I love time travel the most!

Will is right. That's exactly what Night Raid and the others want to do, except they want to bring in the Axis Cult instead of the Revolutionary Army.

"The hunters are currently understaffed."

"Aha……"

"Most importantly... one of the people who came to cause trouble this time is Akame."

——Red Eyes!

Upon hearing this sensitive name, Kurohime, who was leaning against the bed, stiffened, and her hand unconsciously reached for the Imperial Arms [March of the Dead] beside the bed.

"Black Eyes!"

Will quickly grasped Kurome's hand to stop her from touching the Imperial Arms, his concern evident in his words.

Black Eyes didn't react; his eyes were empty as he muttered something under his breath.

"Is she your older sister...?"

Will felt a pang of heartache at the sight of that expression, a mixture of love and hate, turning to glare at Kobayashi as if blaming him for telling Kurohime about it.

Kobayashi remained calm and said indifferently, "Therefore, I want to give you a task."

Stop the enemy

That must be it!

Will gritted his teeth, his grief growing, his fists clenched, and his anger reaching the brink of exploding.

It's estimated that as soon as Kobayashi said those words, he would throw a punch at the other person's face.

however--

"You two should run away."

"...Huh?" X2

Not only Will, but even Kurohime was stunned.

I never expected Kobayashi to say something like that.

"Will, Kurohime, you've both realized it, haven't you? The capital is completely beyond saving; its overthrow is only a matter of time. Therefore, I want you two to escape, at least to ensure your survival. If you escape now, I'll pretend I didn't see anything."

"What a joke, deserting or something..."

Will clenched his fists, his heart filled with mixed emotions.

He had thought that Kobayashi wanted the sisters Kurome and Akame to fight each other, but he didn't expect that she wanted them to escape. The shame he felt from misunderstanding her left him speechless for a moment.

"Will, do you want Kurohime to die?"

One sentence made Will realize the truth.

That's right, he can't let Kurome go to her death, nor can he let Akame and Kurome fight each other. He must save the person he loves!

"No, I can't leave."

Kurohime forced herself to stand up from the bed, gripping her Imperial Arm to support herself.

"Black Eyes!"

"Sister... I must kill her with my own hands. The Hunters must eliminate Night Raid, mustn't they?"

"But……!"

Will looked worriedly at the staggering Black Eyes, wanting to help him up but unable to move.

The other party's strong will left him momentarily at a loss for what to do.

They had no choice but to ask for help.

Will looked toward the source of the problem and called out, "Kobayashi!"

"I respect Kurohime's choice."

Kobayashi's words were somewhat cold, yet undeniably biased towards Will and Kuroko: "Whatever choice you make is entirely up to you. Whether you run away or fight back is up to you, and I support your ideas and sincerely wish you well. That's all."

If you support it, then don't say it out loud, just let them escape!

Will wanted to shout it out.

But his rationality told him that if Kobayashi didn't tell them the truth, given their personalities, he and Kurohime would never run away.

Therefore, the fault does not lie with Kobayashi.

Kobayashi turned and left, no longer caring about their choices, because no matter what they chose, their departure was inevitable.

But now he has more important things to do.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Royal Palace Courtyard

Kobayashi and Ryuzu walked slowly on the lawn. As leaders, they could freely enter and leave the palace, and no one dared to stop them.

Except for one person.

"Are you the new commander of the Imperial Guards?"

A burly, middle-aged man exuding an aura of strength emerged from the darkness and slowly appeared before Xiaolin.

His first words were a question: "What are you doing in the courtyard so late?"

"What if I said I specifically came to see General Bud?" Kobayashi replied.

That's right, the person who came was Bud.

The Supreme Commander of the Imperial Army, another man with the title of "Strongest".

"What, are you trying to show off the official position you obtained so easily, or are you trying to curry favor with me to gain more power?"

Bud looks down on Kobayashi.

They believe that he and the ministers are birds of a feather, and that he obtained the position of commander by virtue of the ministers and Esdeath. They have even decided to take Kobayashi down with them when they get rid of the ministers.

However, what happened next was contrary to his expectations.

"—None of them."

Kobayashi shook his head and denied it, saying, "I just have something I want to ask General Bud, and I hope you can answer my question."

"what's up?"

"Why did you not intervene when you knew about the minister's corrupt behavior, but just stood by and watched?"

"Oh? You're not in cahoots with the minister?"

Kobayashi's words surprised Bud.

Perhaps because of this, he was in a good mood and readily gave an explanation.

He said, "Because I follow the ancestral teaching that military officers should not interfere in politics, I did not take action!"

"So we're just going to stand by and watch the people of the empire suffer and live in misery?!" Kobayashi asked again.

"So what?!" Bud didn't grasp the crux of the matter. He coldly replied, "My duty is to protect the royal family, not the people!"

"So that's how it is, it's blind loyalty."

Kobayashi sighed deeply.

"Although you are upright and rigid, and wholeheartedly serve the empire, you are too blindly loyal, disregarding consequences, reasons, and the pros and cons. You only know how to do things according to orders and have no thoughts of your own! When the emperor was misled, you did not remove the corrupt officials from the court and failed to fulfill your duties. You are truly unworthy of being a general!"

...Well, can't you hear me either?

Liu Zi gently placed General Bude's head at his feet. After a brief silence in the night, a jet of bright red water shot into the sky like a fountain.

Plop!

His tall, imposing body leaned forward and crashed onto the lawn, staining the green grass a bright red.

Bud's mistake was inaction, but the root cause of this outcome lies elsewhere.

and so--

You're next, Minister!

Chapter 90 The Prince Replaced by a Civet Cat: The Real and the Fake Little Emperor

General Bud is dead?!

That powerful general, who was considered one of the strongest in the empire alongside Esdeath, and whose every move possessed immense power, was assassinated silently last night?!

And he died in the palace courtyard?!

Just kidding!

incredible!

The minister was stunned when he heard the news; his first reaction was that it was absolutely impossible!

But when he rushed to the courtyard and saw General Bud's body, he swore he had never been so panicked when he learned his son had died!

This is bad, this is bad, this is bad! I never expected the thief to be so powerful!

A sense of crisis instantly took over my mind.

Currently, the only powerful figure in the capital capable of resisting the thieves is General Esdeath, but assassins could take his life at any moment.

In that case...

Although it's still a bit early, there's no other way but to use our last trump card!

He walked briskly toward the palace.

"Minister." X4

Four people were kneeling at the gate to greet him.

They are the Four Rakshasa Demons.

He is now incredibly grateful that he made the decision to transfer the four of them back to protect him long before their public execution.

"The four of you come in too."

"Yes!" X4