"Will someone tell me what... exactly happened here?"
His Majesty the Candel Emperor wore a calm expression, and his voice was just as steady. He seemed no different from usual.
Yet that very normality cast an unbearably oppressive atmosphere over the entire hall.
The loyal ministers standing in the hall frequently attended His Majesty the Emperor of Candel. They knew, of course, that when their exalted emperor behaved so normally at a time like this, it meant his fury had reached its limit.
All the senior ministers kept their heads lowered, not daring to move. Even their breathing became slow and quiet, for fear of attracting His Majesty's attention.
Their silence, however, did not mean they could escape the matter.
His Majesty the Candel Emperor swept his gaze over the ministers' bowed heads, snorted coldly, and turned to the man standing nearest him: Grand Duke Rostov, the Candel Empire's current prime minister.
"Rostov, tell me why those bastards in the Northeastern Province had the gall to open fire on a mine within the empire's borders. Were they planning a rebellion?"
A strange look flickered through Grand Duke Rostov's eyes.
The crucial point was that the Northeastern Province's garrison had attacked no ordinary mine, but one belonging to the Xinfei Merchant Guild.
Yet His Majesty deliberately ignored that fact, even accusing the provincial garrison of intending to rebel. Clearly, he too had his reservations.
Of course, His Majesty would never admit that, and as prime minister, Grand Duke Rostov certainly could not expose his intentions in public.
After a moment's thought, Grand Duke Rostov replied, "Your Majesty, I do not believe Duke Tim would be so bold. This was likely the result of his subordinates in the Northeastern Province acting on their own judgment."
"Their own judgment?" His Majesty the Candel