Chapter 16: The Grand Historian Has Gone Mad
For several days, Roger had been loafing around in the library, using his disguise, but hadn’t received any random treasure chests from the ‘Lie Flat System’.
Today, after seeing the “Long Live the Empress!” newspaper and learning about the Empire’s fake recovery army operation, he was almost certain: the disappearance of his treasure chests was a butterfly effect caused by his contact with the Empress of Eternal Night!
Because he had acted as a sounding board, helping the Empress clarify her thoughts, he had introduced a variable into this world that shouldn’t have existed. Of course, it was mostly due to the Empress’s own intelligence. However, the Empress of Eternal Night’s influence on the world was too immense, which had consequently implicated him. It was like a real estate agent taking a commission of just one percent on a courtyard house in the capital; it was still a massive sum of money… This led to Roger no longer meeting the criteria for ‘lying flat’. That ‘Blood Mom’ was a true menace!
And because the fake recovery army operation was still ongoing, with continuous causal consequences to follow, Roger’s attempts to ‘lie flat’ were futile. He could only wait for this operation to end and for the subsequent influences to be smoothed over by time. Only then, by maintaining a low profile as ‘Dior’, could he ensure the smooth progression of his ‘lying flat’ grand plan.
But fate had it that Dior was summoned by the Empress to compile the imperial history. This task was not only arduous but also potentially world-altering upon completion… Therefore, becoming a grand historian was absolutely out of the question!
Originally, Roger had considered a dangerous gambit: staging a scene where Dior clashed with the arrogant young master Roger Charles, only to be “killed” in a chaotic melee. However, this would have put Roger in the spotlight for a considerable period, and Angelina might have been forced to disown him, thus enduring punishment that a noble shouldn’t inflict upon a commoner… This was why he had hesitated to “kill myself,” as the consequences were too severe.
But now that he understood the true events of the Manyu City Incident, Roger realized there was no need for such complications. The fact that five grand historians had been driven away indicated how difficult this period of history was to chronicle. Digging deeper into the Manyu City Incident would easily lead to the conclusion that the Empress of Eternal Night’s “acquisition of the throne was illegitimate.” After all, the young princess was a distant successor, and the Azurevine Kingdom had never had a female monarch. With an illegitimate claim to the throne, the Empress’s subsequent achievements would naturally be tarnished and diminished.
The Empress possessed many admirable qualities, but no one could deny her extreme possessiveness and her fondness for praise! Otherwise, she wouldn’t have been so invested in creating textbooks. For this endeavor, she had enlisted over a hundred shadow cinematographers to capture her captivating image, intending to select the most beautiful cover to guide the youth’s aesthetic development.
The current Empress of Eternal Night was, after all, still young. She wasn’t the peerless sovereign who, ten years later, would calmly watch the world unfold, face the combined might of the gods, and snatch victory from the jaws of death. She ascended to the throne at sixteen, swept through seventeen kingdoms in five years, and led the Azurevine Empire to its zenith in three years of diligent governance. There were setbacks, challenges, and moments of despair, but she always emerged victorious. Such an outstanding young woman, reaching her peak at twenty-four, would she permit anyone to diminish her proud achievements? The answer was obvious.
Therefore, as long as Dior appeared disobedient and insisted on writing “true history,” the Empress would never tolerate such a grand historian’s existence. “Bring forth all your current intelligence and clues, and let’s piece together the truth together!” Roger said, full of energy. The sooner this history was written, the sooner he could escape this assignment!
Soon, Roger was presented with a vast trove of precious and detailed historical materials. These were all verifiable, accurate pieces of information, not mere speculation. The imperial history compilation project had been underway for over two years. Although the chief grand historian had changed repeatedly, related work had continued. The dozen or so advisors here were all exceptionally talented individuals, who could articulate their findings eloquently… In short, they had researched the Manyu City Incident to an extremely in-depth degree.
Every military dispatch, every letter, and countless survivor accounts were pieced together to form a grand tapestry, presenting the tumultuous Azurevine Kingdom of that era to Roger. Unlike the game’s oversimplified narrative, which depicted the Empress’s rise to power as incredibly cool and her path to godhood as unbroken this time. Real history was profound, bloody, and intertwined with countless dangers and conspiracies!
