I, who was eager to retire, became an Imperial General.

Chapter 272 A Long and Unpredictable Staircase, Cold Rain Strikes the Eaves as the Emperor Meets His Minister

"Are you very familiar with Conrad?"

Inside the car, Irias, who had been watching John and Conrad's conversation, frowned slightly, then kindly reminded John:

"For some reason, the Sleifer family seems to have encountered some trouble recently. There are quite a few people paying attention to the Sleifer family lately. Therefore, I suggest that you reduce your contact with them during this period to avoid any unnecessary misunderstandings."

"Conrad and I are just ordinary friends, but Marquis Irias, what were you referring to when you said the Slyford family was in trouble?"

"It seems to be related to the Phantom Seed. It is suspected that some changes occurred in the magic research laboratory where the new Phantom Seed was transplanted, resulting in some injuries to the reserve members who received the magic circuit transplant. In addition to declaring the Phantom Legion's creation plan a failure and the initial investment almost entirely wasted, the most crucial thing is that this incident also involves the illegitimate son of a high-ranking nobleman."

"Therefore, the Slefort family has recently been caught in a media storm, and if they cannot come up with a new solution, it is foreseeable that the Slefort family will be severely bleed this time."

"That's it..."

John looked surprised as he listened to Irias's explanation.

He never expected that such a change would occur in the Sleifer family during the time he was fighting in Faoken.

And this is a development that has never occurred before in the storyline.

If things had gone according to plan, this would have been the first large-scale experiment in transforming the Phantom Legion, which the Slevin family had been preparing for for nearly twelve years and had spent a great deal of money on.

There shouldn't have been any surprises; it should have ended successfully.

After confirming the condition of the participants, as well as the increase in magical power and the optimization of the illusion technique.

The Sleifer family would then receive support from the Imperial Military Affairs Department, which would allow them to implement their plan to build the Phantom Legion on a large scale. Conrad, as the person in charge of the experiment, would also rise in rank as a result.

As the original story unfolded, she gained the favor of Defense Minister Michel, and at his behest, officially entered into a marriage agreement with the daughter of the Lart family.

Since beginning his career as a legendary agent of the Empire.

However, the modification experiment, which should not have gone wrong, has failed and has even implicated a nobleman who has not appeared in the story at all.

John certainly wouldn't believe it if someone said there was no one behind it.

"So, it was because of the butterfly effect they created that the Allied forces, out of fear, wanted to further suppress the Empire, and thus sent Allied agents in Elena to sabotage the Phantom Legion's development plan?"

"Or is it that someone else did all this?"

John pondered for a moment, then, as if remembering something, he opened his right palm upwards, revealing a strip of paper wrapped in oiled paper.

He then did not avoid Irias's scrutinizing gaze, but slowly opened it in front of the other party.

But upon seeing the contents of the note, John's gaze immediately sharpened:
The conservatives are planning to take action, but the exact timing is unknown. Don't be alone.

"It's quite unexpected, but it does reflect the current state of factional strife."

Arias, who caught a glimpse of the contents, wasn't too surprised, as if he had expected it.

Before John could speak, he added again:

"But John, you don't need to worry too much about this. The guards on the road from the outer sanctuary to the inner sanctuary of Pandora's Palace are all members of the surveillance force, so there won't be any accidents."

"And the other party wouldn't be foolish enough to attack you when they arrive at the inner palace to pay their respects to His Majesty."

"The only possible place is probably the celebratory banquet after the morning assembly, and the period of time after the banquet."

"As long as you stay vigilant throughout the banquet, there shouldn't be any problems."

"After the banquet, I will send someone to escort you safely back to your residence, although His Majesty will most likely arrange the escort himself."

"After all, His Majesty William has praised you highly in court more than once for the many victories you and your troops have won for the Empire under your leadership of Falken."

"Even I am somewhat envious of this honor."

"Marquis Irias, you flatter me."

John responded modestly, his face remaining calm and expressionless.

But he silently reminded himself that he must not let his guard down after the audience.

After all, it's a bit far-fetched for a victorious general to be inexplicably poisoned at a celebration banquet.

