The imperial capital, the Royal City of Taian, had been constructed by Krisen II over the course of eight years, employing nearly a hundred thousand slaves and countless resources. It was named Taian, meaning "peace and prosperity for the nation." However, Taian was the old Elven term for it, and its pronunciation in the Common Tongue easily sounded like "doom." For that reason, several later Krisen emperors greatly disliked the name and ignored the official title, referring to the city simply as the Imperial Capital in both official documents and conversation. Over the course of two or three hundred years, asking about the Imperial Capital would lead most people to know which city was meant, but asking what the Imperial Capital was actually called left many scratching their heads.
The imperial capital had three rings of walls, and the Royal Court stood at the center. The original Royal City of Taian, when first built, possessed three concentric walls. The innermost ring housed the Krisen imperial family — or rather, what was now the Andinak royal family's residence. Within the second wall lay the empire's various government departments and the residences of its ministers, known as the Inner City. The third wall was what actually shielded the common residents of the imperial capital.
But Krisen II himself, the very builder of the capital, had never anticipated that the city he designed to house a hundred thousand would expand tenfold over the following century. The Antalou Great Plain, originally ample farmland to sustain a hundred thousand people in food and clothing, was gradually overtaken by settlers streaming toward the capital. Fields became residential districts, then prosperous commercial quarters, racetracks, arena complexes, academies, and workshops.
During the thirty-year reigns of the fifth and sixth Krisen emperors at the height of the empire's power, the imperial capital had been the largest city on the Galentea Continent, its population approaching one million. But after the founding of the Forde Commercial Alliance,
The killing blow came in the latter stages of the civil war. The First Prince divided his forces, personally drawing the Third Prince's main army toward himself, while dispatching his generals on a surprise raid of the imperial capital — looting, burning, massacring, committing every atrocity. The
Even after the civil war ended and the empire fractured into three kingdoms and seven duchies, the capital's displaced residents had nowhere to turn. Peace had not brought them the stable life they craved. On the contrary, with the former tributes of grain and supplies from outlying regions no longer flowing in, the capital plunged into famine. To make matters worse, the Third Prince had offended merchants from the Forde Commercial Alliance, triggering a total embargo on supplies — adding fuel to the fire. Not just the imperial capital, but the entire Andinak Kingdom teetered on the brink of collapse.
Later, when the Second Prince, with the crucial aid of the
On the eighteenth day of September,
The courteous captain of the garrison troops guarding the gate politely declined Lorist's request to bring his five hundred family soldiers into the city to garrison. He explained that the Second Prince had issued strict orders: noble family troops were permitted to camp only at the designated encampment district on the west side of the city, and nobles could bring no more than ten armed retainers inside the gates. These were the new regulations of the imperial capital.
So Lorist and his group moved to the west gate of the city. After registering at the encampment district, they claimed a small campsite and reassigned their guards and concealed sentries.
Lorist was sitting in his room, mulling over how to spend the next ten-odd days, when Dolace burst in with irrepressible excitement: "My lord, look who's here…"
Behind him appeared a figure clad in the standard-issue armor of the Royal Imperial Guard Corps. The moment Lorist saw him, he burst out laughing, spreading his arms wide and striding forward to embrace the man. "Kalitok! It's been ages. How have you been?"
Kalitok had been one of the thirty-six students from
Many in the caravan had cursed those who chose to join the Second Prince at the time, but once they learned that some had taken casualties under his banner, they found themselves worrying even more. He recalled that when the Second Prince had besieged Lechtena fortress-castle, the garrison had mounted a desperate nighttime breakout. Although they managed to repel the enemy's assault, two veteran students who had only recently defected to the Second Prince and several Silver Knights were killed outright. Terlman and the others had cradled the bodies of those two students, weeping with tears streaking their faces, utterly grief-stricken.
The moment Lorist pulled Kalitok into a tight embrace, tears streamed down Kalitok's own cheeks as well: "Lord Locke, I've missed you all so much — I miss those days with the caravan…"
Of the seven veteran students and nineteen Silver Knights who had originally defected to the Second Prince from the caravan, only fourteen remained. In the Battle of Liushui River — the resounding victory that catapulted the Second Prince to fame — three veteran students and four Silver Knights had given their lives. Combined with the two veteran students and three Silver Knights who fell at Lechtena fortress-castle, nearly half of their number was gone.
"In this war between nations, I don't know whether I'll live to see the day we win…"
Kalitok was in low spirits. He gave a brief account of what had become of those who had left the caravan to join the Second Prince.
