[Monica Merleon's Aide]
Your Grace, there will be a power struggle soon between the strongholds of the empire.
What do you wish me to do, Your Grace?
I will be in my office and wait for my instructions. I will let you personally deliver a letter to House Moenglyrn in the east. You will head out today; it is an urgent matter we need to deal with.
Yes, your grace, I will prepare myself for the departure in the east.
The head of the house, Merleon, is deeply concerned about the matters involving the imperial family and the empire. She herself wrote a letter to show her concerns and let the head of the East know and request an early visit to Vientiane, the floating city. To investigate the situation herself. The knowledge that the temple will probably give her information.
Knock... Knock
It is I, your grace.
the butler…
You wish to see me, Your Grace?
Yes, come on in.
The head butler of Merleon is one of the outstanding imperial knights of the previous emperor. That chose to serve the family to show his loyalty to his beloved friend, the previous headmaster.
I want you to request the emperor to access the imperial library. I know that it is not easy to be granted such a wish, but the privilege of your knighthood would reconsider the request.
If that's what you truly want, your Grace. I will personally go to the palace to request permission to access the imperial library.
I'll leave everything to you, and I will also send him my greetings. You can leave now.
Yes, your grace.
Sigh....
Such misery... I need to work on this matter. It would not be bad to dump all the work on a middle-aged woman.
She said "Shadow.…" [A mysterious-looking woman appears out of nowhere.] ]
Find information about what the holiness said about my daughter. Investigate everyone in this household. Don't miss any information about what happened twenty years ago in this mansion. Find out the truth about the previous headmaster's secret.
Master... [Silence, she looks at her with a mysterious aura in the air. The room feels suffocating for a normal person. ]
There are abnormal activities happening in the northern part of the empire. It has been quite some time now that this phenomenon also happened in the southern part of the empire. Also some part of the empire is the black fog that consumes the life of the land.
On the way here, the contaminated monster that has been seen for the first time was raging in the village nearby the territory.
And what is your judgment about what happened?
It is early to tell, Master; the new type is stronger than the normal monster in the forest. I can tell that it develops new adaptability, like it is evolving, and it shows some intelligence.
Did the tower know about this?
It seems like they do. I have let one of my shadows follow them and the emperor himself know the situation.
Can you say that it would be related to the summoning of the empire's elites?
Most likely, master.
Continue to observe the changes in the empire; we do not know what danger lurks in this.
[The night shadow disappeared.] She's alone now in her office.
She mumbles....
A month from now the empire's elites will gather in the palace.
What game does the emperor have on his mind?
What is the secret of the highest bloodlineof this empire?
Sigh... [She leans on the chair] too much for today.
[ She notices a person behind the door. ]
And said,
"You can come in now."
Headmistress… (Her aide answered.)
This is the letter containing my message to the Moenglyrn, and tell her I will be visiting in three days from now. You must deliver it and be careful on your way to the east. The riders are on the move, and the appearance of the unknown forces of monsters in the territory is making it more difficult.
I will take care of everything, Your Grace.
[Her aide then left the room.]
In the lone purple office, she continued her work.
Are you in there? [The head maid is outside, behind the door. ]
Yes, your grace, do you need something?
When my daughter comes to find me, tell her that I will be in the east for two weeks and I will let her handle the house for a while. The meeting of the families elites will be in the third week of this month.
As you wish, Your Grace, please rest for tonight. I will personally handle everything you need to have for your travel to the east.
You can leave now; you don't have to worry. I will have my rest after this.
[After the head maid left the room, she then retired to her bedroom. She took a seat on the balcony outside her room. ]
The cold blow of the wind is strange. It is in the middle of summer, yet the night is colder than before. The exterior of this empire looks extravagant, but the inside is slowly rotting. Soon enough the smell will be blown away by the air. It will fuel the fire of the sleeping red sun.
[In Meilyn's study room]
The unexpected summoning of the four elites of the house is a lot of work. I know it is the imperial order, but how can I reach them? The genius of the Relic-tech is known as a wondering machine of the empire.
She doesn't care where the wild winds blow her. She mastered machinery at an early age. Equip in both machine and swordsmanship. She declined the offer to serve as an imperial knight with modern technology. She has the concept that ideas come from wondering and discovering new knowledge.
Sigh... Would I be able to reach her on time...?
While the wandering witch is unexpectedly on the west. Her alchemy is acknowledged by the people of this empire. She gained the people's trust, and they started to call her a witch. Her crafts are the best, and she's quite cunning. She loves fortune as much as she loves to try new things. I should convince her money can be a bait.
I should not worry about him; he's in the territory, after all. Running the mercenary, he probably already knows about the imperial scheme this time. I will expect his visit to the mansion soon. He probably knows how to contact her. They are quite close as they grow up together, but they are the polar opposite of each other. She's a woman but with the strength of ten men.
She's probably out there scavenging precious minerals of the empire. She only talks about those gems and power stones. She really has the highest toxin immunity because of her obsession with them.
I also can't use the family shadows, as they only follow orders directly from the headmistress.
The empire will be nosy in the next few months. The day is getting harder each time. I should have my plan.
The most important thing for now is how to convince four of them to gather for the expedition. When it reaches their ears, curiosity will drive them here to the mansion. I will send the letters of invitation for them.