Right on Cue

The following day. Noon.

The lounge of Welling Manor.

Everyone had gathered to share what they had dug up.

Roderic spoke first.

“I couldn’t make contact with Kalbina, but the atmosphere around the Imperial Military is anything but ordinary. They’ve been cracking down on internal discipline extraordinarily hard — my read is that the bomb leak is real.”

“Then this is serious.”

In the Korean military, losing a single cartridge casing causes an uproar. A bomb is exponentially worse.

Heinkel continued.

“We’re currently cross-referencing information on Imperial Military personnel and their affiliated families. It’s speculation at this point, but it looks like someone has been siphoning off small quantities over several years. The Imperial Military itself appears to be in considerable disarray.”

“How much has gone missing?”

“That I don’t know. But it seems to have been a carefully orchestrated operation. We should prepare for a worst-case scenario.”

“Setting the imperial capital on fire — the whole city going up in flames.”

A murmur ran through the room.

Everyone tensed at the thought of consecutive bombing attacks in the capital.

But I was the one who had said it, and I immediately walked it back.

“Don’t panic. Terrorism is a political act at its core. Even indiscriminate slaughter requires some minimum justification — and beyond that, those bombs are these terrorists’ lifeline. Use them all up and they’ve got nothing left to fall back on.”

“Right, so they’ll ration them carefully.”

“Then the most pressing question is figuring out where they plan to strike next.”

Melius tilted his head.

“Wouldn’t the simplest target be the Noble Assembly, or Imperial Military Command?”

“That’s exactly what I mean when I say they’d have nothing left. Burn the government buildings or blast the imperial palace — yes, there’d be chaos, but someone would simply step up to fill the void. There’s no emperor right now, which paradoxically makes the target blurry.”

Understanding spread across the room.

If the Millennial Empire still had an emperor?

The terrorists would pour every resource into cutting him down.

Kill the emperor and the entire state apparatus collapses.

But a hundred years without one meant there was no single pressure point to break.

I pulled the thread together.

“The terrorists lured Orca out using the railway attack, but that attempt failed. They won’t give up there — the next most likely targets are the other princes and princesses.”

“What about the empresses?”

“The empresses have sufficient protection, and they can’t be taken out with bombs alone. The symbolic value isn’t there either.”

My children carry the blood and legitimacy of Sirik Karakas.

“The Empire Liberation Army laid their plans carefully. I disrupted them, but if we try to extrapolate their next move — ”

I paused to think, then spoke.

“Right after a successful attack, they’d install a puppet to shoulder the blame and then use the resulting chaos to steer the political situation however they like. That was the plan. Which means the Empire Liberation Army has members embedded in government, the military, the nobility, and even among the other races.”

“……That’s a staggering network.”

Everyone turned to look at the one who’d said it.

The elf — Railway Military Police Second-Rank Officer Mirei — had been nibbling on a piece of cake while listening. She stopped, flustered.

“……Ah, I’m sorry. Was I not supposed to be eating right now?”

“Second-Rank Officer Mirei, perhaps you could explain the circumstances of how you came to join us? Everyone here is in the dark about that.”

Roderic asked it with measured politeness.

Mirei stood to attention and saluted.

“Long live His Imperial Majesty! I’m Second-Rank Officer Mirei, on secondment from the Railway Military Police. I’ll be providing full cooperation to House Librata from here on. I look forward to working under your guidance, seniors.”

“What clan are you from?”

Melius asked. Mirei’s expression went serious.

“I am an officer of the Railway Military Police under His Imperial Majesty’s command. Clan and origin are entirely irrelevant.”

“Cake, however, is relevant.”

Mirei had been delivering her salute with the cake plate still in hand. She froze at my remark.

“W-well, releasing such a delicious thing from my hands would be the height of impoliteness!”

“There’s plenty more — no need to rush.”

Amelia moved through the room topping up teacups and offered the reassurance gently.

Mirei’s eyes lit up.

“……This really is a wonderful place to work.”

“Well — regardless, you’ve secured the Railway Military Police’s cooperation. Impressive, my lord.”

