs that he was hiding sothing?"
He then turned his gaze to the emperor.
"It seems he had established connections with devils for quite so ti. Considering the support he gained from the majority of the nobles and the palace commanders, Your Majesty must have had so suspicions about his behavior. There is no way he could have gathered that much support in such a short period."
Emperor Raymond sighed and gave a slow nod.
"To be honest, I had already suspected that bastard’s strange behavior, along with so of the nobles around him. I even sent soone to investigate his actions. However, without my knowledge, the man I assigned had already betrayed . He failed to report everything and kept crucial information from . That is also one of the reasons I was caught off guard and ended up falling into his trap."
"I feel truly ashad that I couldn’t predict how many of my subjects had already betrayed and sided with that bastard," Emperor Raymond said, his voice tinged with frustration. "That mont didn’t just make angry; it also made deeply sad. Even to this day, I don’t understand why they all turned against . I might understand the noble families, as they have their own interests, but the commanders of my knight orders and even the assassins of the imperial family?"
The emperor sighed again, pausing before continuing.
"Fortunately, not all of my people betrayed . So still remain loyal." His expression darkened with anger. "Tto think that bastard is truly working with the devils... It seems their influence stretches wide across the continent. They’ve infiltrated everywhere—even within the imperial family."
Aldrian pondered for a mont, thinking about the situation. If Wilmar had been able to gather such support, even from the knight orders directly under the emperor, it ant he possessed sothing that made them back him. Sothing that made them abandon Emperor Raymond—who was the true ruler and the strongest cultivator in the empire—and instead trust Wilmar’s plans.
However, the fact that Wilmar hadn’t killed his father or his brother suggested that he was keeping them alive as bargaining chips of so sort. In the end, the emperor and the first prince still had support from many other nobles and people.
Aldrian guess that Wilmar intended to keep them alive until the civil war was over. After that, he would be free to do whatever he wished with them.
Aldrian shook his head. In the end, no matter the reason behind those people’s actions or decision, they had still betrayed the emperor, and it had all led to this mont.
"Well, we’ll know everything more clearly once I catch Wilmar," Aldrian said. "I can already imagine that this ti, he’s desperate to do sothing to escape my pursuit. I have a feeling he won’t hide for long due to his insecurities." He then looked at Prince Ferdinand.
"I know Your Highness is still confused by the events outside. You will learn the details for yourself later, but I’m sorry I can’t share them right now. It will take so ti, and I still have things to attend to. However, I want to tell Your Highness," Aldrian then turned to the emperor, "and Your Majesty, that I intend to personally punish Wilmar with death. He has done sothing unforgivable to , and I hope you understand."
Aldrian then explained the gu outbreak that Wilmar and Grand Duke Donovan had planned and executed. It was an outbreak that claid thousands of lives and nearly took the life of soone close to him.
The emperor and the first prince, upon hearing this, were truly astonished. They nodded in understanding. It was no wonder Aldrian had co to the capital. If Wilmar was capable of such actions, he had essentially forsaken the people and embraced full tyranny.
Emperor Raymond suddenly felt a wave of sorrow. He couldn’t understand how his own son had turned to working with the devils and committing such atrocities. How could the son he had raised betray his family in this way?
Aldrian, sensing the emperor’s pain, spoke softly, "Was Wilmar always an ambitious person?"
"Well, it can be said that, although he was ambitious, he wasn’t stupid or careless. He must have known that working with the devils would only bring his own destruction. I don’t understand why he did it," the emperor replied, leaning back against the sofa.
Aldrian nodded. He then reflected on his experiences with traitors in various organizations and noble families over the years. The devils were masters at tempting people, using their negative emotions to manipulate them into doing their bidding. Many chose to work for or with them, consciously or not, for a variety of reasons.
"For , if Your Excellency—"
"Please, don’t call that, Your Highness. It makes feel bad for soone as esteed as you to address so formally. My na is Aldrian, and you can call that," Aldrian interrupted, cutting off Prince Ferdinand.
Prince Ferdinand was montarily stunned, but then he nodded.
"Alright, I will call you Young Master Aldrian then. It still feels quite rude to just call you by your na," Prince Ferdinand said.
"That works," Aldrian replied.
"Then, I’ll say it again: For , if Young Master Aldrian wants to punish that bastard, I don’t mind. Although I really want to beat him and punish him myself, this matter involves you, so I understand. But Young Master, I hope you give him a humiliating death. I want him to feel the sa desperation I felt when he trapped my father and back then," Prince Ferdinand said, his tone fierce.
Hearing his first son speak like that, Emperor Raymond sighed for the umpteenth ti. As a father, seeing his first son wish for the death of his second son truly made his heart ache. Although Wilmar had done sothing unforgivable, deep in his heart, Wilmar was still his flesh and blood. He couldn’t help but wonder how fate had brought their family to this point.
Suddenly, the door to the room opened, and a beautiful woman with brown hair walked inside, causing the three n in the room to look up at the newcor. The emperor and Prince Ferdinand’s eyes widened slightly. Before they could say anything, the woman rushed toward Prince Ferdinand and hugged him tightly on the bed.
"I’m glad you’re okay," she said, her voice cracking.
The prince, still stunned, suddenly softened his expression.
"Mother."
She is actually the Empress of the Atria Empire, Sandra Donovan.
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