That sixteen-year-old princess, who had grown into the Empress, taking control of the fragmented Azurevine Kingdom and then launching a counterattack, had forged her achievements with blood! The death of Sherley IV, enemy envoys urging surrender, killed! Her brother’s attempt to surrender, wishing to use her as a bargaining chip for a political marriage, killed! Seeking aid from her uncle, only to find him a cowardly recluse, killed! The governor of the three southern provinces, with a powerful army, seeking to secede amidst the chaos, killed! Local magnates profiting from the national crisis by hoarding goods, killed! Fending off the enemy at the Solenko defense line, to ensure the soldiers’ food supply, she dispatched troops to confiscate the last remaining grain from fourteen towns in the southwest, leading to the starvation of nearly twenty thousand people! Counterattacking into the Wabrugax Kingdom, she performed a blood sacrifice of one hundred thousand enemy commoners, which was the core talent for her legendary profession, before narrowly defeating and killing the enemy’s national mage…
The achievements of the Empress of Eternal Night were brilliant and dazzling, but also bloody, cruel, and ruthless! The path of a ruler was always one of solitary survival, with everyone else as a sacrifice. Players called her “Blood Mom” because in the later stages of the Empire, she single-handedly annihilated ten thousand Tianming Army soldiers, drenched in blood, exuding unparalleled dominance. But witnessing the transformation of the young princess, something the game couldn’t fully portray, even “Eternal Night scholars” were profoundly shocked. Killing a hundred thousand was insignificant! Had you ever seen “Blood Mom” go on a killing spree after her kingdom was destroyed and her family annihilated?
Force guaranteed power, and autocracy maintained dignity. She had no time to distinguish between loyalty and treachery, good and evil, so she used the most decisive means to force everyone to submit to her. At that time, “Blood Mom’s” strength hadn’t reached its peak as seen in the game, and with a group of the old, weak, women, and children under her command, she compensated with brutal methods! Cruel to her enemies, and unforgiving to her own people! Octaviel Sherley forged the vast Azurevine Empire with the ultimate display of iron-fisted rule and extreme centralization of feudal power. She embodied all the greatness, all the praise, and all the glory of a human empire. Yet, behind her lay countless bones and rivers of blood. By modern standards, she was an unrepentant war criminal. She had killed enemies, relatives, enemy commoners, and even indirectly killed innocent citizens of the Azurevine Empire.
But Roger didn’t believe she deserved to die. The Azurevine Kingdom at that time was already in the twilight of its dynastic decline. However, without the sudden emergence of “Blood Mom,” more citizens of the Azurevine Kingdom would have become enslaved, living lives worse than death. Right and wrong? Good and evil? He was not in a position to judge. Even with the most authentic and comprehensive historical records before him, he dared not comment on the merits and demerits of the Empress of Eternal Night. As long as the Azurevine Empire endured, this matter was far from being settled.
Instead, after reading it all, Roger admired how the Empress of Eternal Night, almost falling into darkness, managed to emerge without succumbing to madness. She possessed power comparable to deities but did not abuse it. Instead, she strived to lead the Empire towards true prosperity through her kingly charisma, exploring an imperial system that could be passed down through generations. Her administrative skills and her attitude towards commoners were superior to most rulers of that era, who only knew how to suppress with violence and bloodshed.
Originally, Roger had intended to delve into the scandals of the Manyu City Incident to enrage the Empress of Eternal Night and get himself dismissed. Later, he found that he didn’t need to make such an effort; the scandals could fill a table on their own. Of course, her achievements could fill the entire office.
The magic clock struck nine in the evening. Roger and his subordinates had preliminarily reconstructed the entire history from the Manyu City Incident to the defeat of the Wabrugax Kingdom. He exhaled twelve heavy words: “Record truthfully, without deletion or commentary.” This was his compilation plan. A plan that the five previous grand historians dared not utter, even unto death. The simplest, yet the most difficult. What an audacious decision!
The history consultants all thought that this Lord Brandon had gone mad and was courting death. But they didn’t try to dissuade him, because they quite liked such a plan. Although they knew that such an imperial history could never be presented to the world, they had made their efforts. This was their inherent academic obsession. As long as they could restore the true history as much as possible, what was wrong with going mad once with this young grand historian?
