After his tirade, Marquis Camus trembled, shaking from fury. He looked as if he would launch himself at Siegfried at any moment now.

His fury was understandable, as, after all, the incident where Princess Irene had been defiled by Siegfried and driven to take her own life had shaken not only him, but all citizens of the Marchioni Empire down to their core.

“You... You shameless demon...! Did you truly think you could get away with what you’ve done?!” Marquis Camus roared.

Yet despite the marquis’ rage, Siegfried did not so much as blink.

“Phew~! They sent quite the tough one,” Siegfried said mockingly. Then, he leaned back lazily into his throne, casually picked his nose, scooped out the booger, and wiped it on the armrest.

‘Ugh!’

‘Y-Your Imperial Majesty...! Such a thing is...!’

‘Too filthy...’

Completely oblivious to his ministers being repulsed by his actions, Siegfried began to dig into his ear with his pinky finger.

‘Ah, I have told him so many times not to act like that...’

‘S-Sire... You have to be mindful of how others perceive you...’

The ministers of the Proatine Empire squeezed their eyes shut, ashamed by their emperor’s vulgar display.

On the other hand, Marquis Camus’ rage only burned hotter.

“Y-You...!” He roared again. “The wrath of our people has pierced the heavens! How dare you defile Her Imperial Highness and drive her to her death yet sit there mocking us?! What madness is this?! Where is your basic decency as a human being?!”

Siegfried stopped digging his ear, pulled his pinky finger out, and flicked the ear wax toward the marquis.

Then, he narrowed his eyes and asked, “Do you have any proof?”

“P-Proof...?” Marquis Camus muttered, stunned.

“Yeah, proof. Do you have it or not?”

“Her Imperial Highness, Princess Irene left a will before taking her own life! If that is not proof enough, then what else could it be?!”

“Is that so?”

“You will not escape! You will pay for your sins!” Marquis Camus growled.

“Oh? Who will make me pay?” Siegfried sneered.

“His Imperial Majesty, the Emperor of the Great Marchioni Empire, will bring down judgement upon you! Your lands will be razed, your people enslaved, and every one of your kin slaughtered!

"But His Imperial Majesty is a benevolent and merciful ruler, so he might grant you a painless death if you repent your crimes and surrender yourself!”

“Oh~ How terrifying! I’m shaking in my boots already!” Siegfried sneered.

“W-What?! You dare make a mockery of His Imperial Majesty’s benevolence?!” Marquis Camus retorted.

“So, you’re saying that I defiled Princess Irene, and she ended her life after finding out that she carried my child. Is that it?” Siegfried asked.

“Are you truly asking as though you don’t know what you did?! Are you pretending to be innocent now?! Do you have any idea what you did?!”

It was then.

The Chief Chamberlain, Metatron, announced, “Her Imperial Highness, Princess Irene von Posteriore, has arrived!”

Thud... Thud...

Irene strode into the hall, walking straight down the red carpet at the center of the throne room.

“...!”

Maquis Camus froze, shocked after seeing that the princess he believed to be dead was alive and was even walking straight toward him.

‘W-What is going on here? What is this...?’

Not knowing that the whole thing was a ruse orchestrated by Emperor Stuttgart and the intelligence bureau, Marquis Camus was struck dumb after seeing her alive and well.

“Y-Your Imperial Highness...?” Marquis Camus muttered.

Smack!

Irene struck Marquis Camus hard across the face.

“How dare you raise your head and look directly at me with your filthy eyes?” Irene growled.

“Ughkk!”

“Lower your gaze, vermin.”

Irene had always treated the nobles of the Marchioni Empire this way. Marquis Camus was a proud and arrogant noble, but he was nothing more than an insect before the imperial princess.

Of course, she had already lost her title as the imperial princess after siding with the Proatine Empire, but right now, she could still treat the marquis however she wished using her rank.

After all, there was nothing left for her to lose.

“Hey,” Siegfried called out. Then, he sat up straight and asked in a low voice, “Who exactly here doesn’t have an idea what they’re doing?”

“T-That is...!”

“After all I’ve done to help your empire, this is how you repay me? You come to my empire hurling false accusations with your despicable schemes?”

“...”

“Tell this to that bastard, Stuttgart. I’ll be coming for him soon, so he better wash his neck and wait for me.”

“How dare you!” Marquis Camus’ rage flared up again. Despite being in a severely disadvantageous position, he couldn’t help but lash out after hearing Siegfried insult Emperor Stuttgart. “How dare a mere Adventurer like you utter the name of His Imperial Majesty, the Emperor of the Mighty Marchioni—”

“Shut your mouth,” Siegfried cut him off, unleashing his aura filled with killing intent.

