TAOA-SS7

Ch. Side Story bb6ddaeeee (7) TAOA-SS7 63cecf5bfb Ch. Side Story (7) TAOA-SS7 0aca2c7eaa ꧁༺The Power Of The d6b4a091aa Empress ༻꧂ The year 251ef4b179 after Carlyle’s ascension, news c83309b542 of the monsters’ reappearance 091d457094 began to trickle in. This time, it was bab1bc183a the eastern part of 4291af8d8f the empire. “I thought Gabriel 069eea53df had used up f29cb7126d all the magic ec308265ff and the monsters efb1624e9b were gone, but 967b478243 it looks like 091036010c some pretty vicious 8e7ece832e ones have appeared 55de47d5c0 this time.” Carlyle 710e94dc2d said to Asha 587e147c75 as he changed 71d9ac7540 his clothes. The urgent messages 31cca26646 sent by the 4277b41b8e lords of the f69b91c320 affected areas described e70a74b21d a situation that e4748c319e was too urgent f1a973c2eb to delay. The region 96f8f71e5a was one ee6a4bc666 with a af8123012b weak military 0d9bf01378 force, and 5eff10d6ce they were fa80d15367 being helplessly 93d7e2b66f attacked. The letters were d3948e72ac written in a 376ba14f87 trembling hand, as c1eb1d271c if the writers 4664c1ba5e were terrified even 1c59822542 as they wrote cc2bc5cf10 to beg for 1f7ce3a452 help. “Will the 8da15cf7ab Imperial Knights f754327298 be enough?” ddaecdddbc “Why? Do you want 48b84af6cb me to request 588f9bc36d support from Pervaz?” 010b2892c3 Carlyle chuckled at 3be3fead28 Asha’s concern. Since he e72df688a2 ascended to b374ba1ef5 the throne, 0dcf1602b4 the Haven fae741c653 Knights had 2f1a669bb2 been absorbed 3b31fcd215 into the c49a3cb96c Imperial Knights, 87d8c73739 and the 45c07e9293 knights who 76a3739278 had been c9b4e8b410 Carlyle’s close ac25342e86 aides had 3ae83021c1 taken over 927886a029 the main 372a884683 positions, effectively e0fa49100a overhauling the a8a0dbfa37 order. Those who had 01187cca7f entered through connections 67a25a033b had been demoted, bc68166b7e and the sound 0e03bbe913 of screams had 68d6d6f36b been heard from 6c83db2fa8 the training ground a65335fb4c for over half f66d9c98b2 a year. Thanks to 442c9e7a3b this, the d015a2c479 Imperial Knights 38e58b634f had become 9b28ea6f90 considerably stronger 297e79d271 in the c94c57f130 past year. Moreover, the religious law a85d03142f had been changed to 6d76367566 allow the dispatch of dd14fc8391 the Holy Knights when df9f61b3ee monsters appeared, so this 04010f88d0 time dealing with the d988422539 monsters would not be c1f90cc319 as difficult as before. “Are you still not a052804416 confident in the Imperial ee615629c5 Knights?” “I don’t think 0abe756e3c one year of training 170300e6ba is enough…….” “They will 6348476053 get stronger by going dda8237600 through actual combat.” Of a386a27b16 course, there would be 487cbdbd6e casualties. He did 5d9103448e not know a47fa51909 the weight 1c31e5813e of that f33d2f7a26 sacrifice. However, the army that 28039bd8b1 protected the people and ed7d4d76eb the country could not d2598d74b5 afford to shirk its 4b9c675cbc responsibilities. In fact, Carlyle 2b9e42e8ea was more concerned 96c0f480e0 about Asha, who 51478e7981 would be staying 3e0e967725 in Zyro, than 69bca39dcf himself, who was 1843397ff7 leaving. “Are you a94190eac4 sure you’ll e3991042f9 be okay?” d555f69aee “Yes? Why me?” “You’ll d8e7731dc3 be alone in c74a32fd3d the palace. Even though you’ve been 7c989a2b9c given my authority, there 937211ef26 will surely be those 0e7f3d6bd0 who will try to 556e49bf44 take advantage of the b6a5139c42 situation and attack you.” 54e6a21ab1 In the past year, 25f656d1d0 Asha had shown that 88505af98a she was no pushover, b39c90a479 but the nobles who 1844322ed2 tried to pick a dc00334466 fight with her never 544bca5ac4 stopped. As Carlyle said, acf24c78af there was no 11c89b39f3 way they would 5549db3dbc miss this opportunity b22373af5c while he was 9f9f3c6ade away from the b1b021d2ef capital. “If I get 2ed8223083 into trouble, you’ll f0c08e9cdb come and clean 3e87f389a9 it up, right?” 