Chapter 001: After the Storm (Part 1)

The first light of dawn finally shone upon the imperial palace in the capital. Though there was still the characteristic red hue of the sunrise, it paled in comparison to the blood-red tones of the palace.
In front of the main hall, rows of soldiers were cleaning the steps. Only after washing them with buckets of cold well water did the dark red stains gradually fade, though the faint smell of blood grew stronger with each wash.
From time to time, soldiers worked busily in the courtyard ahead of the hall, pulling out corpses from the sea of blood. Whether they were enemies or their own, they carefully removed their armor and weapons, dressed them in plain white clothes, wrapped them in straw mats, and then stored them separately.
The piles of corpses grew higher at the edge of the courtyard, yet the bloodshed seemed no less. The court maids and servants working nearby were horrified by the sight.
Most of them already knew what had happened last night, so though shocked, they continued with their tasks, as if the coup seemed distant to them.
Prime Minister Kimberly, Duke Green, and Abraham stood in front of the hall, watching silently. After a long while, Prime Minister Kimberly sighed and said, “So many lives… all gone like this… Ah…”
Duke Green shook his head and said calmly, “In history, hasn’t every coup been like this? If we hadn’t succeeded by luck this time, it wouldn’t be us standing here lamenting—it would be the Great Prince’s people.”
At the mention of the “Great Prince,” Duke Green felt his mouth grow dry. Clearly, the events of last night had even this brave duke feeling a hint of fear.
Prime Minister Kimberly nodded in agreement.
Abraham, on the other hand, stared at the scene before him and suddenly snorted, “The prince really is something. It will take forever to clean up all these corpses. It would be better if I cast a few spells to burn them all.”
“That’s not how it works. Among these corpses are many warriors who fought for our Gavin Empire. We couldn’t ensure they lived well in life; at least we shouldn’t deny them a proper burial after death,” Prince Fisher said in a calm tone. The three men in front of the hall exchanged glances and stepped aside.

Then a creaking sound was heard as the doors of the grand hall were slowly pushed open. Prince Fischer, with a gloomy expression, stepped out slowly. There seemed to be a peculiar smell of death around him, one that caused unbearable discomfort upon inhalation. But who would dare to say anything at such a moment?

The three people outside the hall took this opportunity to look inside. Through the layers of curtains, it seemed as though the old emperor was still sitting on his throne. Yet they all knew very well that even if the old emperor didn’t die, Prince Fischer had a hundred ways to kill him.

After stepping out of the hall, Prince Fischer casually closed the doors. Then he stood at the entrance, looking at everything before him, and suddenly sighed, “My father’s soul has returned to the embrace of the Heavenly Father! What should we do now?”

Though he said this, there was not a trace of sorrow in his eyes; instead, his face carried a meaningful expression.

Prime Minister Kimberly, standing to Prince Fischer’s left, suddenly sighed. Then he reached into his sleeve and pulled out a scroll, knelt down, and slowly placed it before Prince Fischer.

Prince Fischer gave Prime Minister Kimberly a half-smile before taking the scroll and opening it.

“Prince Fischer is hereby appointed crown prince. After a hundred years, he may inherit the supreme throne!”

These words were neatly written on the scroll in an elegant script. There were also faint magical fluctuations on it—should anyone try to alter its contents, the scroll would be reduced to ashes.

This showed that Emperor Austin III must have written this edict in a state of complete calm. The signature at the end of the scroll was still bold and clear, just like the final seal.

With this document, Prince Fischer’s status as crown prince was officially confirmed. In other words, Prince Fischer was now the undisputed crown prince.

After reading it, a faint smile finally appeared on Prince Fischer’s face. He glanced at Prime Minister Kimberly and said, “Prime Minister, please stand up… Let the three of us also take a look at the contents of this edict!”

With that, Prince Fischer spread the scroll out before him.

“So, what should we do next?” he asked indifferently.

Prime Minister Kimberly’s eyes flickered slightly, but he still bowed slightly and said, “Your Majesty… According to the rules, this edict should be distributed to all departments of the empire at this moment to affirm Your Majesty’s status. Since Emperor Austin III has passed away, a state funeral should be held seven days later… The whole nation will observe mourning for three years, after which Your Majesty can officially ascend the throne.”

Prince Fischer nodded slightly, thrust the edict into Prime Minister Kimberly’s hands, and said calmly, “Very well… You must be familiar with these matters, Prime Minister. Leave them to you… But there is one thing you must remember… I, Fischer, have not yet ascended the throne and am not the supreme ruler. So please address me as ‘Your Highness,’ not ‘Your Majesty’… Please also convey this message so that those nobles do not get it wrong!”

A strange look flashed in Prime Minister Kimberly’s eyes, but he still bowed deeply.

…

Emperor Austin III had passed away, the eldest prince had died in a coup, and the body of the second prince was found in the city guard headquarters at the northern gate of the capital. All these events spread to every department in the capital within days, along with Emperor Austin III’s edict.

The various departments in the capital did not take any extreme actions in response to these news. After all, most of the nobles and officials were present during the coup and had already guessed the outcome to some extent.

Why had Emperor Austin III died? Why had the eldest prince died in a coup? Why had the previously incompetent second prince died in that way… Although everyone had many doubts, no one dared to voice them.

As for what happened on the day of the coup, these nobles were already prepared to keep everything that happened that night buried in silence.

Prince Fischer’s ascent to power was something expected… It’s just that many people did not expect it to be because Emperor Austin III had passed away, rather than him directly passing the throne…

Although Prince Fischer would only become Emperor Austin IV three years later, what difference did that make?

In the days that followed, Prince Fischer acted decisively, issuing orders one after another like a flowing stream.

The Belinger family had their ducal title revoked; all men, women, and children in the family were beheaded, their private army was disbanded, and all their lands and properties were taken over by the empire. As for the important figures who had fled, they were placed under nationwide arrest.

Lord Dox sacrificed himself for the empire at the last moment, thereby making amends for his past mistakes. The empire did not hold him accountable, but revoked his title and buried him with civilian rites. All the officers who died following the Crown Prince on the day of the coup were treated in the same manner. The remaining nobles, officials, and military generals involved in the coup were temporarily detained in the imperial capital’s prison, while their families were confined to their own residences, not allowed to come or go freely, to be dealt with later once sentences were determined. As for the imperial guards who participated in the coup—specifically those who followed the Crown Prince into the imperial palace—they were dismissed from their military ranks on the spot and barred from joining the army for life, though they were not charged with treason. The dead were buried with civilian rites… What puzzled everyone, however, was that aside from dealing with Duke Belinger, Prince Fische seemed to have forgotten about this action against the remnants of the Bauhinia Dynasty, issuing no relevant orders at all. Since Prince Fische himself didn’t speak up, who dared to ask? Meanwhile, everyone was relieved that Prince Fische seemed to have no taste for killing; even those military generals involved in the rebellion were spared if they were still alive… This was exceptionally lenient by historical standards, as those who lost coups in the past were usually exterminated. Yet Prince Fische clearly showed no intention of pursuing accountability… Which seemed, oddly, not to be a good sign! After all, the lives and fortunes of the nobles who followed Prince Fische always depended on him. Now that he had come to power, these subordinates should at least reap some benefits, right? But since Prince Fische didn’t mention these matters, who would dare to bring them up? Aside from a few foolish people who, encouraged by others, risked submitting petitions only to be scolded by Prince Fische, the rest simply waited quietly… After all, it wasn’t easy to guess Prince Fische’s intentions!