Masked Knight

"Rody. Can I ask you something?" Nicole suddenly asked while sharing a private moment with Rody in the room.

Rody gently stroked Nicole’s hair as he smelled it. "What is it?" Rody felt relaxed at the moment. He was in the study room of the Duke’s mansion. Nobody would enter this place without permission. That was why Rody felt at ease as he held his lover and asked, "What do you wish to ask?"

Nicole’s hair was scattered and messy as Rody fiddled with it, causing her face to itch. She whispered, "You are getting bolder..." She looked at the flames in Rody’s eyes, and she blushed. She then said, "I have something to ask."

Rody sighed and embraced Nicole. He gave a wry smile and said, "Well, just ask."

Nicole looked a bit dejected and said, "Actually, from the start until now, I still could not figure it out. Everything had happened so suddenly, forcing us to take this path. Rody, do you think that it was right or wrong of us to support the Empress?"

"What’s wrong?" Rody laughed.

Nicole sighed and said, "Andy’s words today made me think ... Perhaps, we are wrong. Just to protect the Empress alone and support the Empress out of friendship we created this mess? And set off a rebellion? Do we have the right to do that?"

Rody raised his eyebrows and laughed, but he did not reply.

Nicole sighed and continued, "If Andy did not suddenly appear, what happened today would become a huge issue. A river of blood flowing would be inevitable. I am afraid we would reproduce the tragedy when Abbas the Great ascended the throne. When I think of this, I feel very frightened. Even though we have won, what about the aftermath? The Empress’ child is not even born yet. Are we really going to hand over the future of the Empire to a baby? Hmm? Why are you laughing?"

Nicole felt depressed. Suddenly, she noticed Rody was laughing profoundly. Nicole could not help but glare at him fiercely as she bit her lips. "What are you laughing at?"

Rody shook his head and replied, "What you just said is wrong."

"What?"

Rody said resolutely, "What you just said is wrong." He then sighed and slowly let go of Nicole. After that, he said, "If I had to choose between Prince Barond or the baby as the Emperor, I would definitely not choose Prince Barond."

He then looked at Nicole and lightly said, "Nicole, perhaps, I am not someone who thinks a lot. I am also unable to think of complicated things and what would happen in the future. However, I know that I would not choose Prince Barond to become Emperor. The reason is simple. I do not think he is a good person."

He paused for a moment and said, "Maybe I am too selfish and only follow my emotions. Barond colluded with the vampires, and the vampires had killed Jojo. This fact already totally squashed all possibilities of me supporting Barond. I am someone who knows who to love and hate. I don’t care whether it is right or wrong! I only know that I would not support someone who cooperates with vampires to kill innocents! Besides that, the vampires did not only kill Jojo. They also killed a lot of my men. Either way, Barond is my enemy! He will never be my friend!"

Nicole started to laugh. "What you said is simple, but it also makes sense."

Rody shook his head and replied, "No, Nicole, it is not simple!" He had a strange look in his eyes and spoke softly:

"When a general is angry, all things wither;

When a king is angry, blood fills the river, and a thousand heads roll;

When you are in command, all beings become worthless.

He suddenly smiled and said, "Nicole, do you know what that means?"

Nicole frowned and replied, "I do not know. These words sound strange. What kind of words are these? What does it mean?"

Rody smiled faintly, "These words came from the Sunflower Treasure, a book left behind by Dandong. The meaning is very simple. When a person stands on top and becomes powerful, in his eyes, all human lives would become trifling and unimportant. A person like that would decide the fate of millions depending on his mood. Nicole, don’t you think this is terrible?"

He then laughed bitterly and said, "When I became the Duke and led my army to the Northwest, I took a long time to consider all my orders. That is because I know that if I were to give a wrong order, many people would die! You also know that, right now, I am still just a Duke. But what if I were an Emperor? If I am a good Emperor then everything would be fine. However, if the Emperor is a bastard, the people would then suffer a lot! Abbas XI may not be a good person but he did not do anything outrageous. Although he was muddled, the Empire was only in decline and did not collapse. However, if Barond replaces him, I shudder to think of the results. Barond had cooperated with the vampires. To him, lives were even less valuable than trash, and all sorts of schemes would appear. The vampires are also not good people. If he became Emperor, it might not just become a matter of the Empire declining. The Empire could very well collapse!"

Nicole opened her mouth and said, "You... You have thought so much?"

