## Chapter 892 – 892. God’S Atlantis
“It has fallen. Of course, there are exiles who returned to their original world. But we are not exiles. We are continentals. This world is our home, our world. And the destruction of this world is inevitable. There is only one way for us to escape destruction. It is to receive the help of an angel.”
It was over.
Their justification was the world. Elena could not reverse the current situation.
This was Elena’s defeat. Elena’s plan was over. Rather, she had only given the Crown Prince a firm justification. Now, no one would be able to stop the Crown Prince from becoming Emperor.
“…Your Highness the Crown Prince is right. I seem to have been short-sighted.”
Elena tried to step back.
She did not mention conquering all areas of Atlantis and, in exchange, trading with the Divine Seats to request the Empire’s salvation. At best, it was just a hopeful plan that was not as concrete as the salvation of an angel.
I thought about the reasons for Elena’s failure.
The Emperor had been on the Crown Prince’s side from the beginning.
The Imperial Five Swords had no interest in this matter. The Foolish Sword Duke, Noid Arpis, had been won over by Elena, but he had no chance to step forward. Noid’s role, as envisioned by Elena, was to drive a firm wedge.
The Crown Prince and the Angelus Legion had already anticipated and prepared for Elena’s actions.
Finally, the Second and Third Princes remained silent. They did not help Elena and did not attack the Crown Prince, who was their political rival.
‘…The Second and Third Princes betrayed her.’
The Second and Third Princes must have made a deal. Elena had moved, convinced that they were aiming for the Emperor’s throne. The Third Prince, Gidin, had even staged a self-made drama.
‘It’s different from the original story. Why did the Second and Third Princes give up the Emperor’s throne?’
In any case, Elena had failed, and with this, she would have to remain quiet for a while.
“It seems I have spoiled the joyous Ten-Year Festival. I will return to my family home and reflect on my actions.”
“Wait a moment, Illusion Duke.”
The Crown Prince stopped Elena. A distorted smile was drawn on his lips.
“Illusion Duke. I recently came across some surprising information related to you.”
“…What kind of information is it?”
“It was information related to your mother.”
Elena’s face instantly contorted. She was shaken to the point of not being able to control her expression, but more than anything, it was because the Crown Prince had touched Elena’s sore spot.
“I heard that you committed the heinous act of killing your own mother?”
“That’s…”
“Ah, no need for excuses. Just tell me if it’s true or not. It doesn’t matter if you want to make lame excuses.”
“……Yes. That’s right. I killed her.”
Elena said. Perhaps because she had been talking for a long time, or because she was flustered by the Crown Prince’s attack, her voice was rough.
The surrounding nobles buzzed. Because of this, the honor of the Valdert family would be dragged through the mud.
“You must be curious as to how I came across this information. Come forward.”
A man emerged from among the nobles.
He was an old noble. His hair and beard were white, and his wrinkles were etched deep. His firm eyes and angular mouth suggested that he was the epitome of a stubborn old man.
‘That old man is….’
He was an old man I remembered. After desperately racking my brain, I realized he was a retainer of the Valdert family. I had seen him a few times in passing, but I had no memory of ever having a conversation with him.
“…Baron Goldrex. You also attended the ball.”
“I was belatedly invited by His Highness the Crown Prince to attend the ball. I am too old to enjoy dancing, so I was quietly observing the situation from the corner.”
“……What exactly did you do with His Highness the Crown Prince?”
“I simply told him what happened, what needed to be known, and the truth that should not disappear.”
“You were not a retainer of Valdert.”
“I would like to ask you in return, Lord. Am I a retainer of Valdert?”
“…….”
Elena stepped back. It was an attitude that could not be seen in her, who had been so confident just a moment ago. Elena was sweating profusely. Conversely, her lips were parched. She now looked like a human cornered.
“Baron Goldrex. There may be those who do not know you, so it wouldn’t be bad to start with an introduction.”
The Crown Prince said with a smile. His eyes sparkled as if he were watching an enjoyable play.
