Chapter 252-The Manga Pariah's Guide to Self-Salvation

The Prime Minister, whose earnest counsel had fallen on deaf ears, stormed out. Heath slowly emerged from behind the throne.

The Emperor glanced down at her. "Have you come to persuade me too?"

"No. For our Aston Royal Family, even if we dug up and destroyed every last Dragon Bone now, all the praise and the people's hearts would go to Ye Zheng anyway."

"Hahaha—those old fools aren't even as sharp as you!"

The Emperor laughed and clapped his hands, then his expression turned cold in an instant, his tone sinister.

"The way I see it, they've already lost their loyalty to me. A pack of ungrateful wretches—everything they have was bestowed by me…"

"I've received word that the Yu family has been trying to make contact with Roy. Heath, what are your thoughts?"

Heath's heart lurched at the news, afraid her private dealings with Yu Tianming had been discovered. She could only respond in a vague, noncommittal manner. "Your Majesty's special treatment of Percy and his group is no secret. It would be well within your expectations for someone to overstep and uncover something… Perhaps this is an opportunity."

"—If you intend to name Roy as your heir."

The Emperor was silent for a long time. He had entertained the thought before, but in the current climate, the mere mention of succession left him irritated beyond measure.

He was sitting right here, perfectly fine, and yet those people below had the audacity to look past him and deliberate over the next emperor. What exactly were they scheming? Did they really think he didn't know?

Why was everyone turning against him, all at once!

"Heath, do you also believe Roy is the most suitable candidate?"

"Since you ask for my opinion… I do believe he is the most suitable."

The man on the high seat narrowed his eyes. Killing intent flickered across them.

"Roy's birth mother comes from the Middle District. In the past, that would have been a disadvantage, but given the current situation, it could help him win over hearts there."

"The Middle District is easier to pacify than the lower district. Once the Middle District returns to our fold, the lower district will waver as well."

"Roy's Cloud-Soaring Squad has a certain reputation in the lower district. If he cultivates a populist image upon ascending the throne, it could reclaim some goodwill for the Aston Royal Family. The ministers, each with their own agendas, will support him for the sake of their own interests."

"'Roy' is well-suited—better suited to the throne than the current 'Havier.'"

"Havier" was the name recorded in the official registry for the Emperor before her.

The Emperor shot to his feet from the throne, his gaze dark.

Heath steeled herself and finished speaking. Trembling, she raised her head—and sure enough, an object hurtled toward her. She dodged clumsily; shards from the shattered vase sliced her ankle.

Under a gaze where killing intent was almost tangible, Heath steadied her breathing and moved closer to the Emperor.

She unhooked the red cloak draped over the throne and carefully placed it around his shoulders.

"For the great Aston XIV, Sykes, Roy, Havier… they are merely outfits for you to choose from at your pleasure."

"You need only select a suitable garment and change into it, and this nation will bow at your feet forever and ever."

After she finished, Heath waited a long moment before daring to look up at the man's expression.

The Emperor's murderous eyes had changed. He said nothing for a time, straightening the cloak at a leisurely pace before finally speaking. "What you said… is quite good."

This entire nation was his possession. Whomever he chose should consider it an honor. Discarding the inconsequential identity of "Havier" was no great loss.

He fixed Heath with a long, penetrating look. "Qin Lu's execution date is approaching, I believe? I'm ordering you to oversee it. This is my final grace to her—but there must be no mistakes."

"Heath, prove to me that you are someone truly worthy of trust."

Heath said nothing. She bowed deeply.

Leaving the oppressive palace, Heath looked up at the azure sky—as clear and bright as the blue of her own eyes.

Passing servants greeted her eagerly. But Heath did not respond with her usual gentle warmth. She walked past without a sideways glance.

They had noticed the Emperor treating her differently now and no longer dared to be lazy or dismissive. But precisely because she was no longer what she used to be, she no longer needed to spare them a look.

