The Prince and the group left Dopter the next morning. From the perspective of the Lady Duchess Andrew, as long as the team has not reached the territory of the Narcissus, then they were still in danger.

The Prince accepted his mother’s suggestion to quickly get on with the journey. There was no better solution than this at the moment! The young lad did not know what would happen in District Seven. Under the current situation, heading to areas within the influence of his father was the best choice.

The Commander of the First Army, District Seven and Colonel Rayen of the Narcissus Knights planned a plausible route together. The Prince was in shock the first time he took a look at this plan. The preparation of this plan was perfect, but the young lad noticed that there was a long list of army troops who will be involved in the plan.

“Is there a need to have so many people?” His Royal Highness Prince O’Neil Andrew Morisette raised the doubts in his heart. He was not very good at military matters, but he at least knew that managing a few army troops at one go was an extremely troublesome matter to achieve.

“Yes, Your Highness!” The Commander of the First Army replied determinedly. “We must rush our remaining journey without further delay. A troop of guards cannot stand marching without any sleep and rest, so I suggested that all troops on this journey take on the duty of protection together. They can first eliminate every living thing that can threaten your safety within five kilometres of both sides of the road. Also, they can replace the exhausted troop with their strong energy.”

With this strategy, the Prince brought a whole troop of Mountain Corps amounting to 3000 people on this journey with the guarantee of the Commander. After the troops left Dopter, they followed the north coast of the Rillson Drake Lake and entered the land of Rylie Province. People believed that the Military District Seven completed the setup as determined according to the emergency protocol. Regardless of the smooth official road or the twisted mountain road, there was nothing except for the extremely cautious Guards!

The carriages of the Prince did not pause for even a single moment. Only when the Mountain Corps changed their shifts were they able to receive a half-day rest. The route taken by the First Army has received the acknowledgement of the Commanding Department in District Seven, so the troops on this route are already in place.

The Guards truly have enjoyed peaceful days for a long time, but their potential was fully manifested under the influence of the Titan soldiers’ strict work ethics. All the soldiers realized that this was no less than an actual war. Maybe the war was not even as exciting of a prospect as ensuring the safety of the royal family members.

At a small mountain village called Lacirra, the Princess and the Prince met with all the officers in the Military District Seven and in Rylie Province. These Sirs did not dare to delay the schedule of the troop, so they rushed to this hunter’s village that was less than ten kilometres from the capital of the province. When they met, the scene was actually rather chaotic. Under the leadership of the Commander of the District Seven, all military officers had to count their sins in front of these two people; under the leadership of the Governor of Rylie Province, the politicians kept acting nice and good without feeling embarrassed. Among these seemingly good so-called officers, the Prince only found one guy who appeared to be capable and smart.

“Let me introduce to you. This is the Action Officer of the Secret Service Department in the Ministry of Justice who is based in Rylie Province, Baron Messier De Quixote,” The Prince raised his hand and pointed to the Action Officer by his side.

“This is my butler, also my assistant on family matters, Baron Erbe.”

After the introduction of the Prince, the two Barons greeted each other politely. Baron Messier appeared unscrupulous while Baron Erbe kept a good balance of not letting his surprise show. After all, Ricky could never maintain a good composure in front of an Action Officer of the Secret Service no matter how calm he was. Back in the days, this genius cheater was sent into Damorga by an Action Officer who hunted him over eight years. He must be very smart to be able to become an Action Officer at a province.

Baron Messier has taken care of the secret service matters in Rylie Province for four years. He almost understood almost everything about this place. But he had no idea about the assassination attempt of the Princess and the Prince before this. Prince O’Neil thought it was funny as he looked at Baron Messier who attempted to be calm. Another unlucky officer who neglected his duty. As a person-in-charge of the secret service in a province, this Baron has to bear inescapable responsibility on this case.

The troop advanced forward in the mountain. The long queue of the mountain warriors seemed to be endless. The Commander of Military District Seven gathered all eight Paladins from the whole troop. These Paladins did not leave the carriage of the big shots even for a second.

The long journey exhausted the little Prince. The violent shaking of the carriage caused pain his whole body that seemed to tear him apart. The young lad’s flu was going away, but the inner and outer injuries on his body still needed some time to heal.

