Aftermath

Cyrus ultimately rejected His Holiness the Pope's proposal.

He needed to return to the Grand Duke's mansion to pack his belongings, and then leave the Anas Empire immediately.

After all, the empire would be in great chaos for some time to come, and he had no intention of getting involved. Taking advantage of the chaos to leave was the perfect opportunity.

But plans can never keep up with changes—the ports of the Empire had already been sealed off by Orville and Archibald, and no one was allowed to leave the Empire by ship from the ports without their orders.

Not to mention, all the gates to the imperial capital are now firmly guarded by knights, with tight security.

Cyrus, facing Ferdinand who had come from the port, said, "So, we can't leave the Anas Empire for the time being?"

Ferdinand: "Yes, lord."

"Walker and I have ordered the soldiers to dismantle all the stalls in the port, and all the goods for sale have been moved into the ship's hold..."

Everything is ready, and we can immediately set sail and return to our territory once the order prohibiting ships from leaving the port is lifted.

Cyrus frowned.

"Ouch."

Snowball gently leaned over and tenderly rubbed its big head against the little lord's fluffy head to comfort him.

Egg Yolk wrapped its long tail around his waist, while Coalball and Black Sugar stood by, also surrounding him, sensing that the little lord was starting to get angry and depressed again.

Cyrus sighed, "In that case, Ferdinand, you should send someone back to the ship to inform Walker and Samuel to keep a close watch on the fleet and strictly manage the entry and exit of the soldiers and servants."

"The capital is in complete chaos right now, and someone might take advantage of this opportunity to do something..."

After all, those royal family members who had followed King Puli and committed wrongdoings together still had families; they couldn't just sit idly by and wait to be captured one by one by the knights of the royal city, knowing they were doomed.

If they want to escape, they will definitely try to do something.

For example, they could further create chaos, confuse the public, and mislead people within the royal city.

Or, in chaotic places, no matter how careful the defenses are, there will always be times when they are lax, and someone may seize the opportunity to sneak onto the outsider's ship to evade capture.

Ferdinand went out with the orders, but when he came back in, he was followed by two men— Vincent, the head steward of the Nagabi Merchant Guild, and Robert, a subordinate of the Grand Duke.

The two explained their purpose to Cyrus.

Vincent: "The leader will guarantee your safety within the Empire."

"Furthermore, he wants to personally apologize to you... for everything that happened before... The leader understands that his choice hurt you to some extent."

"If possible, he hopes you can be under the protection of the Nagabi Merchant Guild of Commerce..."

Robert: "The Anas Empire will be in turmoil for a while afterward."

"During this period, there may be some desperate counterattacks, but the Grand Duke's residence is absolutely safe. His Excellency the Duke will ensure that you will not be harmed here."

After they finished speaking, they glanced at each other, then looked away as if nothing had happened.

Cyrus: "..."

He rubbed his temples, looking troubled. "No, I don't need the Nagabi Merchant Guild's protection, and I understand Mr. Bori... what the leader is doing..."

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"Go back, Vincent."

Vincent: Listen to this unfamiliar and distant title, "Mr. Leader"!

--Leader, after you changed back to your original name, you no longer even have the affectionate title "Boris". It seems you really need to express your apologies to the young lord!

Given Cyrus's resolute attitude, Vincent finally bowed respectfully and left the Grand Duke's residence.

Robert won the initial confrontation without a fight.

He was about to say something when he saw the young lord wave him off.

"You go too."

After saying "I hope you get some rest tonight," Robert turned and left, not wanting to provoke him further.

Cyrus was right; the Anas Empire did indeed descend into chaos.

Ordinary people living in the royal city stayed indoors, afraid to move around freely for fear of being arrested and imprisoned by the knights of the royal city and interrogated.

Cyrus assumed that Archibald and Orville would be extremely busy during this period, but he unexpectedly saw Archibald on his second day at the Grand Duke's residence.

He clearly had to make a lot of time for this.

Archibald hadn't closed his eyes to rest since last night. His golden hair was slightly disheveled, and he was enveloped in the lingering chill of the morning air and a faint, pungent smell of blood...

Cyrus stared at him. "Aren't you going to say anything? Just keep staring at me, trying to make me dig something out of your face?"

Cyrus didn't speak very politely.

Archibald's expression darkened further. "Of course I want to say something, especially to apologize, but I'm afraid you won't accept it..."

His voice was very hoarse.

Cyrus certainly didn't want to accept it now, so he remained silent.

Archibald had so much to say to the person in front of him, but he also had so much more to deal with immediately.

After a moment of silence, he handed a badge representing the Nagabi Merchant Guild to Cyrus.

"What are you doing?"

Archibald: "I know you want to leave the Empire most right now. With this badge, the Royal Knights guarding the port will no longer stop your fleet."

"But be careful not to leak the information beforehand... to prevent malicious individuals from secretly boarding your ship..."

Cyrus finally reached out and took the badge of the Nagabi Merchant Guild. It was heavy in her hand, and the word "Abel" was engraved on the back.

Clearly, this is also a badge representing a leader's status, and it's not hard to imagine what one could do with this badge within the Nagabi Merchant Guild.