Heinkel offered the praise. I gave a single nod. He continued, carefully.

“……Though you’ve seemed out of sorts since this morning. Is something the matter?”

“What do you mean?”

“No, he’s right, Rigen — I can tell too.”

When Roderic weighed in as well, I shifted my gaze elsewhere.

“Alicia — you were looking into the Noble Assembly side of things. What’s the story about the Third Princess getting married?”

“……Well. The rumor going around is that the eldest son of House Kedrik — one of the twelve houses — and the celestial Third Princess have fallen for each other.”

“Ha. Hahahaha. Is that so? Hahahaha.”

I was laughing. Somehow everyone had started watching me very carefully.

Alicia continued with visible hesitation.

“The social circles can’t be taken at face value, but it’s true that Kedrik’s eldest son has been throwing a party every three days and inviting Princess Miriel. The Third Princess has been making appearances at each one, so everyone’s concluding that the two of them are ready to announce a marriage at any moment——”

“That conclusion is wrong. Allow me to explain why.”

Lisera, who had been listening quietly, spoke with quiet certainty.

“House Kedrik does receive support from the celestials, but marriage is an entirely separate matter. After Father passed, it was not long before the family convened and reached a quiet agreement among ourselves.”

“……”

That was news to me.

To everyone in the room, apparently — all ears turned toward Lisera.

What had been said among the empresses and their children in the immediate aftermath of Sirik Karakas’s death?

“In the current political climate, any of us marrying would become a deeply charged political event. It could fracture relations within the family, and across the empire entire. So if any of us were to marry, we agreed it would require the consent of everyone in the family.”

What she was really describing was the other races’ long-running scheme — waiting to marry one of my children to whoever emerged as the second emperor.

Alicia said it with a pained look.

“I understand, but it’s become quite the hot topic in social circles. If……”

“If Princess Miriel marries Kedrik’s eldest son, that man becomes the front-runner for the second emperor’s seat.”

My words made everyone stiffen.

I tapped my foot against the floor and pressed on.

“On top of which — the situation in the empire is unstable, and the internal powers can’t coordinate a coherent response. The Imperial Military and the Railway Military Police are right now busy pointing fingers at each other. Anyone watching that would think: if there had been an emperor, he’d have issued a sharp command and this would already be resolved. If only there were an emperor ——”

“These petty terrorist attacks would have been cleaned up instantly.”

Melius finished the thought.

Everyone nodded.

The only emperor this empire had ever known was me, and I had been, objectively speaking, fairly competent.

“The people’s anxiety is mounting, calls for an emperor are growing louder — and right into that moment drops a romance between a princess and the eldest son of one of the twelve houses. Isn’t the timing a little too convenient?”

“Surely you don’t mean……”

“……Is Kedrik’s eldest son also a member of the Empire Liberation Army?”

The room gasped.

I shook my head.

“It could still be coincidence. But I can’t take it at face value. And Princess Miriel——”

“My sister is not someone who breaks a promise made to her family.”

I’d been carefully correcting myself mid-sentence, but Lisera cut straight to it.

That’s exactly what I feel too.

Mirei was eating away at her cake when she offered her opinion.

“But you never truly know a woman’s heart. Love has a habit of arriving without warning.”

“She’s still a child.”

“Oh come on, she’s over a hundred — surely that counts as grown——S-Special Officer. Why are you looking at me like that?”

I let out a sigh.

“You. Just marry the cake.”

“Am I allowed to?! Wonderful!”

Heinkel stifled a laugh and raised his hand.

“Now that I think about it, something does stand out.”

“What?”

“A party every three days — where exactly is that money coming from? Kedrik is one of the twelve houses, but they’re not exceptionally wealthy. And even if they were — the other party is a princess. Appearances matter, so any party would have to be large and lavish by necessity. A family’s finances couldn’t sustain that.”

I rubbed my chin.

“That does make me want to see Kedrik’s account books.”

“Exactly. Now, if the marriage actually goes through, he’d recoup the losses. But the risk of bankruptcy before that point is very real. It’s a dangerously high-stakes gamble.”

