From then on, the First Consul of the Faruon Republic became the first emperor of the Iron Glory Empire.
But he also became its last emperor. Seven years ago, Emperor Renard suddenly went mad. The chancellor at the time immediately sent men to seal off the palace and had the emperor confined.
After stabilizing the political turmoil caused by the emperor's madness, the chancellor took power from Emperor Renard. He then sent the emperor to an asylum on Napo Island. The island had once been home to an imperial retreat, but it had since been converted into an asylum that served the emperor alone.
It looked like he had been sent to the island for treatment, but in truth, he had been exiled.
The former imperial chancellor became the empire's head of state. The imperial dictatorship remained unchanged, and the head of state kept the imperial system in place. The old palace became the current address of the national assembly.
This was what Gallo knew of the Iron Glory Empire's political history.
"Twenty years ago, Emperor Renard suppressed the royalists and nobles during the Faruon Kingdom era. But after the Iron Glory Empire was established, the emperor didn't grant titles to any new nobles. Later, when the chancellor exiled the emperor and became head of state, there were no titled nobles left in the empire." Gallo looked at Stur to confirm. "So Taylor was a noble during the Faruon Kingdom era."
"She wasn't just an ordinary noble, but a true grand aristocrat," Stur said. "Most of the land in Nankan County, where my hometown is, belonged to Marquis Taylor. His family's wealth was beyond imagination."
Stur went on to explain, "Although Emperor Renard suppressed the kingdom's nobles, their influence remained. Most of the nobles who had managed to escape the purge fled to the Faruon Kingdom's overseas colonies on the Southern Continent and elsewhere.
"To this day, the empire has only reclaimed some of the Faruon Kingdom's former overseas colonies. Some are still controlled by the nobles who fled in the past.
"After the head of state took office seven years ago, he allowed limited cooperation with the former nobles to keep the situation under control. They could never regain their old privileges within the empire.
"But they were allowed to return as ordinary imperial citizens, and the wealth they brought with them wouldn't be confiscated outright. They just had to pay an entry tax on their overseas assets!"
Gallo nodded. At least now he understood Sacia Taylor's true identity: a noble from the old kingdom, perhaps even the daughter or granddaughter of the former Marquis Taylor.
When Malcolm found the copy of The Nightingale and the Rose that Gallo had mentioned, on the left side of the third bookshelf at Aofan Bookstore, he paid for it right there.
He left Aofan Bookstore with the book and went to an inn at the end of Lubo Lane. He went up to the fourth floor, stopped outside a room, and knocked a few times in the agreed rhythm.
The door opened from within. Seeing Malcolm return, the person inside immediately reproached him. "You shouldn't have approached that kid. It'll disrupt Miss Taylor's plans."
Malcolm ignored him and went to the window. Outside lay the street of Lubo Lane, and he could see the outdoor seating at Moonlight Cafe to the east.
He spoke as if to himself. "Fortunately, that kid isn't working inside the cafe. If he were, keeping an eye on him would be a lot harder."
"You..." The man grew irritated at being ignored.
Malcolm said calmly, "I just went to check... whether that kid's memory and reading skills were really as extraordinary as they say.
"And now I'm reassured. Maybe he's the only one who can pull it off. Let's hope Lady Luck is on our side."
As if to prove what he'd just said, he took a one-fenso coin from his pocket and tossed it into the air.
"Will that kid be able to do it?"
The coin came down, and Malcolm caught it in his hand. When he opened his palm, it showed heads. He immediately smiled. "So Lady Luck is on our side."
Then he said, "I'm getting a little hungry. I should take over monitoring duty so you can rest and go out for lunch, but I'm so hungry I can hardly stand it."
He tossed the coin again. "Should I go downstairs for lunch now, then come back and relieve the two of you afterward?"
The coin landed heads up.
Malcolm smiled. "So... Lady Luck is still looking out for me. I'll go get lunch and come back in a bit. You two keep watch."
He turned, opened the door, and left, leaving the other two in the room staring at each other, baffled by his strange performance.
Malcolm walked out of Lubo Lane and onto the neighboring street, where there were plenty of restaurants. At this time of day, quite a few students from Imperial Industrial University were there to grab a bite.
At last, he stopped in front of a clean-looking restaurant. The aroma of buttered bread and caramel pudding drifted out.
He took out the fenso coin again and murmured, "This one?" The coin fell heads up.
Pleased with the result, he pushed open the door and went inside.
Quite a few people were already seated, and the air was full of the smell of grilled meat and bread. As expected, the restaurant's Donglushi-style caramel pudding was its specialty.
Malcolm found a seat by the wall and ordered grilled meat, a glass of rye beer, a fifth of a pound of buttered bread, and a serving of caramel pudding.
He enjoyed his satisfying lunch, pleased that Lady Luck had guided him to this restaurant.
After eating his fill, Malcolm felt much more energetic. He paid the bill, left the restaurant, and headed back to the observation post in Lubo Lane.
Just as he was about to leave the street and turn into Lubo Lane, someone hurrying toward him suddenly slammed into him.
The person paused briefly, said nothing, and hurried away.
Malcolm rubbed his aching shoulder and muttered a curse.
He instinctively checked his coat pocket. His wallet seemed to be there, so he didn't give it another thought, assuming the other person had simply been careless.
He had no idea that, when they collided, a nimble hand had silently slipped something other than his wallet from his pocket.
Back in the fourth-floor room at the inn where their observation post was, he said to his two weary companions, "All right, go get lunch. I'll take over."
The two exchanged a glance, then immediately got up and left the room.
Malcolm sat in the chair by the window. Out of habit, he reached for his pocket watch to check the time. His hand went into the inner pocket of his coat. After taking out the watch, he froze for a moment, then pulled his wallet from another pocket.
"Something's wrong!" He searched several other pockets, his expression growing more troubled.
"Damn it!" Malcolm slammed his fist against the windowsill, seething with anger.
His wallet was still there, and so was his pocket watch. But the important thing was... the forged Clovin credentials he'd kept with his wallet!
In the Iron Glory Empire, forging or impersonating official credentials—especially those of a dreaded agency like Clovin—could have unthinkable consequences if discovered!
It wasn't just a matter of going to prison.
He had used the fake credentials to successfully fool Professor Vanason, but he'd never expected one moment of carelessness to let a thief steal them. This could bring him a world of trouble.
Fear and anger tangled inside him. Then he realized his worry might be unnecessary. After all, the thief had stolen Clovin credentials from an ordinary passerby.
The thief would surely be even more frightened, thinking he'd stolen them from an actual Clovin agent. Even if he realized the credentials were fake, he wouldn't dare report them; that would expose him as a thief, and the empire's laws would punish him severely.
He instinctively reached for his pocket again and took out a one-fenso coin. After thinking for a moment, he tossed it into the air once more.
"The thief won't report it!"
The coin landed heads up. Malcolm immediately felt reassured.
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