Inside the main palace, David and the other thirty rebels were holding a meeting in the conference hall, discussing what to do next.

Logically, they should've wiped out the remaining royal family first, to cut off future trouble, and only then talked about everything else.

But some people in the rebel group insisted the royals shouldn't be touched for now. A lot of military power still wasn't under their control. The Council of Thirteen, the Royal Guard, and the Imperial Archmage weren't on their side either. If they killed the royal family now, it could very likely trigger a civil war across the empire.

Their goal was to seize power, not destroy the country.

So for now, they had only imprisoned the royal family, then gathered to discuss their next move.

But after arguing for ages, they still couldn't come up with a good plan. Because they realized they had no idea where to even begin with a giant cake like the Moshando Empire.

Even if the royal family had all been imprisoned, even if Princess Silva had been intercepted and killed, they still had no way to bring the empire under their control. At best, they could only control a small part of it.

The Council of Thirteen, the Royal Guard, and the Imperial Archmage. Every one of them was enough to govern the empire in place of the royal family. Even if every royal died overnight, the empire could still keep running under their support.

And for David's group, trying to win over the Council of Thirteen, the Royal Guard, or the Imperial Archmage was completely impossible. Those people were loyal only to Onid.

David was the leader of the rebels. He had endured in silence for over twenty years just to usurp the throne. At first, he'd been thrilled, thinking he was finally about to become emperor. But now that he looked at the situation, even if he did take the throne, he'd just be an emperor with no real power, because hardly anyone would acknowledge his position.

Times had changed, and the Moshando royal system had been changing with them.

Usually, David and the others never paid attention to things like that. They had been single-mindedly focused on planning the rebellion.

And only after the rebellion actually succeeded did they suddenly realize—

The old days were long gone.

Moshando had stopped being a rotten absolute monarchy ages ago.

The day the Council of Thirteen was established, they should've realized it. Even if they succeeded and became emperor, it wouldn't mean shit. If no one accepted him, he wouldn't get any authority at all. He might even be dragged off the throne and executed under the charge of treason.

The Council of Thirteen alone could rule in place of the emperor, and every council member held authority infinitely close to the emperor's. So what the hell was the point of them becoming emperor?

Even more maddening, that council couldn't even be abolished...

David rubbed his brow, his face as ugly as if he'd just eaten shit.

The people around him wore the exact same expression, because they had all realized just how humiliating this rebellion was.

Not only had they failed to rise up and become the rulers of the empire, they had also thrown away the rest of their lives.

They were already traitors to the nation. The Royal Guard and the Imperial Archmage had every right to kill them on the spot. Even if they sat on the throne, it wouldn't matter. Without a coronation ceremony, it didn't count as inheriting the throne. So the current emperor was still Onid.

This whole rebellion was completely meaningless!

"Boss, why don't we just drag everyone down with us and die together?!" a man with hair he'd clawed into a mess shouted viciously.

"Die together my ass!" David snapped, his temper flaring. "I've spent over twenty years preparing for this. I finally pulled off the rebellion. How the hell can I just lie down and die now?!"

"But... our current situation..." A former maid hesitated for a long time, then swallowed the rest of her words and let out a sigh instead.

Everyone suddenly fell silent.

But right then, waves of crying came from outside.

"What happened?!" David panicked. "I gave orders that no one was allowed into the main palace!"

Everyone freaked out. If someone discovered what was happening inside the main palace, their rebellion would be declared a failure before it had even properly begun. And they might not even keep their lives!

"I'll go kill that person." One of the rebel Sages stood up and was about to head out, but David suddenly stopped him.

"Wait. I'll go, just in case."

David had actually already advanced to Grand Sage. Very few people knew that, and his strength as a Grand Sage was one of the biggest pillars supporting the rebels' confidence.

"Fine." The Sage nodded, then looked at the others. "We'll surround the main palace. Don't let them escape."

The rebels began to move.

And Roland had already arrived inside the main palace.

"Silva" stood there crying, looking completely lost.

"Father! Father, where are you?!"

"Where is everyone?! Where did everyone go?! Come out and save someone already!"

"Someone, hurry! Go save Roland!"

The moment Roland saw there was no one in the main palace, he immediately figured out what was going on. The rebels had definitely captured them all.

So he raised his voice and shouted, trying to lure the rebels out. Then he'd put on an anxious, grief-stricken act, so that group would believe he had really gone through a life-and-death battle, and that "Roland" had died...

David had originally planned to cut the knot fast and kill the woman who had entered the palace before things got complicated. But when he looked closely, he realized it was Silva!

