I Want You Dead!

"Your Highness, Mohad Hal, the Vice President of the Mage Association, requests an audience."

The Guardian Knight stood at least seven or eight meters away from me, a standard precaution against assassination.

"The Mage Association... what are they doing here at a time like this? Did he tell you what it's about?"

The Guardian Knight shook his head.

"He didn't say much, only that he wishes to see Your Highness to report a matter of great importance."

I stood up and paced for a moment, thinking it over before turning to Nara.

"Nara, make the arrangements. Have Mohad wait in the side hall for a while. Tell him I am currently bathing and dressing. Also, have Sir Nar come here."

"Yes, Your Highness."

Nara immediately went to carry out the orders, and for my part, I truly did need to wash up.

Another set of the Saintess's robe had already been laundered. With the convenience of magic, clothes dried quite quickly.

I took a bath, changed into a clean Saintess's robe, and returned to the main hall.

I glanced at Sir Nar, who was already waiting below. I nodded in acknowledgment, and he responded with a slight bow of respect.

It seemed Nara had already briefed him before he arrived.

Looking closely, Nar was covered in the marks of battle. Although he seemed physically fine, the toll of being busy all night was evident in his deep exhaustion.

There were still many things to handle, so rest was not yet an option.

There was no other way; we were simply too short-handed.

"Mohad Hal greets Her Highness the Saintess. I pray for your well-being."

"I am well. Please rise, Mr. Mohad."

"I thank Your Highness."

Mohad was meticulously groomed, his clothing clean and tidy. He looked like someone who hadn't spent the entire night in turmoil at all.

I suspected this fellow hadn't participated in the coup at all.

However, I remained highly wary of him. Since Victor was the president of the association, it was impossible for Mohad, as the vice president, to be unaware of what Victor had been doing.

He was a middle-aged man who looked to be in his thirties with a calm expression. He didn't seem surprised to see Nar in the hall.

"Mr. Mohad, instead of waiting for investigation at the Mage Association, what brings you to the Temple?"

His expression remained unchanged, seemingly unfazed by my sarcasm.

"Your Highness, Victor acted on his own to incite members of the Mage Association to join the rebellion. He has received his just deserts."

"And?"

"Therefore, I have come on behalf of the Mage Association to plead for mercy. I ask Your Highness to show some leniency."

"Heh... haha..."

His words truly managed to make me laugh.

"Mr. Mohad, if this is all you wanted to say, then please leave."

"Wait, Your Highness! Everything Victor did was his own idea. He incited only a portion of the mages to follow him in the coup."

"It is indeed the fault of the Mage Association for not noticing sooner, but Your Highness... the other mages are innocent. If Your Highness conducts such a large-scale investigation, are you not afraid of chilling their hearts?"

"Oh? Then, Mr. Mohad, let me ask you: what if I insist on the investigation?"

At this point, I had no intention of haggling with him. I held the moral high ground. No matter what I said, the people would believe me over him.

"Your Highness... the Mage Association has existed for a long time. Even the identity of its founder has been lost to history."

"The Mage Association is spread across the Eight Nations of the Holy Church and other smaller countries. If their hearts are chilled, I fear many mages will choose to leave the Kingdom of the Moon."

The smile faded from my face as I stared coldly at Mohad.

"Are you threatening me?"

"No, I am simply speaking the truth, Your Highness. Mages are found throughout the human realms. Any country would hunger for them to join. If this place is no longer suitable, they will naturally choose to leave."

A wise bird chooses its tree. He was right; if those mages felt alienated, they could indeed choose to leave.

"Very well. Then let them leave."

Mohad froze, looking up at me in disbelief.

"Your Highness, are you... are you not afraid the Kingdom of the Moon will be weakened and vulnerable to other nations?"

"I am. But being afraid is useless. What must be faced will be faced. And what you should never have done... was use the mages to threaten me."

Mohad seemed completely blindsided by my reaction, standing there in a daze.

"Furthermore, I will soon announce that the original document tablet is within the Kingdom of the Moon. I plan to gather mages, wizards, and warriors to bestow titles upon them."

Mohad's pupils shrank violently.

"What did you say? The document tablet!!"

