Chapter 486
Knock, knock.

“Your Majesty.”

At Xiao Xi’s call, Jin turned his head, though his hands didn’t stop fastening the buttons on his robe.

Instead of asking what was going on, Jin simply nodded, signaling that the report could proceed. The documents in Xiao Xi’s hands were quite thick—today’s council agenda seemed unusually packed.

How curious. The council meets almost daily, yet there’s so much to handle all at once. Jin shifted his gaze back to the mirror in front of him.

“Is that amount excluding the state funeral for my father?”

“Yes, Your Majesty. Regarding the state funeral, the officials have no major objections. The consensus is to follow tradition but keep it minimal, considering your coming-of-age ceremony and coronation.”

“Thanks for sparing the treasury—I’m almost moved to tears.”

Jin’s cynical mutter made Xiao Xi pause briefly.

The budget for the palace was already strained due to the coming-of-age ceremony. Now, with the emperor’s passing, Jin’s coronation would follow immediately. With so many state events this year, the suggestion was to downscale the funeral.

The reasoning sounded reasonable on the surface. But beneath it lay a clear erosion of imperial dignity.

This was the death of an emperor who had ruled an era. Though he’d been bedridden and nearly invisible for the past decade, he had governed Bariel for over fifty years.

“Your Majesty, if you have reservations, I can have the agenda reconsidered immediately.”

Proposing a scaled-down state funeral was an unpleasant matter for Jin, the heir to the throne.

But in the palace, giving up one thing meant gaining another. Jin shook his head.

“Enough. The public isn’t particularly passionate about this either. It’s probably for the best.”

Aside from the Prime Minister, Jaret, Ian, and Jin himself, no one had seen the emperor in the past ten years. Even the palace officials felt little significance in his death—how could the people feel differently? They might even be fatigued by the succession of national ceremonies.

‘Using the coming-of-age ceremony as justification to downscale the funeral means they won’t have much to say about the coronation or future decisions.’

With this matter settled, they would have no say in upcoming royal events.

If the treasury was preserved by cutting the funeral budget, yet some department still complained about the finances, it would imply their own fault.

A perfect excuse to slash budgets. Departments unwilling to be cut would have no grounds to oppose any decisions Jin made going forward.

“Very well. Excluding the funeral, that’s quite a lot. Looks like I won’t be eating on time today. Proceed.”

“I’ll report in the order the items came in.”

At Jin’s sharp snap of his fingers, the attendants waiting in the corner stepped forward to finish dressing the crown prince.

Leaning back against the sofa, Jin turned his head toward the bright sunlight pouring through the window. The weather seemed especially fine today.

Click.

“First, the doctors have ascended Damon’s Tower.”

“After all this time without incident, what sudden trouble is this? Is his life in danger?”

Jin’s brow furrowed instantly, the first agenda item already unpleasant.

Damon Runkvis, king of Burgos, was imprisoned as a prisoner of war from the Cliffford-Burgos conflict. With no legitimate leader in the chaos of Burgos’ civil war, Damon was still effectively their king.

“His life is not in danger.”

“Then he must know he’s a burden to Burgos. Hmph.”

Ian’s hint that Damon was living a second life and aiming for a third through death held some credibility. Damon was filled with confidence and hope, attempting to end his own life almost daily.

‘Regardless of truth, a prisoner struggling to break free is disrespectful.’

Jin leaned back again, muttering.

“Soon, Burgos will react to changes in Bariel. Whether royalists or anti-royalists gain power, Damon will be thrown into the eye of the storm. Under no circumstances is his life to be endangered.”

A king with legitimacy, linked to Rutherford, captured by the enemy after defeat—Damon’s complex identity would sow chaos indiscriminately. Bariel would use that chaos as a shield to advance and easily enter Burgos.

Xiao Xi placed a hand over his chest, signaling his willingness to carry out the order.

“And next…”

Knock, knock.

Xiao Xi paused, turning toward the door at the sound.

“Assistant Romandro from the Magic Department requests an audience.”

“Romandro?”

Why would someone scheduled for the council come all the way here? Jin sensed something was amiss.

He gestured for them to enter quickly, and the door swung wide open. Romandro stepped in, his expression grave.

“Your Majesty.”

“Yes. What is it?”

It was a problem, but likely one the council couldn’t discuss—something related to the Magic Department.

Magic issues always unsettled Jin. No matter that he was crown prince, as a non-magician he found the unknown realm impossible to grasp.

“We received a separate report from Zaira.”

“Zaira? From Cliffford?”

A mage originally from Luswena, now naturalized in Bariel, working to seal the Cliffford Rift. Despite her youth, she was considered the most talented in the Magic Department. Jin recalled her easily.

“An early regular report on the rift?”

“No. It’s marked confidential, not for official release. They won’t include it in the regular report. Given the nature of the matter, it’s best you see it personally.”

Romandro slid a crumpled paper toward Jin. He dismissed the attendants and gestured for Xiao Xi and Romandro to sit closer.

