C671
Seven.
Despite the various tragedies that had occurred, Dante had quickly gained absolute power in the Empire over the past three years.
Normally, power obtained so swiftly is precarious.
However, with only seven traitors, it was a testament to how well Dante and his advisor, Kashimir, had been doing.
Euria handed Dante a diagram of the traitors' locations that had been previously drawn.
"Three tenth-grade officials, three seventh-grade, and one fifth-grade."
Jin also glanced at the positions of the traitors.
"They are too insignificant to be recruited to assassinate the regent of the empire."
At first glance, all of them were people who did not even have a trace of political power or notable skills.They were simple officials.
Dante also had the same question.
He couldn't think of anything these officials could do to assassinate him.
However, external status and skills can change at any time.
Zephyrin had proven it, and the Prophet's power of chaos control could transform people in different ways.
"Well, I think everyone is too busy to even consider betrayal."
At those words, quite a few of his servants cursed in their hearts, saying, "What the hell is this?" but those who lied were not included.
Silence fell. Even as Euria was checking the liars, the hall remained silent for nearly ten minutes, and the officials couldn't understand why Dante was acting this way.
Then, after a long period of contemplation, Dante turned his head toward Jin and gestured for him to approach.
What?
"I knew those seven could be traitors, but what's the best way to ask the next question?"
"How have you become so stupid in my absence? You're asking that question now."
"I've always had a somewhat dense side."
I should have organized the list of questions for you in advance. Don't worry, Dante.
Ask if anyone has passed information to Runcandel.
That way, you'll know if they just changed their minds or truly betrayed you.
I see.
Dante cleared his throat.
"Ahem! Since there aren't many questions left, you must understand my eccentric behavior."
"No, it's not!"
"No, it's not!"
Euria thought about listing the liars as well, but she stopped because there were too many.
"Among those present here, has anyone informed the Garden of Swords about me or the Empire?"
Of course, the answer was no.
However, the seven who were first highlighted by the power of truth kept lying.
Jin soon discovered why the Garden of Swords had recruited such ordinary people as aides.
"The entrance to the imperial castle. If the Prophet didn't grant them special abilities, it means they just need to enter the imperial castle."
The reason for needing to enter and exit the imperial castle was obvious. The internal structure.
The Vermont Imperial Castle was the largest exterior building in the world and had the most complex internal structure.
Especially secret areas, like the emperor's residence or underground passages, were unknown to most other powerful forces.
"Not even the seven traitors identified as low and mid-level agents can know all those secret areas."
It was natural that forces like Runcandel, Zipple, and Nameless couldn't figure it out even after planting numerous spies in the imperial family for a long time. ᚱ
Moreover, the location of the imperial family's secret areas changed irregularly.
Then, why them?
Jin made a guess.
"The tunnel the Prophet made in the past in Sota Desert... What if she needs the help of an imperial servant to do it? She might need a rough idea of the palace's internal structure, though not very detailed."
Even with that assumption, there were still questions.
Dante has often been alone on missions in the contaminated zone, so a time like that would be more appropriate if he were to be assassinated.
"I can gradually figure out why she chose the imperial castle instead when he was on a solo mission."
First, he needed to confirm what information they had provided and if his assumptions were correct.
"Jin."
"Finally, ask if any of the gathered subordinates have received chaos or other special abilities."
Dante nodded.
"Final question. Among the gathered subordinates, has anyone received chaos or other special abilities?"
"No!"
Not a single person lied this time.
That meant that even if they were captured immediately, there would be no other casualties.
"Arrest those individuals."
As Jin whispered, Dante revealed the anger he had been suppressing.
"Hairan!"
"Your orders, Patriarch!"
"Arrest Kima Wrights, Julian Wrights, Edmond Kell, Deva Roskela, Bernard Qian, Killane Knash, and Ata Boin immediately."
Hairan's elite, who attended the meeting, detained them before even fifteen seconds had passed.
The subordinates were dumbfounded by the sudden turn of events.
They had been summoned out of nowhere and were now being intimidated by these thugs.
Some even thought that Dante had finally unleashed his revenge against Ron and had become a tyrant.
