Duke Greco gazed with anxious eyes at the future sun standing with his back to the sunlight.

Basing the foundation of the new world on commoners instead of nobles.

If they start dreaming beautiful and brilliant dreams, who knows what will happen.

Once people have tasted sweet freedom and ideals, they can never return to being docile sheep again.

In the worst case, they become a mob wielding sickles and pitchforks. Even if somehow suppressed, they become noisy malcontents.

Humans are creatures of desire.

Desire exists equally in the noble and lowly, the rich and poor alike.

While it’s true that those without power are weak, the weak are not always virtuous.

If freedom and power are given to the many non-virtuous weak, the empire will lose control and drift.

And the one to take the biggest hit will be the emperor who gave that power. Cracks will form in the world of nobles supporting the imperial family, and it will eventually collapse together.

Expelling the Empress Dowager and her brother, and establishing a new Figueira to receive loyalty is the way to minimize chaos and maintain the empire’s balance.

Surely you must know such basic calculations.

Why choose an impossible path when there’s an easy and quick way?

‘You grew up mingling among commoners for too long.’

A deep sigh flowed from the crafty duke’s chest.

Duke Greco turned his head to look at his son leaning by the window.

As their eyes met, Ricarion simply shrugged and smiled nonchalantly.

His son’s lack of objection despite clearly anticipating the chaos Lewis would bring must be because of the Grand Duchess.

‘Tch. I gave birth to a foolish bear, not a son.’

It was exasperating to see him willing to stake himself and the magic tower’s fate for the sake of an unrequited first love that wouldn’t even look back at him.

Duke Greco, his brow deeply furrowed, stood up abruptly.

“I’ll be taking my leave now.”

“I should get up as well.”

Duke Yobel also bid farewell to Lewis.

Even the unusually cheerful and easygoing Duke Yobel wore a sour expression, seemingly unfamiliar with Lewis’s radical way of thinking.

“Please take care of yourself. Don’t forget that the empire’s peace and stability rest on Your Majesty.”

At any rate, the emperor had declared he would step down from the throne of his own accord. The pro-emperor nobles falling into internal strife was a favorable turn of events. It was the perfect time to recruit nobles who had been waiting to see which side to take.

As the two dukes left, Ricarion approached Lewis.

“Your Majesty. May I have your hand?”

When Lewis extended his hand, Ricarion took a bracelet from his cloak’s inner pocket and fastened it around his wrist.

“Although I will protect you by your side, I thought a device to protect Your Majesty in unexpected moments would be necessary.”

Lewis gently stroked the bracelet.

The simple silver bracelet had deep reddish-brown magic stones embedded in it.

“The power of the earth will protect Your Majesty as many times as there are stones embedded there. If I’m not by your side, it will guide Your Majesty to me.”

A light of admiration shone in Lewis’s eyes.

A magical device containing the aura of earth.

Even if Ricarion Greco was the master of the holy sword Gaius and a 10th circle archmage, it couldn’t have been easy to create such an intricate magical device.

The treatment of comatose patients is still ongoing. The investigation of the self-destructive spell that made a mockery of the magic tower’s solid barrier has barely begun.

That alone would have pushed the limits of what the magic tower’s master could bear.

On top of that, with the Grand Duke and Duke Greco taking turns urging him to protect Lewis, he likely hadn’t had a night of peaceful sleep.

“I’m already receiving more than enough protection. Haven’t you seen how the knights of the Grand Duke’s house and the guards from the West sent by my godfather surround me in layers like a child left by the water’s edge? Don’t waste the magic tower master’s precious abilities needlessly, use them where they’re truly needed.”

“You mean, for example, bringing Nero out of the imperial palace?”

At Ricarion’s words, Lewis smiled faintly with a sheepish expression.

It was something he had wanted to say the entire journey back from the imperial palace but couldn’t bring himself to utter, fearing it would be the final straw to break the weary camel’s back.

“Is it possible?”

“No.”

At Ricarion’s immediate answer, a shadow fell over Lewis’s purple eyes.

“Why not? Is Nero perhaps under a black magic spell?”

