Helmut stepped out of the assembly hall with an exhausted look on his face. The steps he took along the hallway were heavy but busy. He was rather relieved that things had worked out unexpectedly well.

Barth Baltic and Helmut were rivals who had maintained a hostile, yet symbiotic relationship ever since the start of the Eternal Rule—Helmut served as the spiritual anchor to unite the empire under the Church, while Barth succeeded in uniting and leading the army that could have become a threat to the empire.

Without either one of them, the empire would have been torn apart with bloodshed. Thus, Helmut acknowledged and admired Barth Baltic’s abilities, despite hating him.

So, Helmut was glad that this incident was resolved quite smoothly, unlike what he had expected. After all, the Barth Baltic that Helmut knew was a man who could have easily turned the Capital into a sea of blood.

At the same time, Helmut wondered why Barth Baltic acted in such a way.

‘Did he really just do what he had to do as a soldier?’

Helmut shook his head. Both Helmut and Barth had seen each other’s weaknesses. Helmut was very well aware that he was not an innocent man, and the same was true of Barth Baltic. They were both covered in the same filth.

Helmut sometimes thought that perhaps the reason why they couldn’t stand each other was that they smelled the same.

‘Whatever he is up to… I wish the returning emperor could just...