CHAPTER 72 #6
Lurtheron's gaze remained serious as he spoke, his eyes fixed on the documents in front of him. There was no trace of panic in his expression, only a cold and calculating look as he carefully pieced together everything that had happened.
"Whoever planned this understands power better than most of our officials..." nakapatingin ang lahat ng mga opisyal at nag taas ng kilay sa sinabi ni Megan.
Meanwhile, Athena simply rolled her eyes and tilted her head, clearly growing tired of the situation.
"I already warned you, but you didn't listen. Tingnan ninyo, mas lalo ninyo lamang pinalala ang galit ng mga mamamayan. Other citizens in different countries have already begun questioning the Crown. Ang iba ay..." napahinto si Athena at napatingin kay Lurtheron, her expression turning more serious.
"Gusto nang mawala sa korona ang emperor."
Saglit na natahimik ang lahat.
"We also became a laughingstock in other continents," dagdag ni Cardinal Asphodel, his voice calm but clearly displeased.
"News of what is happening here has already spread far beyond the empire. If this continues, Your Majesty, it won't only be the people inside the empire who will lose faith in the Crown. Other nations may begin to question whether the Erenhal Sartorias Empire is still capable of governing itself."
Everyone in the room was already aware that Vermeleyon had become a laughingstock. Ngunit higit pa roon, nagtataka rin sila kung bakit napakabilis kumalat ng balita tungkol sa nangyayari sa Erenhal Sartorias, reaching different territories and kingdoms in such a short amount of time.
"Some of the people..." Athena paused for a moment before continuing.
"They are saying that the Archduke, Galsarius Constanciandro III Quentin, should be the one sitting on the throne. Lalo na dahil naniniwala ang ilan na hindi magiging kasing laki ng impluwensya ng Holy Cathedral sa pamahalaan kung ang isang Quentin ang mamumuno."
Bahagya siyang napatingin kay Lurtheron.
"It is becoming a problem for your throne, Your Majesty. Lalo na't base sa historya, the Quentins were the ones who placed the Vacardis on the imperial throne in the first place. If the people begin believing that the Quentins have a stronger claim to rule than the current Crown,
then this is no longer simply public anger. It could become a question of legitimacy." Athena continued.
"Someone... is behind all of this. Hindi lang nagkataon ang lahat ng ito. As if they are deliberately weakening my authority and the Holy Cathedral at the same time."
Lurtheron's voice remained calm, but his serious gaze made it clear that he was no longer treating the situation as a simple disturbance from the people.
"Think about it. The anger of the citizens, the sudden appearance of those mysterious figures wearing black cloaks with the phoenix symbol, the food and water being distributed to the crowd, and now the rumors spreading across different territories and kingdoms.
Each event may seem insignificant on its own, but together, they form a pattern. Someone is slowly stripping away the authority we have built over the empire. If we respond carelessly, we will only make their plan easier."
"Hmm..." bahagyang napahawak sa kaniyang balbas ang isang Priest habang pinag-iisipan ang sinabi ni Lurtheron.
"If someone is indeed behind this, then who could it be? wala namang malinaw na kaaway ang Erenhal Sartorias... Yes, there was a conflict between the vampires and the elves in Oseanus, but that was a long time ago. Those kingdoms have their own problems,
and none of them would benefit from deliberately creating this kind of instability inside our empire. Unless..."
saglit siyang natahimik habang unti-unting napatingin sa iba.
"Unless this isn't coming from outside the empire at all."
"There is... one." biglang nagsalita si Megan, dahilan upang mapalingon sa kaniya ang lahat. Her expression remained composed, but there was a noticeable seriousness in her eyes.
"One house has always stood against the influence of the Holy Cathedral. One house has enough wealth, soldiers, political influence, and history to challenge the Crown if they ever decided to do so." bahagya niyang ibinaba ang kaniyang tasa.
"The Holy Cathedral's greatest enemy is none other than House Quentin."
"Are you saying it was Galsarius?" tanong ni Lurtheron, his gaze immediately turning toward Megan.
"If Galsarius is truly behind this, then this changes everything. He wouldn't simply be trying to damage the reputation of the Crown. He would be challenging the balance of power that has existed between the Imperial Palace, the Holy Cathedral, and House Quentin for generations.
But if that is what he intends, then why now? Why expose himself through such an obvious chain of events? Unless..."
"... Unless the person behind this wants us to believe that Galsarius is responsible."
