Emperor! Can You See Stats!?

Chapter 122: The Next Day.

“The First Prince has finally returned. You better be prepared.”

“Have you all written your wills?”

“Will they even be delivered? They will probably be buried without anyone knowing.”

The nobles of the south, who had received much favor from the Grand Duke, had a nightmare of a week. Especially the high-ranking nobles, who were practically imprisoned in the imperial palace.

But the Grand Duke who could save them was already a cold corpse. The old nobles had even written separate wills. They knew very well what kind of person the emperor was.

“He won’t miss this golden opportunity to annihilate us. He will somehow link us to the Grand Duke and kill us all.”

Some trembled in fear, while others sighed in resignation, as the nobles entered the court one by one.

The emperor, who sat on the throne, finally brought up the incident as if he had been waiting for it.

“Let’s start with the most urgent matter, the matter of the Grand Duke.”

‘As expected…’

‘Please spare my life!’

The nobles shivered inwardly as their eyes focused on the emperor. But the emperor gestured as if he had just remembered something.

“Come to think of it, there is someone more qualified than me to discuss this issue. The First Prince Yurius! Come forward and explain!”

“Your Majesty.”

Hearing that command, the nobles had no choice but to resign themselves even more. They had all witnessed Yurius and the Grand Duke fighting a week ago. If a superhuman had his eyes bloodshot like that, he would have no way out of this court even if he came back from the dead.

Yurius came to the center of the court and looked up at the emperor as he opened his mouth. His words were completely different from what the nobles expected.

“I barely survived this attack with the help of the Grand Duke. It is a very regrettable thing that such a loyal subject lost his life to an unknown group of assailants.”

“…!?”

‘What did the First Prince eat wrong?’

‘You were fighting fiercely with the Grand Duke yourself, what are you talking about?’

The nobles were dumbfounded. In fact, it was the last explosion that cut off the Grand Duke’s breath, but from their point of view, Yurius had killed him. What? He saved your life?

To make matters worse, Yurius continued his words as if pouring salt on their wounds.

“He was the best knight in the empire and a loyal subject. He deserves to have a respectful funeral with a state funeral! And I think it is right to send a medal of martial honor to his family.”

At that moment, the eyes of all the nobles turned to the emperor. They knew that the emperor would never tolerate such a prank.

“Hmm… We often argued, but it is indeed a pity that the empire lost the Grand Duke. Don’t you think so?”

“…”

Instead of scolding Yurius, the emperor defended him with his answer. The nobles were speechless for a moment. How should they interpret this?

But among the nobles, there were some who were quick-witted. The first one to open his mouth was a middle-aged noble with a stylish beard.

“That is true! The Grand Duke devoted his life to the empire. I am amazed by the First Prince’s consideration. Haha…”

‘Ah!’

Then most of the nobles realized what this situation meant. Another noble hurriedly opened his mouth.

“I report to Your Highness, the First Prince. I don’t know what to say about your wise judgment. The Grand Duke was not only an excellent knight, but also a representative of the southern nobles. I thank you too.”

Some nobles even bowed their heads as if they were going to touch the ground.

They all had one thought in mind.

‘This is a test for us. He is warning us to follow him obediently from now on instead of blaming us for our sins with the Grand Duke!’

‘It means we have been put on a leash instead of losing our heads. But I have to save my life first, right?’

Yurius pretended to have a heavy expression and spoke again in a cheeky tone.

“I appreciate your words. Now I see that you are truly loyal subjects who think about the future of the empire.”

“You flatter us. Haha…”

As a harmonious(?) atmosphere was created between Yurius and some nobles, the others had no choice but to swallow their anger.

‘Damn it! How did this happen?’

‘Do they have no shame? How can they be so brazen…’

Whether they liked it or not, Yurius and the emperor were smiling faintly at each other.

‘The intention was successful. As expected, none of them have big enough guts to covet the imperial power as long as they get some benefits. This is better.’

***

The emperor frowned again at Yurius’ words yesterday.

“Don’t blame the Grand Duke for his crimes?”

“And you have to package him as a loyal subject in a grand way.”

“Hmm…”

The emperor had no choice but to think again. He had agreed to Yurius’ suggestion, but he didn’t really like it.

“Why don’t you just say he died accidentally? Why do you need to give him such honor?”

But Yurius’ answer was firm.

“Because that’s how we can shake the nobles who followed the Grand Duke!”

“…!?”

Then the emperor realized his intention.

“You mean to sow discord among them?”

“Yes. There must be many who value their lives among them.”

The reason why a civil war broke out was because the southern nobles were tightly united. But human hearts are treacherous.

If they protect the Grand Duke’s honor and don’t blame their families, what would they think? They would surely believe that Yurius, who would be at the center of power in the future, would be willing to negotiate with them, unlike the current emperor.

After all, they joined the Grand Duke because he represented their interests.

“It’s definitely effective, but I don’t like the idea of compromising with them.”

The emperor was not satisfied, but he was not a person who would go back on his word.

“Then you do it yourself. But if you can’t balance it, it might be worse than wiping them all out.”

