The doctor suffers from amnesia, but not complete amnesia.

His shock was palpable.

"I'm one of the co-authors. Don't let my appearance fool you, I'm quite talented in biology—but as for those twins, I'm probably only a third of the father. That was the result of research by me, Fremont, and Herhunzoren."

Qiao Yelan said casually.

"Helhunzoren? Isn't that the name of the Lycanth King of Letania? He created those twins?"

Therese's doubt was so strong that it was almost out of her mouth.

"Yes, that was our work, but the success of this September coup is what puzzles me—because, in theory, this coup was carried out entirely under the watchful eye of Herhunzoren."

"The education given to the twins has indeed given them the ability to confront the Witch King head-on, but not now, but five or ten years from now. Right now, their chances of winning against Helhunzoren are probably less than 10%."

A hint of doubt also appeared on Qiao Yelan's face.

"And given the Witch King's arrangements in Vidonia, and the Origin Tower itself, which is a terrifying weapon, the rebels shouldn't have been able to break into the tower at all—how did they manage to breach the Origin Tower's defenses?"

For a moment, only the sound of their breathing filled the office.

"So, if... according to your plan, the rebel army hadn't stormed the Tower of Origin, how would things have turned out?"

"According to the original plan, the two electors who rebelled would die in Vidonia, their armies would be leaderless, and then they would surrender and be incorporated. The twins would be adopted by Helhunzoren, and while the two electors' regions were leaderless, he would place them in his ranks. Under his tutelage, one of them would eventually become the next emperor of Letania."

Qiao Yelan tapped her fingers on the table.

Therese was slightly taken aback. He then remembered that although Helhunzoren was from Utica, he had never heard of him having an heir.

Although Letania is an electoral system, it is not impossible for the Witch-King to transform it into an empire if he so desires.

Because he was the only emperor in a thousand years to have altered the very foundation of Letania.

"Now..."

"As for now, those two electors are definitely dead. However, if Helhunzoren is also dead, there must still be survivors in those two electors' families. Moreover, with the throne of Letania vacant, the other electors will definitely be eager to make a move."

Qiao Yelan's tone was very calm.

"I need to help an emperor ascend the throne and restore order to Letania."

Chapter Eight: A Tumultuous Time

Therese did not ask Qiao Yelan what to do. Although the other man was sitting in front of him, acting as nonchalantly as a restless young man, Therese did not doubt or mock Qiao Yelan's words when he said he could decide who the emperor of Letania would be.

“I remember you said that the twins also had a creator, Fremont, a name that seems to be the same as the Lord of the Lich King’s Court.”

"It was him, an old lich. Back then, he, Helhunzoren, and I were like-minded friends. We explored something together—never mind, that's not important."

"You always knew that the Lich King's Court was in Letania?"

Qiao Yelan glanced at Therese with surprise.

"The liches are the gatekeepers of the Temple of Knowledge—who do you think helped them build that Temple of Knowledge, and who helped them fill it?"

"Our cooperation with the Sarkaz goes back much further than you can imagine. Cyclopes linger in Sami, guarding the Great Void; Wendigos roam the frozen wastelands, hunting demons; and liches spread knowledge and wisdom across this land."

"All the rulers of the Ten Royal Courts who still have a functioning brain have long since left Kazdel. Even the banshees who once fought alongside you have not answered your call. Don't you realize something is wrong?"

Therese remained silent.

He has only found two rulers of the royal court so far: the King of Carrion and the Blood Demon Lord. One only knows how to create offspring and fight, while the other only knows how to be obsessed with power and cause rivers of blood to flow.

The former could be considered to be obeying orders, but the latter...

"They are unwilling to get involved in the Kazdel conflict..."

"They are well aware that something far more troublesome exists in this world."

Qiao Yelan corrected.

"Even without Kazdel, the Sarkaz would not have perished. Your vast population is destined to live on this land forever—look at the Gauls, they were destroyed less than fifty years ago, and listen to how many people still call themselves Gauls?"

"The reason I'm helping you is because I need to research the [Black Crown]. You call it the Demon King's Sword, and outsiders call it the Demon King, but it's all the same thing—so stop trying to burst us out. I have absolutely no interest in controlling Kazdel."

Therese remained silent; he had nothing more to say.

After all, if centuries of ambition and ideals are nothing more than a frog at the bottom of a well to others, then being able to remain rational and thoughtful is already a sign of exceptional intelligence.

“When I return to Kazdel, I expect to see you ready to turn on me.”

Qiao Yelan coldly gave the order to leave.

Therese stood up, took the document about the Tower of Babel in the Kazdel construction zone, and left.

After a while, Kal'tsit opened the door.

"Any new news from Letania?"