“Sir Baron, I believe you know why I invited you to finish this journey with me.” Oscar said this calmly. His fat little hands were knocking on the window sub-consciously.

“Yes! You must have important things to instruct me,” Messier raised his eagle-hooked nose. His long side burns and light yellow moustache seemed to connect together.

“Are you from the north?” The Prince suddenly changed to another question. He seemed to be more interested in the looks of this officer from the secret service.

This Baron apparently still could not get used to the erratic thinking. “Er… Yes! Are you able to see this? My hometown is the Senra County at the northeast of the Empire. That place was very near to Czerroc Kingdom. Oh right! The southeast of my hometown was the territory of your family.”

The Prince nodded. “Why would you accept a position at Rylie thousands of miles away?”

Messier smiled helplessly. “Your Highness, the delegation of public service roles of the Empire has always been this way. To prevent the officers from abuse of power, the Royal Secretariat has decided that all officers on duty must stay far away from their family. Also, the period of duty for the officers is also limited. After getting through that period at a certain place, the Royal Secretariat will delegate a change of role within the confines of the whole country.”

“Hehe, I understand now! The officer rotation system was established to prevent abuse of power among the officers. Then as an officer of the Secret Service Department, do you think this sort of system can truly provide insurance to certain things?” Oscar realized the expression of Baron Messier changed a little. The young lad could not help but add: “I hope that you can speak the truth. You are responsible for the secret service. You should have the right to speak in this sort of things.”

Baron Messier did not feel troubled by this. He was only feeling sorry for this young Prince. This young lad was truly as described by the outside world. Innocent, naïve, but still possessing the devil’s aura in Damorga. But regardless of anything, the thinking of this young lad was far from the wide, realistic world.

“Hehe, Your Highness, this question is truly hard to be answered. But you should know what happened in the Capital lately. Even though that did not threaten the ruling of the His Majesty, but the current political situation in Dulin can only be described as chaotic.”

Oscar seemed to have forgotten that the chaos in Dulin was all caused by himself. If he chose to delay the revenge against the Secretary of State and the Brickfields family, then all of these would not have happened.

“You mean the cleansing incident caused by the Brickfield family?” The young lad wanted to end this conversation. He intuitively wanted to avoid this topic because this incident completely exposed his immaturity in politics.

“Cleansing? Your Highness, I must say your choice of words is not precise enough.” Baron Messier shook his head as he said. “That was a strongly directed cleansing activity! His Majesty the Emperor and our highest officer in the Secret Service Department were undoubtedly extremely careful. Even though officers from key departments of the country had to be relieved of their duty, even though those nobles who have hundred years of history were all crushed, the processes in the Capital and each of the departments still carried on. And that is to say, someone set a very small limit to this cleansing. The strongest impact was on the largest and most obvious target…”

“Wait!” Oscar interrupted the Baron. “What you mean seems to be that this action will not receive a very obvious return?”

“Yes!” Baron Messier replied the Prince, extremely sure of this. “Why would Dulin be chaotic? There are two very simple reasons for this: First, some guys who received bribes are acting all over the place in fright. They would, of course, think of any possible way to get out of this mess; second, those families are eyeing the excellent role that suddenly got freed up. They will certainly think of any possible way to attain a better role in this new delegation of roles.”

Oscar truly regretted his revenge at this moment! He never thought that the falling of the ex-Secretary of State would cause such trouble. Actually, this was not the true reason he regretted his action. He felt that all of this did not involve him. Except for attaining a small territory where he could work in the dark, he did not receive any other benefits. The young lad, who felt like he did not benefit enough, began to reflect on his plan that he deemed as smart for the first time.

A conclusion! Oscar did not want to accept this, but after all these days of life, he has to admit this! At the highest level of politics in the organization of the nobles in the Capital, it seemed that there was no one as ignorant as he was.

“Let’s… Let’s not talk about this!” The Prince spitted these words after a long while. The commands of the officers of the Mountain Corps could be heard from outside of the carriage. The carriages have entered another region of forest.

“Let’s not talk about this!” The Prince repeated his words. He did not want to recount his own mistakes. “Let’s talk about the assassination case this time around. Didn’t my butler told you about the words of those mercenaries? What do you think of it?”

“Hehe! Your Highness, you have asked the wrong person! I don’t even dare to look!” The Action Officer of the Secret Service Department based in Rylie Province laughed mockingly.

