The inside of the imperial palace was as chaotic as a beehive that had been stirred up.

“How can I not enter?”

“His Majesty asked us to do one last thing before he collapsed. He said not to let anyone in.”

“Sir Carlos!”

Even with Eurius’s angry shout, the head of the Imperial Guard, Count Carlos, did not change his expression at all.

The emperor’s bedroom was already surrounded by the Imperial Guards.

It would be hard for even an ant to get in.

The bureaucrats of the emperor’s faction who followed Eurius murmured.

“Surely Sir Carlos wouldn’t lie. What if something really bad happens?”

“He should have taken the crown prince’s position sooner…”

“The situation in the parliament is also a problem, but I’m worried about here too.”

Eurius’s expression looked very serious as he stared at Carlos.

Swoosh.

“…”

Carlos’s eyebrows twitched. It was because Eurius had drawn his sword.

“I don’t distrust you, sir, but in this situation, no one can enter or leave, isn’t it too suspicious?”

“I’m just following His Majesty’s orders. Please step back.”

Bang!

The corridor shook as if there was an earthquake with a loud noise. It was their swords clashing.

The ceiling and walls of the corridor cracked and dust flew.

“Eek!”

“Your Highness! Please calm down.”

Only Marius, who was standing behind him, calmly pulled Eurius back.

The other servants were covering their heads and couldn’t even lift them up.

Swoosh.

The Imperial Guards quickly drew their swords as well.

Did the first prince want to fight with them here?

The knights of the Sharnos Order who came to escort him also couldn’t hide their astonishment.

When did he ever act so emotionally?

Heinz, the leader, bit his lip first.

‘We have to stop him.’

“Your Highness, there is nothing good about fighting with the Imperial Guard here. Please calm down.”

“Your Highness…”

Beatrice also looked unusually worried and appealed to Eurius with her eyes.

“Huh…”

Even though they pulled him back, Eurius kept looking at the door of the bedroom for a while.

But maybe their earnest plea worked, he soon returned to his calm expression.

And he threw a word and turned his back on the door of the bedroom.

“I’ll remember this.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Phew…”

The atmosphere was tense, but anyway Eurius had given up.

The bureaucrats and knights sighed.

Eurius turned around and moved to another place.

“Your Highness! Where are you going?”

Marius, who followed him, quickly asked.

“To the parliament.”

Eurius answered briefly and disappeared from the corridor with quick steps.

Marius hurriedly led the bureaucrats after him.

‘Are you going to take care of the state affairs? The situation there is not very good either…’

Meanwhile, although he had turned away obediently, Carlos’s eyes did not erase his suspicion of Eurius.

‘His Majesty only allowed him to enter alone recently. But suddenly His Majesty is in a coma for no reason?’

…

The situation in the parliament was a mess.

“Of course, Prince Eurius should temporarily take over the state affairs!”

“That’s absurd! He is not even the crown prince yet.”

“Then who should lead the state affairs?”

The opinions of the parliament were divided into two sides.

The bureaucrats of the emperor’s faction said that Eurius, who was the most likely candidate for the throne, should temporarily take over the state affairs!

But the nobles faction resisted fiercely.

Their thoughts were the same.

‘We have to hold on until Grand Duke comes back. This might be a golden opportunity!’

The emperor had been losing his strength gradually since a few days ago and then fell into a coma.

Even if they called a high healer from the temple, it was useless, and no doctor could find out the cause of his illness.

If there was no cause for his illness, there was only one thing left, wasn’t there?

In the continent where peace had lasted for over a hundred years, the number one cause of death for emperors was overwork and old age.

‘Considering his age, it’s about time he lost his strength.’

‘Why did Grand Duke have to leave at this time? He’s unlucky.’

As he thought, Grand Duke had returned to his territory a while ago saying he had something to do.

He must be rushing back now.

The nobles faction stuck together and tried to avoid the worst situation of Eurius taking over the state affairs.