“What about speaking with the Third Princess’s mother — the Fifth Empress? She’s in the capital right now, isn’t she?”

Roderic suggested it and looked to Lisera with expectant eyes.

Lisera shook her head slowly.

“The Fifth Empress will not intervene. It’s difficult to explain, but……”

“Celestial internal politics, I’d imagine.”

“……Yes. I think the simplest solution is for me to go and speak with my sister directly.”

Lisera let the words trail off in an oddly inconclusive way.

The situation was already complicated enough, and the Third Princess adding a marriage to the mix would be a thunderclap out of clear skies.

For me as her father, it felt like a bolt of lightning aimed squarely at my head.

No — I want to be the lightning. I want to grab this bastard who dared set his eyes on my daughter, shake him by the collar, and thrash the soul right out of him.

I brought my hands together to draw everyone’s attention.

“Alright, let’s organize. Everyone sets aside whatever they’re currently working on and starts gathering information on the Third Princess and House Kedrik. Heinkel — use the dark elf intelligence network to trace where Kedrik’s money is actually coming from. Once we’ve put all of that together, Lisera and I will attend one of Kedrik’s parties in person.”

“You’re going yourself?”

“These things need to be seen firsthand.”

Everyone exchanged cautious glances, each clearly about to say something. I cut them off.

“Don’t. Are you planning to follow me to the bathroom too? I’m just going to a party. I’ll have some drinks, maybe flirt with a few women.”

“……No, the issue is that you look like you’re going there to start a fight.”

“Special Officer, you look like you’re going to kill someone.”

Mirei shrank back in genuine fear.

“I’m just tired and it’s showing in my face. Everyone go do your work.”

I shut my eyes then and there.

The sound of chairs scraping, footsteps leaving.

I thought about Miriel.

Celestials.

Their race bore halos of light above their heads and white wings at their backs.

Angels in literal form.

Yet they were not what they looked like. Emotion was rarely expressed. Theirs was a life of mineral precision and solemnity — a race that performed the role of expressionless, unfeeling dolls.

But Miriel had been a genuinely angelic child.

Where Lisera had been bright and forward with me, Miriel had been so bashful she could barely speak in my presence.

Always lurking behind her mother or Lisera, stealing glances at me from a safe distance.

When our eyes met she’d startle like a spooked bird. When I smiled at her she’d flush red and retreat behind whoever stood nearest.

But if I stayed patient and kept watching, she’d slowly peek her head back out and look at me again.

“……”

And someone was running around claiming he wanted to marry that girl?

I won’t accept it unless he’s stronger than me.

But if the other party was attached to one of the twelve houses, he’d be no ordinary power.

“Gather the information first.”

Then I walk in and tear it apart, root and stem.

Thump. Thump.

Something pressed down on my shoulders.

I opened my eyes. Lisera was standing behind me, working at my shoulders with her hands.

Everyone else had gone. Just the two of us remained.

“Orca used to do this, didn’t he? I’ll do my best.”

“Ah — wait, what if someone sees.”

It made me incredibly happy — but someone walking in on this would be a problem.

And, to be clear, I was still concealing my identity from Lisera.

But regardless of my protests, Lisera didn’t stop.

“You’ve helped me. You saved my little brother. And now you’re about to help my older sister. If there’s anything I can do, I want to do it.”

“Well, um, I appreciate it.”

“You spoke casually to me a moment ago and now you’re being formal again. Isn’t that usually the other way around?”

Lisera laughed, faintly amused.

I relaxed and let out a short laugh myself.

The situation was knotted in every direction — but there was something about Lisera’s warmth that simply made a person feel better.

She worked at my shoulders and said,

“I think I can be of real help this time. Miriel and I have always been close.”

“Of course——”

Lisera and Miriel had been inseparable since they were small.

Then her hands stilled.

Lisera said quietly,

“May I ask you something?”

“Of course.”

“Before — ”

Footsteps.

Amelia came through the door.

“Young Master Rigen — you have a visitor.”

“From where?”

“The second son of House Kedrik, one of the twelve houses. A young man by the name of Luke Kedrik.”

I was just setting my sights on them, and they’ve come to me.