A mage? A spell engineer!

Chapter 263 Unexpected Changes

The emperor spent less and less time in the capital.

Nestled on a scenic hillside, a grand villa sits by the lake. While its defenses were inadequate for an emperor's palace, it was perfectly suited as a place for patients to recuperate, with beautiful mist rising from the ubiquitous hot springs.

The empire's master is on "vacation." The vast territory rests on one person, and he cannot afford to be sick; he is merely feeling unwell.

"How is Father?" The prince had been pacing in the main hall, his anger and worry finding no outlet, until the prime minister emerged from the side hall. The emperor was very weak and needed rest, so the prime minister and the physician shared the time to see him.

"Your father is clear-headed and determined. He managed to control the pain while receiving treatment from the doctors."

"Quack doctor! The quack doctor who trapped us here!" The prince's left arm was defective, which was an intolerable problem for the royal family, who built their country on military strength. The more he tried to train and treat it, the more humiliation and pain he suffered for this arm became. Therefore, the prince had an unspeakable hostility towards the doctor.

Since the emperor fell into bed at the sanatorium, the prince's hostility had grown daily: "Ha, those mages are laughing at us! They claim to be powerless, yet while boasting and bragging, they desperately want everyone to believe they're omnipotent. And the Church of Order, those despicable things, those faithless charlatans!"

The imperial family had secretly contacted the Church of Order, hoping that a divinely gifted individual could attempt to heal the emperor. The negotiations went smoothly, but suddenly the bishop informed the royal family of unfortunate news: a major upheaval had occurred within the church, rendering it unable to provide further treatment for the emperor.

"We are deeply saddened, not for any worldly considerations, but because we ourselves have suffered an irreparable disaster." With these words, the bishop got into his car and left. From then on, the Church of Order refused all requests from the royal family.

Chancellor Otto frowned: "According to intelligence, both the Church and Valois have experienced significant changes."

"Isn't this our chance?" The prince's eyes immediately brightened. "Father, our army is ready. It's time. The empire needs more land under the sun!"

The prime minister was somewhat worried. He thought the prince was too impetuous. It was certainly a good thing for a young man to have such energy, but if the prince were to take power, his impulsiveness could lead to bad consequences that the entire empire would have to bear.

Given the emperor's current state, his sons are likely not far from succeeding to the throne.

"You're right, the army is ready, but that's all we have. We also need to continue to solidify our relationship with the Kingdom of Istani and prevent its interference from affecting the Empire's strategy. In addition, grain production has declined for the past two years, so we need to be more prepared. Besides the grain embargo, we also need to sign more agreements with the Kingdom of Istani."

Counterintuitively, Otto, known as the Iron Chancellor, was a moderate in the empire. He used the formidable reputation he had earned in the Kingdom of Marin to not only form alliances and subdue many states within the empire, but also to pursue a policy of befriending distant states while attacking nearby ones, and to maintain good relations with countries outside the Holy Kingdom.

One of its core principles is to gain the greatest benefits for the empire with the least amount of military action and to curb the military from gaining excessive autonomy.

"If we reduce production, does that mean the Holy Kingdom is better off? As far as I know, Valuwa is even experiencing a food shortage, which is probably the main factor behind the riots in their capital."

The prince impatiently interrupted the old man. He used to greatly admire the prime minister, who was like a grandfather to him, but now he found the man in front of him to be old, timid, and indecisive. The only thing he was determined to do was to guard his power—other officials of the empire had to report to the prime minister before they could have an audience with the emperor.

absurd!

The prime minister, unaware of the prince's intense discontent, remained patient, as if dealing with his grandson: "Yes, the people's primary concern is food. However, there are indications that other factors are at play. Rumors are circulating about the Church of Order and the Magic Guild."

The prince became interested: "The Magic Guild has made its move?"

Otto shook his head: "I'm sorry, Your Highness, we need more information to make a judgment. We are gathering and analyzing more and more intelligence."

"Alright, alright, besides Father, I also want to know what those charlatans and sorcerers are up to!"

"As you wish, Your Highness."

Chief of Staff Sebins was in a state of utter disarray. The cult's activities, which had reached their peak, had declined significantly, and the empire seemed to have entered a period of peace and stability.

Then the Holy Kingdom made a huge splash.

Initially, news came from the embassy that Sepins was not concerned with the "Three-Party Council" or "taxes"; he was concerned about the threat of supernatural forces to the Empire. However, after one night, the news coming from Valuana became more and more explosive.

"A large-scale ritual performed by a cult?"

"Angel?"

"Have the people stormed Basti?"

Even if the chief of staff used all the imagination contained in his bald head, he still couldn't connect so many elements together. Even after Rorschach's report was delivered to him, Sabins still dared not fully accept the bizarre story that the young wizard had given him.

"Can the angelic empire's accompanying mages destroy it?"

Rorschach did not specify his role in the battle against Archangel Seraphim; he simply wrote, "Archangel Seraphim, burdened with immeasurable corruption of Mother Earth, was ultimately repelled after being subjected to a massive magical attack orchestrated by the Magic Guild."

And how the rumors of "collusion between cultists and nobles" led to the arming of the Third Class.

"Sir, it's time," a member of the organization reminded the Sabines airship, which was about to take off.

Now that the emperor is away from the capital for recuperation, Sabin has not seen His Majesty for more than three months. Now that the prime minister has also gone to the recuperation site, Sabin has no choice but to follow the brains of the empire on their journey when such a great change occurs in the Holy Kingdom.

He collected Rorschach's last report before leaving the kingdom, put it in a file bag, and took it with him. They used the imperial authorities' exclusive passage, so no outsiders would notice the officials boarding the airship.

This airship was relatively small and operated as a special route for other imperial ministers to meet with the emperor.

The roar of engines filled the parking area as the aircraft warmed up. Sabins could see imperial officials undergoing rigorous checks before boarding their private planes.

The head of the organization suddenly sensed something was wrong.

"Are there any other airships going to the sanatorium?"

"There's another regular flight in half an hour, but not many people will be taking it."

Sabins immediately changed his plans: "We're not taking this flight; we'll take a regular flight instead."

"But the carriages that arrive over there are on time."

"As long as it doesn't delay the audience with His Majesty, it's not a problem." The chief of staff trusted his intuition.

Although he couldn't pinpoint exactly what was wrong, he felt a chill run down his spine. Sabins' survival to this day was largely due to his trust in his intuition.

The subordinate shrugged, accepting the agency chief's sudden change of heart. Another agent understood the chief's concerns: "Is there something wrong with this airship? Should we search it?"

"I'll go first."

Half an hour after the first airship took off, the second airship, a regular flight, followed suit, their routes being on the same straight line.

Above the empire, two airships exploded violently one after the other, with no survivors.

(End of this chapter)