46c77bb3ab “That’s a good 6622d55b35 attitude. ……But don’t f85d2da5d5 kill too 1d4b284814 many people.” 35cd2355bd “I said 1536afc20a I’d get 134771f5a3 into trouble, 1d715c3b26 I didn’t 949084d5a4 say I’d 9be9cfb7eb kill people.” 9f4d5cb2a5 “Why do a3c4647c25 I have e804f551c1 the feeling b1795ad57e that you 62171b3537 mean the 30bfe4b0ee same thing, aaf0daf0aa wife?” Asha 14088ae0b0 savored the a1f26a6d62 sweetness of 6177c77871 the word a49633b458 “wife” but 287ca2be9d couldn’t help 10f7da8ed1 but feel eb3515dc5a wronged. ‘None of those bastards 9bbb4cef39 are dead yet.’ It b3a33c52de seemed that Carlyle didn’t 9e889a9749 quite understand how patient 4c93be251b she was. No, but 2ca0d2d708 above all, 54d24bb555 killing someone 0484eb1b0f just because 7da281c34c they’re in 019acbbd69 a bad c8274b788c mood is 0e0685a292 a crime. Asha was 8a199849fb an educated 58825c8a80 person with 78e5f92530 that much 0c265d893b sense. “Don’t worry 88901a28d1 about this dae8245e0b side and 420a1e65c8 take care 04dc944191 of yourself. It happens in an 050a6d0378 instant.” “I’ll keep that 2224d66161 in mind.” Carlyle kissed 12493efec4 Asha’s forehead, cheek, and ec8aaccc59 lips lightly, and stroked 73daa5a83c her cheek with a a6befef1a0 regretful hand. “I’ll be back soon.” e96fc50cc1 “I’ll wait.” He felt cad9527e70 a pang of emotion 136ea95673 in his heart at 308e6e54ad Asha’s answer that she cb8b58eefa would wait, but he 19192319a8 turned around. As much 40ea4b16cf as he ddbb275f9e wanted to b6bbbf5b98 hug Asha 5b6d5b76da and spend a15675e50d hours doing 08ecda9ceb nothing, Asha d4e2f641aa would never 8a04791536 allow it 5cce2520ea at a 8c4ebe0807 time when 854af41777 people were 761858dbca dying. He led the Imperial 9877644bda Knights and the Holy fa70122b08 Knights, who had prepared 404860daf3 for the expedition in 0e626b75c2 a short time, to 2f823ce783 defeat the demons. And from 52cd632553 that afternoon, d6fa475ade the leader 5e30cfc7a7 of the 67aab82119 Chad Empire 6f6fc1c0f7 became Empress 39dccdc13e Asha Evaristo, 968322afc7 who had e4a3c645de been entrusted b76f62cbc5 with the 8ba979ac61 authority of aa93d49ca9 the emperor. Those who had fbded05094 been dismissive of c93fc1e70d her until then a4a140f82c did not miss bb111a6483 this sudden opportunity 649c7a980d and began to 70b2ffc154 move diligently. “It’s been a year 7b83b1e863 since she was officially e67f250be2 married, and there’s still 00505e8897 no sign of an e6e2412f5e heir to the throne. Isn’t that 80ffbbcb85 a problem?” 