Chapter 177
【 The Beginning of the Rebellion 】
Through Jason, we successfully entered the Imperial Palace.
Of course, the fact that we arrived in Layla’s room was something none of us had expected.
Still, in the end, it wasn’t necessarily a bad outcome.
“Where’s my father right now? I think he’s in his office.”
“Who is he with?”
“When I saw earlier, Lord Kafka and Lord Andrew. The two of them went in together. Oh, and I also saw a few military personnel entering with them.”
I nodded at Layla’s reply.
Nazar had taken only the people he needed most at the moment.
He seemed to be trying to find a solution by consulting with only those essential to the situation.
“Lady Layla, could you guide us there?”
“Of course. But before that… I think I need some explanation first.”
Layla first turned her gaze toward Jason.
“You suddenly disappeared a few days ago, and now that I see you again, what’s with this mess? Did you go camping or something?”
“Everyone keeps saying that. I really should take a bath soon.”
Jason gave a hollow laugh as he tried to straighten his messy hair with his hand.
“Well, at least you’re not hurt. I was worried something might have happened since the palace was under attack.”
“I’m still fine. But outside… things aren’t looking good, are they? Father told me to stay in my room, so I don’t really know what’s going on. What exactly is happening?”
At Layla’s question, Jason glanced my way.
I gave a nod in return.
“I’ll explain everything—the current situation, what happened, and the background behind it. But not here. I’ll do so in the presence of His Majesty the Emperor and everyone gathered.”
“Hmm… fine. So, you’re basically asking me to take you to my father right away?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“All right, I’ll lead you. But before that, one last thing…”
The blonde-haired princess then turned toward Sara.
“I heard you bought a bunch of teleport scrolls yesterday, saying you were going home to pack up?”
“…That’s right. But when I returned home, I got caught up in something unintended.”
“So it seems. But, Sara, what I really want to ask is—are you still thinking the same? You truly won’t pick up your sword ever again?”
“Your Highness, as I told you before I left for Muktaba… I am no longer in a state where I can wield a sword.”
Sara raised her bandaged right arm.
Layla gave her a faint, bittersweet smile at the sight.
“So, you’re saying you’ll cut ties with the Isrinbloom Family and walk a different path?”
“I thought that would be for the best. I might even renounce the Isrinbloom name altogether…”
“Then you won’t be able to keep the promise you made—to protect me?”
“…I’m sorry.”
Sara bowed her head, her voice trembling.
As she seemed on the verge of tears, Layla gently pulled her into an embrace.
“Let’s find a way together. There must be a way to heal your arm. And… there will surely be things that only you can do.”
“…Thank you.”
“But first, we should deal with the urgent matter at hand.”
After giving Sara another small smile,
Layla looked back at me.
“Follow me. I’ll take you to the office. Everyone here is coming, right? Instructor Luke, Instructor Kara, and Roy as well.”
“Yes, we’ll all go together.”
“Jason?”
“It feels like it’s been ages, Father. Have you been well—ouch?!”
As we entered the office, what met our eyes were His Majesty the Emperor, Nazar, and Kafka and Andrew.
Just the three of them.
The military personnel Layla had mentioned earlier were nowhere to be seen.
As soon as we entered the room, the first to approach us was Andrew—to be precise, he immediately rushed over to his son, whom he hadn’t seen in a while.
He ran straight up and smacked Jason hard on the head.
“Where have you been all this time? And you pick now of all times to return? Things are chaotic enough already, and your sudden appearance just makes it worse.”
“Didn’t raising me already make you used to chaos?”
“…I thought I was, but apparently not.”
Andrew exchanged words with Jason, then turned his head toward me.
“Gideon. Jason headed for Muktaba alone not long ago. How did you end up coming back with him? And right now, the Isrinbloom Ducal Family, the rulers of Muktaba, have brought their army into the capital. I was already suspicious of Dilug’s strange behavior and sudden disappearance, and of Eisen manipulating lava… I was about to move when—now I need you to tell me everything you kno—”
“Lisaaa! You’re not hurt, right?! Do you have any idea how worried I was when you suddenly disappeared?! I couldn’t reach you since yesterday!”
Kafka abruptly dashed toward Lisa and pulled her into a tight hug.
Lisa looked clearly uncomfortable, but Kafka kept checking her all over for injuries.
“Are you hurt anywhere? It was shocking enough that you suddenly disappeared yesterday, but then at dawn, those Isrinbloom bastards suddenly entered the capital and started all that mess…! And in the middle of all this, I couldn’t even reach you! Do you know how worried I was?”
“M-Mother, I’m fine…”
“Yeah, you look fine. Then… my dear son-in-law! You didn’t contact me since yesterday either—I was so worried!”
Kafka suddenly pulled me into a hug and began checking me all over, just as she had done with Lisa.
