C580
The most ignominious death in imperial history.
That's how media worldwide described the end of the Emperor.
Since the birth of the empire, it's not that the position of the Vermont family has been in jeopardy or that the Emperor has not been overthrown for abusive conduct, but there has never been a more inglorious end than that of Amir Vermont.
Amir Vermont was the first Emperor who died and couldn't have a proper funeral.
Instead, the people wanted to leave the ground in the middle of the square, where Amir became a dark stain, as a lesson for the rulers of Vermont.
Near the spot where Amir's stain remained, there were many large and small stones thrown by the people.
Those stones will never be removed.
It was an ugly sight that didn't fit the palace square, famous for being beautiful and clean, but the people of Vermont were proud of it.
Although the public booed the Emperor when he called Hairan a traitor, they couldn't protest, but it was nice to be able to express the fact that they always supported Hairan more than the imperial family.Of course, to Dante's eyes, such people didn't seem unpleasant or hypocritical.
"If anything, the late Amir Vermont did well in giving voice to the people," said Dante, filling the tea cup in front of him.
One of the two cups belonged to Kashimir.
"However, I've rarely heard of him. Still, I admit he didn't catch and kill or oppress just because people raised their voices. There are many emperors who can't even do that."
"Kashimir-nim."
"Yes, Dante-nim."
"You must have heard something from Jin."
"Well, I..."
What do you think about ascending to the throne after the empire normalizes?
Dante didn't ask that.
As if he didn't have the right to refuse.
"Why me?"
"Aren't you a member of the imperial family? Moreover, you are the Chief of the Seven-Colored Peacocks, who have not forgotten their loyalty to the Empire, not the imperial family... Besides, seven families are also with you."
Kashimir's original last name is Vermont, not Alprion, and he is the younger brother of Amir Vermont, the former prince.
Dante thought that Kashimir's job to rule the empire was more about fulfilling his duty as an imperial family member than gaining power.
In other words, as an imperial family, they had to pay the price. Being a good ruler.
"Among the rest of the trash in the imperial family, no one can take responsibility for this incident. The reason I asked to see the lord was not to inquire about your wishes. I just wanted to share a story in person. And..."
Dante bowed his head once.
"I also wanted to personally apologize."
"Why apologize?"
"Because, sir, you surely needed a chance for revenge."
Jin awaits the day when Kashimir tells him why he became the ruined prince, but Dante already knew.
Dante is currently the patriarch of Hairan.
Therefore, he could see all the information of Hairan, and many records disappeared when the Sword Emperor's castle was destroyed, but the documents about Kashimir remained here, in Hairan's second castle.
According to the record...
Kashimir became a deposed prince due to Amir Vermont's direct slander.
It's common. Kashimir lost his loved ones in the process and settled in Tikan with the remaining loyalists and Alisa, who were almost devastated.
It wasn't something he couldn't tell Jin, but Kashimir still found it hard to recall.
"...I would be lying if I said it's not true, but avenging Amir Vermont is just one aspect of my life. If revenge was everything, I would have told the whole world what he did to me and my family at the time, and how he held people hostage."
Kashimir let out a long sigh.
"So there's no need to feel sorry for me. Let's get to the point. It seems that what the Lord wants to hear from me is about politics."
"That's right."
"Dante-nim, you will announce your regency tomorrow, right?"
"Yes."
"Move it up right now."
Dante's eyes widened.
"For what reason?"
"If my predictions are correct, the Imperial Family will release an article about Amir Vermont who died today. It's not just blaspheming and ridiculing his death, like other news outlets, but a statement that the imperial family has nothing to do with the turmoil he caused."
It was a problem that Dante had already foreseen.
So there was a plan to respond calmly, but Kashimir had a different idea.
"Your regency must not give the impression of being slower than the Imperial Family from the beginning. Although it's a day before the official announcement date, so fewer people will come to your campaign, but it doesn't matter because public sentiment is towards the lord anyway."
"It's slower."
"If the imperial family cuts ties right after declaring the regency, it will be a blow to them. In particular, the people may not know it, but the nobles will definitely see it that way."
"But if we announce it a day earlier for that reason, doesn't it break the promise we made to the people from the beginning?"
"That's a good point. Obviously, it's not good to make that decision just because you don't want to lose the first strike."
If the regency declaration is moved up by a day, the imperial family will urgently send an article accordingly.
The fact that Dante broke his promise and tyranny were personal deviations of the emperor.
However, the Vamel alliance has a card that the imperial family didn't know.
"It's a trap. If the imperial family starts responding to the regency proclamation earlier than expected, we will present undeniable proof that the imperial family participated in the emperor's madness."
"Proof?"
