Faking Death and Escape

“Idiot, this isn’t something you can just let go of by saying so!”

At this point, Fate no longer cared about imperial etiquette.

“Even if you kill all those moles, it won’t help! The longer you stay here, the more terrified Duke Jefferies will become!”

As one of the three remaining dukes not yet weakened by the Edict of Grace, Duke Jefferies not only had only one son, but his territory was also incredibly close to the imperial capital.

A normal carriage would take four days, an ordinary ride two days, but with fast horses… troops could reach the city gates in a single day.

How could one allow another to snore beside one’s bed?

But to display the Emperor’s magnanimity and confidence, no fortresses were built on the main road between the ducal territory and the imperial capital.

Why were there so many castles?

Those were built by the barons and earls in between, unrelated to the Emperor; the Emperor had given no such decree.

And placing the territory of Fate, the greatest contributor to the Edict of Grace, on the main road bordering the ducal territory was absolutely not to provoke the duke, nor did it carry any warning…

This was the imperial family’s consistent practice.

Wanting it all.

Putting on an act.

Baron Fate could only do his best to allay the duke’s suspicion towards him.

Now, he was even prepared to let the duke see him executed for rebellion.

He didn’t want to die? A way for him not to die?

Regardless of whether it was possible, as long as he thought about doing so, as long as the Crown Prince arrived and he still didn’t die.

And the Crown Prince kept not leaving.

Then the duke would feel that he himself was the one who deserved to die.

Either way, it was death, so the duke could only rebel!

Not rebel?

Write to request self-demotion to earl? Cede ducal lands?

Was His Majesty the Emperor such a harsh and ungrateful person?

You want to put His Majesty in an unjust position?

Your heart is punishable!

The duke… could only rebel.

He could only jump into the trap laid by the Emperor.

As for who would suffer after the duke rebelled, or whether his excellent son would fall into danger… that was not something His Majesty the Emperor needed to worry about.

Survive, and he would be an outstanding heir.

Fail to survive, and it simply meant he wasn’t up to par.

The imperial family is the most ruthless.

The current Emperor was precisely this ruthless.

That is why His Majesty became the most ambitious and strategic overlord in the empire’s history, expanding its territory to an unprecedented extent.

If the Crown Prince wanted to survive this and complete the mission well, he would have to deploy the Black Dragon Knights to fight the duke’s army… and this was another conspiracy of this mission.

Although His Majesty had reigned for over thirty years, he was still in robust health.

And the Crown Prince had fought many campaigns over the years, achieving considerable merit.

Although he lacked support from middle- and upper-class nobles, in terms of merit and renown alone, throughout the world, only Marquis Champion of the Azure Knights could firmly outrank him.

Given His Majesty’s suspicious nature and having replaced six Crown Princes… it was not difficult to imagine that he was beginning to guard against what the Crown Prince might do.

At the very least, he needed to curb the Crown Prince’s momentum.

For instance, by having the Black Dragon Knights under the Crown Prince engage in a battle with the ducal army to wear them down…

Although he was no longer directly guiding the Crown Prince, how could Fate not know how much effort his disciple had poured into the Black Dragon Knights, or fail to see that without the support of other middle- and upper-class nobles, his disciple’s only reliable backing was this hard-won military power.

Therefore, he should die.

To resolve major issues by reducing them to minor ones.

To resolve minor issues by making them disappear.

Although resolving the duke’s potential threat and depleting the Black Dragon Knights’ combat power would earn the Crown Prince a high evaluation for this test.

But such a misguided pursuit of minor gains at the cost of major losses should not be undertaken.

Completing the mission with minimum requirements, like a brave warrior sacrificing a limb, was the best choice!

“I think Baron Fart, you’ve gone astray on the path of schemes and imperial power.”

At this moment, the blonde maid spoke.

Fart did not reprimand her for speaking out of turn, but he was very angry.

He didn’t know when such a maid had appeared by the Crown Prince’s side, but he could tell that this blonde girl was key to the Crown Prince’s change of heart and was now the hidden figure actually influencing the situation.

Convince her, and the situation could be changed!

“You want His Highness to go to war, right? You believe that with His Highness’s ability, dealing with Duke Jefferies, who has long been out of battle, would be no problem—”

“I don’t think that way. As you said, His Highness has been a bit too prominent these past few years…

So, let alone winning, even mobilizing the Black Dragon Knights would make him seem arrogant and reckless, relying on favor.”

The blonde girl shook her head.

“Furthermore, the empire has been at war for years and is now in need of recuperation.

Both civil and foreign wars should be avoided at all costs.”

“Huh?”

Fart was stunned; he couldn’t have imagined that the blonde girl would support him.

Wait, no, this wasn’t support, but rather—

“As for your speculative situation, it certainly makes sense.

But both sacrificing yourself or forcing the duke into actual rebellion, while seemingly unproblematic in terms of public opinion, are merely acts of self-deception.”

“Nobles across the land and various ministers are not fools; it’s impossible for them not to see the intentions behind this… ultimately, it will still make His Majesty appear harsh and ungrateful, causing most people to feel a sense of shared misfortune, which is even more detrimental to His Majesty’s rule.”

“As for the common people, they care even less about these things.

They only know that since the Edict of Grace was implemented, internal strife like ducal rebellions has completely disappeared…

His Majesty has done well, and they hope such peace will continue in the future.”

“If I’m not mistaken, this should be a test from His Majesty directed at His Highness Ryan Rowland.

If either of these two approaches is taken, even if successful, it would only be mediocre, or even a rather poor evaluation… because the situation is no longer what it was when the Edict of Grace was first implemented.

It doesn’t require drastic measures or making an example of others; what’s needed is appeasement and making the Edict of Grace a thing of the past.”

Fart was speechless.

Upon careful reflection, he realized he had only been thinking about power dynamics and had hardly considered the current economy and situation… In short, his perspective was too narrow.

The blonde girl before him, however, was thinking about the entire nation.

Military, economy, politics, populace, nobility, imperial power… in her view, these were all inseparable, not things to be analyzed individually.

“Here, I must criticize you, Baron. If you were corrupt, abused your power, or didn’t know your place, His Majesty would have killed you long ago to appease the nobles.”

Fart’s body trembled slightly.

“But you are too careful about your life, too desperate to survive.

His Majesty does indeed need to give an explanation to those ducal descendants, but he also doesn’t want to cause talented individuals across the land to fear and never dare to offer advice again.”

The blonde girl glanced at the Crown Prince as she said this.

“So, next, I can only ask you to ‘die’… If I’m not mistaken, Earl, your mission is merely to record everything you witness, right?”

“Exactly,” Charlton said.

“Your Highness, you are sure you want to do this, right?” The blonde girl turned back.

“Exactly,” the Crown Prince said firmly.

“Then, Earl, please record all of this.”

“No, are you mad? Is it necessary to go to such lengths for me?”

Fart’s voice was hoarse. “Do you know how hard it is to subdue an enemy without fighting?”

“It’s not hard. The situation has changed. They didn’t rebel then, and doing so now would only lead to certain death.

To survive, they must make a brave sacrifice, cutting off a limb to survive.”

The blonde girl said. “Besides, His Highness also wants to achieve better results in front of you and His Majesty, doesn’t he?”

Quietly dismissing a certain old man from his thoughts, Ryan Rowland gazed at the middle-aged man who, even now, was worried about him and considering his well-being like a father, and smiled gently:

“Exactly.”