Roy, her brother by blood—had to die.

As long as he lived, she could never sit securely in that seat. Not to mention the fellow beside him who wielded the Divine Sword—they always seemed to have some miraculous stroke of luck. She could not rest easy.

Getting rid of Roy directly wasn't too difficult, either. She and Yu Tianming had formed a temporary alliance; together, they could easily coordinate an inside-and-outside strike to eliminate him.

The problem was, her greatest obstacle was not Roy.

If Roy died, there was a chance the Emperor would choose her as his heir—and then become her.

Heath had privately dug through mountains of records and leads, yet to this day she hadn't figured out how this Aston XIV came to possess such an ability, or how exactly he took over someone else's body.

"I'm sorry, Roy."

Heath murmured in her heart.

She had only this one chance to uncover the Emperor's ability. Sacrificing Roy was an unavoidable necessity.

Heath slowly bit her lip. According to her original plan, Ye Zheng would certainly rescue Qin Lu before the execution. With Ye Zheng's current power and prestige, there was no need to worry about the plan going wrong.

But Heath recalled the Emperor's words. If she wanted to access his secrets, she would have to earn even more of his trust.

"Professor Qin Lu…"

Heath leaned against a colonnade, unconsciously clenching her fist. If she could, she too would like to be a flawless saint—but kindness and mercy came at a steep price.

*

Ye Zheng practiced her ability for a while, then returned to the working palace. With clashes large and small breaking out constantly of late, and probes and overtures from every side to deal with, she had been too busy to check the readers' reactions on the forum.

[You're so disciplined—you'd succeed at anything you do.]

System teased.

In its world, people could hardly live without smartphones and the high-density information of the internet. Ye Zheng, living in a low-tech society, should have been more curious about these things.

"Curious, yes—and it is interesting. But what I can access right now is limited. It wouldn't be wise to spend too much time on it."

Ye Zheng was drafting a new document with pen in hand, her expression stern, though a tiny flicker of mischief crossed her downcast eyes.

During the times System was offline, she had long since gone through every piece of information she could gather about that other world—place names, technological inventions, unique cultural phenomena… all very fascinating.

"If I had the chance, I'd rather see it with my own eyes."

Ye Zheng said casually, her pen never pausing.

Ever since System appeared, she had been keeping tabs on any related information. Knowing that such a world existed, it was only natural to be curious—and to stay on guard.

After encountering the goodwill from that other world, Ye Zheng's vigilance eased somewhat, replaced by a measure of friendly curiosity.

[If you could come to this world… that would be a terrifying yet exciting prospect.]

System joked along.

Never mind the people at the company—System attempted to calculate how the readers who adored Ye Zheng would react and could not arrive at a definitive answer.

With a soft click, Ye Zheng set down her pen. Looking at this freshly drafted document about Dragon Bone, the amusement in her eyes gradually faded.

Just then, Wu Shu walked in.

"Your Holiness, do you have another important mission requiring my personal attention?"

Seeing no one else in the palace, Wu Shu spoke freely, teasing as she pleased.

"Perfect timing."

"Take a look at this document for me."

Wu Shu took it with a puzzled expression.

It outlined plans for the Dragon Bone—the Sei Curia wanted the Royal Family to cooperate in excavating all of them. If cooperation was refused, the Sei Curia would act unilaterally and take all necessary measures to ensure the plan's success.

Ye Zheng had mentioned this when she previously revealed the Dragon Bone truth. Word that the Sei Curia intended to dig up the bones had already swept through the upper district, so Wu Shu wasn't surprised by its contents.

"This document looks fine to me. Don't tell me you called me here to proofread it? Just so you know, my grades in language arts were very average."

Wu Shu shrugged and placed the document back on Ye Zheng's desk.

But Ye Zheng smiled and watched her. "Don't you think something's missing from this document? Or rather—don't you have any questions about my plan?"

At that, Wu Shu's easy smile faded. She thought for a moment, then said, "I'm curious—what happens to the Dragon Bone after it's dug up?"

