FATE: Target of Grand Master

Inside the palace, in the center, was a huge bed, upon which lay a figure that was also enormous, like a humanoid monster—the very image of Ivan the Terrible from Xia Yan's memory.

Beside the sleeping Ivan the Terrible were three people.

One was a court musician dressed exactly like Mozart, constantly playing a requiem.

One was a white-haired, pale-eyed girl dressed in a white court dress, holding a blonde doll. At this moment, she was speaking in the tone of an empress, accompanied by a requiem, to soothe Ivan the Terrible, who was showing signs of awakening.

The last person was a man dressed as a priest, who stood with his hands behind his back, silently watching everything.

Mozart Alter, no, he should be called a brainwashed Salieri court musician.

Using the name Anastasia to impersonate Ivan the Terrible's wife, she was actually Anastasia Nikolaevna Romanova, the youngest daughter of Nicholas II, the last emperor of the Romanov dynasty, who was supposed to appear in the future in the original history.

There was also Kirei Kotomine, who falsely claimed to be Bishop Matthews but was actually possessed by Rasputin.

These are the true identities of the three people currently standing beside Ivan the Terrible.

"Player, whatever you do, do not take off your earplugs, or you too will be hypnotized by this requiem of the highest caliber."

Having received Nero's telepathic reminder, Xia Yan could only stand aside and wait silently in a world that felt like it had been muted.

About twenty minutes later, Anastasia finally stood up, pointed to the door, and Xia Yan and Nero followed her out of Ivan the Terrible's bedroom, while Kirei Komine stayed behind in case Ivan the Terrible showed any signs of waking up.

Upon arriving at the rest room on the other side of the second floor, Anastasia immediately launched into a long speech, but Xia Yan didn't hear a single word.

Seeing Xia Yan's confused expression, Anastasia walked up to him and took off his earplugs.

"Idiot, are you going to wear these earplugs until the end of the world?"

The first thing Xia Yan heard after regaining his hearing was being scolded, leaving him speechless.

Seeing Xia Yan's aggrieved expression, Anastasia became even more furious.

"I'm still here painstakingly trying to appease the Thunder Emperor, and you, without even saying goodbye, have run off to take a walk outside the palace. Do you think Moscow is safe now? Those rebels, and those fake priests and adulterers over there, are not people we can let our guard down against."

Another burst of attacks followed, but fortunately Nero had already closed the door to the rest room, so only the three people present could hear these words.

"Alright, Anastasia. Xia Yan didn't just go for a walk. He deliberately took advantage of the fake priest and the rapist's absence to use a summoning spell to summon a Servant who can assist you. I am the best proof of that."

"real?"

Facing Anastasia's scrutinizing gaze, Xia Yan, though still not quite understanding the situation, nodded vigorously in agreement with Nero's explanation.

"Alright, since you still have some conscience, I won't pursue the matter of you abandoning your post."

Anastasia sat back on the chaise lounge, gesturing for Xia Yan not to stand there like an idiot and to sit down quickly.

After Xia Yan did as she said, Anastasia asked, "Xia Yan, you promised me you would help me become the 'Tsar'. Before, every time I asked you about your plan, you would only tell me a little bit like squeezing toothpaste. Today you must tell me your whole plan, otherwise, you can forget about leaving this room."

Faced with Anastasia's questioning, Xia Yan pretended to be deep in thought, but in reality he was frantically asking Nero through telepathy what was going on.

Nero hadn't expected the princess, who had been so polite to her before, to be so direct after meeting Xia Yan. It was true that spending too much time with someone like Xia Yan, who was essentially the same inside and out, made her almost forget the hypocritical social etiquette of royalty and nobility.

"Player, don't panic, let me help you quickly sort it out..."

After Nero's brief description, Xia Yan gained a general understanding.

Simply put, Xia Yan is playing the role of Kadoc at this moment, but it's not just playing Kadoc.

Nero had previously tried to ask about things like the Hidden Ones and Alien Apostles, but Anastasia said she had never heard of these terms before. She only knew that this was a Lostbelt, and that there were six other Lostbelts besides this one, which would compete with each other. In order for the Russian Lostbelt to expand steadily, Anastasia had to replace Ivan the Terrible, who was preventing the Imaginary Tree from taking root, and become the king of this Lostbelt.

As for Xia Yan's current identity as a court magician, he is set as the only subject with the same name as Xia Yan who is absolutely trusted by Anastasia. At the same time, he is the only one who supports the princess in replacing the Thunder Emperor. As for the close relationship between the two, it is in a delicate stage that is lower than the original relationship with Kadoc, but transcends the ordinary relationship between ruler and subject.

In other words, Xia Yan replaced Kadoc's public identity as a court magician, but the system removed Kadoc's true identity, such as the Hermit, from the original work. This was probably to make it easier for Masters participating in the trial not to worry too much about things outside the trial.

Xia Yan, now a court magician, is the princess's ambiguous love interest and also her biggest supporter in her ascension to the throne. No wonder Anastasia was angry with him just now. If something really happens to Xia Yan, her plan to defeat Ivan the Terrible will be indefinitely delayed.

As for the fake priest Kirei Kotomine and the adulterer Koyanskaya mentioned earlier, in Anastasia's eyes, they were merely partners who could not be fully trusted, and their true identities were not within Anastasia's comprehension.

"Xia Yan, stop just keeping your head down and say something."

Anastasia urged her again.

"Your Highness, please don't worry. We will definitely tell you the plan, but given our current situation, we are certainly not strong enough to shake the Thunder Emperor. Therefore, we must continue to hypnotize the Thunder Emperor for now."

Tell me something I don't know.

Anastasia was clearly not interested in Xia Yan's nonsense.

"Alright, then I'll tell you something Your Highness doesn't know. I just summoned five Servants, including Her Majesty Nero, but the other four don't seem to be around here. If we want to defeat the Thunder Emperor, we need to gather that power."

"Oh? You summoned five Servants in one go? Where did you get so much mana?"

Xia Yan's new message immediately piqued Anastasia's interest.

"It's...it's...the stuff I secretly saved up before."

Xia Yan really couldn't think of a way to explain this, so he could only use a flimsy reason that was essentially meaningless.

"Fine, I won't force you if you don't want to tell me. But next time, at least let me know before you take any action."

Anastasia temporarily spared Xia Yan, then asked the question that concerned her more: "Who are the other four Servants you summoned?"