Retanda was the first to realize that the current situation was not favorable.

He knew better than anyone else where the Lazent Empire’s military forces were stationed. That’s precisely why he had boldly led the duchy’s troops to encircle the capital.

Moreover, whether it was Seiji or Dekain, any troop movement was required to be reported to Retanda. Naturally, he was certain of victory.

But……

An unexpected pirate group, Teron, had appeared.

Due to the sudden emergence of the pirates, all sea routes were completely blocked.

That wasn’t all.

A small unit of exceptional skill was gradually whittling down Retanda’s forces surrounding the capital.

He had dispatched soldiers several times to capture them, but their ghost-like stealth made them impossible to catch.

‘Damn it. I don’t know who’s commanding them, but clearly it’s someone skilled in tactics.’

He mentally reviewed every general within the Lazent Empire, but none matched his suspicions—which only made his headache worse.

Retanda felt as though he’d encountered an enemy he’d never anticipated—one shrouded in mystery, whose very identity remained unknown.

While Retanda was racking his brain over this, one of his subordinates rushed urgently into his tent to report.

“Your Grace, we’ve finally caught their trail.”

“Have you identified them?”

“Yes. They are the secret organization known as the continent’s finest mercenary group—Snen.”

“Mercenary group Snen?”

Retanda had heard of them before; they were far too famous to ignore.

Snen’s fame stemmed not only from never failing a mission, but also from their peculiar trait—they weren’t simply mercenaries who moved for money alone.

It was impossible to determine who had hired them.

‘Is it the Second Prince’s faction? Or perhaps a new prince?’

Countless faces flashed through Retanda’s mind, but he had no way of knowing which one was behind this.

Ultimately, he decided to set aside the unanswerable question.

What mattered wasn’t who had hired Snen—it was devising an urgent strategy to stop them.

“I will formulate a plan immediately. Summon all officers.”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

Just as the subordinate bowed to leave Retanda’s tent—

He froze at the commotion erupting outside.

“Make way! I must see the Grand Duke!”

A sharp, piercing voice rang out right in front.

Retanda didn’t need to look to know who it was.

It was Laila—Shusain’s biological mother and Empress of the Lazent Empire.

Unconsciously, Retanda’s brow furrowed at Laila’s arrival.

As the situation grew increasingly unfavorable, Laila had been losing her composure. Dealing with her had become exhausting.

Retanda spoke in a deliberately lowered tone.

“Postpone the strategy meeting by thirty minutes. You may go.”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

The momentarily stunned subordinate bowed and exited the tent.

Immediately afterward, Laila stormed inside, huffing indignantly, trailed by soldiers attempting to restrain her.

“Your Majesty, you cannot enter the Grand Duke’s tent so recklessly!”

“Step aside! Do you dare block the path of the Empress of this nation!”

At the disturbance, Retanda turned toward Laila with an unmistakably annoyed expression, waving his hand dismissively to signal the soldiers to withdraw.

The soldiers, visibly flustered, bowed and retreated outside.

Left alone together, Laila opened her mouth with a displeased expression.

“Grand Duke, why do you keep avoiding me?”

“Your Majesty, why do you insist on visiting me at every odd hour?”

“Because I’m worried about how the situation is unfolding!”

“Your Majesty, if you are truly worried, shouldn’t you grant me time to resolve the situation?”

Laila’s face flushed momentarily with embarrassment—but to preserve her dignity as Empress, she brazenly retorted.

“Are you seriously criticizing me? The Empress of this nation?”

Retanda briefly smiled bitterly, though it vanished so quickly Laila didn’t notice.

“Of course not. But Your Majesty’s frequent visits make it appear, to any observer, as though we are in a state of emergency. I merely ask you to consider the soldiers’ morale.”

“What do I care what lowly soldiers think? As Empress, I cannot possibly concern myself with such trivial matters.”

At Laila’s foolish remark, Retanda’s frown deepened.

Laila was not an intelligent woman. She was also rather plain in appearance and exceedingly greedy.

