It wasn’t like I didn’t expect this to happen.
In fact, from the moment that Atlas had called for me and brought me to this place, I more or less had guessed what was going to happen.
That was why I already had an answer.
“…Because I knew that something was going to happen in advance.”
“Oh?”
The Emperor looked somewhat surprised while Atlas looked the same. I wasn’t even sure if he was interested in this conversation or not.
Nonetheless, I went on to explain the situation to them.
“At around 8:34 P.M., Leon warned me that something was about to happen. I stayed alert, watching closely. After all, I didn’t know how accurate his ‘feeling’ was, but thankfully, I trust him, and when I saw his expression start to falter, I acted.”
“Leon?”
The Emperor turned to look at Atlas, who elaborated.
“He’s Julien’s knight, and one of the most promising cadets in Haven.”
“No, I know who he is.” The Emperor replied, his tone even, “After all, he performed quite well at the Summit. I was simply curious about how Leon might have known something was about to happen.”
“It could be a result of some skill of his.”
“That would make sense.”
The Emperor shifted his attention towards the recording device and moved the video back. At the same time, he eyed me.
“You said 8:34?”
“…Yes.”
Soon, he managed to fast-forward the recording to the designated time, his brows furrowing as he focused intently on Leon, his gaze somewhat sharp.
Eventually, however, his expression eased.
‘He probably saw Leon react differently at that time.’
“I see. As you say, Leon does indeed show some sort of weird reaction.”
Pausing, the Emperor continued to look through the footage. I just stood in silence, waiting for him to say something.
Each second felt like an eternity as I stood before his presence.
But eventually, he pulled his gaze away from the recording and nodded.
“It does seem like you’re telling the truth. Of course, that still doesn’t fully explain everything, but at the very least, it doesn’t seem like you’re involved in any of this.”
“…I try my best not to involve myself in troublesome situations.”
It was usually the troublesome situations that found their way to me.
Not me to them.
“Well, this is indeed troublesome.”
The Emperor shifted his attention towards Atlas.
He soon nodded.
“I’ll continue to investigate this further, but for now, you’re in the clear. I wish I could talk to you more, but unfortunately, my hands are currently tied. If there’s—”
“Actually, there is something.”
I cut the Emperor off before he could finish his sentence. Immediately, Atlas’s and the Emperor’s eyes set on me.
I felt my entire chest cave in under the pressure of their gazes, but I remained cool-headed.
I knew that the Emperor was merely saying those words out of formality, but since the opportunity presented itself, I was planning on taking it.
“…There’s something? I see. Feel free to tell me. If it’s within my abilities, I’ll try my best to help.”
The Emperor smiled, his eyes squinting. He didn’t look at all pleased.
Not that I cared.
‘If Aoife took after you, then…’
“I’d like to meet with those from the Church of Oracleus.”
My words were met with an immediate, suffocating silence, as the Emperor’s gaze bore down on me heavily. It was so intense that it felt as if a massive boulder had been placed on my chest, each breath growing more difficult as I struggled to bear the pressure of his stare.
Just looking at his gaze, I understood something.
“You wish to meet with those who are suspected of plotting against me?”
One wrong word.
“…The same people that you were alert about?”
And I was done for.
“Is there something that I’m unaware of?”
I could even feel Atlas’s gaze from the side. He too looked curious.
If at this very moment I didn’t answer accordingly, I was afraid that…
“Almost a year ago, I was attacked in the Academy. Regarding the perpetrator…”
I paused and shifted my attention towards Atlas, who seemed to have understood where I was going with my words.
“Are you trying to get back at them?”
“Far from it.”
I didn’t actually care about them. My goal was different. However, it wasn’t like I could tell it to them directly. That was why I had to come up with this bullshit excuse.
“The meeting with the Pope was real. Before… before I was attacked, I managed to exchange a few words with him. He shared some important things that I need to pass on to those from the Church of Oracleus.”
Atlas’s and the Emperor’s gazes felt prickling.
Nevertheless, they didn’t bother me that much. All of this information was something that Atlas was aware of, and most likely, to some extent, the Emperor.
“This information… Could you not have shared it with them earlier?”
“And why would I do that?”
I looked at the Emperor strangely.
“We’re talking about the same people who almost had me killed. I didn’t want anything to do with them.”
“Oh, yes…”
The Emperor looked a little taken aback, but recovered rather quickly.