When Kashimir explained it, Dante's eyes widened.
"Indeed... As expected, I think my choice to entrust the empire to you was correct. I have no power in that realm of politics and governance."
"Well, in my opinion, you have a kind of power similar to Jin-nim, sir. There's the power to attract people. That's why Hairan is loved by the people even though it was revealed to have a White Stone."
The White Stone existed, causing Chaos throughout the empire.
Indeed, Hairan could earn people's resentment just for having the White Stone, regardless of the causal relationship.
Even if Gliek couldn't awaken if it weren't for Zipple and the Emperor.
"If such a thing exists, it would be the power that my grandfather and all of Hairan have, not me."
"Anyway, let's go. To strike against the filthy mystics."
The expectation that the people wouldn't come in masses for the regency declaration was unfounded.
As soon as Dante left Hairan's second castle and set out, the people waiting for him rushed to the imperial palace like a tide.
When the emperor expelled Hairan as a traitor, he climbed onto a huge golden palanquin and looked at the people.
Dante stood on a stone thrown by the people.
"Until the empire returns to normal, I, Dante Hairan, will act as regent for the heir of Amir Vermont, Kuron Vermont."
The people cheered as if they had been waiting for it, and the faces of the imperial family's servants, who hurriedly came out to the square, wrinkled.
But it was still too early for their faces to distort.
"There is no way Kuron Vermont will officially ascend to the throne. He will remain just a scarecrow for a cause until the end of my regency, and when the time comes, he will be disqualified and become an ordinary person again, not a member of the imperial family."
It was Kashimir's opinion on how to openly tell Kuron that he is a scarecrow.
"What, what! It's an insult to the imperial family!"
"His Highness Kuron did nothing wrong in this incident! He is only nine years old now. He did not participate in Amir Vermont's depravity."
"Whatever the reason, they will not be strangers to the damage caused to the empire by the White Stone. Do you think Hairan is qualified to usurp the throne?"
A few nobles raised their voices.
"Hairan is not usurping the throne. It's impossible for any family other than Vermont to ascend to the throne. So, when a cleaner imperial family that everyone can recognize appears, I will actively support them so that they can ascend to the throne."
"Ha! Aren't you saying that you will build another scarecrow after Kuron-nim falls to rule the empire from behind?"
Dante made eye contact with the noble who said that.
He seemed to shudder at the killing intent he felt from Dante for a moment.
"Don't you know Hairan's loyalty, proven throughout history? If we wanted to do something like that, Hairan would have become a new imperial family long ago. It's possible even now when my grandfather is not here."
When Dante raised his aura, the entire area shook.
Having inherited all of Ron's talent and being freed from chaos, he was revealing energy incomparably greater than before.
"Does the imperial family have any means to stop me now? It will be difficult to borrow Zipple's power right now. The reason I still keep the rotten imperial family and the empire's nobility alive is not because I have erased my resentment... It's just because you still have work to do on this land."
"Ha... That's good. Let's correct that what you are doing is seizing power, not the throne. But don't forget, the people may be on Hairan's side now, but unjustified usurpation will eventually turn the public against you again!"
After this, the nobles left the square with trembling legs.
It was because they had to go back and prepare for a response.
Dante turned his gaze back to the people.
"As regent, the first thing I will do is relocate the capital. I don't mean to move all facilities and administrative institutions, including the imperial palace, but I will simply choose the territory of the Sword Emperor's castle as a symbolic capital."
The people were in an uproar.
And indeed, moving the capital to the Sword Emperor's castle seemed truly like a power seizure, as the nobles claimed.
"Currently, the Sword Emperor's castle has become a land of death where you can't even enter due to the aftermath of chaos, but there is a light to purify the contaminated empire. It will be possible to observe that light in a few months, so you should take a look then. After seeing it, if the symbolic capital relocation is considered unreasonable, I will withdraw it. And the second thing to do..."
Dante's eyes filled with sadness.
"It's a joint funeral. For ten days from today, we will hold a national funeral and erect a tombstone in honor of those who fought for the Empire and Hairan."
Everyone agreed on that part.
It's time for both those who committed atrocities and those who defended the Empire from them to pay the price.
"The third is to make every possible effort to clean the contaminated areas. After completing these three tasks, I will step down from the regent position and return to defend the empire as the lord of the Sword Emperor's Castle."
From that day on, Dante's brief and bold statement about the regency and articles about the state of the empire poured out in torrents.
And as Kashimir expected, the imperial family immediately started cutting ties to the emperor.
As soon as articles began to pour out that the imperial family and the emperor were not related, the empire received "proof of their solidarity."
It was the corpse of a Demon Man that Jin obtained in the Wantaramo Forest in the past and left with Valeria.