Ye Zheng didn't answer right away. Wu Shu speculated on her own.

"Bury them all in one designated area? That way, only one tract of land is sacrificed, and the Demonic Domains appearing in other areas would decrease dramatically."

"Or maybe you have a way to destroy the Dragon Bone? The demon dragon brought the Demonic Domains—maybe destroying the bones would make the Demonic Domains disappear too."

Wu Shu rested her chin on her hand, growing more optimistic the more she thought about it!

If Ye Zheng could solve the Demonic Domain problem, she'd be the greatest person in the Empire's history—and Wu Shu, secretly nicknamed "the Pope's lapdog," might finally get a better epithet.

Ye Zheng seemed deeply intrigued by Wu Shu's answers. She sat in her seat, leaning forward, her dark eyes gleaming.

"Wrong. All wrong."

Ye Zheng shook her head, her expression mysterious.

Now Wu Shu's curiosity was well and truly piqued. She crossed her arms, leaned down, and looked at Ye Zheng with anticipation.

"I'm going to find all the Dragon Bone, and then—awaken the demon dragon."

Ye Zheng whispered.

Wu Shu's expression froze. By the time her brain processed what Ye Zheng had said, her body had already recoiled a full step backward in shock.

Her eyes were nearly bulging out of her head. A torrent of possibilities flashed through her mind—Ye Zheng was joking, Ye Zheng had misspoken, and of course the possibility that Ye Zheng was secretly a demon all along couldn't be entirely ruled out…

But when Wu Shu looked into Ye Zheng's calm, resolute eyes, she understood—Ye Zheng was not joking.

Why awaken the demon dragon? No matter how bad things were now, it was still better than the hell of the demon dragon's rampage five hundred years ago!

Wu Shu could not comprehend.

Ye Zheng was riding an unstoppable wave right now. Those who loved her grew ever more fervent; those who despised her had no choice but to submit. All she had to do was maintain this momentum, and she was destined to go down in the Empire's annals as one of its greatest leaders!

Every child in every district of the Empire had grown up hearing stories of the demon dragon and the God of Hope. The fear and loathing of the demon dragon was buried deep in their hearts.

That hatred for the demon dragon ran deeper than any love for Ye Zheng ever could.

Wu Shu's chest heaved violently. A thousand words collapsed into a single restrained question.

"Ye Zheng, what are you thinking?"

You do know the consequences, don't you? Wu Shu stared hard at Ye Zheng's face.

Ye Zheng was also carefully observing Wu Shu's reaction.

She had chosen to tell Wu Shu because her reaction would likely be the closest to what ordinary citizens would feel.

"There's more to the demon dragon's story than people know. For now, all I can tell you is that awakening it is for salvation—not destruction."

"Wu Shu, what do you think now?"

Wu Shu stood in silence for a long time, seemingly unable to accept such a claim on the spot.

"Ye Zheng, I don't know exactly what you're planning, but if something like this fails—"

"You're done for!"

Ye Zheng let out a short laugh. "I'm not afraid of being done for."

Then she softened her voice. "I'm sorry for dragging all of you into this risk. But I'd like to think that with your wits, you'd thrive no matter the circumstances."

At those words, Wu Shu's voice went low. "I'm not the type to waver and bend with the wind."

She stepped closer. Each fall of her boots struck the floor with a heavy, muffled thud.

"My future has been tied to yours for a long time now, Ye Zheng. I believe you will succeed—whether it's in the past or the present."

"And if you lose… I'll accept going down in infamy with you."

Wu Shu planted both hands on the desk, her trembling eyes filled with unprecedented resolve.

Holding her gaze, Ye Zheng suddenly looked away, lowered her head, picked up her pen, and wrote a few words on the document.

"We won't lose."

"This is our—true Hope Project."

Wu Shu looked down and saw four bold characters added to the document: "Hope Project."

*

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