—There has been an unknown change in the rift. Compared to ten years ago when we first arrived at Cliffford, the magical energy leaking from the rift had been steadily decreasing. Idgalo absorbed and regulated much of this power, and some mages believed it was a natural phenomenon as the tremors subsided. While some areas maintained a certain level, increases were rare. However…

Jin’s eyes darkened with concern. He already had a sense of what Zaira was about to say.

—In the past few days, the rift has become abnormal. Magical energy is surging explosively. The Idgalo we possess and manage can no longer contain it. Something seems to be happening beneath the rift, but from above ground, our research is limited. If this is meaningless, that’s fortunate. But if it is significant, we cannot rule out the emergence of a ‘Third Zone Rift.’

The ‘First Zone Rift’ referred to the Great Demonlands in the north, the ‘Second Zone’ was Cliffford. The ‘Third Zone Rift’ meant a future event yet to come.

—Though uncertain, the Third Zone is likely the midpoint on a straight line connecting the First and Second Zones. If the rift below is connected, this is even more probable. Even if separated, magical energies tend to combine with like forces.

Jin looked at the massive map of Bariel hanging on the wall.

The demonlands in the northwest.

And the capital of Cliffford, Frodhona, in the southeast.

He stood abruptly and drew a straight line between the two points.

All the land along this line belongs to Bariel. And the midpoint is—

“Rajasan, Your Majesty.”

Romandro cleared his throat, as if anticipating Jin’s thought.

Rajasan—a towering mountain not far west of the center. Zaira was warning that the next rift might open within Bariel itself.

“…”

Jin pressed his palm to his forehead, silent for a moment. This was a troublesome matter. With the mages already divided between north and south, a rift in Bariel was alarming.

If a region not at the distant border but near the center fell into ruin, Bariel’s national strength would suffer greatly.

“Your Majesty, shall we dispatch mages to investigate near Rajasan?”

“You know better than anyone, Romandro, that we lack the manpower. Are you suggesting we send even those guarding the palace?”

“Nonetheless, now that we know the danger, we cannot ignore it. Otherwise, we must call mages from the north or south…”

Neither option was easy. The north required a defense line against the demons, and the south was politically entangled with Cliffford.

After a moment’s thought, Xiao Xi offered his opinion.

“Your Majesty, it would be better to call the northern mages rather than the southern ones. The Atan tribe consumes demons. While they can’t control the rift’s magic, they can hold back the flooding demons. Perhaps you could negotiate and make use of them.”

“Negotiation is difficult. If it were easy, Captain Hale wouldn’t have had to go north.”

Moreover, their chieftain, Efdiram, was a man with a broad perspective. Rather than focusing on devouring the immediate monsters before them, he valued widening the rift to secure their future. That was precisely why he sided with Burgos in the Cliford-Burgos war. Above all, the Athan tribe’s nature was still raw and untamed, making any alliance with the Empire difficult.

“The Athan tribe hopes the Cliford rift will become more active. If the same happens in Bariel, it would be a tremendous boon for them. If General Hale, who’s been opposing them, withdraws to Bariel, there’s a high chance Efdiram will catch on. He’s no ordinary man, after all.”

When Bariel proposed that the Athan tribe oversee the northern monster territory, they flatly refused. Surviving on a limited area with limited food was no different from being livestock, they said. Their stance hadn’t changed since Ian’s time.

‘…If only Lord Ian were here—’

Ten years ago, the Athan tribe had answered Ian’s call and come all the way to the palace gates. Had they participated in the talks back then, things might have turned out differently.

Jin shook his head, dismissing it as a pointless what-if. Ian was gone now, and he was the one leading Bariel. He needed to stay focused.

“I’ll observe whether this change is truly significant. Tell Zyra to send me daily reports.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“And I must send a message to Beric. Xia.”

“I’ll prepare it.”

Beric’s mission to meet the Athan tribe had just become even more critical.

As Xiaoshi rose from his seat, Romandro asked, “Has Beric sent any reports yet?”

“No news so far. He might be too busy running around.”

“Ah, well, that’s a relief. But, Your Highness, I’m a bit worried. If you hear from Beric, could you please let us know?”

Normally, reports would come through Jarrett, captain of the palace guard, but this mission was personally ordered by the Crown Prince. So Beric’s dispatch would reach Jin first. Just as Jin was about to reassure them—

Tap. Tap-tap. Tap.

A faint, ticklish sound caught his attention. What was that? Turning his head, Jin saw a small, old pigeon struggling to peck at the window.

It looked somehow broken, in terrible shape. The pigeon pecked at the glass with its beak, then, locking eyes with Jin, tilted its head from side to side.

Then, something glinted in the sunlight—Beric’s magic stone, wrapped around the bird’s neck. Jin smiled faintly.

“Ha. It’s Beric, after all. He comes whenever I mention him.”

“Goodness, why is it in such bad shape? Even when they save a dispatch bird, they always seem to pick one like this.”

“Your Highness, I’ll take it.”

Xiaoshi opened the window, and the old pigeon waddled inside.