“I know that.”

Yurius smiled again. This method would spill less blood than sweeping them all away, but it would take more effort to maintain the emperor’s power and appease the nobles.

‘But I can do it if I can see into people’s hearts!’

He had the ability to see people’s stats and inner thoughts. With this ability, he could easily sort out who would follow him and who would resist him.

As he was thinking that, the emperor finally relaxed his displeased expression and opened his mouth again.

“And there is one more condition.”

Yurius’ eyes lit up again. The emperor had something else to ask him?

“Please tell me.”

***

The nobles in the court were divided into two groups as Yurius expected.

One was the side that flattered him and begged for their lives like before!

The other was the ones who looked at those nobles with a dumbfounded expression and sighed. They were the ones who had some brains.

‘We won’t be able to raise a banner against him anymore. Even if we stick together, we can’t match him, and there are so many who fall for the First Prince’s sweet talk…’

There was also one more person who had a hardened expression, though he was not a noble. It was the Second Prince Leonhardt, who was quietly standing on the side of the nobles.

He was also somewhat puzzled inside.

‘If I had persuaded Abamama well, this would have been a chance to completely oust me and the Grand Duke, but why did he choose this method?’

Leonhardt couldn’t understand it. It would have been better to eliminate him completely even if it meant shedding blood, why did he leave a tail?

‘Anyway, I almost gave up when I heard that the Grand Duke died, but I guess the opportunity hasn’t completely gone yet?’

But Yurius, who was blocking his way now, had become a huge wall. So his mind was filled with various thoughts.

But there was a sound that broke the commotion.

“Hmm! Hmm!”josei

The emperor’s cough made the court quiet again.

“Then we’ll deal with the matter of the Grand Duke as we agreed and there is a second agenda for today.”

At that moment, everyone in the court except Yurius and the emperor had a puzzled expression. The problem of the Grand Duke’s rebellion was so big that they didn’t predict what other agenda there would be behind it.

“Besides the Grand Duke who died sadly, there is another one who made a great contribution, isn’t there?”

“Ah!”

Then all the officials in the court exclaimed. Come to think of it, Yurius’ commendation hadn’t ended yet.

Yurius smirked. He remembered the last condition that the emperor had given him yesterday. He had no reason to refuse anymore.

The emperor opened his mouth with a stern expression.

“I don’t need to praise you any more, including this commendation, so I’ll just say one thing.”

“…”

The audience waited for the emperor’s words in silence.

“Do you want to take the crown prince’s position?”

Yurius bowed his head.

“I still think I’m young and lacking, but I will.”

“Then it’s decided? Anyone who wants to object can come forward and speak.”

Of course, there was no one who would do that in this situation. The emperor smiled contentedly.

‘Finally, I can prepare to step down from this annoying position.’

“Then you need some preparation time, so let’s have the First Prince Yurius’ crown prince coronation ceremony in three months!”

And that day’s court meeting was over. After that, Yurius had to sweat profusely as he faced the endless stream of officials.

“Your Highness, the First Prince! Congratulations. You will soon be called Your Highness, the Crown Prince.”

“Thank you again for your treatment of the Grand Duke. I didn’t get to say it earlier, but I’m Count Lubeck from the south. I hope to…”

Not only the bureaucrats of the emperor’s faction, but also the nobles who had switched to Yurius’ side all bowed before him.

Most of the bureaucrats were sincere congratulations, but the nobles were persistent in trying to stamp their eyes on him, forgetting their dignity and pushing through the crowd.

‘It seems like I won’t be able to go back early today.’

But he couldn’t rudely chase them all away for his reputation management.

As he smiled and greeted them, finally someone he had been waiting for spoke to him.

“Brother! Congratulations.”

“Thank you. You must be worried about the Grand Duke’s death too. Are you okay?”

“It’s a sad thing, but we have to mourn when we’re sad and laugh together when we’re happy.”

As he greeted him in front of him, Leonhardt saw that the nobles behind him were clicking their tongues.

“Tsk! It’s obvious what a royal would say when pushed out of power… If it were me, I would never spare him.”

“Shh! But I heard that their relationship wasn’t that bad?”

“Anyway, as the Second Prince, he has to look good somehow to save his life. It’s pitiful.”

“…”

Leonhardt boiled inside even though he couldn’t hear it. In fact, Yurius could get rid of him at any time if he wanted to.

Yurius also smiled brightly at Leonhardt on the outside, but sneered coldly inside.

‘Don’t do anything stupid. Now that it’s been revealed that the Grand Duke had almost no connection with the Order, you’re the only one who can bring them in from your previous life.’

The reason why he didn’t get rid of Leonhardt right away was simple. It was because it was safer to let him stay in the palace and observe him regularly than to send him to exile far away.

And he had a second reason after getting new information.

[Leonhardt von Scharnos]

Player Factor (50%)

When he returned to the palace for the first time and observed him, Yurius was shocked. Compared to Yurius or the emperor, who had virtually no player aptitude, his aptitude was abnormally high.

‘He’s been two hundred years old, but what kind of mutant is he? Why is his aptitude so high?’