Chapter 216 – If It Works, It’s a Revolution (14)

Could it be… had Mirelis reached even here, without me realizing it?

It wasn’t like this before the war.

The man who once stood at the pinnacle of the continent’s greatest empire.

All bowed their heads to him, and a single word from the Emperor could shift even the landscape—such was the weight of his power.

Yes. It was the war.

That damned war that tore across the continent for four years.

The war started by that deranged demon who called himself the Demon King.

During that war, Mirelis grew too much.

While the useless, idiotic princes flailed and burned through soldiers, Mirelis steadily accumulated achievements and built a foundation within the military.

By the end of the war, her name was on the lips of the common people!

Second Princess Mirelis! Commander of the Third Legion, Mirelis!

Even fools who didn’t know the names of their own lords or administrators!

After the war, Mirelis consolidated her power, and over the past ten years, she quietly and swiftly infiltrated every part of the empire.

The officers she personally trained from the Third Legion—and the men they trained in turn—are now scattered throughout every corner of the empire!

She should’ve been eliminated early.

Should’ve used insubordination during the war as a pretext and executed her for treason.

At the very least, something should’ve been done after the war!

But it’s too late now. Far too late to undo any of it.

It was already over the moment Mirelis began her triumphant rise during the war, ten years ago...

A ruler in his seventies when the war broke out.

Four years of immense stress during the war, and another ten years of sleepless nights fearing that Dian might come to kill him at any moment.

And now, the sudden appearance of Dian, followed by Nemara’s betrayal and Berken’s return—blow after blow.

Even a man of iron would crumble under such pressure. There was no way a frail old man over eighty could endure this.

The fact that he’d managed to hold onto any shred of rationality until now was almost miraculous.

“Advance! Enter the Imperial Palace!”

The shout from outside made the Emperor rush to the window.

A mass of troops was approaching from outside the walls.

Could it be… reinforcements to rescue me?

But when he saw the banners flying among them, the Emperor sank into utter despair.

They were the flags of several legions stationed on the outskirts of the capital—all under Mirelis’s control.

So that wretched woman had chosen this moment of chaos to show her true colors!

“Where are the princes?!”

The Emperor shouted.

“Call the Imperial Guard and the Knights! Seal the gates! Stop them from entering!”

But there was no reply. The Emperor slammed his fist on the desk in fury.

“Get in here at once! I’m giving you an imperial command!”

But no one responded.

Those cowardly fools… Had they all gone into hiding the moment Mirelis returned?

Outside, legion soldiers crossed the drawbridge and stood off against the Imperial Guard.

“Stand down, Guard and Knights!”

The commander of the troops crossing the bridge shouted.

“We are loyalist forces here to reclaim the capital from the exiled Third Prince and his rogue faction! If you resist, we will consider you his allies and respond accordingly!”

As if to emphasize the threat, an attack spell flew from the rear and slammed into the wall with a deafening blast.

The Guard and Knights exchanged uncertain glances.

They hadn’t been happy about the appearance of the secret prince and his monstrous allies in the capital to begin with.

And sensing they were being forced into opposition against the Second Princess, whom many secretly supported, only added to their unease.

As their hesitation became obvious, the Emperor felt despair wash over him.

The loyalist army would take the palace under the pretext of removing Berken, then dethrone him entirely.

Amid all this confusion, not a single soul came to his office.

Only now did the Emperor understand.

It was over.

“Father.”

The door opened, and Mirelis entered.

“So you were here.”

“Mirelis. You’ve returned without fear.”

“We had an unspoken rule, didn’t we? That you’d never touch my mother.”

Walking steadily across the room, Mirelis stood before the desk and looked down at the Emperor.

“That’s the only reason I never drew my sword against you—until now.”

“Was that so.”

“But you took my mother hostage to lure me out.”

“That wasn’t me. It was Berken—he acted on his own.”

“Fine. Let’s go with that.”

Mirelis said calmly.

“But the cart has already started rolling downhill. There’s no stopping it now.”

“Enter the inner palace! Block every door!”

The shout from outside drew a bitter laugh from the Emperor.

The royal bloodline had always walked a fine line.

In pursuit of purity, some inbreeding was tolerated, and over generations, side effects began to emerge.