David was dumbfounded on the spot. He had specifically sent one of their very few Grand Sages to lead an elite assassin squad to kill her, and she still came back alive?

But after calming down a little, David thought it through. The boy named Roland who had been with Silva hadn't returned, and Silva kept shouting for someone to save him. Didn't that mean the brat was basically as good as dead?

That kid had absurd luck and a lot of divine artifacts. If he fought with his life on the line, taking down those assassins with him wasn't impossible. It looked like Silva had only survived because the boy had protected her with his life.

What a useless princess. So what if she was smart? Without the Royal Guard, wasn't she still just a lamb waiting to be butchered? This time, she got lucky and didn't die. But my luck's not bad either...

The moment David saw Silva, he was overjoyed. They had no ability to control the royal family, but Silva did.

And just so happened, he knew a kind of dark magic that could control girls under twenty and turn them into absolutely loyal sex slaves. Using it on Silva couldn't be more perfect.

On the surface, Silva would control the royal family. But in reality, she'd just be a puppet, and the people truly controlling the empire would be them.

David could already picture himself standing at the peak of life. Just thinking about it made him a little excited.

He glanced at the anxiously shouting Silva, adjusted his expression, and walked out.

"Little Xi, what's wrong?" David put on his old good-guy face again.

The moment Roland saw him, he thought, well damn, isn't this Silva's fourth uncle? Always acting like some nice old man. Who would've thought he was such a scheming bitch.

Fine then. Today, Grandpa Roland's gonna show you what real acting looks like.

Roland kept up the act, crying out anxiously, "F-Fourth Uncle! Where's my father? Hurry and have him... have him go save Roland! We were ambushed outside, and Roland, he-he saved me by... wuwuwu..."

David put on a shocked expression. "What? You were ambushed? Your father left the palace a few minutes ago to look for you. He said he suddenly had a bad feeling."

Roland thought to himself, this bastard really can act. Want an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor?

"What?! Father isn't here... th-then who can go save Roland?"

"Silva" stomped her foot anxiously in place.

Seeing that, David quickly comforted her. "Little Xi, don't panic. Maybe your father will get there in time and save Roland. You have to believe he won't die."

"But what if—"

"Silva!" David suddenly turned stern. "You have to remember this. No matter what happens, you cannot panic. You're the empire's princess!

Think about it. If you lose your composure on the battlefield, that could get hundreds or even thousands of soldiers killed!

So anyone can panic, but not you!"

"Silva" sniffled a few times, then forcibly held back her tears. "Y-Yes... I understand..."

David was delighted inside. He had always heard that Silva inherited Queen Blanche's intelligence. But now that he saw her, heh, she was just a little kid who still smelled of milk. She didn't even realize he was acting.

But that was good too. It would make turning her into a puppet even easier.

Meanwhile, Roland let out a sly grin in his heart.

Hooked, old man, huh? Bet you're already celebrating inside.

When Roland wasn't attacked right away and was instead comforted by David, he immediately guessed these people definitely had designs on "Silva."

So next, he'd play along and see what exactly they were plotting.

"Go get some rest first. I'll send someone to contact the Royal Guard."

David gave a signal toward the shadows, and a maid stepped out. He told her what had happened, then loudly ordered her to hurry and find the Royal Guard. But both of them knew full well that only an idiot would actually go.

David looked at the absent-minded "Silva" and quietly whispered something into the maid's ear.

"Bring Blanche to the bedroom later."

After the maid left, David brought "Silva" to the dining room inside the main palace.

"Little Xi, sit here for now. I'll get you a glass of water." The moment he turned around, a sinister smile spread across his face.

And "Silva," who was still sniffling nonstop, also curled her lips into the faintest little smile.

This guy's acting really sucks. He's full of openings. Looks like the Oscar for Best Actor is mine.

While Roland was roasting him in his head, David came back carrying a glass of water laced with sleeping medicine.

"It's warm. Drink it."

"Silva" sniffled lightly a few times, choked out a thank-you, then drank the whole glass dry.

Less than two seconds later, "Silva" passed out.

David couldn't help bursting into loud laughter. A rush of exhilaration surged through his chest. His plan, years in the making, was finally about to come true!

He hoisted "Silva" up, brought her to the bedroom in the main palace, and threw her onto the bed, not noticing that faint, barely-there smile.

And at that moment, Blanche was also brought over from the dungeon.

The instant Blanche saw the unconscious "Silva" on the bed, her face turned deathly pale.

"Hahahaha! Blanche, just watch as I rape your daughter and turn her into my sex slave!"

"But you've got looks too, so I'll make both you and your daughter feel so good you'll go straight to heaven!"