"Since you're apologizing, I suppose you understood my intentions?" Karyk asked, realizing that due to fear, the Envoy was trying to justify everything in his mind.
Since his mind was clouded at the moment, it provided a lot of opportunities to exploit it.
"I believe I do," the Envoy responded, regaining composure and straightening his posture. Nevertheless, the unwavering respect in his gaze persisted.
"Is that so?" Karyk's amused voice echoed in the man's ears. "Let me hear what you understood. I want you to tell me everything. Even I want to know how clever people under His Majesty are."
The Envoy hesitated for a moment, before answering. "We were told to make the Frostheart and Silverthorn Family fight each other so that the Starfall Family could take over the entire city."
"At least that's what I was told when I was sent here," he added. "But your presence here only means that His Majesty wants it to be done faster, which led you to take action."
"However, if you had told me about this at the start, I would've done everything myself. You wouldn't have to trouble yourself," he added.
That was still the question in his mind. Everything was done by the Shadow Guard who didn't even reveal his presence to him. If not for his men's astute observation, they never would've known it.
As he started thinking about it, the doubts in his mind kept getting bigger. The initial shock and fear was getting suppressed by the questions in his mind.
How was it possible for the Shadow Guard to be noticed by his men? The Shadow Guards were the elite force of the Emperor who were masters of stealth. Then how was it easy for his people to find him?
For a moment, he even doubted if the man before him was actually a shadow guard. But that Emblem was definitely a real one. It couldn't be forged.
"Why do you think I didn't come to you first then?" Karyk asked, noticing suspicions seeping in. He gave the responsibility of solving these suspicions to the man himself.
"Also, why do you think you were so easily able to find me?" he further asked as he took another sip from the bottle of alcohol.
"The moment you are able to comprehend the answer, you'll realize everything," he added as he turned around.
There was no benefit in him staying behind. The more questions he asked, the more suspicious he could become.
The man watched Karyk walk away while lazily drinking the wine.
The Envoy simply scratched the back of his head, wondering, 'Why would I ask him if I knew the answer? These Shadow Guards are so unpredictable.'
In the end, he stopped thinking about it. Even if he was suspicious, he didn't dare to test it. It was much better to believe that guy than to risk his future.
Moreover, Karyk had done the same thing they were trying, albeit making it faster. So there wasn't much loss.
The Envoy and his men returned to the Starfall Mansion. The City had started burning in the flames of Chaos. As for everything else, it was only a matter of time.
....
While leaving the city, Karyk stopped at the exit. He saw a young child playing in the area.
He approached the child, patting his head. No one noticed that at that moment, he secretly transmitted a message to the young boy whose violet eyes shone for a brief moment before being hidden in a fake blue shade.
Karyk walked past the guard, leaving the city. On the other hand, the young boy returned to the bar secretly, delivering the message.
Following that, the child and the bartender left the bar. Both of them went to the two great families in battle.
While the bartender went to the Frostheart Family, delivering a message, the boy went to the Silverthorn, delivering another message.
The undercurrents within the city of Ember were changing, and it was once again caused by Karyk.
....
Completely carefree, Karyk had already gone far from the city.
"By now they should've delivered the message," Karyk muttered, tossing the empty wine bottle aside.
"To think that I was playing right into the Royal Family's hand," he muttered, letting out a sigh. "If he hadn't met me, It would've been such a mess. I should've been more careful with my plan."
"But it was definitely a surprise that the Royal Family wanted the Starfall Family to control the entire city. If the two major families had fought, the Starfall Family would've taken control of the entire city by destroying the weakened families."
"In that case, the Royal Family would've had no need to send their armies. They would've gained absolute control without even trying."
"But after the message is delivered to the two families, they should understand that the Starfall Family and the Nobles are against them. I'm sure they would destroy the Starfall Family first."
"They would forget their differences in the face of survival. The Royal Family would have a very big headache in the future. But the more chaotic it becomes, the better it gets for me."
Karyk kept talking to himself as he slowly advanced towards the final destination which was the Royal City, almost on the other side of the continent.
He had managed to decipher a lot of information from a few words of the Envoy. But there was still one thing he didn't understand.
"The City of Ember is still indirectly controlled by the Royal Family. It doesn't matter if three families exist or one, the true ruler is the Royal Family. Then why would they want to change the equation in the city?"
He had a feeling that it had something to do with the invasion of his world. He could definitely force the Envoy to answer him, but that could put his entire plan to jeopardy. It was much better to use the two great families against them.
****
Just as Karyk had expected, the equation within the city quickly turned as messages were delivered to the two families' heads anonymously.
The messages told them about the Royal Envoy staying with the Starfall Family. The message made it clear who was trying to fish in the troubled waters.
The message even said that their envoys were killed by the Starfall Family to flame this conflict. Even the attack on the Silverthorn Family during the negotiations was the work of the Envoy.
Karyk shifted even his own actions on the Royal Family, leaving them to deal with the mess.
