Chapter 23: The Very Frail Young Emperor
"General Esdeath, the suppression in the north was splendid. As a reward, I have prepared ten thousand gold for you."
The young emperor spoke. These words should have carried authority, but coming from the young emperor's mouth, they lost all weight. His childish voice lacked any sense of majesty, as if a primary school student were reciting a text.
"Thank you, Your Majesty. I will distribute this gold to the soldiers who fought bravely. Since I have returned, I will surely annihilate the 'Night Raid' that disturbs Your Highness's sleep."
Esdeath referred to herself as 'I' when speaking to the young emperor, and she did not address herself as a subordinate.
Su Xiao glanced at the minister beside the young emperor, then at Esdeath. The empire was likely ruled by these two individuals.
"Then I must trouble the General. But besides..."
As the young emperor spoke, Su Xiao's gaze suddenly sharpened.
"There's an enemy."
Su Xiao looked at Esdeath.
"Are you sure?"
"Positive."
"Kill him!"
Su Xiao rose and charged toward a side hall adjacent to the main hall.
"This is?"
The young emperor was stunned. The minister beside him also looked bewildered.
"This is my subordinate. He has detected an enemy within the palace, possibly a scoundrel from 'Night Raid.'"
Esdeath stopped half-kneeling and stood up.
Two minutes later.
Bang.
A blood-soaked corpse was thrown from the side hall, rolling several times before stopping at Esdeath's feet.
Su Xiao's figure emerged from the side hall, his clothes stained with a bit of blood. In his right hand, he held the Dragon-Slaying Flash, blood dripping from its tip. In his left hand, he carried a damaged firearm.
The corpse belonged to a contractor. Su Xiao had sensed him long ago but hadn't bothered with him—it was normal for the imperial faction to have contractors. However, this guy had aimed his gun at Su Xiao's head for over ten seconds, clearly locking onto him.
With the gradually intensifying sense of danger, Su Xiao could tell the target was charging some kind of skill for a lethal strike. Su Xiao couldn't tolerate that. He decisively burst into action, rushing to the guy's side and cutting him down with two slashes.
With Su Xiao's perception, aiming at him from close range was simply asking for death.
"That gun belonged to an assassin?"
Esdeath knew Su Xiao didn't use guns—at least, she had never seen him do so.
"Yes. I initially thought he was a palace guard, but he aimed at a certain position for too long and even pointed his gun at the emperor. That's not behavior befitting a guard."
Esdeath pondered for a moment.
"Your Highness, was this man a palace guard?"
"This..."
The young emperor looked to the minister for help, revealing just how dependent he was on him.
"Someone come."
The minister bellowed with authority, and several guards immediately rushed into the hall.
"Is this man a guard?"
The minister's question was quickly answered.
He was a guard, but not a hall guard—a low-level guard at the palace gate.
For such a guard to bring a gun into the main hall spoke volumes.
"As expected, a strong general has no weak soldiers. Someone, reward him with gold."
At the minister's command, a guard brought forth a tray of gold.
Esdeath's expression turned cold. The minister's actions were clearly an attempt to poach her subordinate.
"Minister, I will personally reward my own subordinates."
Hearing Esdeath's displeased tone, the minister smiled apologetically.
"How foolish of me. I was a bit startled by the assassin. General Esdeath, please don't mind."
The minister was cunning and shrewd. He knew he couldn't afford to be hostile toward Esdeath, or it would lead to mutual destruction.
"In that case, we'll take our leave. I'll handle the 'Night Raid' matter."
Esdeath made as if to leave.
"Wait. Since you're dealing with 'Night Raid,' I have an excellent idea."
The minister picked up a slice of medium-rare meat and put it in his mouth. As he chewed, a trace of blood dripped from the corner of his lips.
"I'm all ears."
Esdeath didn't want to sour relations with the minister either. The minister began to outline his plan.
The minister's plan was simple: have Esdeath's subordinates assassinate some 'rebellious' officials near the capital. After the assassinations, they would frame 'Night Raid' at the crime scenes. Night Raid wouldn't tolerate such slander, forcing them to expose themselves.
The plan seemed foolish on the surface, but it wasn't. The minister's real target wasn't Night Raid at all—it was the 'rebellious' officials. He simply wanted to use Esdeath's hand to eliminate his political enemies.
"Of course, General Esdeath won't work for nothing. This season's military budget will be increased by thirty percent."
The minister was indeed a sly old fox. Knowing Esdeath didn't care for money, he instead offered to expand her military provisions.
"Is that so... Very well."
Esdeath agreed. The minister beamed with joy, while the young emperor sat there looking bored.
State affairs were mostly decided this way. The young emperor wasn't powerless—he could still control the supreme imperial artifact—but he simply had no interest in governing.
"Your Highness, how was last night's batch? Tonight, I've prepared another for you..."
The minister let out a lewd chuckle. The young emperor's face flushed, his eyes filled with anticipation.
As a decadent ruler, how could the young emperor, under the minister's influence, not indulge in women? But the young emperor was too young—at most fourteen or fifteen.
Su Xiao suspected that the young emperor's frail, emaciated body was due to malnutrition caused by excessive debauchery.
The minister and the young emperor headed toward the back of the hall. Esdeath looked at the Three Beasts and Su Xiao.
"I'll leave this matter to you. But I have other ideas."
The group walked out of the hall. Once outside, the Three Beasts received orders to assassinate the 'rebellious' officials. Su Xiao did not join them—this was Esdeath's deliberate arrangement.
...
The next day, outskirts of the capital, Night Raid headquarters.
"Let me explain why I've gathered everyone here."
Night Raid's leader, Najenda, sat before a dozen people. Najenda was a white-haired, one-eyed, one-armed woman. Her severed arm was replaced by a dark green metallic prosthetic, and her blind eye was covered by a black eyepatch.
Before Najenda were several main members of Night Raid, along with some unfamiliar faces—contractors, and not weak ones at that.
Najenda held up a piece of paper bearing Night Raid's emblem for everyone to see.
"Several murders occurred in the capital last night. The victims were imperial officials leaning toward joining our Revolutionary Army. They were still wavering. And this was left at the scene."
The Night Raid members fell silent for a moment.
"This is clearly a frame-up. Only the minister could do something like this—no one else."
Brand, Night Raid's ace, spoke. His strength ranked in the top three within Night Raid. His imperial artifact was 'Incursio: Operating Armor,' an armor-type artifact that usually took the form of a sword but could transform into armor during battle.
"Indeed. At first, the public didn't believe we did it, but now they do."
Najenda's tone was heavy.
"Why?"
Tatsumi, a newcomer to Night Raid, asked. He was a country boy from the empire's border, filled with a sense of justice. He had originally wanted to join the imperial army, but after witnessing the darkness of the capital, he joined Night Raid by chance.
According to the original story's information, Tatsumi might not be the protagonist. The true protagonist of the Akame ga Kill world could be someone else.