Such arguments continued endlessly.But both the emperor’s faction and the nobles faction were in a situation where their respective centers of gravity were absent.

It was not a situation where a decision could be made by a verbal fight.

“The first prince has arrived.”

Suddenly, the door of the parliament opened wide and Eurius entered.

“Sorry for being late.”

“First Prince!”

The people of the emperor’s faction brightened up, and the nobles faction frowned.

Anyway, the most likely candidate for the state affairs had arrived.

What would Eurius do in this situation?

“Isn’t it obvious?”

“Damn it!”

Surprisingly, Eurius walked into the middle of the servants and sat down on the emperor’s jade throne.

His posture was so natural that the audience lost their words for a moment.

“Since His Majesty is in critical condition, I will take over the state affairs for a while.”

“…”

The parliament was silent.

How should they interpret this?

“Your Highness is not even the crown prince yet! And you sit on the throne? How dare you…”

A moment later, one of the nobles with a fairly high status in the nobles faction started to protest.

That was the signal for the nobles to swarm up and try to tear Eurius apart.

“Are you dissatisfied?”

[The trait ‘Emperor’s Dignity’ is activated.]

[Charisma and charm increase.]

“Huh!”

The nobles closed their mouths at once at the aura that poured out from Eurius.

No, they couldn’t open them.

“Your Highness, even so, this is a bit…”

“Stay still, all of you.”

Even the bureaucrats of the emperor’s faction had an expression that they couldn’t understand this behavior.

“What is this?”

Swoosh.

When Eurius raised his hand, knights began to enter the parliament.

It was the Scharnos Order.

The situation became twice as tense when the knights entered the parliament.

The Imperial Guard was all on standby for the fallen emperor’s protection.

There was no force to stop them here.

The nobles faction turned pale.

‘What does the first prince rely on to act like this?’

‘Doesn’t this look like he’s trying to start a rebellion while His Majesty is absent?’

Eurius finally returned from his fierce expression to his emotionless one.

“It seems you have no complaints now. Then let’s start the meeting.”

The first thing he ordered was the doctor who was allowed to enter the emperor’s bedroom and the priest who was on standby for the emperor’s health.

“First of all, report on His Majesty’s condition.”

The doctor started to report with cold sweat.

“I have been examining His Majesty regularly for the last twenty years, but this is the first time I see him in this state. His heart is beating very weakly, but it seems like it could stop at any moment.”

“…”

Eurius kept silent for a while and then looked at someone else.

“Bishop Aurel, what do you think as a healer?”

“As you know, if it’s not a disease or a physical injury, the church’s power is not very useful.”

“So you’re saying that His Majesty suddenly got old?”

At Eurius’s cold question, they bowed their heads.

“We’re sorry. But in our opinion as doctors, it’s not uncommon for His Majesty’s age.”

“In this case, if we use our power rashly, it might consume his remaining strength more, so it’s hard to make a decision.”

“So there’s no way?”

“For now…”

They all bowed their heads with gloomy expressions.

“Then there’s nothing I can do. You two are the only ones who can enter the bedroom, so please take good care of His Majesty.”

“…!?”

After asking them a few more questions, Eurius surprisingly let them go.

When he called them, he seemed like he would hold them responsible and cut their throats.

The parliament was stunned.

And his next words were even worse.

“Then let’s move on to the next agenda.”

“Your Highness! What agenda?”

“Didn’t I say I would take over the state affairs?”

“…”

There were many servants who wanted to say something, but they were too scared to say anything more after seeing Eurius’s chilling aura.

For the next two days, Eurius’s actions did not change.

The state affairs were not a big problem since there were many competent bureaucrats, and the nobles were rolling their feet.

“Do we have to give up all our power to him?”

“Is there any news from Grand Duke? If His Majesty really passes away…”

“Shh! Lower your voice. If the first prince hears you now, you might lose your head.”On the other hand, Eurius’s bureaucrats and knights looked at him with pity in their eyes.