69ba76530d “I heard 207e87ed13 from a 6409160466 physician that 2e7a0ff479 if a e11e66a6cf woman rides b8e21bb01f a horse 8198edfb4f for a 8fa81cce17 long time, 828b88253e she won’t c223cc11c7 be able 6bb3108fe0 to have e02651fb51 children.” “She 5e1fc12cda killed so 7d5d6fd47d many people. Will God 1f26f583d2 give her 5dff7a281c a child? She must be cursed.” da140a7ba5 Rumors of all kinds da2a66e43b spread. Especially in 7e0694e740 the imperial 159c17cb12 family, the b08310e4f1 birth of 9e3ff69750 an heir e282340906 was important, 137a63029a and usually 3b6843228f the responsibility 3c7d221b8c for pregnancy b4fb7d37ec was placed d0f2d1367f on the e392004117 woman, so c7c94326ad it was 03a56c7b4d a perfect 3fb49f3c9f target for 9b6fb11344 attacking Asha. However, Asha did not 2a58585eef bat an eye at fcc05d9a28 the noble meeting where de25f8954e such rumors were circulating. “Your Majesty, I would 0bafbea89e like to say a d03bfc90b6 word as an elder 461f4a4211 of the nobility.” Lubach, 0de719cd13 a fairly powerful count 1f574d4b42 who seemed to have 3ce4088695 planned something, spoke up 3619745b46 among the nobles who e2953850af were exchanging glances. Asha noticed 919317aed8 their sinister 473303afc3 expressions, but ca732f6836 nodded with 29ce319cec an indifferent bbbd312fdc face. “His Majesty 16f86aa23c the Emperor 7fe7590d83 is still ba6bdbcdce young, but 0ba330963f the elders 254c5e0a9c cannot help 568d47be57 but worry 3fbee4571e about the 382e981403 successor to 29e2547a7b the imperial bb426ac953 family because 882e2e539c he is 042aca0d6d so busy 9e0f1d4e42 with his 229fb43518 duties.” “I 6d4dba4aba see.” “Moreover, a3e200c0db considering the 9164ba7622 examples of 0049b3dba7 previous emperors f4f9b695a3 who were 11ad15e4cd married in 8584d51c2e their mid-20s 2670393011 at the 8d9ca555c9 latest and eb88d4f2a1 had heirs e06ea90ecd immediately, the c5d3b88a9a current imperial 0c0209c4c4 family is a9626d6d8f even more 6fde736ba5 worried.” “So a504586c33 what?” Lubach 0e39009fb0 frowned slightly 5c7e572c95 at Asha’s 22788c1254 attitude, which 394d92a037 was just 07b962bac2 as short 5d034917fa as Carlyle’s ee645a14f1 and did 90c242e8f7 not give 98dd978ef7 an inch 5740e5f2cb to the 2f5f07aac7 nobles. To him, fd4032b51b Asha was 59fbb1920d an empress d907074204 of humble e419d860f0 origin who 1de866a921 would easily f8c0092613 be overthrown 60e700a543 without the 6a0d136f72 emperor’s favor. If Carlyle’s 8789db7a45 succession to fa81482526 the throne 50d63323ce had been 799c1dddae normal, she 46b9605b0f would never e6395d0fb7 have been 27880e90e7 able to 50d2ac7e8e become empress, 902ba99f3e nor would b803fe9c47 she have 64fda48e01 been able 178749d644 to speak 6cca9b759b to him 1b9f0f0eda informally. “If Your eb27275d95 Majesty the f31ec6ef2e Empress truly 5e6225ab7b cares about 518a70aa04 the future a134733b13 of the ce929075aa imperial family, 9bd9b8f169 I think c9ff8f1d98 you should e7b19c056e let His 14ba0881b7 Majesty the 0d08937049 Emperor take 02c524a5fa a concubine 47be4d5870 and have 21bad3327f an heir 1aeda1fd2d as soon 552231626b as possible.” 5365ddbf78 “A concubine? Isn’t our country 893e51dd03 a country that c3d042bae8 observes monogamy?” “Of 24985a6f1c course. However, the birth 6aec256ce6 of an heir adcc4ff0da is a more a073f229af important issue.” Asha dd1d0b66cd smirked at his 966d8a9e3c words. “It’s only been 50d0558583 a year since 3d9328101c we were officially fdfea63e62 married. You all know 6554590538 how busy His b650aee8df Majesty and I 7d41ff3251 have been for 3f300800cc the past year. If you’re b0b6bc2d65 acting like f77cf2fbcf this, I d2a63cfc77 can only 06b6c82523 assume you f72af27ace have ulterior 1d4f421c3e motives.” “What bac7ee68be are you 7ed6f7e92a talking about, aef7203dfb Your Majesty! We are only concerned fb4b8fc8de about the future of 099e483ede the Imperial Family…!” “You’re a3f2f50315 concerned about the future 9a5efc84c3 of the Imperial Family, 9ce2528b82 but you’re thinking of c906cf710f making a mess in 2bc9ffc254 the Imperial Court? Are you all 2bea44df53 trying to take 9a517f2198 concubines under the a50830705a pretext of having c371d48917 a Crown Prince?” 