"Yes—after the Twin Assassins killed the Witch King and destroyed the Tower of Origin, they stood in the plaza in front of the tower and played a piece of music for the remaining soldiers. This music resonated with the Golden Law Music, so the Golden Law Guards have sworn allegiance to the Twins."

"At the same time, due to the 'unexpected death' of the Elector of the Haydenschwell region, the Haydenschwell Legion, which was originally waiting on the outskirts of Vidonia to try and take advantage of the situation, was leaderless. After the Twins arrived with the Golden Law Guard, except for a few die-hards, the entire Haydenschwell Legion had sworn allegiance to the Twins and made them their leaders."

"However, because the army of Shitongling participated in the siege of the Origin Tower, and Mr. Walner, the heir of Shitongling who was suddenly appointed, still stayed in the city of Vidonia with his army, the electors from all over the country believed that the election was not over yet. They were mobilizing a large army to enter the city of Vidonia and continue to participate in the election."

Qiao Yelan looked at the intelligence in his hand with a subtle expression. The twin assassins' reaction was beyond his expectations. Despite not having been taught by Helhun Zoren, they had already shown a certain political acumen.

"It seems they were paying close attention in my class..."

After making his decision, he turned to look at Kal'tsit.

"Does that guy named Werner have any cards he can play?"

"Yes, this second young master of Shitong originally had no right to inherit the throne, so he stayed in Vidonia, met a commoner woman, and planned to elope with her. Before he inherited Shitong, this was not a problem, but now, as a nobleman, or even one of the electors, if he marries a commoner woman, he will become the target of everyone's criticism."

Kal'tsit pulled out a personal information file from Letania's folder.

Where is this commoner woman now?

“Outcast’s squad is protecting her, and they haven’t been found by Werner yet.”

“I’m going to Vidonia right away. You stay here and prepare to hand over the fixed assets to Therese. Also, send a message to Fremont that I need to have a talk with him.”

Qiao Yelan immediately stood up, but her legs went weak and she sat back down.

Kal'tsit immediately rushed over and pinned him down, preventing him from moving.

You need to rest.

"Time won't stop just because I'm taking a break."

Qiao Yelan rejected Kal'tsit's suggestion.

"..."

After a moment of silence, Kal'tsit ultimately said nothing more to persuade Qiao Yelan to stay.

"There is one more thing—the Ursus Empire's behemoth, [Black Serpent] Kosichrie, has requested a meeting with you."

"Košice? Why does she suddenly want to see me?"

Qiao Yelan raised an eyebrow. It's true, the busier you are, the more things you have to do.

"She was expelled from Longmen, and now Longmen has returned to the actual control of the Great Yan."

"Why so suddenly? I don't remember it being this year—although we brought in Wei Yanwu, the eldest prince of the Great Yan who had no interest in the throne, in order to drive her out, and also found the Swire family, who had moved to Longmen, to invest in Wei Yanwu, she has been entrenched in Longmen for so many years, she can't be defeated so easily, can she?"

Qiao Yelan said something that would make Kosichek's blood pressure spike.

"Because the Chernobog mobile city-state, which was originally responsible for supporting Koschche, cut off the support, and the city lord, Marquis Boris, betrayed Koschche—there was a traitor in the research team we gave to Boris in order to bribe him. Sergei killed the others and offered the sarcophagus they found to Marquis Boris."

"After acquiring the power of the sarcophagus, Marquis Boris was eager to expand his city-state, so he immediately embezzled the supplies purchased by Kosiché, causing her situation in Lungmen to collapse instantly."

"traitor?"

Qiao Yelan repeated the word, her voice filled with boundless gloom.

"Yes, traitor."

Kal'tsit's fate is sealed.

Chapter Nine: Qiao Yelan's Self-Awareness

“Let’s deal with things one by one. The most important thing right now is to stabilize the situation in Letania. Notify Kosichrie to come to Vidonia to find me. I will meet with her there and then give me detailed information about Kosichrie and Lungmen.”

Qiao Yelan sighed. Although those who secured a position first would gain more benefits in the current reshuffling of the Lungmen power structure, Letania was the biggest problem at the moment.

Herhunzoren's unexpected death and the twins' outstanding performance caused all subsequent plans to fall through.

After all these years, how come I can't shake off the passive situation of plans being interrupted by accidents every time?

"You need to rest now. At least for today, don't look at anything else."

"It's alright, I'll get plenty of rest before heading to Letania."

Qiao Yelan refused Kal'tsit's request again.

"...You must go back to the infirmary to rest now!"

Kal'tsit showed no intention of compromising.

"Okay, thank you for your help."

Qiao Yelan sighed and tried to get up by taking Kal'tsit's arm, but then he noticed that the other woman bent down and reached out a hand to his knee.

Qiao Yelan: ?