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Chapter 24
The letter that began with “To Emperor Raol Garcia” did not even fill a single page.
Cain stood and walked to the window.
He opened it and whistled. Somewhere nearby, a pigeon flew in.
The bird waited quietly while Cain tied the letter to its leg. Then it pecked at the snack placed on his palm and cooed softly.
Cain gently stroked its back and wings.
It was no secret that he raised pigeons.
But the fact that he kept pigeons trained as carrier birds was a secret. And the fact that they had been trained in the imperial palace was an even greater one.
It was Emperor Raol Garcia’s deception.
The emperor had sent the corpse of another pigeon to Latria, while secretly turning this one completely into his own servant.
“Go back to your master.”
The pigeon had long forgotten the days it lived in the imperial palace of Latria.
The bird that had miraculously survived understood its own value well and devoted its loyalty to Emperor Raol Garcia.
Just like me.
Cain watched the pigeon spread its wings and soar high into the distant sky.
It looked free as it flew through the heavens, yet it was still bound.
Just like himself—trapped in this tower as a spy for the Tordi Empire.
There are not many fateful events in life that completely change a person’s destiny. And among them, good fortune does not come to everyone.
Cain Steiner’s first stroke of fortune had been meeting the empress and becoming a court advisor.
Then what about the incident three years ago…?
Would it become another leap forward, or the beginning of his downfall?
Cain’s face darkened as he recalled the past.
He had met the Emperor of Tordi three years ago.
At the time, Cain had been aboard a passenger ship crossing the Isti Sea. He often boarded ships to observe the stars over the night sea. It was not always for work.
As a child, he had suffered from smallpox, and the aftereffects had left one leg crippled. He had to walk with a cane for the rest of his life. For someone like him, sailing brought indescribable happiness.
That day, Cain had been resting in his cabin. He had caught a light cold after spending the previous night watching the stars in the sea breeze. He had lain down early to sleep, but an unwelcome visitor interrupted him.
“Are you Mr. Cain Steiner?”
He had been told his identity was being kept strictly hidden, so how did this man know him?
“My master wishes to see you. Please come with me.”
The servant’s tone was polite, but extremely intimidating.
Unable to refuse, Cain followed him. Just how powerful was this nobleman if even his servant acted like this?
His curiosity was quickly answered.
The man waiting in the cabin was no ordinary person. No one had told him who the man was, but Cain instinctively knew.
The man scribbled something onto a sheet of paper and tossed it in front of Cain.
“I’d like to hear your opinion.”
Cain glanced at the paper containing the birth chart and replied,
“I already have designated clients, and I work only for them.”
This time, a bundle of money was thrown onto the table. Seeing it, the man smiled.
“My answer remains the same.”
Without saying a word, the man added another stack of money.
Cain swallowed hard.
Although he worked as an advisor to the imperial court, his pay was not generous. As someone of middle-class status, there was no way for him to receive a high salary.
Cain, already worn down by his wife’s constant nagging, felt his eyes light up at the sight of the money. He had refused out of professional pride, but faced with relentless temptation, he finally gave in.
He picked up the paper.
“It will take time.”
The man nodded. Cain sat where the servant directed him. After some time passed, a celestial chart appeared across the blank page.
“You were born with the destiny to rise to the highest position. But three years from now, there will be a crisis.”
“And how can I avoid it?”
“It’s not the sort of thing you can prepare for in advance.”
“That sounds like you’re asking for more money.”
The man smirked slightly. Cain remained silent.
“Then I shall see you again in three years. I wonder whether your answer will change by then.”
The man who promised a future meeting kept his word.
A month ago, a boarding ticket had been delivered to Cain. The instant he checked it, he remembered the suspicious man from three years earlier.
If only he had kept the celestial chart, he might have been able to infer more about the man.
It was difficult to determine someone’s entire past and future within such limited time. Part of him had also deliberately avoided examining the man too closely, so as not to lose sight of his duty as an imperial advisor.
He could have ignored the invitation, but he did not.
It felt like fate was drawing him in.
Even knowing that this fate carried both fortune and disaster.
Once again, he was led to a cabin and faced the mysterious client.
