“…During his reign, Karagu spent 12 years suppressing the rebellion. He killed all the capable military talents among the nobles, leaving only a bunch of good-for-nothings as toys for his youngest son…”
Laud Family’s territory, the lord’s manor.
The old noble, leaning on a cane, sat steadily in the main seat, watching the younger family members clamoring and jumping.
Some were ready to hand over military power for peace, some were shouting to raise troops and march on the Capital, and some were so frightened they wanted to jump out the window. The whole hall was bustling.
Titus Laud, after a moment of reflection with his guards, remained silent throughout.
When the spy from the Capital reported that his son, Grand Duke Harrison, was under house arrest, and still had the audacity to ask Nero for more Omegas, he shook his head and laughed coldly, a hint of sorrow flashing in his eyes.
But soon, his gaze sharpened, and his eyes, still keen despite his age, flashed with a cold, snake-like light.
“Silence!”
He struck the floor heavily with his cane, the crisp sound echoing throughout the hall, making the younger members shut their mouths abruptly.
Titus Laud, the grandfather to the Emperor, and the actual leader of the Laud Family.
Unlike the younger generation who had grown up in luxury, he was born in the late illustrious era of Vasihir II. As a young man, he followed the former Emperor and numerous fierce generals on expeditions to the borders, earning his reputation in blood and fire. After Vashir II’s death, he climbed from a lowly soldier to the upper echelons of the Empire, leading the Laud Family into the ranks of the high nobles.
Later, due to the mysterious Rose Curse, the person sitting on the throne changed frequently over the decades, causing the Kaises Family to loose their grip on the high nobles, allowing noble power to grow stronger.
Then, when the former Emperor Karagu was crowned, to curb the rebellious tendencies of the high nobles, he launched a twelve-year-long compaign.
At that time, Titus withdrew from the political circle of the Capital, leaving Harrison Laud and the younger generation as hostages to the former Emperor Karagu.
Facts proved that the family leader’s choice was never wrong:
Back then, the Laud Family was at the bottom of the high noble group. Karagu, to suppress the arrogant top nobles, appointed Harrison Laud as the Grand Duke of the Empire, supporting the Laud Family to ensure their survival. They had enough strength to endure through the Rupert period, finally reaching today’s peak position, second only to one.
“Grandfather, currently the Southern Coalition has sent troops to support, filling the little Emperor’s lack of forces. He also has Asaga, a god of war, and top generals like Heidrich… We might as well just hand over military power, like when you stepped down during Karagu’s compaign! Perhaps the family will turn crisis into safety again, even gaining a higher position!”
“Higher position?”
Titus laughed softly, leaning forward with his cane, slowly asking:
“Now in the Galactic Empire, is there any family more illustrious and powerful than the Laud Family? Beyond this point is the ceiling called ‘Kaises.’ If you were a Kaises with some brains, how would you deal with a noble family nearing the throne?”
The words were like a bucket of cold water, making the younger member shut up immediately.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Another family member stood up abruptly: “Nonsense, military power is too important to give up! Grandfather stepped down back then, but only from the Capital’s duties, retaining control over the territorial forces! Now, we have the military power of 19 star systems. If we hand over military power, the young Emperor will have no scruples when dealing with us!”
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People argued heatedly, and the hall became noisy again.
Duke Titus waited quietly. When they calmed down and focused on him, the old nobleman spoke again, slowly and calmly:
“I often wished Rupert were part of our family. Then, I wouldn’t have to sit among a bunch of idiots, listening to your senseless barking.”
His words silenced the younger members, making them blush in embarrassment.
The old Duke stroked the family ring on his hand, his dry, wrinkled lips moving lightly, saying: “Whenever you talk about the Emperor, you talk about his army, his support forces, Heidrich, and the Imperial Scepter. Which of these do you think is the real threat to the nobles?”
“Uh, the Imperial Scepter…?”
“No. None of them. Our real threat lies only with the young man on the Rose Throne, wearing the Emperor’s ring. From the beginning to the end, it’s just him alone. The Kaises Family has ruled the Empire for over nine hundred years. Their influence is deeply embedded in our blood. Do you really think, without Kaises blood, those low and medium-level noble forces and his trained troops would easily pledge loyalty to him?”
“The Kaises Family has had its ups and downs over nine hundred years, reaching heights and facing declines. Several rebellions have seen the Capital occupied by noble forces. But only once did an outsider family sit on the throne, during Rupert’s time. Think about what Rupert did then?”
Everyone looked at each other.
Titus’ meaning was clear, and even thinking about it made the most radical family members hesitant and uneasy.
