Vile Evil Hides Under The Veil

'Haah! I wonder how Rodrick would feel after I tell him about Emil's real condition back then.'

The butcher wondered how the royal scions would feel if they heard about the real history of how Edinburgh was formed. He wanted to see their faces after finding out their ancestor was nothing but a convenient pawn in the hands of these Sages.

Eren even had a serious urge to tell Rodrick about these things and see him deflate like a balloon. Because he was sure that most royal scions wouldn't have acted this cocky if they just knew how things really played out in history.

Nira felt like the scenes of the past were appearing one by one like a moving montage of pictures in front of her eyes. She sighed and added further.

"Our success was a huge accomplishment for Emil on paper. The most infuriating thing for the elven royalty was that it lost its capital city in Silvermoon's partition.

Emil knew that I still had close relationships with a few of my people from the elf community. I guess he didn't want to upset me by taking it too far. So he didn't harm the previous capital city that much. Instead, he made a few changes to it and renamed it the city of Silvermoon.

The city of Silvermoon saw the least amount of violence even after the kingdom of Silvermoon was split into two. Overnight, the city protector and people in the administration changed. This was how Emil managed to conquer his enemies' capital without shedding much blood."

Eren remembered the city of Silvermoon perfectly, thanks to both his timelines. He could tell that the city had a lot of history hidden deep within its core. The Elven clans were always known to be eccentric. However, the butcher could tell that the elves living inside the city of Silvermoon were not that attached to the kingdom of Edinburgh. He could also understand why someone like JJ Edgar was attracted to the city of Silvermoon so much. Only now did he know the reason why.

Still, there was something that was bothering Eren.

"Sage Nira, if the city of Silvermoon received the least amount of harm from the rebellion, how come it is not– let's say– as important-looking as it should have been supposed to be?

I mean the city of Silvermoon is definitely one of the top-tier cities in the Duchy of Lionheart. But it pales in comparison to Edin. And I don't think the previous rulers of the unpartitioned kingdom would have handed the city of Silvermoon in its current condition to Emil."

Nira could tell that Eren was just like her and the other Sages by the kind of questions he was asking her. Just like them, he understood the value of owning a cash cow and staying under the establishment's radar. She smiled subtly before answering his question.

"Emil had patience if nothing else. The man was willing to wait by the riverbank and watch the bodies of his enemies float by, no matter how long it took.

Cajoling the elves with pleasant words and promises.

Managing perception in the elven community by paying prominent elven clans.

Threatening the elven rebels who wanted to push forward the old royalty's agenda.

And lastly, using treachery and diplomacy to divide the enemy elves into multiple groups before getting rid of them.

Emil used every move in his books. The sporadic cases of rebellion within the city were neatly put down by Emil. He then offered the elves special rights. He offered them prestigious places in his royal court and turned them into his allies."

Eren could tell that Nira acknowledged Emil's talent for politics. The man had managed to establish a kingdom for himself. The fact that he had Sages like Nira backing him up didn't take away from his accomplishments. He even incorporated ego-centric Sages into his plan and used their names for his benefit.

Nira took a brief pause before continuing.

"The elven families that hadn't left the city due to various reasons were encouraged to stay at the place by Emil. The city of Silvermoon served as a beacon of hope for all the elven citizens of the kingdom of Edinburgh. These citizens were indecisive about whether they should stay where they were or move to the kingdom of Layos. However, they all found comfort in the existence of the city of Silvermoon.

Of course, Emil knew that he couldn't use the city of Silvermoon as his capital city anymore after letting the elven community stay there. So he chose to build his capital city over the ruins of the past era and named it Edin. Parts of the ruins can be seen inside Sansara World.

Emi started reducing the city of Silvermoon's importance. He did things moderately and spanned them over a long time, allowing people to get used to the new change.

Since the last century, the city of Silvermoon has been just another peaceful city inside the Duchy of Lionhearts. It completely lost its extravagance and turned into a place where the elves could gather and enjoy quality family time. And the most important thing to note is that the elves are happy with the change."

Eren had to say that Emil was even more of a master manipulator than him just by hearing his feats through Sage's mouth. The butcher liked to believe that he could have achieved the same thing as Emil if he was put in his shoes. However, he would have ended up creating unrest in the future after he abdicated the throne.

Emil was better than Eren at the art of manipulation because his results were long-lasting. Because the fruits of his labors were still being tasted by his current extended family. The butcher wasn't sure if he could have done things better than Emil.

He didn't try to rise above the Sages that supported him. In fact, he accommodated them as much as he could and made use of their names to strengthen his hold over the kingdom.

"Some people just have a knack for politics, Eren. I'm sure you can understand. Your smell tells me you are not that different from the first king of this kingdom.

Hehe. How about it, boy? Want to raise another rebellion and split the kingdom of Edinburgh into even more pieces?"

Eren had only one thought deep in his mind when he heard Nira's question.

'Stop sniffing me.'