Chapter 08
Granada, the capital of the Pelberg Empire and often called the heart of the empire, was filled with tension. Ever since the Pelberg Empire was founded in the mythical era of advanced magic before the “War of the End,” Granada had remained the empire’s capital. Now, the city was shrouded in an ominous atmosphere.
After the massacre at the Grand Banquet, where countless heroes—including the Emperor, members of the imperial family, the Veil Senche, and Count Roysh Horizon—were brutally slaughtered, an emergency state was declared in the capital.
The Pelberg Empire’s top military leaders—the Commander-in-Chief of the Central Army, who could command the empire’s forces, and the Grand Commander of the Royal Guard, who could mobilize all the knightly orders—had perished. Therefore, Count Steiner Landerk, the Third Imperial Knight Commander and the highest-ranking loyalist noble remaining in the royal palace, declared the emergency using his temporary authority.
With the emergency in effect, the four imperial legions stationed to the east, west, south, and north prepared for battle, dispatching their knight contingents to the capital. Royal and central army knights took control of the city gates, and every available nearby force, which could be mobilized without the Emperor’s direct command, converged on Granada.
“Stop! Stop! Second Legion Direct Knight Corps! The western gate is under our control! You may not pass!”
By the time Prince Cain Pelberg, the wayward heir who must ascend the throne to stabilize the empire, and his escort arrived in Granada, it was late at night, and the sky was filled with dark clouds.
The knights guarding the gates had failed to notice the approaching royal party. Cain’s movements had not been pre-communicated to ensure his safety, which caused this minor problem.
Had they marched with the imperial crest and flags raised from the start, the gate knights would have recognized them from a distance and opened the way automatically. However, due to the massacre at the royal banquet, Cain insisted on using the royal carriage while keeping the banners lowered and concealed. Count Steiner Landerk agreed with him, so the procession proceeded accordingly. To a newly appointed knight, the sight of what appeared to be nearly ten thousand troops marching toward the city would have seemed terrifyingly overwhelming.
“It’s Count Steiner Landerk of the White Wing Assault Knights. Open the way.”
The knights blocking the western gate stepped aside when Count Landerk identified himself. Even before showing his insignia or the Landerk family crest, one of the dozen knights recognized him as a Meister of the Pelberg Empire.
“C-Count Landerk! Open the way immediately!”
Steiner Landerk’s reputation for inflexibility was well known among all royal and central army knights defending Granada. Recognized by the commanding officer, the knights moved aside, and Landerk led the procession through the gate.
“It’s been a long time since I last saw the capital.”
Cain muttered quietly as he lowered the carriage window to gaze at the familiar scenery. Beside him, Heinrich, Duke of Denver, riding a horse, spoke with a bitter expression.
“How does it feel to return to the capital, Your Highness?”
“Not pleasant,” Cain replied darkly.
Cain’s expression remained somber. Though he had greatly contributed to creating this game world, the sheer number of untested, private DLCs applied to this reality made it impossible to predict what variables might appear. Even with his knowledge of the game’s settings, world, and story, the future looked bleak.
“Your Highness, you look unwell.”
“I didn’t want to return like this.”
Cain’s words carried a quiet gravity. Strictly speaking, the modern man who had possessed Cain—Kang Jihoon—had no real connection to the Pelberg royal family and thus would feel no sorrow. But for Cain Pelberg, the last surviving member of his family, who had witnessed the slaughter of all his relatives, he could not show complete indifference.
“I shouldn’t have brought this up. My apologies.”
“No, Duke Denver. This isn’t your fault.”
Denver bowed slightly. Cain gave a faint smile, reassuring him, and leaned back in the carriage to begin sorting through the fragments of thoughts swirling in his mind.
Who is behind this?
The key question was identifying the mastermind behind the massacre. Due to the indiscriminate application of private DLCs, determining who was responsible was difficult.
Most of the unreleased DLCs had been stored separately, and if they conflicted with each other, system errors could arise.
“Prelude to Catastrophe” and “Requiem of Annihilation” were particularly problematic. They caused fatal errors, leading to the deletion and reconstruction of some data, stripping out much of the original design.
With four DLCs applied indiscriminately and no balancing, any number of unpredictable events could occur. Thus, identifying the culprits behind the Grand Banquet massacre, as well as the formidable operatives they had sent into the capital and palace, was currently impossible.
This is insane.
The massacre was likely caused by “Requiem of Annihilation.” But the problem was that this DLC remained incomplete. The concept of a major interference in the story’s prologue had been roughly decided, but the final mastermind had not been set.
It might not even be the Empire’s Five Pillars.
The “Secret Cabal of the Unknown” strengthened the Empire’s internal opposition storylines, but DLCs adding dark wizards and necromancers might have interacted with “Requiem of Annihilation.”
Even the highly incomplete “Prelude to Catastrophe” needed consideration. As a developer-possessed entity, Cain could not recklessly identify the mastermind or act impulsively; he had to calmly gather information.
“Your Highness, we have reached the palace.”
As the dark night gradually gave way to the pale dawn, Cain silently gazed out the window at the towering royal spire and the imperial palace, which still stood tall despite the assassins’ infiltration and massacre.
Like during the “War of the End,” the Pelberg Empire had survived this ordeal. The trials before them now seemed merely obstacles to overcome, as the dawn cast its first light on the palace and the royal spire.
“Your Highness, once we arrive at the palace, you must prepare to ascend the throne.”
Listening to Count Landerk’s advice, Cain quietly closed his eyes. The real beginning was about to start.
“Your Highness, if you decree a delay in the coronation, it would be proper for your subjects to comply. However, both the palace staff and loyal nobles are eager for you to ascend the throne quickly, so as to stabilize the Pelberg Empire.”
A man conveyed the consensus of the city’s nobles to Cain.
This was Baron Alons Kaelid, the first-ranking chamberlain of the Pelberg Empire. After the Grand Catastrophe on the empire’s founding day, he had temporarily taken over the palace staff, replacing the deceased chief chamberlain.
Kaelid had been devoted to the Pelberg royal family for decades, joining the palace in his early twenties and serving over forty years. Though not from a high-ranking noble family, he had survived the Grand Catastrophe, as had many loyal palace attendants. Among them, he was considered one of the most competent.
“I also fully agree with Baron Kaelid and the palace staff. Your Highness, you must ascend the throne quickly to restore the shaken imperial authority.”
Count Steiner Landerk, who had escorted Cain to the palace and survived the Grand Catastrophe, voiced his support alongside Kaelid.
There was one reason why both the chamberlain and the knight commander spoke with such unity: the last remaining royal, Cain Pelberg—the infamous wayward prince—had declared he might delay his coronation.
“Your Highness, the imperial authority is wavering. You must ascend before the Empire’s Five Pillars can act on this chaos.”
Yet despite their repeated advice, Cain remained unmoved. Steiner Landerk, commander of the Third Imperial Knight Corps and a Meister, had been loyal to the Pelberg Empire for generations. His family had long opposed nobles aligned with the Empire’s Five Pillars, and he had little patience for politics, being a straightforward man of the sword. Thus, his advice was sincere, even if somewhat extreme.
However,
“Count Landerk.”
Cain opened his mouth with a deep sigh. He understood Landerk’s concern perfectly. As one of the core developers who had created most of this world, Cain knew exactly why the knight urged him to act quickly. But he also knew he needed to correct Landerk’s overly simplistic view.
