In the Name of Empress-Chapter 632 - 364: You’re Not Allowed to Go!

The first rain of early summer arrived as expected at the Winter Palace.

Summers at Saint Rurik Palace always come later than elsewhere. The moist sea breeze brings coolness as well as abundant rainfall, making it the most livable place in the harsh Vladimir region.

The Winter Palace used to be the Emperor's bedchamber, at least it was before.

But now its master is a foreigner.

Although this foreigner is now the Imperial Cardinal Minister, the Duke of Kazan, and holds the Imperial Citizenship conferred by the Empress, the strong nationalism of the Rurik People still makes them habitually regard the master of the Winter Palace as a foreigner.

Roland doesn't mind this.

After all, he is just here for work.

Sofia, his boss, treats him well, so he works diligently. A few hundred bucks are not worth risking his life for, yet the Duke's Domain with the Winter Palace of artistic treasures is hard to ignore even for someone like Roland who is "indifferent to fame and fortune."

He has always been very professional; pay him and he gets things done, and for the right price, he'll even go all out.

Living in this world-renowned top palace, Roland feels at ease. After all, with his help in reorganizing internal affairs of the Empire, reclaiming lands held by small landlords through various means, and granting freedom to serfs, he deserves this reward.

Not to mention that he once risked his life to the ice field to save his boss Sofia.

Listening to the pitter-patter of rain outside the window, sipping freshly brewed coffee, Roland's mood relaxed a bit.

Just now, Angelina placed evidence of the butler Barov's crimes before him and explained the whereabouts of most of the art treasures.

Ninety percent of the artworks have already been recovered, with only a few beyond reach.

Besides recovering the artworks, there was another unsurprising piece of news.

"The sinner Barov committed suicide in fear the night before the trial."

This was Angelina's explanation.

Roland understood this.

After all, Barov was the old butler of the Imperial Family, and Sofia still needed to save face.

Whether the old man took the initiative to leave with dignity or was forced to, it didn't matter.

Roland could imagine that this was out of consideration for his long years of service to the Imperial Family, whereby he had no great merits but labored hard. Allowing him to take his life the night before the trial spared him from the stain of felony, allowing his children to inherit part of his estate.

Most likely, he chose dignity voluntarily. Though unwilling in his heart, for the sake of his family, he was willing to give up on life in his twilight years.

Roland did not comment on it, merely putting away the investigation report silently.

In the face of ultimate divine punishment, the life and death of a loser is meaningless.

His eyes turned to the high wall where a fairly clear world map hung.

His aspirations have long surpassed such gains and losses; he gazes toward more distant places.

For example, the vast ocean.

Ever since the prophetic poem was published, the first two lines have already come true, leaving Roland somewhat worried about the remaining lines.

Sussex was the strongest naval power at the time, far ahead, but compared to those demons and monsters raised at sea from childhood, the warships of this era still seem outdated.

The construction progress of an all-ironclad fleet is slow; the main forces in service are still well-maintained old-style majestic battleships and semi-ironclad ships.

These can be domineering in a human civil war, but the combat power and size of Deep Sea Giant Demons are unimaginable, far exceeding the combat power limits of human navies.

The Sussex Navy would inevitably be the first to be hit with the awakening of Deep Sea Giant Demons.

When the sky falls, it's the tall ones who hold it, but unfortunately, they are the tall ones.

Fortunately, they have an ally, the red-haired female pirate Catherine, or rather Catania.

If the Magic Mirror recognizes Catherine's existence, then she must exist.

As for why the person who came to negotiate that day was Catania and not Catherine, maybe they had other plans.

Roland prefers to believe that Catania and Catherine are the same person.

After all, a super master doesn't appear out of nowhere, but cross-dressing or gender-changing under specific circumstances can easily pass for real.

In any case, that's an ally's private business, and he's not interested in prying.

Roland recalled the Battle of White Mountain with the powerful Pirate Group having no participants. The Judges mentioned that the terrestrial strong were all "invited," indicating the mysterious identity of the Pirate Group.

Luckily, the southern part of the New Continent they demanded was far, beyond Roland's control scope.

The last message he received from his ocean ally was that they were devouring and annexing the agreed sphere of influence.

The local indigenous peoples and small nations might still be resisting, but it's largely insignificant.

In this era where everyone struggles to survive, brute strength far outweighs reasoning.

Roland stared at the map in a daze. If it follows the chronological order of the prophetic poem, it should be the turn of the Deep Sea Giant Demon next.

Humans have a natural fear of the ocean, gazing into the deep sea feels like staring into the abyss.

A minor cold in the ocean can be catastrophic for humans.

Strong as the Sussex Navy was, they lost half their fleet during a sea demon's raid, showing how weak human control of the ocean truly is.

Even in modern times, where technology has rapidly developed, the ocean remains a massive blind spot for humans.

Ocean allies are important; of course, Roland hopes they can fulfill the agreement and consume the meat in the bowl.

Unfortunately, these pirates' combat power diminishes significantly once they come ashore, engaging in a back-and-forth struggle with local indigenous peoples and small nations.

After flipping through war reports from the southern New Continent, Roland's only comment was "chickens pecking at each other."

With his abilities, he might even stir up the New Continent himself.

Roland even wrote a letter to his ocean allies, inviting them to select capable young officers to receive land warfare training.