Emperor Hayden Constant Rostana Veller of Perseta was not an opponent to be taken lightly. He crossed his arms and asked,

“Why should I trust you to let you go?”

Hayden had intentionally let Riga go, hoping she would give up on her own. The situation was that dangerous.

“My parents are here, for one.”

“For some people, faith precedes blood ties. Especially in Kaleta, loyalty to the Emperor is almost religious.”

“Then come with me.”

That should suffice. Rustica Gennes was very clear in her response. She didn’t care what others thought. She began to mutter to herself, recalling the past landmarks of the Catat Palace and various places in the Kaleta Empire.

“Most things are in the palace. It’s certain. They say that the artifacts were made for the people of the Kaleta Empire by His Majesty, but that’s all a scam. Alhyeon has the most. Five, no, six.”

Garnet gazed intently at Roderick Caelerhan, who had been a member of the Imperial Knights.

“No, I’ve never been to Alhyeon, Garnet. It’s not a place anyone can go.”

Roderick quickly shook his head, looking at Rustica Gennes. To think that she had been to Alhyeon multiple times and could visualize it was incredible. She truly was a knight deserving of Carlos’ trust.

But Hayden shook his head again.

“There’s another problem. Your curse has partially lifted. Carlos can’t help but notice. He may have already.”

Whether she was shocked by Rustica’s crude language or the notion of stealing, Ophelia, who had been silent, nodded in agreement with Hayden’s words.

“Can’t we just deceive him? I did open the barrier.”

You’re an Emperor. You can do that much. Only a confident gaze returned.

“Besides, I have to offer something very valuable from Kaleta for people to be convinced. Just having my parents here won’t be enough for His Majesty to trust me.”

Hayden put his hands in his trouser pockets and grinned lopsidedly.

“You don’t need my trust or credit.”

“I don’t. But that’s not the issue right now, so don’t change the subject.”

Rustica Gennes cut it off without concern, but Garnet and Roderick looked cautiously at the Emperor. Ophelia noticed the laughter had disappeared from Hayden’s face.

He rolled his gray eyes as he looked into space. Either way, Rustica Gennes urged him on.

“So, will you, or won’t you?”

“What if I won’t?”

At his cold reply, Garnet and Roderick hesitantly stepped back.

“Then there’s nothing to be done. I’ll have to go and get it myself, secretly.”

Hayden added another word to Rustica, who was considering improbable ways to go unnoticed by Carlos.

“Stealing is done secretly, Your Highness.”

Whether it was to cooperate or not, don’t tail my sentences, Rustica thought but refrained from saying. She couldn’t afford to be rash with her parents’ sovereign.

“Do you know where these artifacts are kept, and how many there are?”

But if Rustica Gennes could retrieve the stolen treasures, it would be to Perseta’s advantage.

“There are many suspected locations. I’ll have to organize and plan, but instead of bringing many trivial items, it would be better to bring one big thing.”

Something big, precious, beautiful, and symbolic enough to flip Carlos over.

“Such as?”

Rustica Gennes narrowed her eyes slightly at Hayden’s relaxed question.

“I suspect there’s a staff. Carlos holds it on very special days. And the sword he uses, too. They’re mostly in Alhyeon or the palace treasure room, as far as I know.”

That’s when Ophelia spoke up.
“It’s probably in the storage room. Carlos always enjoyed keeping important things there in secret.”

Loo was troubled.

“It’s really difficult to get in there. Even the attendants don’t know about it. And as far as I know, there isn’t just one storage room.”

Sneaking into the storage room was impossible. When combined with the Imperial Knights, the Catat Palace was impregnable.

“Of course. Just think of how many things he’s stolen. At any rate, we need to bring something that he carries close to him.”

Hayden slumped dispiritedly before a burst of vitality returned to his face, looking earnestly at the Western sage speaking passionately.

“All his magic comes from the power stored in those relics, created based on the magical manuscripts he stole from here. If we can even steal a relic, our curse will weaken, and an opening will form. A weakened curse can…”

Hayden caught the words of Matop, whose eyes had started to sparkle.

“Be broken.”

“And Carlos will weaken as well.”

Ophelia’s eyes momentarily flashed menacingly like Loo’s. They twinkled, hesitated, and then dimmed.

“But is that even possible?”

Hope is poisonous. The more you have, the more you get hurt when you fail, becoming more pessimistic and skeptical.

How much effort and how many failures did Ophelia go through for hundreds of years to break that curse? Loo fully understood her words of despair.

“It would be an unexpected development but intriguing.”

At Hayden’s muttering, Ophelia’s head snapped up. Despite its poisonous nature, hope always rears its head, especially when nourished by a powerful presence.