"Your Majesty, why are you doing this?"
"Your Majesty, why are you doing this to us?"
"I will tell my truth so that other subordinates do not misunderstand me. The person behind me is the Princess of Tikan Free City and a Thousand Year Contractor of Azmil."
"Ah...!"
Everyone exclaimed.
If the disguised girl was Euria Alfrion, then the identity of the man who was exchanging whispers with the regent was obvious.
There was no longer any reason to hide his identity.
"We are from the Vamel Alliance, Jin Runcandel. Our Alliance's informants have discovered that the imperial family has betrayed Zipple and sided with the Garden of Swords. Therefore, it was urgent to find out if there was anyone in the Empire in contact with the Garden of Swords."
The imprisoned traitors knelt before Dante.
Dante immediately covered Euria's eyes as he drew his sword and struck the neck of one of them.
Thick, spilling blood quickly stained the golden floor.
"Hee, hee."
"Oh, it's a misunderstanding. I didn't betray."
"Shut up. The one who died painlessly before was just lucky. You guys are unlucky."
The traitors trembled and looked around.
Not only Dante and Jin's group but even the servants who felt rage and hatred for the terrible overwork under the regent looked at them as if they would kill them.
Although they didn't like Dante, it was true that all the servants gathered here dedicated their lives to the empire.
They all felt great pride that the imperial capital was in such good condition in this chaotic era, and they thought there was no other path for the empire than Dante's.
But those traitors were trying to ruin it all.
"If you want to save yourself even a little bad luck, it's best that from now on, you answer my questions in detail with complete sincerity."
As Dante gestured, the attendants quickly dealt with the corpses and cleaned up the blood.
Euria, who opened her eyes again, saw that only six people remained, and she thought Dante had unexpectedly brutal power.
"First, what did the Garden of Swords promise you?"
Jin had expected it to be eternal life, as fools like the Bartons and Seygalga elders had said in the past.
"...survival."
One of the traitors looked Dante in the eyes.
He had the calmest eyes among the remaining six. He was determined for that day to come someday.
"Survival?"
"Majesty... we met personally with Rosa-nim. To be precise, it was an encounter through some kind of crystal ball, but we could see the power Runcandel possessed through a conversation with her. She said she would destroy everything in the world except Hufester."
"So you betrayed the Empire to get under Rosa's wing and live a miserable life, is that it?"
"If you truly care about the Empire, you must surrender to Rosa-nim even now. I may be a traitor, but it's the only advice I can give you."
According to Euria, the traitors, including him, sincerely thought so. Not just the empire, but the entire world would be powerless against Rosa.
"I won't blame your weak decisions. So you must accept the punishment that will come to you in the future."
"...You intend to annihilate our entire family."
"Everything in your family will be erased from this world. But if you confess the information you gave to Rosa, I will spare the innocent children and servants."
Euria showed a blue rope, revealing that Dante's words were true. The traitor speaking with Dante lowered his head.
"There isn't much information low-ranking subjects like us can know, Majesty. The information we gave to Rosa was the entire palace structure, as we promised."
At that moment, Jin recalled the Prophet's Tunnel.
"Did they explain what they would do with that information?"
"No, they didn't."
It was the truth.
As Jin expected, they had no information that could be passed to Runecandel, apart from the approximate palace structure.
In fact, Rosa did not ask for any other information.
"I will fulfill my promise. Take them away."
"Yes, sir!"
As the traitors were dragged away, all the servants showed distorted faces.
Their anger was directed at Rosa and the Garden of Swords, not at Dante.
Jin stepped forward.
"The Prophet of the Garden of Swords has the ability to create special tunnels. It's highly likely that they asked the traitors about the internal structure to fabricate it. They might not only have tried to assassinate the regent but could have attempted to invade the imperial castle through the tunnel."
Therefore, their next task was to confirm if tunnels had already been formed inside the palace.
Dante had already thought of a way to do it.
"We will destroy the entire palace to find out. Since it's filled with symbols of the lost imperial family anyway, there's nothing to regret. We will start immediately, so prepare yourselves."
-