The surrounding area is dominated by imposing black spires, like a mysterious forest firmly rooted in the hard earth.

After several days of repairs, part of the royal city has been restored.

However, the ruins of the capital city could not be quickly restored to their former state by ordinary repairs.

Passing through this iron-forged forest, a majestic palace, as imposing as a steel behemoth, stands in the center.

In the spacious yet desolate palace, two blood-red silk ribbons hung slowly.

Like a blood-red waterfall hanging in the air, its tail gently brushing the cold ground.

The palace was filled with rows of chairs, luxurious yet cold.

The nobles, dressed in lead-gray robes, sat solemnly among them.

Their gazes swept over the seats for the nobles, and seeing the many empty chairs, a somber look appeared on their faces.

The nobles, gripping the armrests of their chairs tightly, had eyes full of disappointment and confusion.

Their gazes were fixed on the empty throne.

Augustus, who should have been sitting on the throne, had vanished without a trace.

It had only been one day since the death of Earl Laureen.

The nobles only had a short day of rest.

Upon receiving the order to assemble, they had to hurriedly return to the royal city.

The orders from Grand Duke Barlow left them no room for negligence.

So they didn't even have time to tell their confidants in the territory about this shocking event.

When they returned to the royal palace and looked at the empty throne before them, each of them felt a surge of emotions.

The Kingdom of Kant has been ruled by the Samuel family for over a dozen generations, and this time, it is likely to undergo a major transformation.

A somber and uneasy atmosphere permeated the palace.

The silence was broken by crisp footsteps, which came into view of the group of frowning nobles.

The nobles all looked up and saw a black trench coat that was all too familiar to them come into view.

"Lord Victor!"

"Lord Victor, you've arrived."

Viktor's arrival elicited expressions of surprise and awe from everyone present.

They all stood up, their faces solemn, and bowed in respect.

All eyes were on Viktor, watching him slowly take his seat in the guest seat that August had prepared for him.

Uncertainty and doubt filled the minds of the nobles present.

Why did only Viktor come?

Where is Princess Aurelion?

As a diplomatic mission from the Empire, Princess Aurelian should have been inseparable from Victor.

This time, however, Aurelion did not come along.

Under normal circumstances, diplomatic missions from other countries need to travel to pre-planned areas, accompanied by their respective national diplomatic teams.

The reason why diplomatic missions cannot appear may be related to handling sensitive matters such as royal power or territorial transfers privately.

After all, as outsiders, they have no right to interfere in the politics of other countries.

Looking back at the recent events, today's call to the public may be intricately connected to these events.

But isn't Viktor an outsider too?

Although many nobles present acknowledged Victor, this did not mean that Victor was a member of the Kingdom of Kant.

He remains an earl of the empire and a member of the Mage Council.

The nobles in the palace had already begun to whisper among themselves, speculating about each other's identities.

Amidst the clamor of discussion, Grand Duke Barlow emerged.

He appeared before the nobles, dressed in a lead-gray robe and leaning on a cane, his somewhat hunched figure a sight to behold.

His cloudy gaze swept over the crowd, pausing for a moment when he saw the empty seats of the nobles.

Then, he turned his gaze to the seat next to the throne.

The nobles had just sat down when the arrival of Grand Duke Barlow made them stand up again as a sign of respect.

When the nobles saw the people slowly following behind Grand Duke Barlow, they were all dumbfounded.

"August...?"

"It really is August!"

"So he was really brought back after all...?"

Auguste followed behind Archduke Barlow with slow, deliberate steps.

His eyes were empty, and like a puppet, he slowly walked in front of the crowd.

The nobles present were all stunned, their eyes wide and their mouths agape.

However, in the midst of the shock...

Excitement, anger, resentment... a whole host of emotions surged towards this wicked king.

When they were stunned to see that August was wearing the crown that symbolized the king on his head...

Some people could barely contain their emotions, slamming their fists on the armrests of their seats and shouting profanities:

"August! What right do you have to wear that crown?"

The other nobles were equally furious, but they restrained themselves and did not utter a sound of protest.

After all, what August did was absolutely monstrous.

He is unworthy to remain king simply because he allowed demi-humans to attack the city, resulting in the deaths of innocent civilians.

However, the angry shouts did not elicit any reaction from August.

His expression remained indifferent, his eyes vacant.

However, Grand Duke Barlow's incredibly cloudy eyes calmly glanced at the nobleman who was spewing curses.

Seeing the look in Grand Duke Barlow's eyes, he let out a heavy sigh, said nothing more, and sat down again.

The others followed suit and took their seats.

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