The First Vampire

Chapter 565: 563 Anger_1
 

Smash!

The crystal wine cup smashed heavily onto the white glazed rock floor, scattering into countless gleaming fragments.

“Crete St. Gregorian!”

The angry roar of Emperor Reinhardt echoed in the empty hall.

“What does Deborah want to accomplish?

Openly killing a cardinal in the Holy Light Cathedral!

This is a contempt for the authority of the church!

A blasphemy against the glory of the Supreme Lord!

She should be… should be…”

At this point, the words “should be burned at the stake” from Emperor Reinhardt’s mouth were stuck in his throat.

After all, no one has ever dared to openly declare that they would burn a holy knight at the stake, not even the emperor himself.

When Prince Lexie “killed” his own uncle, the senator of the Imperial Senate, he was merely expelled. Who would dare to actually bring him to justice?

So, now Emperor Reinhardt could only vent his fury on the Westland governor, Crete St. Gregorian.

With a heavy heart, Governor Crete was helpless. If Duke St. Gregorian were not a holy knight, he might have some restraining power over him. But now… Governor Crete really had no methods left. He could only be silently subjected to Emperor Reinhardt’s furious roars.

After a long while, Emperor Reinhardt finally subsided. Perhaps he finally understood that his anger was nothing more than impotent rage, unable to affect the current situation in the slightest.

Cardinal Noputon was dead. The series of conspiracies by Emperor Reinhardt had all come to nothing.

Gregory was secured in the position of pope. No one in the church could pose a threat to him anymore. Moreover, he was about to negotiate a reconciliation agreement with the North Territory, and the entire diocese would become independent.

From then on, the rule of the St. Hilde family in the North Territory will be incredibly stable.

All of these developments had nothing to do with the royal family.

As the ruler of the empire, Emperor Reinhardt discovered that he appeared to be an outsider.

“Where is Duke St. Gregorian now? I want to see her.” Emperor Reinhardt’s dark eyes stared at Governor Crete as he coldly said.

Governor Crete grimaced and said, “Your Majesty, I too do not know where Duke St. Gregorian is! She has not sought me out since she came to Dragon City… But I suspect that she has already left Dragon City to find the Northern Army.

After all, she wants the Church and the North Territory to reconcile as soon as possible so that the Empire can unite and face the enemy together.”

Emperor Reinhardt’s mouth twitched a few times.

Duke St. Gregorian came to Dragon City and did not see Westland Governor, not even to greet the Emperor. This attitude of holding others in contempt made Emperor Reinhardt’s anger boil even more.

After a few deep breaths, Emperor Reinhardt finally calmed down again. He snorted and waved his hand at Governor Crete, dismissing him.

“You may leave.”

Only when the hall was left with Emperor Reinhardt and Baron Heidegger, did he gnash his teeth and grumble at the Prime Minister of the Empire.

“Look at these holy knights, each more arrogant than the other, always reckless, lawless! They never respect me as emperor!

Is this supposed to be the ‘gift of the Supreme Lord to humanity’?

I can clearly see that they are the root of the turmoil in the Empire!”

Emperor Reinhardt vented for a while, and then came to Baron Heidegger’s side, lowering his voice and asking:

“Do you have any way to deal with Deborah St. Gregorian?”

Baron Heidegger looked at Emperor Reinhardt’s face, full of murderous intent, and sighed in his heart.

He was, of course, clear that this Emperor had always been hostile and suspicious towards the Holy Knights of the Empire.

Even the Royal family’s own Holy Knight, Prince Lexie, didn’t he get framed and driven away by the Emperor?

Now, this Emperor was eyeing Duke St. Gregorian!

He was not magnanimous, nor did he possess any leadership qualities. In Baron Heidegger’s eyes, Emperor Reinhardt was not a qualified monarch at all.

Unfortunately, the emergence of an emperor in the Empire was not based on capability, but on bloodline.