"That is correct. The original... document tablet. And I can tell you clearly that this is a document tablet I signed with God. It is a complete system. So, do you think your threat carries any weight now?"

It was as if he had been struck by a heavy hammer. He staggered back two steps, his eyes still filled with disbelief.

He lowered his head and began to mutter to himself.

"The generous support from other nations, the dragon army... I see... so that's how it is. Victor did not lose unfairly. Those nobles did not lose unfairly at all."

Mohad muttered for a long time before suddenly looking up. The face that had been calm since entering the hall now wore a slightly fawning smile.

"Your Highness, I..."

"Sir Nar."

"Present."

"Mr. Mohad does not seem to like the Kingdom of the Moon. I order you to escort him out of Brilliant City. Since he doesn't like it here, he need not return."

"Your Highness, Your Highness! You cannot do this! I didn't mean it that way! What I meant was..."

Nar stepped forward, blocking Mohad's path.

"Your Highness already understands what you meant. Please leave. I will personally 'escort' you out of Brilliant City."

Nar placed a heavy emphasis on the word 'escort.'

This blatant mockery left Mohad stunned. He opened his mouth to argue, but no words came out.

"Your Highness..."

Refusing to give up, Mohad gritted his teeth and tried to step past Nar.

But in the next instant, with the crisp sound of a blade leaving its sheath, Nar's longsword barred Mohad's way.

"Mr. Mohad, I will personally 'escort' you out!"

Only then did a look of regret finally appear on Mohad's face.

The importance of the document tablet was known to everyone on the continent.

And he... because of his own impulsiveness and blind confidence in the Mage Association, had ultimately ruined his own future.

As for what he thought, that was none of my concern.

Right now, I still needed to manage the situation within the city.

...

"Please report to Her Highness that I have been informed. My Cromwell family will give Her Highness an explanation for this matter."

In a temporary communication room built at the foot of a nameless mountain in the Holy Mountains, located in the south-central part of the continent.

Kevin listened to the report from Brilliant City with a dark expression.

At this moment, his face was as calm as the air before a storm, but the fury in his eyes was almost visible, though he still suppressed it.

The person on the other end of the communication line hung up.

Kevin paced back and forth in the empty room with his hands behind his back. His steps were hurried and heavy, each one feeling as though it could crush the earth.

"Lord... a message has come from the family."

Suddenly, a woman's voice echoed in the empty room, and then a woman slowly emerged from the shadows.

If she hadn't revealed herself, almost no one would have noticed she was waiting nearby.

"Connect it!"

Suppressing his rage, Kevin looked up at the communication display that lit up again.

The caller was one of the Cromwell family elders whom Luo Li had sent to suppress the rebellion at the North Gate.

Elmer Cromwell.

"Brother, I..."

Before he could finish, Kevin interrupted him.

"Fool!!"

"Despicable! To allow the Garnet rebellion is disloyal!!"

"Ridiculous! To annihilate the Garnet family is unjust!"

"Lamentable! To ignore the lives of the million citizens of Brilliant City and provoke conflict is unkind!"

"Pitiful! To fail to follow ancestral teachings of loyalty to the Kingdom of the Moon and betray generations of responsibility is unfilial!"

Kevin pointed at Elmer's nose and roared.

"My Cromwell family has been upright for generations, never leaving a stain on our reputation. How did we produce such a disloyal, unjust, unkind, and unfilial thing like you!!"

"Kneel!!"

Elmer still wanted to argue.

"Brother, actually it wasn't just me, there were also..."

"You still dare to make excuses! If I were in Brilliant City, I would run you through with a spear right now!"

Kevin roared, veins bulging at his temples. His hands were clenched so tightly his knuckles were white!

Hearing this, Elmer seemed to truly understand Kevin's fury and fell to his knees with a thud.

"Brother, I... I was wrong."

"Wrong!? Can a simple 'I was wrong' compensate for this catastrophic disaster!?"

"Can 'I was wrong' bring back tens of thousands of lives!?"

"Can 'I was wrong' erase all the past mistakes?!"

"Brother, I... I..."

Looking at his younger brother, Kevin felt heartache mixed with pity.