“How can a person change so much? He doesn’t even sleep properly every day…”

“Some insolent ones are spreading rumors that Your Highness is trying to seize control of the state affairs with this opportunity. But that can’t be true.”

Eurius’s daily routine for the last three days was simple.

He took over the state affairs instead of the emperor all day long.

He even handled them faster and more efficiently than the emperor.

Of course, his ability was part of the reason, but also because the nobles faction couldn’t say anything.

And after finishing the state affairs, he always went to one place without fail.

“Are you still not going to let me in?”

“My answer is always the same.”

“Then I’ll have to keep doing this until the count gives up.”

Eurius sat down on the bare floor in front of the emperor’s bedroom and started a silent protest.

“Your Highness! You have to take care of yourself.”

“How can an imperial sit on the ground and go on a hunger strike?”

“…”

But no one could sway Eurius’s will.

Of course, his opponent was also formidable.

The Imperial Guard, including Carlos, did not leave the emperor’s bedroom for a moment.

And on the fifth day after the emperor collapsed, the person that the nobles had been waiting for arrived in the capital.

They greeted him with delight.

“Grand Duke!”

“Right now, the first prince is oppressing us with the excuse of taking over the state affairs. Please…”

“Get out of my way! I have to see His Majesty’s condition first.”

Finally, Grand Duke entered the palace.

He brushed off the nobles coldly and headed towards the emperor’s bedroom.

They looked at him with curiosity.

“Come to think of it, Grand Duke could have arrived in the capital in a day or two, why did he take so long?”

“He must have some plan. Anyway, he is the only one who can stop the first prince now.”

‘You incompetent fools, even without me, there is no one who can check the first prince.’

He snorted and arrived in front of the emperor’s bedroom.

“I greet you, first prince.”

“It’s been a while. But where is Leon, who was in your territory?”

“Second prince is coming up soon. I came first.”

Eurius spat out coldly.

“Do you have any ulterior motives for not coming up?”

“What do you mean?”

“Do I have to explain it to you?”

“…”

Grand Duke and Eurius stared at each other for a while.

Grand Duke was slightly surprised inside.

‘Is this some kind of trap prepared by the first prince?’

He didn’t come up right away because he stopped by the black market, but also because he wanted to prepare for any contingencies.

How many times had he been tricked by Eurius?

‘And that clown said something disturbing at the end…’

The owner of the black market left him these words at the end.

“You’re a regular customer of mine, but it’s hard without any service.”

“What are you talking about?”

Then he left him a meaningful message.

“You seem to be running around these days, maybe you’ll have some good news in the near future.”

“…!?”

***

After finishing his flashback, Grand Duke asked Carlos first.

“Can’t I go in either?”

“I’m sorry.”

Carlos repeated the same words to Grand Duke and just guarded the door of the bedroom like a stone statue.

Seeing that, Grand Duke asked one last question.

“Are you sure His Majesty is in critical condition? You and the two who are treating him are the only ones who saw His Majesty’s last appearance.”

“Yes.”

It was a short answer, but he knew Carlos was not someone who would lie about the emperor.

‘Then it’s certain that the emperor is lying down.’

At that moment, Grand Duke’s mind was filled with countless thoughts.

‘The emperor collapsed and the first prince took over the state affairs… And the black market said it was good news?’

But it was too suspicious to trust blindly. Grand Duke never trusted anything he didn’t see himself 100 percent.

The silent confrontation between Carlos, Eurius, and Grand Duke lasted for a while.

But it was broken by something they never expected.

Creak.

“…!?”

The door of the bedroom suddenly opened. It was the doctor and Bishop Aurel who were checking on the emperor’s condition.

“How is His Majesty?”

“…”

Eurius asked anxiously.

But they bowed their heads with gloomy expressions.

The doctor even knelt on the floor and buried his head.

“His Majesty has just passed away.”

<108: Great Chaos>