"The Emperor and the High Priest have made contact."
"They didn ’t deviate from our expectations."
"Neither the imperial family nor the temple would want to face Your Highness alone."
If they fought Cabelenus, regardless of victory or defeat, they would inevitably suffer tremendous losses, and their power would naturally weaken.
For the two factions, who had spent their lives probing each other’s weaknesses in their struggle for power, this was not a matter they could act on lightly.
“If things continue as they are, it seems they won’t get what they want, so they’re trying to come up with some kind of plan."
Cabelenus had hoped both factions would just hesitate and do nothing, but both were far too greedy for that.
They were not the type to be satisfied with just half the power.
They would join forces without hesitation to achieve their goals.
"We need to create a rift so the two forces can’t unite."
"Since there’s no trust between the two anyway, a simple crack won’t be enough. We need to drive a more decisive wedge between them."
With no expectations of each other and clear objectives, the alliance between Zerpenus and Herman was unlikely to collapse easily.
But that didn’t mean their alliance was perfect.
The lack of trust between them also meant it was a fragile alliance.
“Do you have a good strategy in mind?”
“Handling both at once is impossible. We’ll have to gradually break them down. If both their foundations are shaken, they won’t be able to move easily.”
A wrinkle appeared on Cabelenus’s smooth forehead.
Though it had been suppressed greatly, the shackle still remained, and it was too risky to confront both factions at once.
“If we make the wrong move, we might end up poking a hornet’s nest.”
“We need to create confusion ahead of time to prevent that from happening. It would be even better if we could find something to irritate both of them and spread it around.”
“Is there something like that?”
“There is. And it’s very close.”
Cabelenus calmly unfolded the continent’s map.
At the edge of his gaze was a crest that resembled a deer.
“Let’s bring Roaquin into this.”
“But Roaquin is...”
Gazeff trailed off.
Even if it was kept quiet, it was widely known that Zerpheus’s biological mother had been a dancer from the Roaquin Kingdom.
Green eyes, reminiscent of fresh spring foliage, were a defining trait of the people of Roaquin.
That was why Zerpheus was ridiculed as a foreign emperor.
"Zerpheus detests Roaquin with the same pathological hatred he has for green eyes. And Roaquin feels the same way about him."
"Even so, half of the Emperor is of Roaquin descent."
“He would never think that way. He even once said he wished he could drain out half the blood flowing through his body — that’s how much he hated it.”
He had learnt to hide it now, but the Zerpheus of the past wasn’t like that.
As a child, he often cried, blaming his own bloodline.
"To that extent?"
“Yes. Moreover, Roaquin's unfavourable reputation in the past will work even more to our advantage.”
“If you mean the public opinion back then, was it that Roaquin was accused of trying to swallow up the entire country?”
“That sentiment arose because the late emperor bestowed many gifts on the Emperor’s birth mother. In truth, the amount wasn’t much different from what other favoured individuals received, but the High Priest’s involvement stirred up the controversy.”
“Why would the High Priest do such a thing…?”
A strange expression flickered across Gazeff’s face.
Cabelenus’s face twisted in deep disgust.
“To protect the imperial family’s secret.”
“The imperial family’s secret?”
“It’s nothing remarkable. Just how the black hair and golden eyes have been passed down for so long.”
“Surely, the imperial bloodline is special… don’t tell me…”
Gazeff couldn’t bring himself to finish the sentence.
The imperial family’s uniqueness was something the empire’s people simply took for granted and never doubted.
But the very fact that Cabelenus brought it up meant it wasn’t so simple.
“The only one who can truly be called ‘special’ is me — the one who was used as a test subject.”
"That means…."
“The imperial family has dealt with children who didn’t meet the criteria for generations."
“Then, how did the Emperor survive?”
“Thanks to the late emperor’s strong denial.”
Although the purpose gradually became distorted over time, the experiments originally started because of Zerpheus.
The late emperor had one goal: to pass golden eyes down to Zerpheus.
"Herman disliked everything — the late emperor’s experiments, and losing the power he had gained by guarding the imperial family’s secrets. That’s why he tried to get rid of him."
However, that plan was only half successful.
