Age of Adventure

Edward had always hidden his claws when he is in front of the Chancellor.

It is because he knew if he bares his fangs and strike toward the Chancellor with his claws, his fang would be broken and his claw would be ripped off.

Nobody knows how fearsome the Chancellor really is until they have the opportunity to be beside him.

And Edward was beside this enigmatic persona for years, seeing how he plots and scheme in the dark, moving his chess pieces across this grand chessboard which is the world

In the years after the death of his father, the Chancellor had run the Empire and control basically everything

And there was a more important reason why even after all the things that the Chancellor had done, like solidifying his rule, acknowledging his coronation and others things that the Chancellor had done, Edward still could not afford to trust the Chancellor

It is because there is something that he did in the past that he did not want the Chancellor to know.

The moment the Chancellor knew what he had done, then the Chancellor would surely fall out with the Imperial family.

And probably the Chancellor would rush into and storm the Capital to take his head.

Haish’ he sighed again.

He had his own plains on how to deter the invasion force from Veranis.

He did not think that Aero would suddenly appears in the Plain and lead the charge to victory and even prepared all kinds of subterfuge against the western kingdoms.

The news had already spread of how the Chancellor had ride his white horse cutting a straight line toward the king of Veranis and cut him down.

He fighting by his lonesome, killing tens of thousands of Veranis soldiers, becoming the integral reason why the Veranis army was so easily destroyed and annihilated the main bulk of the Veranisian army and now is marching toward Veranis capital with the full intention of annexing Veranis into the territory of the Empire.

And the news had already circulated that the death of the Vlad family was pinned on Aero because he had found out the conspiracy to topple Vanheim imperial court from the four families of Karak.

Vlad family was on the side of the Emperor and was massacred by the other three families in a coordinated attack.

At that time, the Chancellor was there and he had to hide as the world point the death of the entire family of Vlad to him.

He was framed and besmirched by people with bad intentions toward him and the Empire

Now, that the three families had rebelled, he could no longer hide and come out to the world stage again to aid the Empire to eradicate these invaders.

These are the report that had been sent to the Capital and is now spreading to all the cities all over the Empire.

Everyone believe the report and the innocence of the Chancellor because it is logical.

Why would the Chancellor who have no grudges and enmity with the Vlad family massacre a noble family in Karak? And everyone knows that the Vlad family leaned toward the imperial court.

But Edward knew that it is a load of bull. But he could not say how he knew because that would make people started asking question.

He was the one that orchestrated the killing of the Vlad family.

If anyone were to know of this fact, the reputation that the Chancellor had built of him as a wise and benevolent Emperor would crumble to ashes

Yes, the Vlad family is one of his supporters. Then why would he would massacre the entire Vlad family?

Because Edward was full on unease especially after there was news in the dark markets that Aero met with the Vlad family.

Edward hired the Blood Brotherhood to massacre the entire Vlad family.

The reason why he killed the Vlad family is because the patriarch of the Vlad family knows some secret he should not have known. Of course the patriarch promises him that he would never tell the secret to anyone.

And the patriarch of the Vlad family kept his word all of this time.

But when he got a report from his own secret intelligence corps saying that the Chancellor had went to seek shelter in the Vlad residence, Edward could not help but feel fear gripping his heart.

The secret that Vlad knows could potentially split apart the Empire. And while he had always trusted the Vlad patriarch to keep the secret, he knows that as long as the Vlad patriarch is alive, there is always a chance for that secret to come out.

The Vlad family have a weapon that could constrain him and that is why they keep supporting him.

Because if there ever was a time when he went out of bound with Karak, the Vlad family could always release that secret to the world and destroy everything that he is building.

The only way to make sure the secret did not come out from Vlad mouth is for him to die.

As for pinning the crime to the Chancellor, that is both his doing and James. Of course, the reason for both of them pining the crime to the Chancellor is different

James probably pin the crime on the Chancellor hoping to destroyed the reputation of the sagely strategist of the Empire.

As for him? He wanted the Chancellor to owe him one.

Who could have thought that the Chancellor in these two years did not even seek him and instead preparing to debut in the world stages with such an impactful deed to the Empire?

And now he even spins some new truth.

Somehow, Vlad family become a loyalist to the imperial court and the true perpetrator of the matter of the massacre of the Vlad family is now pinned onto the heads of the three noble families.

The Chancellor become a witness to this accusation.

And who would dare challenge his side of the story when it is this logical? After all, it is proven that Karak against all expectation sided with Veranis.

People had already been flouting the idea that Karak had been in conspiracy with Veranis the moment Veranis attack the western border.

And now, Aero only take that narrative and insert a few more colorful story into it.

The Empire would surely believe the Chancellor since he had no obvious motive. Even in the beginning of that matter, many people believed that the Chancellor had no good reason to massacre the Vlad family.

However, after the disappearance of the Chancellor many people see it as an admission of guilt.

But now, with a new narrative being pushed, people are more inclined to believe in the logical narrative that is being presented by the Chancellor.

If Kara falls, this act of the Chancellor would then enable a smooth path to full control.

With Aero accusing the Three Noble families of Karak is responsible for the death of the Vlad family, the Chancellor now have justification to kill and execute the nobles of the Three noble families of Kara without inducing the hatred of the Karakian.

Knowing the Chancellor, Edward bet he already had planned this accusation to give him the maximum benefit.

The Chancellor knew that the truth did not matter.

It matters that the problem is solved.

He gives a solution.

Now, not only the Chancellor could return to the Empire with an unstained reputation, he would also return with another merit on his belt, adding another protection layer around him

How could he, the Emperor punish him later if he did anything out of line? The Chancellor is already the most meritorious official in the Empire

’Father, you have left a great danger to me’ the Chancellor is a great talent that the Empire needed.

But he is also an obstacle to the power of the Emperor.

He won a great victory in the Plains and now, he is about to take over the Veranis capital.

If he succeeded, not only Aero prestige would rise to a new high, his position would become even more unshakable.

Everyone knew why the Chancellor possess so much power in the imperial court.

It is not simply because he is a great statesman and a great politician, it is because of his merit in defeating Vetten and solving the problems of King George during the early years of the founding of the Empire.

His warning that he always dispenses toward the Parliament and the previous King had also shows its merit.

The Chancellor once warn to not take Niovar violently. One must exercise caution in waging war and must rule with benevolence.

The world would accept such King that offers benevolence, but reject those who only wanted to kill and spread war.

James had done so, implementing harsh measure that started a rebellion and making Niovar a hotbed for insurrectionist activities

If the court had listened to the Chancellor when he had warned them and waited a few more years to stabilize a lot of the problems and slowly taking Niovar, employ mercy when needed and strict when necessary, then the Niovarian would not have rejected the Empire rule this hard

And it is probably for that reason that the King at his last breath chose Edward to succeed him.

Now, the Chancellor would even take Veranis back. What more rewards could he give the Chancellor? Is there anything in the Empire that he did not already have?

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