Man Covets Power

52

It was a small village hidden in the mountains.

A mountain that didn’t originally exist on any maps.

Originally, only the small village was there.

“They artificially created a mountain, covering the village beneath it, huh.”

Erwin murmured so nonchalantly as he stared at the place he’d been kidnapped, and Francesca couldn’t hide her troubled feelings.

It wasn’t new for him to not properly explain things, but unlike before, she was now the commander of the personal guard.

She wished he’d tell her so much – why he anticipated the kidnapping, how he escaped, how he knew the location of the place he was held, and more.

But Erwin didn’t explain.

He simply issued orders, as always.

He even refused her request to stay close, prepared for any unforeseen circumstance, giving the baffling reason that he needed to be alone to prepare for that circumstance.

She felt slighted.

She felt aggrieved.

She wished he would trust her, even if just a little.

‘Judging by the brief glimpse of them earlier, even the Owls don’t seem to know the full story…’

But one of them, just one – Christina – seemed to know something.

That fact angered her.

Enraged her.

She felt a murderous intent strong enough to make her want to kill Christina.

‘Why does *she* know when *I* don’t? *I’m* the commander of the personal guard, not her!’

Francesca thought that if there was anyone in this world who should know Erwin best, it should be her.

Because she was the commander of the personal guard, serving him closely.

To add to that, this was not just her own sentiment.

The knights of the personal guard also prided themselves on being the most fitting subordinates for the Grand Duke.

Of course, such a position was unacceptable to the Owls.

‘Barely entered the Minister’s service and already trying to compare yourselves to us?’

Christina, trailing Erwin from the shadows, openly directed her murderous aura towards Francesca walking beside him.

It was irritating.

It was bothersome.

It grated.

Years he had been serving him, compared to theirs.

*They*, *he* had been watching over him for so much longer.

‘Why is *that* woman the only one who can stand so confidently beside the Minister and walk? We must always lurk in the shadows!’

The venomous glare Francesca met with equal malice.

‘You lot are not needed anymore. Just die.’

‘You’re the ones who should die! *You’re* the ones who are unnecessary!’

While the Imperial Guard and the Owls silently battled with murderous intent, ready to kill each other, the investigation of Oblivion’s stronghold began.

As expected, nothing remained within.

Not a single piece of material survived.

Not even a trap utilizing a false star seemed to have been set.

Was it because they knew it would be rendered useless by Laplace’s Demon anyway?

Or perhaps they simply couldn’t produce enough to waste them on traps?

Or perhaps, both.

“L, Lord Grand Duke…!”

It was as they moved past the shack and toward the next space.

The knights of the Imperial Guard, who had been leading the way, turned back in disarray.

Erwin knew what they had seen.

Filling the vast, dark, and damp space were countless steel cages that once held people captive.

The beings within no longer uttered sounds of curses or lamentation.

They had been transformed into withered, mummified husks.

As if all life had been drained away.

—

Upon returning to the capital and taking a day of rest before returning to my duties, I was visited by an unexpected figure.

“Lord Grand Duke Barmut.”

Bowing with a soldier’s precise discipline was none other than William Lucas, General of the Imperial Army.

I told him he could simply call me Minister as before, but the General shook his head firmly.

“That would fail to uphold the discipline of the Empire. I would implore the Grand Duke to speak informally to me.”

Oh, I don’t feel like it.

To speak down to the General, the apex of the Imperial Army, feels a bit…

“I would be grateful. It would also set my mind at ease.”

Such a straitlaced fellow.

With no other option than to acquiesce, I inquired about the business that had brought him here, purposely. The Grand General glanced sidelong at Celine, who sat next to me.

A story he didn’t want others to overhear, was it?

“Celine.”

“Yes. I will wait outside. Please call me when you need me.”

Celine readily departed, and as we sat facing each other on the sofa in the Commander’s office, the Grand General cautiously extracted a bundle of documents from his breast pocket and handed them to me.

Ah, I’ve seen these before.