“Why do you say that? Could it be that you don’t think there is a need to carry out an investigation?”

Baron Messier adjusted his expression. “Of course not! Your Highness! You should believe me. I hope more than anyone else to find out the true manipulator behind this, but do you know that? I have already received a hearing order from the highest prosecutor in the Empire’s Ministry of Justice.”

“Hearing order? What is that?” The Prince asked in confusion.

“Hehe, Your Highness! The Law of Titan states that any officer who has received the hearing order is immediately removed of his role and duty. And the hearing order is the highest court order given to officers who are suspected to have committed serious misdoings by the Empire. During the hearing, under the principles of justness, fairness and openness, these officers are able to defend themselves in front of the line of prosecutors. The line of prosecutors will judge whether they will be punished according to the description of these officers…”

“Wait! I remember this! This is the infamous ‘Double Rule’!” The young lad sat upright. It was his first time seeing the legal action taken towards officers by the Empire on the basis of the ‘Double Rules’.

“Yes! The infamous ‘Double Rules’! This was a saying created by the nobles. The hearing order is simply an indication that the officer is stripped of his duty and the whole key around this case is the hearing itself. On the hearing order there is usually the time and location of the actual hearing. So this is a special saying that at a designated time and location where the officer explains himself in front of the highest authority.”

“I understand! It is like the military court hearing carried out by the soldiers, whereas the punishment of the administration officer is done through hearing.”

“Yes! That is correct!”

“Then you’re saying that you are not the Action Officer of the Secret Service Department based in Rylie Province anymore?” Oscar was a little shocked. He did not think that a simple document has such a big impact. The ranking of the Action Officer of Secret Service based in provinces was more or less the same as the leader of the province government. On top of that, the relationship of the Secret Service officers with the central Empire was much closer than that of the local government officers.

“Yes! Just as I have said, I have already been stripped of my duty! So I cannot simply talk about the matter regarding my previous role.”

Oscar stared at this ex-Action Officer for a long time. He did not know that the action of the Emperor was so quick. Maybe that hearing order has already spread throughout the south!

“You can give me some hints. I don’t believe that you did not hear of any news about this matter. I don’t want to use my identity as the Prince to oppress you!”

Baron Messier knitted his eyebrows. He has no necessity to mention matters that no one would believe to the Prince. But as a Secret Service officer, he still thought that his guess was based on solid foundation.

“Your Highness! Everything is simply my inference. What I say may confuse your current understanding because my opinion has completely gone off the assassination incident that you experienced.”

“That’s fine! Please go ahead!” Oscar was full of anticipation for this Secret Service officer.

“According to my observation, the true person who is in control of the south of the Empire is not His Majesty the Emperor. Nor is it the local government officers. Nor our army. Even us the Secret Service Department has to stand aside!”

Oscar excitedly held his fist. He did not think that this Secret Service officer would directly speak of the key to the problem in his heart. “Then who may that be? Who is in control of the south?”

“The merchant! A group of merchants who are wealthy beyond your imaginations!”

“Merchant?” Oscar gaped! This was truly an unexpected answer!

***

Night befell Titan on time. The black horizon advanced crazily in an unbelievable speed from the east to the west in this wide picture. The East Border Andrew blew the horns that signalled the lights to be switched off. The wind lamp on the central plains shone its light on the endless rice field. The mountains in the south fell into a deathly shadow. The hills in the north were full of the footsteps of the guarding Knights at the border.

At the centre of this picturesque view stood the greatest city in Westland, Dulin! The forest of buildings were still painted with the colour of the setting sun. The fire of dinners shone out of the chimneys of the houses into the windows. The suffocating hot air challenged the patience of the people in every corner of the city.

In the small manor at the countryside, this place is already far away from the noise of Dulin. But at this moment, another kind of disturbance was tormenting the mind of the manor’s owner.

“Dadada!” “Dadada!” The sound of the leather shoes knocking on the floor annoyed the old man the most. He did not know why women liked to wear such things that let out a loud sound when they walked. About women, the old man pondered for a lifetime, but he admitted that it was the thing he lacked the most.

“Father… Father!”

The old man let go of the document in his hands. He put on a friendly face towards the direction of the sound.

The butler rushed to open the door of the study room for the beautiful Madame. That Madame left a dazzling odour when she passed by him.

