Chapter 936: Chapter 936

The moment the meeting ended, the massive news that had spread from the Imperial Palace turned the entire Capital—and even the Duke of Diarca’s estate—upside down in an instant.

“A miracle has descended...? Are you saying they actually said that?”

“Yes. Many who attended the administrative meeting testified to it in unison.”

The man bowing before the Duke answered cautiously.

“...Ha.”

The skin beneath Duke Diarca’s eyes twitched. He bit down on the pipe spewing hazy smoke and took a deep drag before he finally calmed himself enough to speak again.

“I see... Anyone can make a declaration. The question is whether it’s true or false. What’s the status of the investigation?”

“Until the last meeting where His Majesty briefly appeared, his condition seemed truly dire. So we’ve been thoroughly investigating everyone who entered the Sun Palace since then. So far, we haven’t found anything unusual. We're trying to broaden the scope of the investigation, but...”

“I don’t pay you to come back with nothing. You speak far too casually.”

“...M-my apologies. I thought it better to report only when we had something solid...!”

The one replying instantly threw himself face-first to the floor and begged for forgiveness. His earlier caution and composure were gone—his quick reaction betrayed a long-standing fear of the Duke.

Duke Diarca took another deep pull from his pipe and exhaled a long stream of smoke.

“‘Something solid’—and who are you to judge that? If you’ve found something, then say it. It’s my job to think. You’re just my eyes and legs. You’re not my brain. Is that such a difficult command to grasp?”

“No, sir.”

Duke Diarca exhaled another slow stream of smoke. The air had grown so thick that it felt as if the entire space were spinning, but the Duke himself was perfectly fine. The man still kneeling barely suppressed a cough and lowered himself even more. Sweat dripped from his forehead and stained the carpet.

“Get out.”

“...I will return with more news.”

Still bowing, the man slowly withdrew. After he left, the Duke set down his pipe and turned to a servant standing silently in the back.

“Replace the carpet. And rip out the tongue of that useless bastard who just left. Make sure there are no consequences.”

“Understood.”

Even after ordering a man’s death, not a flicker of change appeared in Duke Diarca’s eyes.

His mind was consumed entirely by thoughts of Emperor Keillusa.

‘Could it be real?’

He recovered? How?

Emperor Keillusa’s condition had been a tightly guarded secret—even Duke Diarca didn’t know the full details. But that didn’t mean he had no clues.

Signs too glaring to be hidden even with strict isolation. The despair that hung like a shroud around the Sun Palace. Those things had been all too real.

‘It could be a lie. But if it’s true... I must eliminate the Emperor before anything else. Before he even has the chance to rejoice over regaining his life. This time, for certain.’

That day, Duke Diarca received countless visitors. Some came to offer information voluntarily, others had ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) been sent on missions by the Duke himself. All returned with stiff, solemn expressions.

But not a single one of them knew who the Emperor had met, how he had been living, or what treatment he’d received.

There were no satisfying answers—not even a single useful scrap. The Sun Palace had always been in plain view, and the Emperor was believed to be under constant surveillance.

And yet this. It made no sense.

And that wasn’t all. None of the so-called intel matched up. One said this, another said that. Even the ones Diarca had personally dispatched gave conflicting reports, clashing perspectives.

It was as if someone had deliberately tampered with all the information coming to Duke Diarca.

Impossible. The Duke’s agents were scattered all across the Empire. Not even his closest aides knew the full extent of his network.

How could anyone possibly know all his channels—let alone disrupt them all?

Unless they were reading his mind or watching his every move, it couldn’t be done.

‘There’s no such way to do that.’

Getting old made him overly paranoid in chaotic moments. Wasn’t that the sign of aging—worrying over nothing?

Duke Diarca exhaled irritably and packed his pipe again for what must have been the fifth or sixth time that day.

No matter how much of the leaf—laced with a mind-dulling, euphoric stimulant—he used, it no longer had any effect. After decades of use, his tolerance was too high.

