The emperor looked around the ballroom, then smiled widely.
In the next instant, he snapped his fingers, causing every single soldier and guard that had been in the background of the gala to suddenly erge and cover all exits.
"For one, today’s Gala is now closed. No one may leave, nor enter."
"And now... The reason for this Gala is rather intriguing. Frankly, when I heard what was happening, I could barely believe it."
Just then, from the imperial entrance, a man was dragged out. He was chained, and he had a leather cover all over his body, making it so no one could see what he looked like. Not to ntion, I spotted a few inscriptions that likely were there to seal away his energy.
Regardless of that, the prisoner was dragged to the very front of the Gala and forced to kneel in front of the emperor. The emperor raised his cane and rested it atop the prisoner’s head.
"This man here had been parading as my grand minister of coin, and as it so happens, he had been funneling funds to other kingdoms and empires, thus weakening our own."
"But that’s not even the most important part."
The emperor held back a chuckle.
"This man had created a grand sche in which he would sell off portions of the empire to other nations. Only recently has he grown bold, and he tried to sell off the slums of Aldraazan to others. Just how arrogant can one be?"
Hearing that, I tilted my head.
Was that even possible?
Selling bits and pieces of land without the emperor’s permission. Not to ntion, even going as far as trying to sell off Aldraazan? What was his plan here?
[It’s leverage. Rather, he is most likely a spy of sorts,] Morr chid in.
A spy? Don’t you think a spy would be more subtle? I replied.
Morr paused for a mont.
[A grand commotion is all that he needed to gather so many people in one place. Taking into account this emperor’s arrogance, he wanted to parade the prisoner and set an example out of him in front of everyone.]
Ah.
Yeah... I thought as much.
So going by that logic, this grand minister of coin was most likely working for the demons, or whatever faction William and Alexius were a part of. In a way, whatever his plans were, they worked brilliantly, since everyone’s here now.
From the imperial entrance, another man walked out. Unlike the others, he wasn’t a royal or a prisoner. Instead, he was just a regular man wearing a gas mask and holding a scythe.
The man approached the grand minister of coin and stepped before him. Then, he glanced over at the emperor and readied his scythe.
"Now now, blood should only be spilled after I have my toast. Mmm... Isabelle, dear. Could you please grab your father so rum from the imperial basin?"
That basin, of course, was just a bowl of alcohol hidden behind a glass pane, right beside the emperor.
The request was very innocent. Heck, no one really thought much about it.
But as for Isabelle and the rest of us...
"Shit..."
"I-I don’t think I spiked that one."
I let out a sigh at Alicia’s comnt.
"How sure are you?"
"Like 5%."
"...5% sure you spiked it?"
She gulped.
"5% sure I didn’t spike it..."
Yep.
This Gala is screwed.
Isabelle glanced up at our balcony, her gaze trembling as she waited for so kind of confirmation.
Instead, I just put my hands together and gave her a prayer. That in turn made her face pale considerably as she walked over to the bowl of alcohol like so kind of robot. Then, after grabbing a luxurious golden chalice, she scooped so alcohol up and brought it back to the emperor.
Before she could warn the emperor, he took the chalice, and in front of the whole Gala, he gulped the alcohol down.
And as though there was so kind of tradition, once he finished, he went ahead and tossed the golden chalice into the crowd. The commoners were the first people to kick off the ground and try to catch it.
But in the end, there was a certain difference between commoners and long-standing, high-ranking nobles. They had centuries or decades to perfect their bloodlines, making their Gift mutations perfect.
And so, the fancy-looking noble child with so kind of speed-related Gift went ahead and caught the chalice, parading it proudly for all to see.
"Hahaha. Young Duke Pedro. I’m happy it was you who caught it."
Young Duke Pedro bowed toward the emperor.
With that, the emperor smiled and got comfortable in his seat again.
For a mont, there was silence.
However...
"Sadly, the grand minister of coin wasn’t the only reason why I called everyone here today. In fact, the actual reason is much darker."
"...Lately, our towns and villages have been getting attacked by demons. They are killing everyone and occasionally sparing a person or two. But even then, those who are spared die shortly after from so kind of unknown disease."
He let out a sigh.
"As for those who were lucky enough to survive, they’re currently being treated inside the palace, since we’re very close to finding out what kind of disease it is."
No, you’re not.
I knew that for a fact.
The emperor didn’t even know where to begin.
But I did.
These diseases he ntioned... they were just turning a portion of the humans’ bodies into demons. Rather, giving them demonic cores and forcing them to beco so kind of catalysts to open portals.
I’m 100% sure that’s exactly what’s happening here. As for the cherry on top, he was gullible enough to bring those people inside the palace, which ans that at any mont, Aldraazan could be overrun by demons.
Really...
Just who is leading all these demons?
Their plans are perfect, and everything they do almost makes it seem like they can see the future.
Could I really be dealing with soone like that?
Shaking my head, I thought it over for a mont longer, all the while the emperor continued talking about all sorts of things related to demons.
Yet once he was finished, he raised yet another chalice full of alcohol and smiled.
As if on cue, the executioner brought down his scythe, severing the grand minister of coin’s head. Before it could drop to the ground or spill any blood, a sack caught it all.
"That’s enough for now. Please, enjoy the Gala to your heart’s content."
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