(Orlax Pov)
"Your Majesty, please, just one question."
"Here, please, here."
The journalists began shouting to get their questions heard, but I was annoyed by the chaos, so I raised my hand, signaling them to stop.
"Don't let disorder take over the place. I will choose the people I will answer questions from myself. You, stand up."
I pointed to a middle-aged man sitting in the front row and asked him to stand.
"Thank you for choosing me. My question is: What are your future plans for the empire?"
"A good question. Given my age and lack of experience, I will currently focus on developing my skills in governance and leadership, with the help of the Grand Duke. We shall see what the future holds."
After finishing my answer, I pointed to a woman sitting in the back and asked her to stand.
"Your Majesty, I heard that you have a daughter who is about two years old. Is that true?"
When everyone heard the smiling woman's question, they were shocked, looking at me and preparing to record anything that came out of my mouth.
"Oh? Who told you such a thing?"
"A little bird told me, Your Majesty."
I raised my lips slightly when I heard her response, and an idea formed in my mind about who leaked the information.
"A little bird, huh? It seems I will be having pigeon for dinner tonight."
When the journalists heard my reply, fear appeared on their faces, and a few silently prayed for the poor little bird.
"Well, to answer your question, I am currently caring for a child named Sera, and she is of my flesh and blood, so she can be considered my daughter, yes. Okay, next person."
I then started searching for someone in the room, and when I finally found them, I pointed at them to stand.
"Your Majesty, can you explain what happened in the royal battle that day, and how the emperor died?"
Whispers rose among the people around us, and they looked at the young man standing with a confident smile, staring at me.
He was the one I had ordered to ask this question so I could start the performance.
"Even though this matter has already been clarified, I will explain it again."
I signaled to someone at the back to play the video on the screen behind me.
"As you can all see, in the footage, it is clear that the previous heir conspired against the emperor and killed him. When he was not paying attention, I sneaked up behind him and avenged the emperor. Before the emperor passed away, he told me to take care of the empire and its people. Also, the Grand Duke has an important announcement to make."
All eyes turned to Armanthor, sitting beside me, as he changed the scene on the screen to a map of the capital city.
"As you can all see, after the previous emperor's death, Emperor Orlax asked me to investigate the previous heir and whether any organizations were supporting him. After a thorough investigation, we found that he had formed several criminal organizations that had been preparing and arming themselves for years in order to support him when he killed the emperor."
Armanthor took a sip of water from the cup in front of him and continued.
"After we raided these criminal organizations, including the Red Moon Organization—one of the most dangerous criminal organizations in the empire—it turned out that their leader was a direct follower of the previous heir."
Half of what Armanthor said was true, and the other half was a truth I had fabricated.
Over the past two weeks, I had planted several people inside these organizations to make them appear as followers of the previous heir.
Then I moved to the Red Moon Organization. Their leader's appearance was unknown, so I made a deal with him, had him vacate his position for someone I appointed, and instructed him on what to do once he was captured.
Of course, I did all of this while keeping my identity hidden so no one would recognize me.
Then, I asked Armanthor to investigate whether there were people helping the previous heir because I suspected that he had been planning a coup for a long time.
After all the secrets were revealed, Armanthor's suspicions about me eased, and today, everything was exposed.
"With this, I hope all doubts about that day have been resolved. I know some of you are still skeptical of my words, but all this information comes from the Grand Duke, who was responsible for the investigation and everything. Therefore, I hope that today we close this case and move forward."
After people recovered from the shock of the information, I pointed to another person to stand up.
"Your Majesty, I have a simple question. What is the reason for wearing an eye patch over your right eye?"
"Well, you could say I gifted it to my fiancée, Alice, as an engagement present."
After getting permission from Armanthor, I revealed that I had given it to Alice so she could see again.
"Now, we move to the final question. You, stand up."
After answering the last question, the conference ended, and I left with Armanthor, who had a happy smile on his face.
"What is the reason for that smile?"
"Oh, nothing. You'll find out tomorrow, Your Majesty. Keke."
When I heard his eerie laughter and saw his facial expression, I sighed.
"What a shame. It looks like you've reached old age. You should take care of yourself from now on, Grand Duke. I will book a hospital checkup tomorrow for your mental health, so you don't suffer from Alzheimer's from now on."
Armanthor stumbled and nearly fell on his face when he heard my words.
"Ahem, Your Majesty, I am in perfect health. No need for that."
"Oh, really? It seems I misunderstood the situation. Anyway, I will visit your home tomorrow morning to give Alice the engagement ring."
"You're welcome anytime, Your Majesty."
After waving my hand, I entered the car where Alex was waiting for me, and we drove to the imperial palace.
When I opened the palace door and stepped inside, I saw Lyra running toward me, panting.
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty."
"What is it? Catch your breath."
After calming down and taking a deep breath, she spoke with a worried expression.
"Sera, it's Sera."
As soon as I heard her words, my face darkened. I grabbed her shoulder, looked her in the eyes, and spoke in a serious tone.
"What happened to Sera? What's going on?"