Rody shook his head and replied, "I also do not like to think so much. However, this incident was right in front of me and I was forced to think about it. I was forced by you to study. I read a lot of books and learned many things. Often, I would naturally end up thinking. However, the more I think, the more upset I became."

Nicole lowered her head and thought to herself for a moment before she said, "Then, since you think Barond’s rule would not work, why did you not agree to cooperate with Seth?"

Rody sternly said, "Hating Barond is one matter. However, for me to cooperate with Seth is an entirely different matter! It appeared like I finally use the way Seth recommended. If Andy had not appeared, everything would really go according to Seth’s plan. This is why, at that time, I did not want to agree with Seth!"

Rody then laughed bitterly and said, "I know that there are a lot of times I do stupid or silly things. There are times that situations would become smoother if I had compromised a little. However, I cannot convince myself to compromise. Seth’s words were tempting but once I give him my promise, I would become his pawn. I would live under his shadow. Nicole... Did you know? I really hate this face right now. I would not wear this mask again if it were not for you."

Nicole’s eyes seemed moist as she whispered, "I know."

Rody gently pulled Nicole’s hand and said, "Let me tell you. On that day, if Andy had not appeared, I would have fought to kill Barond! However, I would not have supported the Empress’ child to succeed the throne after Barond is dead!"

"What?" Nicole was shocked. "Are you serious? Then, why did you still act according to my instructions? What was your plan, after killing Barond?"

Rody shook his head and replied, "I do not know. I have not thought it through. However, I would most likely find someone else. A baby becoming Emperor could be even more terrifying than Barond becoming Emperor. Unfortunately..." He then whispered. "Unfortunately, the Empress is a cowardly person. If she was stronger, she could have just become the Emperor. Or perhaps we could have just taken another suitable person from the Thorn Flower Family to succeed the throne. I heard that the Thorn Flower Family has many relatives. Certainly, we would be able to find someone suitable."

Nicole could not help but laugh. "The Empress becoming the Emperor? How did you think of that? Was there ever a woman that became Emperor? Find someone else to become an Emperor? This is even crazier!"

Rody objected and said, "Why not? The rules of this world were set by men. Why can’t we just set an additional rule? Are these rules unchangeable? I will change it!"

Nicole was surprised and revealed a strange expression. "You have really changed... But did you not think ... rather than finding someone else to become Emperor, you might... you might as well be the Emperor, yourself!"

Nicole’s last sentence shocked both Rody and herself. Why did I say such things? Even if this idea appeared in my head, I should not have said it.

However, the moment Nicole said this, she also trembled in her heart. This idea could not be considered as ‘crazy’.

The Duke of the Tulip Family would rise to power again after defeating Prince Barond. At the same time, he would have the respect of the Empire’s subjects. Finally, it would not be impossible to become an Emperor.

Rody looked at Nicole, smiled and shook his head. "I don’t want to! I don’t like it!"

These days, the proudest people in the Imperial Capital were the Wolf Fang soldiers. The Wolf Fang soldiers patrolled the streets while all the original Central Cavalry soldiers had returned to their barracks. None of the Central Cavalry soldiers were allowed to leave their barracks. It is also said that the Emperor had given the order for the ‘Lightning God’s Whip’ to be placed under the command of the Duke of the Tulip Family.

The news that the Duke of the Tulip Family had returned to the Imperial Capital spread throughout the Imperial Capital. The incident at the court was common knowledge now and could not be covered up. Everybody knew that Prince Barond had planned to usurp the throne. However, he had been defeated by the Wolf Fang soldiers, led by the Duke of the Tulip Family. These Wolf Fangs were the Duke’s elite soldiers that had even managed to defeat the Central Cavalry.

Some of the nobles had asked the Emperor whether they should dispatch people to the streets to inspect and prevent others from talking about the coup. Their intention was to suppress public opinions and arrest all those who spoke of the coup in the court, that day.

In the end, the skeleton stared at the nobles and kicked them back down without saying anything.

After that, the Emperor did something that everybody could not understand. The Emperor had personally searched for a group of Empire’s distinguished poets and scholars to create something new.

That thing was called ‘newspapers’.

Nobody knew what a newspaper was. They had never heard of it before. Everybody believed that the Emperor’s brain was damaged from his illness and now, nobody could understand his actions anymore.