“From what I’ve observed, there doesn’t seem to be any particular problem, but…”

What troubled him was that the emperor was said to have mastered not just ordinary black magic, but ancient black magic.

“The problem is that almost nothing is known about ancient black magic. The remaining materials are mostly at the level of myths or legends.”

He couldn’t bring Nero into the Grand Duke’s mansion without confirming it was safe.

“I heard that the memory of the holy sword Flama resides in Nero.”

A peculiar light flashed in Ricarion’s eyes before he nodded slightly in acknowledgment.

It was natural for Lewis, as the lord of the Grand Duke and Yuriella, to share important information.

But even Ricarion was surprised and momentarily held his breath at Lewis’s next words.

“I suppose we should assume that His Majesty the Emperor also knows that sister-in-law Yuriella is Captain Solas? He must already suspect that Nero wandered the imperial palace to approach Flama. I’m worried if it’s alright to leave things as they are.”

“How… did you know?”

The magic tower master could have staked his holy sword Gaius on the Grand Duke couple keeping silent about Yuriella’s identity.

After all, Solas’s tragic end was still a wound that even the Grand Duke couple hadn’t fully overcome.

Whatever the circumstances, the debt for the lives she took under the emperor’s orders remained unpaid.

Moreover, whether Lewis could trust and keep her close, who was once the emperor’s right hand, was another issue.

But how did he know? And how could he look so calm?

As if reading the question in Ricarion’s eyes, Lewis chuckled.

“I came to know naturally. When I realized, it was embarrassing. There were too many clues scattered before my eyes from the beginning, and it’s strange that I didn’t notice. I felt like I had become a real fool while pretending to be one.”

“Well, I also felt foolish for not recognizing earlier that Shavell was Lewis.”

Ricarion’s eyes deepened as he gazed at the young man whose purple eyes sparkled as he laughed brightly.

He was well aware that Lewis had been a genius who debated history and philosophy with imperial academy professors and even published his own theoretical papers at just seven years old.

But what was more surprising was how he not only held his own against the lords of the West and East, whom even the emperor found challenging, but gently overwhelmed them and moved them according to his will.

Even after learning that Yuriella Ielheim was Solas Moretti. Even with the emperor suddenly declaring his abdication and all the nobles’ eyes turned towards him. He didn’t waver at all.

Like a calm lake, he seemed focused only on envisioning the new empire he dreamed of.

He wondered what other surprises might be hidden beneath that tranquil surface.

“I will arrange to get Nero out of the imperial palace if a situation arises that requires intervention. The emperor won’t harm Nero or use him with evil intentions. At least for the time being.”

As long as the emperor harbors vain hope regarding Yuriella, he will remain quiet.

We must finish the necessary tasks to change the empire’s master before that hope turns to despair.

Lewis nodded in agreement.

“Yes. It will ultimately become a race against time. The situation will be resolved one way or another around the time of the Crown Prince’s investiture ceremony.”

Ricarion, who had been quietly observing Lewis, tilted his head slightly.

“It seems resolution isn’t only needed on that side? I mean my father and Duke Yobel. It won’t be easy to persuade them.”

Lewis shrugged and smiled.

“My ideas may seem strange now. But the empire must change. Especially in the East, the nobles’ tyranny has reached its peak. The plains overflow with rich crops, but they only fatten the bellies of a few nobles. The farmers are becoming slaves or wanderers unable to escape poverty, turning into mobs.”

“That’s still only in some territories.”

“Yes, for now. But just changing the heads isn’t enough. Nothing will change, and before long, riots and revolution will break out. I could stake my life that Greco and Yobel will see that sight before they die.”

Ricarion couldn’t argue against Lewis’s definitive statement.

It was something he too had felt while freely wandering various parts of the empire.

The empire was rotting from the inside out.

After the previous emperor passed away, the corruption of those backed by the regent Empress Dowager reached its peak. The area suffering the most damage was the East, controlled by the Empress Dowager’s home, the Figueira ducal family and their vassals.

