And he had tormented Eve and Ivan, eventually sending Ivan as a slave to the Grand Duchy.

‘A man who deserved to be torn apart.’

If only Gregory hadn’t accused the Modga family of treason.

If only he hadn’t sent Ivan to the Grand Duchy.

She knew it was pointless to think about it now. Yet such thoughts kept invading her mind.

‘At least I wanted to kill him with my own hands.’

At the very least, she had hoped he would meet a terrible and cruel death along with Duter.

Not such an empty and easy death.

Eve tilted her head back and looked at the ceiling. The familiar chandelier hanging from the ceiling seemed to be telling her that this was as far as it went.

She wasn’t happy despite Gregory’s death. It felt like taking just one lukewarm sip of water in an endless desert. The lingering uneasiness and discomfort that followed dampened Eve’s mood.

Eve closed her eyes and exhaled deeply.

This was not the time to be consumed by emotions. It was more important to think about how to move forward.

She had expected Duter to take the throne by force, but she hadn’t anticipated that he would try to formally gain succession rights from the elders to ascend to the throne.

‘I didn’t think he would confront the Papal Office head-on.’

Since three out of five had already stamped their seals, getting approval from the remaining elders would be no trouble at all.

Once Duter obtained the right of succession to the Ptotr throne, taking the king’s seat would be merely a matter of time.

Fortunately, if there was any hope, it was that Glishakov, who also held succession rights, was still alive.

She had been putting it off until now, but it was time to speak.

About why she had brought them here and was protecting them, and what was happening at the royal palace.

In the course of that conversation, she would inevitably have to talk about what she had been planning.

If that happened, the eyes of Glishakov and Juliana, who had been friendly towards Eve, might change, and they might even consider her a traitor.

‘It’s okay, I expected all of this.’

Eve tried to calm her mind.

Even if they came to hate her, Eve couldn’t stop. She would thoroughly destroy Ptotr and the Grand Duchy. Even if Glishakov and Juliana were hurt in the process.

‘I have to do this.’

Eve immediately got up and headed to the room where Glishakov and Juliana were staying.

***

Under Duter’s threat, one elder finally stamped his seal.

The other elders frowned at him, but the frightened elder seemed to value his own life more.

“There, I’ve stamped it. Now let me leave as you promised.”

“You may go.”

At Duter’s gesture, the soldier blocking the door made way. The elder who had stamped first left the Grand Council chamber without looking back.

The first one is difficult, but the rest become easier.

Seeing that the elder was truly allowed to leave, another elder raised his hand.

“I, I’ll stamp it too. Let me leave.”

Only then did Duter’s anxious heart begin to ease. He smiled, pulling up the corners of his mouth, and gladly let the elder who had stamped the seal leave.

Yes, if only they had been like this from the beginning.

Duter finally felt that things were going smoothly.

Out of ten seats, eight elders were present.

Having obtained two seals, he needed just three more for his succession rights to be recognized, allowing him to take the vacant throne.

Once a matter was decided through the Grand Council, even the Papal Office couldn’t overturn it.

Duter finally succeeded in getting the last seal, formally recognizing his right of succession.

‘At last…!’

Confirming the document with five seals stamped on it, Duter couldn’t hold back his smile.

Now it was only a matter of time before the kingdom of Ptotr truly fell into his hands.

Duter couldn’t express in words the sense of achievement rising within him.

A feeling of satisfaction washed over him.

While Duter was absorbed in admiring the document, the elders hurriedly gathered their things.

They wanted to get away from this place as quickly as possible now that their business was done.

“Wait.”

Duter stopped the elders who were trying to leave.

The elders, neither fully seated nor standing, awkwardly looked at Duter.

Duter pulled out another document with a satisfied smile.

“I’ll need your approval for the stationing of troops.”

The elders’ mouths were sealed shut as if glued.

The Ptotr royal palace was already filled with Duter’s soldiers.

One might wonder why he needed approval for troop stationing now, but if the Papal Office came and raised issues about this, it would be troublesome.

‘It’s better to take preemptive action.’

Moreover, he needed approval to bring in the numerous soldiers stationed at the border.

Although three elders had already left the Grand Council chamber, there were still five remaining. Getting approval from these five elders would settle the matter.

The elders only looked at each other, wiping the sweat from their foreheads with handkerchiefs. None of them dared to step forward first.

Having already handed over succession rights to a foreign king, their hesitation now seemed ridiculous to Duter.

“I told you we don’t have time.”

