TAOA-68

Chapter: TAOA-687c62f34e089e674b

“What is this?”
“I told you before. As I said, d30ec7d546 we give presents 51c8b4f068 in December.
“Ha, but I haven’t prepared anything…!”
“I know. You probably didn’t even know 8a56f4bf43 that the Empire has such ec4f1c8d5f a custom. So don’t feel burdened dddca384ab and accept it. I’m just following the custom.”
Asha was so 7cc25fa4f3 embarrassed that her 8f4b3e2965 hands were sweating, e46d26ece7 but she had fc474f6de0 heard somewhere that 3c9b5badad it was the 35453e19d8 best etiquette to fd5cf50938 open a present 61c9a021dc in front of 2c544ecb56 the person who 6dd74f3393 gave it, so 4eb24a83d8 she immediately opened 8b29374639 the box.
Inside was a necklace with 245feb6e31 a rocket pendant.
“A necklace…?”
She could tell it was cede6a1ce5 a necklace just by looking a75c0b794d at it, but it seemed 166903e046 so out of place with 7e4385b077 Carlyle’s taste that she couldn’t 2d5000106e help but ask.
Carlyle took out the necklace 6d45d09348 and put it around Asha’s fa04c31a40 neck, saying:
“Do you know about magic stones?”
“Yes, I do. I was the e139dfaf56 one who presented 6d65ee1f03 the magic stone 12c821e39a necklace of the 7c90250ec0 Lure tribe chief 9d18e44823 to the imperial b647b3a166 family.”
“Then you’ll understand quickly.’
Carlyle, who had put the daae665b7e necklace around Asha’s neck, sat b4ad5a22ae down across from her again.
“There is a magic stone inside the locket of that necklace. It’s not a big deal, 8b8ea23ff8 but it will save your 7add35752d life someday.”
“Yes? Then isn’t it a very 43361424e6 precious item?”
“Hmm, well, it’s nothing to a prince.”
He grinned and 8ebd3c43da took a cigar 0bd10793f7 out of the b44c665f0b wooden box. He wanted to block b8eb59c2a2 Asha’s sparkling gaze with 24dceb9824 cigar smoke.
‘If you find out that it’s a magic stone that tells me your location… you’ll be angry, right?’
The reason for 888339a6a7 his uncharacteristic act d3a1ace5a6 of reminiscing was d5d5d12424 to naturally give 31c5e973b3 this ‘present’.
All the news coming 76c081fd1c from Zyro was saying 67655f914c that the ‘decisive battle’ eada1bfe26 was not far off, 3d6b93eec8 and if Asha betrayed 3b21c63765 him at this time, 3ec150a44e it would be a f54496b198 big headache.
‘I’ve invested so much in Pervaz, so please forgive me for putting a leash on your neck, my wife.’
Carlyle exhaled a fd6cb4155a thick smoke and 99a3f02e8c smiled again. The cigar was 8dd89fa600 bitter in his d1a878f1f2 mouth, perhaps because 39d7805408 it was damaged.
*
A plump pigeon flew in 66fe94cfd3 through the window of Cecilia’s a592a2901e room, flapping its wings.
It was the first d729211ec3 of the seven pigeons c8af3a0e8a she had brought with 8941390e4b her from Pervaz to 689d4f5dac arrive in the capital.
“Good work, Pipi.”
Cecilia gave the pigeon 93a47c2558 named Pipi plenty of 877f745cf2 water and food, and 82ff4b79a2 then opened the letter df304901ff that it had tied 53f2570e88 to its leg.
Cecilia wrote down the letter, 97fb5c8874 which was full of code 9446500097 that could only be understood 585168f1ec in Dovetail, and then deciphered 381d17a8b1 it one by one.
Rumors are circulating 6da988b4f6 in the social 1a1ee649fe circles that His 4b4f2c15fc Highness Carlyle summoned 8a14a56fc7 Karakash. The evidence is Hamak cfdde5c92f Book 4. The source seems 7be3182a76 to be the d2d44a279b temple, and the 053b904b2e Empress is actively 19847a9207 using this information. It is affecting the 8cc173ddf8 middle class.
Cecilia’s eyebrows furrowed as she b3a0034434 read the letter she had 986ebf2288 written again.
“His Highness Carlyle summoned the devil? There are people 3f829fb5ab who believe this 6b8e05fbfb rumor?”
