Academy’s Undercover Professor-Chapter 292: The Emperor of the Empire (2)

“I greet Your Majesty the Emperor.”

Ludger performed the proper imperial etiquette as he bowed before the Emperor.

Erendir was visibly startled by how reverently Ludger was behaving.

At least to her knowledge, Ludger Cherish was the kind of man who wouldn’t lower his head even if a god descended before him, let alone a mere emperor.

In contrast, Aileen stared at Ludger with a faintly displeased look.

The fact that this man would kneel to someone who wasn’t her irked her more than she’d care to admit.

Even if that someone was her own father.

One daughter was shocked, the other irritated.

Regardless of what the two princesses felt, the Emperor spoke in a gentle tone.

“This is not the Imperial Palace. Such excessive formality only troubles me.”

“Understood.”

Ludger immediately rose to his feet.

Rather than showing anger, the Emperor looked at Ludger’s expressionless face with interest.

His conduct was respectful, but his eyes contained not the slightest trace of submission.

‘What an unshakable man. And I’m curious about the contrasting reactions my daughters have toward him.’

“My, I seem to have kept a hero in my presence for too long. You must be exhausted—shouldn’t you take some rest?”

“I appreciate the consideration, but given the circumstances, I don’t believe that’s possible.”

Though the chimeras had been repelled, the terror incident in the capital was far from over.

Everyone present understood that well.

The group returned inside the command tent.

This time, Ludger joined them.

Ludger scanned the interior of the tent.

Veronica, who recognized him, gave a nod of acknowledgment. Standing beside her, Terrina watched Ludger with a curious gaze.

Elsewhere, various mentors and mages had gathered.

They seemed rather surprised that Ludger had not only returned alive but had also rescued a great number of civilians.

Among the shocked were instructors who were supposed to be at the palace.

Since the first-year instructors were still there, the ones present here were for the second years.

Surprisingly, one of them was a familiar face—Chris Bennimore.

‘Quite the crowd.’

Every single person here was formidable.

The one who stood out the most, however, was the massive man stationed beside the Emperor like a guardian.

‘His aura is beastlike, but his presence feels like a single drawn sword.’

Though Ludger had never seen his face before, a man this distinctive could only be one person.

Lutus Wardot, the Commander of the Royal Guard.

Unlike other powerhouses, he did not exude his strength openly.

Rather, his presence was so thoroughly contained that to the unknowing eye, he might appear to be nothing more than a large, gruff man.

But for those who knew, that was precisely what made him so terrifying.

There wasn’t a single weakling among those gathered here.

This was the Empire’s best available force, assembled in haste.

The fact that someone like Lutus could conceal his presence so completely only proved how far beyond others his strength lay.

‘He’s a bit smaller than Phantos, but the feeling is more compact—it's hard to say who’s stronger.’

Ludger briefly compared Lutus with Phantos, who had remained back in Rederbelk.

Phantos still had a long way to go before reaching the level of the Empire’s strongest sword.

But Phantos, having experienced countless battles, was steadily growing stronger—someone who could one day be called a great hero of the beastkin race.

‘It’s impossible for now, but if he gains more experience... no, wait.’

As Ludger was lost in thought, he realized Lutus was staring at him.

He smoothly averted his eyes.

He must’ve been staring a bit too intently while thinking.

Or perhaps Lutus had sensed the weight of his gaze.

In such moments, feigning ignorance was best, so Ludger ignored Lutus’s stare entirely.

The high command gathered in the tent began debating their next move.

“First, we need to establish a perimeter and prevent further spread of the damage.”

“That would be too slow. We don’t know what those bastards are doing underground right now.”

“Then what do you propose?”

“We need to strike first. Launch a counterattack. Sweep them all out of the underground.”

“You’re suggesting we charge in blindly, without knowing what’s down there? What if it’s a trap?”

“The people here are among the best in the Empire. Do you really think the Liberation Army’s traps are going to stop us?”

Those advocating caution were mostly mages, while the knights pushed for an aggressive advance.

Of course, the knight leaders—Veronica and Terrina—remained silent.

Even among their own factions, opinions were divided.

“May I offer a word on the matter?”

