They are all characters I control.

Chapter 104 The Emperor's Methods of Rule

If you want to persuade someone to listen to you.

It's not simply about getting the other person to obey; it's about making them completely believe that you are genuinely thinking of their best interests.

Claire is doing just that right now.

His words convinced Prince Alvin that the conversation was entirely in his best interest and that he was doing what he needed to do for the sake of the empire and the royal family.

As for what "Lia" said about His Majesty Darion creating a crisis for the Empire and the Royal Family, it is true but not entirely accurate.

It should be noted that His Majesty Darian is indeed trying to use Bishop Augustine to contain and suppress Bishop Simon.

Bishop Simon was completely on Leah's side. If Bishop Simon was dealt with, His Majesty Darion would be more confident in forcing Leah into marriage.

However, His Majesty Daryan, as someone who has been able to sit on the throne of the Empire for so long, is naturally aware of the stakes involved.

Because if the royal family were to be too conspicuous at this time, and to interfere excessively with Bishop Augustine, it would lead to him being targeted. Even without being reminded by others, His Majesty Darian would have noticed this with his abilities and experience.

Therefore, it is impossible for His Majesty Darian to lead the Empire and the Royal Family to ruin.

Otherwise, Bishop Augustine, represented by Rosemary, would not have temporarily cooperated with Claire, the evil god emperor, to target the royal family and His Majesty Darion.

This proves that the royal family was not out of control at this time, and everything was within the safe zone of His Majesty Daryan's control.

It is unlikely that anything will happen that would put the empire and the royal family in danger.

However, Claire did not explain these things to Prince Alvin. He only emphasized that His Majesty Darian was doing something very dangerous, without mentioning whether His Majesty Darian was controlling the pace and scale.

This is obviously a somewhat one-sided view, but it was extremely effective for Prince Alvin.

Prince Alvin wanted to prove himself, and he was also trying to find the meaning of being a prince.

There is no doubt about this; at least Prince Alvin genuinely wants to improve.

What would happen if, in front of such an eager-to-show-off prince, his father were to be shown doing something wrong or dangerous?

That would be like Prince Alvin right now, thinking about how he could try to change the empire and hope to prevent the royal family and the empire from facing the judgment of the Goddess Church, and thus strive to contribute his own strength.

This was Prince Alvin's mood at that moment, and how could Earl Orlando not laugh?

Because that's exactly what Claire wanted to do: to move Prince Alvin around and have him, a member of the royal family, do something within the royal family and around His Majesty Daryan.

That would be the only way to provoke His Majesty Darion, the cunning old fox who had endured Simon Bishop's control of the empire for years before finally erupting, and disrupt his own rhythm.

This achieved Claire and Rosemary's goal of working together to first create a trap for the imperial family.

Of course, no matter how you look at it, even if Prince Alvin were to confront his father, His Majesty Darion, and utter these words spoken by 'Lia,' there would be absolutely no fault in them.

However, how to proceed next, and how to enable His Majesty Daryan's only son to play a role, still awaits further education.

With everything prepared, Prince Alvin became a devout student, eager to be taught by Claire.

Then comes the real highlight: educating a prince on how to consider the interests of the empire and the royal family.

Earl Orlando looked at 'Lia' with great admiration. At this moment, he truly understood the methods of the evil god emperor Claire.

Previously, we only knew from records and rumors that this evil god emperor possessed remarkable abilities, whether in commanding his subordinates or in dealing with nobles.

Now, in the very matter of training Prince Alvin, Earl Orlando has clearly felt this.

Claire's abilities are indeed terrifying, and even those who are subtly influenced by him will not realize it.

If this was indeed a 'guiding god,' Count Orlando felt quite tempted.

If I were to marry Claire, that wouldn't be out of the question.

However, Claire and Prince Alvin were unaware of the thoughts of the Countess disguised as a man beside them; they were focused on discussing the next issue.

“Of course you do. You’re a prince, and the throne will be yours sooner or later.” Claire looked at him. “But do you want to be a puppet emperor, or a real emperor?”

Prince Alvin took a deep breath. "The true emperor."

That's right.

No one wants to become a puppet, and he didn't want to be in the same situation as his father, whose empire was always controlled by Bishop Simon.

That means that even if he becomes emperor, he will not be able to do anything for the empire or the common people. Wouldn't he be a nobody?

This somewhat explains why His Majesty Daryan, his father, would be so radical at this time.

However, Prince Alvin felt that even without confronting his father, openly breaking ties with Bishop Simon could still allow him to achieve his status as the emperor of the empire.

“Then you can’t just think about pleading for Elena,” Claire said.

"Next, you don't need to do anything extra. You just need to follow me and learn."

"What you need to learn is about the changes in your own empire. You need to see and understand the current situation and state of the empire."

"Ah, you saw today how much unrest the purge initiated by Bishop Augustine caused, how many nobles were arrested, and how many church members are going to be tried?"

Prince Alvin nodded vigorously; that was indeed the case.

Today he also witnessed firsthand the arrest of Bishop Simon's nephew, and saw the long line of nobles and prominent figures being imprisoned in the prison wagon.

There is no doubt that every member of an empire desires stability for their empire.

As a prince, Alvin was no exception, but what about the current state of the empire? It was, of course, unstable.

How can an empire that is suffering from religious trials and purges be considered stable? But what can be done about this situation?

"So you don't need to do anything or think about anything. You just need to witness more of the current situation and understand and empathize with the plight of the masses."

"Although you are determined to save Elena, you should know that there are many more people who need to be saved than Elena. They may be the ones who can bring about greater and better changes to the Empire."

"Of course, if you are calm and wise enough, I will plead for Elena."

At this point, Prince Alvin felt that Elena wasn't so important anymore.