As for the possibility that the conservatives might send someone to assassinate him, he had actually anticipated this from the moment he boarded the ship to return.

He just didn't expect it to come so quickly.

In his original assessment, this assassination attempt would most likely take place after he had finished bestowing rewards and after the imperial people, under William's propaganda, had finished celebrating the long-awaited great victory.

Once the heat of this matter subsides, the other party will then launch a series of actions, such as assassination, against him.

But it was only after Conrad risked his life to deliver the intelligence that he realized he had underestimated the madness of the Conservative Party and the intensity of the conflict between the two parties.

This also served as a reminder to him that he really needed to improve his own strength.

Otherwise, if he doesn't have capable subordinates by his side in the future, and faces repeated assassination attempts by the conservatives, he, who is currently only playing a supporting role, might one day be caught off guard and suffer a setback.

"However, compared to these things, why would Conrad, a legendary agent who is currently in the Conservative Party's camp, take the risk of being discovered by the Conservative Party to remind himself?"

Surely it couldn't be that his command abilities on the battlefield made the other side appreciate his talent and choose to break with the conservatives in order to protect him, the empire's newly emerging genius commander?
"Even if this is just fantasy, it's still a bit far-fetched."

Shaking his head, John dismissed the absurd idea and stopped speculating about the deeper meaning behind Conrad's actions.

As he gazed at Pandora's Palace, which was soon shrouded in the cool autumn rain, his eyes gradually grew deep.

"Wow!"

……

The royal convoy sped along, and after traversing the neat city streets, John and his party quickly arrived at the moat surrounding the Pandoram Palace, which stands on the central hill of the capital, Areno, overlooking the entire royal city.

John, who stepped out of the car at the behest of the Royal Guard, was seeing this thousand-year-old palace in reality for the first time.

Pandora's Palace retains its medieval architectural style in its overall structure, but the remaining ancient city walls have been repaired and renovated.

A moat at least two hundred meters wide encircles the entire palace, its slowly flowing water rippling under the autumn rain. The ordinary stone walls that once formed the palace's defenses have been replaced by obsidian-plated steel composite walls as the empire has grown. The walls are now eighty meters high and have been engraved with numerous rune circuits on their outer layer, within which countless magical energies flow and spread like a vibrant rainbow.

In conjunction with the imperial emblem embedded in the center of the city gate, which is shaped like a black and gold iron eagle wing embracing the scales of law and is projected with rainbow magic in the sky, it can be clearly seen even from a hundred miles away.

And located in the center behind the city wall, there is an inner palace with a seven-tiered steel pyramid structure, representing the seven laws of the empire. Its surface is covered with silver-white gold plates, and it is shrouded in dark clouds, resembling the coffin of a god.

This made Pandora's Palace, which gathered countless important officials of the Norman Empire and represented the residence of the monarch, appear even more magnificent and majestic.

"Crack!"

The captain of the royal guard, who had escorted John and the others all the way, arrived at a giant metal pillar on the riverbank and inserted an object engraved with numerous magical runes into a groove.

The next second, accompanied by the sound of the surging river and the roar of gears.

A series of solid light curtains composed of pure magic appeared out of thin air and quickly formed a fantastic bridge between the empty moat and the palace gates.

"Please continue onward, everyone!"

Seeing the astonished expressions on the faces of the crowd, the captain of the guard immediately showed a proud look. After smiling and gesturing to John, he took the initiative to lead the way for John.

After crossing the bridge of solid light curtain formed by magic, the huge, heavy gray palace doors were slowly opened at the command of the guard captain.

What then came into view were two rows of royal soldiers lined up neatly from the palace gate, stretching as far as the eye could see.

All the soldiers' expressions were solemn and dignified, and they maintained their salutes at all times, like statues frozen in time, unmoved by the pounding rain.

"Tap, tap!"

As John, who was being watched by everyone, slowly took a step forward, the sound of his Imperial boots hitting the stone pavement echoed around him.

After leading the soldiers through a long passageway, John was greeted by Iron Edict Square, a square made entirely of metal, which was usually used for large-scale military parades and trials of officials who had committed treason.

