After delegating some of the committee's important current tasks to Alevia and the other three, Gilan's shoulders visibly felt lighter.
He could now focus his energy on solving the most pressing problem—hunting down the Apostles "Windmill Cat" Par and "Cupbearer Physician" Gabriel, and freeing Tolina from her living hell of a "scapegoat" state.
Like pulling loose the end of a dead knot and setting off a chain reaction, this would allow them to break the Federation army's seemingly invincible immortality and restore the Empire's ability to fight.
That way, the entire deadlock could be brought back to life.
That afternoon.
Gilan temporarily set aside the mountain of documents and left Triumph Building alone.
He drove to Four Directions Palace.
Along the way, whether they were official staff inside the building or pedestrians on the streets, everyone's words and mannerisms revealed an undisguisable anxiety.
People hurried along, worry etched between their brows.
It was as though laughter and joy had vanished from this country, leaving behind nothing but oppression and despair.
The news that the Ovena Federation's army was at the border could not possibly be contained. Nearly every Imperial citizen knew that the land they lived on was likely about to change hands.
Everything they had once possessed—status, wealth, even their friends, family, and lives—was no longer under their control.
It was as if a time bomb had been strapped to the Empire.
A countdown ticked above everyone's heads.
Waiting for the final detonation and destruction.
The sky was clear today, without a cloud in sight.
Yet all of Muse City seemed dark and gloomy, its air permeated by the stench of decay.
Gilan's silver-gray car drove unimpeded into Four Directions Palace and stopped before the entrance.
He got out, returned the greetings and salutes of two female soldiers, then