I see emperor stats-Chapter 106
owner
At that time, the Grand Duke was preparing to go out after returning to his castle, which is rare in several months.
'I was going to stay in the capital to keep the first prince in check, but I can't help it.'
It took some time to prepare because it was a secret outing. His waiting gaze moves toward the many portraits in the room.
'All of my ancestors have been claiming to be the emperor's hands and feet for almost two hundred years without saying a word.'
Those portraits were all warriors who were called swordsmen in the past. I heard that even his father, Grand Duke Jeondae, had a close relationship with the imperial family.
'But I will be different. I can never be satisfied with a second person!'
He thought he was qualified enough to run an empire. When he succeeded to the title, taking Gladius out of the emperor's influence was also an act for that purpose.
"Your Highness, the Archduke is ready to depart."
“… … .”
Without a horse, he climbed into the prepared carriage. The coachman also began to drive the horse to a certain place that the archduke secretly visited without any instructions.
'They are vulgar and unlucky, but I have no choice but to ask for help this time.'
* * *
'The Archduke and Gladius... … .'
As he left the imperial palace, Julius' expression was stained with doubt. The secret of the imperial family this time was something he had never thought of in his previous life.
He was intently recalling the conversation they had just had.
“By the way, what kind of organization is that Gladius?”
“I also lost information right after I reached my generation, so I don’t know the details.”
After the emperor said that, he seemed to think for a moment.
“But what is certain is that they were the group in charge of 'force' in the Illuminati. For now, aren't you and I putting our heads together like this with just one grand duke?”
According to the emperor's explanation, the three groups belonging to the Illuminati received 'gifts' corresponding to their respective positions from the great emperor.
“Then Oculus must have something special? But Mareus is just a civil servant to me?”
Mareus explained with a shy expression.
“Heh heh, I’m just the person in charge. I will have a chance to introduce you to the people who are playing on the frontlines someday.”
That was the end of the conversation he had with the emperor. The Emperor did not give him full control of Oculus.
However, since all information could be viewed through Mareus, it was practically the same as taking over.
Julius smiled as he reviewed his future plans once more in his head.
'The increase in the number of cards that can be used is something to be welcomed!'
after a while
“Awesome. I never thought you would have such detailed information in advance.”
“At this level, wouldn’t you be able to catch the archduke’s tail with your abilities?”
“It's hard to say for sure, but it seems possible. In the meantime, the center of the Grand Duke's territory has been as difficult to investigate as the Illuminati, but with this amount of prior information, it is possible to touch it.”
'It's only natural that the Grand Duke is part of the Illuminati.'
In front of Julius, who had a bitter smile inside, Jegal Hwa-yeong was looking over the information with a slightly flushed expression.
The information was a detailed summary of the Grand Duke's powers that he had just received from Mareus. She opened her mouth again in a slightly cautious tone.
“It's a little rude to say this, but your lord is really like an onion. Even if you try to dig it out, the shell still seems to be there.”
“That is an outrageous exaggeration. From my point of view, the information brought by you, who have just entered the western continent, is more amazing.”
After replying as if it was not so important, Julius brought out the following words.
“As I said before, the most important thing is to catch the dogs of the Grand Duke who participated in the martial arts meeting before.”
“Actually, that's why we said we weren't sure. They seem to be top secret even within the Archduke's forces.”
The target he was talking about was the shadow of the Grand Duke who had caused the Northern War in the past and secretly participated in the Imperial Martial Arts Association.
In fact, he thought it wouldn't be difficult to catch them if it was Hyeonwol War. Couldn't we take a few of them out and investigate the route that led them to join the Order of the Golden Lion?
But surprisingly, the Grand Duke did not catch the tail easily.
“At that time, I looked at the movement routes of the suspicious knights who participated as members of the Golden Lion Knights, but there were no special features.”
“Can it be? They must be the ones the Grand Duke took out separately, right?”
“We thought so too, but surprisingly, his personal appearance was ordinary. From the time he joined, there was clear evidence of where he came from.”
"It's a faction that the Grand Duke secretly cultivates, so there's no way they neglect security like that."
Although Julius agreed, he couldn't help but regret it.
'If we left a group of mostly master-class or equivalent knights, the damage would be great on this side.'
The fact that such a group even existed was suspicious. Even if the Archduke was the strongest warrior on the continent, would a force comparable to that of the Imperial Guard be created so quickly?
It was an unanswered question at the time, but after hearing the secret history of the Illuminati this time, Julius got a little bit of a feel for the matter.
'But this time, the mystery will be solved to some extent.'
I don't know what method it was, but there was a high probability that the Grand Duke had the means to develop excellent knights into attributes.
'Maybe it has something to do with the gift from the great emperor who was said to have landed on Gladius.'
After thinking so, Julius opened his mouth again with a firm tone.
“Anyway, this will make your activities a little easier. It's not long before we can implement our plan, so cheer up.”
