I Became the Villain's Master - Chapter 136
Chapter 136
Fueled by fear of dark magic, the nobles coalesced around the idea of the Eckarts planning an uprising.
The Noble Council. With Duke Eckart absent, all eyes turned to Cedric, who observed the proceedings.
“Your Majesty, we await your decision.”
Cedric smiled languidly and slowly began to speak. “The murder at the Holy Festival.” The nobles’ eyes widened. “And…the circumstances surrounding the discovery of the Eckarts’ secret dark magic experiments in their manor.” Cedric’s gaze swept over the nobles, demanding a response. “What does this mean?”
“…Treason, Your Majesty.” Cedric’s lips curled upward as they spoke in unison. “Treason. To bare their fangs at me is treason.”
Silence. The tension in the air was so thick that no one dared to speak. Treason was a grave matter, a threat to the palace’s security.
“With the Tower now their ally…they must face appropriate retribution.”
The Tower and the Eckart family. And the Temple, also allied with the Tower.
“This is a crisis for the empire.”
The nobles swallowed hard, calculating their own interests. Should they side with the palace or with the Tower and the Temple?
Quickly finishing their internal calculations, the nobles bowed their heads in submission.
“We stand with Emperor Cedric. We will apprehend the traitors.”
Dark magic flowed into the wavering neutral nobles. Their eyes flashed black for an instant, then they too nodded vigorously in agreement.
“For the empire—!”
Cedric spread his arms, a triumphant smile on his face.
* * *
Emergency at the Tower.
“This can’t be…” I sighed, scanning the newspaper. “How can they claim we used dark magic? This is preposterous…”
“I know, right!” Louis fumed, stomping his foot.
A few days ago, an urgent message arrived at the Tower. Kiris had received information that Duke Eckart had discovered the truth behind the previous emperor’s death.
Cedric’s ascension to the throne had been suspiciously timely. Duke Eckart, who had been investigating Cedric for a long time, had uncovered the truth.
‘Cedric.’
It was Crown Prince Cedric. Traces of dark magic on a torn piece of cloth pointed to his guilt. Coincidentally, Aria had nearly been attacked by dark magic at Eckart Manor last night.
Thankfully, I’d asked Kiris to protect her, so she was unharmed…
“This is such an unfair accusation…” The Eckart family, the Tower, and even the Temple accused of plotting treason.
It had become an accepted fact, enraging Emperor Cedric, who was now preparing for war.
“How could this happen?”
In the original story I’d read, Cedric raising an army to oppose Kiris happened around this time. But reality was completely different.
In the original story, the world where Araberus failed, Cedric was the hero, but here, he was the ultimate villain.
“We found out too late… We could have stopped it if we’d known sooner.” Louis mumbled dejectedly, burying his face in his hands. “Is this the end of the Tower…?”
“No, Louis.” I patted his shoulder and shook my head. “God Moreus told me we would prevail. And I will stop those who follow the demon.”
“Gasp…! Rosette…”
Tears welled up in Louis’s eyes.
“Waaah! Rosette, you’re an angel! From today onwards, I’ll believe in God Rosette, not Moreus!”
“Isn’t that blasphemy?”
“This is where God Rosette walked!” Louis exclaimed dramatically, kneeling and sweeping his hand across the floor.
“Sigh…”
My head throbbed. As I finished reading the newspaper, something struck me as odd.
‘Every noble family except the Eckart sided with the imperial family…? Certain of their treason?’
It was strange. There were neutral factions and families friendly with the Eckarts.
“Louis.”
“Sniff… Yes?”
“Look at this.” My serious expression drew Louis closer to examine the newspaper. “Isn’t this odd? That all the nobles unanimously supported the war effort.”
Just then, Snow, who had been sleeping, sent me a message.
[They could be mind-controlled, Mistress.]
What did that mean?
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