That was precisely why the late Petro had chosen her as Empress—her intentions were transparent, making her easy to manipulate.

No one knew, but the late Petro and Retanda had shared a grand dream.

To destroy the Kalua Empire and establish the Lazent Empire as the strongest empire on the continent.

To fulfill that dream, nurtured since childhood, the two brothers had charged forward without looking back.

For Petro, a bastard, to become Emperor and seize real power, he needed to neutralize Kisanra. Hence, he married Laila, who belonged to the opposing faction.

Originally, Petro intended to father many children and select the most brilliant as his heir. Unfortunately, Laila’s body struggled to conceive.

Moreover, her greed led her to secretly eliminate other potential heirs, leaving Petro with very few options.

Though he eventually settled on Shusain, he knew the boy was far too immature to carry on their dream.

Petro often said while alive:

—“Brother, you’re the only one I can trust. If I should die first, I entrust you with the Lazent Empire. Crown the Crown Prince and guide him faithfully from his side.”

—“Don’t speak like that, Brother. Dying first? You must live long and realize our dream together.”

—“I wish I could… but it seems my time is short. Had I known, perhaps you should have taken the throne instead.”

—“Don’t trouble your heart over impossible things. Already, people whisper you lack legitimacy. Imagine if I, your younger brother, became Emperor instead.”

In truth, Petro had always truly wished to pass the throne not to Shusain, but to Retanda.

Retanda understood this. He, too, believed no one but himself was fit to lead the Lazent Empire.

That was why he planned to eliminate the Second Prince, Seiji, and Dekain, and install a five-year-old Emperor.

Though it pained him to kill Petro’s sons, he buried personal sentiment for the sake of the Lazent Empire.

‘Brother, you would understand my heart, wouldn’t you?’

Petro’s death had been sudden and unexpected.

Moreover, no one had foreseen Shusain’s disappearance.

Retanda had been forced to devise a contingency plan—he could never entrust the Lazent Empire to Seiji or Dekain.

While Retanda was lost in these memories, Laila spoke with visible discomfort.

“What are you thinking about, with me standing right here?”

“Nothing at all. As I’ve said before, if you wait quietly, I will bring you good news.”

“There are rampant rumors that the Crown Prince has voluntarily stepped down—how can I possibly sit still? You claimed you’d verify the truth, yet why haven’t you…?”

Suddenly!

Laila couldn’t finish her sentence. A subordinate burst abruptly into the tent.

The subordinate reported urgently.

“Your Grace, you must go to the city wall immediately.”

“What’s happened?”

“The Crown Prince has appeared atop the city wall.”

“…What did you say?”

It made no sense—Shusain had suddenly appeared on the wall out of nowhere.

Retanda had been in the midst of verifying the truth behind recent rumors that Shusain had voluntarily relinquished the Crown Prince title.

But inwardly, he didn’t believe it. He judged it likely fabricated by rival factions.

Even if Shusain was timid by nature, stepping down voluntarily made no sense—what benefit could he possibly gain?

Moreover, the opposing side would never let Shusain live. If roles were reversed, Retanda himself would have killed him the moment he was captured.

Hiding his confusion, Retanda followed the subordinate toward the wall where Shusain had reportedly appeared.

Laila, unwilling to be left behind, hurried after Retanda.

By the time they arrived, many soldiers had already gathered, gawking at the spectacle.

Indeed, atop the towering city wall stood Shusain.

The moment Retanda spotted him, he shouted loudly.

“Your Highness, are you unharmed?!”

It was unexpected—he’d assumed Shusain was certainly dead.

He was internally weighing the five-year-old candidate he currently supported against Shusain, when—

Shusain, spotting Retanda atop the wall, opened his mouth.

“Grand Duke, I heard you led the duchy’s soldiers here fearing for my life. I am unharmed—please now withdraw your troops.”

Retanda was momentarily speechless. He never expected Shusain to say such a thing.