“Thank you for your encouragement.”
Greeted by Zhuge Hwayeong, he left the secret room of the Blue Dragon Merchant. But there were still a few more unsolved mysteries.
'What is the reason the Archduke is so anxious about not being able to bite me?'
Now that several years have passed since the return, thinking about it anew, the fact that Julius, who had the knowledge of his previous life, was little by little wrong in his predictions, except for the one he intentionally changed, was all a trick created by the Archduke.
'Yes, since I was incompetent in my previous life, it is understandable that I tried to push my nephew, Leon.'
However, in this life, no matter who sees it, he has accumulated more achievements than Leonhardt in his previous life. Considering the character of the Grand Duke, who is known to the outside world, he cannot understand the reason why he hates him even while fighting secretly.
'Except for the fact that the Archduke drove me out in my previous life, I still think he's an objectively decent old man?'
In the first place, if the Grand Duke was really a small person obsessed with power, how could there be so many followers?
Although the personality that Julius knew was cold, he was fairly fair and knew how to make rational decisions. As he is the best knight in the empire, there are many warriors who respect him.
'Why is a guy in such a respected position so greedy for the imperial power?'
In the meantime, I simply thought of him as an enemy because I was in a position to be attacked by him, but when I tried to completely drive him out, I couldn't help but question it.
“… … .”
However, thinking about it, it seemed that the clue could also be obtained by driving out the archduke this time.
'If I interrogate Gladius and the grand duke, or search his family, won't there be some clues?'
If you think about it, all the elements that made him curious in his previous life were all connected to the player.
I thought about it a lot, but in the end I came to one conclusion.
'First of all, I'll have to cut off all the limbs of the Archduke and kneel in front of me before thinking about it.'
* * *
Meanwhile, the carriage in which the Grand Duke was riding stopped at a certain place.
"Im here."
"Good work."
The Grand Duke got off the carriage and strode into a mansion.
'It's a vulgar place as ever.'
The interior of the mansion was luxurious. The scale cannot be compared, but considering the splendor of the interior, there are few places in the imperial palace that are so well decorated.
“Are you here?”
A few people who couldn't even see their faces because they were wearing black hoods hugged the Grand Duke.
This was also one of the factors that the Grand Duke did not like here. The inside of the mansion is splendid, but the people who greet you are the ones wearing the dark hoods? There are degrees of bad taste.
The grand duke, who was ushered into the drawing room, sat in a chair and listened to their words.
“Would you like some light refreshments until you are ready?”
"Not required."
"All right."
The Archduke refused with a cold expression on his face. As this was also a normal exchange, the hooded figures quietly withdrew.
“Wait for a while and the owner will come out.”
"joy! Isn't that clown going to be late again because he's wearing unnecessary clothes?”
“… … .”
'hmm.'
The Grand Duke, who had a sharp sense of humor, immediately noticed that the hooded figures were sending weak killings towards him.
“Are you dissatisfied with my expression?”
The Archduke was already uncomfortable, but he felt even worse when he felt that even these nasty bastards were ignoring him.
“Ouch!”
"town… … .”
The lifeblood he emitted instantly strangled the hooded men. The moment when the atmosphere is about to become hideous in an instant!
The ornate door on one side of the drawing room burst open. Then a playful voice is heard.
"Sorry I'm late. Did our kids do anything wrong?”
'Tsk! He's always a bad guy.'
The Grand Duke clicked his tongue inwardly. It seems like it came in suddenly, but it was because I knew the owner of this voice had intervened at the right time.
Had the voice intervened even a little too late, all the hooded guys would have died of suffocation from his killing spree.
“… … .”
“You guys are out.”
The owner of the mischievous voice who lightly bit people was also wearing a bizarre outfit.
His face was covered with a golden mask, which had a humorous expression, as if a clown had put on his makeup. The only part of her mouth that was exposed there was a faint smile.
The clothes worn on the body were also splendid ceremonial clothes that even high-ranking nobles only wore at parties.
“Tell me about my business. The assassination I requested was of no avail, so what happened?”
The Archduke, who wanted to get out of this unpleasant space as soon as possible, started with a sharp questioning.
However, the masked man did not let go of his humorous tone.
“Is it? I don't think you've received a report yet?"
'This guy?'
Quick.
In an instant, the handle of the luxurious chair on which the Grand Duke was sitting shattered. Together with him, the masked man was attacked by an incomparable murderous spirit that had just been delivered.
The masked man shook his head as if he couldn't help it and raised his hands.
"Sorry sorry. I was just kidding, but you're still impatient, 'Gladius'.”
"It's not easy that the owner of the black market is a clown."
The Archduke, who lightly struck back, shot the masked man. This man is the head of the black market, a part of the Illuminati that Zhuge Hwa-yeong talked about! He was the so-called 'owner'.
Comments