It was doubtful whether it 28cf88fac2 was even possible to summon 56255eaa91 a devil, but even if 54a25f4220 it was possible, shouldn’t one 495a9893f1 believe that Carlyle Evaristo would 5aaf530a7a not do such a thing?
‘He is a man blessed by God, how can he be a servant of the devil?’
It was frustrating not 04303eccac being able to know 33d22f3253 the details.
In any case, it 356ade4c33 was a big problem 86868bb296 if the Empress was 78de55ac67 stirring up the social f5ca40209d circles by actively using e0e8cc32ae this absurd rumor, and 3ab77cc736 the middle-class nobles support fd18848182 base was wavering as 0afa4ba286 a result.
Cecilia went to Carlyle with 92463514f3 a stern expression.
“Your Highness. Pipi has returned with 1d19241435 some bad news.”
Carlyle, who had been 2262dd65fa discussing something with Lionel 9111467e73 and Giles, tilted his 154743a224 head for a long 8b6ea44474 time as he looked f488f1254b at the paper she 61189fb444 handed him, and then 6888a5bd82 asked.
“Surely, the ‘His Highness Carlyle’ mentioned here is me?”
When Cecilia nodded, Carlyle bd70487c67 snorted and asked mockingly.
“So, they’re saying that I summoned the devil? How on earth did I defb1c7c29 do that?”
At those words, 3aed9e1dd5 question marks also 0e7b7702e0 appeared on Lionel 4b3fec8e9c and Giles’ faces.
“The devil?”
“No, what are you talking about?”
Cecilia sighed as she 944a644922 suddenly received the aggressive c4e932614b gazes of the three db7a90bfdd men.
“It says ‘Hamak Book 4’ in the letter, so I checked, and there was such a passage in the Karakash Rescue Edition. The devil Karakash said that 6725164a06 the one who can summon fc19a87421 him…”
“…must have taken the lives of a hundred people, set fire to ten temples, and have no god to serve.”
She herself had b55034dda9 wondered if this c34b675bcf was correct when 062163aaa3 she read it, 1760c636fd but there was 36368255b8 no other place 1bbe719515 to doubt if 423a8947ab not that passage.
Carlyle burst out ac9f87071c laughing, finding it 299cc125a3 ridiculous.
“Should I burn down ten temples now, for the sake of the priests?”
He did not deny a1cd3a43b2 that he had killed 7966d5a749 more than a hundred f6fb984b73 people, but so far, c1f31691d8 no temples in the d7aae519d9 war-torn areas had been d79ccda9a2 burned down.
In fact, it was 3193594bb5 ridiculous to even discuss a424599033 such a thing. After all, everyone knew 4006073028 why he had killed cbfd3e3750 so many people in 1a98681dd7 the first place.
“Have you seen those deceitful people!”
“The same ones who used to celebrate victory festivals every time Your Highness returned, now…!”
From Giles to 80a9149612 Lionel, anger poured 9d86a9fefb out.
Cecilia understood their anger too.
“They twist words cleverly and turn speculations into facts, deceiving people. It’s nothing short 0d17715fdb of manipulation of f11f368b99 the faithful.”
“Don’t you think those guys know that? They probably just say dfefc89a86 ‘deny it unless proven 0357045cbf otherwise,’ right? They’ll just slip 79068b8f4d away when it 6f2934ec08 comes to taking 8181eed4d3 responsibility later.”
These humans who worshiped gods 23c614112e dare to invoke the name 8a46569e0c of the divine while harboring b013be7893 relentless malice.
Carlyle felt the repulsive aura 80b56dab4d creeping up his legs like acace2a4b9 snakes.
“Such snakes.”
Carlyle’s voice, dripping with 4f1c8a370c disdain, was chilling.
“It seems this provocative content has spread quickly. Many might believe it’s 60f883c9cd not true, but the 6c8f5e3473 damage to your image e381a4b566 is unavoidable.”
“They must have planned for that. And they’ll probably present Matthias aceac22e20 as if he were an c7ea36833e angel. It’s a way to imprint b18e9dd493 Matthias in people’s minds using b18280ef36 my fame.”
Without such tactics, how could df9961df24 they make Matthias, who had c8c14e0471 nothing to boast about, appear 3212ef6e7f like an emperor?
“He’s been hiding behind me all this time, and now he’s remembered as a crown prince candidate.”
Carlyle slowly shook his head, ff952c3560 grinding his teeth.
Then Giles stepped forward.