Megan smirked at Lurtheron, clearly amused by his deduction.
"How clever, Your Majesty. You are smart enough to realize that it may not be Galsarius." bahagya niyang iniangat ang kaniyang tasa bago muling nagsalita.
"Ngunit hindi dapat tayo makampante. Just because Galsarius may not be the one directly behind this doesn't mean House Quentin is innocent. They have the influence, the resources, and the history to become a serious threat to the Crown if they ever decide to move against us."
bahagya siyang sumandal sa kaniyang upuan, her smirk slowly fading into a more serious expression.
"We need to investigate House Quentin."
Pope Roque slowly looked between Lurtheron and Megan, his expression becoming more troubled as he considered the possibility.
"Galsarius... could it be that he is doing all of this because of what happened?" bahagya siyang napakunot-noo, as though even he found the idea difficult to accept.
"But that's impossible... he himself killed his own son, the former Archduke. Why would he suddenly move against the Crown now? If his intention was revenge, then wouldn't he have acted long ago?" ani Solomon.
Megan simply rolled her eyes before letting out a quiet sigh.
"Yeah, yeah, obviously. We need to investigate them if we want to know what they're really planning. We can't keep sitting here and guessing whether Galsarius or anyone from House Quentin is behind this. We need facts, evidence, and a clear picture of what they're doing before we make our next move.
Kung may kinalaman nga sila sa lahat ng ito, then we'll know exactly where to look and how to deal with them. But if they're innocent, then we can stop wasting our time pointing fingers at the wrong enemy."
Marahang inilapag ni Athena ang kaniyang tasa sa mesa, causing the soft clink of porcelain to echo through the quiet room.
Dahil dito, napatingin naman ang lahat sa kaniya, waiting for her to speak.
Nanatili siyang tahimik nang ilang segundo habang isa-isa niyang tinitigan ang mga taong naroroon, as though carefully choosing what she was about to say.
"If I may, I apologize for the interruption, but we need to focus on our main problem right now. The people. Kailangan natin silang unahin, lalo na't may mga nawawala pa ring mga mamamayan. We can investigate House Quentin later, but right now,
our priority should be finding those who disappeared and calming the people gathered outside. If we continue ignoring them while more citizens go missing, the situation will only become harder to control."
"I agree. Mas lalong dumadami ang mga nawawala sa iba't ibang lungsod. Based on the recent reports, mga kalalakihan naman ang madalas na tinatarget ng mga ito. We still don't know who is taking them or what they intend to do with them, but the number of missing citizens continues to rise.
If we keep ignoring this, we may soon lose track of how many people have already disappeared," ani ng isa pang priest.
"Could it be that the one pulling the strings behind all of this is also the same person behind the disappearances?"
tanong ni Solomon, his expression turning serious.
"Kung iisang tao o grupo nga ang nasa likod ng lahat, then the unrest outside the palace may not be the real objective. It could simply be a distraction. Habang nakatuon ang atensyon natin sa mga mamamayang nagpoprotesta at sa kaguluhan sa paligid ng Cathedral,
someone else could be carrying out their real plan somewhere else. We need to consider that possibility before we make another move."
Napatingin si Athena kay Megan. Nanatili itong kalmado sa kabila ng lumalalang sitwasyon, casually holding her cup as though none of the reports around them were enough to disturb her.
This bitch... kampante siya dahil protektado siya rito. Nakakapagtago siya sa loob ng palasyong ito habang ang mga tao ang humaharap sa kaguluhan sa labas. She never cares about the people. As long as she's safe behind these walls, she doesn't care what happens to anyone else.
A faint smirk appeared on Megan's lips as she calmly sipped her drink.
Napatingin naman si Lurtheron sa kaniyang ina habang patuloy na nag-uusap ang ibang mga opisyal sa paligid nila. Tahimik niyang pinagmasdan si Megan, noticing how unusually calm she remained despite everything that was happening outside the palace.
She should be furious by now. With everything happening outside, the people demanding answers, the reports of citizens disappearing, and even other territories beginning to question the Crown... she should be the first one to lose her patience...
Lurtheron slowly turned his gaze back toward his council.
"Instead of jumping to conclusions, I have decided... to talk to the people myself. Magpapakita ako sa lahat at kakausapin ko sila. They have been waiting outside for two days, and if we continue hiding behind these walls, we will only give them more reasons to distrust the Crown."
Bahagya siyang tumigil bago muling nagsalita.