“Is it true that Schlus Hainkel is coming here?”
“The guy who shot that blue flash is really coming…?”
In the basement chapel of a cathedral.
The agents of the Intelligence Agency murmured amongst themselves.
Schlus Hainkel is coming here.
And he even wants to cooperate with the Intelligence Agency.
To top it off, rumors are already swirling that he is set to marry Hertlocker’s younger sister, Emilia.
“What on earth is Lord Hertlocker thinking? Forming an alliance with such a terrifying guy…?”
An unbeatable absolute being.
That’s how the Intelligence Agency perceived Schlus.
A man who toyed with Hertlocker, their greatest asset, like a mere plaything, and stood alone against the Imperial Army’s airships…
To them, Schlus’s very existence was akin to a natural disaster.
“The bride is entering.”
*Clank* The door of the chapel swung open.
At that moment, the agents’ gaze shifted to the back.
There stood Emilia, neatly dressed in a red gown, holding on to the arm of a frowning Hertlocker.
“What the…!”
Then, with a *flutter* from the empty seat in the front row, a cloak suddenly appeared and landed on the ground.
Alongside it appeared Schlus Hainkel, dressed in the uniform of the Imperial University.
The agents’ hands shot into their pockets, gripping their daggers, freezing in an instant.
This was a place where only the elite of the kingdom gathered, the Intelligence Agency.
Yet even with all of them charging together, it felt utterly impossible to defeat him.
Schlus Hainkel casually glanced over the trembling agents, then walked forward with a relaxed demeanor.
“Mr. Schlus…?”
“You don’t call me ‘big brother’ here, huh?”
“Shut it, seriously.”
Emilia slowly approached and stood beside Schlus.
Hertlocker, eyeing the scene uneasily, moved to stand before the bride and groom and cleared his throat.
Typically, that role would belong to Eric.
But since Eric was dead, there was no suitable person, and Hertlocker had to take that place.
“I will now conduct the engagement ceremony for groom Schlus Hainkel and bride Emilia Siegfried. Schlus Hainkel swears to accept Emilia Siegfried as his partner in the future…”
In the solemn atmosphere, the engagement ceremony began.
The agents, who had heard the news beforehand but were skeptical, now found themselves inwardly agitated.
Schlus Hainkel is forming an alliance with the Intelligence Agency.
How Schlus learned about the Intelligence Agency was another matter, but this was undoubtedly a boon for them.
The Intelligence Agency, exposed to attacks from Asylum and the Empire’s counterintelligence agency, was on the verge of survival and had a chance to have an ally of considerable standing within the Empire.
If Schlus were to be purged, they could simply abandon him and return to their previous plans. If Schlus were to seize real power within the Empire, they could thrive on the benefits.
“I, Schlus Hainkel, ardently love Emilia Siegfried, and I swear before Aigis that when Emilia Siegfried comes of age, I will marry her.”
“I will accept…”
Emilia shyly nodded.
While the agents held their breath and watched, only Hertlocker appeared visibly uncomfortable.
Schlus Hainkel’s common vow strangely lacked the phrase “to only one person.”
Regardless, the engagement ceremony continued.
Schlus pulled a ring from his front pocket and knelt down.
The gem shone with a red hue.
It was a garnet, Emilia’s birthstone.
Holding Emilia’s awkwardly extended hand, Schlus slowly slid the ring onto her ring finger.
“With this, the engagement is complete. The bride and groom will now face each other and kiss… ugh! That’s it!”
Hertlocker, who had been reciting the script, abruptly stopped, and applause erupted.
Schlus and Emilia, hands clasped together, gazing into each other’s eyes.
Seeing their interaction, Hertlocker crumpled the officiant’s paper and stepped down from the podium.
‘If only I had power.’
Hertlocker clenched his fists, grinding his teeth.
If only the Intelligence Agency had more strength, he wouldn’t have to forcibly marry Emilia off.
Soon, Emilia would realize.
What she had felt until now wasn’t love.
Already, an image of Emilia growing disillusioned with Schlus and crying out to him began to brew in his mind, causing anger to rise within him.
