The Path to Lordship Begins in the North

Lucanus did not accept Lind's invitation to become one of the empire's prime ministers. He had been studying assassination, infiltration, and espionage since childhood. Of course, after so much time, Lucanus naturally had experience in assisting and governing, but certainly not as much as Cassius. He was a court jester and was not suitable to be a prime minister.

Now, both the recorders and the compilers have been incorporated into the Empire as official employees, doing their respective jobs.

Lucanus did not join an official organization to compile history; instead, he secluded himself in his own small building and wrote his own history.

Historical accuracy is important, but Lucanus was, after all, a bard. He knew what kind of history people liked to read, so he planned to write history in the form of stories. This was also in line with the usual style of the fictionalists. In His Majesty's words, this was called a historical fiction.

Hmm... Your Majesty shouldn't mind adding some dubious historical anecdotes, so let's start by making things up from Your Majesty's background... Let's write it down.

After completing the first volume of his own history, Lucanus burned a copy of the manuscript along with the current map of his empire in front of a tombstone.

“Cassius, my dream has come true.”

As he watched the flickering flames consume his manuscripts and the current map of the empire, Lucanos seemed to be talking to himself as he said, "Our dream has come true. In any case, I have won this time."

“You should now be deep within the sea of ​​consciousness, becoming part of the collective consciousness of humanity. Perhaps a part of my consciousness is being influenced by you right now. But death is death. You can’t come back. Whether physically or mentally, Cassius no longer exists.”

This was a rare, secluded cemetery near the capital. A cold wind blew, and the flames in front of the graves flickered. Lucanus did not display any professional superpowers; he simply took out more manuscripts from his satchel to help the flames burn.

"However, my king, it should be His Majesty the Emperor who said that if there is anything you want to give to someone who has died, just burn it for him. His Majesty's words are the truth. If he says it is okay, then it is definitely okay. So I will take it as you have already received it. I hope you will not be brought back to life by the unofficial history I wrote."

At this moment, Lucanus seemed like a dejected ordinary person who had lost his best friend, no longer showing any trace of coldness, nor like a jester who usually liked to speak with exaggerated body language.

After the empire was unified, Lucanus no longer appeared as somewhat mad as before; instead, he became increasingly peaceful and less and less like an old monster who had lived from the end of the old empire to the present.

Immediately afterwards, Lucanus took out some old photos and burned them, saying, "To be honest, after repeated mental cleansing, I can't remember what the empire was like. Actually, you probably couldn't remember it very well either. We're all old guys now, but it doesn't matter. At least the new empire won't be like what I saw in Anjou. Saint Isa and His Majesty the Emperor cleaned up the mess for your king."

“Today’s children don’t have to climb into chimney pipes like they did in Anjou and be smoked out, nor do they have to undergo all sorts of experiments from a young age like we did, eventually becoming immortal monsters with only a spiritual consciousness left.”

At this point, Lucanus took out some pills from his satchel and threw them into the fire.

"Try it. These are the latest pills made by Lantern Dreamland, meant to help us old-time bards alleviate our pain. I've tried them, and they're very effective. At least they make my story-writing less of a headache. But I don't like these pills. After they've calmed down, I always feel like I don't have much time left. Although the nuns at Lantern Dreamland tell me I can hold on for a long time, you know what?"

Lucanos threw some more pills into the fire and said, "That's like end-of-life care for someone who's about to die."

"But I also understand that I might really be coming to join you soon. We've been able to hold on until now entirely because of our obsession and willpower, and now my obsession is almost gone. I guess it will completely disappear once I finish writing this history."

The flames flickered slightly again, but did not weaken, as if responding to Lucanus. Being able to disappear after dispelling his obsession was already a great blessing. Lucanus slowly rose after waiting for the flames to respond.

"I should be leaving now. It's almost time for me to have my check-up at the Lantern Dreamland. I wish you all the best over there, my friend."

Winter has arrived, and although it is not as cold as the North, the wind is still howling. In the past, let alone having pedestrians on the streets, most people would be lucky not to freeze to death. But now, in areas a little closer to the capital, the streets are still bustling with people, and even a bit crowded.

Lucanus nimbly navigated the streets, watching the crowds welcoming the new year. He couldn't help but stop and stand on the side of the street, observing the endless stream of people.

Now, the capital city has become the absolute center of the Mu continent. The elves have also left the forest. At least in the capital city, people are no longer surprised to see elves or even dragons flying by.

There were also many people from the continent of Solon, most of whom were former kings and nobles of small kingdoms on the continent. These people were generally quite wealthy, after all, they were kings of small places. Looking at these foreigners trying to integrate into the empire, Lucanus seemed to recall some memories of the empire at that time.

The empire at that time seemed to have had such a period, powerful and wonderful, that even though the bards had been spiritually washed away and forgotten most things, they still wanted to return to that empire that once stood at the top of the world.

Whose heart will this scene before us reflect? Will there be people in the future who will strive for this scene, just like the wandering poets of the past?

As Lucanus was lost in his memories, he suddenly heard a commotion. It turned out that a group of children were surrounding a street performer, who was conjuring up all sorts of magical scenes, eliciting cheers from the children.

That was indeed magic, but it was just some basic spells combined with simple rune applications to create fantastical effects.

Seeing this, Lucanus seemed to forget that he still had to go to the Lantern Dream for a check-up. Instead, he conjured several balloons from his hand, inflating them with magic while changing their shapes, turning them into various animals and monsters. He then picked up a toy flute and began to play.

The children on the outermost edge of the street performer's area were immediately drawn over, waving enthusiastically and wanting the balloon in Lucanus's hand.

Lucanus performed a solemn yet somewhat comical gesture, handing the balloon to the child who jumped the highest, and said, "Your most loyal courtier greets you, Your Majesty."