Tch.

But what was bothering him even more was the report he was hearing now.

“We tried our best to contain it, but word has reached the Radiant Palace. His Highness the Crown Prince was so shocked he smashed furniture. Several attendants were injured and had to be carried out...”

Sure, they said it politely—“smashed furniture”—but the implication was clear: he went on a rampage.

‘Not even surprising anymore.’

Even if the Emperor had recovered, there was no reason for Kachian to go berserk. He was already Crown Prince. No one could take his place so easily.

Why act like a loser over just this news?

A smart man would’ve kept his head down, acted indifferent, gathered information, and helped solidify Diarca’s power.

It was rare to find someone so cold, cunning, intelligent, and striking in appearance. That’s why Diarca had chosen to support him.

Who could’ve predicted he’d collapse this easily?

“Filthy blood... this is why...”

Duke Diarca’s muttering dissolved into the smoke.

He grimaced under a headache too stubborn for even drugs to suppress and pressed a hand to his temple.

“Is Kiole quietly staying in the annex?”

“Ah, yes. He was reading, but he’s asleep now.”

“Good. If he gets too noisy, let him go out for a bit.”

“Understood.”

“And go send word to this contact.”

The servant swallowed hard upon receiving the slip of paper.

He had served the Duke for many years and recognized the name.

It was someone tied to the mercenary assassins Diarca only employed for the dirtiest, most dangerous jobs.

“Whether we get useful intel or not—it doesn’t matter. What matters is how we act.”

They had already pushed the sun off a cliff once.

What was so hard about doing it a second time?

Even if all the information was in shambles and no one could grasp the true picture, that just meant they’d have to push again.

Emperor Keillusa had lost his last chance to die quietly, in peace, under the cover of neglect.

“...And I suppose it’s time I go to the palace myself. To see if this joyous news is really true. Nothing’s more certain than seeing it with my own eyes.”

Duke Diarca’s eyes darkened.

He had no idea that, just behind him, a flower arranged in a beautiful vase was watching and listening to everything.

***

The harbor of Sharloin, now emptied of its former residents.

Yuder finally stood before it, staring out at the dark, heaving sea.

‘It looks calm enough for now... but it feels like the calm before a storm.’

Unsettlingly quiet. The waves churned in an oddly irregular rhythm. Even the air felt sticky and wrong against the skin.

Like a beast baring its teeth, crouching low, ready to pounce.

“...Is this the first time we’ve stood together looking at the sea like this?”

Yuder turned at the sound of a familiar voice.

Kishiar was looking at him with a faint smile.

Who knew how long he’d been watching—though if it was him, maybe he’d been watching from the very beginning.

Yuder tore his eyes from the sea and answered.

“Yes.”

“It's a shame there are so many people around—we're not really alone. But I suppose we'll have another chance in the future.”

“......”

Just as he said, the surroundings were filled with people inspecting the breakwater and keeping watch.

Yuder had come out here to check the place he’d soon be headed to—on the other side of that sea.

“The waves are getting higher. I can feel the irregular vibration under my feet.”

“Yes. I feel it too.”

“Pinpointing where those tremors begin and sealing it all at once... that won’t be easy.”

“But it’s what must be done.”

“Yeah.”

After that, a short silence passed between them.

Yuder stared at the darkening waves, then suddenly asked on impulse,

“People are saying the current state of the southern sea is so different from usual, it’s more like the northern sea. Is the sea near Peleta like this up close?”

“Hmm. No. The color might be a little similar now, but the Peleta Sea feels completely different from this southern sea. The smell, the air—nothing’s the same. Just like how ‘rough’ and ‘dangerous’ don’t always mean the same thing.”

“...I see.”

“Curious?”

“Yes. I am.”

Yuder replied honestly.

Kishiar smiled, his expression holding a mix of emotion.

“Good. Like I said before—next time, I’ll invite you there myself. You can tell me then what felt different between this sea and that one.”