"What position do you hold now?" Dolace asked.
"Captain of the First Battalion, Second Heavy Armor Regiment, First Royal Imperial Guard Corps. Currently stationed outside the east gate of the Imperial Capital, responsible for clearing the ruins in the commercial district. I was just wandering over to the south gate when I heard that Count Norton from the Northland had arrived, so I rushed over to see you all," Kalitok replied.
"Well, you were already a battalion captain back in the caravan. After pledging yourself to His Highness the Second Prince, you're still stuck at the same rank?" Dolace was blunt.
Kalitok shook his head. "The ones His Highness truly trusts are his old subordinates who've followed him for years. Of the six corps and three hundred thousand men he's established, those capable of holding their own are all his veteran followers or nobles who defected to his side. Commoner knights like us are only good for following orders and charging into battle. I really regret leaving the caravan now..."
"You could come back..." Dolace said.
"I have no face to return. Besides, as a knight, one cannot be half-hearted. Since I chose this path, I can only see it through..." Kalitok spoke from the heart.
"Oh, right—Kalitok, you mentioned your unit is responsible for clearing ruins in the commercial district. Isn't the First Royal Imperial Guard Corps a main army corps? How come you're stuck doing menial work like that?" Lorist asked curiously.
"Heh, you have no idea!" Kalitok slapped his thigh. "There's a Marquis Leid by His Highness's side—deeply trusted and valued. He gave His Highness this idea: though the commercial district has been reduced to rubble, many merchants habitually stored their goods in underground warehouses. The collapse of the buildings above actually preserved these supplies. Though time has passed, much of it can still be salvaged. Acquiring these goods would greatly ease the burden on the national treasury. So His Highness ordered our First Corps to secure the entire commercial district and send laborers to excavate. And Marquis Leid turned out to be right—they dug up several underground warehouses. The usable supplies add up to a hundred thousand gold Forde coins, and that's with only a third excavated!"
"That doesn't seem quite right, does it? Those supplies should belong to the merchants. How can they just excavate them and claim them for themselves?" Dolace remarked.
"Marquis Leid argued that since the civil war ended so long ago and the merchants still haven't come to clear the ruins, they've effectively abandoned their supplies—so His Highness has every right to confiscate everything into the national treasury. In fact, when excavation first started, a few people claiming to be descendants of merchants did come forward. But Marquis Leid issued a series of fines, demanding they pay for the cost of clearing the ruins, plus fees for occupying the land without clearing it, garbage disposal fees, and so on. In the end, those people gave up their claims and left. No one has come asking for their supplies since," Kalitok explained.
Dolace sighed. "That's absolutely shameless. The royal family was incompetent and let the enemy storm the Imperial Capital, causing immense damage to merchants and residents alike. And instead of providing compensation, they've doubled down and seized the merchants' private property. If this continues, they'll lose all support from the people!"
"I was thinking the same thing, but I got chewed out by the Legion Commander the moment I said a few words about it in the ranks. His Highness doesn't care about the people's livelihood at all — he's obsessed with reunifying the Empire. Don't let those noble knights fool you with all their grand talk about the reunification war, about how they'll earn meritorious service and become lords. I know the soldiers underneath, and believe me, none of them want to fight. Morale is rock bottom."
"Everyone thinks the Royal Guard Legion swallowed the Galewind Legion and expanded into three legions, but plenty of people privately take huge issue with His Highness's methods. Especially those who used to serve in the Galewind Legion — they believe His Highness deliberately withheld reinforcements on purpose, letting Galewind Legion Commander Nedlam, a Golden Knight, and five thousand elite soldiers die in battle. That was how he managed to absorb the Galewind Legion in the first place." Kalitok grumbled bitterly.
Lorist handed him a cup of tea and gently advised, "Kalitok, Dolace — like me, you both studied at the Forde Commercial Alliance. That's why the principles of freedom, equality, and inviolable private property have deeply shaped our thinking. But don't forget, we're now in the former Krisen Empire. I'm a lord, so I still have the confidence to implement my ideals within my family's territory. But you two are still just knights. It's perfectly normal to feel out of place around the Empire's nobility."
"The nobles of the Krisen Empire have never cared about the common people. They lord over everyone, and even as the Empire crumbles around them, they still see themselves as superiors. Just like His Highness — he only cares about reunifying the Empire and dreaming of being the great restorer, without realizing that if he fails, there will be no second chance. No one will tolerate a king who wages war endlessly. Right now he relies on the nobles, and the nobles are the most unreliable people of all. Kalitok, I just hope you keep your wits about you. If things start going south, get out as fast as you can — don't get dragged down with them. It won't be worth it…"
Kalitok ended up drinking himself into a stupor at Lorist's place, and Dolace had two guards escort him back.