“Father! What happened? Do you know this? Must be a big incident! Oh god! The Royal Secretariat is all out! The Army Division is all out! The Ministry of Justice is all out! Is our Empire under attack? The Persians? Or those Western Kingdoms?”

The father, as called by this Madame, slowly walked away from the huge oak table. He gave his daughter a hug happily and kissed the cheek of this Madame.

“Erdogan! My precious! Don’t be like a crazy girl! You must remember that you are the mother of two children, the Marquise of the Empire! Sit quietly here. Tell me, what do you know?” Duke Kachev Drakas Ferdinand pressed his daughter onto the sofa. He even got a cup of tea for his beautiful daughter.

Marquise Erdogan Vas Ferdinand took the tea cup from her father. To show her appreciation, she affectionately pulled the back of the hand of the old Duke and deeply kissed it.

“Father! It is like this! This afternoon, that confidential secretary of the Emperor crashed into my bedroom. Oh god! Can you believe this? That Count Philip who seemed like a tamed sheep actually pulled that Emperor out of my bed! Hahahaha! Can you imagine how bad His Majesty’s expression was at that time?”

“Enough! Doran!” The old Duke felt ashamed of his daughter’s behaviour. His face and chest become red from this!

“Are you jealous?” Erdogan laughed. She seemed not to let go of any chance to seduce men, even though this man is her old father.

“Take care of your tone!” Old Kachev slanted his body forward. He glared at his daughter’s seducing smile.

Erdogan put the teacup to her lips and raised her head to drain the tea. The old Duke could clearly see a drop of brown liquid flowing down his daughter’s lip, sliding along the white wonderful neck into the dazzling breast. The old man took back his gaze. He clearly knew that it was the trick this slutty woman used to seduce men.

The Marquise dropped her head and gracefully put the teacup on the tea table. At this moment, her face did not show such a cheeky expression anymore. The Madame slowly opened up her fan and fanned herself. She wanted to go to the topic quickly, but she did not know where to start. Her change was not because her father’s threats worked. It was because this fairy-like lady lost interest in playing this old man.

“To be exact it was a secret document in a green envelope! I don’t know what level of confidentiality that document has. I have never seen it before! Have you heard about it? In green?”

The old Duke shook his head! Maybe in those years he stayed away from Dulin, the confidential protocol regarding documents of the Empire has had some changes.

“Well then! It went this way! His Majesty the Emperor tore that green letter open in my living room, and then! O God of Light! Pity this! He tore the letter into smithereens like a beast, then he began to destroy my place. At last, His Majesty the Emperor sat on the sofa after fifteen minutes of craziness. The light in his eyes was indescribable, father! You know, that guy has never tended to his work in front of me, but he actually conveyed all-out orders to a few important officers in front of me! At my unlucky living room!”

As if feeling the calmness of her father, Erdogan stopped her blabbering. “You knew, didn’t you?”

The old Duke spread his hands open. ‘Yes. Just as His Majesty observes me, I also take note of his news all the time.”

“Then what exactly has happened?”

The old Duke did not directly answer the questions of his daughter. He looked around on the floor, then took a piece of paper that was crinkled into a ball from a corner.

Erdogan carefully took the letter. She was afraid that that paper ball would break apart when she touched it!

After a while! The gaze of the Marquise finally left that paper-like thing. She waved that letter that was already deemed as useless towards her father.

“Has your brain been ageing to this point? This will undoubtedly be a disaster for us!”

The old Duke suddenly laughed. “My precious! Do you think I have done this?”

The Marquise suddenly became really angry! She repeated what her father did not long ago. That letter was once again crinkled into a ball, then it was thrown far away in a parabola!

“Hehe! It wasn’t you? To arrange an assassination in the Guards, hire foreign mercenaries secretly across the borders, launch an attack after knowing the exact location of the princess and Prince. This wasn’t you? Well then, my dear father. Except for you, who else is there to do this? Haven’t you been complaining about the intelligence of that Princess and little Prince? But I never thought of this! You would actually plan an assassination named stupid at a wrong time and a wrong place. Even though these two people would definitely be a hard stumbling block, but you…”

“Shut up!” Old Kachev stopped his daughter with a strict tone! He walked to the door of the study room and heavily slammed the door! Obviously, this calm old man was also very nervous from this bad incident.