The Emperor had dispatched hundreds of soldiers to the streets in plain clothes. Their job was to confidentially report to the Emperor all the recent happenings in the Imperial Capital, major or minor. The Emperor then made these distinguished poets and scholars write it all on a piece of paper and then made several hundred thousand copies of it. He then distributed them to all the nobles. As for the remaining, he dispatched people to the city gate, inns, shops and other locations to distribute to whoever they come across...

That strange thing, the newspaper, soon aroused the interest of everyone in the Imperial Capital.

There were stories about a certain Baron that got locked out of his house because he cheated on his wife; good foods in restaurants; and the death of an old man whose children fought over the inheritance.

As people were curious, they could not help but inquire about those fun and interesting things when they read about them. As a result, the newspaper became very popular.

Naturally, the newspaper was not something so simple. Although it had records of strange incidents, it also detailed what had happened at the palace on that eventful day at the most prominent spot of the newspapers. Each sentence seemed to accuse Prince Barond of his misconduct and his motives. Although it was not stated explicitly, there were enough hints that said so.

The first day the newspaper was distributed, most people did not care. Some of those who did not know what the newspaper was, immediately threw them away, while some used them as toilet paper.

However, on the second day, the entire Empire started to stir. Those that had read the newspaper talked about that interesting creation. Those who didn’t get to read it started looking for them. They looked everywhere – the inns, the rubbish bins, and the toilets – to search for the newspaper. Finally, it had spread to hundreds and thousands of people.

Although they did not know the true purpose of the newspaper, some of its purposes had gradually become apparent.

When the second edition was published, Prince Barond was only mentioned briefly but another person became the focus of the news. That person was the Military Minister, Garoline.

The words were sharp and they sarcastically hinted at the Military Minister’s misconduct. Not only was the minister accepting bribes and embezzling money, but he also did not play his role during the incident at the court.

Those opinions completely dominated rumors and speculations of the incident in the court of the Imperial Capital. All the previous strange rumors and gossips had gradually disappeared and the public started to follow the argument in the newspaper.

Andy, who was hiding behind, laughed treacherously. "How is that? Order to stop them from spreading rumors is not needed. This approach is much better than a Royal Command!"

Naturally, the newspaper could not be free forever. The first three editions were free. However, from the fourth edition onwards, they would no longer be distributed free on the streets. There was an announcement that a new edition would be released every three days and two coppers would be needed to buy and read it.

Ever since then, numerous people sighed. "Uhh... There is a charge now... There is no free lunch in this world..."

Even then, the sales of the newspaper were booming. Everybody wanted to know what happened to the children who fought for the inheritance, the fate of the Baron who was caught cheating on his wife and many other stories. The last edition also said that Prince Barond and the Duke of the Tulip family had dueled during that incident. The Prince had used a move called ‘Total Annihilation’ while the Duke used his golden fighting energy. What was the result of that duel? It was also said that Marquis Garoline was a manther1. The populace wondered if that was really true.

It could be said that the newspaper was then the most popular thing in the Imperial Capital.

Finally, the Emperor gave the order for the poets and scholars to specialize in publishing the newspaper. They would be paid heftily for their work. The Emperor also gave them hundreds of guards to use at their disposal.

His Majesty the Emperor also personally named the newspaper, ‘Andy Express’.

The imagination and creativity of humans were unlimited.

After the unprecedented popularity of the newspaper, the poets and scholars of the nobles who were in dire straits started to earn a lot of money. They walked with their heads held high and, soon, some of the nimble merchants became restless.

Finally, one of them was brave enough to release his own newspaper. That person was smart and released a new edition every day, unlike ‘Andy Express‘ that only released one new edition every three days.

Sales were so good that the crowds almost crashed his shop.

The people then started to say, "Ah, these days, whoever can change fast... he is king!"

When the others saw that His Majesty did not object to the competition when the new newspaper was released, they became interested too. After that, several new newspapers were introduced.

Some whimsical people started to write interesting stories of the Imperial Capital. Stories on the scandals of some young masters of noble families having indecent relationships with young girls, some commoner young men falling in love with young ladies from noble families... such romance stories were well received.

Naturally, there were also those that painstakingly wrote something in their newspaper and the result killed their sales. Those works would then appear next day in the marketplace and used for wrapping vegetables and meat. Some of the poets were unhappy and walked up to the streets to ask people why they did not like to read their works.

Their answer: "It’s boring."

1. I got the term ’manther’ from Urban Dictionary but Microsoft Word told me that this word doesn’t exist. A manther is an old man that prefers significantly younger women. As these women are not children, it should not be mistaken as a pedophile.