Throne’s City was plunged into chaos after the commotion with the royal palace. Generals and officials stayed oddly quiet. Anyone still alive now valued their own safety and interest above loyalty to the crown. Before things become clear, they would prefer to be safe than sorry.

The people of Throne’s City, now all too experienced with civil unrest, shut the doors of their houses and hid in corners or basements with their families.

In one of the houses, a man in black armor was sitting on a bed with his legs crossed. A satisfied smile was on his face.

He had the reason to be satisfied. Despite being a recruit with only one mission under his belt, he managed to toy with multiple higher ranking Voyagers. So what if you have the ability to manipulate the dead? So what if you can kill me before I see you coming? So what if you have an army of machines? I can ruin all your planning with a few whispers.

His plan was to stay in this city for a few more days and add more gas to the fire. And then, he would leave the city and never come back. He would have completed his part in the conspiracy. At that point, all he needed to do was sit back, wait for Violet and Adam to mop the floor, and then return to the City of the Voyagers and collect his share of the reward.

Suddenly, his eyes turned fierce, and he leaped toward the back door without a second of hesitation. At the same time, four autoturrets appeared behind him and started firing.

The next second, all four turrets went dark. At almost the same instant, Voyager John flew back and smashed into a wall.

Delta walked into the room from the direction where John wanted to make his exit.

Jean watched quietly as John tried to make his almost comedic escape. He was definitely a qualified Voyager. Several countermeasures were ready in his watch. He knew exactly where to go when things went south. Unfortunately, while they were both recruits, they were focused on completely different categories. John had the power to influence Voyagers much stronger than him, but as a price, his other powers were pathetic.

When escape by force proved to be ineffective, John quickly turned to his strength.

Words.

“How did you find me?”

Unfortunately for John, as someone who just convinced a two hundred year old warrior into laying down his weapon, Jean wasn’t too bad at the art of persuasion either.

“For someone whose power is to influence, you are incredibly slow when it comes to yourself.”

John took a deep, frustrated breath.

“It’s Violet, isn’t it?”

“Yes.”

“I knew it.” John groaned, but deep down, he was carefully examining Jean’s expression. Ideally, his annoyance in being betrayed might show Jean they could potentially be on the same side. “I knew Violet wouldn’t just let me live when I have outlived my usage. I never planned on going back to Crown’s City. After this, I would hide in a corner of this world and wait for this mission to end.”

Jean didn't say anything. John knew he had to increase his leverage.

“Let me live and I will tell you what Violet is planning.” He knew from the meeting that Jean might have some knowledge about the conspiracy, but he decided to go for it anyways.

“I know what she is planning.”

“You might know the basics, but there’s no way you can know the details.”

“I can make an educated guess,” Jean smirked.

“Fine.” John decided to switch to his last resort. “Let me live and I will work for you. You have seen what I can do if I have the opportunity. Let me return to Violet and I can maximize your gains. I can rip that conspiracy apart and remold it so you end up getting the largest cut.”

“That sounds fair…” Jean nodded, but just as John was about to smile in relief, he suddenly felt something cutting through his chest.

Behind him, Delta lowered her hand. A second ago, she just sent her rune blade through John’s Voyager armor and into his back.

Talk and stab at the same time. That was Jean’s art of backstabbing.

As John collapsed, Jean silently knelt down and picked up his Voyager watch. John’s final proposal appeared decent, but Jean knew better. First of all, if she let John go, she would bet a hundred bucks he would run away before returning to Violet. Plus, John was powerful, but his influence was heavily based on who he was facing.

Demon might be physically powerful, but his mind was flawed, and that flaw made him vulnerable to John. Jean and Violet...how are you going to convince people like them? Appeal to their anger? Their jealousy? You have a better chance seducing a rock. Without emotions to appeal to, John’s power was almost pathetic.

Rather than let John go on a mission he would likely fail, Jean decided she would be better off killing him and looting his corpse.

As her goons took care of the body, Jean turned around and walked out of the house. Violet was playing a dangerous game here. When she gave Jean John’s location, she was using Jean as a weapon. But Jean allowed it because she herself could benefit from it as well. That was the thing with people like them: as long as they could profit, they didn't care about personal grudges or being manipulated.

Then again, the fact that Violet was fine with giving up John meant that she was satisfied with the level of power the Empire of the Moon has been reduced to. Jean knew why as she made her way to the royal palace.

---

After Demon broke in and turned half the guards in the palace into puppets, anyone would assume the palace to be under heavy guard. Instead, the reality was quite different. There was barely any men on guard.

Leon’s royal guards couldn’t even be called Emperor Guards. Emperor Guards referred to men who would defend their lord even in certain death. The first Emperor had men who have supported him for decades. Emperor Benedictine had his band of assassins and house guards. Leon...a few days ago, he had to hire new servants so he didn't have to cook for himself. He didn't exactly have any loyalists. Whatever guards he had in the past deserted, along with their officers.

This meant Jean could venture into the palace without any obstacle.

The fountain of blood that originated from Teresa’s death has been cleaned, but the cleaner obviously did a bad job, because Jean could still see spots of blood on the marble floor.

