Chapter 52: The winds of a rebellion
"Are you certain about this, m’Lord?"
"Yes. The imperial high-mage confirmed it with a forbidden spell. The true identity of the Faceless Manipulator was that of a commoner, but he had hands in all the dukedoms and margrave houses."
Preparing for an important call, the two of them were discussing the happenings from the capital.
The one who caught the criminal in the Sungrade were their family, but the manipulator was only here because he found this to be the safest among all the other one of his working sites.
"It was discovered that he was part of a much larger group."
The people that they found following him weren’t merely hired experts and hidden criminals working with him, the truth that was revealed after they stripped him off his memories revealed a lot more things.
Evidently, there was an unknown power working behind the scenes as well.
"A curse was planted inside his head. We don’t know if he did it to himself as a safety precaution or if it was simply something done to him by one of his commissioners, but the moment some certain sections of the memories were triggered externally, his body exploded."
Even after taking every precaution possible to extract the information from the man, he did not live long enough.
The moment his entire being turned into a mash potato, the people present there were in utter despair.
They had finally found something important, but the criminal that had destroyed thousands of lives, had died much more easily than what should have been his end.
"Ultimately, his majesty asked us to go back to our homelands and prepare for the results of the conference," the Sungrade patriarch turned his head to the crystal ball present before them on the table.
This device was going to connect them to his wife and the person representing the Sungrade in the national conference.
"The conference was supposed to go on for a little longer, but his majesty received some critical news. Perhaps, that was also the reason he asked us to go back."
Then they received the information earlier today through the Amber Falcon, the information about the mutiny.
-Ooooooooooooooooooong!
The crystal was activated.
And beyond it appeared the shadow of the person that could tell them the details that the two of them were so patiently waiting for.
( "Greetings, husband." )
The voice inside the device greeted the patriarch, ringing with the same weight as his own, bearing the same authority as the commander of the Sungrades besides him.
( "I hope you’ve been well without me. You too, Mark darling." )
Her voice was more motherly than Lady Emilia’s, more powerful in a certain way than Lady Markeet’s, and there was a certain gentleness in the way she spoke that resembled Lady Isha.
She was with the Sungrade patriarch the longest and along the way, the others had learned a lot from her as well.
She was an amazing person that kept even the white lady in check. Her absence, in fact, was also the only reason that woman had tried to move against their family.
"You don’t seem too lively, my dear wife. Just... what happened there?"
He was a lord and a husband, as well as a father and a grandfather.
Not only his wife but also his lovely children were out there, in a place where the winds of a rebellion were gliding.
He was concerned about them far more than the death of a critical prisoner of theirs. And the lady beyond the crystal ball could feel that in his voice as well.
( "Ah, yes." )
It seemed like she wanted to distract them with small talk at first, but, from how short the letter was, they couldn’t help their worries.
"Please tell us, sister."
Lady Markeet was worried as well. She sat down besides the patriarch and took a deep breath at the same time, thinking about the worst things that could have happened.
Surprisingly, the voice that answered her didn’t seem too troubled.
( "About a week before the incident over there, we received a coded message from an anonymous source who used the (Shadow guild) to send that message." )
The meetings that took place each year were some of the most confidential things.
The fact that someone knew exactly where the meeting was happening and was rich enough to pay for such services sent them a message that had surprised the two of them.
( "We haven’t confirmed it ourselves but it seems like Mister Victor is involved in this." )
"Huh?"
"The black teeth victor?"
The two of them didn’t understand why someone from the back allies was sending the people over there a secret message.
Lady Markeet clenched her sword when she heard that name as well... she didn’t like the guy. But he had lived till this day only because of the Patriarch’s mercy.
( "The coded message revealed some hints about the central noble’s connection with the rebellion only happening at a micro scale at this point." )
Lord Agnus could piece together some dots already. It also explained the calm in his wife’s voice despite such serious news.
( "A coup was planned. The lower nobles who were involved with the rebel forces, along with Duke Samstrong and the nobles under him, were found to have involvement with those forces in a three way trial." )
Aside from the crown, the duke-margrave authority and the noble faction was the one that cohesively governed the grand empire of Topaz.
The people in the conference must have put everyone under suspicion the moment any wind of a rebellion was detected.
Moreover, the Samstrong duke wasn’t an opponent who would go down easily.
( "The proceedings went on for ten days following that. Finally, the duke was found out to be involved with all the others whose involvement was unearthed." )
"And the dude did not resist?"
( "There was a strife from his followers but he did not retaliate further. Perhaps, he believes in his authority and his guaranteed freedom even then." )
The Sungrade patriarch found it less likely that someone like the duke would stand down from any kind of a fight or accusations.
If anything, he’d slap and smack anyone who ever dared speak against him.
( "He was captured and confined... but, comes the very next morning, and no trace of him is found." )
This sounded more ominous to the lord than the non-retaliation of the duke. He knew the man very well.
He was a man of honor. He was a damn musclehead, but he was a noble in the official settings, and also a warrior of the battlefield.
Escaping under the moon wasn’t something that sounded like him.
( "The people who followed him were gone as well. And all of that happened too quickly for any of us to react to it." )
If the rebellion was real and there were forces working against the current regime, then this whole instance was worrisome.
( "We have discussed what to do from now on, however, you can be rest assured. We are unhurt." )
Neither the people in that gathering nor the two hearing this report could piece things together.
The anonymous message, the people who were found out, the involvement of the duke, and the sudden disappearance of all those people. It did not make any sense to them.
But, one thing was clear: the threat that none of them saw coming, was already boiling up on the Topaz soil.
"Good. That’s the only good thing to hear."
Lord Agnus took a deep breath and contemplated for a while.
He played a simple scenario in his head where the people in the gathering failed to locate the rebels.
The long meeting of the various houses would have continued. They would have discussed everything that was supposed to be discussed during the given time.
By then, the hidden rebel forces would lay the foundation for a massive attack.
’Their goal would have been clear: taking everyone present there under their command.’
The annual conference this time was the biggest one since it was happening in the fifteenth year of the current century.
Representatives from all the families around the empire were present there. And taking control of them would directly mean having a solid negotiation element in their hands.
They would have killed the weakest ones with the most influence first in order to suppress the stronger people. They had individuals like the Duke on their side, so, even if they moved carefully, they could have made the weak-willed representatives bow to them.
The rest would have been captured or even worse.
’I’ve seen what those with twisted ambitions are capable of.’
A rebellion happening right now was also the worst. So much was happening around the world that an internal strife could break the delicate balance of power on the continent.
"Come back soon. And take care of the children, Mil."
( "Of course, dear husband~. Do not worry at all~." )
He did not feel well about the way this whole incident had played out. He could feel it in his bones that something was amiss here.
-Cliack.
The light in the crystal ball disappeared and he placed his hands on the table, a look of worry present in his red eyes.
"Something’s not right..."
He could not understand the picture here. And he wasn’t going to stop worrying about it until he listened to all the details from his wife.
-Swiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiish.
However, even after he hears the story from her, things might not be the same as they looked on the surface.
"Is it done?"
"Yes... m’Lord."
In the secret location where the annual meeting was supposed to take place, a bloodbath had followed right after the discovery of the traitors.
"Good. Follow this one and swear the oath of secrecy."
"As you command, Lord Samstrong."
Many had died in that skirmish.
And those who were left out for their unique reasons...
"Do this and you can go back with your family."
Were now part of a much greater conflict that the empire might never foresee even with prophets on their side.