“You’re not hurt anywhere, right? Seriously, you really are Lisa’s boyfriend—unexpectedly dependable in these situations…”
“Kafka, let’s talk about that later. We have more pressing matters right now.”
“Right. Andrew’s right. We should handle what’s urgent first.”
Nazar, who had been quietly observing us, slowly rose from his seat with a faint smile.
“Gideon and Lisa, Jason… and even Sara. Luke is here too… and Kara, you’re with them as well. But the student standing beside you…”
“I’m Roy Varbellos. It’s an honor to meet Your Majesty.”
“Ah, a child of House Varbellos, I see. Very well… Let’s set aside formal greetings for now…”
Nazar turned to his daughter.
“Layla, how did you gather these people?”
“Well… I didn’t really gather them. Jason suddenly dropped down from my ceiling, along with the others. He said he wanted to meet you, Father.”
“Wait a second. Your Highness, did my son just drop from your ceiling?”
“Yes. He suddenly appeared out of the crawl space above and came down.”
“Hmm.”
Andrew looked at Jason, who smiled awkwardly.
“I think we’ll need to revise the map we keep at home.”
“…Yeah. It’s been a while since I last checked it.”
“Hey, Andrew. What are you talking about? Did you make some secret passage in the palace that even I don’t know about?”
“I didn’t make it—it’s been there for ages. There are tons of hidden passages in this palace that even you royals don’t know of.”
Andrew replied casually, then quickly changed the topic.
“We can discuss that later… Gideon, could you finish what you were saying earlier? And that story you’ve been hiding all this time—it’s connected to the current situation, isn’t it?”
“Yes, it is. The reason I hadn’t told you before was because I wasn’t certain myself. But now I know everything, and the situation is clear. I’ll explain everything.”
With those words, I glanced out the window.
Outside the palace, countless troops were gathered.
They were facing off against the soldiers defending the Imperial Palace.
“But what I’m about to say might take some time. Will that be all right? Considering what’s happening outside…”
“They’ll hold for at least two hours.”
Kafka answered for me.
“But if possible, finish within one. After an hour, I’ll probably have to go out there myself.”
“Understood. Then I’ll make it as quick as possible. In that case… Jason, the documents you retrieved from the vault earlier…”
After I told everyone everything I had discovered—
“…Nazar, I think I need a moment to organize my thoughts.”
“Same here. Let’s take ten minutes?”
“Ohhh, so my son-in-law is… the descendant of the Fourth Duke erased from history—the only surviving heir. Isn’t that so cool? Gideon, you’re really… oof?!”
“Mother, please read the room. Save that for later.”
Well, it was understandable. Both dukes and the emperor looked quite shocked by the revelation.
And Luke, Kara, Roy, and Sara—who had all just heard about the Mainac Family for the first time—were the same.
They already knew about the Isrinbloom Family and Bedir, but not about mine.
“Gideon, so you’re saying you’re a descendant of the family that was once the Empire’s Fourth Ducal House?”
“According to the records, yes… but I’m still not certain. We haven’t confirmed the authenticity of those records yet.”
“But if that’s true, then you…”
“You don’t need to concern yourselves with me being a duke’s descendant. Even if the truth is revealed, reclaiming a ducal title would be… quite impossible.”
At my words, Sara nodded.
As someone of a ducal family herself, she would understand.
Even if I carried the bloodline of a fallen ducal house, reviving it from nothing would be close to impossible.
“Gideon.”
“Yes, Instructor?”
“You never stop surprising me. I always knew there was something extraordinary about you, but to think you had such a secret…”
“I only found out a few hours ago myself, so I’m just as confused.”
“Heh. You’re truly a student I’ll never forget.”
After that brief exchange with Luke, Kara quietly approached me and whispered.
“I understand now that your family had such a secret. But there’s still something I’m curious about.”
“What is it?”
“Remember when we went to the Protected Zone for Other Races? I mentioned then that there was something about your body that resembled the elves.”
“Ah, yes. I remember.”
“Maybe the answer to that lies in your family’s history too. You might find something if you dig deeper.”
“I’ll look into that later. But Instructor…”
“Yes?”
Perhaps noticing the shift in my gaze, Kara looked at me with slight unease.
“Since we’re on the topic of other races, I think it’s time to put my plan into motion.”
“W-What plan?”
“Please, come with me.”
I led Kara to stand before Nazar.
He still seemed shaken, likely because of the Isrinbloom Family’s past rebellion against the Empire.
But as we approached, he gave a small smile and spoke.
“Gideon. Do you have something to say to me?”
“There’s something I wish to ask of you.”
“A request? What kind of request?”
“The treaty that the Empire signed centuries ago after defeating the other races in the war—do you remember it?”
“That treaty… yes, I know of it.”
“I’d like you to annul it.”