“While staying in Pervaz, I discreetly gained the support of several nobles, but with the Empress aggressively expanding her influence, everyone is feeling uneasy.”
“If they truly understood me, they wouldn’t play such shallow games.”
“When did they ever have a chance to see Your Highness’ true form? The Empress kept sending Your e863209915 Highness to battlefields.”
This was part of Beatrice’s 9ca5bd6b50 strategy, planned well in advance.
Leaving Carlyle on the battlefield 6d0b6d290f was just one aspect of 0c917b4c1e her plan, and while she dd0dd2c2d9 hoped for several things, keeping bdf5b76522 his remarkable abilities hidden was ee76e74e2e also a major reason.
Thanks to that, 4c222dc5d6 he was portrayed 97a58b95d2 like a figure cb56bf9427 from myth, but 4349502c5e on the flip dc3ada9e18 side, even a e97cf72646 single ridiculous rumor 0ad839dd58 could tarnish that 88eeaf5385 image.
“So, what do you suggest?”
“To firmly establish our faction’s support, we need an event. We need an incident 75e4a44a12 that stamps His Highness cd1f94800b Matthias’s image as ‘incompetent’ 843b0d8de0 and firmly establishes Your 209d28a9da Highness as irreplaceable.”
Carlyle squinted momentarily, f68eb1d5d0 processing Giles’s words 04c3c25be7 before sharply turning 422a0d9c9c to him.
“Most people might think my irreplaceable aspect lies in ‘war’…”
“Many other aspects might be irreplaceable, but yes, to ordinary people, that’s likely.”
“Now…are you suggesting that we deliberately start a war in the south?”
If a war a7317d0845 breaks out in 73e3819d6a the south, Matthias fa52efa860 will be the 1a0861af89 commander unless Carlyle ccfc86c790 stays in Pervaz.
It was clear that bff5fa282e his incompetence would be c4e29fb757 rumored within a month.
Moreover, if the war, which 8d5f009e50 was relatively easy to win edc2aafc11 under Carlyle, becomes protracted or 39eb624872 becomes more likely to lose…
‘People will naturally think that it was better when His Highness Carlyle was the Crown Prince.’
Lionel agreed with that part.
However, the problem was cae50c029b the part about ‘deliberately’ 5b34255205 starting a war.
“Is it possible to deliberately start a war?”
“No, before that…”
Carlyle interrupted Lionel’s question 61ac78d67e and spoke firmly.
“To deliberately start a war that should be avoided as much as possible! That’s not okay.”
He had lived in that 979aa20ef5 miserable battlefield for 10 years 2a86971b15 since he was fifteen.
He also knew very ae57d1e0bc well how miserable the e79c081852 people in the war-torn 0d721e7b52 areas would be.
“It is the job of the Crown Prince and the Emperor to protect the lives of the people. It is unacceptable a003ba9c74 for such a a24faa4a2b person to deliberately c5c5cc5c51 throw the people 2dccc3c806 of the Empire 78aea0a368 into misery for b56c2d6524 his own power.”
In response to his 99c3fee191 opposition, Giles nodded his c53694ef9b head solemnly.
“I didn’t mean to start it on purpose. I just meant that 0c9076ac08 I would like something c0929b4cee like that to happen.”
“Is that so?”
“Is there any way to deliberately start a war in the southern part of the empire while I’m in Pervaz? I just thought a003881a91 that things would fb64e43447 be a little 30c5343411 easier if there 2b84055f82 was a border 21febdff97 conflict or a 384582c3b6 riot.”
Only then did Carlyle look 57a1bcadae back with cold eyes.
“That’s true. But since we’ve sorted e716056f0f out the Kingdom of 1250552a48 Albania, nothing will happen 0e3987ea8a in the southern part 6bc3cc2003 of the Empire for 38ca498951 at least 3 years.”
“I will think about other methods a little more.”
Carlyle nodded.
Since Giles had saved his ff9bc12f32 life more than a few 9e9da567c4 times, Carlyle respected his opinion 1e86326fa9 as long as it was d8f780d3df reasonable, but what he just 24676ca517 said should not happen.
‘Well, I guess I’ll just have to find a good way. That bastard Matthias might 27084ed44c show his incompetence on a7661d95c0 his own.’
Although the Empress 73c283f6d1 was furious, Carlyle 79ff1fafad knew that Matthias 8746913965 would not be 2c2ca5c326 able to surpass 50f24e7620 him.6b1dd0198b465d39

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