“With this, I, Schlus Hainkel, and the Intelligence Agency are now in the same boat. I remember the scents of all agents gathered here. No matter when or where, or how you disguise yourselves, I will be able to recognize you. So, it would be wise not to think about any nonsense.”
“…”
“I assume you all know this, but I’ll say it again. Our engagement is a secret known only to those present here. Until the right moment arises, disclosure is prohibited. Now then, I look forward to working with you, warriors of the kingdom.”
If Schlus betrays them, he loses all honor.
Conversely, if the Intelligence Agency betrays him, the kingdom’s elite agents would be annihilated, suffering such human asset damage that resurrection would be impossible.
With blades pointed at each other, this was, paradoxically, the safest state.
“I acknowledge the command.”
The agents all rose and knelt.
A new ‘king’ had been born.
*
Time had passed since I made my bombshell declaration to Aria.
I hadn’t stepped foot in the Imperial Palace even once since then.
Nor had they sought me out at the palace.
In fact, the longer things stayed quiet, the more uneasy I felt.
One day, it felt like the Imperial Palace special forces would suddenly storm in and wreck this mansion…
“Um… big brother.”
“Yeah?”
“If I call you ‘dear’… would that be wrong? I mean, we’re not married yet.”
“It would be.”
“Uh… I figured as much.”
“Still, you might be okay with it.”
“Y-you?! Is that really allowed?”
And for those few days, life in the mansion was resembling a newlywed life.
Of course, having never experienced a real one, I could only guess it must be like this.
Except during times when Trie or Erica would drop by, Emilia always behaved like this.
While she used to seem like a playful younger sister, now she felt more like a bashful lady.
I began to think that Emilia was practically an adult now.
“D-dear. Here… today’s newspaper.”
“Why the sudden formality?”
“Just… it seems like I should use formal language since I’m calling you ‘you’.”
Emilia’s face flushed, and she couldn’t bring herself to meet my gaze, trembling instead.
Emilia seems to have short-circuited.
If I left her alone, she would reboot soon enough, so I decided to read the newspaper.
‘What a mess.’
There were continuous reports about simultaneous incidents occurring in the Old Town.
It seemed orders had come down to restrain reporting because journalists were uniformly avoiding naming the culprits, only covering the Asylum lowlives who had been attacked and were fighting back.
However, due to the events happening in broad daylight, in a densely populated area, the number of involved citizens was no small matter.
Many had surely been wrongfully arrested, beaten for days, and then released.
It would be great if their rage were directed solely at Asylum, but things rarely unfold that easily.
Commoners aren’t fools.
Although they might be less educated, it doesn’t mean their intelligence is lacking.
They targeted the nobles as the true instigators behind this incident.
They believed these atrocities were committed to massacre the commoners whom the nobles viewed as inferior.
It wasn’t completely correct, but it was far from wrong either.
Nobles were part of the ruling class of the Empire.
In the end, the commoners’ fury began to point upward toward the Empire’s hierarchy.
This was exactly what Asylum wanted, provoking a division within the Empire.
“When I go out shopping in the city, I hear your name mentioned everywhere.”
“Nngh…”
Emilia wrapped her arms around my neck from behind.
I’d heard that there were protests going on in the Old Town.
She believed that I, a commoner, would stand by them and help initiate reform.
Despite my silence, the protesters seemed to view me as their leader and representative.
Not a good sign.
Using this as a pretext, the Emperor could easily sentence me to death.
I hope Aria pulls something off quickly before the Emperor carries out his second plan to kill me…
*Crackle!*
“Kuh!”
“Big brother, what’s wrong?!”
At that moment, a sharp sensation struck my brain directly.
Grabbing my head and rolling on the ground, I realized this was a powerful communication magic.
A communication network spreading across the entire Empire, managed by the institution.
This line was rarely used unless it was an urgent matter concerning the life or death of the Empire due to its immense output.
– “To the citizens of the Freya Empire Federation, we announce: His Majesty, Emperor Gustav Friedrich von Freya, has passed away. Once again, we announce: His Majesty…”
This was the news I had been anxiously waiting for.