“There were no suspicious persons, so you can rest easy.”

“You haven’t even opened them yet!?”

I know it all already. Why bother unfolding them?

What the Grand General presented to me was a file containing the personal details of generals and officers of the Imperial Army.

He must have come to ask if there were any suspicious individuals within, who might betray the Empire.

According to the investigations of my capable subordinates, there were, astonishingly, no suspicious individuals among the generals and officers.

“That just shows how strong the Imperial Army’s solidarity is.”

At this, the Grand General stroked his beard with a proud expression.

“Hmph, well, that’s because the lads below are working so hard… er, that is to say! How in the world did you investigate before I did!? While we’re on the subject, may I ask how many intelligence operatives you have within the Imperial Army!?”

I don’t know without counting them one by one. And the Shaper clan was recently added, too.

Turns out they’ve planted their people in more places than I thought.

Not just within the Empire, but all over the world.

Thanks to that, the amount of reports coming to me has doubled.

Well, I just have to stamp them, so it doesn’t particularly matter to me.

“Haa. In any case, if Your Excellency can vouch for it, I, too, shall be at ease. But why, then, did the Sovereign Kingdom of Klamor fall? I’ve heard from His Majesty that those called the Oblivion were involved, but…”

Ah, should I tell him that?

Returning my gaze to normal, I paused to think.

Until now, I had concealed information as much as possible, due to the reason that no one could be trusted, to avoid revealing how much I knew to the enemy, and to protect my subordinates.

But now, we’ve reached a point where there’s no use in me hiding it alone.

I suppose I have no choice but to tell him to some extent.

“Grand General.”

“Yes.”

“Those who call themselves Oblivion… they seek to conjure the star left behind by the moon goddess spoken of in myth, to make it real.”

“Pardon?”

Well, that’s the reaction I expected.

The Grand General tilted his head, clearly struggling to grasp the concept. I rephrased my explanation, making it easier for him to understand.

“To put it plainly, they intend to mass-produce an artifact of mass destruction, one powerful enough to obliterate an entire nation.”

“Such a thing?! Surely that’s impossible…could… could it be that Clamor was destroyed because of this artifact?!”

I nodded. The Grand General leaned back against the sofa, a blank expression on his face, and sighed.

“Haa… I doubt the Archduke is jesting, and since the destruction has been verified, I must assume what you say is true.”

“It is.”

“…Is it possible for us to create this… artifact?”

I figured as much.

It wasn’t that the Grand General was particularly greedy and desired a false star.

He genuinely believed it could be beneficial to the Empire, that’s all.

Furthermore, humans, when faced with power, instinctively yearn to possess it.

It wasn’t a problem unique to the Grand General.

Even so, some things are simply not done.

“Grand General.”

“Ah, my apologies. It was a slip of the tongue.”

In any case, I conveyed that these were extremely dangerous individuals and we needed to gather clues for a full-scale pursuit. After dismissing the Grand General, I rose from my seat.

I intended to convene a meeting to share the same level of information with the owl network, the intelligence staff, and the agents.

Then, for a moment, the strength drained from my legs.

“Ghk!”

Thankfully, I didn’t fall, but blood began to flow from my nose again.

I’d been shifting my vision too frequently of late.

The Eye of Heaven placed an immense burden on the brain, even just to maintain.

Erasing it at will and recreating it countless times only intensified the strain, naturally.

“Ah, damn it.”

I felt a stinging sensation in my bloodshot eyes, and now I saw that blood was leaking from them as well.

It was fortunate I’d sent Celin away earlier.

Otherwise, she would have worried again.

Truth be told, I don’t cling to life, but not now.

If I were to meet her like this, promises half-kept, she’d surely give me a scolding.

So, not yet.

Not yet.

“Haaah.”

Having finally stopped the bleeding, I soaked a towel, wiped my face, changed clothes, and went out to convene a meeting.

I told my subordinates the same things I’d relayed to the General.

Only after returning home could I collapse and lose consciousness in peace.