Naturally, the surrounding soldiers’ gazes turned toward Retanda. Rumors of the Crown Prince stepping down had already spread; now they were witnessing it firsthand.

Retanda snapped to attention. One misstep here, and he might truly lose justification to maintain his army.

“Your Highness, what do you mean? Are you being coerced by hostile forces?”

“No. This is my own decision. I have chosen to step down as Crown Prince. As everyone knows, my frail health makes it impossible to fulfill the Emperor’s duties.”

In that brief moment, Retanda swiftly improvised.

“This is unbelievable. In all of Lazent Empire’s history, no Crown Prince has ever voluntarily relinquished his position. Is this not under someone’s coercion?”

Whether Shusain’s words were true or false didn’t matter now.

He absolutely had to frame it as coercion. Otherwise, the troops encircling the capital would lose all legitimacy.

Shusain sighed deeply and held forward a document.

Though distant and hard to read clearly, the Imperial seal upon it was unmistakable.

“This document, processed through proper Imperial procedure, formally declares my voluntary resignation as Crown Prince. Withdraw all duchy soldiers—I do not wish civil war to erupt within the Lazent Empire.”

Retanda was momentarily at a loss for words—

When Laila, witnessing the scene, spoke in a voice thick with disbelief.

“Crown Prince, I too cannot believe your words. If you’re truly not being coerced, come down and speak with me.”

Shusain’s expression darkened as he looked at Laila—he knew she had betrayed him and now supported the five-year-old Emperor.

“Mother, the reason I cannot descend… is because I fear the duchy’s soldiers will harm me.”

Shusain’s words caused murmurs among the watching duchy soldiers.

They believed they had come to punish traitors.

According to Retanda, hostile forces had murdered Shusain and sought to manipulate the Lazent Empire at will.

Yet here stood Shusain, alive—and claiming he felt threatened by them. To the soldiers, this was deeply confusing.

Shusain continued in a clear, deliberate tone.

“Mother, return before it’s too late. You may never become Empress Dowager as you’ve always dreamed—but you cannot afford to lose your life like this.”

At those words, Laila’s eyes wavered uncontrollably. Already unstable, she now felt utterly lost.

Retanda understood clearly now—Shusain had indeed, as rumored, voluntarily stepped down as Crown Prince.

He didn’t know how this had come to pass, but the longer he spoke with Shusain, the worse it became for them.

Given how things stood, the next Emperor must unquestionably be the five-year-old. From this moment, Shusain was merely an obstacle.

Retanda quietly ordered a subordinate behind him.

“Eliminate the Crown Prince.”

The subordinate’s eyes widened momentarily in shock, then calmly replied.

“I accept your command.”

He silently took a bow and moved toward the forest, intending to shoot an arrow to kill Shusain atop the wall.

Retanda planned to blame the opposing faction once Shusain died publicly before everyone’s eyes.

‘Regrettable, but you must die here, Your Highness.’

Shusain had been chosen as heir after careful deliberation between Petro and Retanda—but given the circumstances, there was no other option.

Unaware of any of this, Shusain continued pleading with Laila from atop the wall.

“Please listen to me, Mother. Don’t regret this later….”

At that moment—

Sssssshhhhh!

An arrow shot swiftly from the forest, hurtling straight toward Shusain.

By the time people noticed the arrow, it was nearly piercing his skull.

Clang!

Someone appeared and split the arrow aimed at Shusain clean in half.

It was Ascan—a dazzlingly handsome man with jet-black hair.

His astonishingly swift movement stunned everyone present, including Retanda. Any trained swordsman could instantly recognize the caliber of his skill.

For a brief moment, silence fell—

Tap… tap… tap…

A woman emerged behind Shusain.

It was Tanashia Brellof—pale-skinned, with dark hair lighter than Ascan’s and vivid, spirited blue eyes.

Tanashia gazed toward the forest from which the arrow had flown, and spoke.

“Your Grace, however displeased you may be—is this really how you intend to silence His Highness? By murdering him right now?”