The next day, Lorist took Schwarde and the others sightseeing around the Imperial Capital, only to discover that the cheapest goods in the capital right now were books — mostly collections from noble houses. After a little asking around, he learned that these books, accumulated in peacetime as idle aristocratic affectation, had become completely useless. They couldn't be eaten or put to any practical use. Back when the caravan headed north, Fatty Shi had led the family's armed forces to sweep through three provinces of the Andinak Kingdom, hanging two-thirds of the kingdom's nobles. Those nobles had mostly owned residences in the capital, which were later confiscated by His Highness and declared state property.
To fund his armies, His Highness had been scouring the land for valuables and ruthlessly auctioning off the nobles' collections. Weapons and armor were hot commodities fetching high prices. But every noble residence basically came with a study, and each one held anywhere from a few dozen to several hundred books. All of these had been put up for sale. The massive flood of books crashed the capital's book market prices from the heavens straight to the earth overnight, and the market still couldn't absorb the surplus.
Thinking back to how a book that once cost a full gold Forde in Morant City could now be bought for just two or three large silver coins, Lorist felt a complicated mix of emotions. Schwarde was also a book lover, so master and apprentice spent their days browsing the book market, hunting for hidden treasures.
The moment they returned to their lodging that day, they spotted Dolace and Kalitok standing at the entrance, acting suspicious and furtive as they waited for him.
Lorist asked what was going on, and the two immediately pulled him inside the room and shut the door behind them.
Dolace said, "My lord, Kalitok is here to borrow money..."
"How much?" Lorist found it a bit odd — why did borrowing money have to feel like some kind of covert operation?
"A hundred gold Forde," Dolace said.
A hundred? Lorist was taken aback. Kalitok served as a brigade commander in the Royal Imperial Guard, and his monthly salary was quite modest — only ten large silver coins, amounting to a mere six gold Forde per year. Was he planning to buy something with a hundred gold Forde?
Dolace quickly explained: "My lord, Kalitok has received an invitation. If he wants to attend, he'll need to dress up properly — buy a new formal suit and whatnot. He originally wanted to borrow ten gold Forde, but considering he'll probably need to attend more of these in the future, I took it upon myself to ask you for a hundred gold Forde instead."
"Sure, I'll lend it." Lorist had brought ten thousand gold Forde to the imperial capital this trip, and he'd only spent around two thousand on books these past few days. He still had plenty left, so a hundred gold Forde — even if never repaid — was hardly worth fussing over. Still, his curiosity was piqued. "Can you tell me about it? What kind of date costs that much?"
Dolace chuckled: "My lord, since you've agreed to the loan, we'll take you along to see for yourself. Each invitation allows bringing two guests, so we'll have Kalitok take us when the time comes."
Kalitok said: "Well, my lord, do you know about Princess Kairi?"
"Princess Kairi?" Lorist shook his head. "I don't."
"Princess Kairi is the only unmarried daughter of the late First Prince..."
"You said the First Prince has already passed away?" Lorist was taken aback.
"Yes. Two years ago, the First Prince, who had been under house arrest, suddenly started coughing up blood in the middle of the night and died in less than an hour. They said it was a sudden illness, but many suspect the Second Prince had a hand in it. Still, we're only speculating privately. No one knows the truth."
Lorist pondered for a moment. "Go on. What about Princess Kairi?"
"Princess Kairi is twenty-five this year. She's extraordinarily beautiful — they say she's the most beautiful woman in the kingdom. However, she's rather loose in her ways and has countless suitors at her feet. It's said that she worships Michila, the Goddess of Desire and Pleasure, and even organized a Paradise Club, which has many children of kingdom nobles who also follow Michila. She holds a Paradise Club gathering once every month. I once heard from a colleague who attended that it's truly a heavenly paradise — you'll receive the finest enjoyment. While there's no fee to enter, your tip each time can't be less than one gold Forde. Most people can't afford that, which is why I've come to ask for the master's help."
Dolores said, "My lord, why don't we go check it out tomorrow? I've never seen a gathering among empire nobles before. Let Kalitok take us to broaden our horizons."
Lorist stroked his chin and thought for a bit before saying, "Alright."
... (To be continued.)