CHAPTER 804: CONFIDENT

Empress Vilena raised her eyebrows at how confident this guardian was.

"What is your plan, Sir Guardian? To make that bastard lose his reputation the day after tomorrow is quite ambitious, I have to say," she asked.

"I know that Your Majesty is already suspicious about the opposition faction’s connection with the devils. Well, actually, that is true. The opposition faction indeed has connections with the devils, especially Grand Duke Freindor. He has been working with them all this time, and most of his actions were carried out with their help," the avatar said.

Empress Vilena was stunned, but her face turned solemn. "Do you have strong proof that they are working with the devils? I have been suspicious of their connection with the devils, but I have not found any strong proof of it."

"However, recently my troops started uncovering the devils’ connections hidden in the capital, and we found some clues that might lead to the connection between some nobles and the devils. We just need more time to unveil it before we can drag those involved to the execution platform." Empress Vilena then narrowed her eyes.

"That’s why, what kind of proof have you found? We might share the same view that they have connections with the devils, but it is still only our verbal conjecture. We do not have any solid proof to show to the populace about the devils."

The avatar smirked behind his mask. "If we don’t have any solid proof to show the populace, we could just create one. One that will make the populace hate Grand Duke Freindor or anyone who helped him."

Empress Vilena looked confused. "How?"

"I will tell Your Majesty after we get out of this place. First we need to release Baron Stargis. I will not place the blame on him for trying to kill my empress given his circumstances. He could serve as solid proof to show the world." But then the avatar shook his head as if disappointed.

"Grand Duke Freindor’s plan this time revealed too many flaws we can take advantage of. It only shows how desperate he is right now. For him to send so many attackers to Baron Stargis’s manor is essentially equivalent to revealing their identities because of the technique they used. That is why the only way for them to block any information about themselves is to place a mind seal inside Baron Stargis."

"It seems Grand Duke Freindor did not care even if his plan was exposed. The only thing he needed to accomplish was one purpose when he attended the banquet, to create an alibi, but behind that was his true goal: to kill Empress Sylphia. He wants to turn public opinion and even many powers across the world against the imperial family. Even if we discovered that Grand Duke Freindor was behind all of this, it would already be too late."

"We could do nothing to flip the situation around because public opinion is already against us and even hostile because of the death of Empress Sylphia. If we try to put the blame on him then, others will see that we are only trying to find an excuse and evade responsibility." After the avatar finished his analysis, he smiled.

"However, the higher Grand Duke Freindor flies, the harder he will fall. He will not know what will come to him the day after , as he must think we are still busy investigating the assassination attempt. He has surely already prepared to spread the news of Empress Sylphia’s death the moment he hears of her passing."

Empress Vilena nodded and sighed again. "Still, my family will suffer quite a backlash tomorrow for the assassination attempt alone, even if Empress Sylphia’s poisoning plan failed. Because the attacker was from the imperial faction, the populace will see that I did not do a good job keeping Her Majesty Sylphia safe. I can already imagine that Grand Duke Freindor will take full advantage of it once he realizes he could not kill Empress Sylphia."

"Not for long. He will fall from the height, and he will not realize it until it is too late. For now, Your Majesty can act as if you are still investigating the assassination attempt. Give Grand Duke Freindor and the opposition faction a false sense of accomplishment, and we will hit them hard later," the avatar replied.

After that, Aldrian’s avatar and Empress Vilena left the dungeon while Baron Stargis was treated. He had already lost consciousness after Aldrian released his hypnosis. The avatar and Empress Vilena then discussed what they needed to do the next day.

While they discussed plans for tomorrow, Grand Duke Freindor was on his way back to his territory. Inside the carriage moving toward the warp gate, Brein, his son who sat beside him, asked, "Father, is this okay? I mean, is it truly okay to bet everything on this plan? What if they somehow uncover everything and what we did tonight backfires on us? Our punishment could be worse because we killed Aldrian the Great’s fiancée."

Grand Duke Freindor smiled as he looked at the passing scenery.

"If that time comes, it will already be too late for them. At that point, whatever they say will be nothing more than an attempt to escape their situation. Aldrian the Great himself will see it as the imperial family’s failure to keep his fiancée safe. Although he might be suspicious of me or the opposition faction, as long as there is no evidence, there is nothing to worry about," he replied.

Brein nodded, but he still wore an uncertain expression.

"I see," he said. He was not sure because there were many flaws in their plan. He could only hope it would work according to what his father had in mind.

"Just do not think too much about it. As long as the plan works, we can breathe a sigh of relief. Do your duty and do not speak of this matter to anyone, not even your mother," Grand Duke Freindor said.

Brein nodded, and his expression relaxed as he forced himself into positive thinking. Just as his father had said, if their plan worked everything the imperial family did would be for naught.

Grand Duke Freindor also did not dwell on the possibility of failure. He believed his plan was clever enough that even Aldrian the Great would not do anything to him. The assassination attempt on Empress Sylphia was only a cover for something far bigger.

The true show was the poison that was already inside her body. The poison would take effect at midnight, and with her low cultivation she would surely die. When the news of her death broke, populace hostility toward the imperial family would explode..

This would be seen as another plot by Baron Stargis that had failed to kill Empress Sylphia at the banquet, and the imperial family would be judged for failing to keep her safe.

The imperial faction would suffer a devastating blow because the ones who killed Empress Sylphia came from their own faction, and the family would have great difficulty explaining themselves to the populace.

Once she was dead, his plan would be complete and what came next would be much easier. He would ride the wave and make it grow until even the imperial family could do nothing.

What they could do, however, was relent their position as the sovereign family of the Verdyn Empire under heavy pressure from many sides. Even Aldrian the Great himself would be unable to do anything but follow the tide of public opinion.

With him losing his fiancée, even if he somehow sensed a hidden conspiracy behind her death and pointed the blame toward him, Aldrian the Great still could not act. All the evidence would still point to the imperial family’s faction, and he would not make a move based on empty assumptions.

Thinking that way, Grand Duke Freindor did not worry too much. He would simply enjoy each passing hour until the next morning, imagining the imperial family in chaos. They would try their best to hide the fact that Empress Sylphia had been poisoned, but in the end, their efforts would be futile.

Empress Sylphia’s death was not something that could be hidden. It would come out soon enough, for he had his own eyes and ears inside the palace. The moment he received word that the imperial family was in turmoil over Empress Sylphia’s death, he would be the one to spread the news further.

He could hardly wait for tomorrow to come.

As Grand Duke Freindor imagined his future and his carriage moved through the street, unbeknown to him, a group of people in black robes stood at the side of the street, observing. Once the carriage passed, they followed naturally, without arousing suspicion.

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The next day, just as many had predicted, news of what had happened at the banquet caused an uproar in the capital. The news soon spread across the empire, and even other powers heard of it.

The game was on.