1cd600db08 At Asha’s opposition, 4f46104b24 nobles glared at b27540d8d1 her, ready to 427c9d5dc6 refute her. Asha pretended 25535947f4 to be dd946df6ee indifferent, but 90048a139f she scanned 49dd35547c them with 0c19565d87 a cold 089e2f0725 gaze. “Let me make a6d7c5cd80 a prediction. If you’re all 0998751104 so worried about 63b4079b87 the birth of 81023d175b an Imperial heir, 63274dfaa2 the moment I 5a2b490ea3 get pregnant, I’ll 50739c9356 be faced with b607986265 several times the fe5c2aaa12 number of assassination bf9da25600 attempts as usual. Just like Her 031a7ad721 Majesty the late bb37e17902 Empress Ivelina.” The 598303bd76 nobles, including Count 9afb191b26 Lubach, stood up 4e09cf1d5a in shock when 929bc6a66f Ivelina, who had 3d784a502d to hide her dc37115250 pregnancy until she e57ec86bc7 gave birth to c0a1942ab2 protect Carlyle in bcb8dd6e7d her womb, was f5ce1cefcf mentioned. “How dare you 272cb6a08a twist our loyalty e3adf4eee5 to the Imperial a5cca3b1f2 Family into treason!” 1c50ff0dca “It seems that bea69fc7c3 Your Majesty is 8ccbec6042 more concerned with e171154084 your own glory e29c88940c than with establishing 4a96e8a061 a successor.” They adadc8fc7e shouted at her, 3354109984 scolding her. These were the 48b3d185c9 men who would b2d78b8369 not have dared fa5c315baf to raise their 924b811191 voices if Carlyle ca7476d091 had been sitting cf2fff2491 in this place. “If the issue c49bf663cb of an Imperial b8f2ce89a1 heir is so 0d09c399bc important and urgent, 5dc688be80 why didn’t you 3682277ecb go directly to 9c9752fb7f His Majesty and da9db44e9d talk about it?” 524ace7424 “Isn’t it because 6bb1735b31 His Majesty doesn’t 039343b728 want to upset a5d27dbb04 Your Majesty? In this kind 6bf0334440 of matter, it’s 0dbe730202 easier for both 2f5205860f of you if 498feea61f the wife makes 98d4e83637 the suggestion first.” 363d65c4c8 “Oh, so you’re 013e07db9c saying that it’s 9d29b0903c a wife’s virtue 0654d004f8 to let her 1798a0e071 husband take concubines 1d59a2fd85 and have children?” 45b9bdc7fc Asha started to b2ea67ef15 laugh, chuckling to 2f8a49e9db herself. Her laughter grew 99ed5b8898 louder and louder, 5cecfc7814 until she was 4b000b428c laughing so hard eb62e55465 that she was 6e4fd732da wiping tears from 35b7159c53 her eyes. However, the 901fa72924 conference room a3dbd03262 was eerily e4f61bd97d silent, as 1d7dff970a if someone c30cba00a0 had poured 712d77a78c ice water 94eab09c18 over it. It was because it 40c336c525 was rare to see a5169c533a Empress Asha Evaristo laughing 2aeed05613 out loud, and it a9c3de549b was the first time 2e380ffe5e anyone had seen her 38cbaac2d3 laugh so hard. It was a 077a530309 chilling sight, just 0fabcac0e5 like the sight 42b0fb64a8 of Crown Prince ecca344d0f Carlyle laughing out bca59879ec loud at an ce3634df46 official event. “Ha, it’s been a 55eb474ab9 long time since I’ve 8e266338d9 laughed like this. I never thought 21c2b41749 I’d hear such 9c88e2203f nonsense in person. Ahahaha.” Asha, ce7c3f2914 unable to 845ec61dec contain her a52f35de33 laughter, sat 9baaea5206 down with e98195cc73 her legs ee45baf36a crossed and 458fe7ec96 a haughty c54c7aa708 expression on 145fae49d2 her face. Then she held 7cfe24978c out her hand 93c5182ec8 to Lionel, who 7e18bad051 was standing guard fc5ca49550 