Prince Leon sat on his bed. His clothes were ragged. His eyes were red.

Jean stood in front of him quietly.

“Your grace.”

“Jean Turner.”

The two quietly acknowledged each other. Silenced fell for a few moments before Jean spoke up again.

“Let this go. I will punish my man. This will not happen again.”

“That man, Demon.” Leon said slowly. “He is a monster.”

It was fortunate there wasn’t the term Demon in this world, otherwise, Leon would have missed a brilliant chance for a pun.

“What happened was an accident. He wasn’t thinking straight. I will personally make sure that never happens again.” Jean was still trying to amend for the harm done.

“His methods were brutal, but you know what shocked me the most?” Leon’s words were slow and empty, as if his thoughts were somewhere else. “It was the look in his eyes. Even when he tortured Teresa, he looked down on her like she was some sort of animal. Like she was below him. He had no sympathy not just because he couldn’t feel sympathy, but rather because he didn't feel we were his equal. He didn't feel we deserved sympathy.”

“And your other soldier? The woman. She saved my life, but I don’t have to be smart to know she didn't do it because she valued my life. When Demon...when Demon flayed Teresa alive, she stood by and watched. There was this coldness in her eyes...she just didn't care enough to stop him. She could’ve, but she didn't.”

Jean listened carefully. If Leon thought he could get her emotional, he was seriously ignorant.

“He was a monster, but what are you? What type of monster does it take to command someone as vicious and bloodthirsty as Demon? I am not stupid. You wanted me for a reason, one that will likely lead to the destruction of the Empire and heavy casualties of the people. I knew it the moment you came to me, but I thought this power, this throne, is worth the price.”

“That was a mistake on my part. I was wrong. I made a deal with the devil, but now, I will right my wrongs.”

“I will no longer be your puppet.”

Jean tilted her head. The soft reassurance in her voice was nowhere to be seen. It has been replaced by a cold calculating gaze.

She no longer had the need to pretend when Leon knew exactly who she was: a cold-calculating monster capable of intimidating even Demon.

“Your resistance will be futile. If you go against us, you and your people will die.” She took a step forward, threatening. “Just because we need you doesn’t mean you are irreplaceable.”

“I know.” Leon smirked weakly. “You can easily find someone from the other royal branches. Worst comes to worst, you can find a general or a warlord to be your new puppet. But whatever you do, with every transition in power, this empire will be weakened. Soon, you will realize the armies of this empire will be no more than a fraction of its former self. With that, your plan, your power, will dwindle.”

“The Empire might suffer for the moment, but if your plan works, the empire will be forever enslaved.”

Jean gave Leon a final look. All she saw was determination. There was no fear, just deep, dark hatred. Finally, she raised her Voyager rifle and shot Leon in the heart. She fired three more shots just to confirm the kill.

As the sound of rifle firing faded away, a figure appeared behind her.

“I’m sorry, Jean. I tried to stop Demon, but…”

Even Blink had to admit she was terrified. Jean has been back in the city for no more than an hour, and she has already murdered both a Voyager and the Emperor of the Empire of the Moon that she spent several chapters(cough cough) days installing. What’s preventing her from taking out her incompetent underlings as well?

Jean turned around and looked at Blink before suddenly smiling.

“You know, I have my sources in the city, and I saw what you did. You tried to carry out my plan. What happened is not your fault. Now, where is Demon?”

Blink quickly gave her other comrade out.

“Demon went to a military camp to the north of the city. I think he’s trying to build up an army...to take you down. But you killed the Voyager behind this. He should be back to normal now.”

Jean shook her head.

“Not quite. I had a guess on John’s power, and what Violet told me confirmed it. John doesn’t have the power to mind control Voyagers. Maybe locals, but not Voyagers. All he can do is influence them slightly, give them a gentle push. He could expand on thoughts, not plant them.”

“Are you saying…”

“There’s a reason he didn't come to you, Blink. I admit that during our times together, I might have been a little...dominant.” Jean explained quietly. “You are fine with it, or so I’m hoping, but Demon must have felt insulted or something. Usually, he was able to hide it, but John was able to grow on it. Because John didn't make this thought out of nowhere, killing him won’t terminate it. Whatever is going on in Demon’s own mind is ultimately his own thoughts.”

Blink went silent. She understood another layer of meaning in Jean’s words. Even if Jean had a way to get Demon out of the influence of John, she wouldn’t. Deep down, Demon wished Jean harm, and saving him would be the same as preserving a ticking bomb beside her.

At the same time, Blink felt a bit relieved. Even before becoming a Voyager, she wasn’t a dominant person. Assassins were not warriors. She preferred lurking in the shadows when fighting, and her personality matched that. Taking orders from someone else and letting that person do the thinking was something she could live with.

Thanks to that, she wasn’t Jean’s enemy. Now that Jean was going all-out, she has seen what Jean was capable of. She herself would be no match for Jean. If she didn't follow Jean’s instructions when she was gone, she would’ve been dead by now.

Now, all she could do was feel bad for Demon.