"To think that a scholar who devoted his life to education and stayed away from political strife was forced to prepare such an escape route. Honest truly deserves to die!" Lubbock remarked.
"Phew~" Najenda exhaled a puff of smoke, her voice steady as she spoke: "Honest, the man who manipulates the young Emperor into enforcing an unending regime of cruelty, is the final assassination target of Night Raid."
"This opportunity is rare and must not be squandered!"
"But... I still think this isn't right. Infiltrating the Imperial Palace so easily... That anonymous Imperial insider cannot be trusted!" Sitting in the corner with Pumpkin in her arms, Mine voiced her concerns, her tone filled with distrust for the Empire's upper ranks.
"...They claim to guarantee that Selene won't interfere? With what assurance? Unless that Imperial insider is Selene herself, but that woman can't be trusted! And..."
"...Bulat were killed by Selene's forces! Uncle Youliang, Uncle Nal... they all left me the same way. And now... we're just sweeping it under the rug, pretending like it didn't happen?!" Mine's voice became increasingly agitated, tinged with sobs as she vented her frustrations.
"Sigh..." Najenda crushed the cigarette in her hand, unsure of how to respond.
Was it that she and the higher-ups in the Revolutionary Army had forgotten about their grudges? Did they fail to recognize that Selene was behind it all?
Of course not! It was a compromise—a selective self-deception. They clung to the belief that once Honest was killed and the Empire overthrown, a new, brighter future would inevitably follow.
As for exposing Selene's transparent lies?
That didn't matter. For the Revolutionary Army's leadership, even splitting the Empire wasn't out of the question. The Empire's wealth lay mainly in the central, southern, and eastern regions, while the Revolutionary Army's stronghold was in the southern territories.
Once the new regime was established, accepting a grand noble like Selene wasn't off the table. They could relinquish the northern and western territories to her, as those were barren lands anyway.
Of course, this didn't mean they wouldn't want to eliminate Selene. In the end, it all came down to a lack of strength. If the Revolutionary Army had more power than Selene, they wouldn't need to endure such humiliating compromises!
"Mine, this was a collective decision from the leadership at headquarters. It's not something that can be changed by personal will..."
Before Najenda could finish, there was a sudden, rapid knock at the door. Bang bang bang... bang bang!
"It's Leone... she's back," Najenda recognized the knock as their Night Raid signal.
Creak!
Lubbock, who was closest to the door, nodded and opened it.
Swish!
In an instant, a yellow figure darted inside.
"Leone, what's the situation?" Najenda asked as Leone, still in her enhanced Beast form [Lionelle], landed next to her.
"Yeah, just as planned, the other divisions of the Imperial Guard have withdrawn back to their barracks, and right now the only unit left in the palace is Budo's First Imperial Army," Leone reported.
"I also did some recon at the Habsburg Duke's estate in the upper district. The tin cans we ran into that night? They're part of the Duke's personal guard," Leone added with a chuckle. "Tch... The guard at a mere minister's residence is stricter than at the Imperial Palace itself... Selene has long harbored ambitions beyond her station."
Hearing this, Najenda gripped the armrest tightly. Inside the palace, Lubbock had already scouted using his [Cross Tail], confirming that the path to the Imperial Palace was clear.
Outside the palace, Leone's reconnaissance verified that Selene had indeed honored the agreement by recalling all her controlled forces—the Imperial Guard, assassination units, and the city's police force. Now, the only obstacle standing between Night Raid and their goal was General Budo.
"This is the weakest the palace defenses have ever been. Everything depends on this one chance!"
Najenda stood up abruptly, her sharp gaze sweeping over her subordinates. After a brief moment of excitement, she quickly grew serious and began assigning tasks.
"Mine! You'll infiltrate the palace first. While checking the route, find a high vantage point to set up Pumpkin!"
"Leone! You're fast. Mobilize all the Revolutionary Army's hidden operatives in the capital. Activate every sleeper agent we have!"
"..."
"As for the time, it's 3 p.m. now. We'll begin the operation in three hours!"
"Oh, Lubbock, Sayo, Ieyasu—you three stay behind..."
Despite a few lingering doubts, everyone swiftly obeyed Najenda's orders and hurried out of the hotel to begin their preparations.
Turning to the slightly uneasy Sayo and Ieyasu, Najenda spoke with a hint of regret in her voice: "I'm sorry... You've only just joined, and you haven't had much time for training, yet we're dragging you into such a dangerous mission... Now, you can retreat—"
"No, Boss, you don't need to say it. We're going to fight. If Night Raid hadn't saved us, Sayo and I would've been tortured to death by that twisted noblewoman. We have to destroy this corrupt Empire, so no one else has to go through what we did!" Ieyasu declared firmly. "I'm not afraid to die for that."
"Me too!" Sayo echoed, nodding her head with determination.
"Good... The upcoming battles will be brutal. Lubbock, take Sayo and Ieyasu to the bookstore base and equip them with the Teigu we seized from the remnants of the Empire's elite assassination unit."
"Prepare yourselves..." Najenda said, pushing open the door and stepping out into the light. In her eyes, a fire burned—the culmination of years of struggle had finally arrived. The dawn of their revolution was at hand.
"The time to overthrow the Empire... has come!"
...
Three hours later, at the Imperial Guard headquarters inside the palace, on the training grounds.
Hyaaah—!
Boom!
The sound of a powerful punch echoed as the massive boulder shattered under General Budo's blow.
"Haa..." Budo slowly exhaled, not paying attention to the cheers of the soldiers around him. For some reason, his temper had been flaring up more frequently in recent days.
"Honest... Emperor, when will you finally wake up?!" In recent years, the Empire had grown increasingly corrupt, and Budo found Honest's presence more intolerable by the day.
As the evening approached, Budo stood in the center of the training grounds, lost in thought. He still couldn't decide whether to break the ancestral edict. "Selene's been slacking off again, running off to her territory for another vacation...."
Budo could now understand why Selene kept disappearing to her fiefdom. Honest was utterly unbearable, to the point where anyone would feel tempted to kill him.
Suddenly, Boom—!
Budo's eyes widened as the sound of an explosion came from above. In the capital, the only place higher than the palace was...
"The Emperor!"