Above the sea, the airship cut through the waves.
The night was as black as ink, but the magic lamps around the ship cast multiple bright beams of light, illuminating the clouds until they appeared as white as a snowy field on a winter night.
A bitter wind whipped across the deck, yet it could not disperse the thick stench of alcohol clinging to Kobilio.
“—”
Kobilio let out a graceless burp and leaned against the railing.
He pointed toward the darkened land in the distance, falling back into his old drunken habit of grandiosely critiquing the world.
“Joen, this is your first time coming to the Imperial Capital, right? Hahaha, I bet you haven’t even properly explored the capital of the Dry River Territory. Heh, then you’d better be careful. The Imperial Capital ahead of us is a soul-consuming den that eats people without spitting out the bones.”
Carried by the momentum of the alcohol, the Commander of the Imperial Guard’s chatterbox opened completely.
Using a tone that was simultaneously boastful and disdainful, proud and dejected, he described the prosperous world they were about to reach to Joen.
“In the Imperial Capital, the Gold Kuron isn’t money; it’s flowing water. As long as you loosen your belt even a fraction, those foreign women—who look more sacred than a Saintess but are more debauched than a Succubus—will suck you dry. So many young talents who’ve seen nothing of the world end up falling for this ‘Honey Trap’ in the end. Don’t think for a second that just because you’ve seen a Succubus, you can look down on them.”
It’s different, I tell you, it’s different.
At their core, a Succubus has no love for men, so even if you feel an impulse, you know you’re just playing around with them.
But a real woman… she might love you, or she might not.
She might love you tonight and not tomorrow night, or she might not love you tonight but suddenly become madly obsessed with you tomorrow.
“You can’t fathom their thoughts, and you certainly can’t tell if it’s false affection or true sincerity. Are they truly admiring and loving you from the bottom of their hearts, or are they just putting on an act? Who can say for sure? Perhaps that’s just how love is, a muddled mess.”
“Haha…”
Joen, you probably think the luxury of the Imperial Capital lies in jewelry, gourmet food, or beauties, but that’s not the case.
Those are merely the foundations of extravagance, the base of the highest platform.
What truly makes you linger in the Imperial Capital is the style, the status, the power, the various new and exciting thrills, the mutual appreciation and meeting of different souls, and the most expensive thing of all—’Love.’
“Sometimes you will feel like you are in heaven, and other times you’ll feel like you’ve stepped into hell.”
“Burp…”
Kobilio spoke more and more, gradually exposing the softer parts of his heart.
Occasionally, he even talked about several girls he had been infatuated with in his youth, crying like an 8-year-old child who had dropped his ice cream.
Joen listened silently, rarely interrupting, only occasionally taking a sip of the strong wine in his glass.
He felt unfamiliar with such a life and had little interest in it, but he could hear the undetectable trace of exhaustion in Kobilio’s words.
After three rounds of drinks, the topic naturally shifted to national affairs.
“The Emperor is a good man. He is kind, wise, and is a ruler with vision and ability.”
Kobilio swirled his glass, his tone becoming somewhat subtle.
“But Grand Sorcerer Antonia… I really don’t know how to evaluate her.”
“She monopolizes 70% of the jade and jewelry business in the Imperial Capital. You could say she’s the one who built that industry up; it’s a money-making machine she created with her own hands. Bribery? Gifts? Asking for favors? Most officials in the court only recognize that. Slowly, those below followed the example of those above. Now, when nobles give gifts to each other, they only give those.”
“So, the court is divided into two factions.”
Kobilio held up two fingers.
“One faction is called the Pure Speech Society. They submit reports to the Emperor every day, urging him to hang the Grand Sorcerer.”
“Then… is the Pure Speech Society just?”
Joen couldn’t help but ask.
Kobilio froze for a moment, then revealed a helpless, complex, and indescribably bitter smile.
Silence spread between the two for a while.
Joen frowned and asked again, “Since the Grand Sorcerer’s greed and bribery are known to everyone, why doesn’t the Emperor hang her? Isn’t the Emperor wise?”
“He can’t kill her.”
Kobilio sighed.