Herman relentlessly stirred public opinion to pressure the late emperor. Although he failed to kill Zerpheus, he succeeded in killing Zerpheus’s birth mother.
And from that day on, everything began to go awry.
"When the Emperor's birth mother died, the late emperor became even more obsessed with his remaining child. It was probably around that time that he began thinking he should pass on the throne. And then..."
Cabelenus pressed his throbbing forehead.
Even after all these years, thinking back to those days still brought on a wave of headaches.
"Let’s leave this story here. After all, what really matters is that the two of them can never truly coexist."
“...”
“And Roaquin will only deepen the rift between the two."
Many were furious that the empire’s resources were flowing to Roaquin and wasted no time blaming them.
Even if Roaquin were to resurface now, that anger would not simply subside.
“I understand how Roaquin could fuel negative public opinion against the Emperor — but could it affect the High Priest too?”
"Didn’t I say? It was the High Priest who made Roaquin like that."
“But people enjoy blaming others; they don’t care for the truth.”
The more negative a story, the more sensational and easily it would spread.
When only resentment toward Roaquin remained, no one would listen even if the truth was revealed.
“If the truth itself becomes grounds for blame, then the story changes. We have more than enough evidence that the High Priest engineered the disaster."
“It won’t be as easy as it sounds.”
“I know. If we’re not careful, the blame for the disaster might end up falling on me.”
The reason they couldn’t act despite knowing the High Priest’s corruption was that he wasn’t someone who could be easily brought down.
There was no way Zerpheus hadn’t tried to erase the rumours about himself — yet they still stirred unrest throughout the empire.
Herman’s downfall wouldn’t come from exposing his crimes, but only if they were used at the moment he was already beginning to collapse.
"But the power can't be tilted to just one side like it is now. The imperial family and the temple both need to be evenly matched so they keep each other in check and pay less attention to us."
"Are you saying you intend to take down both the Emperor and the temple at the same time?"
"The idea is to strategically create cracks as the situation demands, shifting the balance of power."
They were people who couldn’t be dealt with all at once anyway, and above all, it would be troublesome if they unexpectedly joined forces and attacked together.
Even if it took time, it was safer to shift the balance of power back and forth between them, gradually undermining their foundations.
"Is that really possible?"
“If some benefit falls between the cracks we’ve created, it might be possible for a while. But in the end, when you really look at it, they’re just biting into each other’s flesh, so it’s not really a gain.”
Each and every one of them was full of greed.
By giving them some benefits, Cabelenus’s side could briefly divert their attention so they wouldn’t suspect they were under attack.
“For now, the temple has the upper hand…”
Knock, knock—.
At the sound that abruptly cut off the words, Cabelenus’s gaze hardened.
There were only limited situations in which their meeting could be disrupted.
“I’ll go see who it is.”
Instead of Cabelenus, Gazeff quickly moved.
Since the incident eight years ago, Cabelenus had become sensitive to sudden messengers.
“I clearly said, unless it’s something really urgent…”
Gazeff opened the door, then stopped abruptly.
There was definitely the sound of a knock, but no one was outside.
A simple mistake? If not…
“Mister!”
It was then.
Gazeff reflexively lowered his head at the youthful voice heard from below.
There stood Michael, with clear, bright eyes.
“Michael, what brings you here?”
“There’s something I want to say to Mister.”
"Do you mean me?"
“Not you, but the mister behind you.”
“If you mean the mister behind me…”
Gazeff repeated Michael’s words and awkwardly smiled at the golden eyes he met.
Michael was still addressing Cabelenus as ‘Mister.’
“Mister, do you have a moment?”
“No. I don’t.”
"…Should I tell my mum?"
"It seems like I suddenly have some free time."
Cabelenus put down the report he was holding, his annoyed expression unchanged.
Only then did Michael smile with satisfaction and puff out his chest.
・・・・・
“How did you even get all the way here?”
“When I said I was looking for you, everyone kindly pointed the way.”
The moment they realised the man he was looking for was Cabelenus, their faces turned pale and they looked completely at a loss.
Michael narrowed his eyes, observing Cabelenus’s face.
He wasn’t exactly sure what kind of person Cabelenus was — but one thing was certain: he was suspicious.
He needed to look into it a little further.