“Grrk—!”

The aura unleashed by Siegfried crashed down on Marquis Camus, pushing down on him until he suffocated and gasped desperately for air.

“Hhrrk! Huff! Huff!”

A mere NPC like him could never dream to withstand Siegfried’s murderous aura. In fact, Siegfried could kill him without lifting a single finger if he wanted to.

“Arghhh!”

“Ghhrk!”

Even the knights who accompanied the marquis fared no better.

“I could kill you where you stand before you could even blink. But someone has to carry back my message, no? So, I’ll spare your lives but...” Siegfried said icily before trailing the end of his words. Then, he said without a hint of emotion, “Leave both your arms here.”

Before his words could even finish echoing in the air.

Whoosh!

Flaming aura blades shot forward, severing the arms of Marquis Camus and the two knights accompanying him.

Not a single drop of blood dirtied the carpet underneath their feet, as the scorching heat of the aura blades had cauterized the wounds instantly, sealing them shut before even a single droplet of blood could leak out.

“Uwaaaagh!”

“Arghhhhh!”

“G-Ghaaaaghk!”

Their screams rang throughout the throne room.

“Tend to their wounds and send them back,” Siegfried said, his voice cold as he issued the order.

“As you command, sire!”

The healers waiting nearby rushed in, tending to their wounds before dragging the marquis and his knights away.

“Phew!” Siegfried exhaled, suppressing his fury. Then, he commanded, “From this moment on, spare no effort in spreading the truth across the entire continent. Let the people know that the Marchioni Empire had staged a despicable scheme to murder Princess Irene and frame me for it.”

At his command, the ministers all bowed and responded in unison.

“As you command, Your Imperial Majesty!”

“As you command, Your Imperial Majesty!”

“As you command, Your Imperial Majesty!”

At long last, the counterattack of the Proatine Empire had finally begun.

***

Meanwhile, Michele was buried in administrative duties. He was reviewing the petitions that had arrived from the provinces of the empire when he suddenly noticed something odd.

‘Hm? What’s this?’

The documents in front of him were strangely odd, and the reason was simple.

‘Was corruption always this rampant in our empire?’

Most of the petitions from the provinces reported rampant corruption and tyranny by the provincial nobles. According to the reports, the tax rates in the small frontier territories and towns had suddenly spiked three months ago, making it impossible for the common people to survive.

‘Even those who were upright before are being accused of corruption?’

What was strange was that many of the provincial nobles ruling those regions were known for being upright, capable, and virtuous individuals. Despite that, they suddenly started abusing their people three months ago, and things became so bad that the people could hardly breathe under the oppression.

‘Something is definitely suspicious about this. I need to report this matter to His Imperial Majesty.’

Sensing that something else was at play, Michele immediately sought out Siegfried.

After all, the nobles in question were not the corrupt type that would squeeze their people dry. The fact that they changed so drastically, and all at the same time, was simply too strange for Michele to overlook.

“Something like that happened?”

“Yes, sire.”

“But why all of a sudden?”

Siegfried listened to the report and couldn’t make sense of it.

The officials and nobles of the Proatine Empire were known for their integrity.

Siegfried himself, despite being an emperor, personally ran around resolving problems and had even saved the world from destruction countless times. Since someone like him was ruling over the empire, how could the officials and nobles dare to become corrupt?

Moreover, almost ninety-nine percent of the citizens of the Proatine Empire were devout followers of the Church of Heroes, which worshiped Siegfried. For the officials and nobles to extort or abuse them would be unthinkable—unless they had a death wish.

In fact, the punishments for committing corruption in the Proatine Empire were so severe that anyone caught accepting bribes could very well be sent to the gallows and lose their heads.

“This sounds really suspicious to me,” Siegfried said, rubbing his chin.

“Indeed, sire,” Michele replied with a nod.

“I’ll look into this personally.”

“Huh? This is something the inspectors can handle, no?”

“Nope. The names on the list aren’t people who would normally act like that. But the fact that they suddenly changed in just three months means that it’s no natural phenomenon. This isn’t just some corrupt people abusing their powers.”

“Then you mean...”

“It’s either a plot by the Marchioni Empire or the influence of some demonic entity that escaped from an Ancient Dungeon.”

“The latter sounds more likely.”

“Whatever it may be, I’ll investigate this matter myself and resolve it if I can. You should focus on other affairs of our empire.”

“As you command, sire.”