The one who finally spoke was Aileen, the First Princess, who had remained quiet until now.

Most had assumed she would simply observe, so her sudden interjection caught many off guard.

On the other hand, Terrina, familiar with Aileen’s nature, closed her eyes and gave a faint smile—as if thinking, so it begins.

“You, who just dismissed them as mere Liberation Army rabble—what’s your name?”

“...I’m Eric, from the Nightcrawler Knights.”

“Eric. I understand your reasoning, and I even agree with some of it. But it’s still insufficient.”

Once the infamous First Princess began speaking, Eric fell silent.

Aileen naturally seized the right to speak and wielded it with ease.

“As everyone knows, the Liberation Army isn’t the same as it used to be. They’ve acquired weapons of their own. Most notably—gunpowder unaffected by mana.”

At those words, the expressions of Seorn’s mentors hardened.

They’d clashed with the Liberation Army early on and knew better than anyone the effects of that gunpowder.

“You could argue that now that we know how it works, it’s not a problem anymore—but that only begs the question: what else do they have that we don’t know about? The chimeras, for instance. They were able to mass-produce them underground, right beneath the capital.”

“But we stopped them, didn’t we?”

The response came from the commander of the capital guard.

“Of course. The guards did their duty, and the knights and mages here fought valiantly. Considering the scale of the incident, the damage was miraculously low. It’s something worthy of being recorded in history.”

Just as those words lifted the mood—

Aileen poured cold water on it.

“But how can we be certain that’s the extent of their capabilities?”

“......”

“No one here anticipated even that unusual type of gunpowder they used.”

Her words, though presented optimistically at first, shifted the atmosphere at a critical moment.

Aileen spoke with subtle finesse.

While acknowledging everyone’s contributions and perspectives, she never backed down from her point of view.

She wasn’t using authority to suppress opposition—her logic was sound and undeniable.

“Consider it for yourselves. If you were the Liberation Army—or a black mage allied with them—would you end everything with just some chimeras?”

No one dared answer lightly.

It wasn’t because of her authority.

They had all harbored similar concerns but chose to ignore them, thinking the enemy couldn’t possibly pose a real threat.

Aileen shattered that illusion head-on.

“If they truly believed a chimera horde was enough to threaten the capital, they’d be fools unworthy of our attention. But I don’t think they’re fools.”

They hadn’t thrown the chimeras at them recklessly—they had deliberately pulled them back underground.

That alone suggested strategy.

The enemy had a plan.

And they clearly possessed another means of dealing a blow to the Empire.

“Fortunately, we have the Empire’s best forces here at our disposal. The capital guard, police, high-ranking mages, the three knight orders, and even the Royal Guard.”

Then she glanced briefly at Ludger.

“And the instructors from Seorn as well.”

Normally, that last category wouldn’t mean much, even with Seorn’s reputation.

But Aileen had just acknowledged Ludger.

And Ludger had returned alive with a large number of survivors.

That alone was enough to earn respect.

Thanks to that, the second-year Seorn instructors, who had been sitting with tense expressions, finally let out sighs of relief.

“Does Your Highness have something in mind?”

At that moment, Terrina, who had been listening quietly, asked the question.

“Commander Terrina Lionhowl. And what exactly do you mean by that?”

“As I meant quite literally. From the sound of it, Your Highness believes the enemy’s offensive is not yet over.”

Terrina’s sudden interjection toward the princess could have seemed disrespectful at first glance.

Indeed, the others exchanged nervous looks as they observed the two.

But Ludger saw it differently.

‘Pretending otherwise, but that’s skillful support.’

Terrina had deliberately voiced a challenging question to lend weight to Aileen’s argument.

It hadn’t been prearranged, but the smooth coordination between them made it clear that they had conversed like this many times before.

Just as Ludger guessed, Aileen’s eyes gleamed with satisfaction as she responded.

“A good question. Do any of you here truly believe chimeras alone could pose a threat to those gathered in this place? You, who are the pride of the Empire—do you think you could be brought down by mere chimeras?”

Everyone shook their heads.

The chimeras had certainly been dangerous in number and power, but against the strength gathered here, they barely registered.