“Where’s your mum?”
“Mum’s sleeping. She had trouble sleeping last night.”
No sooner had Michael finished speaking than Cabelenus turned his head toward Gazeff.
"Starting tonight, deliver some tea that helps with insomnia to Alicia’s room for the time being."
“Understood.”
“...”
"What are you looking at?"
"To be honest, I thought Mister was lying."
Michael’s eyes slowly scanned Cabelenus from head to toe.
He didn’t want to admit it, but the well-dressed man looked quite impressive.
“What lie?”
“You said you had a castle.”
“I said that because I do have one.”
With a castle this big, anyone else would be bragging about it, but Cabelenus was strangely indifferent. Michael subtly adjusted his collar, gauging Cabelenus’s mood.
"So, is it true that you're the second most important person after the Emperor? You said that back then. You said you were a Gra—"
“Grand Duke.”
"Yeah, that! Is that true too?"
“It is.”
"Then, are you close with the Emperor as well?"
“...”
Hope shone in Michael’s eyes, but Cabelenus quickly averted his gaze.
He knew exactly what the child wanted to hear, but he couldn’t bring himself to say they were close.
Until just a moment ago, he had been making plans to overthrow the Emperor.
"You’re not close with the Emperor, huh? Well, I guess with your bad personality, it makes sense you wouldn’t have any friends."
"Who are you saying has a bad personality?"
"You, Mister."
“...”
"You don’t seriously think your personality is good, do you, Mister?"
Now that would be a real lack of conscience.
Though the deliberately sarcastic tone was annoying, Cabelenus kept his mouth shut.
He still hadn’t figured out how to treat Michael.
The fact that the same blood ran through that small body and his still felt strangely unreal.
“I kind of wanted to see the imperial palace, but I guess that’s off the table.”
“There’s nothing worth seeing there.”
Cabelenus replied, his voice tinged with annoyance.
Just imagining Michael in the imperial palace was enough to make him uneasy.
"There's nothing to see? The imperial palace is supposed to be the largest castle in the empire. This place is already this big, so how huge must the imperial palace be?"
"It may be big, but being big isn't everything. More than anything, the guy living there isn’t exactly a great person."
"No matter what, I don't think he's worse than you in terms of personality."
“…What on earth do you think of me?”
"I think of you as a mister. You're super strong, but your personality is just as bad."
Michael puffed out his chest without a hint of hesitation.
“Did you come here today just to pick a fight?”
“No way. I just came to check something.”
“What exactly?”
"To see whether or not you’re qualified to be my dad."
“What?”
Cabelenus’s face twisted, but Michael stayed calm.
"I told you before, right? I can’t choose my biological dad, but I can choose my adoptive dad."
‘What on earth is going on in that head?’
Cabelenus was speechless, repeatedly letting out awkward chuckles.
The child’s face was far too serious for it to be a joke.
"I saw how you protected Mum, and I thought it’d be nice if you could watch over her just for a little while, until I grow up."
"So, you’re saying you’ll accept me as your dad? Well, that’s quite a generous offer."
"I never said I’d accept you as my dad yet. Why would I trust you with my mum?"
Michael made a face and waved his hand dismissively.
It was a gesture like swatting away an annoying bug.
“Then what?”
"I’ll be watching you closely for a while — really carefully and sharply!"
“Watching me?”
"It’s kind of a test. You’re strong and rich, but you have a bad temper. If you were a nice person like Uncle James, maybe I wouldn’t need to worry — but in your case, I think I need to double-check."
"Your uncle isn’t exactly a nice guy either."
Cabelenus muttered with displeasure.
It felt unfair to be the only one called out, when that man was hiding behind his handsome face to put on such a ridiculous act.
"No way. Uncle James is such a good guy. He even buys me candy—"
"I can buy you stuff like that anytime."
"You can only say that after you’ve bought it."
Cabelenus’s carefully maintained expression completely fell apart.
He roughly brushed back his hair and leaned back against the sofa.
"...Gazeff, bring me candy right now."
“Candy, Your Highness?”
"Bring all the candy in the castle."
Cabelenus’s voice sounded low and firm.
It felt like he was being toyed with by a brazen child’s prank, but he wasn’t about to let James win.
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