I, the prince in distress, send money

Chapter 461 Epilepsy

Inside the palace, at the same time, Charles also stepped out of his private room after a long absence. Standing on the clock tower, he looked at the firelight in the distant noble district and smiled.

The infighting among the noble alliances was something he had anticipated.

Don't misunderstand, this wasn't something Charles planned; rather, it was something he deduced based on his understanding of the nobility.

Charles deliberately orchestrated the assassination of the four nobles by having the troublemakers kill them. He did not anticipate that three of the four targets would die, and he did not even expect to succeed. He simply wanted the outsiders to take action. As long as the nobles were frightened, they would naturally gather together.

When nobles get too close to each other, they become like hedgehogs huddling together for warmth, and bloodshed is inevitable.

The Shadow King was merely a figurehead; he had only recently assumed the throne, and his intelligence work had not yet penetrated into the nobility. Furthermore, he was not a nobleman himself and knew little about them.

Just like the now-murdered Baron Mario, and Little Laporte... these two families actually have irreconcilable conflicts.

Ten years ago, Duke Laporte murdered the former Baron Mario over a piece of territory.

Now, with the death of the Duke of Laporte, the current Baron Mario certainly played a part in it. Charles doesn't know exactly what the latter did, but he definitely did it.

Otherwise, Little Laporte wouldn't have been in such a hurry, disregarding the rules of nobility and breaking with convention, leading his troops to charge directly and kill Mario.

Although he had anticipated that the alliance of nobles was fragile and that internal conflicts would inevitably erupt sooner or later, the fact that this explosion came so violently and so perfectly still gave him immense satisfaction and... a sense of strategic mastery.

Look at those fools!
Charles cried out silently in his heart.

I don't need to lift a finger; just a gentle push and they'll pounce on each other and tear each other's throats apart.

This is what nobility is all about!
A group of beasts dressed in fine clothes, but whose hearts are filled with greed, suspicion and shortsightedness!
His joy did not stem from the life or death of Mario or Laporte, but from the fact that things were unfolding according to his script... even if that script was full of crazy gambling.

However, Charles was betting that the nature of the nobility was hard to change, and that hatred and self-interest could easily override a brief alliance of fear.

And now, he's won his gamble.

This sudden, bloody infighting, like a violent political earthquake, will immediately reshape the power structure of Taiwan, with its impact being immediate.

The hastily established temporary council was already defunct before Baron Mario's blood had even dried; in fact, it was already brain dead.

The surviving nobles' first reaction was not to investigate the truth or avenge Mario, but to quickly consolidate their power, close their gates, strengthen their guards, and scrutinize each of yesterday's "allies" with extreme suspicion and fear.

Who would dare to trust others anymore?
If the Lapol family can act so rashly because of old grudges and new hatreds, who knows if they will be the next ones to be killed in the fighting?
The so-called joint investigation and joint crisis response turned out to be a complete joke.

The foundation of trust among nobles was completely destroyed, replaced by a jungle law where everyone lived in fear.

They went from being potential united rulers back to being a disorganized, warlike, and even hostile separatist force.

The generals of the Imperial Guard were now in a very awkward and strategically passive position.

Their previous blockade of the palace was based on the position of "maintaining order, preventing the spread of chaos, and waiting for the noble council to come up with a charter." Regardless of the truth, that was at least what was written on the surface.

But now, the council of nobles has fallen into chaos, and in the most barbaric and bloody way possible!
Many generals found this situation disgusting and absurd; their attempts to sell at a high price had become empty talk… The buyers started fighting amongst themselves, and their credibility was completely ruined.

More importantly, the infighting among nobles greatly weakened the overall strength and moral prestige of the noble class.

This led some mid-level officers and soldiers in the Royal Guard to begin to have doubts. They began to wonder what the generals above them were doing. Who were they guarding against and protecting by surrounding the palace like this?

The real source of the chaos seems to lie within those noble lords themselves.

This shift in thinking is subtle yet crucial.

The generals may still have ulterior motives, but the will of the army's lower ranks is beginning to waver; they have lost a clear objective and reason to continue their hardline blockade of the palace.

But withdraw the defenses?
They were also afraid that misunderstandings might easily arise, leading to a bloody conflict between noble private armies.

The Imperial Guard, which had been proactively observing and waiting for a chance to succeed, found itself in a passive and bewildered stalemate.

This gave Charles an opportunity.

And then there's that group of troublemakers, suspected to be from the Kingdom of Bagnia. They've killed three nobles in succession, and their manpower is almost exhausted. In the ensuing upheaval, they won't be able to play much of a role.

Even if the nobles are caught in a civil war, they will certainly not forget their existence, and there will inevitably be people searching for and hunting them down.

Charles looked down at the city, which was plunged into a new wave of turmoil because of the chaos he had orchestrated, and his smile grew even deeper.

The fire had already started, and it was burning even more fiercely than he had expected.

Next, it's time to let the Imperial Guards, who were watching from the sidelines, jump into the fire pit as well.