When Duter banged his scabbard on the table, the elders flinched and pulled the documents closer to check the contents.

The elders, exchanging troubled glances, continued to hesitate.

“We, we need to check the contents…”

“Since the succession rights have already been transferred, there’s no need for troop stationing, is there?”

The elders now seemed to feel some guilt for having sold out their country.

It was obvious to anyone that they were trying to stall for time.

‘Are they trying to buy time?’

Duter’s anger began to boil again at the old men’s petty tactics.

“I said I don’t have time, yet you refuse to cooperate.”

Duter placed his sword on the table and said.

“I had no intention of being forceful, but let’s do this. The elder who remains here last, I will personally cut off his arm and stamp the seal for him. I might cut something other than an arm, so think about that as you wish.”

At Duter’s words, the faces of the elders remaining in the Grand Council chamber filled with shock.

Was he threatening to take the life of the elder who remained stubborn until the end?

The eyes of the five elders shook violently.

They began to look at each other.

Duter sat down again and counted inwardly.

’10… 9… 8…’

The Grand Council chamber was so tense it was hard to breathe. The elders’ eyes moved back and forth, watching each other.

‘3… 2… 1…’

Exactly when he had counted to 10 in his mind.

“I, I can’t stand it anymore!”

One elder urgently stamped the seal and left the Grand Council chamber.

No matter how proud and honor-focused an elder might be, heightened emotions weakened reason, leading to irrational judgments and a narrowed range of consciousness. Once one moved, the remaining elders, unable to overcome their anxiety, acted.

“Then I too…!”

“I’ll go first…!!”

In the end, the remaining elders in the Grand Council chamber all rushed to stamp their seals first, creating a commotion about who had stamped first.

“I stamped first!”

“What are you saying? I stamped first.”

“I’ve stamped, so I’ll be leaving.”

Even those known for their scholarship and virtue were no different.

In the face of fear, they were all the same.

Duter couldn’t hold back his laughter as he watched the elders struggling to save themselves.

After laughing at them for a while, Duter stood up and took a step toward the elders.

“From what I saw.”

The elders all stopped talking and moving at once.

Duter looked at the elders and drew his sword from its scabbard.

“Three of you stamped equally late, so the three of you will have to die.”

He beheaded three of the elders in one swift motion, leaving only one. It happened so suddenly that the three couldn’t even close their mouths before they collapsed.

The one surviving elder’s legs gave way, and he sat down and backed away.

“Huh!”

Duter wiped his blood-soaked sword on the clothes of the dead elders and said.

“That’s why… if you had just quickly stamped the seal as told, everyone would have lived. Isn’t that right?”

As he seemed to be speaking to the dead, the surviving elder fled the Grand Council chamber.

Duter watched the fleeing elder with a smirk, as if something was missing.

The Grand Council chamber was instantly covered in blood. After roughly wiping off the sticky blood, Duter slumped into a chair and picked up the bundle of sealed documents to check them.

“Perfect.”

Now no one could stop Duter. It didn’t matter even if the Papal Office came right away. Rather, if they came, Duter could perfectly ascend to the throne.

For a while, loud laughter echoed from the Grand Council chamber.

The Papal Office representatives arrived to inspect the Ptotr royal palace after the Grand Council had concluded.

‘They certainly came quickly.’

Thanks to their late arrival, he had been able to finish preparations at his leisure.

A high priest with long white hair surveyed the surroundings and faced Duter.

The atmosphere of the country was too quiet to have been at war, and the royal palace was immaculate.

“Why has the King of the Lonavita Grand Duchy visited Ptotr? And with troops, no less?”

The high priest asked, stroking his long beard with a benevolent expression.

“You ask while already knowing the answer. King Gregory has passed away. I am here to inherit his position.”

“What is the reason for King Gregory’s passing?”

“What else? He instructed his daughter to assassinate me. How could I silently watch that? I merely repaid him in kind.”

The high priest frowned and said.

“For someone who knows that ignoring the friendship treaty violates the law! If His Holiness learns of this, how can you act so arrogantly knowing what could happen to the Grand Duchy?”

“Arrogant? You call me arrogant?”

Duter, appearing offended by the high priest’s words, scowled and said.

“This was an attempted assassination of a king. Are you dismissing Ptotr’s attempt to kill me? Don’t you know that Ptotr was the one who broke the friendship first?”

“Even so…”

“Former King Gregory acknowledged this fact and even handed over control of the Grand Council.”