In the center of the square stands an iron statue of the first Norman emperor, raising his sword and gazing resolutely ahead.

Around the plaza, twelve stone statues of the first ancestors of the remaining heroic families of the empire were erected, each retaining its own iconic pose and weapon, and arranged in the order of the 12 hours of a clock, for posterity to admire and worship.

Located on the west side of the square is a huge domed building called the Iron Dome Rose Garden. It is also made of metal, but through the transparent arched windows, you can clearly see that it is filled with all kinds of rare flowers and plants, as well as a large number of spiral staircases.

It was clearly a garden specifically built for the royal family, and occasionally served as a place for the emperor and his ministers to hold secret meetings.

But most of the time it was a place where the emperor, princes and princesses would relax and have fun.

Located on the east side of the square is an unremarkable building that resembles a library in appearance, but John, who is familiar with the setting, knows that this building actually has a much more important function than its ordinary appearance.

William named the building the Raven's Nest Think Tank, responsible for intelligence processing, strategic planning, and the containment of secret files.

It was the office of the Royal Inspectorate, the most trusted Royal Inspectorate under William, whose members were organized as the Ravenbeak Unit.

Furthermore, they specially hired Trolowski, who was also a demon king, to place a restriction on it, preventing anyone other than department members and Emperor William himself from entering. It is one of the few forbidden areas within the Pandora's Palace.

The stepped building directly to the north of John and the others is the inner sanctuary known as the Throne Room of the Law.

Similarly, this is John's true destination on this trip.

"Before proceeding to the inner sanctum for the formal audience, please surrender your weapons. Also, the person to be summoned today is Major John Maslow. The rest of you, please wait in the side hall."

Upon arriving at the entrance to the Throne Room of the Law, the captain of the Royal Guard, who had been leading the way, smiled and spoke to John and his party in this manner.

Looking at the displeased crowd, he initially had a headache about how to persuade these soldiers who had just returned to the empire from the battlefield to abide by the rules.

But to his surprise, after hearing his words, John immediately took out the two magic guns from his waist and handed them to the storage cabinet next to him without saying a word.

"Thank you for your understanding, Your Excellency John."

Seeing John's cooperation, the captain of the guard immediately breathed a sigh of relief and couldn't help but give John a grateful look.

However, he didn't say much. Instead, he nodded to the guards behind him who were protecting the palace, and then, under everyone's gaze, led John up the steps that were covered with a red carpet and led directly to the inner sanctuary.

"Tap, tap!"

As the two climbed one after the other, they were watched by the surveillance soldiers who were waiting on each step.

Soon, the two successfully arrived at the entrance to the inner hall.

At this moment, John, who was outside the inner sanctuary, could even faintly hear the subtle conversations coming from inside the sanctuary through his extraordinary hearing.

At the same time, the captain of the guard took a deep breath, then knelt on one knee and said in a deep voice into the hall:
"Your Majesty William, Major John Maslow, who brought you the great victory at Fauken, requests an audience with Your Majesty!"

After about ten seconds, accompanied by a creaking sound, the heavy palace door was slowly opened from the inside.

Immediately, John's eyes were drawn to the figures of nobles dressed in magnificent attire, neatly arranged in their respective positions.

A barrage of gazes rained down on him, some disdainful, some astonished, some malicious, some delighted, and so on.

But despite these gazes, John's expression remained unchanged, maintaining its usual calm.

Then, at the signal of the captain of the guard, he stepped forward, facing the complex gazes of the crowd.

"Tap, tap!"

With steady footsteps, John walked step by step into the palace filled with countless high-ranking officials of the empire.

Finally, it came to a slow stop in the center of the palace, and then looked up at the figure sitting on the head seat.

Then, amidst the pattering of autumn rain on the palace eaves, amidst countless gazes, some kind and some malicious, and amidst the joyful look of the figure on the throne representing the supreme majesty of the empire, he slowly knelt on one knee.

Then he spoke loudly to the other party:

"John Maslow, Battalion Commander, 1st Battalion, 1st Regiment, 1st Division, 3rd Air Army of the Empire, pays his respects to His Majesty William. May the glory of the Empire be with you!"

……

(End of this chapter)