Mystery: The Last Shepherd

Chapter 517 Sequence 0: The Black Emperor
The letter from "Admiral of the Stars" Cattleya was addressed to "Mysterious Queen" Bernadette.

According to rumors, she once followed the Queen, but later broke with her after joining the "Morse Ascetic Order." However, the truth is that the Queen foresaw that her future did not lie with her and deliberately let her leave.

To this day, the two maintain a secret connection.

Cattleya carefully considered her words. Her expression was extremely serious, even bordering on fear, as if the quill in her hand held her life within it, and that a single mistake would kill her instantly.

After thinking for a long time, she finally put down her pen and wrote the second line:
[Also, I need some notes by Emperor Roselle soon.]

She's trying to spread information about the Tarot Club!
Caldelia was raised by the "mysterious queen" from a young age and knows her very well. She knows that the queen has been searching for Roselle's trail, that the queen longs to decipher the true meaning of Roselle's script, and that all her efforts in half her life have been for this purpose.

And that mysterious "Fool" clearly understands Russell's writing!
Cattleya wanted to tell the Queen this directly, but she didn't dare. She had just been warned for spying on others in the gray fog, and any further inappropriate behavior would undoubtedly be tantamount to courting death.

She can only wait for the right opportunity.

Finally, Temperance's commission gave her a legitimate reason to write to the Queen.

In the second line, she subtly mentioned Rosell's diary. Judging from the letter alone, these were two separate requests: one was to find the recipe for Sequence 3, and the other was to find Emperor Rosell's notes.

However, with the Queen's wisdom and their mutual understanding, Bernadette would immediately understand her implied meaning and know that the person searching for the Sequence 3 potion recipe was closely related to Roselle's diary.

"I'm sorry, Your Majesty, that's all I can say."

Cattleya took a great risk to write these two lines, then quickly set up an altar and summoned the Queen's messenger.

"call--"

A cold wind blew by, and by the time she noticed, the envelope on the altar had quietly disappeared.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Above the gray fog, the meeting between the two transmigrators continued.

"'Red-Haired Elaine' plans to leave Bayam in disguise tomorrow. I'll take responsibility and catch her," Klein said to Luzer. "We'll contact each other again after we actually find 'General Disease'."

"Alright, then let's see your performance."

Lu Ze nodded.

"Did Chunas reveal any valuable information?"

"Klein asked. Above this gray fog that isolates them from the outside world, they can freely discuss this somewhat dangerous topic."

"Indeed, quite a lot was said."

Luze briefly recalled and recounted the information he had obtained from Chunas to Klein—the ruins left by the "Blood Emperor," the cooperation between the Witch Cult, the Psychological Alchemy Society, human trafficking channels, and materials for repairing the ruins.
"The Blood Emperor's Attempt to Become a God"

As Klein listened, his expression gradually became serious.

He felt that Lu Ze's speculations were very likely true.

While in Backlund, Klein obtained a "Blasphemy Card"—the "Black Emperor" card—made by Rosell from Rosell's memorial exhibition. It detailed the potion recipes and advancement rituals for the entire "Lawyer" pathway, with the advancement ritual for sequence 0, "Black Emperor," appearing remarkably similar to some of Luzer's descriptions!
"Mr. Fool, may I share the information about that card with Temperance?"

To avoid being exposed, Klein first pretended to ask himself for permission before materializing a parchment and presenting it to Luzer.

"what is this?"

Lu Ze took the parchment with some confusion and saw the following written on it: Sequence 0: The Black Emperor.

Recipe: ▇▇▇▇

The ritual: To possess one's own kingdom, to link one's name with the title of emperor, and to make this common knowledge among the people. Furthermore, it requires establishing a rigorous and complex set of rules, which defies normalcy, including architectural styles.

Next, he instigated the people to secretly build nine pyramid-like mausoleums. Then, he entered one of them and, in a series of rituals scattered throughout different cities, consumed a magic potion of sequence 0, with the participation of the vast majority of the people.

The part about the potion recipe was hidden; all Luze could see was the ritual. Yet, this part of the description gave him a sense of familiarity.

He became emperor, established rules, and commanded the people to build his mausoleum.
Isn't this exactly what George III was doing?

As emperor, he abolished the Corn Act, changed the system for selecting officials, and made significant concessions to the three major churches and nobles to establish a new order, which undoubtedly satisfied the requirements of the first two parts.

Luze understood the third part of the ceremony even better.

It turns out that the abducted island natives and southern continent people, and the Rune civilians captured and sold by human traffickers, were all driven by him to build the tomb for his ritual!

And in this process, countless people have suffered misfortune because they were affected!
Lu Ze felt a surge of anger rising within him.

"So, this is his real reason for causing the Backlund smog—to push through policies and create new rules?"

he asked softly.

"I think so."

Klein's tone was heavy, "Because of the constraints imposed by the three major churches, he couldn't prepare the ceremony openly, so he colluded with multiple organizations to secretly capture people to build the mausoleum."

Selfish, arrogant, and treating his people like dirt—this is the true face of the king whom the people of Rune revere.
Lu Ze took a deep breath.

I will never allow such a beast to become a true god!
"Do you have any idea?"

He asked Klein.

"I think we should report it to the church first."

After careful consideration, Klein replied. This was his usual solution: using the three major churches to handle problems he couldn't manage himself.

"."

After hearing his advice, Lu Ze did not say anything.

He believed the royal family had certainly prepared a contingency plan, and even if the church sent people to investigate, they would find it difficult to find concrete evidence. However, letting more people know about this would still be useful, and could somewhat slow down George III's preparations.

“According to Chunas, the mausoleum he’s in charge of is still under construction,” Luzer said. “I think George III isn’t ready for the enthronement ceremony yet.”

In other words, they also have time.

"I agree."

"And his rituals require the participation of most of the country's population at the same time, which is a very clear landmark," Klein said.

However, even so, they have very little time left.

(End of this chapter)