“I want to turn a crisis into an opportunity.”
“Without information about you, it’s difficult to give accurate advice.”
“For someone with such fame, your abilities seem underwhelming.”
“I’m not a magician, but a scientist. Neither a proxy of God nor God himself. The fact that you took the celestial chart means you didn’t want any more information about you to be read, so I erased it from my memory.”
“If I give you information, then you must fulfill your responsibility.”
“That depends on the information.”
“It will be enough. Perhaps more than enough.”
The man chuckled softly again.
“My name is Raol Garcia.”
Cain Steiner’s jaw dropped open.
“I am the emperor of the Tordi Empire.”
A chilling smile was directed at him. Cain felt a cold shiver run down his spine.
Emperor Raol looked at the crippled left leg resting beside Cain’s cane and said,
“If you stand with the Tordi Empire, I will spare your right leg. And I will appoint you as an imperial advisor.”
“…Please give me time to think.”
“To a client who waited three years, you ask me to wait longer?”
Suddenly, the emperor drew his sword and swung it toward Cain’s right leg.
Terrified, Cain screamed and collapsed backward. The blade stopped just short of his thigh.
“Do you still need more time?”
“Y-you said you wanted to turn a crisis into an opportunity.”
“That’s right.”
“The emperor has been bedridden for quite some time. Recently, his condition worsened, and the empress hurried to arrange the crown prince’s marriage. I… intend to advise her to hold the wedding aboard a ship.”
The emperor’s eyes gleamed.
That was the best Cain Steiner could do.
The rest was up to the Emperor of Tordi.
Before death, every other value becomes meaningless.
The guilt of betraying his empire was cast into the dark blue sea.
And after returning, Cain preserved the last shred of his conscience by ensuring the empress would not accompany the wedding voyage.
“We have heard that the pirate Jin Blasque attacked the ship carrying the crown prince and his wife. One soldier who had been thrown into the sea returned alive. Search parties have been dispatched to determine whether the crown prince and princess survived.”
The Emperor of Tordi lowered the letter.
The frightened astrologer had not betrayed him.
Just as he had sold his conscience for bundles of money three years ago after talking about duty, he had now sold out his entire nation after nothing more than the swing of a sword.
Of course, had he refused, the emperor truly would have cut off the man’s leg.
After all, wasn’t it enough to leave only his heart, head, and eyes intact?
Ah, but if he wanted quick answers to questions, the mouth would be necessary too.
“What does it say?” the secretary asked.
“It seems the Blasque pirates succeeded.”
“That is fortunate.”
“We should prepare to welcome the young emperor of Latria.”
The emperor laughed and held the letter to the candle flame. Fire quickly consumed the paper, reducing it to ash. Looking at the black soot staining his hand, the emperor smiled faintly.
The reason he had ordered pirates to kidnap the crown prince was simple.
He intended to imprison the crown prince until the Emperor of Latria died, then force him to sign documents turning Latria into a vassal state.
And if the crown prince resisted?
Then war would begin.
A country without an emperor naturally loses wars. Latria would become a vassal of the Tordi Empire.
Surely a crown prince who truly cared for his country would understand that signing his noble name would be the wiser choice.
But if he resisted to the bitter end—
Well, spilling rivers of blood could be entertaining too.
War was enjoyable, after all.
“What do you intend to do with the astrologer once the plan succeeds?” the secretary asked.
“I promised to appoint him as High Priest.”
The astrologer had first spoken of duty because he desired honor. Compared to that ambition, material gain had been insufficient, which was why the money swayed him so easily. Yet he was not the type to greedily crave endless wealth. His vessel had been small from the start.
“The astrologer was timid, and the empress arrogant. Problems arise when you allow your people to wander outside your control. Especially someone as dangerous as him.”
To allow a man who held people’s destinies in his hands to live outside the palace.
To even let him travel freely.
How laughable.
“Any news from Captain Jin Blasque?”
“None yet, Your Majesty. Shall we search for him?”
The emperor’s fingers, which had been tapping the armrest, suddenly stopped.
With an indifferent expression, he said,
“Find him… and bring him to the imperial palace.”
