TIPHLMD - Chapter 2 < Sky Above The Sky >



The Emperor was murdered by a woman in his bed. This caused an uproar inside the imperial palace.

The death of the Emperor was also shocking, and the woman who assassinated him was none other than the famous Seliya Brillion.

Seliya Brillion.

There was no one in the empire of Abelon who did not know her name.

She barely maintained her title, but she was a woman who made the Viscountess overflow with money.

Everyone around her praised her as the woman who created all the beauty in the world.

The story of a famous priest, who was famous for his strict abstinence, was so taken by her beauty that he threw off his priestly clothes and passionately courted her, was famous.

With her silver hair that seemed to capture the Milky Way, skin more dazzling than pure white snow, large deer-like eyes, and a warm and gentle personality, she was the first love of many men.

The imperial palace ministers were well aware that the Emperor had been targeting Seliya from an early age.

It was strange that the Emperor, who revealed her feminine side, would leave Seliya alone, who even fascinated men with indigo.

However, the Viscountess Brillion, did not give her up to the Emperor and held on to her until the end. The reason was that she could not willingly give up her adopted daughter, whom she loved more than her biological child, even though she was not related to her by a single drop of blood.

The Emperor gritted his teeth, but he did not dare to say anything. Seliya fame was so great that she had more admirers than the grains of sand in the desert.

If word was heard that he had taken Seliya by force, the precarious imperial power would have fallen into the mud.

The Viscountess, who had been strongly expressing her will, said that she could not go against the Emperor's orders, and she suddenly announced that she would send Seliya to him, even if it was too late. 

It was a while ago.

The Emperor was very pleased with this and bestowed upon the Viscountess enough wealth to last her entire life.

As soon as he entered the bed, he didn't know that he was going to die at the hands of the woman he wanted so much.

The dead Emperor, Secret Basileus, could never be called a good Emperor even with empty words.

He was the epitome of incompetence. He has no interest in responsibilities, is infertile, and since he is a womanizer, the number of people supporting him is naturally smaller than a handful of sand.

Since an unqualified person became Emperor, that was the problem. But no one could complain.

In the first place, it was the three Duke of the empire called Heaven Above that placed someone without ability on the throne.

The reason why a small country on the border was able to grow into a huge empire was because of the existence of three ducal families, both in name and reality.

The Cervantes family rules the northern and western territories, the Portman family rules the eastern territory, and the Frederick family rules the vast southern territory where the climate is warm all year round.

These three families were the brains, swords, and actual Emperors of Abelon.

Rather than the fact that the Emperor was dead, the ministers were more worried about what would happen to the three Dukes who had crowned the Emperor. The news that the Emperor had died probably reached their ears as well.

However, some saw the Emperor's death as an opportunity.

The imperial palace ministers, each with different thoughts, held an emergency discussion.

In heavy silence, the oldest bureaucrat among the ministers sitting around the long table began to cry.

“His Majesty has passed away, so what should we do?”

Contrary to the lamenting voice, there was not even the slightest hint of regret on the face of the minister who was actually speaking.

The eyes of an old snake shone sharply, like those of an opportunist.

“What on earth did Lord Dietrich do other than assisting His Majesty? He is His Majesty’s closest aide in name and identity, and he only discovered this after His Majesty the Emperor passed away!”

The old minister made up his angry voice quite convincingly. The wrinkled eyes and trembling white beard made him look really angry.

The other ministers were shocked and couldn't say anything, just exchanging glances with each other.

However, what surprised them was not the anger of Marquis Tailor, who had been in government the longest, but because of the content of his words.

Sir Dietrich.

It was a very profane statement. If he really respected him, you should have called him His Excellency Duke Calypso, not Lord Dietrich.

This could only be said because Dietrich Calypso was not here. Dietrich had a higher rank than any of the imperial palace officials in this place.

Dietrich, who had received the dukedom a month ago, was the only Duke other than the three dukes.

But the reason no one refutes anything is because he came from a humble background. It was the Emperor who took Dietrich away on a whim after he had almost been sold to a slave dealer a long time ago.

Everyone thought he was stupid and foolish and said he would die in the imperial palace within a year.

But Dietrich exceeded everyone's expectations. He relentlessly crawled up from beneath, ruthlessly trampling on the people who framed him.

He had a natural talent for swordsmanship, and aside from Wald Portman, the head of the Portman duchy, he was the only existing sword master in the empire.

The Emperor asked the three Dukes to place Dietrich in the dukedom, and he was granted the dukedom. In a way, he was elevated from being a slave to being a Duke.

The ministers feared Dietrich, who was famous for his foul personality, but they were even more dissatisfied with him.

The dead Emperor was closer to Dietrich than anyone else.

He did not like the idea of ​​giving the rank of knight commander to a man of humble origins, but the Emperor eventually gave Dietrich the dukedom and died.

