However, Ilajza Barkova was well aware that simply killing Count Elsh was already a significant problem. She quietly left the place.

“… Oh, what a shame.”

Muttering to herself, Mrs. Godear brushed off her clothes and stood up. Well, today was not the only day. There were times when older people had to wait for younger ones.

When she stepped onto the street, there was no trace of Ilajza Barkova.

Soon, an ordinary carriage passed by. Waving her hand to stop the carriage, Mrs. Godear got on, and it departed.

The carriage passed through the street and entered under a bridge. When it went in with only one carriage, when it came out, two carriages emerged, each going in different directions.

No one could tell who was inside the carriage.

In this way, suddenly, more carriages appeared. Amidst the numerous carriages wandering around the Shallea city that no one could trace, Mrs. Godear arrived quietly at a securely guarded place.

“Ah, so dusty.”

She flicked her clothes and hastened her steps. The day was short, and there was much to do. She had to move diligently to finish all her tasks today.

The doors opened one by one, and Mrs. Godear stopped when she entered the innermost area. She bowed deeply towards the serving master.

“I greet the Emperor of the Empire.”

Hayden, the head of the secret organization of the Emperor, which not even the Cabinet Bleu of the police department knew, looked at Mrs. Godear when she sat down.

“Come and sit.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

She sat on the chair recommended by the Emperor and began her regular report. The Emperor had to hear everything that happened today, even the minor events.

“… She refused.”

“Yes. But I believe she will come looking for me someday.”

Listening to the story about Ilajza Barkova, Hayden, looking interested, gazed at Mrs. Godear. Her niece, Jane Telot, would never have imagined her aunt as such a person.

“You’re making a bold guarantee, unlike a lady. Why is that?”

“Ilajza Barkova is not a noble but from the outskirts of the Kataat. Becoming a knight errant or receiving a knighthood was the entirety of her success. Such individuals inevitably seek a better life.”

Hayden knew that very well.

“And if possible, she wishes for tranquility. No one wants to live in fear, always afraid that someone unknown might stab them in the dark. It’s natural.”

“Isn’t the lady herself living in fear in the dark all her life?”

Mrs. Godear laughed gently.
“Your Majesty, I am indeed surviving by stepping on shadows a bit, but I am not in a very dark place. This place also receives a fair amount of sunlight.”

The Imperial Sun subtly raised its tail.

“Will Cabinet Bleu continue to focus on investigating Cedric Lamber?”

“If there are no results, we may have to change direction.”

Cabinet Bleu will face criticism for its incompetence, and the unsolved murders of Count Elsh and Juiceine Yang will remain a mystery.

The gruesome death imposed on the Alanca Duke will continue to sow suspicion among them, creating darkness continuously. It will be an experience unfamiliar to the nobles who always enjoyed the sunlight.

“It concerns the future of my niece.”

“She’ll have to handle it herself, Your Majesty.”

Mrs. Godear said coldly with a smiling face. It was a valid point. The Emperor, who had smeared dirt on the faces of nobles pretending to be noble, did not even blink an eye despite getting his hands bloody.

To Hayden, politics meant having no blood or tears. The appearance of the Eastern nobles, who used to flatter the Eastern nobles when his grandfather was the emperor, no longer existed for the current nobles. Then, it was appropriate to intervene by cleaning up.

“… I’m going to visit Turington.”

Cabinet Noir, the head of the Emperor’s secret organization, listened quietly to his murmured words. Turington was one of the extensive territories that Hayden possessed among his many formal titles.

“The size of the inspection team won’t be small, but it won’t be so large as to surprise timid nobles.”

“But Turington is an incredibly vast territory, Your Majesty.”

Although it should have been a territory that the Emperor should have, for the past 430 years, it was managed by Dragondrode Melphius, located in the East.

Now it was time to visit each of the territories belonging to him. Whenever the Emperor visited those territories located among the territories of the nobles, the nobles would feel the return of the Emperor deep in their bones.

“As extensive as it is, it will take a long time to visit.”

“I will always follow closely.”

The Emperor’s eyes and ears were planted throughout the empire. Having already firmly controlled Shallea and used even the most easily excised assassins, the Emperor would penetrate without mercy into the territories of the Eastern nobles.

Mrs. Godear rose and bowed deeply.