Death... and me

Huan could tell what the twins were thinking.

"Did you think I would refuse to answer until the very end?"

Rean and Roan nodded straight away, which made Huan laugh.

"Hehe... Well, I wouldn't do such a thing in normal circumstances. However, this is anything but normal circumstances, to begin with."

Huan then looked at the twins before asking.

"First, tell me what you know so far. I'll talk about my part after that."

The twins nodded as they told him what they found out. Of course, they didn't say how they got all the information.

"I see... First, it is not wrong to say that the situation won't reach a breaking point anytime soon. This is just speculation from someone who's watching from the sidelines. Still, I believe that a successor won't appear during the next few years. After all, the Emperor isn't that bad."

Rean immediately asked.

"So the emperor is really dying?"

Huan laughed at those words.

"Dying? Hahaha! Well, it's not like you're totally wrong. That's all I can say."

Roan narrowed his eyes. Not totally wrong? What does that mean? He really wanted to know. After that, he asked something else.

"Who do you think will ascend to the throne in the end?"

Huan shrugged his shoulders as he replied.

"Who knows? The Emperor hasn't shown any preferences so far. Otherwise, you would have seen a crown prince or princess already."

Rean didn't like the answer, though.

"Come on, Prime Minister Huan. You are the closest person to the Emperor, so you should have an idea at the very least, right?"

Roan obviously thought the same thing as Rean.

Huan looked at Rean before smiling.

"Well, I won't say that he doesn't have any idea. Still, even he isn't sure about it yet."

"Who is it?"

Huan shook his head as he said.

"He didn't tell me. I'm not lying. I really don't know who it is. It's just that he only has an idea in mind."

Roan nodded as he asked.

"I understand. So, you're thinking of the same thing as the Alchemist Guild. The next Emperor or Empress won't appear anytime soon. Would you give it a decade?"

Huan nodded.

"With the way things are going, that would be indeed a good estimate."

Rean also added.

"In that case, who are you planning to side with? Is it really true that you will only side with the person the Emperor chooses?"

Huan pondered for a bit before saying.

"Not really. The Emperor didn't make me the Prime Minister so that I could be his puppet. We are friends, but when it comes to the Empire's future, I have the freedom to do whatever I want. If I see that his choice is poor, I will refute it. You must remember that it isn't just because the Emperor selected someone that he or she will become the next sovereign. He also needs the approval of the court. At the same time, his selection would need to gain the recognition of the rest of the direct competitors."

Rean and Roan nodded. With an empire at this size, the Emperor's decision would indeed weigh a lot. Still, he can't just ignore everyone else.

Roan then looked at Rean before he nodded. Rean understood his meaning, so he went ahead with the next part of the plan.

"What if I say that a new competitor for the throne would appear soon? Would you believe me?"

Huan's expression changed for a second before it quickly returned to normal.

"A new competitor? Who are you talking about?"

"Calina Sasamil."

"Calina..."

Huan thought about that name for a moment before asking.

"Isn't that the name of the half-blood direct descendant who died?"

Rean nodded.

"The one and the same. Calina hasn't died, though. She is very well alive and kicking."

"Oh! Now that I think about it, the place she died was really located in the region of your Jialin Country. So she faked her death, huh?"

Rean nodded as he said.

"You don't seem that surprised."

Huan laughed in response as he said.

"Well, she is far from being the first one doing it. This is a war for the throne, after all. Still, it is not a good thing to fool the Imperial Family, you know?"

Rean smiled, not caring too much.

"It's fine. There's one thing about the information you can get that isn't wrong. Calina was really targeted because of her half-Chrole bloodline. If we didn't intervene by coincidence, she would be dead already. It shouldn't be a surprise for someone of your status that Chrole Bloodline descendants are being targeted, right?"

Huan didn't mind confirming it.

"I see what you mean. That is Calina's way of keeping herself alive. By the way, was it her who sent the two of you here?"

Rean nodded, not mind that lie at all. Their plan was to make Calina the next Empress, so they had to make it look like she was planning everything.

"I see. Well, what makes you think Calina has a chance of taking the throne to begin with? She has no influence whatsoever. Her being considered dead wouldn't help with that either."

Roan then looked at Huan before saying.

"It's quite simple. Once the Emperor makes his move, one's influence will matter little."

Eventually, an expression of shock appeared on Huan's face as he looked at the twins. However, he quickly noticed a faint smile appearing on the twins' faces. He, the Prime Minister, had fallen for their trap. His expression quickly returned to normal before saying with a displeased voice.

"You have quite the guts to play with me like that, you know?"

Roan always thought that the Emperor would make a move. Rean didn't have a reason to doubt it either. All the information they had been collecting so far was to guarantee that they would be ready for it. Still, neither of them had any confirmation... until now. Huan's expression when they mentioned that was all the confirmation they needed. From now on, they could work on this line of thought.