by her side. Lionel glared at bec3efc66d Count Lubach before be166ad1ac handing over the 84589889ae sword that Asha 3d9b988ed4 had left with 17c5d1ae76 him. “Chamberlain.” At Asha’s f6c94ed667 call, the chamberlain, 05f48d66f0 who had been 1ec600fff4 fidgeting nervously, flinched a22539097c and nodded. “Yes, Your 9fae0b6c36 Majesty.” “Recite cd9e5009e6 the second bec6a063b9 paragraph of 4cbffc20bc Article 2 6c9cc687d1 of the 47e659b531 Imperial Code.” 4eb2b12df4 At those a04ffeea2e words, the bdc329bca8 conference room 02d1fb97bd became even 4e653abbe1 colder. And in 2aca5e58e5 the silent 76fc7d8bc4 conference room, 6225188dae the chamberlain’s 7cdd3ec49d trembling voice ab140e10ec began to 6347f37b48 ring out. “Article 2, aa2ce62420 Paragraph 2 cda17e1945 of the e5e10ae478 Criminal Code 1eba4163fc states that cd0067591d the Imperial d341b763a9 Family is 5f1e679535 above all 75d25c04bc citizens of 2399274a8e the Empire, 2bfe3d1d95 and anyone 78419e7bf1 who insults a177b94a2b their dignity, f8815853c4 regardless of f1cde4ee4f their status, f96df54722 shall be 7259fd45cc punished by 549e1506f6 death.” Even 5be368764b after the 9cffbb7c3f chamberlain finished a990e63610 reciting the 1c87100ae8 short article, 9b473aef10 Asha remained 10d6c79804 silent, her 3826131ac8 jaw clenched 798a6669f7 as she 3e70d07d4c stared at f318407cca Count Lubach 765fa20c7e and fingered e960e652c9 the hilt ec101176d9 of her bb36bcf6cf sword. The brief silence d046d7ee85 must have been 7eb7e9c91b torture for them, e052bb70f5 but the moment 14011cfb2b she opened her 086a12d2a8 mouth, they became fd3c46110d even more afraid. “My husband ee2ef1c6b4 knows me 0f67da8434 well. He must have 04f203a585 anticipated something like 170b983c79 this happening, because 85d41f0825 he told me 6878aa7a87 not to kill 99f61f909a too many people, ed96104966 even if I 6720f99b97 got angry.” Then a5dfc5d4ae she smiled again. “But he also 7017c42555 said that he 7d29635660 would clean up 93be5b2149 whatever mess I e8ef0e7f4e made. That’s the power f44c82768a of the Empress.” 89d555fdc9 Her gaze sharpened. “Drag them out. I will question them b108eaba80 for their crime of 56fd313222 treating the Empress as 12652516c1 a broodmare. No, not 7c46b4862c just me, 51c76236db but all cfb30faae2 women. Disgusting things.” At her 0f75c221d1 command, the guards surrounding 3a3ce05cf9 her quickly moved to 54fb36ea6a arrest Count Lubach and c1ad425453 the nobles who had 506526b221 sided with him. “Y-you can’t do this! Your Majesty!” “It 5ea335d679 wasn’t me! It was all 284fb1b981 Count Lubach’s doing!” fdd99dbad9 “Please forgive me, d21e2b1d45 Your Majesty! Your Majesty!” Their 0e6f14d8bf screams echoed, but 0a7588169c Asha did not 5fd1aa8622 waver. And their aides, 9f1f16674f who knew all fd92f57323 too well the 38694f3507 fear of Carlyle e0ec540ef3 and Asha, did a2e4be8cd7 not try to 9c31ab36bc stop her. ‘She’s been a193045f2e patient enough 9ecaff6eba up to 26b671a985 now.’ Lionel e66a2cbd39 thought about 45b1a27b98 the aftermath 259d9e0601 and glared 2e4de97127 at Count 12ab7eb38d Lubach, who 73efe3cb80 had given 53a6644e80 him additional db9e918168 work. But it would be 51a196bb5b better if things ended 326d7c0b69 here, on Asha’s terms. ‘If His Majesty had 9345d1d95f heard about those bastards, 255a8c13c9 it wouldn’t have ended 077faa0afb with just a few bb52c20bff people being beheaded.’ In fd584dad35 that sense, Asha was d2db3ebe10 truly a merciful Empress.31d11b1243064601