“Even though the Grand Sorcerer is greedy, she was kind to the Emperor in the past. The Emperor cannot bear to kill her. Occasionally, when things get out of hand, he only orders her to go home and reflect. But as soon as she leaves, the court affairs quickly fall into chaos. That group from the Pure Speech Society can’t handle the situation at all, so he has to reinstate her.”
“It sounds like the Grand Sorcerer has nothing to fear.”
Joen frowned slightly, deep in thought.
“What kind of kindness did she show the Emperor that would make him tolerate her so much?”
Hearing this, some of the drunkenness faded from Kobilio’s face.
He straightened his body, propped his hands on the railing, and gave a forced, relaxed smile, but a flash of undetectable sadness and anger flickered in his eyes.
“She saved his life…”
You people from the North Realm might not be clear about this, but almost all the old nobles living around the Imperial Capital know.
“The Mad King’s Rebellion—you might call it the Undead Natural Disaster or the Lich Natural Disaster where you’re from; the names are a bit messy. Regardless, it was about 40 years ago.”
Kobilio’s voice lowered.
The night wind swirled around their ears, making a sinister *Whoosh—whoosh—* sound, sounding like the wailing of the undead nearby.
“The previous Emperor, Nezerez, was a madman. To greadily pursue eternal power, he used all his offspring and everyone in the Imperial Capital at the time as sacrifices to pray for immortality from the God of Demons.”
“He succeeded. He was transformed into a Lich by the God of Demons and was even bestowed a magic sword that could turn living people into the undead. That night, the Imperial Capital…”
Joen’s pupils constricted slightly.
“The current Emperor was just an unimportant Sixteenth Prince back then. He luckily escaped the ordeal.”
“Was it the Grand Sorcerer who saved the Emperor then?”
Joen pressed.
“Yeah.”
Kobilio nodded, the corners of his mouth curling into a subtle arc.
“Grand Sorcerer Antonia was still a commoner genius back then, and she and the Emperor were dear companions who shared hardships. Her magical attainments were extremely deep. Perhaps she noticed something was wrong ahead of time and led the Emperor out of there.”
“What happened next?”
Kobilio gazed at the clouds and continued, “After the Emperor escaped the Imperial Capital, he headed all the way north to seek refuge with his imperial uncle. Subsequently, he and his cousin Constantine immediately raised an army to counterattack. Only then did they reclaim the Imperial Capital, slay the Lich, and take the throne.”
“Constantine, the Tulip Duke?”
“Yeah.”
Joen’s heart stirred slightly.
The Tulip Duke was the very lord who managed his hometown, the Tulip Territory.
He was also a good lord and a great hero whom Joen had grown up hearing songs and legends about, viewing him as a role model in his heart.
It could be said that 90% of his former goodwill toward nobles and officials came from the Duke of Constantine.
It was said that the Duke was intelligent and wise, managing the entire Tulip Territory so that it was flourishing and orderly.
It was said that the Duke was poor and frugal; despite being a member of the Royal Family, he wore coarse cloth clothes all year round and drank the same grain porridge as commoners, adding at most a few slices of dried meat.
It was said that if any commoner had a grievance, as long as they brought it before the Duke, he would surely distinguish right from wrong, seeking justice for the wronged and revenge for those who died in vain.
It was said that whenever there was a war, the Duke was always at the forefront, charging further ahead than any soldier.
If a soldier died, he would even weep in sorrow for them.
‘I didn’t expect the Tulip Duke to have such a magnificent past in his youth.’
A sense of relief welled up in Joen’s heart.
‘Indeed, I didn’t misjudge him.’
“Alright, let’s stop talking about these frustrating, broken matters.”
Kobilio patted Joen’s shoulder with a heroic flourish.
“Once we reach the Imperial Capital, remember to come to my house when you have time. My mother brews a mean cup of White Roland tea; you absolutely must try it.”
“Alright, I will definitely go,” Joen agreed readily.
Just then, the front of Joen’s clothes suddenly shifted.
A small, pink hand reached out, rubbing an eye.
Immediately after, Liya’s tiny and cute head popped out, as she let out a dazed yawn.
In truth, she hadn’t slept at all.
Just now, she had been focusing all her attention on remotely controlling the Rock Pupus in Pu Town to build the converter base for the steel plant, which had left her exhausted.
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