If the spark of revolution ignites in the East, it’s only a matter of time before the flames spread to other regions.

The chaos and damage from a revolution would be more severe than a civil war over imperial authority.

That was precisely what Lewis was worried about.

“If I safely ascend to the emperor’s throne, I plan to form an assembly by electing representatives from each region. The noble council will be absorbed into it, and commoner representatives will join the nobles in discussing state affairs and people’s livelihoods.”

Ricarion stared blankly at Lewis, who was calmly talking about the country he dreamed of.

He was truly a foolish person.

He could have lived peacefully for life, hiding under the Grand Duke’s wings.

If he just used the holy sword masters well, he could have ruled the empire comfortably, being praised as a wise ruler without difficulties.

If he lets commoners participate in state affairs, which noble would support that? He might even risk losing the nobles who support him and turning them into enemies.

Starting with the lord of the West, Duke Greco, might change his stance.

If it interferes with protecting the West and maintaining the empire’s balance, his father was someone who would cut down even his own child. How much would an adopted son who shared not a drop of blood matter?

The nobles of the West would naturally follow Duke Greco’s will. Opposition forces would also emerge from the nobles of the North and South.

The situation is still unresolved regarding the source and power of the black magic the emperor wields. If the emperor retracts his abdication decision under pressure from the Empress Dowager, it would lead to a crisis of internal and external troubles.

As Ricarion was lost in these thoughts, Lewis spoke.

“Wouldn’t it be better for you to go to the East and protect sister-in-law rather than guarding me? She didn’t look well when I saw her leaving.”

“The Grand Duke alone will be sufficient. My top priority right now is you, Lewis.”

Putting aside the mountain of issues at the magic tower, the reason he flew to this island was for none other than Yuriella.

Ricarion thought the master of the world Yuriella would live in shouldn’t be Justin Della Ponti.

A country with Lewis as its master was safe for Yuriella.

“Popo opens communication with Aerie several times a day to update each other on their situations. Right now, I’m not needed.”

Yes. Not now. Not now.

The foolish heart always whispers that even if not now, there will be a ‘next time’.

The Yuriella he knew would leave the Grand Duke’s side once everything is settled.

When that day comes. Perhaps he too would be allowed?

The clear and transparent red eyes he couldn’t look away from. The warmth and kindness that brought tears to his eyes. The delicate small hands that had worked hard through two lifetimes.

That was the only thread-like hope sustaining Ricarion now.

A strange light flickered in Lewis’s eyes as he gazed at the magic tower master lost in deep thought.

‘I’ve seen eyes like his before. Yes. His Majesty’s eyes looked just like that.’

Eyes filled with a foolish love that couldn’t be shaken off no matter what.

When the desired outcome doesn’t come, where that unrequited love leads the two of them…

*

The emperor’s carriage stopped in front of the Grand Temple.

The area in front of the Grand Temple was silent, with the entry of worshippers cut off due to the imperial knights strictly guarding the entrance.

Justin, who got out of the carriage, climbed the stairs with light steps as if dancing to a waltz.

Though the area under his eyes was dark from staying up all night buried in documents necessary for abdication, his flushed cheeks sparkled with an almost transparent glow.

“Guide me to Karina.”

Even his voice seeking the saint candidate he had confined was as fluttery as delicate flower petals swaying in the spring breeze.

Karina, who greeted the emperor in the underground abandoned prayer room of the Grand Temple, stared blankly at His Majesty, who was sparkling like a diamond chandelier.

“I’ve come to get you, Karina. I only isolated you briefly fearing Mother might reach out to you. Were you very surprised? Oh my. Your face has become thin in that time.”

Sorrowful tears welled up at the unfamiliar affectionate expression and concern, but.

“Karina. I’m going to leave the empire with Solas soon. Solas agreed to leave with me.”

The emperor, blushing like a boy in first love, still showed no interest in her trivial feelings.

“Before leaving with Solas, return Flama to its original state. If I give her that as a gift, she might smile at me.”

The emperor took Karina’s thin hand and smiled at her more brightly than ever.

Karina took him in with her eyes, not even blinking.