Before leaving, Archibald said, "I hope that after everything in the Empire is settled, you will welcome me to personally visit your territory to express my apologies."

Cyrus sat on the sofa watching his figure disappear through the door.

A bunch of furry creatures lay on the ground, some crawling and some lying down. Taking advantage of its small size, Black Sugar jumped onto the sofa and lay down next to Cyrus, resting its round little head on his leg. At this moment, it turned slightly to the side, revealing its soft belly.

Cyrus placed her hand on it and rubbed it. Black Sugar narrowed its golden eyes and flicked its increasingly long tail.

A soft belly makes me feel good.

A short while later, Judas, who had just gone out to see someone off, came back in, followed by Orville.

Cyrus: "... Did you and Archibald make plans together?"

Orville looked at Cyrus with a puzzled expression, then his gaze involuntarily fell on the pile of furry creatures. He said, "I did see Archibald when I came in."

"But I didn't make an appointment with him... except for the plan to split the empire."

He concluded by asking, "What do you think about naming the independent territory Achiyoli?"

Cyrus: "... I have absolutely no objection, you don't need to ask me."

Orville nodded indifferently, his light gray eyes lingering on the hand that Black Sugar's belly.

He then sat down on the sofa opposite Cyrus: "Last night, I saw His Holiness the Pope carry you away from the banquet... Were you scared?"

Cyrus shook her head.

Orville: "I thought you would leave the Duke's residence and instead stay with His Holiness the Pope..."

"But I assure you that you will not be harmed here, and no one will dare to offend the Achiyoli House."

I'm just too lazy to go somewhere else.

Cyrus thanked him.

"You're welcome."

Orville shifted into a more comfortable position.

He then handed Cyrus a badge engraved with a roaring lion, saying, "This is the family crest of Achiyoli."

"Robert told me that you wanted to leave the Empire, and with it, the knights guarding the port would no longer obstruct your fleet."

Cyrus raised an eyebrow. "Archibald just gave me a badge representing the leader of the Chamber of Commerce."

He took out another one and placed it on the table.

Orville glanced at it. "Two are more effective."

Cyrus carefully put away the two badges, and then asked Orville what had happened after he left the previous night.

Orville maintained his usual indifferent expression. "His Majesty the King and Lady Jona were forced to commit suicide by Archibald."

"The king's mistresses have all been imprisoned, and his illegitimate children will be beheaded after the unrest ends."

"And Tosi Cavendish was killed by me personally."

Cyrus looked up.

Orville: "He tried to escape, heading in my direction."

"He's really unlucky..." Cyrus didn't know what to say.

Orville continued, "And those members of the royal family who sided with King Puli were all imprisoned and will be convicted later, but their family members have not all been arrested so far..."

Orville clearly had many things to attend to, and after explaining the situation, he said a brief goodbye to Cyrus.

He hugged him and tried to pat Black Sugar's little head, but Black Sugar dodged away in disgust.

After obtaining the two badges, Cyrus immediately prepared to pack his things and leave the Grand Duke's mansion. On his way back to the ship, he sent someone to inform His Holiness the Pope.

After the messenger returned, he received a letter from His Holiness the Pope.

The letter read, "I wish him a safe journey home. I will visit him in the Desinia Territory after things are settled in the Anas Empire."

Cyrus's response. "..."

There's absolutely no need for that.

The turmoil in the Anas Empire continues.

After producing two badges, Cyrus boarded the ship at night with the permission and cover of the Royal Knights, then stowed the gangplank and hoisted the sails.

More than two weeks later, the fleet returned safely to the Desinia Territory.

at the same time.

News also arrived regarding the current state of the Anas Empire —with the support of His Holiness the Pope, and thanks to the prior preparations of Archibald and Orville, the Anas Empire was successfully split apart.

One part, led by Grand Duke Achiyoli, became an independent territory, and some nobles of the empire submitted to it and became vassals of the Grand Duke.

Part of it became the Anas Kingdom.

However, when the nobles who followed Archibald wanted to support him as king, he refused without hesitation.

Archibald made a startling decision— the Anas Empire would cease to exist, and the remaining Anas Kingdom would be ruled by Minina Laurie.

This decision undoubtedly stirred up waves within the divided empire.

However, even more unexpected news followed – after establishing his territory, Grand Duke Achiyoli quickly annexed the small kingdom of Helgoda.

A battle without bloodshed ensued—His Majesty the King of Helgoda voluntarily abdicated, becoming a vassal of the Achiyoli House.

After Archibald's true identity was finally revealed, he changed his previous practice of having most of the Nagabi Merchant Guild of Commerce's affairs handled by Vincent, and began to show his ruthless methods.

Since he was able to force his uncle, King Puli, and his own mother to commit suicide, he would be even more ruthless towards others.

The nobles who wanted to rebel against his decision—to make Minina Laurie the Queen of the Anas Kingdom —were soon suppressed and lost all will to resist.

Finally, the Pope intervened to quell the dispute.

His attitude was quite clear—he formally recognized the existence of the Achiyoli Territory and the identity of Queen Laurie Minina Laurie.