The Empror's Trap-Chapter 117: Ch - An Unexpected Joy

Pluvia sat silently for a few seconds before returning to her throne. She took a deep breath, looking at Nizam’s incredulous face, then raised her hand. "Escort him out."

The officials exchanged uneasy glances. Even the guards looked at her questioningly, hesitant to act.

"Did you not hear me?" Pluvia said, staring at the floor. "Take Prince Nizam to the Court of Judicial Review for judgment."

"Your Majesty, please wait," a female voice called out.

Princess Nina stepped forward from among the officials, surprising Pluvia.

"Your Majesty intends to send Nizam for judgment, but I must ask - has he violated any laws? Arresting him for speaking frankly seems unjust. Neither Nizam nor the other officials will accept this. I implore Your Majesty to reconsider..."

"Nina," Pluvia leaned back in her chair, "are you all trying to force my hand?"

"Your Majesty is the ruler of our nation. How could we dare to pressure you? We merely offer counsel. You can arrest Nizam, but doing so without cause will dishearten the officials and soldiers who came to maintain order in Luminara City during your absence. Who could accept this?"

Nina accused angrily.

"So you’ve finally revealed your true intentions," Pluvia said with a bitter smile. "You’ve all been waiting to threaten me with these words, haven’t you? I suppose the soldiers you’ve gathered to ’protect Camelot’ are also eager to act?"

She glanced at Sonya beside her. Understanding the signal, Sonya quietly moved from behind Pluvia to directly in front of her.

Pluvia noticed that as Sonya shifted position, the generals below and guards outside subtly reached for their weapons.

So they had prepared for this all along.

It seemed the entire hall would need a thorough cleaning after today.

"Your Majesty, forgive my directness, but if you continue to employ treacherous officials, we’ll have no choice but to—"

Before Jinzhe could finish, a figure suddenly ran into the hall.

It was a guard, or rather, someone who could no longer call himself a guard. He had removed his armor, which had clearly hindered his running. As he burst into the hall, he froze upon seeing Pluvia.

He looked around at the tense scene, then at the furious empress, and stammered:

"Uh... this..."

"What’s going on? How dare you barge in so rudely!" General Dueno glared at him.

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"G-General, I came to..."

"Her Majesty is here. Whatever you have to say, say it to her," Dueno said with a frown, noting the guard’s panicked state.

The guard paused, caught his breath, then reported: "Your Majesty, the troops stationed outside have engaged in battle with another army!"

"What?!" Everyone was stunned, including Pluvia and the officials who had planned to use the army as leverage.

"Who’s fighting whom? Explain clearly!"

General Balinos had troops inside the city, while outside were forces gathered by several major officials and princes surrounding Luminara. Separated by the city walls, neither side had dared to attack first, resulting in a standoff.

Of course, it was only a military standoff. When Pluvia entered, the outer forces hadn’t shown disrespect—after all, pressuring an emperor to submit was quite different from outright attacking or capturing them.

If fighting had broken out, it meant the stalemate between General Balinos and the outside forces had been shattered. Whether the outside troops could successfully overwhelm General Balinos would essentially determine the outcome of this struggle.

But the officials present knew that General Balinos commanded far fewer troops than the combined private armies and forces mustered by General Dueno and others outside. With such an imbalance of power, things shouldn’t have gone wrong.

"I don’t know the details, only that it came from outside the city! Now General Balinos seems to be fighting back. It’s chaos out there!"

The hall erupted in commotion. Everyone was surprised by this turn of events. After the standoff began, communication between the inside and outside of Luminara had been cut off. They had no way to judge what was happening outside.

Pluvia remained silent, sitting quietly in her seat. The other officials didn’t continue arguing with her—the moment combat began, the outcome would soon become clear.

"Report!" Another soldier—a member of the Royal Guards—rushed into the hall.

"Speak," Pluvia commanded.

The Royal Guard looked around, then smiled coldly: "Your Majesty, Duke Kenji Anos awaits outside the palace gates, requesting an audience."

"Bring him in."

Pluvia breathed a sigh of relief. Kenji’s arrival meant she no longer had to worry about the officials using the surrounding army to threaten her. But she still needed to be cautious.

"What about General Balinos?"

"General Balinos accompanies the Grand Marshal. General Wei is now overseeing the battle outside."

A genuine smile flickered across her face.

If Kenji had come alone, she might have worried whether he truly came to rescue her or to eliminate her under the guise of assistance. But with General Balinos accompanying him, that possibility was remote. Though under Kenji’s command, Balinos was loyal to Camelot. If Kenji intended rebellion, Balinos wouldn’t have come with him.

Many officials, including Nizam, looked extremely displeased.

As they pondered their next move, the clashing of armor echoed outside the hall.

Heavy footsteps and metallic sounds approached. Two men entered—one a tall, imposing middle-aged man with graying hair and a fearsome scar across his face; the other a fully armored young man carrying a long spear, his ornate general’s armor covered in blood and bearing several sword marks.

"Your Majesty, I have returned with troops and await your orders," Kenji said, standing at attention and ignoring the assembled officials.

Kenji’s process of mobilizing troops wasn’t particularly complicated.

Although some court officials and princes had called up a portion of the army, including their private forces, Kenji was still the Grand Marshal. In reality, many generals in the Camelot army only recognized orders from the empress and the Grand Marshal, not those princes. Mobilizing troops wasn’t difficult for him.

Most importantly, several major garrisons near Luminara City were actually under Pluvia Camelot’s command. Before her return, those court officials and princes had summoned troops, but with Pluvia absent, they had no authority to mobilize these forces.

Kenji couldn’t mobilize them either. If not for fear these armies had already mutinied, he would have simply brought Pluvia to command the troops directly. But considering safety concerns, he chose to go himself.

Fortunately, the seal he left at home was only the Grand Marshal’s seal. As for the "replica imperial seal," he always carried it with him. Faced with this "imperial authorization," the commanders ultimately chose to follow Kenji to Luminara City to rescue the empress.