While receiving a basic tour of the palace, Aurelia introduces us to the people on the list as we pass them. From their official titles, they're all rather important people, Censors, Praetors, and to my surprise Senators. I had a feeling that Lausiel wasn't an absolute monarchy, but I didn't think there would be a senate. After asking Aurelia about it, she explained that the Senate is split between two sections, the Patrician and the Plebeians. They hold different meetings and convene together four times a year on the solstice and equinox of each season. Their purpose is to make decisions for the wellbeing of the Empire's citizens. But the Imperator has the final say in all decisions made. The is similarly meeting like that but more focused on the military and its power projection. As expected, nearly all of the Military Tribune positions are filled with people who align with the Archidux.
Most of the people on the list that we met during the little tour were unexpectedly not Military Tribunes and are mostly consist of various unimportant senators and other officials.
"So is there anyone of real importance on this list?" I ask.
"Of course... not. What idiot would dare be in their enemy's stronghold if they didn't have to be? They only time the important people show up is when the Senate and Military Council convenes. That list is mostly spies and various people who have roles in administering the Captial but sided with my Uncle, and some are just corrupt. So while they are relatively unimportant overall, if we are going to keep moving forward, it's best that we get rid of spies as soon as possible."
"I believe I understand where you are coming from, the walls have ears after all," Lia says.
"Indeed. From the looks of it, there are a few people who aren't here right now, but we can clean up a good portion of the list. For now, take these," Aurelia says, handing us a purple token, "if anyone tries to stop you from entering anywhere then just show them the token. It can get you into nearly any place within the palace. There are fifty-seven names on this list and around forty-three are in the palace currently. I'm not saying I want them all dead, just try to kill off as many as you can, and be discreet about it. Don't let any of the plebs see you killing these spies, I don't need them spreading any weird rumours. Let's meet up in my chambers in six hours, have fun."
After Aurelia splits off from us, Lia and I also decide to split up for the sake of covering more ground, with the three of us heading off into different directions. And now that I'm alone, I wonder if I can slack off, no, that's a terrible idea, I'll get found out immediately.
With a bit of wandering around, I quickly find one of the people on the list. What was his name... Marcus, I think... yeah, Marcus Mercurinus, says here that he's an Aedile who has both sided with the Archidux and taken several bribes thus charging him with corruption.
Creeping in close, I set out a zone of darkness and make my move. A quick look is enough to tell that he is a clear noncombatant, making the already easy cleanup easier. Before he can even make a sound I gag his mouth and drag him off to a more isolated area. Bringing him to an isolated room, I construct a long cylinder tube and stuff him in, proceeding to fill the tube up with my corrosive acid and then sealing the tube. After a few minutes of struggling from within, the sounds die down and I receive the System notification for killing him.
Mostly quiet, completely unseen, and leaves no body behind. This method is brilliant! I wish I had the ability to do this kinda stuff back on Earth, would have made my life so much easier.
Stuffing away the tube into my storage, I leave the room and once again, I find another target.
--
After a few hours of wandering around the palace, I've managed to kill around thirteen people on the list. Looking around once again, I find my fourteenth target, Canus Ingenvinus. According to the bits of information on the list, he is one of the few people that might put up a fight, and worst of all we can use light magic. The list Aurelia gave doesn't give me the full details behind his capabilities, but even at a basic level, he should be able to illuminate my zone of darkness. If he was alone this wouldn't be a problem, but currently, he is surrounded by people who aren't on the list. To make matters worse, he's healing them from their injuries.
Seeing how it's almost time to meet up and trying to kill him now is probably more trouble than it's worth, I choose to leave him be and begin trying to find my way to Aurelia's chambers, however, my poor sense of direction has proven itself once again... I'm lost.
Between talking with some of the people in the halls and contacting Lia through the Soul Connection, I manage to finally arrive at Aurelia's chambers, and only twenty minutes late.
With the doors shut tight, the three of us begin our discussion as Aurelia says, "So how many did two get? It was nice and easy for me by using my authority to call people out and list off their crimes, throwing evidence in their face and having the guards haul them to the prison. I sent away four to be executed later. There were five more that I wasn't able to get any incriminating evidence for, so I killed them personally.
"I only got eight. It took a while too since I had to talk them up before offering some poisoned food. The poison I used was a slow acting one that is nearly untraceable to the common eye. Unless someone well versed in poison is investigating the body, then most would think it was simple food poisoning."
"So the more I use it, the higher my respect for the Dark Element is. I went and caught thirteen people using my zone of darkness as cover then I dragged them off to an empty room. Afterwards, I created a tube and filled it with my acid and throw their bodies into it. Of course, I made sure the materials of the tube were resistant to corrosion and I did my best to soundproof it. I could have gotten fourteen but the last guy I saw was surrounded by people and was healing them, so I left him since it would have been too much trouble to deal with."
"Ahh, I know who you're talking about. When I was initially making that list, I wasn't sure if I should include his name or not. He is a good person at heart, has refused bribes and even publicly denounced those who have tried to bribe him. His only flaw is that he leans towards my Uncle. However compared to most of the people on this list, he hasn't completely sided with my Uncle. Bring us back to the topic at hand, a total of thirty-two people on the list have been either killed or imprisoned, so we've met the goal I set. As congratulations, let's head out to the restaurant I told you about. But people don't seem to like it when I leave during the night, so we are sneaking out."
Showing her expertise in avoiding guard patrols and sneaking around, Aurelia guides us out of the palace with minimal effort as we arrive in the alley where this restaurant is supposedly located. But looking around there doesn't seem to be anything that standout.
Turning a corner we see a door being closed shut, as Aurelia says, "that door that just closed, that's the one. Enter through there and we will be in the restaurant."
As we are walking over, I briefly look for anything that might stand out, but the design is just a simple plain wooden door. But if I try to inspect it with my Draconic Insight the System tells me that it can't be identified. But other than that, there is really nothing special about this door or the area we are in.
Passing through the door, a delicious aroma fills the air. Several tables are spread out over the place with various different people sitting at them. But as we walk a little further in we see something that none of us expected.
"Greeting your Majesty and her guest from Talonia. I did not know that you enjoyed visiting this restaurant as well."
Standing at the reception ahead of us is Canus Ingenvinus, the very person we had been talking about not too long ago.