After Being Sold Out By The Empire, I Decide To Assist The Demon King-Chapter 291 - 35 Heidlin Wants to Save

"The atmosphere is too heavy. The Empire’s situation is worse than we imagined..."

Heidlin said this as she looked at the Royal Capital, which gave off an extremely "hurried" feeling, and spoke to Shara beside her: "This war has only made the already divided situation worse. It seems the Duchy has hit our sore spot."

"..."

But Shara did not respond immediately. Instead, she looked at Heidlin for a moment, then sighed, and corrected her earnestly: "Indeed, they have hit the Empire’s sore spot."

"..."

"..."

*Yes, it’s the Empire’s sore spot, not "our" sore spot.*

*Strictly speaking, Shara and Heidlin belonged to different factions and had different political affiliations, so using "our" to summarize was inappropriate.*

*One could even say that Shara and the Yila Faction she belonged to were the root of the Empire’s instability.*

"However, to say it’s truly a ’sore spot’ may not be entirely accurate."

Shara said this, drawing Heidlin’s attention. He simplistically explained as the other furrowed her brow: "Didn’t Uncle Yila teach us? Just like Duke Hazad did... if domestic conflicts are intense..."

Like guiding her, Shara spoke, but Heidlin merely displayed a puzzled expression... it seemed she hadn’t paid much attention during the lectures back then.

*Perhaps she was daydreaming...*

"No wonder you were chasing Uncle Yila so closely back then... heh."

Shara shook his head lightly, recalling the image of Heidlin wrapped in bandages, and couldn’t help but laugh... As a Governor, such a mocking laugh was rare.

"Shara!"

"Alright, alright... If there are domestic conflicts, you can seize the opportunity to advocate for righteousness and deep hatred, diverting the conflicts to a common enemy. Starting a war is the best choice."

Shara spoke, looking at the nobles around them who were all mobilized and preparing for war. He gazed at the carriages passing by and said: "How do you know if the war is a catalyst, or if it rather extends the lifespan of the Empire a bit?"

...

"Are you saying that a united foreign war might actually be... beneficial for the Empire?"

Looking at Heidlin’s expression of uncertainty as she said this, Shara still kept his casual demeanor and simplistically explained: "I don’t know. I’m just guessing... The key now is, who will be the ’first person’."

*The first person... What does that mean?*

"Don’t you understand? I belong to Uncle Yila’s side, but our structure is much looser than you and your colleagues, or nobles and their peers can imagine... So, there are far more people ’waiting for the first person to appear’ than the ’first person’ itself."

From Shara’s words, even if Heidlin was slow, she should have understood by now. She immediately stopped in her tracks and lowered her voice as much as possible: "Treason?!"

*Yes, treason.*

*Everyone in the Yila Faction was closely monitoring their surroundings, ready to flee with the first person to run away. Shara was one of them... he would be the second (or Nth) defector.*

*But why tell her this? Wasn’t it just to embarrass her?*

"Defection... perhaps... But it might not be fleeing outward, but exerting internal pressure."

Shara said, as Heidlin tried to understand, and casually explained: "Apart from you, most people are well aware... idiot. We are waiting for the first person to make a choice."

*Most people are well aware... really?*

"Who will be the first person? Why are you telling me this?"

Heidlin asked.

"The first person? Perhaps Gurela? Maybe Second Aunt... Who knows?"

Shara spoke, looking at the grand South Gate of the palace ahead of them. He observed the messengers going to deliver their message, knowing they might wait about half an hour before being informed to meet the Empress. While waiting, he conversed with Heidlin: "When the time comes, what will you choose?"

*There was no doubt about it.*

"I could never make any other choice!"

Heidlin’s voice raised a few decibels. She could never flee with the Yila Faction. She directly served Her Majesty the Empress. Even if one day Yila meant harm to Isabella, she would still stand by Her Majesty’s side.

But Shara never thought Heidlin would betray the Empire.

"I mean, stop being foolish. Just pretend like you know nothing and hide at home that day, or find an excuse to leave the Royal Capital. The general trend... you can’t stop it."

"..."

"..."

*General trend... really?*

Heidlin had never felt as out of touch with the situation as she did at that moment. Just a few minutes ago... she naively thought the Empire’s situation was clear.

*Perhaps that may indeed be the case, but it was not as clear as she saw it...*

*"Has it gotten this bad?"* Heidlin silently pondered...

"For the Empire itself, it’s quite bad. But for Her Majesty and me, not really... The nobles will obstruct us and be killed by those of us who leave. In the end, the stronger side will be you and Her Majesty."

As Shara spoke, the efficient guards informed them to enter. He started toward the inner palace with Heidlin and said: "Actually, I didn’t need to say all this since everyone already knows it."

After this, Shara didn’t say anything more.

"..."

*Alright, the mystery was solved...*

*This was why Shara had said so much to Heidlin. Because the vast majority of slightly smarter people, even all the nine seats in the Council after Yila’s departure, were very aware of this.*

*Only Heidlin had never paid attention to this aspect, so he had to bring it up... Otherwise, when the entire Yila Faction left, if she foolishly stood in front of everyone...*

*It would be extremely embarrassing, not just for the Yila Faction, but even for the Emperor’s direct faction, small in number as it was... Even Isabella might want to kill Heidlin at that point.*

"Lord Shara~ Her Majesty summons you!"

Called by the official, with Heidlin deep in thought, Shara nodded and walked up to the great hall. After a few steps, he grudgingly reminded Heidlin: "Honestly, Uncle Yila was quite good to you. You’re welcome to visit after it’s all over... after all, idiots can be rather cute sometimes."

"..."

*Idiot? Me?!*

"Was Uncle Yila good to me? I almost died..."

Shara: "What if it had been someone else chasing him? Precisely because it was you, Uncle Yila understood... You’re just plain dumb, so you survived."

"..."

*Although it sounded harsh, it seemed true...*

*Heidlin thought silently, pondering deeply, unsure what she could do... Like Shara said, she really wasn’t very smart.*

*But...*

*"Apart from you, most people are well aware."*

*"The general trend... you can’t stop it."*

"..."

Recalling Shara’s advice, she looked at the crimson sunset...

"..."

*No, I have to do something...*

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