“Could it be that the way I educated you was wrong? Is that a tone when you talk to your father? Or is it that you have fallen in love with the title of the mistress of the Emperor?”

Erdogan wanted to fight back, but she saw that her father’s expression was becoming extremely scary. What has happened to people today? Marquise did not say a word in the end. She simply chose to shut her mouth.

The old Duke saw his daughter lowering her head, so his tone became calmer as well.

“Doran! How could you think it was me? If I really did such a treason-like thing, then do you think I would still be here fighting with you? I would have brought you to run from Dulin! Also! Do not forget this! The origin of the family is in the south, especially Bodega, our hometown! Do you think I would do such a suicidal thing?”

The Marquise took a careful look of her father. Even though she knew her father has no reason to lie to her, she was still in doubt. It was still that reason. In this Empire, there was only one person who has the strength to carry out such a plan!

“It really isn’t you?”

“No!”

“Then who may it be? Could it be a foreign enemy force? But there is no reason to choose the Princess and the Prince as the target.”

The old Duke breathed a long sigh! “Who could it be? Hehe! Who else?”

Erdogan looked at the old man as he resumed his nonchalant behavior.

“My precious! You should be grateful! We are going to be the group of people to witness history. I never would have thought that these people would dare to invest so much! It seems to me that I have been underestimating them! My little girl, do you believe this? On the stage of the history of Titan, a new group of dancers has appeared! This is only the beginning. The old rules would experience continuous hits after this!”

Today was the sixth day of the seventh month. There were only a few minutes more to the seventh day of seventh month. No matter if it was the Royal Secretariat or every department in the Empire, the people were waiting for one order from the Emperor of this Empire, Alfa III His Majesty! This order that has never been issued for nearly a hundred years, the ‘Beacon Decree’!

“Your Majesty! The time now is sixth day of the seventh month 11.58 in the night. I represent the Imperial Army Division to ask for your order!” The Military Affairs Chancellor Van Hewitt Alan stared at the seemingly angry Emperor as he said this. Behind this Marshal was all the persons-in-charge in all departments of the Imperial Army Division.

The Emperor ignored the Marshall. He was still considering. Even though this action must be taken, but as the person controlling Titan, he must be responsible for the decisions he made. And the key to this was whether carrying this responsibility was worth it.

“Your Majesty!” The great living room of the Hamilton Palace was jammed with people. At a moment, the officers could not make out who was actually talking.

“Your Majesty!” An officer came up front. The appearance of this officer induced the murmuring of the crowd. The old Duke Cadro Budisette, the speaker of the Ministry of Senior Nobility. This old Duke seemed to not have shown his support of Alfa III His Majesty in public before.

“The leader of Titan! The great Alfa III His Majesty!” Duke Cadro Budisette raised his volume. He successfully attracted the attention of the Emperor and also threw the officers behind him into a chaotic state. He knew that he has never used such respectful terms with the Emperor before.

“As the speaker of the Ministry of Senior Nobility, I am very sorry, Your Majesty. I have always taken up the antagonistic role with you, but I will swear to you here that the Budisette family’s and my loyalty towards the Morisette royal family can absolutely be tested by the God of Light. When the dignity of the royal family and the holiness of Titan are invaded, I hope that Your Majesty can make a quick decision! I can also ensure you that the Ministry of Senior Nobility would all agree to your decisions regarding this matter.”

The crowd began to cheer in a low voice. The Emperor already received the support of Ministry of Senior Nobility. This meant that he could do whatever he wanted in this short period of time.

Alfa III His Majesty looked away. His eyelids were lowered once again. The Emperor crossed his hands. He was rather troubled, even though he knew that his hesitant outlook would destroy the image of the royal family at the highest level of administration in the Empire.

“Your Majesty!” Another high officer came out of the line. This time it was the Diplomatic Officer of the Empire, Dmitri Lemus.

“Your Majesty! The diplomatic document is right on your desk. That is a letter that condemns the Italia Kingdom with strong words. In that letter, the Italia Kingdom is asked to open its border for Titan. They must be responsible for this incident. They must point out the true mastermind who planned this assassination incident to our country! Your Majesty! Only your signature is needed! As a diplomatic officer, my subordinates and I cannot forgive this level of provocation towards our country and the Emperor whom we serve!”