“Isn’t something strange? Unfortunately, His Majesty died not long after Sir Dietrich obtained the dukedom. Is there anyone among us who can say with certainty that Sir Dietrich had nothing to do with the death of His Majesty the Emperor?”

The ministers were as quiet as if they were dead. Some of the people nodded as if they agreed with what he said. Gathering public opinion to his liking was Marquis Tailor's specialty.

Although he did not point out that he was the culprit, it seemed difficult for Dietrich to get out of the situation as it was a situation.

He was so loyal to the Emperor that he was called the Emperor's mad dog, but the Marquis of Teilo planned to hold him responsible for failing to assist the Emperor and cleverly frame him as the culprit.

Among the ministers gathered here, none of them liked Dietrich. The ministers thought that the commission was too much for a lowly former slave.

Dietrich had snatched the delicious meat from somewhere and was about to bite him mercilessly and drive him into a corner.

The corners of Marquis Tailor's mouth quirked up.

As he stepped forward and set the direction, public opinion flowed in the direction he wanted.

“...I also agree with Marquis Teilo. Surely it's strange, isn't it? It’s only been a month since the Commander of the Imperial Knights took his place on the Duke’s throne, and such an unpleasant incident has occurred.”

Count Nathan, who is close to Marquis Tailor, expressed sympathy.

“Lord Dietrich was the commander of the Imperial Knights and was His Majesty’s closest associate. He knows more about His Majesty the Emperor than anyone else, so we cannot rule out the possibility that he is the culprit who assassinated His Majesty.”

The old minister poured out words that other people had only thought about, without hesitation. This was something that could be said because no one opposed it and only those who sympathized with it.

“Of course, we will have to thoroughly investigate the details.”

He did not say for sure that Dietrich was the culprit, but he left open the possibility that he was the culprit. If his subordinates who blindly followed Dietrich had seen this scene, his life could have been in danger, but the ministers' attitude was cold. Because there was a part of him that believed in it.

At that time, the black curtain fluttered loudly, indicating that the window was clearly closed.

The ministers' hearts seemed to sink at that moment as if someone had overheard what they said.

One of the people closest to the window stood up and roughly opened the curtain. But where the curtain was, there wasn't even a shadow of a person.

“...When I looked closely, I saw that the window was open.”

The conference hall where the ministers were located was on the fifth floor. What kind of person dares to jump from this high place?

The ministers thought their thoughts were excessive and continued the discussion again.

No one knew that Dietrich's adjutant had overheard their conversation and suddenly left.

“Now that I think about it, what happened to the woman who assassinated His Majesty?” 

***

“Oh, Your Excellency the Duke! Did you call me?”

The imperial council member's heart fluttered at the sudden call from the leader of the Imperial Knights, who was known for his vicious temperament.

Dietrich glanced at the doctor's face, and then he began to lead the way without saying a word.

The doctor walked with as little noise as possible so as not to offend Dietrich. Maybe it was because his legs were so long, but just following Dietrich made him sweat profusely.

Eventually, the place where Dietrich stopped was a dungeon where only criminals who committed serious crimes were imprisoned.

“Go in.”

The doctor wondered if he had done something wrong, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't remember doing anything wrong.

“Take the lead.”

In Dietrich's order not to reveal his presence or absence, the doctor swallowed his saliva and walked into the prison.

“Wow...!”

As soon as he entered the room, the rotten stench made the doctor gag. The prison, where there was little light, was lined with iron bars that were no different from animal cages.

The iron cage, barely large enough for one person to lie down, had thick iron bars and layers of locks. Inside, the prisoners were lying limp, as if they had given up on life, waiting for their imminent death.

“Go forward.”

At Dietrich's command, the doctor endured the stench and walked for a while, using the torch hanging on the wall as a guide.

The moment he reached the very back of the prison, for some reason there was no foul smell.

Inside the innermost cage, a dazzlingly beautiful woman was lying alone. The doctor looked at her with wide eyes.
 
Although he had never seen this woman before, he could immediately recognize who she was.

“Examine.”

After saying a few words, Dietrich opened the lock on the iron bar with the key. Then he pushed the Doctor into the cage.

'This person... Seliya Brillion.'

She was a woman with a reputation for being beautiful. There is probably no one more famous than this woman in all of Abelon.

There was even a joke that the wealth given to the Brillion family by men who fell in love with Seliya, at first sight, was enough to sustain the people in the capital for a lifetime.

When he faced the real thing, he immediately understood why they felt that way.

Light silver hair and skin are so white and transparent that the veins can be seen through. Her red lips resemble a crescent moon.

After the doctor confirmed that Seliya was unconscious, he looked at her thin clothes, collarbone, and legs.

“What are you doing? Why don’t you hurry up and check it out?”

What brought the dazed doctor to his senses was Dietrich's voice from behind him.

“Oh, yeah...!”

The doctor hurriedly bent down to examine her.

He carefully rolled up one of Seliya's sleeves and felt the pulse of her wrist. After a while, his face turned pale.

“Well, Your Excellency the Duke...”



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