“I am Baron Hyman Goldrex, who has served the Valdert Duchy for 70 years. I have watched the history of the Valdert Duchy since before the Lord was born.”
“What was your role in the Valdert Duchy?”
“I was in charge of the dirty work.”
“Dirty work? What kind of work specifically?”
“Dealing with those who opposed the family, taking advantage of the weaknesses of the merchant guild, and so on. I also dealt with those who became enemies of Valdert. Yes. About 100 people have lost their lives at my hands.”
“That is indeed dirty work. However, let’s discuss that later…. Let’s talk about how the Illusion Duke killed her mother.”
“The Lord killed the Duchess of Valdert. It was a clear day, and the sound of cicadas was annoyingly loud. That day, two voices arguing in the garden echoed throughout the mansion. It was the day the Lord and the Duchess were fighting. Not only I but everyone else in the mansion heard the sound.”
“How did the Illusion Duke kill the Duchess?”
“It was with a sword. Blood splattered in the garden, and the Duchess’s scream covered the sound of the cicadas.”
“Why? Why did the Illusion Duke kill the Duchess?”
Goldrex stared at Elena for a moment before shaking his head.
“I cannot say.”
“…Huh. Is that what you’re going to do now? It’s a bit anticlimactic. Let me ask you something else. When did the Duchess of Valdert die?”
“That was when the Lord had just become the head of the family… 12 years ago.”
“12 years ago. I heard that the Duchess died in an accident at that time. But why is it different from what I know? Even if you silenced people, it would be normal for some rumors to spread if there were many witnesses, wouldn’t it?”
“I didn’t know the truth until three weeks ago.”
“Oh. Why was that?”
“I was under the Lord’s illusion. My memories were manipulated. If it weren’t for the baptism of Gabriel, I would have lived forever with my memories manipulated.”
The nobles buzzed and looked at Elena with fear in their eyes. Elena was frozen, unable to refute anything.
“You used illusions on your retainers to silence them…. How scary, how scary. When did you become a monster?”
The Emperor sighed.
“That’s not all, Your Majesty.”
The Crown Prince’s attacks did not end. He rode the momentum and exposed Elena’s wrongdoings. He called other retainers of Valdert. They confessed to the crimes Elena had committed. The only saving grace was that it was not revealed that Elena was a member of the criminal organization, Helten.
The nobles who died at Elena’s instigation and the benefits the Valdert family gained from it. The Crown Prince did not stop his exposure.
“Your Majesty. What is most serious is… the Illusion Duke hired someone to kill the Third Prince, my brother, Gidin.”
“…That is not something that can be easily dismissed.”
“Emperor! No! I will admit to everything else, but I have nothing to do with the assassination of the Third Prince!”
Elena urgently stepped forward. She could let the other things slide. She could compensate the living or cover it up later using her power. But she could not just let things slide when it came to matters related to the Imperial family.
The Third Prince, who had been silent, stepped forward.
“His Highness the Crown Prince is right. I was attacked at the hunting competition. After capturing and interrogating the attackers, I found out that the Illusion Duke was behind it. The Illusion Duke’s knight, that person over there, also participated in the hunting competition.”
His gaze turned towards me. I never thought he would try to tie me in at the same time. It seemed he had made up his mind.
“That’s absurd… it’s a frame-up, Your Majesty! It was the master of the A-Plan Legion, whom I sponsor, who saved the attacked Prince!”
“Gidin. Is that true?”
“Yes, Your Majesty. That is true, but I was attacked even after that. The A-Plan Legion’s help was probably a deception. Your Majesty. Please do not forget that the attackers have already confessed to the crime.”
“Your Majesty! It’s a frame-up!”
Elena shouted. She tried to move forward towards the throne, but the Emperor raised his hand to stop her.
“It seems that we need to investigate this in more detail. The Duke of Valdert… shall be confined in the underground prison until the results are out.”
“Your Majesty.”
A man with a large build and a height of over 2 meters stepped forward. It was the Foolish Sword Duke, Noid Arpis.
