Lucanus did not accept Lind’s invitation to become one of the advisors of the Empire. He had learned assassination, infiltration, and espionage since childhood. After such a long time, it was true that Lucanus had experience in assisting and governance, but surely not as much as Cassius. He was a jester and not suitable to be an advisor.
Now, both the record keepers and the compilers have been formally incorporated into the Empire to carry out their respective tasks.
Lucanus did not join the official organization to write history, but instead, hid in his little building, writing his own history.
The authenticity of history is important, but after all, Lucanus is a bard. He knows what kind of history people like to see, so he plans to write history in the form of stories, which also aligns with the style of the compilers. To put it in Your Majesty’s words, this is called a romanticized tale.
Well… adding some seemingly plausible apocryphal history, Your Majesty shouldn’t mind, so let’s begin by fabricating Your Majesty’s origins…
After finishing the first volume of his history, Lucanus burned a copy of the manuscript along with the current map of the Empire in front of a tombstone.
“Cassius, my dream has come true.”
Watching the flickering flames consume his manuscript and the current map of the Empire, Lucanus seemed to be talking to himself, “Our dream has come true. No matter what, this time I have won.”
“You should now be deep in the Sea of Consciousness, becoming part of humanity’s collective consciousness. Perhaps a part of my awareness is being influenced by you right now, but dead is dead. You cannot return, whether physically or mentally; Cassius no longer exists.”
This was a cemetery near the imperial capital, very rare and seldom visited. As the cold wind blew, the flames before the tomb flickered for a moment. Lucanus did not show any power of a professional; he simply pulled more manuscripts from his satchel to help the flames burn.
“But my king, now it should be Your Majesty who said, if there’s something you want to give to the dead, just burn it for them. Your words are the truth. As long as you say it’s possible, it will definitely be so. So, I’ll assume you have received it. I hope you won’t be angered back to life by the apocryphal history I wrote.”
At that moment, Lucanus seemed like an ordinary person who had lost his dear friend. He no longer showed a trace of gloom and did not appear like a jester who usually liked to speak with exaggerated body language.
After the unification of the Empire, Lucanus no longer looked somewhat mad like before. Instead, he had become increasingly peaceful, less and less like an old monster who had lived since the late Old Empire.
Next, Lucanus took out some photographs and burned them as well, saying, “What was the Empire like in the past? To be honest, under the repeated mental cleansing, I can’t remember clearly anymore. Actually, you probably can’t remember clearly either. We are both old folks now. But it doesn’t matter; at least the new Empire will no longer be as it was when I saw it in An Zhu. Saintess Isha and Your Majesty helped your king clean up.”
“Children today no longer have to crawl into chimneys like we did in An Zhu, only to be smoked out. They don’t have to suffer various experiments from a young age like us, ultimately becoming ageless, timeless monsters, reduced to merely a spirit of consciousness.”
At this point, Lucanus took out some pills from his satchel and tossed them into the fire.
“Try this; these are the latest pills produced by Lantern Dream, meant to help us old bards relieve our pain. I have tried them; they are quite effective, at least they make writing stories less of a headache. However, I don’t like these pills. After using them, I always feel like my time is running out. Although the Sisters of Lantern Dream tell me I can last a long time, you know?”
Lucanus tossed some more pills into the fire, saying, “It’s like the care given to a dying person.”
“But I also understand, I might really be coming to accompany you soon. We have managed to endure until now, relying solely on our obsession and will to sustain us. And now my obsession is fading. Perhaps after I finish writing this history, my obsession will completely disappear.”
The flames flickered slightly again but did not weaken, as if in response to Lucanus, showing that after resolving his obsession, he could disappear, which, truly, is very fortunate. Lucanus slowly stood up after the flames responded.
“I should take my leave now; it’s almost time for me to go to Lantern Dream for a check-up. I wish you well over there, my friend.”
Now it was already winter. Though it wasn’t as cold as the Northern Border, the cold wind howled. If it were in the past, not to mention pedestrians on the street, most people simply surviving the cold would have been a success. Yet now, in places slightly closer to the center of the imperial capital, the streets were still bustling with people, even crowded.
Lucanus skillfully navigated through the streets, watching the crowds welcoming the New Year. Unable to resist, he stopped and stood by the roadside, watching the flow of people.
Now this imperial capital has truly become the absolute center of M Continent. The elves have also stepped out of the forests. At least in the imperial capital, people no longer find it astonishing to see elves or dragons flying by.
Many people from Solun Continent have come, mostly former kings and nobles of small kingdoms, who are generally quite wealthy because, after all, they are kings of small places. Watching these foreigners trying hard to integrate into the Empire, Lucanus seemed to recall some memories of the Empire from back then.
At that time, the Empire also seemed to have such a period, powerful and beautiful, making the bards even after being mentally washed forget most things still wish to reminisce about the Empire that once stood at the pinnacle of the world.
Whose heart will this scene reflect? Will there be people in the future who strive for this scene, just like the bards of the past?
While Lucanus was immersed in reminiscing, he suddenly heard a commotion. It turned out to be a group of children surrounding a street performer, whose hands conjured various marvelous magical scenes, eliciting cheers from the children.
That was indeed magic, though it was just some basic spells mixed with fantastical effects created by simple symbols.
Seeing this, Lucanus seemed to forget that he still had to head to Lantern Dream for a check-up. Instead, he conjured a few balloons from his hands, using magic to inflate them while transforming their shapes into various animals and monsters, and picked up a toy flute to play.
The children at the outer edge of the street performer’s crowd were immediately attracted, waving enthusiastically, wanting the balloons from Lucanus’s hands.
Lucanus performed a salute that was respectful yet somewhat comical, handing the balloon to the child who jumped the highest, saying, “Your most loyal jester pays his respects to you, my Majesty.”