"It's my fault... I am to blame. Our father died young and our mother was in poor health. I raised you, and I spoiled you. I share the blame for this immense disaster."

"Brother, it's not like that, I..."

"Enough, say no more! From now on, every family elder who permitted or participated in this coup is stripped of their position. Their property is to be seized and handed over to the national treasury."

Kevin pointed directly at Elmer.

"As for you... go and kneel before the Temple! Stay there until you receive Her Highness's forgiveness. Otherwise, you can kneel there until you die."

"Brother!"

Elmer wanted to say more, but the communication was abruptly cut.

Kevin took a deep breath and looked toward the east.

"Your Highness, I have failed to teach my brother properly. Although I know it is presumptuous, I still hope you can forgive him."

"Lord, although what Elmer did was wrong, his intentions were good. He was ultimately thinking of you."

Within the communication room, the woman spoke softly, pleading for Elmer, but she was more concerned for Kevin.

She knew the relationship between Kevin and Elmer; they were biological brothers. After the previous head of the family passed away, Kevin had watched Elmer grow up bit by bit.

They were more like father and son than brothers.

"Thinking of me? I think he was thinking of his own power."

Kevin waved his hand.

"Fine, do not plead for him. I know what I'm doing. Her Highness will not do anything to him. At most, she will punish him a bit. It's good for him to suffer a little."

The woman looked at Kevin with slight surprise.

"Lord, how can you be so certain?"

Kevin shook his head and glanced at her.

"You, though your strength is great, your mind is always slow to turn."

"This current Highness is completely different from the previous one. She still needs me, and she needs the Cromwell family to help her achieve her great goals. She will not kill my own brother."

"Then... Lord, since you know that, why did you order Elmer to seek forgiveness?"

Kevin smiled.

"Even though Her Highness won't kill him, that's only out of respect for me. Moreover, this coup was truly too dangerous."

"This Highness will certainly use this as an opportunity to make a grand statement. I had him do this to give Her Highness a way out."

The woman repeated in confusion: "A way out?"

"Yes, a way out."

Seeing her still puzzled expression, Kevin continued to explain patiently:

"Without this way out, she would have to execute Elmer, otherwise it would be difficult to satisfy the public."

"I understand!" the woman exclaimed, then muttered to herself.

"Only by having him seek forgiveness on his own can Her Highness avoid being put in a difficult position due to Elmer's status when she wants to make an example of the situation?"

Kevin smiled and nodded in approval.

"It seems you've understood, and not too late."

"It is thanks to your guidance, Lord."

"Enough, make the arrangements. We must quicken our pace to return to Brilliant City. By now, Seaview City has likely raised its banners. Whether Her Highness intends to lead an Imperial Expedition or send troops to suppress them, someone must be there to oversee Brilliant City."

Kevin looked toward the south and sighed with a shake of his head.

"A pity... a thousand-year family, destroyed in a single day. Barry, I warned you long ago, but you would not listen."

...

"Damn it! Damn it!!"

A table was violently flipped over, sending the delicacies upon it spilling onto the floor.

Below, the servants trembled in terror.

Seaview City.

Barry Garnet let out a roar the moment he heard that the rebellion in Brilliant City had been suppressed.

"That Saintess and the rest of them deserve to die!"

"Lord, what should we do now? The Cromwell family and the other families seem to have already switched sides. Currently, the only ones who haven't moved against our family are the Dressas family."

"The Dressas family? They won't move against us. Otherwise, who would ever trust their family again? We don't need to worry about them."

Barry paced back and forth before gritting his teeth.

"Raise the army immediately. Push the troops to the south and block any reinforcements coming from Brilliant City!"

"Send a letter to the King of the Kingdom of the Sun. Say that my Garnet family is willing to hand over Seaview City and all its territories in exchange for protection for the descendants of the Garnet family."

"Also... send this letter out by sea, to the usual place."

After finishing these three steps, Barry took a deep breath and waved his hand to dismiss everyone.

He was left alone, sitting in the vast living room.

For a time, the hall was deathly silent.

Faintly, a trace of black mist could be seen swirling around where Barry sat.

"What a Saintess of the Moon, to dare kill my son."

"I want you dead!!"