“Feeling it, right?” Duke Titus said coldly. “That’s the deterrent power of the Kaises Family. The longer supreme power rules an Empire, the harder it is for the governed to resist. From Caesar the Great, the Empire has been indoctrinated to pledge allegiance to them, embedding this notion in our genetic makeup. Even if all nobles know the current Kaises ruler is just an undifferentiated boy, the fear is imprinted in their blood. They dare only fight against the leaders, troops, and Wolf Knights around the throne, not the throne itself.
“What Rupert did was to completely destroy the deterrent power of the Kaises Family, showing everyone the Royal Family members are mortal. Once they trust others blindly, they are slaughtered like dogs.”
In the silence, Duke Titus shook his head heavily, gripping his cane.
“For the sake of dignity, I shouldn’t compete with a grandson like Nero.”
He said, “Unfortunately, Harrison failed his family duties. Nero, not disgracing the name of Kaises, was underestimated by me. I thought Nero would endure for a few more years. A prince who can return to the throne from the frontier is naturally beyond the control of someone as useless as Harrison. I planned to wait a few years, groom a more promising heir to replace Harrison… But since Nero chose to act against us now, today will be the decisive day between our two families.”
“But… the Capital is under martial law, the young Emperor is heavily guarded by Wolf Knights, and we can’t act like Rupert did back then. Even the Wolf Knights trusted him somewhat… The Black Gate’s forces Harrison gathered in the west were quickly eradicated by the young Emperor during the internal turmoil. Besides deploying our troops, we have no other way to counter the Emperor…”
“‘Black Gate?”‘
Duke Titus laughed coldly, “You mean the ‘Black Gate’ You mean the ‘Black Gate’ that was fed by Harrison to the largest force in the galaxy, but whose leader was killed by Asaga? Choosing the right allies is crucial for ensuring the family’s invincibility! Get out of here, stop torturing my nerves. It’s time for my esteemed guest to arrive.”
The younger members, unable to resolve their arguments and scolded by the head of the family, reluctantly put away their screens and filed out of the council hall.
At the manor’s entrance, they saw a line of robed figures approaching from the end of the road.
These people, both male and female, were exceptionally tall and strong, with their faces covered by hoods and scarves.
The dirty boots under their robes left messy mud prints on the rose-patterned floor tiles.
A young noble, still fuming, saw this and immediately shouted sharply:
“Commoners, where did you come from?! You’ve dirtied my family’s floor tiles!! Someone! Come quickly!!”
But in the next moment, his voice got stuck in his throat.
Despite the distance, the ferocious top-level Alpha pheromones emanating from the figures were enough to shock the lords.
Everyone knew that an Alpha’s pheromone level was directly linked to their combat power, and the common belief in the empire was that only the Emperor’s Wolf Knights could gather so many powerful adult Alphas at once.
The lords, thinking this might be an incognito visit by the Empire’s Wolf Knights, hurriedly moved aside in terror.
The robed figures ignored the noble’s scolding, treating the high noble lords as if they were invisible. They continued walking down the center of the road, leaving a trail of overwhelming pheromone traces.
As they passed by, a lord accidentally glimpsed the tattoos under their scarves.
—A scorpion resting on laurel leaves.
***
The Capital.
After that episode of rebellion, only four of the high nobles on the list remained, and in the worst-case scenario, Nero had only three months left.
After roughly deploying his forces, Nero handed over command of the rebellion suppression to Heidrich. His main focus was on constructing the Anchor Point defense system and continuously forming new elite corps in the Heka Star System.
Upon the Imperial Scepter’s return to the Capital, Asaga didn’t even have time to see the young Emperor before being taken away by the Science Bureau for another blood extraction.
Nero gave the Science Bureau the highest order: from now on, all non-military research projects were suspended. All elite researchers must focus entirely on finding an element in known human materials that could disrupt the self-healing mechanism of Zerg blood, sparing no effort.
Under high pressure, Nero worked day and night, and with his differentiation period approaching, his madness episodes were becoming increasingly unmanageable.
Each severe episode filled Nero with immense fear—he felt himself drifting further from his mission to guard the Empire.
Had the ‘original’ version of himself also experienced such fear?
In the long battle with madness, did he eventually lose all reason and turn into the tyrant who massacred Wolf Knights and civilians…
“Snap!”
A loud sound and the intense pain in his palm brought Nero’s mind back from the flames.
He awoke to find himself tightly held by the White Wolf Knight.
During Nero’s frequent madness episodes, the White Wolf Knight had gained enough experience. Because heavy armor would hurt the young master, he quickly removed all his armor and held Nero, rolling into the softest place like a mattress or sofa.