Metal illness, early death, madness—all of it plagued the royal family like a curse.

Until now, those who rose to the throne had somehow avoided such afflictions, but...

This generation—it was as if all those buried defects had exploded at once.

The First and Third Princesses, who died young.

The Fourth Princess, who never mentally matured past infancy.

The Third Prince, dabbling in forbidden arts despite not being a dark mage.

And the rest of the princes—pathetically dull and cowardly.

Even the Emperor himself had begun to suspect he wasn’t entirely untouched by it.

If he hadn’t been, perhaps the early stages of the war wouldn’t have gone so disastrously.

Perhaps he wouldn’t have let Mirelis seize control of the capital so easily after the war.

Of all the royal children, only the Second Princess—daughter of a concubine—was truly sound.

No, more than sound. She was brilliant. Brave. Extraordinary.

And that very fact threatened the legitimacy of the imperial line.

A concubine’s daughter outshining the Emperor’s legitimate sons—that alone was enough to shatter the authority of the crown.

So he had offered her poisoned wine. But her mother saw through it and drank it herself—losing her mind as a result.

After that, Mirelis remained silent, as though she no longer existed.

From that moment, everything was already set.

For a girl that young to understand what had happened to her mother and choose how to act accordingly—the outcome was inevitable.

And when war broke out, the quiet Second Princess joined the army as a commander and left the capital.

There, she built her base of power and returned—too strong for anyone to touch.

The Emperor had no choice but to admit it.

He had failed to take action when he had the chance.

And now, he had to acknowledge something else.

The only one capable of leading this vast empire from this point forward… was Mirelis.

“Mirelis.”

The Emperor spoke.

“If you plan to take the throne, the first thing you must do is not the coronation—it’s the confinement of the other princes.”

He reached for a pen with trembling hands.

“It doesn’t matter what excuse you use. Accusing them of colluding with Berken in an attempted coup would do. That’s the only way to keep them from dragging down your legitimacy.”

“Why are you telling me this now?”

“A crash course in succession.”

At the Emperor’s answer, Mirelis flinched slightly.

He continued writing on the paper in front of him.

“The Fourth Princess is not an option. The problem isn’t the girl herself—it’s the forces that would try to use her.”

Mirelis said nothing as she listened.

“When you’re the last one standing, hold the coronation. Once you’re Emperor, you can’t treat the noble council as enemies. They, along with the capital, are the pillars holding the empire up. If the nobles collapse, the empire falls with them. Didn’t you say the Duke of Toulouse’s daughter attends your academy? Extend a hand to the Duke first. After the war, his influence waned—he’ll welcome the gesture.”

The Emperor spoke with eerie calm.

“Don’t place blind faith in the officers who follow you. Know their weaknesses. Hold those cards close so they can never turn on you. Otherwise, they’ll control you someday.”

He finished writing and waved the paper to dry the ink.

“Mirelis. You’re so capable, you tend to overestimate yourself. You believe what you think is right must be the truth. That’s why you sometimes create misunderstandings or breakdowns in communication even the other princes wouldn’t cause. Be careful of that.”

He handed the paper to Mirelis.

Her eyes widened as she read the contents.

It was a formal decree naming Second Princess Mirelis as the imperial heir.

“The Emperor is a tightrope walker. In full view of the crowd, he must balance precariously—without looking ridiculous. I failed to do that, and this is what became of me.”

When Mirelis lifted her head, the Emperor was already standing at the open window.

“I refuse to meet a pathetic end, dying at your hand.”

“Wait.”

Mirelis spoke.

“You still owe me an apology—for what you did to my mother.”

“I won’t apologize. It was something that had to be done—for the royal family and the empire.”

The Emperor replied.

“I should’ve killed you then. I made the mistake of pitying you, even for a moment.”

Mirelis’s mouth parted slightly.

“Don’t make the same mistake I did. And one more thing.”

The Emperor paused.

“Don’t make Dian your enemy. The moment you do, the entire Demon King Slaying Special Force becomes your enemy. Earn his support—and they will all stand with you.”

And with that, the Emperor leapt.

“What the hell?!”

Dian, who had just entered the office, froze with his mouth wide open at the sight.