“Even so, the Illusion Duke is one of the Imperial Five Swords. Imprisoning her in the underground prison is too harsh. The results are not yet certain. I will watch over her, so please guarantee her at least a minimum of freedom.”
“……Foolish Sword Duke. This is no ordinary matter. It is an incident in which a member of the Imperial family was attacked.”
The Emperor said with a displeased expression.
Seeing that everyone’s attention was focused on the Foolish Sword Duke and the Emperor, I moved my lips. The Thousand-Year Duke and Gabriel were watching me, but I ignored them and sent a telepathic message to the Iron-Fisted Duke, Holaind Ronmasid.
-Karise del Felsman. The sleeping princess is in the Valdert Duchy.
Holaind’s eyes widened. He then bit his lip and spoke directly to the Emperor.
“Emperor. You must not ignore the loyalty that the Illusion Duke has shown to the Imperial family. Please guarantee her at least a minimum of freedom.”
“Iron-Fisted Duke. Are you saying that as well….”
The Emperor’s words deepened. With two of the Imperial Five Swords stepping forward, Elena would not be imprisoned in the underground prison.
I did not stop there and sent a telepathic message to Gabriel.
-Ariel.
Just one word.
It was enough to move Gabriel.
“Emperor. Hasty judgment is not good.”
“…Gabriel. I understand. Looking back, it seems I was too harsh. However, the investigation into the Duke of Valdert will not stop.”
“It’s quite a sight to see.”
A man’s voice was heard from above.
A man jumped down from the third floor and landed on the first floor. He was a man wearing a navy coat. He held a sword in his hand. He was a man with a half-shaved head and a dirty impression.
“…It’s Vanray.”
The Emperor spoke the man’s name.
Vanray.
He was the master of the Barclay Legion Alliance.
“Emperor. I clearly warned you. Don’t even think about joining hands with the Angelus Legion. As that woman said, the purpose of the Angelus Legion is not the salvation of humans, but the management of humans.”
“…Vanray. Your position and ours are different. You are an exile, and we are continentals. It cannot be helped that we are different. I have joined hands with the Angelus Legion to secure the future of the Empire. It is not your place to interfere.”
“Is that so? But what a pity. I am the type who keeps the words I have spoken.”
Vanray, holding his sword, rushed towards the Emperor. The Foolish Sword Duke moved at a speed invisible to my eyes and blocked the Emperor. Vanray’s sword and the Foolish Sword Duke’s sword collided, creating a powerful shockwave. Those who were weak could not withstand the shockwave and were thrown backward, rolling on the floor.
“Elena!”
Elena’s body was also thrown backward. I was horrified and grabbed her shoulder. Elena’s complexion was very bad. Her eyes were shaking, and her complexion was pale. She looked like a corpse.
Bang! Bang bang bang! Bang!
Explosions were heard from all over the ballroom. Dozens of armed men appeared and targeted the Imperial family and nobles. The Iron-Fisted Duke and the Beast Sword Duke, who had been watching quietly, moved to confront the attackers. Explosions were heard from outside. The capital was being attacked. The culprit was probably the Barclay Legion.
‘I already knew that the Angelus Legion and the Barclay Legion were enemies… but I never thought the Barclay Legion would move like this. The Emperor’s reaction too… it’s already completely different from the original story.’
First of all, getting out of here was the priority.
Fortunately, the Barclay Legion did not target me and Elena. Looking at their movements, it seemed they had separate targets.
“You are….”
Elena opened her mouth. She looked at me with confused eyes.
“Why didn’t you betray me? Wasn’t now the right time?”
It seemed her mental state had collapsed as the betrayals of the Second and Third Princes and the betrayals of her retainers had occurred one after another.
“Get a grip. I’m not betraying you.”
“Ha…. You should betray me now. You know something quite important, so if you betray me now, you will be able to get what you want.”
……Should I?
I, who was seriously considering betraying her, sighed. What should I do in this situation? After thinking for a moment, I slapped her cheek with my palm.
Slap!
“Don’t talk nonsense and get your head straight, Elena.”
