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Chapter : 42
A heavy silence filled the room.
“If you oppose my will, then go and resolve it yourself! I mean it—go personally and recharge Poseidon’s energy!”
“I shall follow Your Majesty’s will.”
The chancellor bowed his head. No one could defy the emperor when he spoke like that. Though elderly, the emperor still bore the weight of the vast empire. It was natural to shrink under his gaze.
The emperor continued in a low voice.
“Draft the edict. Its contents shall be as follows.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
The steward bowed.
“First, delegate control of Poseidon to Count Reivan of Kester. Issue a certificate under my name, Serenor Kates of Cyern.”
“Second, recognize Kaisa Lorensia’s merit and grant him a title. From now on, within Cyern, Kaisa Lorensia shall be called Count Darius.”
“Third, open all Poseidon bases immediately to prepare for recharging.”
“Fourth, anyone obstructing this shall be punished for treason.”
“We shall carry out Your Majesty’s will!”
The Serenor Emperor sat back on his throne, murmuring softly.
“One hundred years… it has truly been a long time.”
A faint tear gathered at the corner of his eye. At last, he felt he might see the faces of his ancestors. He closed his eyes gently.
Meanwhile, at the Kester Manor.
Reivan held the imperial edict and smiled in satisfaction. Count Darius, huh. Of course, compared to what he had enjoyed in Luikaron, it was far less—but it was still a high step to climb in a single leap.
Reivan muttered quietly to himself.
“The approval came faster than I expected.”
His aide spoke anxiously.
“But Count, will Kaisa truly cooperate? Recharging Poseidon will consume tremendous amounts of aura.”
“Do not worry. I already hold the cards.”
Reivan looked out the window. In the distance, Milena and Kaisa were taking a walk.
The fate of the Cyern Empire rested in the hands of these two outsiders. Reivan intended to stake his entire fate on this, as he had boldly promised the emperor.
Late at night, in the study of Count Genemia’s residence, three shadows gathered. Now, a fourth joined—Adelhart, looking anxious, had come.
The candlelight flickered, casting shadows across their faces. On the table lay documents and blueprints taken from the Poseidon base.
“Poseidon…”
Miles exhaled deeply. His usual composure was gone.
“From what Adelhart and I have confirmed… there is clear evidence that Poseidon was tampered with. Someone drew energy from it and returned it. That’s why, during that day, monsters moved south and attacked the Blue Pigeon.”
Genemia removed his glasses, rubbing his eyes. The accumulated fatigue was evident.
“The bigger problem is that monsters have already started moving south. They’re just beginning their spawning period… and if anyone tampers with Poseidon under these circumstances—?”
Currently, Luikaron could fish up to the Third Zone. The imperial government had authorized it, and the nearby navy patrolled regularly. But the naval commander was absent. Kaisa was away.
Even with the navy present, what if another sea calamity appeared? The Kraken. The eternal monarch that no one, not even Kaisa, could defeat. If it appeared, Luikaron might truly meet its end.
Miles silently examined the documents.
Roela sighed, blinking dry eyes. Since the day she had infiltrated the central Poseidon control room with Adelhart, she had barely slept. When she did, nightmares forced her awake.
“Seeing that massive energy concentrator up close was truly overwhelming,” Adelhart finally spoke after maintaining silence.
“It’s hard to believe it’s technology from hundreds of years ago. The complex pipes and instruments moved as if alive. The fact that this machine controls the empire is chilling. If it stops, Luikaron stops too. I agree with that. And it’s true someone tampered with it.”
Miles and Genemia groaned heavily at Adelhart’s testimony.
“The question is who did it, and why. And everyone knew the Duke was on that ship. No one could have been unaware that day. There was even a saying that the Blue Pigeon was the safest place, wasn’t there?”
“What are you implying?”
Roela’s question drew a sharp reply from Genemia.
“No monster could defeat the Duke unless it was the Kraken. That means, if the target was the Duke himself…”
Genemia considered a terrifying possibility.
“Could they have controlled the Kraken?”
A heavy silence followed. It was a hypothesis none wanted to accept. Controlling the Kraken… that would make one a god.
Roela spoke calmly.
“I’ve seen the monster control experiment report. It said they used extracted Poseidon energy to control three Bardanos. But there was no information on the Kraken. And the coordinates in the report match where the Blue Pigeon sank.”
“What exactly was the experiment?”
Roela shook her head. Nothing had been fully revealed yet. Only this:
“The Sea King. That’s the only words written.”
Everyone present understood the weight of that phrase.
Miles asked cautiously,
“So, it was intentional…?”
“It seems highly likely.”
Anger flared in Roela’s eyes.
“They deliberately lured Milena and Duke Kaisa into the waters where monsters were. And drew the monsters out. But why? Who would do this?”
Genemia fell into thought.
“If someone authorized access to Poseidon…”
Miles’s expression darkened at that thought.
“But there’s no evidence. The records of the approver were all deleted, and the identity of the director is unknown.”
Roela sprang to her feet.
Miles spread out a large map of Luikaron.
“…We absolutely need Duke Kaisa. Whoever did this, being able to control the Kraken means they can do anything.”
Everyone present understood Miles’ words. “Anything” meant the empire itself could fall into the hands of a person who treated lives as lightly as flies.
Genemia sighed.
“We must find Duke Kaisa and Milena and bring them back as quickly as possible.”
“They could survive, but we have no clue where they are. Even searching neighboring nations yields no trace…”
“No, there’s still a place we haven’t checked: Cyern.”
At Roela’s words, the others turned their heads. She had insisted this from the beginning.
“Cyern?”
“Think about it.”
Roela traced the ocean currents on the map with her finger.
“This is the flow of currents on that day. Following this, Cyern would be at the end… if they survived, there’s a high chance they drifted toward Cyern.”
Roela looked up at Miles and Genemia in turn.
At that moment, Adelhart fell into deep thought. His mind kept returning to someone. He clenched his eyes and ran his hand over his face.