“It makes sense if you put it that way, but why the sudden change of heart? If you didn’t want to tell them before, why do you wish to do it now?”
“Because the opportunity presented itself, and I am not worried about my safety.”
“You’re not worried about your safety?”
I smiled then, turning my head to look at the two of them.
“Should I be?”
The room fell into a strange silence for what felt like an hour, but the silence didn’t last long as the Emperor soon burst out laughing.
“Hahaha.”
His laugh bellowed throughout the room, causing some of the paintings to tremble. He sat there laughing for the next minute before he stopped and looked at me.
“Indeed, why worry about your safety when we’re here?”
He placed his hand down and looked at Atlas.
“Very well, then. It shouldn’t be difficult. I’ll set up a meeting between you and them.”
“Thank you very much.”
I lowered my head and expressed my gratitude.
Shortly after that, a new individual entered the room, and I was escorted out of the office space.
***
A moment after Julien left.
After calming down, the Emperor directly addressed Atlas from his seat.
“What do you think? Are you buying his story?”
“…He doesn’t seem to be lying.”
Atlas answered, his tone flat as he walked towards the nearest seat and sat down.
“There is a lot to think about regarding his story. If we press him for more answers, I’m sure we’ll be able to determine if he’s truly speaking the truth or not.”
“That is irrelevant.”
Atlas answered, his eyes narrowing.
“What concerns me more is the Church of Oracleus. Setting Julien’s actions aside, their response was too swift. It’s as if they were expecting something to happen.”
“Expected? Hmm.”
The Emperor suddenly frowned, falling into thought.
“Considering the nature of the church they follow, it wouldn’t be farfetched to think they might have ‘foreseen’ something beforehand.”
“….”
Atlas didn’t speak immediately, and drummed his fingers over the armrest of the chair.
With his brows knitting together, he sat there in silence while crossing his arms. He sat there for several minutes, chewing on the Emperor’s words before standing up.
“That could very well be the case. And if it is, then it seems someone is targeting your life.”
“Not my life, but something else.”
Atlas’s hand stopped, and his expression frosted over.
The Emperor continued.
“They’re aiming to sow chaos within our Empire. I have a few potential groups in mind that could be behind this. It could be someone within our Empire, trying to destabilize things and overthrow the Royal family. Or…”
“…Someone from the other Empires.”
Atlas stood up from his seat, his expression calm and collected. However, to those who knew him, the calmer Atlas was, the more terrifying he was.
At this very moment, Atlas’s calmness felt unsettling.
Heading towards the door, Atlas stopped right before the door.
“You’re forgetting the most important and most likely situation.”
“I have?”
The Emperor paused and tilted his head in confusion.
That was when Atlas grasped the knob of the door.
“That the one responsible might not be targeting our Empire directly, but us.”
Cra Crack!
The doorknob shattered as Atlas placed too much force on it.
“…And who knows us the best?”
Whatever was left of the doorknob disintegrated into fine dust as Atlas’s eyes began to glow with a fierce, bright yellow hue.
Massaging his neck, his body faded from the spot.
Silence returned shortly after as the Emperor stared in the direction of where Atlas used to be.
Covering his mouth with his hand, the Emperor’s expression turned grave.
“War might soon be upon us.”
***
Before I knew it, I found myself being brought into a completely different place. Looking around, it looked to be some sort of secret facility that was underground.
The lights were dim, and each step echoed loudly in my ear.
There were several rooms placed on each side of the walls, with a long corridor that seemed to stretch endlessly.
The place looked eerie.
Enough to make me feel unsettled, but if there was one thing that truly made me unsettled, it was…
‘Where exactly is this place? …And how did I get here?’
My inability to recall how I had managed to get to this place.
No matter how hard I tried recalling the road and direction I took in order to get to this place, strangely enough, I couldn’t recall anything at all.
It felt utterly unsettling, and no matter how hard I tried to recall how I had ended up here, my mind would slip into an empty haze.
What sort of…?
“We’re here.”
Eventually, the man escorting me led me to a certain door. As I turned my head, I watched him place his hand against the wall. A faint glow began to radiate from his touch, and with it, several runes materialized on the surface, glowing softly in the dim light.
Click!
The door swung open with a faint clicking sound, revealing a small room.
My gaze immediately landed on the figure at the far end of a metallic table, his green eyes locking onto mine. He sat with his elbows propped up on the table, fingers interlaced as his lips curled into a devious smile.
“It looks like you couldn’t wait to see me, fake fragment.”