He used his strong arms and body as a cage to contain his master, silently waiting for Nero to regain clarity.
This time, when Nero, drenched in cold sweat, woke up in his arms, he saw a glaring slap mark on the White Wolf Knight’s handsome face.
Nero’s eyes were still unfocused. He was panting heavily while touching the swollen mark.
A moment of joy flashed in the White Wolf Knight’s blue eyes.
He looked down, carefully examining Nero’s eyes, his voice soft as if afraid to disturb a feather:
“Your Highness, is it you? Are you awake?”
Nero softly asked, “…Did I hit you, Alexei?”
The White Wolf Knight was stunned, seemingly just noticing the pain on his face.
He shook his golden head indifferently and said gently, “You just accidentally touched it. Your Majesty, are you feeling better? Would you like some water? Or shall I take you for a hot bath and then you can rest for a day, okay?”
As he tried to get up, he noticed the young Emperor, soft like snow in his arms, showing a rare sign of vulnerability in his eyes.
The young man grabbed his neck, and his usually confident and indisputable voice now sounded like a rambling murmur:
“I will entrust the Empire to you, Alexei. I can only give it to you… The Kaises Family has no heirs left, only you, only my White Wolf can fully inherit my will… Swear you will protect the Empire as you protect me. If the day ever comes, if there’s no other choice… Swear you will use all means to take the Empire from me, and you must learn to protect it as a monarch would… I will make full preparations for you and the other Wolf Knights… The Heka Star System’s troops and the Imperial Scepter too… But Heidrich…”
His mind was still in the confusion after the episode, and his words were somewhat jumbled.
The man holding him listened silently until Nero’s fingers on his face felt a warm trace—tears were silently streaming from the White Wolf Knight’s right eye, which hadn’t gone blind.
Yet, the knight’s eye with the prosthetic remained bright and resolute, steadfastly gazing at his master:
“That day will never come, Your Majesty. I’ve consulted many leading psychiatrists and scholars on the fringes of the Empire—once the rebellion ends and the Empire is at peace, we will don holographic masks and visit them together. Your Majesty just needs to endure for a while. When you fully recover, you will still be the greatest Emperor in the history of the Galactic Empire, and I will always be your devoted Wolf Knight.”
Nero said no more. His pale neck leaned back, his long lashes closed, and he exhaled slowly.
He rested for forty minutes, and when he opened his eyes again, the ice-like fragility had vanished like a dream.
“Give me the secret report on the Laud Family.”
He resumed his usual cold demeanor, “They’ve been quiet for too long. I want to know who they’ve met recently, what communications they’ve sent, and what they are planning.”
According to the recent deployment, incorporating the Delphi Star System where the Temple was located, into the Capital’s protection range, had become one of the objectives. After observing the stabilization of his brainwave pattern, Nero convened the generals to discuss the next plan.
The Delphi Star System had no troops and did not belong to any power. It had been completely independent since the Empire’s establishment. Due to humanity’s special attachment to Earth and the religious significance of the Holy Son, few dared to bring war to the sanctuary.
But historically, many armies had entered Delphi under the guise of protection, using the Holy Son to promote their regime’s legitimacy.
The high nobles had been repeatedly frustrated with Nero. It would be difficult to guarantee that they will not set their sights on the Holy Son. Nero had to prepare in advance.
“The distance between the Capital Star System and Delphi is indeed considerable, but using hidden Anchor Points near Delphi, troop transport won’t be an issue.”
A senior general said, “However, Delphi is an autonomous star system protected by the Empire’s autonomous star laws. Without a clear threat, deploying troops to Delphi… as the righteous side defending the Imperial Law, we might find it difficult to justify.”
An old general immediately interrupted him: “Delphi has no garrison, and if the rebels dare to trample the Imperial Law, they can easily deploy their troops there. If we wait for the rebels to enter Delphi Star System before responding, it will be too late for the Capital. Since humans entered the interstellar era, there has been an unspoken rule not to fight on Earth. Even if we attack the Delphi Star System to rescue the Holy Son, the legitimacy of the Kaises Family will be damaged.”
Nero didn’t speak, just stroked his lips, thinking quietly.
When the round of discussion ended and all the generals looked at the silver-haired Emperor, they saw a cunning gleam in his eyes.
“If I recall correctly…” Nero’s lips curled coldly, “The next Temple Festival is approaching, isn’t it?”
Yey! I miss Holy Son and wish a little more interaction with him QwQ our king is so pitiful, working without breaks.
Thank you!!
Aaaahhhhh