“And yet, the enemy sacrificed their own forces and went so far as to unleash those chimeras. What do you believe was their true intent?”

“They must have a way to eliminate us all in one strike.”

That answer came from among the group of mentors.

All eyes naturally turned toward the source.

With a flick of her deep blue hair like ocean waves, Casey Selmore stepped forward.

A spark of interest appeared in Aileen’s eyes.

“You’re Casey Selmore, are you not? The second daughter of House Selmore, if I recall.”

“And the famous detective.”

That bold reply made a smile of amusement appear on Aileen’s lips.

Very few people dared to speak so confidently in her presence.

Casey, too, met the First Princess’s gaze without the slightest tremble.

Her eyes briefly brushed past Ludger—so fleetingly that no one caught it.

“Well then, Lady Casey Selmore, the famed detective. Do you have a theory? A deduction, perhaps?”

“All the chimeras were just a distraction. So were the attacks using the remnants of the Liberation Army. There’s no way they wouldn’t know what kind of power is gathered here. Chimeras alone couldn’t even leave a scratch.”

“Then what?”

“There’s something else. Something they believe gives them a real chance at victory—even against people of this caliber. It’s not just speculation—it borders on certainty.”

“Which means they expected us to gather like this.”

“They wanted this. They lured us here. And while our eyes are above ground, they’re doing something underground.”

Casey’s claim lacked solid evidence and was full of leaps in logic, but it rang plausible to the intuition of many.

Ludger also silently agreed with her assessment.

‘She’s right. The Liberation Army is up to something underground. The special gunpowder and chimeras were just distractions—stalling tactics.’

The real question was what exactly that “something” was.

Even Ludger didn’t know the full picture yet.

Hans and Bellaruna had been sent underground. Until they returned with information, it would be difficult to move forward.

‘Considering their capabilities... they should be arriving right about—’

Just then, the tent flap opened, and a handsome young man with blond hair entered.

Passius.

‘He’s here.’

Ludger instantly knew the moment he had been waiting for had arrived.

All eyes turned to Passius.

Some didn’t recognize him, but even more did.

Regardless of what people said, Passius was still a proud member of the Royal Guard and a master-level knight.

Casey recognized him as well—but for a different reason.

“Oops, am I late?” Passius said, smiling like a fool despite the stares aimed at him.

Then, spotting the Emperor, he gave a polite nod.

Most would be required to kneel, but members of the Royal Guard were permitted to express respect in a simplified manner.

At last, Passius handed a paper to Aileen.

“Your Highness.”

“Good work.”

Aileen read the document briefly, then placed it on the center table of the command tent.

Everyone’s attention shifted to it.

Naturally, Aileen—the First Princess—had taken command of the situation.

Emperor Aubestus merely watched quietly.

The military leadership quickly understood: the Emperor was deliberately allowing the First Princess to lead.

“They say the enemy built a massive facility underground.”

“A facility?”

It was Veronica, the Deputy Commander, who asked.

“Yes. To create chimeras on that scale, they would need a vast cultivation facility. It’s not at all surprising that they built one.”

“But how could there be that much space underground...?”

“There is. The Empire has a long history. Over the years, as the underground waterways were repaired and extended, many abandoned zones were created.”

Aileen did not divulge the exact details of the subterranean structures.

There was no need to go that far.

“They likely used those areas to construct their facility and spent years preparing in secret.”

“But creating that many chimeras wouldn’t just require a facility. The materials needed would be immense. If they transported those into the capital for so long, that would mean—”

The Captain of the Guards began, but Aileen raised her hand, stopping him.

“I understand. It might seem like the capital guards and police failed to do their jobs. But I assure you—that’s not the case.”

“...Pardon?”

“The enemy didn’t need to bring the materials in from outside. In fact, they had no need to.”

“Then what...”

“There’s a source inside the underground facility. A material supply so abundant, «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» it was more than sufficient for their purposes.”

“What is it?”

Everyone leaned forward in anticipation of Aileen’s next words.

She revealed the shocking truth she had discovered.

“The World Tree.”

“The World Tree, you say?”

“Yes. A dead World Tree buried deep underground, unknown to the world.”