Charles turned and walked down the clock tower, his steps seemingly lighter. Beneath his madness lay a cold, calculating intent to close the net.

The nights on the island are still long, but the wind direction seems to have begun to change.

Charles did not linger on the clock tower for long.

That moment of overlooking and feeling of pleasure was just a brief moment of calm in the eye of the storm.

When Charles returned to the familiar underground chamber, filled with old papers, candlelight, and a faint, barely perceptible musty smell, the carefree smile on his face vanished, replaced by a cold, hard expression, sharp and focused on the next move.

He had barely sat down behind the desk piled high with messy documents when a silent, bowing figure appeared behind the quietly opened door.

No need to summon him, his shadow always appears when needed.

"His Majesty."

Gray Shadow's voice remained as steady as ever.

Charles made no small talk, offered no comment on the chaos that had just unfolded, which had confirmed his prediction, and didn't even glance at the gray figure.

His gaze fell on the flickering candlelight, and he asked a question that seemed abrupt but was of paramount importance:
"Grey Shadow, my son... Charles, where is he now, and in whose hands?" This question was like a cold needle, causing Grey Shadow's body to tense up almost imperceptibly for a moment.

"Reply to Your Majesty."

The gray shadow lowered its voice even further, making sure only the king could hear it.

"Your Highness, you have been handed over by General Roderick of the Royal Guard to the Council of Nobles. Currently, you are under house arrest at Earl Hawke's former residence, guarded by the remaining Noble Guard."

King Charles's expression remained unchanged, clearly indicating that this was not unexpected... or perhaps, he simply did not care about the life or death of his heir.

The gray shadow awaited his command.

He anticipated his emperor's reaction would be furious, and an immediate order to retrieve the prince at all costs. He had even begun to devise a plan in his mind to infiltrate Earl Hawke's old residence and rescue the prince.

However, when Charles spoke again, his words plunged Gray Shadow into an icy abyss, leaving him almost unable to believe his ears.

"There's no need to take it back."

Charles's voice was calm and even, as if he were discussing an insignificant item.

"That would be too slow and too easy to cause complications."

He raised his eyes, his gaze deep and unfathomable, which sent a chill through the gray shadow.

"Grey Shadow, I need you to go personally. Gather our most reliable people, not to rescue him..."

Charles paused, each word like an icicle hitting the ground.

"...to kill him."

"His Majesty!?"

Gray Shadow gasped in shock, his composure and restraint completely vanishing. He abruptly raised his head, his face beneath the hood filled with disbelief, horror, and fear.

"That's His Highness the Prince, he's yours..."

"He is my son!"

Charles abruptly interrupted him, his voice rising sharply with a sharp, broken madness, but he quickly suppressed it, returning to that eerie calm.

"That's why he had to die."

Charles's logic unfolds in an extremely cruel way.

"He was just a puppet in the hands of the nobles, but his death could have made a contribution to the country. He would have intensified the infighting among the nobles and alienated the lower-ranking officers and generals of the Imperial Guard, making them truly doubt the latter's loyalty."

Charles's lips curled into a distorted smile.

"So, little Charles is of little use while he's alive, but he'll make a huge contribution when he's dead. When he dies, that's when I'll show up and clean up this mess."

"But Your Majesty!"

The gray shadow's voice trembled like never before.

"That's your flesh and blood, perhaps we can try to rescue you..."

"..."

Charles simply stared at the gray figure without speaking, which stopped the latter from continuing his persuasion; he felt a strong wave of nausea and dizziness.

The king he served had now become a monster in his eyes.

For power, for that so-called contribution, he could calmly order the execution of his own son and calculate the value of his death to the extreme!

This isn't madness...this is inhumanity!
"Your Majesty...I..."

For the first time, Gray Shadow felt a strong urge to disobey orders. Assassinating the enemy was one thing, but personally killing members of the royal bloodline, especially the prince, touched the last line deep in his heart.

"Execute the command, Gray Shadow."

Charles's voice was cold and hard, leaving no room for doubt. There was not a trace of a father's tenderness in his eyes, only the ruthlessness and scheming of an emperor.

"This is for the future of the Kingdom of Minicia; sacrifice... is necessary."

He looked at the gray figure and added a sentence that, like the last piece of ice, shattered all of the gray figure's struggles.

"Don't forget your vow. You are my shadow, my tool, and a tool... doesn't need to have its own judgment."

The gray figure was struck as if by lightning, frozen in place.

A tremendous shock, a chilling fear, and a profound sorrow overwhelmed him in an instant.

He looked at the familiar yet unfamiliar man on the throne, and finally, all his emotions turned into a deathly silence of despair.

He slowly and with great difficulty lowered his head, as if his neck was bearing an immense burden.

"...Yes, Your Majesty."

These four words are as heavy as mountains and as cold as ice.

He turned around, his steps faltering as he blended into the shadows, no longer the silent ghost, but more like a prisoner burdened with endless sins heading towards hell.

Inside the room, Charles watched the gray figure's retreating back, his gaze wistful... The knife was dull; it was time to replace it after the incident.

(End of this chapter)