Who could blame Emperor Reinhardt for being born into privilege…

Baron Heidegger could only suppress his inner displeasure and softly persuade:

“Your Majesty, at this critical moment, we need Holy Knights like Duke St. Gregorian to combat the Orc Empire. You cannot ruin such a powerful force!”

Emperor Reinhardt snorted coldly, gradually settling down.

However, the flickering dangerous light in his eyes revealed that his apprehension towards Duke St. Gregorian was not entirely absent, he was merely enduring it temporarily.

“Now Noputon is dead, our plans have gone to hell. What do you think we should do next?”

Seeing that Emperor Reinhardt had temporarily stopped fussing about Duke St. Gregorian, Baron Heidegger let out a slight breath and said:

“Your Majesty, there is always the possibility of failure in any plan. At this point, we have to accept this reality.

The peaceful reconciliation between the North Territory and the Church has become a certainty. The most appropriate thing for Your Majesty to do is to proactively step forward and be the host and mediator of this peace negotiation.”

“Hmm, that could work.” Emperor Reinhardt nodded, very satisfied with the Prime Minister’s suggestion. He was tired of being an outsider, eager to be part of these talks.

“What else? Anything else we need to do during these discussions?”

“Your Majesty, the North Territory and the Church have already reached an agreement. It would be hard for us to have any further room to maneuver.” Baron Heidegger spoke, but seeing the dissatisfaction on Emperor Reinhardt’s face, quickly added, “Nevertheless, a plan I’ve previously suggested to you, appealing to Count Angler, can continue.”

Emperor Reinhardt, with his hands behind his back, paced back and forth in the hall.

He had never really wanted to execute the Prime Minister’s proposal to coax Count Angler. After all, towards Colin, Emperor Reinhardt had more apprehension than admiration, and he couldn’t trust the North Territory’s guardian.

But now, the Empire’s situation was increasingly becoming unfavorable for the Royal Family.

The North Territory had successfully subdued the Church this time, making them cough up a huge chunk of fat meat—-an independent North Territory Diocese.

Moreover, Duke St. Gregorian seemed to be in collusion with the North Territory, showing signs of alignment.

Add the Eastern Territory that had already shown tendencies of becoming a vassal to the North…n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

The more Emperor Reinhardt thought about it, the colder his heart became. He finally stopped pacing, stared at Baron Heidegger, and said:

“Even if I need to coax Count Angler, I couldn’t possibly give him the position of Empire’s Guardian, right? He is still young and has not achieved any significant feat for the Empire.”

“Of course, we can’t directly bestow upon him the position of Empire’s Guardian.” Baron Heidegger said, “What is too easily gained will not be cherished. Your Majesty, you can first test Count Angler’s attitude, and gradually guide him away from the North Territory, bringing him under your command.”

“How do I test him?”

“Now that the Northern Duke is in a coma, I believe Count Angler would not wish to spend the latter half of his life accompanying a walking shell. And you must take note, he hasn’t had any offspring.

So, you can first test if Count Angler has intentions to divorce and remarry.

If he does, then you can help him to select a princess from the royal family…”

“Hmm, not a bad idea.” Emperor Reinhardt nodded in satisfaction, “As long as Count Angler divorces Duke St. Hilde, he will inevitably be ostracized by the North Territory. Accepting his loyalty would then be much easier!”

Baron Heidegger seized the opportunity to interject:

“Your Majesty, if Count Angler agrees to divorce his wife and remarry, then you can trust him.

This Orc war provides an opportunity for him to showcase his strengths.

Once he achieves significant military merits in this war, appointing him as the Empire’s Guardian would then seem only natural.”

Emperor Reinhardt pondered for a moment, giving a nod of approval before instructing:

“Very well. Immediately send an invitation in my name to the Church and the North Territory, asking them to come to the Royal Oak Manor outside Dragon City, to discuss means of peaceful resolution to the Turennes’ assassination of Duke St. Hilde.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”