With that, Siegfried personally set out to investigate the sudden surge of corruption within the Proatine Empire.

***

Meanwhile, the Marchioni Empire was facing the greatest humiliating moment since its founding.

Their original plan had been to frame Siegfried and redirect the people’s wrath toward the Proatine Empire.

However, that plan failed miserably when Irene turned out to be alive and had even taken the Proatine Empire's side. She exposed the Marchioni Empire’s despicable scheme and even condemned them publicly.

Of course, the public opinion shifted completely, and the people’s wrath directed at the Marchioni Empire burned fiercer than ever.

“Damn the emperor! He wasn’t satisfied with slaughtering all of his relatives just to ascend the throne that he even resorted to exploiting his one and only little sister?”

“I know, right? Being cold and ruthless is one thing, but what he did is just... he’s worse than a beast.”

“Such despicable scheme! The disgrace! I was doing business with merchants from other kingdoms just yesterday, and you won’t believe how embarrassed I was! I couldn’t utter a single word in front of them!”

“Power is truly a terrifying thing... To go so far as to frame the hero who saved the world numerous times as some vile rapist...”

“Didn’t he cross the line this time? Slandering someone is one thing, but plotting to kill your own sister just for that? Wow...”

The people of the Marchioni Empire were ashamed, enraged, and deeply disappointed after hearing the truth. The pride they once held as being a citizen of the greatest empire in the world shattered into pieces.

The "greatest empire" had not only attempted to kill its own princess but had also framed the emperor of an allied nation as a rapist. This was a new low for the "greatest empire" in the world, and something that its citizens never even dreamed was possible.

Emperor Stuttgart was consumed by rage after receiving the report. However, just as always, he remained silent and still, suppressing his fury.

“Execute all those involved in the matter,” Emperor Stuttgart commanded, his voice devoid of any emotion.

“As you command, Your Imperial Majesty.”

Emperor Stuttgart barely managed to quell his fury by ordering the execution of everyone who had taken part in the scheme.

“You were a double-edged sword from the very beginning, Siegfried von Proa...” he muttered. He wanted nothing more than to invade the Proatine Empire right that very instant.

Unfortunately, the Marchioni Empire was in no position to wage an all-out war.

The plagues were still running rampant within the empire that their one million strong military would be annihilated by the epidemic before they could even reach the Proatine Empire’s borders.

“It seems Siegfried von Proa is not familiar with the history of this world... Not a single one who crossed the Great Marchioni Empire had ever met a painless death,” he muttered under his breath.

Then, he finally looked up and ordered, “Summon Neighdelberg.”

“As you command, Your Imperial Majesty.”

Emperor Stuttgart had resolved to start preparing for an all-out war against Siegfried von Proa and the Proatine Empire by recalling Neighdelberg, who had been demoted to a mere slave as punishment for his failures on the Dragonhead Mountain eruption incident.

***

Meanwhile, Siegfried went to the provinces of the Proatine Empire to investigate the corruption cases.

Viscount Ralph was a viscount of the Proatine Emperor and a noble governing a small territory. He was one of the contributors to the founding of the empire and was renowned for his honesty, integrity, and upright character.

In addition, he was famous for his devotion to his wife and widely regarded as an helpless romantic. He was so devoted to her wife that bards even composed poems and sang songs about him.

The fact that he had poems and songs about his devotion was irrefutable proof of his character as a virtuous man.

However, the Ralph whom Siegfried met after two years was no longer the same honest and romantic man.

“Welcome to our humble territory, Your Imperial Majesty!”

Viscount Ralph welcomed Siegfried with utmost reverence and extravagance, but the problem was that this kind of lavish reception was exactly the sort of thing Siegfried despised the most.

“What are you all waiting for?! Begin the performance! His Imperial Majesty has graced us with his presence! Tonight shall be a night filled with pleasure!”

At Viscount Ralph’s command, the banquet began.

However, this was no ordinary grand feast.

Droves of half-naked young women filed into the hall and crowded around Siegfried.

‘I-Is this some sort of damn nightclub?! What the hell is this?!’ Siegfried screamed inwardly.

He was completely dumbfounded the moment the banquet hall was transformed into something that resembled a cabaret.

“Hehehe! Your Imperial Majesty!”

Viscount Ralph approached Siegfried, rubbing his palms together.

“I have specially prepared fresh, young, tender women for your pleasure tonight!”

“Huh...?”

“Hehehe! Please feel free to indulge in debauchery to Your Imperial Majesty’s heart’s content! I, your humble servant, shall gift an unforgettable banquet of ecstasy!”