The Emperor suddenly raised his head. His gaze scared the energetic Diplomatic Officer!

“Are you sure that this is a provocation of Italia Kingdom against our country?” The Emperor finally spoke. “Are you sure this was not conspiracy plotted against our country by a certain strong opposing force? Are you sure that my following actions would not endanger my country?”

Van Hewitt Alan stepped forward and put both of his hands on the table in front of the Emperor. This old mas used the shadow of his body to shroud the ultimate one who ruled Titan.

“Your Majesty! We can never be sure! We can never infer the truth simply from the report from the south! Even though all the officers here and I have no intention to pressure you, but you should make your decision as soon as possible! Or else I have no way to answer to the furious army and those soldiers who guard the border for you. I believe the other officers would also face the same situation me.”

The gaze of the Emperor avoided the aggressive old Marshal. As an Emperor, he was not weak. But his hesitation came from the fear towards the enemy hiding in the dark!

It was a suffocating silence! The high officers stopped their discussions. The time stopped at Year 791 seventh day of the seventh month 12.00 in the midnight! The Emperor seemed to be making a decision! Everybody at the great living room held their breaths.

“Philip!” The confidential secretary beside the Emperor stood straight when he heard his name being called! This high officer closest to the Emperor waved at the direction of the door of the living room. The officers automatically moved to make a path. The Captain of the Palace held a black wooden box with the totem of the Morisette royal family carved on it in his hands as he passed through the crowd and came to the front of Alfa III His Majesty.

The Emperor carefully took the wooden box from him. Then he took a small golden key from his pocket.

The high officers looked from afar. They knew an important moment in history was about to happen in front of their eyes!

The thing that was kept in this unattractive wooden box was none other than the highest symbol of the imperial power of Titan! It was the Holy Stamp that symbolized the right to take or keep lives in this Empire and the whole Westland!

Count Philip quickly got the Emperor’s crown from the hands of the servants and wore this crown that has numerous diamonds and jewels on it on the head of Alfa III His Majesty.

The Emperor held the dark green Stamp in both of his hands. Some said it was a rock. Some said it was the brightest jade from the east!

“My Minister!” The sound of the Emperor was heard! “Just as you have said! The royal family of Titan has received a challenge and invasion that has never happened before. Even though we cannot be sure of whom our true enemy is, but I will not stay silent! Titan needs to prove its strength and power to the whole Westland!”

“Maybe my daughter is crying. Maybe my nephew is healing from wounds! But this is not important anymore! They are members of the royal family. Sacrificing themselves is their duty! But what about me? What is my duty? My duty is to defend this country and not allow my citizens be threatened by anything! Then now I must strictly warn all opposing forces against Titan! No one can escape judgements after messing with Titan! No one can injure the soldiers of Titan without leaving their corpses behind!

“Sir Marshal!” The Emperor turned to Alan who retreated to one side.

“Can my army destroy the conspiracy of our enemy?”

“Your Highness! The soldiers of Titan have never been afraid of any enemy! They don’t know what a conspiracy is. They only know that they will fight wherever the enemy appears!” The Marshall answered in a determined tone.

“Duke Cadro Budisette! Can the nobles of Titan and many seniors who have made great contributions for the Empire carry out their responsibilities? Especially in the face of a plausible war?”

The Speaker of the Ministry of Senior Nobility stepped forward once again. “Your Majesty! In the tradition of the nobles in Titan, the definition of responsible is engraved in their blood and bones! They are the limbs of Your Majesty! They are a part of the holy Titan!”

“Diplomatic Officer Marquis Dmitri Lemus! Are you able to ensure that those wolf-like Western countries are able to keep a correct attitude in this incident?”

“Your Majesty! The Diplomatic Department will use any method available to win the attitude of those countries on this incident. Maybe we are able to find the true enemy among them!”

“Ministry of Justice, Secret Service Department and officers of each department!” The expression of the Emperor was cold at this moment! “No one can destroy a large building from the outside! Are you able to find the bad apples within the Empire? And also ensure the stability of the life of majority of our people in the process?”

The departments who were called stepped forward to guarantee this.

“Then I shall order!” The Emperor scanned the whole crowd! The Stamp in his hands fell hard suddenly on a document sitting on his table!

“Beacon Decree!”