City of Sin

Book 3, 8

Ripples

The Emperor swallowed the burnt tail in one go, his fat neck suddenly swelling up as the near ten kilos of meat fell into his stomach with a loud thud. With everything back to normal, he squinted his eyes and said slowly, “This move was really unexpected!”

The servant started racking his brain to figure out what those words meant before speaking up, “With Lord Gaton’s strength, he will likely return to Norland within ten years.”

“Not necessarily! It depends on the time-flow in the Rosie plane,” the emperor said dryly, revealing a tiny bit of his ability, “The plane’s time moved half as fast as in Norland before, but nobody knows what Mensa did now. I don’t believe that he did nothing; I hear he’s been to the Church several times recently.”

The servant immediately put on an arrogant expression in an attempt to earn some credit, “As far as this humble servant knows, Duke Mensa and Duke Joseph offered three sacrifices recently. They all concerned the Archerons’ young master, Richard. I don’t know what the specific blessings were.”

Ceremonies held at the Church of the Eternal Dragon were secret events. Not even the royal family could interfere in the matter of the blessings. As for Ferlyn, the First Light of Dawn had status surpassing all else. Nobody could force her to do something she didn’t want to, not to mention that offending her would cut off one’s route to offer sacrifices. Even visitors would think twice before trying to get her to do anything. She was a mysterious character; nobody knew of her true power, there was just no need to ever showcase them.

However, Ferlyn being watertight did not translate to the rest of the priests and priestesses. The servant had already bribed some clerics, and although they didn’t know of any vital information it was still news that would otherwise go unknown.

The Emperor nodded, seemingly thinking of the same thing, “If that is true, Mensa and Joseph really put in some capital.”

“Yes, Your Majesty! However, is it really worth it?” the servant sighed with sorrow. Interfering with a blessing required a more powerful offering than the original. Richard’s original sacrifice had been pretty valuable, and the two families needed something that was twice as great to hurt him. That was why the Emperor said they had really put in some capital.

On the other hand, even if they themselves were poor the Archerons had the support of a legendary mage. Although Sharon wasn’t wildly wealthy either, she could still destroy a few powerful families without issue. At least in the Sacred Alliance, she only lost battles of wealth if they were sneak attacks.

The servant’s thoughts were forgivable. He was someone of authority within the alliance, but even if he fought his entire life he would not have the resources to offer the lowest level of sacrifice. The Church of the Eternal Dragon was completely out of his reach.

“Those old fogeys don’t do useless things. They definitely wouldn’t joke around with sacrifices. If they’ve offered so many, this kid has to be worth a lot. We might have to pay more attention to him; is there any news?”

“About that...” the servant stretched his memory, finally remembering a small excerpt, “I heard he set out on an expedition into a lesser plane, but some problems occurred and he got lost in time. There hasn’t been any news since.”

Philip pondered for a while before asking, “I heard the Eternal Dragon came down personally during his sacrifice?”

“I heard of it as well, Your Majesty. However, there is no way to verify it.”

The Bloodthirsty Emperor nodded his head, “Then it’s most likely true. If the old dragon favours this Richard kid, then he’ll be safe wherever he is. It isn’t too far-fetched to think he could appear in front of us soon.”

The servant grew very excited, “No need to worry, Your Majesty! If Richard were to return, your humble servant will be the first to go look for him. I heard that he is a gifted runemaster; it just so happens that your knights’ runes are ageing. Grandmaster Lunor’s ‘body’ hasn’t been in good condition lately; if someone were to come and make alterations in his stead, it would be helpful.”

Grand runemaster Lunor had acted as the Sacred Alliance’s chief runemaster for over thirty years. As he shifted to the creation of grade 4 runes over the past decade, his creation of standard runes had decreased even as he consumed more and more raw materials by the day. This was a problem every royal household faced with these kinds of runemasters.

Philip nodded, having the servant continue the report. The second piece of news was naturally the engagement between the Mensas and Schumpeters. Hearing this news, Philip immediately stopped cutting through his meal. He knew exactly what it implied.

“Your Majesty, are you going to allow Duke Mensa to do whatever he wants?”

The Emperor didn’t answer, instead asking a question of his own, “Rosie is getting married to Dario?”

“Yes, the pearl of the Mensa family. Your humble servant heard that this was a request made by Duke Dario himself. There are twenty young ladies in the Mensa Family worth him, but he only wanted her.”

“Hmph! That lecher hasn’t changed his ways... However, this is still a smart move. It won’t let Mensa get too comfortable. Ugh... since that is the case, we shall do nothing for now.”

The servant responded with a puzzled look, “Your Majesty... Would this not allow the Mensas to grow too quickly?”

“Rosie was meant to be betrothed to Raymond Joseph. Hmph, his old man must not be feeling good about this. For now, we don’t have to do anything.

“A wolf and tiger in the same valley would naturally band together if a hunter appears. However, if there is no hunter they will likely fight until only one is left standing.”

“Your Majesty is brilliant!” the servant complimented glibly.

“Now, go fetch the court mage. Tell him I’ll be waiting in my living room, I need to know how one can erase a plane from the Church of the Eternal Dragon.” Having said that, Philip stood up. A maid naturally moved over to wipe his mouth, wash his hands, and change his clothes.

The servant made a sound of acknowledgement, but then he realised most of the food on the table was untouched. “Your Majesty!” he called out in astonishment, “You haven’t eaten anything!”

“I don’t have the appetite.” The Bloodthirsty Emperor took big strides out of the dining room. His footsteps were as loud as a dinosaur storming off.