Chapter 45

Ridrian had been awake for three days now. Lying next to the doll who had a bandage wrapped around her head made him feel so uneasy he couldn’t fall asleep.

There was a fleeting thought of just breaking the doll the way he did with the previous ones, but a pang of sadness abruptly washed over him that he shook the thought away. She had the same face as the dolls before her but for some strange reason, he couldn’t bring himself to lay a finger on her.

Damn it!

He spent his time locked up in his library for the three consecutive days he’d been awake, busying himself with an immense pile of work and interrogating all the individuals suspected of propagating the recent events.

Marquis Vibrio entered the Imperial Palace after delaying his own interrogation for three days.

Ridrian seethed at the Marquis standing before him. He could feel his patience wearing thin by the second as he tapped the desk with his sturdy fingers in contemplation. He did not appreciate the way the Marquis had voiced out his disapproval.

Raven repeatedly reminded him earlier to not resort to violence when dealing with Marquis Vibrio. However, the lack of sleep had been weighing him down that he simply didn’t care what the other had said.

“Say it again.”

The gray-haired, already growing senile Marquis Vibrio sat facing the emperor. “Let me repeat this one more time. All of your policies are unorthodox in nature, but I supported them nonetheless since I thought they were absolutely necessary for the good of the empire. But the war of conquest is entirely different. Do you even know how many times it has been already?”

“Would it all have been done with minimal support and resources? Besides, aren’t you aware that you’ve benefited from it in every possible way? At least the nobles and the people thought so positively about the war.”

“But even with that said, there is no assurance that there will be no damages and victims from the onslaught. If you keep on waging unnecessary wars like this, the masses will be the one who will suffer from the damages. Do you really want a repeat of Eclard’s mistake?” The Marquis asked.

Eclard was the dethroned Emperor. His addiction to both booze and women greatly affected the Empire in more ways than one. The emperor sharply looked back at the Marquis, eyes brimming red at the insult that was thrown at him.

“Are you comparing me to him now?”

During the dethroned Emperor’s reign, the capital he ruled was filled with traitors everywhere, and all of them were at edge waiting for the right moment to grab their shares with greedy hands. As time went by, the aristocrats became richer, the poor became poorer, and the national power collapsed greatly. Marquis Vibrio was the previous Emperor’s only predecessor, so his loyalty never once faltered, and he supported his cause without a second thought. He was loyal to a fault, and it almost got him exiled from the capital.

In the eyes of the masses, however, they likened Marquis Vibrio to a hero from the way he firmly stood his ground despite being forced out by the emperor. The only reason why the emperor let him stay in the capital was simply for publicity; His show of amnesty served as the symbol of integrity in the otherwise corrupt Empire, and he used it to justify his need for a coup d’etat in ascending the throne.

During the revolt Ridrian spearheaded, Raven organized a coup where he gathered a group of young nobles along with Marquis Vibrio. They took no detours and went straight for the throne and punished almost all the imperial families. But despite the successful usurping, however, his ascension was not easily accepted by the people. With this knowledge in mind, he had no choice but to do what he needed for the Empire and cleansed it from the inside out.

Unlike before, the capital was now void of any traitors.

Ridrian resorted to unimaginable acts to bring the Empire to this point. He always listened to Marquis Vibrio’s counsels, deeming it reliable and unfailing. But he was starting to get annoyed at him recently, and if the Marquis is going to keep telling him that his course of action is wrong then he has no choice but to cut him off. It doesn’t matter if he is supported by the masses and he had helped him ascend to the throne, Ridrian would not tolerate his noncompliance any further.

And the Ridrian only sat on his throne for Liliana’s revenge.

There were also reports regarding people who had nothing but ill intentions. They deliberately let themselves be close to Marquis Vibrio, whispering quietly to his ear that a new ruler for the Empire is needed to bring forth a new era. The report managed to reach Ridrian and he tried to ignore it at first, but it was already becoming too much of a hindrance, making him decide he didn’t need the Marquis anymore.

Ridrian stretched out his hand and summoned his favorite sword. “Lotuboru.”

“Your Majesty!” Marquis Vibrio said alarmingly. For four years, he was naively convinced that he would be exempted from the emperor’s wrath, and only in that moment did he realize he had been careless by blatantly disrespecting the emperor’s wishes. But even with how petrified he was, he did not run nor beg on his knees like any person would.

Ridrian clenched his teeth together. He recalled Raven’s reminder to not kill Vibrio because of his innate wisdom. The emperor normally puts up with it without batting an eye, but the anger soaring deep within him caused by sleepless nights made him snap in an instant. He was not as patient as he was before.

The damn empire was initially none of his business, the emperor thought grimly. If Raven did not stop him from his raid and convinced him to live up to Liliana’s wishes, the emperor would have swept the whole country, instead of being crowned.