Isaac was awakened by a sudden knock on the door.
He glanced at the wall clock; it was just before 2:30.
It must be Robert, he guessed.
The other party was the illegitimate son of the Duke of Florence, and the reason he chose him as his personal attendant was quite simple.
He saw a burning ambition in the other person's eyes.
He admired such ambitious individuals, who would become the sharpest blade in his hand, weakening the power struggle between the old and new nobles and severing the omnipresent tentacles of the Holy Church.
But he must maintain a balance, using both kindness and severity.
To be honest, even though he had been on the throne for more than two months, he still hadn't gotten used to his new identity.
Even more troublesome than the various unexpected situations was that he had no one available.
He only trusted Yun Wei.
Unfortunately, the other party was quite uninterested in politics. He tried to bring it up a few times, but whether intentionally or unintentionally, the other party always conveniently said that they were sleepy.
The expressionless king put the pillow back in its place, put on his shirt and fastened it, before saying in a deep voice, "Enter."
The heavy door was slowly pushed open, and Lord Robert approached stealthily from the shadows.
Such a low-ranking title did not grant any fiefdom, but it did grant noble status, which was better than being an illegitimate child who could not be brought into the light of day.
Isaac stood there, looked away, and silently fastened the top button of his coat.
“Your Majesty, I have received a very interesting intelligence.” The attendant lowered his head, and in the shadows, a cryptic smile played on his lips. “I think it is quite important, so it must be given your personal instructions.”
Isaac turned his head away. The other person's curly hair was naturally messy, and its light gray hue always reminded him of wild rabbits in the far northern wilderness.
Cunning and cautious, greedy and obsessive.
"Tell me about it," he said calmly.
Robert respectfully reported, "Half a month ago, our spies in Bili City discovered unusual activity by the Easterners. They were organizing provisions, building materials, and tools. We further learned that they were preparing to build a city on the mainland."
Isaac straightened his cuffs. “Find a suitable envoy to negotiate with them. Their chosen location cannot be within the territory of the duchies along the empire’s coast. If necessary, tell them the farther away from the border, the better.”
"Yes, Your Majesty." Robert paused, then suddenly added, "The Azure People have been peaceful for thousands of years, but now they have suddenly become restless. Aren't you curious why?"
Isaac gave him a cold look. "You can choose not to say."
Robert then realized that he had just gotten carried away with his pride.
Ignoring the cold sweat beading on his forehead, he hurriedly reported, "Your Majesty, we eventually discovered that the root of the matter lay in a secret letter, and upon tracing its origins, we learned that the letter came from within the palace—"
Before Robert could finish speaking, he was choked by the sudden burst of oppressive power from the monarch in front of him.
In that instant, he clearly felt that his internal organs were about to be torn apart by the immense pressure.
“There’s no need to investigate Yun Wei; none of you are qualified,” Isaac emphasized coldly. “Offend me, and you might not die. But if you offend him, I won’t leave you with a whole corpse.”
Robert immediately knelt on one knee and, in extreme pain, clutched his own neck.
Seeing the other's fair face turn blood red, Isaac withdrew his oppressive aura. "Remember today's lesson, Robert. I can elevate you, but destroying you is just as effortless."
Robert knelt on the ground, panting heavily. "Yes, I... I understand, Your Majesty."
His sinister eyes were clearly bloodshot, yet at this moment they radiated a stubborn light.
No one expected that the king would actually take this seriously against the Easterner.
But for him, this might not be a bad thing.
As a smart person, no matter what situation he faces, he is always confident that he can extract the greatest benefit from it.
He had a new plan in mind, but at that moment, the king gave him an order to leave without any politeness: "Pack yourself up and then leave."
Ignoring the excruciating pain in his throat, Robert immediately agreed and did as instructed.
Only after the other person left did Isaac walk dejectedly to the window.
The bright summer sun shone on him, but he felt no warmth at all.
He was the last to know that the Bili people were planning to build a new city.
He didn't know how to describe his feelings at that moment.
The people of Bili were not his subjects. Putting aside the future demands of the earls and dukes around the new city, he was more concerned about Yunwei's concealment.
If this had happened to someone else, it would have been enough to warrant the death penalty for treason.
But the other party happened to be Yunwei.
He didn't know how the other person could stay in his arms every night without saying a word.
He had assumed that the two of them were very close.
A sudden, persistent pain surged in my chest, like countless fine steel needles piercing through it, leaving it riddled with holes.
He also started to have trouble breathing.
He didn't want to be wary of his partner, as his grandmother had taught him. After all, he wasn't Catherine the Great, unable to find a balance between power and love.
He simply trusted Yun Wei without reservation.
But then he realized that it was Yunwei.
He actually started to suspect Yun Wei!
Realizing this, Isaac was suddenly overwhelmed with shame.
There must be some misunderstanding. Once he hears Yun Wei's explanation, everything will become clear.
He comforted himself in this way, forcing back the bitterness that welled up inside him.
Thinking of this, he lowered his head and looked at the messy table in front of him.
Clearly, Yun Wei left in a hurry today and didn't have time to pack up.
He knew that the other party was currently working on an epic about the Temu Brown family at his grandmother's request.
His grandmother's judgment was always accurate, and he was even more convinced that Yun Wei could do a great job.
He casually tidied up the manuscript papers on the table, and when he saw the other party's flamboyant handwriting, Isaac couldn't help but smile.
The other person's handwriting was quite menacing, completely different from their otherwise soft and gentle demeanor.
He could always see contradictions in Yun Wei.
Perhaps this is related to the past that the other party rarely mentions.
Thinking of this, Isaac felt a little sullen again. He grinned helplessly, put the neatly arranged manuscript aside, and then put away the spread-out notebooks, books, and parchment scrolls.
As his emotions gradually calmed down while tidying up, he suddenly discovered Yun Wei's diary at the very bottom of the mess.
The diary seemed to have been forgotten at the very bottom, indicating that its owner had been very busy lately.
The other person does indeed have the habit of keeping a diary.
He had heard Yun Wei mention it, and it seemed to be closely related to the other party's initial mysterious practices.
Isaac knew he shouldn't be prying into the other person's private records.
The closed notebook bulged slightly, clearly revealing a charcoal pencil tucked inside.
I won't read what he wrote, just to avoid smudging the paper with the charcoal pencil. He thought to himself.
He quickly flipped to the page with the charcoal pencil, ready to take it out and then close the diary.
The forgotten charcoal pencil did indeed break and deform under pressure, leaving black fragments on the paper like indelible stains.
However, Isaac froze completely.
His peripheral vision inevitably caught a glimpse of his grandmother's name.
“I don’t want to rescue Catherine because she will prevent me from being with Isaac.”
The other party wrote this, and the date was one month ago.
In that deafening moment, Isaac forgot to breathe; he trembled violently, consumed by anger and fear.
His mind went blank, as if he had lost the ability to think.
Isaac recalled that during this month, Yun Wei still snuggled in his arms every night.
Her smile was gentle, and she was exceptionally well-behaved.
It can also be terrifyingly so.
He stumbled out of the palace, completely distraught. Even when he bumped into the three of them—the Grand Duke of Florence, the Grand Duke of Qingfeng, and the Grand Duke of Chifeng—in the connecting corridor, he was oblivious.
He wanted to see Yun Wei, right now.
This was the only thought left in Isaac Temubranchi's mind.
Completely irrational, driven only by instinct.
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