He simply nodded calmly.

Compared to Elena, Prince Alvin truly felt the responsibility of being a prince and the calling of the future emperor of the empire.

Chapter 105 Methods of Managing Subordinates

After Prince Alvin left, the study fell silent.

Sunlight streamed in through the window, casting a long shadow on Lia's face.

Earl Orlando leaned back on the sofa, holding a teacup, and looked at her with a smile, as if he were looking at an interesting collectible.

"What are you doing?" Claire glanced at Earl Orlando, who was staring at her with a smile but no words.

"It's nothing, I'm just quite shocked that you really are the Evil God Emperor Claire."

The count crossed his legs and looked at 'Lia' across from him with a smile.

Claire frowned. "Didn't you already make that decision? Why are you still talking about it now?"

Both Earl Orlando and Rosemary claimed that he was the Evil Emperor.

Of course, that's true.

Based on Claire's understanding of the Church of the Goddess and Isabelle's specific inquiry into the matter of the evil god emperor, the conclusion drawn is indeed correct.

This put Claire in a bit of a dilemma, but there was nothing to worry about.

Even if the Church of the Goddess knew he could control Lia and Eleanor, it wouldn't change anything. At worst, he'd just have to go back to the dungeon or get stabbed a few times by that perverted woman Ophelia and become her punching bag.

However, Claire publicly denied this.

"Yes, there's no evidence, is there? We've never been able to confirm your true identity; it's all just our speculation."

Earl Orlando shrugged and looked at Claire with a smile.

"Now I am even more convinced that you are the Evil God Emperor. Only the Evil God Emperor could have treated Prince Alvin like that, manipulating or guiding that prince in such a way."

"But what you did was absolutely right, and what you said was the absolute truth."

"Your words are spotless, yet they make the other party willingly follow your wishes. This is what you mean by causing the royal family to begin to crumble."

“He’s been persuaded for now.” Claire tapped her fingers.

Earl Orlando raised an eyebrow. "Just temporarily?"

“He’s just stunned by my outburst; his mind hasn’t quite caught up yet.” Claire opened her eyes. “Once he comes to his senses, he might not be so obedient anymore.”

“What I need is his status as a prince, but the status of a prince is also extremely important to others, especially to Darian, who only has this one son.”

“Darian was hesitant before. He was worried when Bishop Augustine suggested that Prince Alvin be Lia’s bodyguard.”

“At this point, Prince Alvin has truly become Leah’s bodyguard. How could we not monitor Prince Alvin? He will keep a close eye on Prince Alvin. It’s impossible for us to control Prince Alvin to do anything specific.”

Earl Orlando laughed. "So what do you plan to do? Wouldn't this be a way to dismantle the royal family from within?"

Claire looked out the window. "Wait."

"Waiting for what?" Claire took a sip of tea.

"Wait until Augustine's Great Purge continues," Claire said calmly.

"When more nobles are arrested, when more church members are tried, when he sees the horrors with his own eyes, there will be nothing he can do."

Earl Orlando nodded. "And then?"

“Then give him a chance. Let him save people, let him earn merit, let him prove himself.” Clayton paused. “People will only truly obey when they feel useful.”

Earl Orlando stared at him for a few seconds, then asked with interest, "Did you treat your subjects this way before?"

Claire didn't answer; it would have been unnecessary.

[Lia: My Lord, I think this is fine! The Earl probably wasn't saying that the God of Guidance is controlling others, but just that the God of Guidance is very powerful.]

Claire: What? You're worried about being controlled by me like this too?

[Lia: ...Do you think I'm stupid? Stupid enough to think that?]

Claire: No, it's quite easy and simple being with you, no need for that.

Lia's comments paused for a moment.

[Lia: Thank you.]

Claire: Of course, it would be best if you could learn to do these things for me in the future, then I wouldn't have to go through all this trouble.

[Lia: I! I'll try my best!]

[Claire: Well then, I won't have any expectations. Okay, I'll give your body back to you!]

[Lia: Thank you for your hard work, Goddess of Guidance!]

Claire closed her eyes, and her consciousness began to sink.

When Lia opened her eyes again, she had regained control of her body.

She blinked, looking at Earl Orlando in front of her, then at the teacup in her hand. The tea had gone cold, and there was a ring of tea stains on the inside of the cup.

"He's gone?" Earl Orlando asked.

"I'm leaving." Liya put down her teacup.

The count looked at her, a strange light flashing in his eyes. "Lia, what do you think of your 'Guiding God'?"

Lia was taken aback. "What? How do you see it?"

"What do you think of what he just said?" Earl Orlando leaned forward slightly, getting closer to Lia. "He only used a few words to turn Prince Alvin from 'pleading for Elena' to 'serving the Empire.' Not through underhanded means, not through humiliation, but by making him feel that he should do it."

Lia nodded. "Very impressive."

“He’s more than just impressive.” Earl Orlando’s voice was soft. “If I were Prince Alvin, I would be led by the nose by him too.”

Liya looked at her, somewhat puzzled. "Auntie, you..."

Earl Orlando laughed. "I'm a little tempted by your 'Guiding God'."

Liya's face flushed red instantly. "Auntie! What are you saying?!"

“I’m serious.” Earl Orlando tilted his head.

"He doesn't rely on brute force or power, but on his brain. He knows what people want and then gives them what they want. Prince Alvin wanted to prove himself, so he gave him a chance. Bishop Simon wanted to save his life, so he gave him a way out. It's hard not to be moved by a person like that."

Lia's face turned even redder. "But...but you're dressed as a boy now..."

"What's wrong with dressing as a man?" Count Orlando stood up, walked up to Leah, lowered his head, and whispered in her ear, "I have a lot of potions. Every night, I transform back into my original body."