The study was as warm as early spring, with the fire in the fireplace blazing brightly, making the whole room comfortably warm.

Yet outside the window, rain poured down heavily, accompanied by incessant thunder, as if the entire Imperial Capital was submerged in darkness.

Fourth Prince Rhine sat by the window, holding a pot of delicate and exotic flowers in one hand, and a silver pair of scissors in the other.

The sound of raindrops hitting the window intermingled with the light snipping of the scissors, but none of it disturbed him in the slightest.

His movements as he trimmed the leaves were elegant and slow, each cut full of patience but also indifference.

Finance Minister Belial stood nearby, gripping a thick financial report which was slightly bent in his grasp.

He cleared his throat, his tone respectful yet tinged with urgency: "Your Highness, the commander of the Twenty-second Legion has just sent a secret message through a trusted aide... He says he is willing to submit to you."

Rhine responded with a "hmm," as if hearing something of no consequence.

He lifted a branch, trimmed off a yellowing leaf, and smiled faintly: "The Iron Guard most valued by the Second Prince... is no different."

He flicked the withered leaf with his fingertips, watching it fall onto the silver tray.

"Loyalty?" he murmured, "Heh, as fragile as this leaf."

Belial bent his body in agreement, perhaps to flatter: "At first, the legion commander even wanted to draw his sword against our envoy. But his family’s warehouses don’t even have enough hay for the horses come spring.

We erased the smuggling charges against his nephew and paid him three months’ wages... He knelt faster than anyone. These military officers have always been like this.

Rhine chuckled, as if hearing a matter-of-fact statement.

He continued pruning the plants: "Second brother always thought that as long as he shared life and death with the knights, they would be as loyal as the legends say. But he never understood..."

The scissors made another light snip.

"When glory cannot be exchanged for tangible goods, the knight is less loyal than a servant tending to the hay in the stables."

After speaking, he finally put down the scissors and picked up the gold-dipped quill on the table.

He walked over to the Empire’s grand map on the wall, gently covering the flags of the Twenty-first and Eighteenth Legions with the color representing his own authority.

"Your Highness," Belial lowered his voice, "there are still five legions wavering. If they continue to wait... all the Empire’s military officers are watching your next move."

Rhine paused his writing and looked back at him.

His gaze resembled that of an old fox assessing a chessboard rather than a young prince.

"Attitude?" he softly repeated, "My attitude has always been simple; it depends on their own."

He returned to the desk, picking up the clipped withered leaf, rubbing it gently: "Tell them... their time is running out."

The withered leaf turned to fine powder in his palm, gray specks falling through his fingers like old ashes being scattered.

Thunder burst outside the window, echoing the unspoken words he left unsaid.

Rhine watched the gray powder in his hand, his expression unchanging.

That composure did not stem from the recklessness of a young prince, but from the confidence he truly owned at the moment. Those military officers who originally had nothing to do with him had long been bought over one by one.

A number of core legions under the Second Prince’s command had also shifted towards him under the pressure of famine and supply cuts.

Those who once claimed loyalty, their voices louder than the wind, immediately changed allegiance when their pay was on time and someone backed their family assets.

Now, the military power he commanded far exceeded any faction within the Empire.

He lacked neither knights nor people willing to risk their lives for him.

At this moment, there was a gentle knock at the door. A guard entered, pausing slightly upon seeing Belial, seemingly about to say something but swallowing it back.

Rhine looked up, seeing through his hesitation: "News from the palace?"

The guard nodded.

"Speak," Rhine’s tone was as gentle as asking about the weather, "Belial is one of us."

Belial was momentarily stunned by the words, as if something struck his chest, a few genuine emotions of gratitude appearing on his face.

Only then did the guard straighten up, reporting: "Your Highness... news from the palace says the Regent King might not last two more days."

As he finished speaking, the rainstorm crashed against the window with a heavy, crisp sound.

Rhine lowered his head, chuckling softly, somewhere between unable to hold back and mocking the arrangement of fate: "Ah... it’s finally come to this."

Belial kept his head down, unsure whether he should be smiling, carefully maintaining his silence.

Rhine already turned around, looking at the guard: "Go tell the steward I want to host a ball tonight. Invite representatives of all Eight Great Clans, and bring the high officials of the Empire too." 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

He paused, his tone light as if discussing a trivial matter: "Note down who comes and who doesn’t."

The guard accepted the orders, about to withdraw when Rhine added: "Oh, and... remember to invite Second Brother and Fifth Brother to join as well."

His tone was polite and gentle.

......

The rain battered the eaves of the palace, the force seemingly capable of tearing the entire Imperial Capital apart.

Thunder rolled deep in the sky, illuminating the gilt stone pillars outside the sleeping chambers with a flickering glow.

Inside Regent King Arlens’ chambers, candlelight flickered in the damp, cold air, the flame squeezed into a thin line by the wind, reflecting a room dead silent.

The air was filled with a sickly sweet smell of decay, the scent of impending death.

Arlens lay on his bed, his emaciated body now little more than skin and bones.

And in the agony of pain, he briefly woke, his gaze moving with difficulty, pointing to the door of his chambers.

In the shadows, an old man quietly stepped out.